Business

Copy write?

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Censorship to avoid censorship

According to my limited understanding of a judgement handed down in the US Supreme Court on Tuesday last, FaceBook, in the person of NetChoice, has argued that it is a publisher of the views that all of us express in that forum. That therefore seems to suggest that the views we are permitted to express are at the very least approved by, if not the official position of, FaceBook, on any matter on which we speak. Given the diversity of views expressed here one can only suggest that a house divided against itself cannot stand [for very long], for many views here expressed will contradict other views. Ah well, if you see any of my posts disappear, you will now understand why.

Of course, the argument is a double edged sword on which these companies may themselves fall, for if they are the publisher, not merely the soap box in the corner of the Park from which we may express our views, then they have additional responsibilities over what we say. If we violate copyright and they publish the material, then who is responsible? Is not the publisher the responsible person? I then for one can rest quietly over a potential copyright violation in recent days; though I hasten to add that I have sought all the necessary permissions.

Actually what they argued was expressed in this way: ‘it would be a violation of their right to free speech, which includes the freedom of private companies to decide what content to publish on their platforms, to require them not to censor any content.’ So they get to choose whether they will let us say what we want to say.

One problem with the judgement is that it lacks a reasoned explanation of the grounds on which it was made, so we do not know which of the arguments presented, if any at all, led the judges to reach their decision. The main document of No. 21A720 is fascinating but dense. There was no link to the judgement at the time I wrote this.

I should now stop digging and allow one of my Irish friends to correct me on every point that I have made in the most delightful and inimitable manner for which he/she is so well known.

Indented this 19th day of May 2022 (JC), but our ISP had a problem on that day so we are late. Two days have now to go unto the finale.

Proscription

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Happy new year to y’all. Well, at least in the UK it is for corporation tax. Income tax customers have to wait another five days for their new year.

We are presently in a period of grace granted by the EU, so I understand, for green and blue. My step-grandfather was a seaman and had tattoos, the outlines of which were still discernible though quite shadowy or blurred by the time I was old enough to even take any notice of them.

The EU are rightly concerned about the injection of hazardous substances into the skin (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59871779), even the topical application of some substances, such as polonium, is exceedingly dangerous though no one has suggested that that is in common use. The EU are more concerned about alcohols like isopropanol. I had a look at the list here: https://echa.europa.eu/substances-restricted-under-reach

I was interested to find creosote in the list. I can now either stop looking for it or expect it to reappear in the hardware stores; I am not sure which yet, it may become a totem of distinction from the EU or a sop at upholding their standards. I was rather surprised that polonium was not on the list, or perhaps I missed it.

You may have read, some years ago (I think it was late 20th century), of an alternative to tattoos which had been proposed by a number of French chemists who had worked with goldfish. They were looking into chemical substitution, a technique which was just becoming viable as we were discovering ways in which individual molecules could be manipulated. There were reports of some successful substitutions to produce blues, reds and whites but the techniques then were far too imprecise. It really was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, except that the nut could not be seen when viewed in the same frame as the head of the hammer. [I really liked the idea of new simile, coined in January, of using a fighting elephant to crush a flea, used by a certain Eastern country of a Western one, but realised, having attempted to crush fleas myself, that the flea is likely to be not at all perturbed about being underneath an elephant’s foot. It will just wait for the foot to move and .. Ping! Back to work mate]. However, though the work was abandoned for a time better techniques, which were developed for the sequencing of biologic molecules, and the ability to model in 3D the structures of complex organic molecules, led to the ability to manipulate these. To be able to cut threads of complex polymers and insert alien modules was the step that was required, which led to genetic modification. I would like to enter into a discussion here about the differences between genetic modification and selective breeding for they are often conflated by some who have an axe to grind, but this is not the place to do so, so I shall refrain from following my desire to do so. The ability to modify living organic material revived the ideas of chemical substitution, but now not so much with the single atom in mind but rather a sequence of coding modules in DNA. Melanin production in the subcutaneous skin is controlled by the chemical responses of these biologic structures to sunlight. The question was asked whether this could be modified in some specific ways.

