unicorn

Francis was the first pope who earned my respect during my lifetime, and the first to embody Christian ideals. One would think that Francis would only appoint cardinals whose views lined up with his at moving the church along from a reactionary elitist institution to one which embraces all, especially the poor and disadvantaged, but that wasn't necessarily the case. In particular, I hope that Cardinal Peter Erdo isn't elected the next pope. This is from today's New York Times: "...Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary, 72, an expert on canon law, is expected to be a front-runner among cardinals who long for a return to the conservatism of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. John Paul II named the cleric archbishop of Eszterdom-Budapest in 2002, and the following year gave him a cardinal hat, making him — at 50 — the youngest cardinal at the time...".

Strictly speaking, only one is the Republic of the Congo--namely the former French Congo (Congo-Brazzaville). The other is the Democratic Republic of the Congo--the former Belgian Congo (Congo-Kinshasa).

The train transfers require going through immigration twice (in and out, and getting/having an ETA or visa for anyone other than UK or Irish Republic citizens), as well as significant walking. Unlikely to save time, and costs ££.

It was late morning, around 11 AM. There were several km of travel, including two tunnels, and multiple crossings in which the bus had to wait for aircraft or other vehicles. I'd be surprised the trip could be done within 5 minutes even under the best circumstances. The buses were scheduled 10 minutes apart, so a one-minute wait would have been a very luckily short wait.

Rather ridiculous list IMHO. CDG is a convoluted mess, with poorly-connected terminals. Heathrow is among the worst. I recently (less than 2 days ago) had to go from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, and it involved a bus ride through various roads and tunnels. The ride itself was 17 minutes. Add to that an 8 minute wait for the bus. Plus, when one switches terminals one has to go through security all over again, meaning one essentially has to count on a good 40 minutes just to switch terminals. Gatwick is even worse. When connecting flights, you have to go through immigration as well as security all over again! (Most countries, including Europe, will require an ETA (essentially an eVisa) just to connect in Gatwick, even if you're not spending any time in the UK). I didn't even have to show my passport to go through immigration at LAX. A machine just scanned my eyes, and voila, they just said "You're done!". However, traffic at LAX can be very problematic. I really enjoy DCA.

No matter how many times I click "Delete and Report Spam" on my cell phone, I keep getting spam texts, especially from political organizations, but also from others (job offers, and so on). There are some data removal services which claim to at least "reduce" the amount of this spam, but I can't find any hard data about how much they reduce. Is it 90%? 20%? 50%? I'd only be interested in shelling out the $$ if the reduction is at least 80%. Anyone here have experience with these services? What kind of improvement can I expect?

I doubt that anyone on this website is so stupid as to think that travelers are fearful of being at Tesla dealerships or Tesla charging stations at the wrong time, thereby risking injury. (Of course, I'm sure the vandals in these situations prefer to perform their vandalism when they think no one's around to see them) Anyone with at least 12 neurons in his brain can figure out that it's simply revulsion for Trump and his policies. I even know Americans born in the USA who've left the country until Trump leaves office. If I'd been eligible for Belgian citizenship, it would be tempting to live in the southern Brussels suburbs.

I would say the contrary. Of course, no one can say with 100% certainty what is going on in the mind of the farmer, other than the farmer. Only an insane person believes he can read others' minds, and only an insane person would proclaim that he knows the farmer is being truthful when he says he doesn't regret selling the farm. One can only make deductions based on observable facts such his statement that he obtain some relief during the Covid-19 shutdowns, and by simply observing his ridiculous situation. I'm pretty sure that this was the point made by the videos the BBC took of his situation. Can I proclaim with 100% accuracy that I know what the farmer's really feeling? No, but I think the evidence makes it fairly obvious.

