Brane Space

Monday, February 28, 2022

Latest Research Should Put A Final Nail In The 'Coffin' Of The Already Discredited "Lab Leak Theory"

 

                                                    

Finally, we ought to be able to put the last nail in the coffin of the “lab leak” baloney – for the origin of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. On Saturday, a team of scientists released a pair of extensive studies that point to a market in Wuhan, China, as the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. Analyzing data from a variety of sources, they concluded that the coronavirus was very likely present in live mammals sold in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in late 2019 and suggested that the virus twice spilled over into people working or shopping there. They said they found no support for an alternate theory that the coronavirus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan.  Nor was it "created" in any Chinese lab as part of a bio-engineering, bioweapon initiative.

These findings are important, as are the earlier ones I cited in October last year, e.g. 

 Brane Space: New Research On Laotian Bats Pokes Final Holes Into Covid Lab Origins Codswallop (brane-space.blogspot.com)

 to finally dispense with the lab leak crap which has been used as a vehicle to incite attacks on Asian Americans, to blame for the "China plague" that the plague named Trump has perpetuated.  It also skewers former CDC director Robert Redfield's idiocy that the virus had to have been "manipulated" in a Chinese lab through a process called "serial passage."   Let me also note this paranoid twaddle has also been weaponized - e.g. by the likes of Tucker Carlson and Rand Paul - to go after Dr. Anthony Fauci.  Thereby inciting countless threats and screwball attacks on him, e.g. in social media and elsewhere.  In the words of Univ. of Arizona virologist Michael Worobey - one of the study's co-authors:

"When you look at all of the evidence together, it’s an extraordinarily clear picture that the pandemic started at the Huanan market,” 

The authors of the new study included researchers who previously published smaller reports that had pointed toward a similar conclusion, but were based on much less detail. Their earlier analysis suggested that the first known case of the coronavirus was a vendor at the Huanan market.

In a separate line of research, scientists at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention carried out a new analysis of the genetic traces of coronaviruses collected at the market in January 2020. Previous studies have shown that the viruses sampled from early cases of Covid belonged to two main evolutionary branches. The Huanan market samples included both branches, the scientists reported in a study they posted online on Friday.   

These latest findings, in concert with the earlier (Oct. 2021) research by Marc Eloit, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, should put the lab leak bunkum to rest once and for all.  Recall the Eloit team captured hundreds of Laotian bats from caves and examined bat feces which turned out to harbor coronaviruses bearing molecular hooks - similar to that for SARS-Cov-2, e.g.



This work prompted the same Univ. of Arizona virologist Worobey to comment at the time.  

“That really puts to bed any notion that this virus had to have been concocted or somehow manipulated in a lab to be so good at infecting humans,” 

All of which confirms author Laurie Garrett's sober take, i.e. in her book The Coming Plague (p. 169);


"An individual microbe's world is limited only by the organism's mobility and its ability to tolerate various ranges of temperature, sunlight, oxygen, acidity or alkalinity.  Wherever there may be an ideal soup for a microbe, it will eagerly take hold,  immediately joining to the local microbial ecosystem of  pushing and shoving struggle for survival.... In this fluid complexity human beings stomp about with swagger, elbowing their way without concern into one ecosphere after another. The human race seems equally complacent about blazing a path through a rainforest with bulldozers and arson  - or using an antibiotic 'scorched earth' policy to chase unwanted microbes across the duodenum. "

The promotion of the lab leak theory, in my opinion, amounted to a form of scientific malpractice that enabled an array of bigots and right wing racists - including Dotard Trump-  to mount an ongoing persecution of Asian Americans. 

The misbegotten lab leak trope emerged in May, 2021 out of   Matt Yglesias from his Substack blog  - scolding the mainstream media for not being 'balanced' and 'objective' enough in regard to this twisted "theory".  This is the same crackpot I took down in a Dec. 18, 2020 post for his wanton idiocy -   in a New Yorker piece ('One Billion Americans') -  insisting that the U.S. can hold 1 billion people.  Yes, you read that correctly! As I noted at the time:

The point eluding this numbskull is that supporting a massive population isn't simply based on finding the space in which to squeeze it. You also need to consider the support systems, for growing enough food to feed that increased population - efficiently and consistently each day, as well as the water (clean water) to meet basic needs. Oh and not to mention an energy and transportation infrastructure.