Research began, as always by giving PhD students the dirty work without telling them what the real end game is, otherwise they might get the academic credit instead of you. It was quite difficult, but slowly a picture began to emerge of the processes involved, the active regions of the genome and how the differences between racial skin types affected discolouration. The real work then began, can modifications be made to change the responses of the skin? This was all hidden under the guise of finding better protections for skin from UV damage, which then attracted significant funding, though not widely publicised for fear of damaging the value of their own products, from cosmetic manufacturers. There were some small successes; limited areas little more than spots could be changed, but any increase in melanin production may have beneficial effects, and if the changes were enduring may afford better protection from UV damage.

The work continued, with the cosmetic industry involved in this clandestine work it was rather harder to do what they really wanted to do, to see if patterns could be created firstly with melanin, but also could different coloured responses be produced – greens and reds perhaps? This required work not only into the production of melanin but other colourful organics like hæmoglobin and the non active elements of chlorophyll. Some of this was quite risky as it was well known that the really vibrant colours of arsenic green, cobalt blue, cæsium orange and lead red were quite toxic in the human body, but it was also understood that if these were firmly locked into structures that the body itself produced it was unlikely that they would be broken down thus releasing the toxic components into the body where they could do damage.

This was likened to the way that a tattoo remains in situ. The tissues that contain the tattoo are renewed and worked continually, but the tattoo itself essentially retains its structure undisturbed over many years. Would this sort of thing be possible with the modified tissues? It would take years to find out of course in real human subjects, and would they get permission to try it? So they had then to find an animal with a sufficiently high metabolic rate that what would take several years in a human body may only take months. Hummingbirds were an obvious candidate, but the plumage was a problem (not to mention a certain amount of a good dose of sentimentality over using such a pretty bird in this way), so a separate programme was set up to understand the elements of the genome that controlled metabolic rates, and consider whether the appropriate factors could be introduced into the rat genome to enhance it. This was a fascinating work, and they soon discovered much more about the interrelatedness of the body’s functions though not really understanding what was actually going on. The work was being done however not with a view to understanding, that could come later, but simply to engineer the genome in the required way. Eventually, they made sufficient progress and upon seeing one of the first successfully enhanced rats, that one of the team remarked that it was as well they had not been working on bats else the simile ‘like a bat out of..’ would take on quite a different meaning.

It was the likeness to the tattoo that solved their second problem, though that could not be revealed at this stage. The result of the tattoo artist’s work produces an analogue design, but the tool is a needle inserted at discrete points. This pixelated approach could be used for the genetic modifications of the skin. They also realised that this greatly enhanced the variety of colouration that was possible. It was thought that they then needed to find three modifications that produced the tricolour of ‘primary’ colours (like RGB or CMY). A larger palette of colours would be more useful, but much more difficult to handle. The reduced palette however allowed them to, at least initially, remove the more potentially dangerous modifications for the really vibrant colours aforementioned.

The results on the rats were promising. The modifications did remain in situ over the rats, admittedly short and rather shortened lifetimes, and did not seem to have any adverse effects. Would the modifications endure in much longer living organisms? The programme would take five to ten years, and the subjects would be pigs. In the meantime work continued on the rats into production of different colours and patterns, mostly using simply blue, white and red stripes to check alignments and later some quite simple images where colours were mixed producing some remarkable results.

The researchers started to draw up business plans, but they new they would have to wait before going public for the work on the pigs to conclude, and for no epidemic of swine flu to break out in their subjects.

Leaving the laboratory, April, one of the team working with the rats, noticed that there was a new prominent notice on the tattoo parlour on the other side of the road. The notice declared in quite clear terms (as you might expect) their sentiments concerning the EU ink ban, and the devastating impact upon the ‘industry’ and artists who work in it, and then went on to announce a new service. They acknowledged that the vibrancy of tattoos would be damaged by the new rules, and that this may have a significant impact upon the self-esteem of those who wished to be painted. They also acknowledged that some of the substitute inks that they would be permitted to use had the blurring and shadowing issues seen in many older people who had been painted many years earlier. April thought that it was good to read such an honest admission of what is generally known but rarely acknowledged. The notice then went on to describe the new service. The parlour was going to specialise, and would become a post-mortem tattoo parlour for those who want a tattoo to look its best at the end, not just at the beginning. They knew how disappointed many people felt years after their tattoo that it was not what it was. The notice encouraged those who wished to be painted to wait. They could still book their slot and pay a deposit now, with the balance to be paid just before the work was done. They would be assured that the tattoo would be of the highest quality, and would not be subject to the EU rules limiting the inks that could be used. They were promised that cobalt blue, arsenic green, cæsium orange and red lead would be used if required with some even more exotic options of radium blue, promethium and tritium greens for those who wished to be seen in dimmer lighting. They would be provided with digitally produced images of the finished work to show to friends before the work had been done, and would have the guarantee that it would not fade, nor blur nor shadow. Provision would be made, in conjunction with the undertakers for the tattoo to be displayed in a most sensitive and respectful way possible, prior to cremation or burial as appropriate. A footnote informed readers that the use of radium blue would not be permitted where a cremation was to follow.

