Cultures Archives -

Will We Ever Eradicate Fake News from our Society?

May 26, 2018 By Charlie Edgar Leave a Comment

After President Trump gave out “fake news” awards to organizations like CNN, New York Times, ABC News, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post in January 2018, one might think that the fake news has subsided – even a little bit. Unfortunately, this is not the case at all.

Let us examine some of these major screw-ups by supposedly the best news organizations that America has to offer.

In January 2017, right after President Trump had been sworn in, a Time Magazine journalist reported that the Martin Luther King, Jr bust had been removed from the Oval Office. OOOPS – The MLK bust had been moved to the other side of the Oval Office. President Trump returned the Winston Churchhill bust to the Oval Office after President Obama insulted our oldest ally by removing it in the first place. Notice there was no outrage when Obama did that …. Time Magazine posted FAKE NEWS!!!

CNN reported that Donald Trump and his son, Donald Trump, Jr had sneak peek access to hacked Wikileaks documents. This was an out and out LIE. CNN posted FAKE NEWS and had to admit their error!!!

Washington Post reported that a President Trump rally in Pensacola Florida was empty. They posted images of empty seats on social media that were taken before the rally started. In reality, the rally was sold-out (as all Trump rallies are) and Washington Post LIED about the rally. Washington Post reported FAKE NEWS and had to admit their mistake!!!!!!

CNN falsely edited a video of President Trump overfeeding Choi fish during a visit Japan. Yet they neglected to show that President Trump fed the fish in the exact same manner as the Japanese Prime Minister. Seriously, can CNN be any more petty? CNN posted FAKE NEWS and GOT CAUGHT!!!

Newsweek FALSELY reported that Polish First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda did not shake President Trump’s hand. Yet there are dozens of pictures online showing that they did shake hands. Can we be more petty? Newsweek posted FAKE NEWS and got caught!!!!

Perhaps some of these efforts can help us get rid of Fake News once and for all.

Elon Musk’s new company ‘Pravda’ would rate journalists’ credibility

In said meltdown, he went after the press, suggesting he might create a system to rate the media and name the site Pravda—which was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and is today run by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. It also means “truth.” Elon Musk’s new company ‘Pravda’ would rate journalists’ credibility | Big Think

Researchers call for large-scale scientific investigation into fake news

The indictment of 13 Russians in the operation of a “troll farm” that spread false information related to the 2016 U.S. presidential election has renewed the spotlight on the power of “fake news” to influence public opinion. Now, an Indiana University faculty member who studies the spread of misinformation online is joining prominent legal scholars, social scientists and researchers in a global “call to action” in the fight against it. Researchers call for large-scale scientific investigation into fake news — ScienceDaily

How artificial intelligence can detect – and create – fake news

Researchers already know that online fake news spreads much more quickly and more widely than real news. My research has similarly found that online posts with fake medical information get more views, comments and likes than those with accurate medical content. In an online world where viewers have limited attention and are saturated with content choices, it often appears as though fake information is more appealing or engaging to viewers. How artificial intelligence can detect – and create – fake news

We Cry over Gun Victims yet IGNORE 3 Times As Many Suicide Victims

March 17, 2018 By Charlie Edgar Leave a Comment

We have all witnessed the horrific tragedy that occurred in Parkland, Florida. And unfortunately within minutes of the event, we started seeing the political spins about gun control from both sides of the aisle.

Those emotions resulted in a massive March 14 nationwide walk-out in remembrance of the 17 victims. But that walk-out evolved into a political outcry for more gun control.

Yet there are no tears or outcries for suicide victims.

3 Times More Suicide Victims than Gun Homicides

Why do we scream out so loudly for more gun control and cry so deeply for the victims, while ignoring the huge number of victims of suicides?

In 2016, there were 3 times more suicides in America than gun homicides. In 2014, there were almost four times more suicides. The number of annual suicides grew over 30% from 2008 to 2016.

How many nationwide walk-outs have there been for the victims of suicide?

I’ll give you a hint – it’s a very low number

Listed below are the numbers of suicides that have occurred each year from 1999-2016 in the United States as compared to the numbers of gun homicides.

The Deception of Gun Violence Numbers

When you perform a Google search for gun violence or gun related deaths, you will find data that INCLUDES suicides. Thus, you wind up with numbers that are three or four times as high.

