Deviate...

 

Image may not be related.

A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique.

In modern usage the term "dictator" is generally used to describe a leader who holds or abuses an extraordinary amount of personal power. 

Dictatorships are often characterized by some of the following: suspension of elections and civil liberties; proclamation of a state of emergency; rule by decree; repression of political opponents; not abiding by the rule of law procedures, and cult of personality. 

Dictatorships are often one-party or dominant-party states.^[4][5]

A wide variety of leaders coming to power in different kinds of regimes, such as one-party states, dominant-party states, and civilian governments under a personal rule, have been described as dictators. 

Can Democracy looses it's direction.?

 Just a thought.

Looking...

 

Polls...

 

Proximity...

 

There is a saying that “you can choose your friends, but not your family.” However, it may be that your choice of friends isn’t totally within your conscious control either.

 In a classic study of friendship formation, researchers asked nearly 300 MIT dormitory residents to list their closest friends.  

The researchers then looked at where the listed friends lived in the dorms.² When someone lived one door away, there was a 41% likelihood they were listed as a close friend. 

As the number of doors increased, that likelihood decreased such that those living four doors away had only a 10% likelihood of being listed as a close friend. This study demonstrates the importance that proximity, or being physically near others, has on relationship formation. Just a thought.

Scrambling...

 

President Biden's public remarks Thursday that the United States would come to Taiwan's defense if it were attacked by China left White House officials scrambling to explain it did not represent a shift in U.S. policy.

The comments come amid historically high tensions with China over trade, human rights, technology, the coronavirus and the island-nation just 80 miles off its coast, which Beijing considers to be a part of its country.

Fears that China might invade Taiwan have been on the rise as Beijing has been flying military aircraft into Taiwan's airspace on a near-daily basis. The heavy military presence has left China watchers recalculating over what Beijing's aims might be with Taiwan.

"He wasn't announcing a change in policy nor have we changed our policy," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. "We are guided by the Taiwan Relations Act." 

Exchange...

 

Podcast giant Joe Rogan held no punches towards CNN's Don Lemon after the anchor doubled down on his network's "horse dewormer" narrative. 

Last week, Rogan accused CNN of "lying" about his use of ivermectin during his recovery from COVID as the network repeatedly described the treatment as a "horse dewormer" and a "livestock drug" despite its human form being prescribed to him by a doctor. 

Following Rogan's tense podcast sit-down with CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who was forced to admit his colleagues should not have made such claims, Lemon was on the defensive.  

Joe Rogan calls CNN's Don Lemon a 'dumb motherf-----' for doubling down on 'horse dewormer' narrative.  Just a "Nasty exchange" thought.

Garlic...

 

Among the great benefits of black garlic stands out its ability to fight hypertension, it is rich in protein and also in B vitamins. But in addition, it is also a superfood to reduce cholesterol, the risk of type 2 diabetes, fatigue and stress.
On the other hand, it has antioxidant capacity, promotes digestion of the organism, provides energy and is ideal for strengthening the health of the immune system.

Two of the most outstanding properties of black garlic and traditional garlic are its antibacterial and antiseptic properties. In addition, we must add the good dose of vitamin C that it contains; and for all this it is a highly beneficial food to increase the action of the defenses against viruses and bacteria.

We must not forget that black garlic is also a superfood because it provides 18 essential amino acids to the organism, of the 20 types that exist. Among them are arginine and tryptophan.

Halyna...

 

Halyna Hutchins.

Alec Baldwin, who accidentally killed his cinematographer on the set of his film “Rust,” should have never pointed a gun at another human, even if he believed it was safe, Hollywood safety experts told The Post. 

The actor is now likely to face a gantlet of legal challenges, including possible criminal charges,  as both the man who pulled the trigger and as the executive producer responsible for set safety, legal experts said.  

For safety, all live firearms used in TV and film productions are typically aimed at a dummy point, not at equipment, cast or crew, Guns are never aimed at a person.  

“You never let the muzzle of a weapon cover something you don’t intend to destroy,” said   New Orleans-based firm rep who has worked on the sets of scores of TV and film productions. “All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.”

Bias...

 

Most people assume that being physically attractive is a good thing, but this study showed just how good it can be. 

Undergraduates viewed pictures of men and women representing several levels of attractiveness.⁵ Based on the photograph alone, they rated the more attractive people as being more kind, outgoing, modest, sensitive, sociable, and interesting.

But the positive perceptions didn’t end there. Participants also viewed more attractive people as having better jobs, better marriages, and better lives. These results demonstrate our strong bias toward physical beauty and the stereotypical beliefs we ascribe to more attractive individuals.

Just an "undergraduate Bias" thought.

EV...

 

"They are a wonderful driving experience. But at the same time, they're an enormous burden in time and in energy in finding chargers and getting them charged," Anderson said. "And you’re not really saving much in terms of charging costs ... you may be paying more.”

Costs to drive an EV compared with a gasoline car are detailed in a report Anderson Economic released called "Comparison: Real World Cost of Fueling EVs and ICE Vehicles."

• There are four additional costs to powering EVs beyond electricity: cost of a home charger, commercial charging, the EV tax and "deadhead" miles.

• For now, EVs cost more to power than gasoline costs to fuel an internal combustion car that gets reasonable gas mileage. 

• Charging costs vary more widely than gasoline prices. 

• There are significant time costs to finding reliable public chargers — even then a charger could take 30 minutes.

So before suspending oil production, let us improve the Electric car charging services.  Just a thought.