Forget Iceland or Bali, real travel influencers go to Poyais. It's so exclusive it doesn’t even exist! The story of this fake country starts in 1822 with a man named Gregor MacGregor (real name).

Quote:Gregor MacGregor Creates His Own Country

In 1822 and 1823 hundreds of people departed England and Scotland on voyages to the promising new country of Poyais. Clutching Poyaisian currency and filled with hope for a prosperous future, the would-be settlers were shocked to find that the bustling harbor, elegant capital city, and readily cultivatable land promoted by the country’s dashing governor, Gregor MacGregor, were in fact nothing but a desolate wilderness. Leading to financial ruin and more than 150 deaths, the colonization attempt revealed Poyais to be more con than country, and MacGregor, the Scotsman behind the scheme, to be an equally cunning fraud. How had he pulled it off?



Although he had risen to the rank of general in the war for Venezuela’s independence from Spain, MacGregor had done little to distinguish himself in that struggle. Yet, when he returned to Britain from the Americas, he succeeded in convincing aristocrats in London that he was a war hero. What’s more, he convinced them—and investors there—that an Indigenous ruler in Central America had granted him an eight-million-acre tract of land along the region’s Mosquito Coast and had appointed him cacique, or prince, to govern and develop the country. To corroborate his story, MacGregor presented an array of official-looking documents, land grants, maps, and a flag.

Thus, MacGregor’s success story was not confined to the new country’s parameters. After hearing of his achievements and status abroad, members of the English aristocracy did not hesitate to induct MacGregor into society. Not only did he receive the use of a country estate while visiting England, but Poyais gained credibility as a country.

What was the point of MacGregor’s fake country? Although it may have been an ego booster for him to introduce himself as its prince, he had more at stake than the title and its attendant rewards.

The answer is simple: money. Armed with two loans of £200,000 each—obtained through two bond issues on the London market, the first granted in October 1822 and the second in October 1823—MacGregor could advertise to prospective settlers lots as large as 540 acres, which could be divided into smaller lots for extremely low prices, potentially gaining him hundreds of thousands in profits.

Having reached what was supposed to be the main port of Poyais in 1822 and 1823, the would-be settlers attempted to construct makeshift shelters on the shore as they awaited help. But before a rescue ship from an British colony in what is now Belize arrived, almost three-quarters of the group had succumbed to malnutrition or tropical diseases such as malaria and yellow fever.

Despite the many lives and hundreds of thousands of pounds lost through his scheme, MacGregor was never quite brought to justice. Still under his spell, a number of people, including even some of the surviving colonists, pointed their fingers at the organizers and leaders of the voyages rather than blaming MacGregor. The possibility that he had lied about his title and country seemed inconceivable. Taking advantage of Britain’s hesitation to prosecute him, MacGregor fled to France in 1823.

Once a con man, always a con man: even after the failure of the Poyais venture, MacGregor never really learned his lesson. In France he traced the same footsteps he had made in England: forging documents, obtaining bank loans, and raising a new crop of settlers to people Poyais. Despite enduring a brief period of suspicion, during which the French government jailed but eventually acquitted him, MacGregor continued to make money by promoting Poyais until the late 1830s, when he retired the scheme. By then he had been welcomed back to Venezuela with a pension for his military service there, allowing him to live out the rest of his days as the prince of Poyais.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/188...in-torture

Quote:Moscow terror suspect tortured by Russian soldiers with genitals hooked up to 80v battery

GRAPHIC TORTURE WARNING Disturbing new photographs shows Russian security forces brutally torturing one of the Moscow terror suspects by tying his genitals to an 80v battery.

Moscow terror suspect tortured by Russian soldiers with genitals hooked up to 80v battery

GRAPHIC TORTURE WARNING Disturbing new photographs shows Russian security forces brutally torturing one of the Moscow terror suspects by tying his genitals to an 80v battery.