April was about to go into the shop to find out what they meant when she realised that that was some kind of joke and stormed off, annoyed that it was not the first time she had been fooled into wasting her time reading such things.

Pizza or Tennis: a diplomatic incident?

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A warning to Wiebo users: do not share this. And yes, Coco does know that word this is miss-spelt as Coco does incorrectly spell ohters.

Freckles are apparently a diplomatic matter in one oriental country. Well perhaps Coco is overstating it, but apparently pizza is, which not being Italian Coco would not of course understand. We begin with the BBC in 2018 Dolce and Gabbana cancels Shanghai fashion show amid racism accusations:

‘Another user adds that a wave of companies and individuals have been smeared over “insults to [Seres]”, noting that the D&G incident was “raised to diplomatic level”.’

which was about an apparently entirely inappropriate pizzese incident.

This in 2019 then becomes a freckles incident Zara advert gets China asking: Are freckles beautiful?:
Some said that Ms Li’s appearance looked “ugly” to them.

Others have gone further, questioning whether Zara was “insulting” or “defaming the [Serenites]”, with one saying: “such pictures featuring an Asian model with freckles and an expressionless pie-shaped face mislead Westerners’ impressions about Asian women, and can lead to racism against Asian women.”‘

And then the small eyes incident [Sinæ]: Photographer sorry for ‘small eyes’ Dior picture:

In an editorial by the [Peking] Daily, the model in the Dior photo was described as having a “gloomy face” and sinister eyes”.

“The photographer is playing up to the brands, or the aesthetic tastes of the western world,” the editorial said. “For years, Asian women have always appeared with small eyes and freckles from the Western perspective, but the oriental way to appreciate art and beauty can’t be distorted by that.” Meanwhile, a commentary by [] Women’s News said that the image of the model with “swollen single eyelids” made people feel “uncomfortable”.’

Well, a face is a face, whether it is a freckly face or not is not your choice, but photoshopping a photograph of a face is the real distortion. In most of these extracts from the BBC articles quoting comments, by Coco assumes orientals, we could substitute references to orientals with occidental, perhaps even accidental, references or references to any other racial stereotype.

However that is not Coco’s point. If an advert is capable of going up to diplomatic levels, as has been reported, why is the disappearance of Peng Shuai not a diplomatic matter?
Peng Shuai: China says tennis star case maliciously hyped up

Perhaps the question should rather be, in the light of the deliberate malicious hyping up of photographs in advertisements of absolutely no consequence, why does that country suggest that the controversy, which does have consequences, surrounding tennis star Peng Shuai has been maliciously hyped up by others?

Of course, Coco hopes that Peng Shuai is well and free, but in the face of obstruction and obfuscation, by a government that hope has little on which to hold, which perhaps brings us back to Wuhan.

Daniel provides a commentary one who outgrew his boots: “‘Is not this great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honour of my majesty?’ While [this] word was still on the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken. The kingdom has departed from you. They shall drive you from men and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field…until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he choose.’ … Nebuchadnezzar was driven out .. and ate grass like the oxen. His body was wet with the dew till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and nails like birds’ claws. “

COP26

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Call Coco picky if you will but the COP26 globe which has been chosen by many to illustrate the opening of the summit looks as if someone has tried to wrap Mercator’s projection of the globe back onto a globe. This is truly flat earth thinking, however not quite so bad as the hexagonal football of British road sign infamy. Coming back to the COP26 globe, Coco does wonder how the young man at the front managed to get his head in front of the globe which is being held by a hand in front of him, and what is on the other side of the globe. Is the Pacific really that big?

More astonishingly even, the image came from Getty images. What else might one find there, a picture of Celenites perhaps?

