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Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

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The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Call My Bluff No. 8647 Wed May 21, 2025 15:00 | James Alexander
Was former FBI director James Comey calling for President Trump's killing in his weekend Instagram post of the number 8647? Professor James Alexander, an amateur numerologist, has his own theory.
The post Call My Bluff No. 8647 appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Sir U-Turn Strikes Again as Starmer Backtracks on Winter Fuel Allowance Wed May 21, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
Sir U-Turn strikes again as Keir Starmer announced today a backtrack on the winter fuel allowance as he faces a growing rebellion among Labour MPs amid a slump in the polls.
The post Sir U-Turn Strikes Again as Starmer Backtracks on Winter Fuel Allowance appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The 3.5% Inflation Spike is All on Reeves Wed May 21, 2025 11:00 | Will Jones
This morning's unexpected spike in inflation to 3.5%, up from 2.6% last month, is all on Rachel Reeves and her economically illiterate tax rises and broader economic policies, says Ross Clark in the Spectator.
The post The 3.5% Inflation Spike is All on Reeves appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Is This the Experiment that Started the Pandemic? Wed May 21, 2025 09:00 | Will Jones
Is this the experiment that started the COVID-19 pandemic? While the pandemic was likely triggered by a lab leak, the exact experiment that caused it has eluded scientists. But has the mystery now been solved?
The post Is This the Experiment that Started the Pandemic? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The National Lottery?s Woke Arts Spending Wed May 21, 2025 07:00 | Charlotte Gill
With grants for "queer research in Nashville", "summoning the ancestors" and "climate responsive theatre", the Arts Council is a font of wokery. And ?130m of its funding is from the National Lottery, says Charlotte Gill.
The post The National Lottery’s Woke Arts Spending appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

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US Military Troops replaced with 'Flat Daddies' at home

category international | anti-war / imperialism | other press author Thursday August 31, 2006 19:06author by redjade Report this post to the editors

no, this story does not come from 'The Onion'

Somethings these days are too weird for words....
a1156918134_2399.jpg

Maine National Guard members in Iraq and Afghanistan are never far from the thoughts of their loved ones.

But now, thanks to a popular family-support program, they're even closer.

Welcome to the ``Flat Daddy" and ``Flat Mommy" phenomenon, in which life-size cutouts of deployed service members are given by the Maine National Guard to spouses, children, and relatives back home.

The Flat Daddies ride in cars, sit at the dinner table, visit the dentist, and even are brought to confession, according to their significant others on the home front.


``I prop him up in a chair, or sometimes put him on the couch and cover him up with a blanket," said Kay Judkins of Caribou, whose husband, Jim, is a minesweeper mechanic in Afghanistan. ``The cat will curl up on the blanket, and it looks kind of weird. I've tricked several people by that. They think he's home again."

At the request of relatives, about 200 Flat Daddy and Flat Mommy photos have been enlarged and printed at the state National Guard headquarters in Augusta. The families cut out the photos, which show the Guard members from the waist up, and glue them to a $2 piece of foam board.

Sergeant First Class Barbara Claudel, the state family-support director who began the program, said the response from Guard families has been giddily enthusiastic.

``If there's something we can do to make it a little easier on the families, then that's our job and our responsibility. It brings them a little bit closer and might help them somewhere down the line," Claudel said yesterday.

go read the rest of the pathetically sad story....
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/08/30/gu...ions/

author by un chien andaloupublication date Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:02author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Its absurd because these people don't need the flat-daddy
when the father of the nation is protecting them with his bombs
and guns -yeehaw.

Patriarchial constructs gone mad?

When living individual people give up their liberties to a concept
of equality and fairness grounded in beligerent war-fare and
destruction of culture. they are constructing a mythos-right/

Therefore, the cut-out is unnecessary as they have replaced
the concept of father with el presidente. its all part of the joy
of surrealism, and the U.S is possibly the most surreal
community on the globe. no-one has shot the fucker though
he is undermining the planet with toxic policy and global warfare.

author by another absurditypublication date Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:43author address author phone Report this post to the editors

and let him play sisyphus.

like a rat in a trap. he would never kill himself because his 'God'
which allows him to kill ,demean women; and rape the earth is a
materialist construct that condemns suicide.

cf:( The Myth of Sisyphus- Albert Camus)

author by scarypublication date Thu Sep 07, 2006 18:25author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Can you imagine the therapy those kids will need?
"Yeah, we had a life size cut out of Dad on the chair..., uh, Mom made us bring him on the school run... Dad was in Afghanistan... It was weird"

Hopefully they'll get the real thing back in one piece, before this self delusion causes any permanent damage to the kids... weird...

author by redjadepublication date Wed Jan 07, 2009 23:59author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Quote: ''The U.S. Department of Defense has [....] projects to fund. Idea

OSD09-H03? Develop an AI that fools young children into thinking they are talking to Daddy or Mommy when Daddy or Mommy are off on their 3rd deployment to Iraq and can't come to the webcam.

"The child should be able to have a simulated conversation with a parent about generic, everyday topics. For instance, a child may get a response from saying "I love you", or "I miss you", or "Good night mommy/daddy." ... The application should incorporate an AI that allows for flexibility in language comprehension to give the illusion of a natural (but simple) interaction." ''

• more and discussions at http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/07/dod-wants-parent-b....html

OSD09-H03?
http://www.dodtechmatch.com/DOD/Opportunities/SBIRView....9-H03

'Deployments put stress on the entire family, especially small children and communication is key. The ability to reach out and communicate with loved ones from areas of conflict is better than at any time in history. Nevertheless, the stresses of deployment might be softened if spouses and especially children could conduct simple conversations with their loved ones in immediate times of stress or prolonged absence. Historically, families have derived comfort and support from photographs or mementos, but current technology SHOULD allow for more personal interactive messages of support. Over 80% of American children between the ages of three and five regularly use computers, and 83% of families have a computer in their home. So, computer-based applications would resonate with children and capture their interest and imagination. The challenge is to design an application that would allow a child to receive comfort from being able to have simple, virtual conversations with a parent who is not available "in-person". We are looking for innovative applications that explore and harness the power of advanced interactive multimedia computer technologies to produce compelling interactive dialogue between a Service member and their families via a pc- or web-based application using video footage or high-resolution 3-D rendering....'

 
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