Video shows concert hall in Moscow under attack by gunmen

The new interrogation footage follows similarly gruesome videos released yesterday of the Russian security forces cutting off a terror suspect's ear and forcing him to eat it.
The new photograph, shared widely on Wagner Group-linked Telegram channels, reveals a graphic torture scene.
One of the suspected gunmen, named as Shamsuddin Fariddun, can be seen lying on the floor with his trousers pulled down and wires hooked to his genitals.

Quote:In the early 1990s, Chinese-American physicist Ning Li published a series of controversial papers theorizing about anti-gravity. In 2001, she received a Defense Department contract to fund experimental efforts based on her theories... And in 2004, Ning Li disappeared — prompting a flood of conspiracy theories. Let's dive into the work of Ning Li and the mystery surrounding her disappearance to see which parts of this story we can finally put to rest for good.

Quote:“Embark on an interstellar journey with ‘The Three-Body Problem’ audiobook summary. Dive into the award-winning science fiction saga by Liu Cixin, where humanity grapples with the consequences of contacting an advanced alien civilization. Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, this novel weaves a tale of cosmic intrigue and human resilience. Discover the secrets of the Red Coast Base, the mysterious Frontiers of Science, and the fate of two civilizations in this gripping narrative. Tune in for a condensed exploration of this modern sci-fi masterpiece.”

A thread that probably nobody cares about, but I was curious and provides a little bit of insight into the thinking of Deus ex.

"I was raised by books. Books, and then my parents" says Elon Musk.



25 books recommended by Elon:

1) Issac Asimov’s Foundation Series

“In terms of sci-fi books, I think Isaac Asimov is really great. I like the Foundation series, probably one of the all-time best.

His Foundation books were an inspiration for the need to make life multiplanetary while civilization is still strong.” — Elon Musk




2) Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson.

“I didn't read actually very many general business books, but I like biographies and autobiographies, I think those are pretty helpful. Actually, a lot of them aren't really business. [...]

Isaacson's biography on Franklin is really good. Cause he was an entrepreneur and he sort of started from nothing, actually he was just like a run away kid, basically, and created his printing business and sort of his way of doing that, and then over time all of the science and politics.

I'd say certain he's one of the few people I most admire. Franklin's pretty awesome." — Elon Musk




3) Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom

"Worth reading Superintelligence by Bostrom. We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes." — Elon Musk




4) Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark

"This is a compelling guide to the challenges and choices in our quest for a great future of life, intelligence and consciousness—on Earth and beyond."
— Elon Musk




5) Human Compatible by Stuart Russell

"Worth reading “Human Compatible” by Stuart Russell (he’s great!) about future AI risks & solutions."  — Elon Musk




6) Our Final Invention by James Barrat

"While on the subject of AI risk, Our Final Invention by James Barrat is worth reading." — Elon Musk




7) Zero to One by Peter Thiel

"Peter Thiel has built multiple breakthrough companies, and Zero to One shows how." — Elon Musk




8) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams

"I guess when I was around 12 or 15... I had an existential crisis, and I was reading various books on trying to figure out the meaning of life and what does it all mean?

It all seemed quite meaningless and then we happened to have some books by Nietzsche and Schopenhauer in the house, which you should not read at age 14 (laughter). It is bad, it’s really negative.

So then I read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy which is quite positive I think and it highlighted an important point which is that a lot of times the question is harder than the answer. And if you can properly phrase the question..."  — Elon Musk




9) The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

"I know it's cliche, but this is my favorite book ever.

The heroes of the books I read, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and the ‘Foundation’ series, always felt a duty to save the world."  — Elon Musk

According to many modern translations, the chief priests and scribes were anxious to arrest Jesus, but not “during the feast, lest there be a tumult of the people” (Mark ch14 v2, Matthew ch26 v5). The AV modifies it by adding a supplementary word; “on the feast day.  These translations give the impression that they wanted to avoid action during a period of time. This in turn gives rise to the idea that they changed their minds when Judas showed them how the arrest could be made in the middle of this period.
 
However, I think this idea is a misunderstanding, based on a mistranslation.
 