Countless gun control articles out there refer to these inflated numbers as they talk about gun shooting incidents to support their argument. They will use the terms “deaths by gun violence” or “gun related deaths” so they can legally include the inflated numbers that contain suicides.

But can we really consider a gun related suicide as a violent death?

Do we consider an act where someone hung themselves as a violent act? Don’t think so …

How about when someone cuts their wrists, is this considered a “knife related death”?

Sadly, suicides will continue to be ignored by the public UNTIL they can satisfy someone’s political agenda.

Special thanks to our References:

Suicide data found here

Gun data found here

PROOF that Hollywood has No Clue What People Want

March 15, 2018 By Charlie Edgar Leave a Comment

Hollywood goes to great measures to tell us how we should live, how we should think, and who we should voter for.

The irony is that if they know so much, then why can’t they figure what we Americans like?

Hollywood SUCKS at Picking the Year’s Best Picture

Over the last 20 years, only once has an Oscar Best Picture Winner actually been a box office winner. In fact, only once has their Best Picture Winner cracked the Top 100 on the all time Domestic List.

Let’s look at the List that these know-it-alls have picked over the last 20 years, compared to what the year’s box office winner was:

Wonder when those idiots in Hollywood will figure out their real audience?

If the above table isn’t enough proof, how about the plummeting TV ratings of the last few Academy Award Shows?

People in the days of Ancient Rome considered actors and those involved in theater as being the lowest forms of their society. Today we are seeing why the Romans felt that way.

7 Controversial Theories about Christianity and Judaism

March 11, 2018 By Charlie Edgar Leave a Comment

Some of these fringe theories about religion are extremely controversial, but at the same time, they are just too fascinating to ignore. They also offer us a brand new perspective on what would’ve been just another boring orthodox doctrine, regardless of how kooky that perspective could be.

The Roman Empire Invented Jesus

Even though there has already been considerable evidence that supports the existence of Jesus, there are still doubts as to whether or not he even lived at all. There is one of those Christ Myth theories which claim that Jesus was created by the Roman Empire during the first century to suppress Jewish insurrections. , the controversial biblical academic Joseph Atwill claims that the Roman Empire created Jesus in the first century to quell Jewish insurrections.

According to Joseph Atwill, who is a controversial bible academic, the Romans already knew the Jews were eagerly waiting on their messiah to lead a revolution against their rulers. Rather than starting up yet another physical campaign, the Romans tried using psychological warfare, and created a religious system that emphasized the total opposite of rebellion.

Black People Are Cursed Because Ham Sodomized Noah

All through history, black people have put up with different versions of oppression and discrimination. One main reason for this was due to an old belief that they directly descended from Canaan, who was the grandson of Noah, whom Noah was said to have cursed right after the great Flood.

The Bible claims that Noah’s son Ham saw him naked and drunk while in his tent. Noah was then said to curse Ham’s son Canaan by making him serve the direct descendants of his other two sons, Japheth and Shem. The Bible is very fuzzy on whether Ham did other things to bring on this curse. Some texts merely claim that Ham mocked his father’s nudity and drunkenness. Others say that he actually slept with Noah’s wife, who was his own mother. And then others believe that Ham sodomized his father.

Devil Had Sex with Eve

In a very bizarre interpretation of the biblical book Genesis, this “Serpent Seed Theory” states that the devil actually tricked Eve to do more than just eating the forbidden fruit, he convinced her to have sex with him as well.

Eve later informs God that this serpent “beguiled” her, and there are those who say that these words really meant “seduced” and not only “deceived.” The punishment that the serpent received from God (where he lost his legs and now crawls on his stomach for all of eternity) implies that he once had a human-like body.

Jesus Used Marijuana to Help Work His Miracles

There are several different religions all over the world that have utilized psychoactive plants or entheogens for their sacred rituals. Jesus himself could have used some of these plants to conduct his miracles, according to some theories.

Proponents claim that the anointing oil used by Jesus consisted of a large amount of “keneh-bosem.” This mystery substance is believed by some to be either cannabis or calamus. Jesus actually could’ve healed thousands of people by using the medicinal properties of marijuana. By anointing himself along with his disciples with this cannabis mixture could have created the religious experiences that propelled him as a miraculous man.

