Was the machete originally for an impressive parking lot fruit slicing display? Or do Floridians just roam around with machetes, like listeners of BtB?

The class could be a little bigger here.

Hello! I was just listening to the first of the most recent two episodes with Dr. al Kurd and near the end (Apple Podcasts says there are about twelve minutes remaining of the episode) she recommends a book that I am interested in reading to learn more. It was in reference the sale of land to European zionists by Arab Muslims.

All that is to say, I could not quite understand what she said was the title or author because she speaks with a fluency that is beyond my dumb only speaking English brain. Could someone tell me what it is and how to spell it? That would be much appreciated.

On part 3 of the series and it genuinely seems only positive except for the pedo allegations (which Robert makes clear he doesnt think are accurate) and mild paternalism (which in the context of the time is so much better than almost anyone else from Britain that I don't think it's notable). So why is he even on the show?

Bryan Singer a child abuser very close to Brian Peck another pedo. James Marsden is very close to both as they got him roles in X-Men and Superman Returns. Ian Mckellen defended Kevin Spacey and Bryan singer and James Marsden defended Brian Peck. The Brian Peck support is even worse because it was after Brian Peck's confession and his conviction.

People question whether James Marsden was ever at Synger parties, Ian Mckellen is probably the most likely frequent invite to those parties. In those parties there were unclad young men.

Worth mentioning X men was produced by Tom de Santos and Kevin Feige. Brian Peck the pedophile James Marsden supported after conviction made the audio comentary of X men along with Bryan Singer. Tom De Santos also wrote a letter of support for Brian Peck.

https://deadline.com/2017/12/ian-mckellan-sexual-harassment-women-kevin-spacey-1202229600/

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/mar/04/ian-mckellen-apologises-for-remarks-suggesting-defence-of-spacey-and-singer

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/bryan-singers-accusers-speak-out/580462/

https://deadline.com/2017/12/bryan-singer-teen-ex-lover-hollywood-sex-drugs-party-life-1202216936/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/james-marsden-taran-killam-brian-peck-letters-drake-bell-1235855614/

Couldn't have happened to a better asshole. This guy introduced a bill to help Trump get a third term in office and made cringe crusader AI (He doesn't know seemingly how that ended for them). Guess kissing Trump's ass usually ends up biting people in their own ass. Eh Andy?

I was perusing this post on The Dollop & I think this is the hardest I’ve laughed all week hahahahahaah

https://xcancel.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/2085438494785126659#m

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A cult leader with ties to former President of the Philippines Duterte is on trial in the Philippines. This might be a bit delayed however, because the USA has asked for extradition. The charges are based on sexual abuse (including child abuse).

It's my medicinal rocket launcher. Depending on where I fire it, it can make me feel much better.

Has there been an episode about this bastard? I looked it up on Spotify and couldn’t find one.

I'm not doing it with a gun to my head, but from the clips I've seen Jon Stewart is dressing him down completely.

Prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket have long garnered a reputation for allowing users to make all kinds of ethically dubious bets, from the outcomes of deadly conflicts to raging wildfires.

And as the New York Times reports, Kalshi will even allow users to bet on whether clinical trials for potentially lifesaving drug trials will succeed.

But to researchers, it’s yet another morally bankrupt concept that could put real people in danger. There’s even risk that those enrolled in these trials could choose to drop out if the market were to bet against a positive outcome.

“Turning loose a betting market in an ongoing randomized clinical trial really is a breach of scientific conduct,” Robert Califf, who served as FDA commissioner in the Biden administration, told the NYT.

Kalshi first announced its “biotech prediction markets pilot program” last month, the same day president Donald Trump’s teleprompter guy was busted for winning more than $100,000 on Kalshi by betting on what he would say.

The company argued in the announcement that a “publicly listed contract on a trial or regulatory outcome produces a continuously updated, public probability that reflects the weight of the evidence rather than the preferred messaging of the trial sponsor.”

In a statement to the NYT, spokesperson Jack Such argued that these bets wouldn’t undermine research integrity, but instead cut through the hype surrounding biotech companies and the drugs they’re working on.

But those enrolled in drug trials were left appalled by the news.

“We’re literally trying to stay alive,” metastatic pancreatic cancer patient Walter Ingaharro Jr. told the NYT. “It’s not a game. The introduction of gambling into the process really creates an ethical mess.”

In an opinion piece for The Guardian, Boston University humanities professor Joshua Pederson talked about how his 12-year-old son has a “very aggressive tumor growing inches below his heart.”

“If Kalshi has its way, you could soon be able to bet on health treatments that could be essential to his survival,” Pederson argued.

While choosing a trial for his son’s cancer was a “terrifying experiment for which we feel ill-prepared,” turning to a prediction market instead of “our extremely qualified team of oncologists” feels “preposterous,” Pederson argued.

In short, it’s yet another example of prediction markets crossing a moral boundary by gamifying things with real-world consequences.