Questions

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that should not be asked

You have noticed that the French do not ask questions

Vous mangiez ici?
Vous alliez au football?

unless you see the sentence written down, or have a good ear for the French inflexion? This is because of a certain authoritarian regime, a republic ruled by an emperor, rather like an earlier Latin republic, from whose language the language of the French was derived, in which the asking of questions was a thing to avoid?

It is considered perhaps that if you are able to instil subservient fear into a rebellious people they will obey you. A certain oriental businessman* spoke about that before his recent detention. It is also clear that if you can be inhibited from asking questions, then the authority, or indeed anyone, need not answer and so cannot ever be accused of telling a lie?

A start must be made to this process of course, and there is no better start than to strike at a question which we must all ask ourselves and each other almost everyday of the month. The date used to be ubiquitous. It was printed on every sheet of newsprint, so half of the litter in our streets would display it to you. It would be seen on calendars hanging in almost every place you visit, and the desk of everyone in the office. Such things have all but disappeared, and now you might have to resort to a visit to the bank, if you can find a nearby branch which is open, or a post office. It is there on your computer screen, often in its default position of the bottom right hand corner of your screen, but, oh, the default view is not to display the date only the time, and the default status is, well quite naturally, the default status. So it is only natural that we should ask the question:

What is the date today?

Perhaps it is only the French who would escape republican ire and justice if they ask the question on the fourth of June. I should also remember that the fourth of July is also a day of disgrace and dishonour but for a different reason, you understand?

There was another day of disgrace and dishonour when the late Latin empire crucified a man for no wrong that he had done, indeed his judge acknowledged as much: I find no wrong in him. But that day was the day when God revealed his glorious grace towards a rebellious people in such a way that he had never done before nor shall ever need to do again. On that day the man upon the cross died for all who questioned his right to rule over them, paying the price himself for their rebellion. God has therefore raised him from the dead and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

* Xiaohongshu social media account blocked after Tiananmen post
E-commerce app Xiaohongshu’s social media account disappeared after a post on the sensitive date.

The day of reckoning

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The day of reckoning is nigh!

On the day that new opportunities arise for some, this is the day of reckoning for many others. There are but a few hours left to complete your reckoning to HMRC, have you done so? Or are you exempt? If you must still do so, and are not yet ready, do not let Coco delay you any longer.

This day of reckoning reminded Coco of another day, we have heard much of the effect of the consequences of the new coronavirus and of excess deaths. In very broad terms seventy-five thousand excess deaths is a very real and great tragedy. You do know that there were six hundred and fourteen thousand deaths in 2020 – an even greater loss. This reminded Coco of the even greater day of reckoning that is to come to every one of us. You may often hear it said ‘we only live once’ which of course has a corollary ‘we only die once’ and after that there is a crisis. Well, crisis is the original word, it means judgement. There is a day for the reckoning that each one of us must make to his Maker. Are you ready for it?

Between now and the end of the day of reckoning for your tax return in England and Wales there may be a further seventy times seven (one of whom on the basis of statistics alone will not have completed his tax return) who have gone to the ultimate day of reckoning. As the Bible reminds us that just as we must die once, so Jesus Christ has appeared once to take away sins, and shall appear a second time for those who are waiting for him to bring salvation. Are you waiting for him or waiting for judgement?

(In)equality acts

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Gloom descends

It was a rainy day and Eeeyore had taken a walk through the gloomy gloom of the gloomiest glade in the Hundred Acre Wood that he could find when all at once Gloom fell all over him.

How do you do?, he said.

How would you do, Eeyore replied, if when you were walking in the pleasant places with the rain gently falling on your back and running down your tail suddenly there was an interruption from above by someone all at once falling out of the dark grey misty sky onto your back where the rain should have been?

Gloom became gloomier. It was no use, try as he may he could not raise any cheer in anyone who came across his path, not even Eeyore, whom he thought had the gloomiest disposition that he had ever seen. And Gloom had seen many a gloomy disposition in his time.

So Gloom considered that there might be another way to improve the situation. He thought to draw a smiley face, but knew that a smiley face would be quite, indeed considerably beyond his abilities, but he would try. As he did so Eeyore gently pointed out that under the Equal Status Act Gloom should not have drawn a smile that clearly depicted that he, Eeyore, was a donkey.