Buddhism actually Influenced Christianity

Similar to the way that Jesus spent “lost years” traveling about the Near East prior to studying in India and Tibet, this amazing theory claims that Buddhism and Christianity are similar enough for monks to preach their Buddhist tenets directly to natives of Palestine. And then these doctrines were adopted by Jesus along with his followers in their brand new religion.

Even though Buddhist monks contacted the Western world several centuries prior to the birth of Jesus Christ, extending into parts of the Mediterranean and as far as Greece, there are actually very few scholars who really believe Buddhism influenced Christianity, at least throughout the inception of the latter.

Today’s Jews Didn’t Directly Descend From The Tribes Of Israel

In another controversial argument that undermines the Israeli claims on Palestine, Tel Aviv University’s Shlomo Sand believes that today’s modern Jewish people are not able to claim Palestine as their own land. This is because that they did not descend from those ancient Israelites to begin with.

Sand believes in the theory—which first appeared during the 19th century—that the Jews of today came from the Khazar Khaganate. This empire from central Europe existed from the 7th to the 10th centuries, and their peoples converted to Judaism in a very big way. After the empire perished, their peoples dispersed into various areas of Europe and converted many of the locals around them, resulting in a very non-homogenous Jewish group comprised of several races. Sand also makes the claim that Palestinians are the true descendants of these ancient Israelites, and then they converted to Islam later.

Evidence opposing Sand’s claim includes DNA tests that indicate today’s Jewish people have common genes that are easily traced back to the Levantine area—which includes Israel.

All Peoples Descended From The Jews

There is one interesting fringe theory which states that the British are actually descendants of the Jews. This Two-House or Ephraimite Theory goes even further, as it claims that the non-Jewish Christians of today, along with all of mankind actually descended directly from the Israel’s ten lost tribes.

This belief comes from the very fringes of Messianic Judaism, where their followers believe that Jesus is the Messiah. It’s based on many passages from the bible where God has promised to have Jewish people’s descendants be as “numerous as the sands of the sea.” Thus, the ten tribes of Israel scattered after their defeat at the hands of the Assyrians as a fulfillment of that promise.

They believe that the Jewish descendants further scattered and settled into different regions of the globe all through the ages.

6 Controversies That Will Change How We View the Bible

March 7, 2018 By Charlie Edgar 1 Comment

There is certainly no other book in existence that creates as controversy as the Bible. It typically pits those who believe its works against those we don’t and also pits biblical scholars against one another. This leads to the biggest controversy of all – and that is whether or not the Bible can be considered as an authentic historical document. Sadly, in some cases, it is not so much that people are claiming to debate God’s words on principle; they are actually fighting out of self-interest, their careers, and money.

God’s Wife

According to specific archaeological findings and a few references contained in the Hebrew Bible, there are some biblical scholars that God actually had a wife named Asherah. They believe that the ancient Israelites paid worship to both of them. A historian named Raphael Patai was the first to propose this God wife theory in 1967.

Then in 2012, a researcher named Francesca Stavrakopoulou reintroduced this theory, claiming there is evidence from several ancient texts. Stavrakopoulou says that Asherah’s statue had been worshiped within Yahweh’s temple located in Jerusalem. The Book of Kings even discusses women at this temples making ritual garments in the name of Asherah.

Others aren’t quite as convinced. Andy Rau from the BibleGateway Blog states that there is no biblical evidence at all that God had this wife. To say otherwise, he feels, is to start a conspiracy theory.

The Location Of The Trial Of Jesus

Even though it is one of the most vital scenes that is depicted in the Bible, archaeologists simply cannot agree on the location of Jesus’s trial. When the Tower of David Museum was undergoing expansion in Jerusalem at the turn of the last century, several archaeologists thought that they discovered the foundation walls and sewage system from the palace of Herod the Great. Thus, there are many who believe that the trial of Jesus had been held there prior to his crucifixion. During those times, Herod was serving as the King of Judea and was appointed by Rome. The apparent remains of his ancient palace were discovered underneath an abandoned prison adjacent to this modern museum.

Although this debate is far from settled, the prison is still open to the public. “There is, of course, no inscription stating [the trial] happened [at the prison site where Herod’s palace was unearthed], but everything—archaeological, historical and gospel accounts—all falls into place and makes sense,” an archaeology professor named Shimon Gibson has stated on record.