That criticism still stands and Yglesias hadn't displayed any further insights (or higher I.Q.) by the time he spouted his spurious lab leak defense. He is a pseudo-scientific quack out to make a name for himself - and grab eyeballs - by being controversial and contrarian, nothing more. But sadly, by the time the lab leak scolding escaped from his brain it was already too late.  The Amerikkan Reich wing (especially Tom Cotton and Tucker Carlson) was ecstatic it finally had something to discredit the actual virologists, attack the Chinese, as well as menace Dr. Anthony Fauci.  Hopefully, the latest work is the end chapter to this sad and sorry Covid epic.

See Also:

Covid-19 | Media
Great Work, Useful Idiots of the Media: Most Americans Buy the Unsubstantiated "Lab Leak" Theory

by Amanda Marcotte | July 10, 2021 - 7:37am | permalink

— from Salon

AND:

Brane Space: Jon Stewart's 'Lab Leak' Rant On Colbert Confirms He's No Covid Expert (brane-space.blogspot.com)

And:

Was coronavirus bioengineered in a lab? Tulane scientist debunks this conspiracy theory
Posted by Copernicus at 7:10 AM No comments:

Friday, February 25, 2022

Stocks At Risk From Russian Invasion? WSJ Editorial Asserts You Can't Count On Social Security Either

 




The volatility in the financial markets yesterday, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, had to make millions of investors wonder what they'd do in retirement amidst the current financial turmoil, i.e. WSJ today (p. A5, 'Invasion Shakes Up Global Economy'):

'Financial markets reacted swiftly to the invasion, with stock markets in Europe dropping sharply and commodity prices soaring."

 But at least ordinary investors still have Social Security to fall back on, right? Maybe not. According to a Feb. 2nd WSJ Editorial ('$30 Trillion And Counting'), you may just have to do without! Delivered like a punch to the gut, one read:

"The news that gross U.S. government debt had surpassed $30 trillion for the first time caused a flutter of headlines but merely yawns from the political class. That might have something to do with the arsonist not wanting to hang out at the scene of his fire. But it’s worth a moment to explain how to think about that gargantuan debt number.

The first point is that the debt really isn’t $30 trillion. About $6 trillion of that is debt the government owes to itself in Social Security and other IOUs. Social Security is a promise made by politicians to workers. It isn’t a contractual debt like a Treasury bill that must be repaid or risk default. Future politicians can refuse to pay workers what they owe, and eventually they will."

Get that last bold part down: Social Security isn't "contractual" like a T-bond. So if any of you deluded investors happen to lose your shirts in the stock market - just as you've retired-  you can't count on any more pretend money from the gov't in Social Security. Future politicos can just refuse to pay up!  According to the Wall Street nabobs, Social Security- since it ain't no promise-   can be subject to annual budgetary control in the House.  If it's a Reepo House, because of too many dumbo voters believing the GOP has their interest at heart, watch out!  They could cut funding as with any other recurring budget item - whether health care or housing or energy. 

Meanwhile, the feature article in the Sunday Denver Post Business section ('To Get The Most From Social Security', p. 1K)  put the emphasis on "perhaps the most important asset for almost all retirees."   The main thrust and focus deals with the errors too many make, particularly taking benefits too early based on assuming too short a lifespan.  These errors are costly, i.e. claiming at age 62 means up to 33 % less than claiming at age 70.  (Only 6% wait until the later date, when according to one expert it ought to be 85%.) 

The article goes on to note (p. 6K) the annual adjustment for inflation (COLA) "makes Social security an important form of insurance against the risk you will run out of money later in life."  It also registers the potential for an "across the board cut of 20 percent absent any further action by congress" in 2034, because the S.S. Trust fund is projected to be depleted by then. However: "few experts predict that outcome will happen."    

Regarding the WSJ editorial claim that Social Security Trust Fund bonds don't hold real money, this is not the same as the across the board cuts to S.S. in 2034  (if congress fails to tweak the system). Those would be one- off cuts, while the WSJ editors are talking about a permanent cut off, or at the very least being subject to House budget votes each year.  Such a nightmare for recipients - since the monthly amount they receive would then depend on what the House Budget Committee approves each year- would translate into huge financial, cash flow headaches. 