Gloom understood the predicament, indeed the dilemma of being between a rock and a hard place: Had he drawn a smile with human eyes then it would have been the most outrageous of insults; Had he drawn an anatomically correct smile it would have been regarded as an ethnic slur. In the circumstances, there was nothing for it. The only thing he could do was to draw what may be considered a caricature of the character of Eeyore as of course that was the only way that Gloom had any hope of ever drawing anything.

Inspired by the BBC.

Apologies, Coco forgot to remove the TM. Coco has not registered the logo. If you wish to do so, please bear in mind that a challenge may be forthcoming from the owners of the original which Coco has plagiarised and from which Coco has produced an entirely new work of art, whose copyright I now claim.

Farming targets

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How to use a cane

A tautologous repetition of conceptual ideas will not produce the making of a taxonomic classification of factual data items however well clothed with an investment in a garb of reasonable logic, but it may provide a cane with which to rod those with whom your tolerance will have nothing to do.

There were four schools on the remote populous Atlantic Island of South Withering, we call them A, B, C and D. The Island had overall a poor reputation for the education of its people and wished to improve its standards. A report was commissioned and after much deliberation it was agreed by the educational sociologists that the recommendations would be implemented subject to some minor modifications which they assured all would not invalidate the new measures. It was a stick and carrot approach but as with most social sociology the emphasis was upon the carrot. There would be rewards for increasing standards of achievement amongst pupils as this was felt to be the most appropriate way to encourage both schools and pupils.

The targets were ambitious, but given the abysmal starting point generally recognised as not unattainable. Over three years there was a hope, it was not expressed as an expectation, of a ten percent improvement in educational achievements. The teachers at school C were quite concerned about the targets, but nevertheless threw their weight behind the initiative and after learning that their colleagues at school D were struggling offered them help in the form of additional coaching and tutoring. The teachers at schools D and C worked together over the following years. Schools A and B continued to make steady but not remarkable progress.

At the day of assessment all four schools were astonished at the outcome. School D received prestigious rewards for its achievements. Schools A and B were commended, but school C would be placed in special measures for its failure to draw anywhere close to the targets that had been set.

The results table was as follows:

GradesαβγOverallυ
A10%13%20%15%-50%
B12%10%10%11%-69%
C0%3%-5%0%0%
D50%25%30%31%-68%
Increase in numbers passing exams at grades and decrease in unclassified results

What was not disclosed however were the actual numbers of pupils before and after (the before numbers have been scaled to match the current numbers):


BeforeAfter
GradesαβγυαβγυTotal
A15023020017016526024085750
B1301802108014619823125600
C4503020045031190500
D90250350310135312455981000
Total8206907803608968019452082850

All of the teaching staff knew that without the dedicated support of the staff at school C, in guiding her teachers but primarily in motivating her students, school D would have made little or no progress. But in their hearts, they knew, it was useless to say anything. For school C even the best possible result would have been regarded as a failure: +11% at α -100% at β -100% at γ -0% at υ.

What has that to do with Welsh farmers one may ask? I too do wonder why they are in December 2020 to be given new reduced greenhouse gas emission targets when they already have one of the lowest rates of emission in the world?

Jones, the farmer, who had been very active in the farmers’ union throughout his working life, on his retirement had been asked to present to his colleagues on the techniques that he had used and tried over his many years’ of active life. Some months later in the course of his closing remarks he mentioned that he had farmed 1000 hectares for over forty years, and through the implementation of systems of active land management and rotation in his last twenty or so years had increased his average five year yield from 6 tonnes an hectare to 8, but in this latest year he had achieved over 10 tonnes per acre.

His peers were impressed by his long term achievement, but what had he done recently? ‘Remarkable’, they spoke to one another in the reception afterwards. ‘Indeed’ would be the reply, ‘what had he done, what is the secret?’ And all and sundry wanted to ask him the burning question, but he seemed to take control of every conversation and steer the discussion away from the question of yield to techniques and environmental impact. Eventually the younger farmers gave up, until another retired gentleman farmer spoke out, and asked Jones to explain to the company what he had meant and how he had done it, giving Jones, as only an older man could do, no escape. Jones replied quite simply, ‘if you are willing to put in the effort then ten tons per acre is not in anyway unachievable, but, he added, I knew that if I planted more than one square yard I would not be able to devote sufficient care to the crop to produce such a yield.’