New Testament Forgeries And Lies

A book entitled, Forged, was written by a biblical scholar named Bart Ehrman, and was published in the year 2011 to waves of controversy. Ehrman claimed that around 50% of the New Testament had been forged by those having a religious agenda and couldn’t make a mark for themselves under their own names. “There was competition among different groups of Christians about what to believe and each of these groups wanted to have authority to back up their views,” he claimed during an interview on CNN. “If you were a nobody, you wouldn’t sign your own name to your treatise. You would sign Peter or John.”

Needless to say, opponents to Ehrman’s book were not shy in attacking his conclusions. One of those opponents named Ben Witherington, has referred to Ehrman’s writings as “Gullible Travels,” pointing out that people tend to believe almost anything, regardless of how ridiculous.

Witherington points out that, besides 2 Peter, every single book within the New Testament had been written members of an exclusive group of educated Christians, all of whom were great writers and a few of whom saw the events contained in the New Testament. They had very close connections to both Jesus and Paul.

The Bible’s View Of Homosexuality

In the year 2012, a group that remained anonymous published a Queen James Bible (QJB), where they edited 8 verses from the current King James Version (KJV) in a feeble attempt to make it virtually impossible to view and interpret the Holy Bible in a homophobic manner. Steve Golden, who represents Answers in Genesis feels that these cowardly unknown editors of this QJB “have only made a mockery of a beloved Bible translation.”

Generally speaking, Golden debates that pro-gay movements are misinterpreting the Hebrew word for “ritually unclean” as it pertains to pagan idolatry only in cases where it’s used to condemn “something that is morally (ethically) repugnant in God’s sight, such as homosexuality ([as in] Proverbs 6:16).”

Abortion

In the ongoing religious debate regarding abortion, the arguments often refer to the intended meaning of Exodus 21:22–25. The Douay-Rheims version of the Bible states: “If men quarrel, and one strike a woman with child, and she miscarry indeed, but live herself: he shall be answerable for so much damage as the woman’s husband shall require, and as arbiters shall award. But if her death ensue thereupon, he shall render life for life. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”

Pro-choice advocates claim that “miscarry” means that this unborn child does not enjoy the same status as this adult woman. Should the baby die from a miscarriage, then the responsible man is fined, as in a misdemeanor. But should the woman die from being struck, the man committed a capital offense that is only punishable by his death.

Pro-life advocates disagree with the meaning of the word “miscarry” in this biblical version. Even so, they claim that the death of the baby was accidental, unlike abortion where a life is taken intentionally. They also point out that an accidental death in this instance is still bad, otherwise the man would not receive a fine. Additionally, the death penalty is not applied for accidental deaths in the Bible as depicted in Exodus 21:13–14 and 20–21, Numbers 35:10–34, and Deuteronomy 19:1–13.

Joshua’s Conquest Of Jericho

There is an oasis located in the desert near the West Bank, Jericho is thought to be the very earliest city that was inhabited continuously. At different times, there has been at least 23 different civilizations who claimed Jericho as their home. As stated within the Book of Joshua within the Bible, Joshua took the ancient Israelites to Jericho, which was considered to be the heart of the Promised Land. But when they arrived there, Joshua was forced to conquer the Canaanites in a very bloody battle.

Thus far, archaeological finding are not supporting this biblical story of Joshua conquering Jericho. It appears as though no one lived in Jericho during the time of Joshua, and that no walls even existed at the time.

It does seem that the Israelites most likely moved into these sparsely populated hills gradually as told within the Book of Judges. For many believers, this is actually a relief, because they have difficulty with the notion that a merciful God condoned such a bloody slaughter of lives.

Fewer Women in Developed Nations seek STEM Degrees

March 4, 2018 By Charlie Edgar 1 Comment

People would think that those countries that are most aware of gender inequalities, would actually do the most in addressing the need for more women to graduate with a science, a technology, an engineering, or a math (STEM) degree. However, recent studies are discovering quite the opposite. Scientists at the University of Missouri, and also those from Leeds Beckett University that is located in the UK, discovered that ladies in developing worlds, where it is believed that there is more gender inequality, are actually more interested in entering STEM fields than women from developed nations. These findings were posted in the publication Psychological Science.

Why the Absence of Women?

Even though there are girls who perform as good as if not better than boys in the field of math and science within several countries, the greater gender equality a country has, the smaller the quantities of female STEM graduates. This was not the case for organic sciences though, only the inorganic sciences. This negative correlation is now called the “gender-equality paradox.” A professor of psychological sciences named David Geary, from the University of Missouri’s College of Arts and Sciences, was a researcher for this study.

