Published: 19 December 2018

The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) presented the linear no-threshold hypothesis (LNT) in 1956, which indicates that the lowest doses of ionizing radiation are hazardous in proportion to the dose. This spurious hypothesis was not based on solid data. NAS put forward the BEIR VII report in 2006 as evidence supporting LNT. The study described in the report used data of the Life Span Study (LSS) of A-bomb survivors. Estimation of exposure doses was based on initial radiation (5%) and neglected residual radiation (10%), leading to underestimation of the doses. Residual radiation mainly consisted of fallout that poured down onto the ground along with black rain. The black-rain-affected areas were wide. Not only A-bomb survivors but also not-in-the-city control subjects (NIC) must have been exposed to residual radiation to a greater or lesser degree. Use of NIC as negative controls constitutes a major failure in analyses of LSS. Another failure of LSS is its neglect of radiation adaptive responses which include low-dose stimulation of DNA damage repair, removal of aberrant cells via stimulated apoptosis, and elimination of cancer cells via stimulated anticancer immunity. LSS never incorporates consideration of this possibility. When LSS data of longevity are examined, a clear J-shaped dose-response, a hallmark of radiation hormesis, is apparent. Both A-bomb survivors and NIC showed longer than average lifespans. Average solid cancer death ratios of both A-bomb survivors and NIC were lower than the average for Japanese people, which is consistent with the occurrence of radiation adaptive responses (the bases for radiation hormesis), essentially invalidating the LNT model. Nevertheless, LNT has served as the basis of radiation regulation policy. If it were not for LNT, tremendous human, social, and economic losses would not have occurred in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident. For many reasons, LNT must be revised or abolished, with changes based not on policy but on science.

Thread of notes comparing the 990 tax forms of

• Samaritan's Purse (2019). CEO: Franklin Graham.
• World Vision (2018). CEO: Edgar Sandoval Sr., previously Rich Stearns.
• Compassion International (2018). CEO: Santiago "Jim" Mellado.

State legislatures should initiate and oversee their own election audit. Anything less will leave half of America questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election.
By Margot Cleveland

According to a study last year commissioned by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, GPS has about $1 billion a day in economic impact in the US. Its reach is, simply, mind-blowing.

"Gauging the overall value of GPS is nearly impossible," writes Greg Milner in Pinpoint, a 2016 book about how the space-based system came to be and the effect it's having on the world. "It has become difficult to untangle the worth of GPS from the worth of everything." //

"The timing aspect of this is probably more widely used than the where-are-you aspect," says Goward. //

The origins of GPS stretch back to secret work by the Department of Defense in the 1970s, in a quest for precision targeting. As Milner recounts it, GPS chief architect Brad Parkinson summed up that goal in the phrase "Drop five bombs in the same hole." //

In 1983, after a Korean Air Lines passenger jet strayed into Soviet airspace and got shot down, killing 269 people, President Ronald Reagan declassified GPS to give civilian aircraft access to the navigation signals. Almost a decade later, GPS famously earned its stripes as a military resource during Operation Desert Storm, when it helped guide US and allied forces across desert expanses to a swift victory over Iraq during the Gulf War. //

Though the funding to keep things running goes through the Pentagon -- the Space Force GPS program had a 2020 fiscal year budget of $1.71 billion -- there's civilian oversight as well. The Defense Department and the Transportation Department co-chair the US government's National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing, which coordinates GPS-related matters across federal agencies and includes representatives from Boeing, Garmin, Google, Ohio State and Stanford.

Note the keywords in that committee name: positioning, navigation and timing, or PNT. Where you are, where you're going, and when the signals hit a receiver. It's a term that's inescapable when you're talking with folks who live and breathe GPS.

There is abundant evidence showing how hydrocarbon interests have worked to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about nuclear power. Since the stories are spread over the 80 year period since atomic fission was discovered to be an incredibly dense source of heat, they can be overlooked or forgotten. For obvious reasons, there has been some effort to obscure the truth so researchers have to dig and keep working to get attention for their findings.

It’s completely logical to believe that at least some of the people whose jobs, wealth and power stem from one of the world’s largest enterprises recognize and respond to the competitive threat from nuclear energy.

It doesn’t take much of an exercise in deductive thinking to recognize that some of the people who have financial reasons to discourage nuclear energy will build support for their cause by making financial contributions to respected charities. Buying friends among groups that campaign for wildlife or for environmental protection is an investment that can provide major returns when it protects hydrocarbon markets from nuclear energy competition. //

Even though industrial civilization depends on energy and fuel supply enterprises are enormous, PROFITS from the business are elusive. It is well known to be a “boom and bust” business. Busts nearly always occur as a result of an overabundance (glut). When supplies exceed demand by just a few percentage points, it doesn’t take long for storage systems to fill up.

When that happens, prices fall precipitously.

Anticipation of a glut from new sources of supply can be enough to cause a substantial market price reduction. Conversely, anticipation of future shortages can produce almost unbelievable cash flows as prices rise when customers build inventories in fear of insufficient supplies.

