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You present "suspected adverse effect" figures as hard fact and less than a page later you're pedalling the "inflated Covid death figures" again. This is what I was talking about earlier. Guy with Covid gets hit by a bus, you lot are all like "I bet the government will count that as a Covid death bloody ridiculous", guy that's had the vaccine gets hit by a bus "yet another death from the vaccine 99.9% blah blah blah". You can't have it both ways. I've spent most of this debate assuming you at least partially had your tongue in your cheek but it's genuinely worrying if you think it's a credible position to paint "suspected adverse effects" as hard evidence of vaccine deaths and accuse the numbers of Covid deaths as being inflated.

very marginally. The point is, it's still a very, very, very slim chance of dying from the vaccine but you continuously make out like the vaccine is the worst thing to have ever happened in the world and people should avoid it like the plague.

My postgrad research supervisor, a highly-rated professor with a leading role in the field, has literally manipulated my research study design to ensure that the results supported his theory that he was publishing at the time that was the point where I decided to nope the fuck out of academia after getting my degree. Scientific method itself is great, is just that there's a lot of politics and infighting for money, titles and positions in academia. Peer review is also a deeply flawed process that is also heavily affected by the aforementioned politics. That said, it's still the best we have.

They are descendants of a nomadic Sarmatian tribe, hence the "Iranian ethnicity", I believe. And yes, I definitely agree with you re: ethno-nationalism and the potential issues associated with it, but on the other hand, it often is the only option of survival in terms of resisting assimilation and keeping the national/ethnic identity alive. Haha, I'm actually half Samogitian, but it's not what I meant. There are no ethnic tensions between Samogitians and Lithuanians. I was talking about the nation barely surviving over 100 years of attempted assimilation by the Russian Empire, where Lithuanian schools and universities were closed, while the language, press, traditions, religious practices and culture were forcefully banned (google "book smugglers Lithuania" for more info about resisting it), then getting occupied by the Nazis and then being given to Soviets after just 20 years of regained independence, with the Soviets then implementing brutal "sovietization" policies, including mass deportations and whatnot. Together with other two Baltic nations, Lithuania continued the non-violent resistance throughout the whole 50 years of occupation. When we became the first nation to break away and announce independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, which included unarmed civilians standing up (and dying) against Soviet military force, most of European countries as well as the US were reluctant to recognise our sovereignty for fear of reaction from Moscow, as we were too small and too irrelevant for the big powers to care about. So what I'm saying is that I can relate to and sympathise with every peoples' struggle for self-determination, as I and at least three generations of my ancestors experienced the same plight while the rest of the world watched and didn't give a fuck.

I guess so, although Ossetians are a distinct ethnic group with their own language, culture and traditions, so while they are not internationally recognised by many countries, I do think they have a legitimate claim to their own land and country. But I'm probably biased; I always sympathise with ethnic groups and their plight for self determination due to my own origin and experiences.

Caucasus is a huge mess, in general. Georgia and Abhkazia, Georgia and Ossetia, Ossetia and Ingushetia, Russia and Chechnya, Russia and Dagestan; those are from the top of the head I'm sure there are more. And yes, Soviet occupation definitely had a lot to do with fueling those tensions, which then turned into territorial disputes and fully blown ethnic conflicts after Soviet Union collapsed.