At the very least it would scotch any assumptions of what future income flow one can depend upon. Not only that, but if the payment support flow is variable it means the whole program is also. By then it has effectively become a welfare program, subject to appropriations bills like other welfare programs.  This is exactly why the temptation for payroll tax cuts must be resisted at all costs, because it can lead to destabilizing the program to the point it's reduced to yearly budget appropriations battles. See e.g.


http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2011/12/as-predicted-repukes-play-social.html

But is the WSJ editorial correct about its base premise, i.e. that the Social Security Trust Fund is not a contractual debt or real bond, just a phantom of our imaginations?  In fact, as I've written before, the Social Security Trust Fund is based on real bonds, not merely "IOUs", as the corporate media seeks to paint. Never mind the types of bonds in which the Trust Fund is invested are not the same as bonds traded on Wall Street.  Why would they be when the idea is to preserve capital for future outlays not reduce it if bond yields go south?   

As my Swiss friend Rolf made clear in 2010 after then Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill claimed the Social Security Trust Funds contained no real money:

"If they let that happen to their own people, what's stopping them from doing it to foreign bond holders? Nothing! What kind of demonstration is that of full faith and credit? None! At least here in Switzerland we believe it a terrible omen and message to send the international bond community. If you renege on your own people, you can certainly do it to us. So why should we not cash in our bonds when the Social Security betrayal of American citizens arrives?"

What follows would be a mass withdrawal from all previously held securities, including all T-bonds now held by the Chinese and Japanese.  Splitting hairs about bond definitions and realities is therefore  a fool's errand because in the end no foreign investor will buy it. He accepts at face value all bonds (including those underlying Social Security) have the full faith and credit of the U.S. government behind them.  If they don't, or one set is reneged upon, then the promise means nothing.

Thus if future politicians (likely Republicans) fail to pay what they owe, they will send this nation crashing into financial oblivion and with it most of the financial world that depends on U.S. monetary and economic integrity. 

Lastly, let's shoot down another wild canard, that Social Security can go "bankrupt".   But S.S. has NO creditors, so it can't go bankrupt. It is, however, a creditor to other federal agencies that borrowed money from its Trust Funds. Some example of amounts borrowed form GAO and Trust Fund data:

Year:  ................Amount raided

2011.................$67.0 billion

2010.................$87.0 billion

2009...............$137.0 billion

2008...............$180.2 billion

Indeed, if real money has been borrowed (raided) , in these prior years and continuing, then ipso facto the Trust Fund from which borrowed must be real  - or else the money would not be real!  In the meantime, the best antidote to this IOU nonsense is to get hold of the book 'Social Security Works' by Nancy J. Altman and Eric R. Kingson. Their chapters 8-10 demolish the IOU gibberish, showing the bonds carry the same weight as those disbursed to other nations who hold them in good faith.  In other words, they carry the full faith and credit of the U.S. gov't to pay them back, and if ever defaulted would mean this nation can't be trusted to pay its just debts.

The WSJ editors need to process that and Americans need to cease buying into the reactionary Right's codswallop about Social Security IOUs.

See Also:

Economic Policy
Millionaires Don't Pay Their Fair Share Into Social Security. Rick Scott Wants to Keep It That Way.
by Nancy Altman | February 25, 2022 - 7:50am | permalink



Posted by Copernicus at 8:12 AM No comments:

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Trump's Praising of the Russian Invasion Shows (Again!) Why He Needs To Be Hung By His Scruffy Orange Neck

 

        What my Revolutionary War ancestors would want done to Trump

      Ukrainians protest before Russian troops storm into their country

"Former President Trump’s adulation of Putin today — including calling him a ‘genius’ — aids our enemies. Trump’s interests don’t seem to align with the interests of the United States of America.”-  Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) in a tweet yesterday

"This moment of heightened danger and crisis makes it even clearer that the No. 1 domestic priority for all Americans who care about democracy is to make sure Trump never sees the inside of the Oval Office ever again. As democracy is threatened from abroad it can’t also be cannibalized from within."  - David Brooks, NY Times, 'Defeat Trump Now More Than Ever'

As we watched 'Amazing Race' last night to try to get our minds off politics and the horrors Trump's cult is inflicting on the nation, the broadcast was suddenly interrupted for a CBS "Special Report".  Nora O'Donnell appeared and announced the Russian invasion of Ukraine had begun, then transferred to correspondent Charlie D'Agata in Kyiv.  The sounds of fighter jets overhead punctuated his broadcast of events at 5:15 a.m. Kyiv time.  D'Agata for his part, looked nervous and - as Janice put it - already approaching shell shock.

