(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . GNR for Tuesday October 24, 2023 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-24 Having Respectful Religious Debate. I can’t embed this video but I highly recommend watching it. The discussion is about how atheists should talk to people who have toxic religious beliefs. The tactics are applicable to other conversations, such as with MAGA acquaintances (who probably also have toxic religious beliefs). There is a massive difference between the belief and the believer. 90 some odd percent of the time the believers are better than their beliefs. What is our purpose in having the conversation? Are we trying to change their mind? That is incredibly difficult and is going to require trust building and a long time. Daniel Dennett: "There is no polite way to suggest to someone that they have devoted their life to a folly." Perhaps we are just trolling them? That may be fun (until we get punched in the nose) but is not going to be productive. Finally, are we playing to an audience, hoping to expose their arguments and beliefs to others? This is a major purpose of the Atheist Experience call-in show. Fundamentalists often call in to show off their talking points and they invariably end up snared in contradictions and logical errors. This doesn’t often convince them but the audience gets to see the bullshit behind the confident pronouncements. Brian Winter identifies five reasons for optimism. Latin America is far away from most of the problems of the rest of the world But it is near enough to take advantage of the good things It’s a potential renewable energy powerhouse The politics aren’t as bad as you think (see next two articles) It has embraced the digital revolution Final thoughts “It’s always easy and safer to be negative about Latin America,” the longtime regional editor of The Economist, Michael Reid, once told me. To the drab record of the last decade, one can add several other caveats: Climate change and El Niño will continue to play havoc with the region’s economies. The seemingly never-ending spread of organized crime, fueled by demand for drugs from the United States and Europe, is now wreaking havoc—and destabilizing politics—in countries that previously saw little trouble, like Chile and Ecuador. Life is still difficult enough for ordinary people that record numbers of migrants from LAC are pouring across the U.S. border. Corruption, inequality and political mismanagement may prevent gains from improving the lives of the working classes. But the bottom line is basically this: The external context for LAC right now is so favorable, on a variety of fronts, that it is overcoming other headwinds. If the policy mix was better, the region might be growing 4% or 5% a year. But 2% or perhaps a little better still feels like progress. That growth, plus the investments being made, might be enough to create a little more well-being among the region’s citizens—which could in turn help the politics get better. It sounds, in other words, like the beginnings of a virtuous circle—not an overwhelmingly positive one, but better than the status quo. “Overall, I’m bullish,” Claure said. He’s not alone. Far-right populist Javier Milei fails to win first round of Argentina’s presidential election The eccentric far-right populist Javier Milei has failed to win the first round of Argentina’s presidential election, with the centrist finance minister Sergio Massa unexpectedly beating his radical challenger. Supporters of Milei, a potty-mouthed political outsider described as an Argentinian mashup of Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro and Boris Johnson, had hoped he was heading for a sensational outright victory similar to Bolsonaro’s shock triumph in Brazil in 2018. However, with nearly 99% of votes counted, it was his Peronist rival Massa who won the day with 36.6% of the 27m votes cast. It’s hard to imagine a Peronista is the saviour of Argentina. Venezuela takes step towards recognised elections Venezuelan government officials and representatives of the opposition have signed an agreement which lays some of the groundwork for presidential elections that will be recognised by both sides to be held… In a joint statement, the US, the EU, Canada and the UK welcomed the agreement, which they described as a "necessary step in the continuation of an inclusive dialogue process and the restoration of democracy in Venezuela"… The US has a vested interest in the crisis in Venezuela easing as the dire state of the economy in the Andean country has driven more than seven million Venezuelans to emigrate, with many heading to the United States. Venezuela also has the world's largest proven oil reserves and a scaling back of US sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry would benefit both countries economically. The Biden Administration is trying to end the cold war with Venezuela as it did the hot war in Afghanistan. Sanctions didn’t work on Maduro (they never do). The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is