NASA Clocks July 2023 as Hottest Month on Record Ever Since 1880

“This July was not just warmer than any previous July – it was the warmest month in our record, which goes back to 1880,” said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. “The science is clear this isn’t normal. Alarming warming around the world is driven primarily by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. And that rise in average temperatures is fueling dangerous extreme heat that people are experiencing here at home and worldwide.”

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-clocks-july-2023-as-hottest-month-on-record-ever-since-1880

From the Maui wildfires to ultrahigh ocean temperatures, climate change is leaving its devastating mark on the Earth. It’s but a taste of the pain to come.

This Brutal Summer in 10 Alarming Maps and Graphs

World's Most Famous Liar

His scam on America continues as he sells a $5 t-shirt for $34. Yes, like his candidacy for President, many will buy his snake-oil and swallow his cool-aid.

Trump’s drumbeat of lies about the 2020 election keeps getting louder. 

Here are the facts

https://apnews.com/article/trump-2020-election-lies-debunked-4fc26546b07962fdbf9d66e739fbb50d

Decline of Religion in the America

According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, if current patterns of religious switching persist, the proportion of Christians in the United States could drop below 50% in the coming decades. The research highlights a significant shift in religious affiliation within the country. Factors such as the rise of religiously unaffiliated individuals, commonly referred to as "nones," and the increasing number of people who identify as non-Christian faiths contribute to this trend. While Christians have historically formed the majority of the U.S. population, this study suggests that their influence may diminish over time if these patterns persist. 

Note from ChatGPT, read article at Pew Research Center

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/

Depending on whether religious switching continues at recent rates, speeds up or stops entirely, the projections show Christians of all ages shrinking from 64% to between a little more than half (54%) and just above one-third (35%) of all Americans by 2070. Over that same period, “nones” would rise from the current 30% to somewhere between 34% and 52% of the U.S. population.

ChatGPT: List 5 strategies for combating disinformation on Facebook

- Strengthen fact-checking and content moderation: Facebook should invest in robust fact-checking mechanisms and strengthen its content moderation policies.
https://mtskeptics.blogspot.com/p/fake-news.html

- Promote transparency in advertising: Facebook should require advertisers to disclose their identities and funding sources for political or controversial ads. 

- Enhance user education and critical thinking: Facebook can invest in educational initiatives to promote media literacy and critical thinking skills among its users. 
https://mtskeptics.blogspot.com/p/critical-thought.html 

- Algorithmic adjustments: Facebook can explore ways to diversify users' information sources to reduce the likelihood of echo chambers and filter bubbles.

- Collaborate with external experts and researchers: Facebook should actively collaborate with external experts, researchers, and organizations that specialize in disinformation, cybersecurity, and media ethics. 
https://mtskeptics.blogspot.com/

Brain Supplements are Dangerous and Don't Work

There are dietary supplements targeting brain health being marketed to consumers that should be considered adulterated and misbranded. Advertisements and product labels may be deceiving and could put the public at risk. Education is required so that the public can recognize red flags while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration works to “modernize” the current regulations for dietary supplements.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7153641/ 

Customer Experience Survey SCAMS

WARNING: "Customer Experience Survey" scams promise fake rewards for a survey completion. They aim to trick users into revealing their personal information and/or paying bogus fees.

https://www.pcrisk.com/removal-guides/21798-customer-experience-survey-pop-up-scam 

These scams are disguised as giveaways from various legitimate organizations (e.g. United States Postal Service, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Walmart, etc.). They promise a reward to users who complete a short questionnaire. The surveys and fake prizes can vary.

They target personally identifiable data, such as name, geolocation, address, telephone number, email, etc.. They generate revenue by selling the stolen information to third-parties and/or using it to create personalized schemes.

Some giveaway-type scams request users to pay fake shipping, registration, or other fees. The scammers can ask the payments to be made via dubious payment gateways that record banking account details and credit card numbers. This data can then be used to make fraudulent transactions and/or online purchases.

We knowing nothing about PCRisk, but its WARNING is legit.

Who Is Responsible for the Bad Economy

The Republicans are quick to lay the blame for the bad economy on Biden. After all, the exploded inflation happened during Biden’s “watch” and most Americans believe that the economy can switch on and off in a momentum’s notice.

He DID become POTUS on January 20, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/republicans-blame-biden-inflation-are-they-right-2021-11-01/ .

More FOX News BS (Updated 3/22/23)

FOX News comes to Hendersonville. Raised up a lot of one-sided accusations. Never talked with the both sides. But that wouldn't make good fake news.

But Renee B, who never saw anything, states on Nextdoor:

Everyone should call the county 615-452-3604 and let them know how you feel about what went on at the Library. The Hendersonville Library has some bigger issues than what went on inside the library. Look up Kirk Cameron and Duck Dynasty visiting the Hendersonville Library. So sad.

She got 191 comments. Looks like FOX News got what it wanted. Maybe quality reporting would not be worth mentioning. So sad!

Additional Report Below 3/22/23

FAKE News Attempts Trouble

 "Fox News, a national outlet with nobody in Hendersonville this past week, took a comment from the publishing company that was terribly inaccurate," Mayor Clary said in the post. 

"I spoke with library staff several times last week and have interacted with them many times previously. I never saw any sign that they disagreed with Kirk Cameron's message. From everything I experienced, their concerns throughout the week were the patrons of the library and the safety of the people attending the event."

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/the-library-staff-has-been-vilified-unfairly-mayor-says-in-reference-to-kirk-cameron-event 

Bonhoeffer’s “theory of stupidity”

We have more to fear from stupid people than evil ones.