Not long after, watching MSNBC's 'All In' on the DVR list , we were further horrified to learn a whole flock of Repukes - including Traitor Trump - were praising the invasion and glorifying Putin.  'Bloody traitors!' Janice screamed, adding:  "They all ought to be hung!"  Well, that would be the usual remedy for those who root for aggression that inveighs against U.S. interests and world peace. 

But sure enough, as we saw on 'All In' with Alex Wagner sitting in for Chris Hayes, Trump had complimented his best bud Putin  on a “smart move” to send “the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen” to the Ukraine border.   “This is genius,” Trump said in a conservative talk radio interview at his Mar-a-Lago resort, echoing his past praise of the Russian president. “Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. He used the word ‘independent’ and ‘we’re going to go out and we’re going to go in and we’re going to help keep peace.’ You’ve got to say that’s pretty savvy.”

Why would this fungal scumball do such a thing? Well, hell's bells, he still wants to stay on Putin's good side lest he release the "pee tape". The inveterate asswipe also actually suggested using the same methods against Mexico.  Muster up a large military force and just invade our southern neighbor in order to halt the movement of migrants to the U.S.   

But Trump isn't the only traitor.  Many on the Repuke Right have also been busy praising the move and Tucker Carlson is even panting for an interview with Putin like he had with Hungary's autocrat Viktor Orban.  Mike Pompeo also got into the act, among others - all praising the invasion and Russian use of tactical force.  It was among the most abhorrent and despicable things a citizen could behold and showed once more why this gaggle of maggots, thieves and liars must never be handed the keys  to power again.  As one Republican letter writer in The Sunday Denver Post put it:

"I beseech those who love the Republic - including independents - to raise your voices in standing against the wrong-headed Trumpers... Let's prevail this primary season and rid the GOP of the stranglehold of a failed and repugnant ex-president and his minions, and move on to fix our broken country"

As I wrote in an earlier post, the resolution of the Ukraine issue and NATO expansion concerns us all, the whole world, given the apocalyptic consequences that could ensue, e.g.

  • Echoes Of Nuclear War Depicted in 'Movie Threads':...


after which Jeffrey Sachs wrote along similar lines in the FT  ( The US should compromise on Nato to save Ukraine)  i.e.  that Putin and Russia do have a case to make, i.e.  to argue against NATO expansion to  encompass Ukraine. As Sachs put it:

If war comes, Putin would of course deserve the blame and global opprobrium. Russia’s threats are thuggish and dangerous. Yet as misguided as the Russian actions are, American intransigence regarding Nato enlargement is also utterly misguided and risky. True friends of Ukraine, and of global peace, should be calling for a US and Nato compromise with Russia — one that respects Russia’s legitimate security interests while fully backing Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Hence, a U.S. compromise is warranted.  It was Mikhail Gorbachev who willingly disbanded the Soviet Union in 1991 - after getting a "gentleman's agreement" with then President George Bush Sr.- i.e.  that in return NATO would not expand further east.   That promise was then repeated by German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to then Russian president, Boris Yeltsin.  But ever  since, as Sachs' FT column noted, given that it was never formalized (on paper),   the U.S. and NATO didn't take it to heart.  Instead we saw continued expansion right up to the Russians' doorstep.  That it has incited the Russians and Putin is therefore no surprise, given the paranoid fear of encirclement which goes back to Tsar Peter the Great.  

However, be that as it may, invading a small sovereign neighbor state is not the way to solve the problem.  It would have been better for Putin to show good faith by first pulling his troops back.  Then asking for a new round of diplomacy with Ukraine's future at the top of the agenda  - specifically calling for no entry of Ukraine into NATO - in return for which Russia adopts a 'hands off'' attitude. That including the withdrawal of all separatist forces from the Donbass region.