‘By the grace of God given to me, Paul, do not think more highly of yourself than you ought, but let each by careful judgement measure yourselves according to the faith that God has given you. ‘ Of course, if we have no faith then we have no standard by which to measure, but nevertheless our standard is Jesus Christ, who loving his enemies, gave his life for us that we may receive from him faith and so be able to serve and love him in his eternal kingdom (Romans 12:3 and elsewhere).

Conspiracies

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It has been said if a lie is to believed it must be a big one

Now certain reports have suggested to Coco that not many of you are likely to read this post through as it is too long, nevertheless it shall be long. Sometimes a short rebuke is both necessary and effective, but in reasoning and critique a longer reply may be required. Another reason for you not wanting to read it through might be that it is far too convoluted, perhaps, some would say, dense or even turgid, but whatever your reason might be Coco hopes that you will be able to overcome any such propensity and continue to plough a furrow through it such as shall not be erased at least not before the late rains have come.

Paul was not afraid to use words spoken by those with whom he would not be in full agreement when they spoke the truth: so in Athens ‘in him we live and move and have our being’, as well as possibly a more famous extract from a Cretan poet there and elsewhere, are used by him to great effect. In our day however when you quote someone who happens to belong to a proscribed group you risk the most severe of opprobria, not to mention discipline, that our society can, if it believes in discipline, find. Coco says this because Coco intends to quote from one who comes in for even greater censure than the one who said something like: When a great opportunity arises, do not play with trifles.

It was this man, whom Coco shall not name but who will be well known to you, and to whom Coco is very happy to attribute the words Coco shall use should you wish to ask, but will not do so here in order to avoid the risk that this post shall be heard in Moscow or Peking having so been reported by the automated trawlers to those who think they have authority over us and what we post here and yet to the real authorities are unwilling to accept any responsibility for what we post; but that subject is really outside the scope of what Coco wishes to say here, and consequent to their audit result in a potential redaction of this post.

So to move on, it makes good business sense, some would say, that you go where the big money is. So on the eve of battle you might expect to hear: when there is an opportunity to make money out of [repeatedly] providing a vaccine to everyone on the planet, why go after (play) with something that will only benefit one in 1,000, unless the profit out of that trifle is at least 1,000 times greater than the profit to be made out of each dose of the vaccine?

Or perhaps the authorities might say: when there is an otherwise greater and more significant opportunity to exercise control over our people (they do not like to remember that at least in the West it is the other way round, they are our governors) why go after anything less? They see that there are some social benefits, although also significant costs, in social order. They forget though that a former Dutch prime minister who having done the historical analysis over a hundred years ago, concluded that the best solution to social deprivation and vice would be for the government to promote the preaching of the evangelical Christian gospel such was the evidence from the previous two hundred years of the turn around and improvement that there had been where that gospel had touched the hearts and lives of men and women. Coco is again in danger of drifting, rambling some might say, outside the scope of what Coco came here to say.

Now, if you have read Coco carefully you will note that Coco has not actually said or accused anybody of doing something or saying something which they have not said, but let Coco ask a question, based upon a remark of one who was probably knew and was known by the one who said: in the face of a great opportunity do not play with trifles, unlike Drake who when faced with the Armada continued his game of bowls, or Belshazzar who partied into the night when the Medes and Persians were at his gates.

Before Coco does so, just a brief reminder of our mortality. Before the beginning of the 20th Century our mortality rates were around 20 per mille. Coco shall not argue over whether they were as low as 17 or as high as 25. Using a five year average by 1970 they had fallen to around 12 per mille and continued to fall until about six years ago hitting a low just above 8.5 per mille. It is currently at something just under 9.5 per mille. The rates for other countries may differ, and the rates Coco has provided may differ from other sources, but the differences are not so significant as require an explanation here. Coco understands there is some kind of correlation between mortality rates and life expectancy, but it is a complex relationship, in physical terms a three body problem, so Coco must leave that to the experts in that field. Whilst reading into this matter (researching would be too strong a term) Coco was astonished to find that some work had been done on the correlation of wealth production and life expectancy. If they are right perhaps the owners of this forum might be expected to outlive Methuselah. However, causation cannot be proven, for the numbers do not determine the date of Coco’s death, rather it is the deaths of all who have gone before us which determine these numbers. Ours will only affect numbers which we shall never know.

Now in the light of what was truthfully said: if you are going to tell a lie make sure it is a big one, what conclusion might you reach over whether, if they are lies, what Coco has suggested might have been said or whether, if they are lies, what was actually said by the authorities, whether they are governing authorities or scientific authorities, which Coco has not reported here, about the current infection is the bigger lie?