It's an easy conspiracy theory to spread because of all the Nazis that ended up fleeing to South America & because I don't think Hitler and Eva Braun's remains were ever confirmed to be found. Seeing as how other high profile Nazis were successfully hunted - I suspect if he was alive, they'd have found out about it. There's been a Russian brokered ceasefire. The situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan sort of highlights the problems of intense ethno-nationalism and demonstrates some huge failures of diplomacy. After the first Nagorno-Karabagh war there was an international coalition, the OSCE Minsk Group - made up of the US, France, and Russia to encourage a successful and peaceful resolution to the tensions over Nagorno-Karabagh... ... and they didn't negotiate a successful or peaceful resolution. They just sort of let the situation simmer and hoped that both countries, who don't have diplomatic relations with each other and rely on the Minsk Group to act as mediators of diplomacy, would just accept the status quo from 1992 forever. And it seems Azerbaijan spent decades trying to modernise it's military, while Armenia sort of got complacent and I think also was happy to just accept the status quo. So while there were flare ups of violence every so often over a few decades, nothing was quite like the sustained period of warfare they were involved in last year. And Armenia's military found itself outmanned, outgunned, and really unable to stop Azerbaijan from claiming the contested territory. The ceasefire negotiated said it would allow for a corridor to connect Turkey & Azerbaijan crossing through Armenia... but as the 2 countries don't directly talk to each other, the progress on that concession by Armenia stalled. Now Azerbaijan knows that Armenia can't really stop them with their military... and since diplomacy continues to fail, they know that force will get them what they want. So ultimately, I think the bloodshed of last year and this year sort of falls squarely on the Minsk group and it's failure to mediate better relations and a peaceful resolution between both countries. And ultimately, I think Armenia's a bit fucked if they're hoping for help from the international community. Because Azerbaijan's got a lot of natural resources, whereas Armenia doesn't have so much (although it does have rare and valuable metals). Armenia is valuable to Russia as a counterweight to Turkey/NATO interests in the Caucasus - but I think it's probably not as important to Russia right now as what it's doing in pressuring the EU through it's actions in Crimea/Belarus. Azerbaijan is considered an important to the EU because of natural gas pipelines - which sort of puts France and the US (because it's got a strong interest in keeping the EU happy) more on the side of the aggressor in this situation. Do other post-USSR states have the same kind of ethnic tensions as Armenia and Azerbaijan? My wife, who's of Armenian-Iranian descent, grew up with lots of Azeri-Iranian friends and her social group has tons of both Armenian and Azeris in it, albiet different to Armenians and Azeris from Armenia and Azerbaijan respectively because of their Iranian background. So to her, it's all very bizarre to her that this has happened... and she recently (well last year) learned of anti-Armenian pogroms in Azerbaijan & anti-Azeri pogroms in Armenia and she was totally shocked. But both Azerbaijan and Armenia were both part of the USSR and both nations are pretty big on ethnonationalism, so I'm wondering if that Soviet connection has anything to do with it?

Unlubed bummings.

Been watching Deadwood, Im almost done season 1. Its a little slow going but the characters are turning out real good about now. Ian McShane is awesome as one of the leads. Absolutely my favourite scene so far I was laughing my ass off (warning for language and a tad racist but it fits the show)

Watched a couple over the last week: Free guy - 9/10 Absolute gem. Its a perfect Ryan Reynolds movie. I just love that its catered perfectly and subtley to gamers with all these little nods in the background but anyone that isnt doesnt miss out on anything important. 100% recommend! James Bond No Time to Die - 9/10Great send off for Daniel Craig first and foremost, the movie is alot about him and his bond. I think it makes a real strong finish in the series and the ending is a tear jerker. Would have loved Rami Malek's character to be a little more fleshed out and more important but at the same time I get it, he still did well with what he had. Red Notice - 7/10 Probably one of the better netflix movies ive seen to set the bar low. Overall enjoyable some good banter with Reynolds and The Rock and the ever gorgeous Gal. Some good twists and good action, fairly good film to turn off your brain and enjoy.

Novavax finally submitted for approval in the EU, could be a very good option for those who are hesitant about the new technologies of mRNA and viral vector vaccines. A lot less side effects reported in clinical trials, too.

Yes people who churn out faulty research for vested interest. There are like average 5-6 research papers published in a day. It's science not podcasting, it's a time consuming and thoughtful procedure. Obviously some of it is dodgy.

I'm fully onboard with the science of vaccination and climate change and generally everything else. However I can also spot BS within science. I've seen science manipulated for political purposes during the pandemic. For example in Australia there's an organisation called OzSage who are based on the UK independent Sage. This is comprised of epidemiologists, economists and other specialties and has been characterised by dishonesty, with ideology coming first and data/science second. They produce modelling designed to generate hysteria to apply political pressure towards extending lockdowns and continued border closures. None of their work would get published in a journal but it gets published in the newspapers to keep hysteria high. Everyone should think critically when presented with information.

Another German one. The lyrics are more real than depressing. Maybe a bit of both. The singer "Kummer" is actually the lead singer of "Kraftklub", which are one of my favourite German Bands. They have some of the best lyrics.