Back to the Repuke traitors' response, it was ghastly that Tucker Carlson  bloviated   on Tuesday:  

“Why do Democrats want you to hate Putin? Has Putin shipped every middle class job in your town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked your business? Is he teaching your kids to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Does he eat dogs? .....It may be worth asking yourself, since it is getting pretty serious: ‘What is this really about? Why do I hate Putin so much?’. Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him?"

Which isn't the point.  The point is a much larger, authoritarian state rolling over a smaller one struggling to make democracy work as well as being independent. Carlson ought to know better than to peddle such deflecting horse shit, but having seen his antics during the pandemic - trying to get his FOX zombies to kill themselves by refusing to get vaccinated, it's not surprising.

Then there was useless Turd Mike Pompeo who also bloviated on FOX:

"He’s a very talented statesman. He has lots of gifts. He was a KGB agent, for goodness’ sakes. He knows how to use power. We should respect that."

But these comments do show everything any genuine American needs to know: that the Trumper cult of traitors and liars is unfit to govern.  Indeed, the disgusting comments made by a cavalcade of these misfits reflects the current aberrant phenomenon of a once major political  party (now a cult) openly siding with a U.S. adversary against an American president. These reprobates cite Putin’s "shrewdness and strength" and penchant to use force in order  to draw a specious contrast with Biden, i.e. as weak and feckless. In reality, it is authoritarians drooling for authoritarian rule wbich ought to scare the bejeezus out of every American - even those who prefer not to see Trump hung from his orange neck.

The 'pukes drooling for Putin's iron fist is also reflective of their desire for a similar iron fist to rule Americans.  After all, despite all the blathering lies of the reactionary Right media (think WSJ op-eds), Putin DID help Trump grab power in 2016.) Thus they are willfully blind to his role as an ultimate authoritarian leader who has jailed adversaries, shut down political opposition and moved to eliminate a free press and independent judiciary.   This all suggests to me that those cheering for an enemy state - in this case the invader state  - "also want hanging too."  To adopt Janice's parlance.

Why should Americans care about what is happening now in Ukraine? Because it could very easily get out of hand, and Putin has even used not so veiled threats that he could resort to nuclear weapons if there is any outside interference in his plan to "de-nazify" Ukraine.   

In the WaPo yesterday it was reported in the lead story on the Russian invasion:

"Some polling suggests that Republicans view Putin positively compared with their view of Democratic leaders ... but that is based on conversations with GOP voters, many of whom simply do not consider Ukraine a priority,"

NO, of course not! They'd rather focus on taking down Biden, so their vile cult can achieve unearned power in the mid-terms.  Thereby potentially laying the groundwork to catapult their traitor hero Trump back into the presidency in '24.  But if these fools are so obsessively dimwitted - regarding Ukraine as low priority - they need to watch again the clip below from the  movie 'Threads' -  the nuclear war bombing scene:  


Threads (1984) - Bombing Scene - YouTube


See Also:

Peace & Justice | War
If You Stayed Up All Night Worrying About Nuclear War, You’re Not Alone

by William Rivers Pitt | February 25, 2022 - 7:56am | permalink

— from Truthout

And:

Republicans
Republicans Pick Putin over Democracy — and Rick Scott's Creepy Blueprint for America Shows Why

by Amanda Marcotte | February 25, 2022 - 9:02am | permalink

— from Salon

And:

Economic Policy | Russia | Ukraine
Eight Sobering Realities about Putin's Invasion

by Robert Reich | February 24, 2022 - 8:24am | permalink

— from Robert Reich's Substack

Posted by Copernicus at 7:46 AM No comments:

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

The Basic Laws Of Physics In A Nutshell (Part 1)

 The laws of physics may best be described as “the basic laws of the universe” since the total of accumulated evidence (e.g. gravimetric, spectrographic etc) discloses they apply everywhere in the cosmos. Alas, it is not a short list – but grouped according to different aspects: mechanical, thermal, electric-magnetic, etc.


Students have often asked me in the course of lectures: What laws constitute an essential list, say for a text book of physics or science? I reply consistently that the book must reflect or embody the basic laws we know of, else it can’t be described as any book of physics, or science. Are these laws rigorous? Yes, they are – and at the end we will also see by way of examples how and why certain reported “claims” can’t be justified because they violate one or other of these laws.