In accordance with good examination practice (should we ever see them again), you are required, please, to set out your reasons in no more than the number of words that Coco has taken to reach the next following full stop.

Finally, one of the sources of the data requires Coco to state:
Office for National Statistics various years, Data obtained through the Human Mortality Database, www.mortality.org on 17 November 2020

☺ With apologies in advance for errors of syntax, orthography and grammar which may be found embedded in this document whether arising from oversight, incorrect application of language packs or generally any other misadventure; and in general for any offence given inadvertently or inappropriately or both taken or not taken by those whose sensibilities, whether grammatical, orthographical, moral or simply personable, have been offended whether, not or if you have not incorrectly misunderstood the content, intent, meaning and purpose of this article, and to those whose copyrights may have been inadvertently or wantonly infringed, but never as to cause damage the copy holder’s rights, and, if you have managed to read this far, for any errors or omissions whether wilful, unintended, innocent or deliberate in the content of this polemic, and with thanks to you who have made it thus far for your patience.

Carrots

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Carrots are vegetables

Facebook seem to think that the post referenced here was in some way offensive for Coco, for one, can no longer access it.
Perhaps it really was to logicians, but Coco thought the argument had some merit, albeit small and inappropriately aligned, but to say offensive? To whom? Coco suspects this appropriately misaligned commentary will also be deemed offensive.

  • Carrots are vegetables, and
  • Black lives matter.

The two sentences are not comparable. One is a statement about the properties of carrots or an example of what the property vegetable is, the other is a political statement, the result of the condensation of a political manifesto or agenda into three words.

Of course additional words are required in order to explain what the political statement means. Should the first word be All, Most or Some? Does Black include brown, tan, olive, red, yellow – should Coco go on? If black only means black Coco understands, but if it means more than black why would it not also include pink? What does Matter mean? ‘Has value’ is probably what is implied.

… almost finished, two more points which are perhaps the most controversial. Is ‘Black lives matter’ true in the logical sense of true? I would suggest that those who hold this doctrine believe it is not true. They declare a contradiction. They use the slogan only because black lives do not matter and so declare an untruth.

Now please do not understand Coco, that was the penultimate point. The last point to make here is that the slogan lacks a reference point. In most cases where someone declares ‘It matters’ There is a preceding context which makes clear the meaning and to whom ‘it’ matters. ‘It matters to the customer, the boss, usw. ‘It’ is the Zanies’s hook and belt without which he cannot do his work. It matters to him, but not to Coco who would have no idea how to use it anyway. So this is the final point, to whom do the black lives matter to which this slogan refers? As Coco has said, there would be no need to say this if it were true, but it is not; black lives apparently do not matter to some. Who are the some to whom they do not matter? Coco leaves you, dear reader, to answer that question.

But let Coco affirm, just as carrots are a vegetable, Coco can use this slogan in a different way than intended: Black lives matter to God who made all men in his image, and because he has made us in his image men of all shades should treat every other man with the full respect that they expect for themselves. If you prefer to believe Darwin’s disciples rather than God then it is clear that you have no grounds on which to rest your case and claim that black lives matter any more than covid-19 virus lives matter. Sadly, we have not obeyed the commandments of God, we treat him with contempt; is it then a surprise to you than we treat other men badly? But God is not willing that we should perish, but gave his only Son to die on a Roman cross for our sins that we might be reconciled to him. Believe this and you shall live, and in Christ there is neither slave nor free, Jew nor Gentile, Greek nor Barbarian nor even Scythians we are a new one nation in him.

☺With apologies in advance for errors of syntax, orthography and grammar which may be found embedded in this document whether arising from oversight, incorrect application of language packs or generally any other misadventure; and in general for any offence given inadvertently or inappropriately or both taken or not taken by those whose sensibilities, whether grammatical, orthographical, moral or simply personable, have been offended whether, not or if you have not incorrectly misunderstood the content, intent, meaning and purpose of this article, and to those whose copyrights may have been inadvertently or wantonly infringed, but never as to cause damage the copy holder’s rights, and, if you have managed to read this far, for any errors or omissions whether wilful, unintended, innocent or deliberate in the content of this polemic, and with thanks to you who have made it thus far for your patience.