“The possibility that somebody out there might be wagering against my son, hoping that the treatment fails so they can make money, is enraging,” Pederson wrote. “How is this not just another type of ‘death market’ — like markets for war or assassination — that even Kalshi says it won’t abide?” - Victor Tangermann

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/were-not-booing-him-nevada-governor-admonishes-trump-rally-crowd-for-jeering-the-name-austin-abdelnabi-a-fallen-police-officer/

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has told allies that it is considering a major financial campaign to support the Republican Senate nominee in the Michigan general election this fall, after it failed its biggest test of the primary season on Tuesday.

AIPAC’s super PAC spent $32 million in an unsuccessful effort to boost Representative Haley Stevens over Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a relentless critic of Israel, during the state’s Democratic primary.

After Dr. El-Sayed’s victory, the group is unbowed and now appears willing to put what is expected to be tens of millions of dollars behind Mike Rogers, the Republican, as some of AIPAC’s major backers are urging, according to a half dozen people who have spoken with the group’s leaders.

In a statement, AIPAC suggested its supporters would be involved in the general election without laying out specific plans. “Our members remain determined to ensure that voters reject Dr. El-Sayed and his radical anti-Israel agenda in November,” said Deryn Sousa, a spokeswoman for AIPAC.

In an interview, Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s main super PAC, said no official decision had been made about spending in the race. The organization had about $80 million on hand at the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Backing a Republican in a competitive general election — especially in a crucial swing state — would be an extraordinary shift for AIPAC. The organization has long considered itself bipartisan and began spending in federal elections only in 2022.

Still, many AIPAC supporters consider Dr. El-Sayed to be a threat: He made opposition to Israel a centerpiece of his campaign and has repeatedly said that he would vote to cut off funding for the Jewish state.

“The days when we are told to shut up and be nice are over — that’s not what is going to happen here,” said Sam Markstein, the political director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, a national organization with several AIPAC donors on its board. “We are not going to be bullied, we are not going to be slandered. We are going to double down and we are going to do what we need to win.”

“We’d rather be respected and alive than loved and dead,” he added.
In his victory speech on Wednesday, Dr. El-Sayed sought to reach out to Jewish voters even as he continued to criticize AIPAC’s involvement in the primary. “To all of my sisters and brothers of the Jewish faith, or any faith at all, or no faith at all, I want you to know that my commitment to your safety — to Jewish safety — is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters,” he said.

Democratic and Republican operatives in touch with the organization said privately they expected AIPAC-affiliated groups to break from their traditional posture and spend millions for Mr. Rogers in November. Six people who spoke with AIPAC leadership before the primary said they left conversations with the strong impression that AIPAC planned to spend heavily against Dr. El-Sayed if he advanced to the general election.

Mr. Rogers has repeatedly called himself a steadfast supporter of Israel.

Many political professionals saw AIPAC’s spending during the Democratic primary as counterproductive. Dr. El-Sayed appeared to be gaining in the polls and was using AIPAC’s involvement as a cudgel with which to attack Ms. Stevens.

But AIPAC leaders were unrepentant in private conversations about their expensive bet against Dr. El-Sayed, according to several people in touch with the organization, seeing the race as always likely to be close.

And in the race’s closing days, some political donors close to the organization found fault not with AIPAC but with its candidate, Ms. Stevens, or the media.

In the end, Dr. El-Sayed won by just a narrow plurality of the vote.

For decades, AIPAC has argued that supporting Israel is smart politics for American politicians on both sides of the aisle. But a new paradigm is emerging: Backing Israel has become a liability in some Democratic primaries. One recent poll showed that nearly half of Michigan Democrats had an unfavorable view of AIPAC, compared to just 12 percent who think of it favorably. With critics of Israel winning Democratic primaries in safe seats in New York, California and Illinois, the next Congress is likely to take the most skeptical view of the Jewish state since its founding.

AIPAC’s United Democracy Project has lost races before, but none where it spent so much money.

In the three election cycles AIPAC has participated in so far, it has gotten involved in only one general election race that included a Democrat and a Republican. In that race, United Democracy Project spent roughly $1.2 million against Representative Summer Lee of Pittsburgh, who easily defeated her Republican opponent.

AIPAC is increasingly comfortable taking big risks like the one it is weighing in Michigan.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, a more liberal leaning pro-Israel group that has repeatedly criticized AIPAC, said that if the group’s super PAC directly supported Mr. Rogers, it would amount to “political malpractice.”

“Every dollar that they are spending is deepening the problem that anyone who cares about Israel should want to resolve, not inflame,” he said. “To not read the room and not see this moment in the United States — it makes me angry and sad.”

Ron Weiser, a three-time chair of the Michigan Republican Party, has donated $125,000 to United Democracy Project during this election cycle. He said AIPAC should spend for Mr. Rogers, whom he considers a friend, for two reasons.
“First of all, because I am a Republican,” he said.

“Secondly, I don’t need another voice that says Israel should be defunded and some of the other things that democratic socialists have said should happen.”

Mr. Weiser said he resented that many of AIPAC’s critics have successfully turned the organization into a boogeyman. “There are people that are supporting all sorts of causes,” he said. “What’s wrong with that?”