My Picks for Top Tweets: 5 September 2017

by | Sep 5, 2017 | Tweets | 22 comments

I’m looking for a new name for this daily offering than “Top Tweets”. I want to reflect that there’s a current events comment here too. If any of you can think of something, let me know.

I said I’d write about the North Korea crisis today, but it’s such a complex issue it’ll take a lot more than my daily comment to get through it. Here’s a summary though.

Overall, I think the world should worry about Donald Trump than Kim Jong-un at this stage.

Kim may be a sociopath, but he’s not crazy. He’s in his early thirties, and he wants to keep ruling his country for decades to come. He will not start a war because he know that would lead to his death and the ruin of his country. He knows he would lose.

North Koreans, including Kim, genuinely believe that they need nuclear weapons to be safe. They feel they could be taken over at any time unless it would be too risky for their enemies to start a fight. As far as they’re concerned, having nuclear weapons makes them safe. It means there will not be an invasion by the US.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, is not so easy to predict. There is little that is keeping him in check. He is desperate to prove that he is worthy of the office of president, and it won’t have escaped his notice that his approval ratings went up slightly following the bombings in Syria and Afghanistan.

The generals are keeping Trump in check. He respects them, and that means he listens to them. However, he knows deep down that he’s failing as president and if he doesn’t find a way to feel successful through peace, war is the route he’ll take. If he doesn’t get better at the job soon, let’s hope Mueller finds something that will lead to impeachment. It could be the world’s only hope.

Before we get on with the usual tweets, here’s one of the fire in California.

Cat Tweets

Another lovely cuddle buddy.

 

Rock on kitteh!

 

This would make a good start to a horror movie!

 

Someone must be reading my mind!

 

It’s still happening!


One of my favourite cat pics ever!

Dog Tweets

I’m not a dog person, but these are undeniably cute!

Bird Tweets

There’s some interesting stuff about a reptile in this video too – the crown tree frog.

 

Isn’t it lovely?

 

Fascinating.

 

The more I learn about birds, the more I want to know.

 

This bird survives thanks to science providing it with a new beak.

Other Animals Tweets

My love for red pandas just went up even more!

 

Insect Tweets

We need more of this.


 

Wow! Look at the jaw on that thing!

 

Paleontology Tweets

I must remember to look for more tweets of fossils. They’re fascinating.

 

Political Tweets

“I appoint the best people.” Remember when Trump said that? If they’re so good, why did they all have to go?

 

Views of terrorist groups in the Middle East.

 

Well, Ted Cruz is a hypocrite. There’s a surprise. (Sarcasm alert!)

 

Here’s some pretty funny photo-shopping …

Religion Tweets

Don’t thank God, thank the healthcare professionals who cared for you.

 

History Tweets

Only just over a century ago, this Brit thought posing with the heads of Maori was acceptable behaviour. Thank goodness his descendants thought better of it. There have been multiple occasions over recent years where these and other Maori heads have been brought back to New Zealand with due honour.

We should not destroy this photo though, and nor should it be kept off social media. It is from such events that we learn.

The tweet in question.

Architecture Tweets

Gorgeous!

 

Scenic Tweets

I told you Canada was bound to be back, and here it is!

Entertainment Tweets

This is fun! I want one! (And I hate guns with a passion!)
(Via Ann German.)

Science Tweets

Every little thing looks different close up.


I wasn’t sure which section to put this cool GIF in.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Science is improving our lives every day.

 

Here’s some more info on the new camera.

 

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22 Comments

  1. Diana MacPherson
    Diana MacPherson on 5th September 2017 at 4:11 pm

    Breaking news fixins. Lol

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 5th September 2017 at 4:15 pm

      Ha ha! Not bad! Sounds like a recipe for poutine! Maybe you should use it instead?

      Reply
  2. j.a.m.
    j.a.m. on 5th September 2017 at 8:09 pm

    It’s science plus doctors and other health professionals who cure you, using the gifts God gave them. All else being equal, I would rather be treated by those who aren’t afraid to show a little humanity, humility and gratitude. Who pause momentarily to reflect–to acknowledge that they are not just executing some scientific procedure, but endeavouring to restore wholeness to an irreplaceable human person bearing the image of God.

    It’s sad that it would occur to anyone to ridicule this.

    Reply
    • Trevor
      Trevor on 5th September 2017 at 11:03 pm

      “All else being equal…”
      Your preference is fine. But wrt the question of God’s medical interventions, statistics bear out the result that all else really is equal.

      Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 6th September 2017 at 3:01 am

      I think atheists are more humble than theists. We think we’re just another ape who has to work to overcome our animal nature. Theists believe they’re special. They think when good things happen in their life, down to being born in a country like NZ or the US, it’s because they’ve been especially chosen by God.

      The truth is, we just got lucky.

      Why would any theist help someone less fortunate than themselves? After all, God decided they were to have awful lives. Or were babies suffering and dying of AIDS in Africa put there by God to give Christians someone to pray for? What an a$$ho£€! Is that the real reason the Pope doesn’t like condoms? So there are sufficient quantities of suffering masses to feel superior to and sorry for.

      Incidentally, why do US Christians feel sorry for the poor in Africa, but think the poor in their own country are just lazy?

