Theo Brixton

LMAO, maybe you should be advising the CCP. Seems like you have a lot in common.

Issues regarding public dissent and protest in China are ever-present. Not really sure how you can argue otherwise unless you have absolutely no clue. There are endless reasons for the CCP to want to limit uncensored communication. Here is one of many that happened in October:https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxn7nq/anti-xi-jinping-posters-are-spreading-in-china-via-airdrop. The only question is why did it take so long? My guess is direct criticism of Xi hit a little too close to home.

You think that the covid protests of last week were the first public dissent they wanted to crush? China has been suffering internal strife for quite some time related to covid lockdowns, bank runs and a housing market crisis. The health code system on everyone's phones was weaponized within a couple months to prevent protesters from congregating regarding bank deposit freezes. (https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-bank-protest-stopped-by-health-codes-turning-red-depositors-say-2022-06-14/). The update only applied to phones in China--you think that is an accident? Your cute little instagram post is moronic as well--iPhone has "only" 23% market share? 1) Students (you know, the people most likely to protest) are more likely to use these phones than the general population, 2)what do you think the rest of the phones are? The remainder of the phones are primarily made by Chinese companies. You don't think those phones had features modified to curtail communication between protesters? Seriously, get a clue.

Yeah, Apple releasing an iPhone update in China limiting Airdrop functions to prevent communication between protesters is absolutely dystopian. Anyone cheering Apple's potential move to limit Twitter's availability in the App Store with the defense "but but but it's a private company" is either too stupid or too tribal to take seriously.

Any basis for this? I really don't get OU. Seems like a lateral move at best unless there is a big NIL bag.

LOL, what's the over/under on how long it will be before Ban starts posting exclusively with NJD?

Fair enough. But the point is that there isn't evidence to support many of the restrictive (and some would say unethical) policies that were instituted. The burden of proof is on someone to prove the aforementioned points of the consensus narrative to justify implementation of such policies. And just an FYI, to think that peer-review serves as some bulwark against fraudulent and incorrect manuscripts reaching publication is a quaint notion. Nevertheless, here is some literature. Covid mandates for college-age students. A number of the researchers on this paper are highly cited, at top institutions and have sterling reputations. The myocarditis signal in young men taking mRNA vaccines was known very early on in Israel and people raising this issue on social media were often deemed to be spreading "misinformation": https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4206070 Risks associated with covid which was a critical determinant of the implementation of restrictive measures: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.11.22280963v1 Not "peer-reviewed" yet. Medrxiv allows scientists to post papers prior to publication so that people can have timely access to research of interest. The corresponding author (John Ioannidis) is one of the most highly cited researchers in the last century. I highly doubt the conclusions of this paper will be much different after peer-review. John Ioannidis suffered the wrath of the covid consensus because he published a paper early in the pandemic suggesting the infection fatality rate was much lower than originally suggested. He ended up being correct. Covid origins are far from settled: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2202769119 Incidentally, much of the groundwork for identifying inconsistencies in the government(s)-narrative of covid origins has been from the Twitter hive-mind. Truly a sight to behold for those with the interest and patience. It makes the JFK assassination look tame by comparison. School shutdowns have been disastrous for children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The repercussions will be felt for years to come. One of the many disgraces (and perhaps the most unforgivable) of the public health profession during this pandemic. This was predicted and predictable: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2022376118 There was never any proof that the covid vaccines prevent the vaccinated from infecting others so there can be no paper proving this. However there is plenty of documentation that this assertion was made (if it hasn't been conveniently deleted). Here's an example of what I mean: You can't even access the article because it has been deleted. The Winston Smiths of the world have been busy! You can find for yourself the death statistics for Sweden, a country that was almost unanimously condemned (and criticized by Trump!) for not implementing large-scale lockdowns. Their death rate is in line with other Scandinavian countries and is on the low end of Europe. In the United States, Florida was derided for their open policies. When you adjust for age (the single biggest risk factor) their death rates are in line with California. This virus is going to do what the virus is going to do, restrictions be damned. And soon enough the same can be said for China. It is just a matter of how much collateral damage they will incur before they acquiesce. And as far as justification of restrictions--a recently deposed Anthony Fauci claimed his support of lockdowns (he also claims he never supported lockdowns--which is it Tony?) came from his colleague's (Clifford Lane) first-hand account of his time in China. LOL. Like the United States could (or should?!) impose obvious violations of human rights to stop the spread of a virus that was obviously unstoppable at that point. Sadly, you cannot find (or at least very difficult to find) this in the NY Times and Washington Post. Apparently they don't think this is newsworthy, further demonstrating the bias in reporting. You can go to the Twitter accounts of those with first-hand involvement. This is one of the wonders of Twitter-- notable, true information is available and TPTB cannot stop it from being disseminated. We should celebrate this, not hope for Twitter's demise because the CEO is a jerk. This is 10 minutes of searching. I can go on indefinitely with this. Assuming it isn't written by the CCP, history will judge this period--and the technocrats responsible for it--rather harshly. And IMO, the Twitter hive-mind has been instrumental for the truth to have a chance to come to light. This should be protected at all costs. The antidote to misinformation is not censorship but to combat it with true information. There is no other way in a free society.