The dentist was a she. I do drink a fair amount of coffee (3-4 cups a day), so I do get tartar, but that's a separate issue. The American Dental Association recommends flossing once a day, and that's what I do: https://www.ada.org/resources/ada-library/oral-health-topics/floss "...The ADA recommends brushing twice a day and cleaning between teeth with floss (or another interdental cleaner) once a day...". Had she asked "How often do you floss?" and I answered "Once a day" and she responded with "Then in your case, I recommend flossing twice a day," then I would have considered that advice (although I might look up the evidence for that, since it's not on any official guideline). Last week, I met with a Belgian cousin, who's also one of these "Once I've made my mind up, don't bother me with facts" people. I told her that my husband and I would be taking the Eurostar to Paris in a few days. She quickly and emphatically corrected me: "You can't take the Eurostar to Paris. Only to London. You must be on the Thalys." I just let it go by, and didn't bother informing her that the Eurostar and Thalys had merged, and Thalys no longer exists. Fortunately, I have only one other hard-headed cousin. Both of them are anti-vaxxers. We didn't meet the other hard-headed cousin, who nearly died from COVID-19. They were ready to pull the plug on her respirator, and her daughter asked that they wait until she could return to Belgium from Switzerland. As it turned out, the anti-vaxxer cousin pulled through while waiting for her daughter to return. If you think the near-death experience would change her mind regarding vaccines, you'd be wrong. Hard facts are of little importance to these hard-headed people, even when the facts are staring them in the face. We met 5 other cousins during this trip, and the rest were fine. My husband could barely tolerate the hard-headed one. We also found out that I had one aunt, whom I didn't know too well, who was also anti-vaxxer. She died in 2021 of the illness. (The hard-headed one we met also did end up in the hospital with the illness, but not near-death) The long and the short of it, is that I try to avoid people who disregard facts when forming "opinions," and feel that any opinion is valid as long as someone else agrees. Extremely closed-minded people are toxic.

I remember from many years ago taking the train from between Rødby (Denmark) and Puttgarden (Germany) on an overnight ferry train. I looks as though that line has been replaced with bridge links since 2019. I guess train ferries are becoming a thing of the past. I wonder if they'll every build that Strait of Messina Bridge.

Railway stations in Europe are among the most common cruising sites for Europeans.

I just looked up that Paul Chambers on Google Images: He reminds me of Littleface from those Dick Tracy comics...

That's an oxymoron. If you're granted bail, you're not in custody. My understanding is that he didn't insult the King, but rather criticized military funding/propriety.

Well, at least those who succumb won't pass on the stupid genes...

We are traveling in Europe, and using VPN set for Los Angeles. Yet sometimes some websites we use recognize that we're in Europe, and have left us a note blocking us, including the Los Angeles Times and WOW Presents (which hosts RuPaul's Drag Race). Even when we're signed up in the same city, I notice that some days those website let us have access, and sometimes they don't. Do some websites have the ability to "see through" VPN, and is there a way to get around that?

As far as I can tell, replacing testosterone to above-normal levels has not been studied in terms of cardiovascular risk. However, it is known that replacing testosterone levels to normal levels does NOT increase the risk of a heart attack (or stroke). https://www.acc.org/Latest-in-Cardiology/Journal-Scans/2023/06/20/14/42/cardiovascular-safety-of-testosterone "...Testosterone therapy in middle-aged and older men with hypogonadism and low testosterone levels was not associated with increased overall cardiovascular risk, when compared to placebo....".

I talk about Putin throwing people out of windows because he does. Sorry, I'm not an angry baboon. 😁 Your repeating yourself just makes you look stupid and desperate.

Do you think you were somehow more clever when saying this the 2nd time? 🙄

I just don't understand the joke. Maybe I'm too slow, and you can explain it to me.

That's rich, coming from the Tsar of Topic Diverters, who derails a discussion on HIV funding into Burma, Libya, and probably the fauna of Antarctica, too. Also the King of Hypocrites, apparently. The whole point is that while @PeterRS bring up facts, you bring up lies, as you often (usually?) do. A lie does not become a "possible fact" just because you pronounce it as an "opinion." If you want to say "Putin is a great guy," well, that's certainly an opinion. But if you say "The earth is flat," that's simply a factually false statement. It's not a valid "difference of opinion." It's not a valid discussion when you bring up lies.

Yes. Of course, the US's con-man-in-chief is a great example of that. He's lived his whole life conning people into doing his bidding, saying what he thinks they want to hear, then leaving them out in the cold. The same could be said of probably every religion. Just tell people what they want to hear, and watch them convert and shell out money. The most blatant examples in modern times include Joseph Smith, a professional con-man and thief who, it was known, provided fake "translations" of gibberish to found the Mormon Church. And don't get me started on Scientology. We now know most of the stories of the Bible can't be true, but look at all of those who believe--because they want to believe regardless of what the facts are.

It's pretty incredible what he expects people on this website to believe. Probably the only way to explain it is that he comes from a country in which anyone who writes something truthful which contradicts Putin's narrative will find himself thrown out a high window. If you even express it verbally, you'll find yourself in deep trouble. So his countrymen are used to just accept anything they read in print, and not bother to check things out for themselves. For some reason, he seems to believe people reading this forum will behave just like his fellow countrymen do--brainlessly.