one of three sprawling but sparsely populated nations that have U.S. ties governed by so-called Compacts of Free Association (COFAs), under which Washington is responsible for their defense and provides economic assistance, while gaining exclusive military access to strategic swathes of ocean. China tried to queer this deal and failed. The Biden Administration knows how to do foreign policy. Dipshits Being Called Out 'He's outrageous, he loves to shock people': Aussie billionaire Pratt's dealings with tfg revealed in secret audio 60 Minutes, in a joint investigation with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, has obtained audio recordings of Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, revealing his extraordinary dealings with former US president Donald Trump… Pratt said in the audio: "Yeah and Trump said, 'You know that Ukraine phone call? That was nothing compared to what I usually do'. He said, 'that Ukraine phone call, that's nothing compared to what we usually talk about'."… "He knows exactly what to say and what not to say so that he avoids jail, but gets so close to it that it looks to everyone like he's breaking the law," Pratt said in the audio. Pratt has given tfg millions. In return, he got all sorts of secret information. Silvio Berlusconi heirs weigh up fate of his mostly worthless art collection The heirs of Silvio Berlusconi inherited billions from his empire but now they are faced with a dilemma: what to do with his vast collection of mostly worthless artwork, including paintings of nude women and the Madonna, stored in a warehouse opposite his home near Milan. The former prime minister, who died in June at the age of 86, reportedly amassed the 25,000 works during the final years of his life, buying the majority from late-night shopping channels in his quest to become a top collector. Berlusconi was the role model for tfg. Apparently his taste was about the same. Random Stories that Caught My Eye A 21-Year-Old Just Solved a 2000-Year-Old Mystery In 'World-Historical' Breakthrough A 21-year-old computer scientist named Luke Farritor just became the first person in nearly 2,000 years to read words from a papyrus scroll that was buried under more than 60 feet of volcanic ash after the disastrous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. There are a bunch of these scrolls. They were carbonized and disintegrate if someone tries to unroll them. Eddie Bauer changed its logo because Gen Z doesn't read cursive My kids don’t read or write cursive. Scientists Discover Ghost of Ancient Mega-Plate That Disappeared 20 Million Years Ago A long-lost tectonic plate dubbed “Pontus” that was a quarter of the size of the Pacific Ocean was discovered by chance by scientists in Borneo. How can a tectonic plate ¼ the size of the Pacific could be hidden in Borneo? I’m a biologist, not a geologist. China’s Return to Coal Looks Set to Be Short-Lived Himalayan floods are filling rivers and dams once again, bringing the nation closer to its emissions peak. There has been angst about the failure of China to reduce its coal usage. They have been installing solar and other alternatives at a great rate, but because of the drought in the mountains their hydroelectricity output has dropped and offset the other good stuff. A Recession Is No Longer the Consensus In WSJ survey, economists lower recession probability below 50% and say Fed is finished raising interest rates What Else Might be Driving Sentiment? From an economic standpoint, things are much better than people seem to be willing to admit: The rate of inflation has plummeted by two-thirds from 9% to a little over 3%, but 60% of respondents believe inflation is “continuing to increase.” The economy is not on the right track, even as Americans’ Net Worth Surged by Most in Decades During Pandemic… People’s perceptions do not match the data. Why?... While the past few decades have been challenging to all media companies, the 2010s seems to be when they shifted their online presence to a much more aggressive stance. Perhaps most significant is in the way coverage became increasingly “click-bait” oriented via headlines filled with emotionally loaded language: Words that conveyed “Disgust” rose 29% and “Sadness” was 54% higher; words that reflected “Anger” were up 104%. The biggest gain was from perhaps the most emotionally loaded word: “Fear” skyrocketed by a huge 150%. And the words expressing “Joy” or “Neutral?” Down 14% and 30% respectively. Barry Ritholtz found some interesting data on the mass media. Most of us know something is wrong, and this analysis confirms our suspicions. Soaking in a hot tub has the ‘same health benefits’ as going for a 30-minute jog, scientists reveal Scamp and Buster like getting hot in the sun, not the tub Buster and Scamp don’t think this is Good News. They love going for long walks (I don’t do 30 minute jogs any more). When we get back I hose them down in the tub to get rid of ticks and dirt. They don’t approve of that. 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