With the acceptance of Finland to NATO, Russia has effectively been blocked from attacking Sweden without a response from NATO. In addition the formation of a coordinated air defense between the Nordic Countries will be an effective deterrent to any Russian aggression. So Sweden has effectively become a NATO member without having to kowtow to Erdogan.

Do you honestly feel that the Papal approval was the reason that the Europeans colonized non-Christian lands. Britain, who colonized Canada, was the largest Empire in the world, yet it’s a Protestant country. They didn’t need the Pope’s approval, in fact they probably said Fk the Pope. The US Supreme Court enshrined the Doctrine of Discovery, and America’s not a Catholic country. It’s simply used as an excuse for taking the land, clearly they don’t believe the Pope has the authority to tell countries what to do or Henry the 8th would still be married.

I was wondering what the difference was between mummified sheep heads and skulls, cause those looked like normal sheep skulls. Then I thought perhaps my phone wasn’t able to discern enough details to make the mummification visible.

“Peacefully Protest” is a nebulous term. It can vary from the bus boycotts of Birmingham to the march in Selma. However did “Unite the Right” White Supremacists have the right to rally in Charlottesville. When does a Peaceful Protest and march turn into an attempted insurrection. Does blocking a road, preventing access to an abortion clinic or meat packing plant cross the line. Does gluing yourself to work of valuable work of art or interfering in athletic games. All I’m saying is saying we won’t prosecute peaceful protesters is a slippery slope without clear parameters.

Is that where the first lasers were tested? Ancient astronaut theorists say yes.

>The "'general tenor' of the show should then info a viewer that [Carlson] is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary.' "Source

Coca Cola and Tucker Carlson were literally using the same defense. That basically a smart person would know we’re lying, but they’re not our audience or market.

Everyone else knew they weren’t supposed to have those documents and turned them over when they were found. I simply don’t understand why he thinks he’s entitled to them. The law is crystal clear, they belong to the National Archives if not still part of Government Records.

It would definitely call into question that it was brought to Europe by Columbus and his crews. I had always been told that syphilis was a New World disease. It’s sounding like it was more a case of being endemic and not recognized.

This is a little left field, but as coal becomes less mainstream, what happens to the price of coal. Does a decreasing market, raise or lower prices per ton?

I ran across an interesting article which addressed just that point. A number of hypotheses were presented: 1) that the plant reproduced asexually by spreading its roots, 2) that the climate contributed to its demise, 3) that it grew in a narrow geographical area and was harvested to extinction. These are my narrow take of the article but it’s a definite must read.

You’ve probably wondered why I keep referring to the National Guard. You do realize that National Guard are not subject to the Posse Comitatus Act because they are not Federal. Because they’ve been deployed overseas, they have military equipment. I’ve no objection to large metropolitan cities making use of the excess military equipment. It’s when podunk USA finds the need to militarize their Police because they got a good deal on excess equipment.

Of course I’m focused on riots, do you need an armored vehicle for traffic stops? I didn’t imply that the National Guard wasn’t armed or used military equipment. I was saying that their personal were less heavily armored and armed than some of our local police. The militarization of the police is that they get excess military equipment at rock bottom prices, so like my wife they see a sale, they go shopping no matter if they need it, “Look Dear I saved $450,000”.

The LA Bank robbery was more a matter of no body armor and assault weapons. How many incidents have justified an assault vehicle? Water cannons seem less deadly than armed Police clearing streets. My point you can probably name less than 10 instances where a SWAT assault vehicle was justified. However even less when heavily armored and armed Police made a difference. Contrast those instances when National Guard were present and their gear.

Despite how much is spent on the equipment, I contend it changes the perception of both the Police and the Public. We’ve seen National Guard troops in riot areas with less military equipment than the Police. Why does a SWAT team need a Lenco Bear Cat or a $650,000 military tank-like truck to transport their SWAT team to hostile situations. It changes the Public perception of the Police to an occupation force.

Obviously I’m not conversant in the problems you face in the UK. Unfortunately this isn’t the UK version of Reddit, so I’m forced to apply my American perspective of Law Enforcement to the headline. So when Sir Mark expressed his views on the level of integrity he expected, it struck a chord.

We’ve all seen and been aware of the Militarization of the Police, perhaps some of their budgets could be directed back into what its priorities should be, Police work. Rather than buy the newest SWAT armored personnel carrier, they could spend that money on body cameras and their infrastructure. All that military equipment and tactics add to the disconnect from Police and Civilians.

>Sir Mark said the force had not "applied the same level of ruthlessness" to upholding its integrity as it applied to fighting crime.

That’s all everyone’s wanted, the same levels of accountability as the public. The same rules, same scrutiny, same consequences, same everything. Why do we rely on the publics iPhones to record police interactions with the police rather than body cameras? Why is it a crime to lie to the FBI, yet no consequences for Police?

>When charges were filed against him and two others in 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice called it the “largest single criminal health-care fraud case ever brought against individuals” in department history.

I don’t understand why Republicans want to cut Medicare. It’s been so lucrative for them.

I loved where he compared the Tea Party to the Taliban. Especially where he called himself a RINO. Also you can’t forget the Sorority Girl opening about America.

>Two power substations in a North Carolina county were damaged by gunfire in what is being investigated as a criminal act, causing damage that could take days to repair and leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity, authorities said Sunday. Source

>About 35,000 people in North Carolina's Moore County remain without power on Wednesday after the substations were damaged in what authorities described as a "targeted" attack Source

> FBI warns of neo-Nazi plots as attacks on Northwest power grid spike Source

A simple Google search will show a disturbing pattern of attacks on power substations by suspected neo-Nazis. So these are not attacks by teenagers shooting up signs. These are attacks on the vulnerable infrastructure of the United States

All it takes is a neo-Nazi with a gun to destroy a power station and plunge people into darkness.

Runaway W. Antarctic Ice Sheet Pitch Meeting 🤦🏻‍♂️

>Other suggestions have included constructing Eiffel Tower-sized columns on the seabed to prop it up from below, and a 100m-tall, 100-kilometre-long berm to block warm water flowing underneath.

Not really look at these great ideas, in addition how about the snow cannon one. I’m sure we can get started on constructing the Eiffel tower column’s right away. It’s "super easy, barely an inconvenience".

"Hoist with his own petard" Source is ironic because it wasn’t uncommon for a bomb-maker to be blown up by his own explosive device. Grenades had the same development glitches, until WW2.

>or we devise solutions

Exactly GMO’s by themselves aren’t bad it’s how they are used and distributed. Too often the “back to nature” crowd aren’t willing to come-up with solutions that are economically feasible and mitigate some of the destructive effects of having 8 Billion people on a planet that’s only designed for 4.5 Billion /s.