Adapted from Jonny Thomson

https://bigthink.com/thinking/bonhoeffers-theory-stupidity-evil/

“Debating an idiot is like trying to play chess with a pigeon — it knocks the pieces over, craps on the board, and flies back to its flock to claim victory.” 

SCAM GODDESS

Each week host Laci Mosley (aka Scam Goddess) keeps listeners up to date on current rackets, digs deep into the latest scams, and breaks down historic hoodwinks alongside some of your favorite comedians! It’s like true crime only without all the death! True fun crime!

Scam Goddess is a podcast dedicated to fraud and all those who practice it! 

Delving into historical scandals and current events alike, Mosley and her guests — including comedians such as J.B. Smoove and Nicole Byer — might even teach you how to spot a con artist before it’s too late. The podcast appears weekly on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and other major platforms.

https://www.earwolf.com/show/scam-goddess

650,000 **FEWER** people die from Climate Change

Published in Lancet Planetary Health, the second paper reported that between 2000 and 2019, annual deaths from heat exposure increased. But deaths from cold exposure, which were far more common, fell by an even larger amount.

All told, during those two decades the world warmed by about 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit, and some 650,000 fewer people died from temperature exposure.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2023/hot-cold-extreme-temperature-deaths/ 

Fox FAKE News Network

Most people thought the FOX News commentators were spurring BS about the 2020 Presidential Election, but unfortunately, most 71 million Republicans thought Fox News was factually. The top news network for FAKE medium wasn't stupid. They were just liars.

Emails and Texts Show What Fox News Hosts Really Thought About 'Rigged' Election.

New court documents reveal that Laura Ingrham, Sean Hannity, and even Rupert Murdoch privately expressed doubts about the whole election fraud narrative.

https://gizmodo.com/fox-news-trump-tucker-carlson-dominion-voting-1850130090  

In a text to Fox personality Maria Bartiromo on Nov. 10, 2020, Bannon wrote: 

“71 million voters will never accept Biden. This process is to destroy his presidency before it even starts; IF it even starts.....We either close on Trump’s victory or delegitimize Biden...THE PLAN.”

Generative AI

What is generative AI?

January 19, 2023: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) describes algorithms (such as ChatGPT) that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos. Recent new breakthroughs in the field have the potential to drastically change the way we approach content creation.

Rumor Guard

The News Literacy Project is encouraging everyone to push back against misinformation with its new platform, RumorGuard, which helps you know what’s safe to share and which rumors should be stopped in their tracks. It cites topical viral rumors and lays out exactly how the public can determine that a claim doesn’t hold weight, based on five factors for credibility.

ExxonMobil Climate Contradition

For decades, some members of the fossil fuel industry tried to convince the public that a causative link between fossil fuel use and climate warming could not be made because the models used to project warming were too uncertain. Supran et al. show that one of those fossil fuel companies, ExxonMobil, had their own internal models that projected warming trajectories consistent with those forecast by the independent academic and government models. What they understood about climate models thus contradicted what they led the public to believe.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk0063  

In 2015, investigative journalists discovered internal company memos indicating that Exxon oil company has known since the late 1970s that its fossil fuel products could lead to global warming with “dramatic environmental effects before the year 2050.”

Blindspot Report

Often NO information is comparable to MIS or FAKE information.  Most people watch only one or group of sources that best match THEIR preferred bias. It often explains how many people have some bizarre opinions. Most people aren't stupid; they're just lazy or don't care about knowing the facts.

For those who prefer factual and balanced reporting Ground News provides a tool. It is a platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias and break free from algorithms. 

The Ground News Blindspot (https://ground.news/blindspot) provides a rating system that adds context and transparency to every news story. Readers from all walks of life can conveniently identify media bias, check source credibility, and view ownership data for news outlets around the world.

The bias and factuality ratings are determined using three independent news monitoring organizations: All Sides, Ad Fontes Media, and Media Bias Fact Check. The ownership categories were researched and developed by Ground News.

US citizens lost over $10 billion

US citizens lost over $10 billion due to phishing calls by illegal Indian call centres in 2022, as per the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data. From a report: 

Most of the victims of these fraud calls from Indian phishing gangs were elderly US citizens above the age of 60 years who lost over $3 billion, Times Of India reported citing FBI data. After several incidents were reported in 2022, the FBI has now deputed a permanent representative at the US embassy in New Delhi. The representative will work closely with the CBI, Interpol and the Delhi Police to bust these gangs that have put India under the threat to be termed as the hub of such illegal call centres. Several Americans lost a total of $10.2 billion in 2022 so far, which is a 47 per cent increase from 2021's $6.9 billion, to such fraud calls.

Deepfake-style Marketing Clones

People are hiring out their faces to become deepfake-style marketing clones

AI-powered characters based on real people can star in thousands of videos and say anything, in any language.

Hour One is building up a pool of what it calls “characters.” It says it has around 100 on its books so far, with more being added each week. “We’ve got a queue of people that are dying to become these characters,” says Natalie Monbiot, the company’s head of strategy.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/27/1033879/people-hiring-faces-work-deepfake-ai-marketing-clones

Geek Squad SCAM (2022)

Geek Squad Targets Seniors

https://www.rd.com/article/geek-squad-scams/

The Geek squad scam is so popular because it’s one of the simplest scams to perpetrate, costs nearly nothing to run, has endless variations and has a very low chance of the criminal getting caught, explains Matt Hathaway, a cybersecurity expert and the chief marketing and strategy officer at TrueFort, a cybersecurity company. “It’s low risk, high reward,” he says. “It’s cheap and easy to send the slightly customized email to hundreds or thousands of people and wait until someone responds.”