Nuclear energy continues to pose the threat of making enormous capital investments worth less. When a entire countries like France or Sweden can shift almost all electricity production from coal and oil to nuclear over a 15 year period, it makes bankers, fossil fuel CEOs, sheiks, oligarchs, prime ministers, and others take action to prevent the possibility that others will “get it.”

I’m not sure how to overcome this obstacle to developing clean, abundant, reliable and affordable power, but I am hoping that increased recognition will help.

Dungeness B nuclear power station, which is in Dungeness nature reserve on the south coast, is home to numerous species and rare habitats. Visitors to this area will find Dungeness Bird Observatory in the shadow of the nuclear power station, and yet this same area is also popular with the Jack Snipe, Sandwich Tern, Peregrine Falcon, Black Redstart, Kittiwake and many more diverse and rare birds. ​Ecologists have found the​ Brown Carder Bee Bombus humilis​,​ a species​ that Buglife and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust get excited about​, ​within 0.5km ​of the power station.​ People also live happily next to the power plant. Despite what the RSPB claims will come to pass if Sizewell C is built, the area around Dungeness power plant is actually teeming with life.

Why is wildlife around nuclear power stations actually thriving?

One reason is that these sites often lead to habitat creation and increased protection, for example reptile mitigation strategies at Sizewell C when it goes ahead. I spoke to independent wildlife consultant Jonathan Cranfield about this. “Nuclear power comes with plenty of room for biodiversity, semi natural habitats and wildlife,” he told me. “The construction of Sizewell C offers significant opportunities for rewilding, habitat creation and management. It’s vital for local biodiversity gains, as it brings with it extensive ecological monitoring, plus clean and reliable power for millions of people. Several power stations around the country are in fact places that rare birds like peregrines call home.” //

On its website the RSPB states that: “our campaigning is underpinned by expert analysis, practical demonstration and conservation delivery — but we campaign as vigorously as we always did to ensure the next generation can enjoy wildlife as we do.” However, their stance on nuclear power shows the opposite to be true.

Just last year the RSPB approved a gas power station on its Saltholme reserve, 100 metres from a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Stockton. The charity appears to support gas, while opposing 30 energy projects in the UK, including onshore and offshore wind, wave and tidal projects, carbon capture storage (CCS) and nuclear.

As the planet warms, we will lose more and more species, many of them birds, unless we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions rapidly. We cannot do this without new nuclear.

Evidence shows that nuclear is much safer than the alternatives that we currently depend upon. The Sizewell B nuclear plant, which I visited this summer for a swim, is a beautiful place that is surrounded by wildlife. It’s rare that we hear the success stories of nuclear and nature, but consider the story of the manatees in Florida that benefited from the warm water around the Crystal River nuclear plant so significantly that when the plant was decommissioned marine biologists worried that the numbers of manatees would decrease.

I have come to accept that my previous advocating for 100% renewables (something that The Green Party, which I am no longer a member of, still does) is not based on science. Germany has invested heavily in renewable technologies while phasing out its nuclear plants, but research has found that it will have the EU’s fourth most carbon intensive electricity grid by 2030. If their energy experiment had succeeded, I’d be advocating for it.

Earlier on Saturday the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a short decision ordering dismissal of the complaint filed by Congressman Mike Kelly and seven others challenging the legality of “no excuse” mail-in voting adopted by the Pennsylvania Legislature. The complaint alleged that such a system violated express provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which require in-person voting subject only to very limited exceptions for “absent electors” within four very narrow classes.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not address the merits of the allegations. It dismissed the complaint solely on the equitable doctrine of “laches,” which can be applied when one party to a dispute is seen by the Court as having “sat on its rights” with regard to a legal claim, and the opposing party would be unfairly injured to allow the party asserting its rights to prevail after having failed to act when it was first aware of the claim. //

But here are a couple questions to consider when taking into account of the language used by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court:

The defendants and allegedly bad actors in the allegations of the Complaint are Pennsylvania state officials. How are they injured here?

What does the application of the “doctrine of laches” do to vindicate their interest?

What interests do they have in operating a facially invalid election scheme?

What interests do the voters of Pennsylvania have in maintaining a facially unconstitutional voting scheme?

And, as the Chief Justice of the Court made clear in his partial concurrence and partial dissent:

“laches and prejudice can never be permitted to amend the Constitution.” Sprague v. Casey, 520 Pa. 38, 47, 550 A.2d 184, 188 (1988) //

DaveM_2
2 hours ago edited
Another case of circular reasoning. Prior to this election you could not sue because you could not show harm. Today after you have been harmed you cant sue because you didn't previously sue.

The wounds of trauma are apparent in families, communities, and nations around the world. This includes trauma created by wars, conflict between people groups, civil disturbances, crimes, natural disasters, and epidemics.

SIM Trauma Healing is a church- and community-based outreach that equips believers with Bible-based and mental health principles to care for victims of trauma in their communities. Our vision is to overcome gospel-barriers created by trauma through biblical, compassionate trauma care and to see every person experience healing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Compelled by God’s great love and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we seek to equip the church to contend with brokenness and to proclaim the crucified and risen Christ.