      Reply
      • j.a.m.
        j.a.m. on 6th September 2017 at 2:11 pm

        @HH: Wow, that’s even sadder than the original. I’ll take it as an implicit concession — unless of course you can cite a credible basis for any one of these bizarre assertions?

        Reply
        • j.a.m.
          j.a.m. on 6th September 2017 at 2:31 pm

          “Ms. Jones, the bad news is that your doctor is an atheist. The really bad news is that he thinks he’s God.”

          Reply
      • j.a.m.
        j.a.m. on 6th September 2017 at 2:26 pm

        Okay, I give up. Why would an atheist help someone less fortunate than themselves?

        Reply
          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 6th September 2017 at 2:33 pm

            So what? Why care about doing the right thing? And how would anyone know what the right thing is?

          • Heather Hastie
            Heather Hastie on 6th September 2017 at 2:41 pm

            So you really that everyone thought stealing was okay before Moses came down from Mt Sinai?

            People who need a religion to tell them what’s right are scary. They can be told to do anything, like fly planes into buildings or bomb abortion clinics, because that’s what God wants. That’s really screwed up.

            If you are saying that the only thing that stops you from raping, killing, and stealing is your faith, you have a serious problem.

          • Trevor
            Trevor on 6th September 2017 at 3:04 pm

            “And how would anyone know what the right thing is?”

            Tell us how you decided that God is good, and you should be able to figure out how other people could decide that certain behaviours are good.

          • j.a.m.
            j.a.m. on 6th September 2017 at 3:14 pm

            Of course, those are all strawpersons. If the statement, “It’s the right thing to do,” be true, then it is a timeless, universal truth that is not contingent on any other reality. In our culture, the source of that truth is called God.

        • Trevor
          Trevor on 6th September 2017 at 2:46 pm

          Because she can. Why would you?

          Reply
    • Mark R.
      Mark R. on 6th September 2017 at 6:36 am

      “…[H]uman person bearing the image of god?” What arrogance! And you know why it is glaring arrogance? Because what you look like has nothing to do with anything in the grand scheme of things. It’s just another way some humans use to justify their perceived superiority over the rest of life on the planet (or the universe for that matter). It says here in god’s book I look like god “oooooohhh! how special am I and we who have faith?” So would all your faith crumble into meaninglessness (as it surely would with any honest fellow) if your book said that you were made in the likeness of your recent ancestral cousin the Neanderthal? Surely you can’t deny there is a likeness there, and you also can’t deny that you share Neanderthal DNA. Maybe that’s god’s true likeness? It’s a silly game, isn’t it? The true likeness you’ll see in yourself and in nature is elucidated by a lovely evolutionary prediction: ‘nested hierarchies’. The scientific explanation is: groups of related organisms share suites of similar characteristics and the number of shared traits increases with relatedness. This is why the majority of “advanced” life forms on earth (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) all share familiar characteristics: eyes, ears, brains, mouths, anuses, limbs, sexes, etc. It is also why life forms within their nested hierarchy look even more similar (with exceptions of course…evolution is a marvelous designing tool): fish look like fish, birds, birds, mammals, mammals…I’m sure you get the point.

      So you have to ask yourself – why would the infinite omni-thing of all-knowing and creator of the universe in 7-days need a template to create life as we know it? And if you can answer that, then answer this: why did it take so many billions of years for this infinite omni-creator to finally get around to making something in its own image? There is only one honest and logical answer: there is no infinite omni-creator thingamajig.

      Reply
      • Jenny Haniver
        Jenny Haniver on 6th September 2017 at 8:25 am

        +1

        Reply
      • j.a.m.
        j.a.m. on 6th September 2017 at 2:12 pm

        @MarkR: I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I would love to know what you think billions of years would have to do with a timeless infinite omni-creator thingamajig, if such existed?

        Reply
        • Mark R.
          Mark R. on 7th September 2017 at 5:30 am

          But of course you don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s why you believe in your thingamajig.

          Reply
  3. Lee Knuth
    Lee Knuth on 6th September 2017 at 4:13 am

    My idea for the title is: For your consideration. What ever you finally decide to name it I will follow it.

    Reply
  4. Jenny Haniver
    Jenny Haniver on 6th September 2017 at 4:19 am

    I’m not so confident that Kim Jong Un won’t start or provoke a nuclear war. In a way, I think that’s exactly what he wants subliminally, kind of like the mass shooter whose life (or country) is falling apart, and when the stress becomes too much goes out and mows down a bunch of innocent people, then dies in a hail of bullets or shoots himself. But, hey, I’m no shrink, just an armchair speculator, and I’m full of idle and probably ignorant speculations.

    That aside, here’s another ominous thing to note re the purported H-bomb test: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/05/radiation-leak-north-korean-nuclear-test-site-inevitable-says/ — radiation leak and potential collapse of mountain under which test was conducted (which may or may not have already occurred).

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 6th September 2017 at 6:35 am

      I think the second earthquake was likely a cave-in. A nuclear scientist who has worked there certainly would know about the risk of leaks, so I think this is likely too. It’s yet another way Kim is making his people suffer.

      Reply

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