Let’s begin with the basic laws of mechanics – embodied in Newton’s laws of motion:

1) Any body at rest or in uniform motion remains at rest or in uniform motion unless acted on by an outside force.


2) The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the resulting force acting on it (F = ma)


3) If 2 bodies interact, the force that body 1 exerts on body 2 is equal and opposite to the force that body 2 exerts on body 1.  (F(12) = F(21) = - F(12))

Newton’s law of universal gravitation:

Every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force directly proportional to the product of the masses, and inversely proportional the square of the distance between them. It may be written:

F = G Mm/ r2

where G is the universal Gravitational constant, M, m the two interacting masses, and r the distance between them.

Note: the behavior of freely falling objects, or what is colloquially called the “law of gravity” is actually a special case of the universal law applied to Earth and employing Newton’s 2nd law, such that:

F = ma = mg = GMm/ RE2

where M is the mass of the Earth, m an object on it and RE the radius of the Earth.

By algebra (m cancels on both sides):

g = GM/ RE2


And if the body is at some height h above the surface (h added to the radius to get R) we know:

R = h + RE

so

F = GM m/ R2    =  GM m/ (h + RE)2   

Gravitational potential:

One of the critical concepts to do with gravitation is that of gravitational potential, V .  We thereby imagine a mass m moved from a distance of infinity (¥) to the distance (radius) R from M. We inquire into the work done by the field over some dx. Then:

dW = F dx (dx is positive)

Then the attractive force is:

F = G Mm/ x2  so   V = ò ¥ R (GMm) dx/ x2

And: 

V = G M m  Ã² ¥ R  dx/ x2 = GMm [-1/x] ¥ R


A graphical representation is given below for the case of V near Earth:



Law of Conservation of Linear Momentum:

In the law of conservation of linear momentum- let two masses m1 and m2 collide with each other with respective velocities v1 and v2, then the total linear momentum before collision must equal the total linear momentum after. Thus:

BEFFORE: m1v1(i) + m2 v2(i)

AFTER: m1v1(f) + m2 v2(f)

Where (i, f) subscripts denote initial and final values, so: P12(i) = P(12)f

Note the above law applies whether a collision is elastic or inelastic. The difference is that in the latter case, the mechanical energy (i.e. kinetic) is not conserved because some will be lost as heat due to friction.


Conservation of Angular Momentum:

This law applies to rotational motion. It states that the total angular momentum of a system is constant if the resultant external torque acting on the system is zero:

Thus IF: S d(T)ext/ dt = dL/dt = 0

Then: Ii(
wi) = If (wf )= const.

Where Ii, If are the initial and final moments of inertia, and
wi,f denote the angular velocities.

The law (expression) is valid for rotations about a fixed axis or about an axis through the center of mass of the system.

To be continued in Part (2)
Posted by Copernicus at 11:39 AM No comments:

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Would Any Of My Atheist Books Be Banned In The Current Culture War Spree? Yes - Every Last One!

 





Asked in a family Zoom meeting Sunday if any of my atheist books would now be banned, as the nation has lost its collective mind, I replied 'All of them. Every one".  Why?, the Bajan & Canadian side of the family asked.  Well, because in the midst of this mind wrecking pandemic - see prior post- too many can no longer handle things like reason, logic and disturbing conclusions.  Conclusions such as those offered in my four books.  Including:

- No 'believer' in any faith can directly know a divine entity.  It can only be accessed via adoption of limited and relative god-concepts, because of the limited nature of the human brain. See e.g.

  • Examining Theism - And The Necessity Of Invoking God concepts...

-  "Evil" does exist but is inherent in the brain's own primitive, less-evolved regions (e.g. R-complex) not in some mythical personalized, supernatural entity ("Satan", "Lucifer", "demons" etc.)  E.g.

Brane Space: WHY Is There Evil In The World? (brane-space.blogspot.com)

-  There is only one life to live, no afterlife or any 'natural afterlife'  - with the possible exception of a quantized, amorphous (non-individualized) form  predicated on de Broglie waves. See e.g.

  • Looking At A "Systems Approach" Argument For Why There Is No Afterlife ...

- "Souls" do not exist only human consciousness which is explainable by quantum mechanics.  See e.g.