The censorship went far beyond ivermectin and hydroxychlorquine (and BTW, while ivermectin itself is has no real evidence of efficacy against covid, it is an essential medicine to co-administer with corticosteroids in regions with parasitic infections. Otherwise patients with latent parasitic infections can suffer potentially fatal flareups--it's not just "horse dewormer".). Many of the issues with disinformation on social media regarding covid were government-sponsored. These include covid origins, efficacy of surgical masks in preventing spread, risk of myocarditis in young men taking the vaccine, vaccines prevent spread of virus (sterilizing immunity), public health policy favoring wide-scale restrictions, school closures. For each of these issues, there were highly respected academics questioning the "consensus" narrative. They were attacked in ways that would make Galileo roll over in his grave. Yes, there were elements on the right saying retarded nonsense. Most of these things can be dismissed out of hand by someone willing to think and look at both sides of the argument/debate. Quasi-decrees from government technocrats (oftentimes left leaning or sympathetic) were far more damaging and their narrative was amplified on social media. Those that opposed were attacked and this had a chilling effect on what many domain experts said--why stick your neck out to say what is true if you will be attacked? It's just easier to say nothing and that's what many did.

Yes, thanks @Husker_Du and @BobDole. Moderation in moderation. This is a drastic upgrade from themat.com.

It was the 1997-98 season. They gave the weight allowance during the same season the deaths occurred. https://vault.si.com/vault/1997/12/29/wrestlings-dirty-secret-the-ncaa-should-be-called-on-the-mat-after-three-collegians-died-trying-to-shed-pounds

Trump's advocacy for wide-scale covid restrictions should eliminate him from consideration by any thinking, freedom-loving American. Many of the economic and societal problems we face today and in the future are/will be due to these destructive policies and blame can be placed at his feet. A total clown. Newsom is a virtue-signaling, platitude-spewing empty suit. Yes, California has been an economic engine but to credit Newsom is more than generous. California's tech and biotech are heavily reliant upon historically low interest rates. California's agriculture is vulnerable to drought which will become increasingly problematic. The Federal Reserve policies have had far more to do with the boom in tech/biotech than any policy Newsom could enact. The question is what is going to happen if interest rates remain high or continue to increase? Chances are there will be a lot fewer companies making phone apps that make pancakes and rub your balls. Will Newsom take credit for the coming downturn? Unfortunately, these are the politicians we deserve but aren't the ones we need.

I always wondered whether @Jimmy Cinnabon was TBar's alter ego. His penance for blind homerism was to post superficially critical takes of PSU.

If the devil doesn't go where he's not wanted, how bad can NJDan be? What is interesting is why is he so hellbent on getting back on here to post? The world is filled with places where you can shitpost to your heart's desire...

Some might call him a Racin' Dater...

My understanding with Steveson is that the lack of charges had more to do with the alleged victim not wanting to proceed with prosecution rather than there being a lack of evidence. Forgot about Dayton Racer. Apple Valley with quite the track record...

Downey was posting sex acts on social media without consent of the partner if I remember correctly. Someone took on Andrew Long after his issues at PSU. If AJ is convicted, it's a moot point. If he is not convicted, how is it much different than Gable Steveson? He deserves his day in court regardless. I agree that there will be schools that pass on him regardless of the outcome of the case but if he is found innocent, he'll get a second chance if he wants it.

All predicated on him not being convicted. That remains to be seen. Brands gave Downey a real short leash and kicked him to the curb when he violated the terms of the arrangement. Can see something similar here.

Not talking about making him son-in-law material, just keeping him out of prison. And if he shakes the charges, he'll end up on another team if he chooses. My bet would be Iowa. A premier school that is already talking to the family when they are radioactive. If there is one coach sympathetic to the dynamics of he-said-she-said, it is probably Brands. The question is will NCAA wrestling's version of the Joad family pack up and move again? Might be for the best for all involved if the father and sister weren't too close by...

If they want to get to the penthouse, they gotta be a hustler, not a bunch of playboys...

Possible that Cael didn't know all the details of ongoing problems but Long was kicked off the ISU team. Everyone was aware he wasn't a choir boy when he joined PSU. Cael would have go out of his way to tell his wrestlers to go easy on Ferrari for there not to be constant ass-kickings. And I get the sense Cael isn't opposed to a dishing out a little vengeance himself if the situation arises--but this is not a prerequisite. Simply losing (badly) in wrestling daily should be humbling enough for young AJ.

He is harmless. Need to use tactics that demonstrate your disagreement without enabling/encouraging further discussion. Like using gifs.

The argument isn't that Cael has some unique ability to modify behavior. It is specific to Ferrari's (likely) narcissistic personality disorder. Being the unchallenged alpha-male in the OSU room did little to contain AJ's ballooning ego and this went into hyperdrive after the 2021 NCAAs. Smith was not in a position to push back because of the specter of transferring. In the PSU room, Cael wouldn't have to do anything other than let the upperclassmen and NLWC athletes wrestle with AJ. This doesn't have to be some sort of hazing (no doubt it could be punitive if necessary). It would be an inherently humbling experience for Ferrari and I contend having to face this on a daily basis would have been beneficial to keep his ego in check. To have role models that were both physically dominating as well as salt of the earth, humble people would have been a new experience for AJ and likely beneficial. Whether this would have been enough to change his behavior is entirely speculation but that's the point of the thread. The Suriano transfer is irrelevant. From all accounts, Cael did his level best to keep him and was actively recruiting him again last year. Starocci's demeanor more closely resembles Ferrari than Nolf or Retherford. Not everyone is a wholesome fun-bot. I think the culture at PSU is strong enough to withstand the Ferraris--provided that the oldest sister stays clear of the team... Andrew Long's problems stemmed from substance abuse and his inability to control his behavior while intoxicated.--presumably unrelated to Ferrari's issues and bears little relevance to the potential impact of PSU on AJ. What the Long transfer does tell us is that Cael is willing to take on someone with baggage. But even this is irrelevant to my original post in that it assumes Ferrari is already at Penn State. We already know that multiple teams (including PSU?) passed on Ferrari because of the red (and white and green) flags. On a somewhat unrelated note--do prison inmates have access to social media? The Ferrari family is reality TV series worthy.