The Greek expression translated as “during the feast” is EN TE HEORTE. But EN is the equivalent of the English “In” and has a wider range of meanings than “during”. That is why the AV translates “on” and is obliged to add “day” to make it more idiomatic in English speech. I’m going to suggest, though, that HEORTE is not a period of time but a location.
 
Let’s take a similar expression in modern English; “At the carnival”. The best-known carnival in the world is surely the Brazilian “Carnavale” (their spelling wanders further away from the Latin CARNI VALE, “farewell to flesh). The most recent  Carnavale was held on February 9th-14th 2024. But can we say that something is happening “at the carnival” just because it is happening during that time period? Surely a man can’t truly say that he is “in the carnival” or “at the carnival” unless he’s out there on the streets. If he’s hiding out in a back street hotel room, then he’s evading the carnival, not being part of it. “At the carnival” is as much about location as it is about time.
 
So “not at the feast” could be understood as “not in the streets, in the middle of the crowds which have gathered for the feast”. And that’s exactly how Luke seems to take it. His paraphrase is that Judas offered them a chance to capture Jesus “in the absence of the multitude” (Luke ch22 v6). While in John, the chief priests and Pharisees are giving orders that “if anyone knew where [Jesus} was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him” (John ch11v57). This too is about “away from the crowds”.
 
So Judas was, in fact, offering the authorities what they had wanted from the beginning, namely a way to arrest Jesus without interference, because it would be “not in the middle of the feast-crowds”.

“And Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Matthew ch17 v4).
 
I was reminded of this episode recently by a wrong-headed interpretation of it found in Toynbee’s “Study of History”. I like Toynbee. I am carefully reading through this work for the fourth time. But his enthusiasm for his case sometimes moves him to build it upon inaccurate details, and this is one of them.
 
He is offering examples of Violent and Gentle reactions to the disintegrations of civilisations. He counts Peter initially as an example of the violent tendency, partly because of the ear-cutting incident at Gethsemane, and partly because of the declaration just quoted. He claims that Peter took the appearance of Elijah and Moses as the signal for a war of liberation, “proposing to build on the spot the nucleus of a camp of the kind that the Theudases and Judases of Galilee were wont to establish in the wilderness during the brief interval of grace before the Roman authorities received intelligence of their activities and sent out a flying column of troops to disperse them” (Volume V, p393, if you want to look it up).
 
Commentaries don’t always do better. One found on my bookshelves, ignoring the wording of the remark, suggests that Peter wanted to build shelters for the three disciples, being the ones who would need shelter, so that they could stay on the mountain longer. Most commentators discover an allusion to the annual Feast of Tabernacles, often called “Feast of Booths” in modern times. The RSV translation implies the same assumption.
 
But I suggest that Peter was not thinking of the annual feast at all, but of the original Tabernacle, the one established by Moses in order to meet with God. The word used by Peter (SKENE) is the same word used in Hebrews ch9 for the original Tabernacle.
 
I think he was remembering that the Tabernacle had been erected originally so that Moses could speak with God. Seeing Jesus, Moses and Elijah together, it occurred to him, in his understandably muddled state of mind, that they might need one each. Hence the proposal.

Hello, I hail from AboveTopSecret forum.

The ATS hacking incident barred me from retrieving my original account (I didn't bother visiting the discord group), and subsequently, I was locked out of my 2nd account for no reason.

I heard rumors that the end of the site may come soon so I made an account on here in advance (and I'm considering, against my better judgment, making one on another refuge site). During my time on ATS, I never made any topics, I preferred to only react to other people's remarks.