Here is what he stated in a recent press release:

“We analyzed data on 475,000 adolescents across 67 countries or regions and found that while boys’ and girls’ achievements in STEM subjects were broadly similar in all countries, science was more likely to be boys’ best subject. Girls, even when their abilities in science equaled or excelled that of boys, often were likely to be better overall in reading comprehension, which relates to higher ability in non-STEM subjects. As a result, these girls tended to seek out other professions unrelated to STEM fields.”

This was not the case where girls performed poorly in science or math. Actually, their individual strengths are in the field of language and reading instead of science and math. People are apt to select professions which need skills that they are excel at. As a result, girls are picking fields that require reading comprehension, even if they possess the skills that are necessary for excelling in STEM.

This might very well explain why these STEM fields have had the very same quantity of workers from both genders for several decades and why today’s strategies to attract more women to STEM field have failed. The trend is more pronounced in nation like Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Geary commented on these results:

“In countries with greater gender equality, women are actively encouraged to participate in STEM; yet, they lose more girls because of personal academic strengths. In more liberal and wealthy countries, personal preferences are more strongly expressed. One consequence is that sex differences in academic strengths and interests become larger and have a stronger influence on college and career choices than in more conservative and less wealthy countries, creating the gender-equality paradox.”

Nations that are wealthier usually have more economic options, which allow women to choose a field based on things other than economics. In countries that are poorer and have less gender equality, women are finding that opportunities for employment are not that easy to find, and thus security and great salaries can come from seeking a STEM career. Scientists feel that these findings could actually help develop more strategies to reach women in developed nations, and urge them to pursue a career in STEM.

One Psychedelic Drug Trip Could Change Your Personality for Years

March 2, 2018 By Charlie Edgar Leave a Comment

According some new study reviews that have been posted online in the publication Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, the answer should probably be no to more drugs, dude. Scientists have discovered that people who took just one single dose of psychedelic drugs such as “magic” mushrooms, LSD or ayahuasca could very well have prolonged changes to their personality that might last many weeks, months or perhaps even years — but often times, such changes were actually for the better.

Several Studies Were Reviewed

In this brand new meta-analysis, researchers from Brazil and Spain examined the results from some 18 earlier studies that were published between the years of 1985 and 2016, which link psychedelic drug usage and changes in personality. These researchers placed their focus on those papers that specifically looked at serotonergic drugs, or drugs having a structure that is similar to those found on the neurotransmitter serotonin, which assists in regulating mood, appetite and other various functions. These substances tend to bind with serotonin receptors (referred to as 5-HT receptors), which increases activities found in visual regions of the brain, and causes dream like hallucinations and, for a few users, feelings of transcendence.

The drugs that were examined in these brand new meta-analysis mostly included LSD (known as lysergic acid diethylamide), psilocybin (the psychedelic compound that exists organically in hundreds of “magic” mushrooms species) and ayahuasca (a psychedelic tea derived from plants that are grown in the Amazon, are traditionally ingested for rituals or for religious purposes).

Several studies of all three of these drug types were found to cause many long-term (perhaps even permanent) changes of personality in those who were given psychedelic drugs compared to people who were not. In particular, people who ingested small doses of these psychedelic drugs in clinical settings got higher scores for the openness personality trait — which is the psychological term that refers to the affection for new experiences — after their drug trips than the nonusers did. In some of these studies, the personality changes produced therapeutic, antidepressant effects, which existed for a year or more. (Research for these studies that were included took place in the United States, Spain, United Kingdom, Brazil, and Germany.)

“This type of research may offer new evidence to the classic discussion on whether personality is or isn’t a constant and stable psychological trait,” claimed the study’s researchers.

The question as to whether or not psychedelic drugs could cause long-term changes in someone’s personality has been examined since the 1950s, when the United States government famously (and often illegally) tested LSD to see if it could be used for the mind control of humans. Research that links drug us and personality picked up dramatic momentum during the mid-1980s, the research authors noted in this new review, and the tests used for personality taking are much more accurate as well.

Considerably more research that has bigger sample sizes are definitely needed prior to drawing any permanent conclusions about the link between these drugs and personality, the researchers noted. When you consider that most of the drugs used are currently illegal in the United States, there the kind of analysis needed is still several years away.