Trauma Healing’s first lessons were drafted in 2001 by SIL members, mental health professionals, Bible translators, Scripture engagement consultants, and church leaders from war zones across Africa. Now, they have spread to every continent and have been translated into many languages.

In 2014, SIM members were trained in Trauma Healing and the lessons were implemented among the South Sudanese refugees in Kenya. This was soon followed by the training of leaders in Liberia in response to the spiritual and psycho-social crisis after the Ebola outbreak. God is using this ministry to engage people with the gospel in deeply meaningful ways.

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Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways announced today that it would launch daily scheduled flights to Israel’s primary city Tel Aviv. Flights between the Gulf state and Israel represent more than just a symbol of peace between them. These daily flights and the new relationship between the oil producer and the Jewish homeland will present plenty of business opportunities for both nations.

When Kyle Becker heard about the "glitchy" computer program in Antrim County, Michigan, the one that tried to give 6,000 Trump votes to Biden, he started doing research into the system. He ended up finding an amazing amount of highly disturbing information. The Dominion system has been known for some time to be defective, yet 28 states use it. This post is a compilation of Becker's information, both in his own tweets and in one other person's tweet, about what's going on with that system:

Thread of notes comparing the 990 tax forms of

• Samaritan's Purse (2019). CEO: Franklin Graham.
• World Vision (2018). CEO: Edgar Sandoval Sr., previously Rich Stearns.
• Compassion International (2018). CEO: Santiago "Jim" Mellado.
  👇
  Number of employees / total revenue / profit / net assets:
  Samaritan's Purse: 3,305 / $734,112,873 / $44,985,504 / $701,956,825
  World Vision: 1,049 / $1,135,591,490 / $-13,516,839 / 193,274,099
  Compassion: 1,196. / $953,223,395 / $20,603,361 / 268,592,542
• designates high.

As Briand compared the number of deaths per cause during that period in 2020 to 2018, she noticed that instead of the expected drastic increase across all causes, there was a significant decrease in deaths due to heart disease. Even more surprising, as seen in the graph below, this sudden decline in deaths is observed for all other causes. //

The study found that “This trend is completely contrary to the pattern observed in all previous years.” In fact, “the total decrease in deaths by other causes almost exactly equals the increase in deaths by COVID-19.”

Briand concludes that the COVID-19 death toll in the United States is misleading and that deaths from other diseases are being categorized as COVID-19 deaths. //

Today, on November 27th, The News-Letter officially posted their reason for retracting the article, stating inaccuracies in the analysis. I am frustrated at the explanation, and I think it is disrespectful to Dr. Briand’s hard work putting data together and doing an honest analysis. If her analysis was to be contradicted, then at least an equal-level analysis should be done to provide more data and thus a new conclusion. Dr. Briand and her work deserve such respect.
I have received many messages asking the reason for taking the article down, and so I would like to officially express my opinions here. I even got emails saying that thanks to me, people now will not be wearing masks or practicing social distancing. They called me “a COVID denier and a minimizer” and that I have no idea the damage and the lives cost in me writing such an article. I was devastated to receive such accusations, but I stand my ground. The goal is never to undermine the effects of COVID-19 but to suggest a possible over-exaggeration in death numbers due to the pandemic.

Trump got 11 million more votes than when he won in 2016, receiving more votes than any incumbent running for re-election. //

Bellwether states like Florida, Ohio and Iowa went more to Trump than they had in 2016. Usually the Rust Belt states would go with Ohio as they had in 2016. As Basham notes, there have only been one who “lost” the Electoral College after winning those three states since 1852 – Richard Nixon in 1960 but that’s when there was a lot of question about “help” received by John Kennedy.

Moreover while there were spikes in exactly the cities that Biden needed in the critical swing states, there weren’t comparable spikes in comparable cities. Because while Biden supposedly won more votes than anyone in history (despite not being able to get out people to fill his circles in anemic events), he “won a record low of 17 percent of counties; he only won 524 counties, as opposed to the 873 counties Obama won in 2008.” But supposedly had more total votes. What that says is the increase was where it needed to be, not across the board, in what one would have to say was very unusual.

As I’ve written before, the non-polling metrics had all been going to Trump including party registrations trends; the respective primary votes; candidate enthusiasm; social media followings; broadcast and digital media ratings; online searches; the number of (especially small) donors; and the number of individuals betting on each candidate. So you would have to believe that all these historically accurate measures all suddenly were wrong to believe that Trump lost.

Basham also points to a variety of different irregularities that require answers including:

1. Why late on election night did swing states stop counting votes when Trump was way ahead? Why were some observers stopped from getting to viably observe the counting?

2. Unusual vote counts coming in batches of hundreds of thousands with unusually high numbers for Biden.

3. “Historically low absentee ballot rejection rates despite the massive expansion of mail voting.”

4. Witnesses reporting ballots in pristine condition (not folded), missing votes, invalid residential addresses.

5. In Georgia, Biden overtook Trump with 89 percent of the votes counted. For the next 53 batches of votes counted, Biden led Trump by the same exact 50.05 to 49.95 percent margin in every single batch. It is particularly perplexing that all statistical anomalies and tabulation abnormalities were in Biden’s favor.