Brane Space: Michio Kaku's "Model of Mind" is Too Simplistic, Reductionist (brane-space.blogspot.com)

- The Catholic concept of 'natural law' is a whole cloth fabrication based on over extending Aristotelian concepts and confusing actual scientific natural laws with specious theological moral ones.  (Not long ago RC theologians justified slavery as wholly consistent with natural law.)  See e.g.:

Brane Space: 'Fellowship of Catholic University Students' (FOCUS) Is Out to Lunch on ACA (brane-space.blogspot.com)

-  Atheist-Materialist morality and ethics actually exists and is in many ways more consistent and powerful than standard Christian or religious -based ethics, morality.  Primarily because there are fewer moral paradoxes or contradictions to deal with, e.g. Xtians professing "respect for life" of the unborn but refusing to fund adequate gov't assistance, child care, nutrition etc. for the already born.

See e.g.

Brane Space: Scientific Materialism and Moral Values (brane-space.blogspot.com)

The takeaway is that none of my published atheist works is going to make any of the parents currently howling about critical race theory, or the contents of recent banned books feel better.  They will likewise believe their kid is as much at risk of mental assault as if s/he read 'Maus'.  This is obvious as we have seen in the last few months a surge of parents, demagoguing lawmakers and other activists calling for removal of certain books, e.g.

Brane Space: Books Are Targeted As "More Dangerous" Than Bullets -- Has Texas (And The Nation) Gone Totally Mad? (brane-space.blogspot.com)

They believe will unhinge their young readers' brains.  In effect, these nitwits are sustaining the current epidemic of mental fragility and non-resilience which is at the root of the country's abysmal response to the pandemic.   This insanity has gone hand in hand with the effort of several misguided Reepo states to legislate what can be taught in classrooms. 

In South Carolina, for example, lawmakers have introduced a bill — known as the Freedom from Ideological Coercion and Indoctrination Act — that would prohibit any state-funded institution from stating that “a group or an individual, by virtue of his or her race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, heritage, culture, religion, or political belief is inherently racist, sexist, bigoted, ignorant, biased, fragile, oppressive, or contributive to any oppression, whether consciously or unconsciously.” If signed into law, the bill could make it illegal for teachers, college professors,  to criticize members of a white supremacist or white evangelical Christian group since that affiliation might count as a “political belief.” (I have in fact robustly criticized the latter in at least 3 of my books.)

Free speech, free discourse and free debate are among the great traditions of this country. They are, at this moment, under serious threat from a well-organized, well-funded movement of right wing, often conservative white evangelical ideologues who’ve used both the force of the mob and their own institutional power (including that of the state itself) to impose their edicts on the public at large.) 

Nope, no way in hell would any of my books survive the current spasm of book -banning, and even burning. I doubt, in fact, that even one of the books shown have made it into one school library. I might be wrong, but I don't believe so.  

See former Catholic genetic researcher Indre Viskontas' account of why she left the RC church in the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVQI89v_2mA

See Also:

  • Kudos To A Courageous High School Atheist And Her Award - winning Essay..

And:

Has This Mensan REALLY Proven The Existence Of The Soul? Uh, No. (brane-space.blogspot.com)

And:

  • Why Has Religion Come To Dominate The Planet?

And:

  • How I Became an Atheist

And:

Education Policy | Republicans
The GOP Is Using ‘Parental Rights’ to End Public Education as We Know It
by Pierre Tristam | February 22, 2022 - 7:06am | permalink

— from Flagler Live

Posted by Copernicus at 7:49 AM No comments:
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About Me

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Copernicus
Specialized in space physics and solar physics, developed first astronomy curriculum for Caribbean secondary schools, has written fifteen books - the most recent: 'Advanced Topics In Mathematical Physics';. Also: :Fundamentals of Solar Physics, Modern Physics: Notes, Problems and Solutions;:'Beyond Atheism, Beyond God', Astronomy & Astrophysics: Notes, Problems and Solutions', 'Physics Notes for Advanced Level&#39, Mathematical Excursions in Brane Space, Selected Analyses in Solar Flare Plasma Dynamics; and 'A History of Caribbean Secondary School Astronomy'. It details the background to my development and implementation of the first ever astronomy curriculum for secondary schools in the Caribbean.
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