But the urgency of our situation compels me to step out with an announcement. 
I come bearing a message on behalf of a friend, who was also locked out of his 2nd account. Setting aside his religious agenda, I would like to focus more on the political side of things, it seems he foresaw a possible variation of the recent terror attack in Moscow as early as February 13, 2023: https://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thr...id26887123

I will reproduce some of it here:

WanderingMrM Wrote:And I heard many voices, laughter and songs, I saw dances and foods... I heard many voices, screams and panic, there were kids and women crying. Smoke filled the once happy area and when I barely stood up, past all the ringing and chaos I managed to see and realize it was some sort of bomb that went off... 
So, ladies and gentlemen, we got multiple terrorist attacks it seems planned either on Russian territory or European. The time placement I would say was between April-July based on the sort of weather I was experiencing, but the masses of people gathered definitely reminds me of some sort of European festival or market, a Russian festival or as they call Yarmarka, or an American-like festival. 
In regards to those who were involved all I can say is that the multiple channels the TV was cycling through said they had ties to ISIS and Al-Qaeda. I then sat there and thought why specifically "ISIS and Al-Qaeda" didn't those guys fall off the radar? and No longer really did anything? 
And that is when it happened, everything around me went silent as I sat there looking through the corridor with people being treated, some screaming, some covered in blood and have their leg/legs or arm/arms missing... I said to myself "Wait... Did Americans do this?" and my body instantly became cold from the shock of the realization.

WanderingMrM Wrote:Either in coming few days, or it will be kept silent due to a mass reveal by Putin to rise up Russians and do an entire national mobilisation. If you have anyone in Europe especially in France around time of Olympic games tell them to stay away. If this is a timeline scenario, something might be planned for France.

A very strong and well spoken opening statement

Quote:In a recent hearing, Tony Bobulinski took aim at Jamie Raskin and Dan Goldman, accusing them of perpetuating lies across various media platforms. The hearing, convened by the House Oversight Committee amidst a Republican-led investigation, delved into allegations surrounding the business dealings of Joe and Hunter Biden. Testimony was provided by former associates of Hunter Biden, including Lev Parnas, once linked to Rudy Giuliani. Tony Bobulinski's testimony focused on purported connections between the Bidens and business ventures in China and Russia, suggesting their involvement in influence peddling. He claimed firsthand encounters with the Bidens in 2017, portraying them as actively engaged participants in the alleged dealings.

LOL

Yes, the Democrat Fascist are going full "RETARD". They want to censor anything they don't like that they are willing to blatantly overturn the 1st amendment. Funny, 10 years ago conservatives were telling leftists that they would need the 2nd to protect the 1st. Now those same idiots are the ones wanting to destroy the 1st along with the 2nd.

As expected. 

MSNBC legal analyst says First Amendment makes US ‘vulnerable,’ calls for ‘common sense’ speech restrictions

Quote:MSNBC legal analyst Barbara McQuade argued Monday that the United States’ “deep commitment to free speech” makes Americans uniquely susceptible to disinformation campaigns.



McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor, went on “The Rachel Maddow Show” to promote her new book, “Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America.” She said her “goal” with the book was to spark a “national conversation about truth and our commitment to it.” 
She added, “I hope that by dissecting it, explaining it, and educating the public, we can all see disinformation for what it is so that we can begin to push back against it.”
When asked by host Rachel Maddow whether America is just as susceptible to disinformation as other countries, McQuade argued that it is even more vulnerable.

“Actually, Rachel, I think we’re more susceptible to it than other countries, and that’s because some of our greatest strengths can also be our Achilles Heel,” McQuade said. “So, for example, our deep commitment to free speech in our First Amendment. It is a cherished right. It’s an important right in democracy, and nobody wants to get rid of it, but it makes us vulnerable to claims [that] anything we want to do related to speech is censorship.”

She argued, “Of course, the Supreme Court has held that all fundamental rights, even the right to free speech, can be limited as long as there is a compelling governmental interest and the restriction is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. But I think any time someone tries to do anything that might limit free speech, people claim censorship.”

McQuade held up as an example this week’s Supreme Court cases regarding state laws about how social media platforms moderate content.


“We need to have a conversation and common-sense solutions to these things,” she said. “Instead, we throw out terms like ‘censorship,’ call each other names, use labels and retreat to our opposite sides. We need to be pragmatic and come up with real solutions.”

“But, it is, I think, one of the things that makes America particularly vulnerable to disinformation,” she concluded.

Maddow praised the book’s arguments and touted McQuade’s work as a “real public service and a pleasure.”