Showing posts with label Debunking Myths. Show all posts

If a police officer attempts to apply probable cause or reasonable suspicion during a stop:

  1. Understand the Standards:

 • Reasonable suspicion - A lower threshold than probable cause, it allows police to stop and briefly detain individuals based on specific and articulable facts suggesting possible illegal activity (e.g., swerving while driving)

 • Probable cause - Used in criminal investigations, this standard requires a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed, requires stronger evidence and is needed for searches, arrests, or obtaining warrants.

 2. Asserting Your Rights:

 • Remain Silent: You have the right to remain silent beyond providing identification, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance

 • Record the interaction: You have the right to record/broadcast the interaction live as long as you do not hinder/stop/slow the officer in their tasks

 • Refuse a Search: If an officer asks to search your car, you can say, “I do not consent to a search.” However, they may proceed if they have probable cause, a warrant, or exigent circumstances (like visible contraband).

 • Ask if You’re Free to Leave: If you’re being detained, you can ask, “Am I free to go?” If they say no, you are being detained, and you can remain silent or ask for a lawyer.

 3. Handling Pretextual Stops:

 • Police can legally stop you for a minor traffic violation even if their real intent is to investigate another matter (Whren v. U.S.). However, their actions must remain related to the original stop unless they have new justification.

 4. Staying Respectful and Safe:

 • Always stay calm, keep your hands visible, and avoid sudden movements.

 • If you wish to challenge the stop, do so later in court—not at the scene.




If a police officer conducts a search under false pretenses or without a valid reason:

  1. It could lead to an unlawful search and seizure, violating constitutional rights.
  2. This may result in evidence found during the search being inadmissible in court, especially if the search was not based on probable cause or did not meet legal requirements, like the need for a search warrant in many situations.
  3. For example, if police search a property under the guise of investigating one matter but are actually looking for something unrelated or if consent was given under false pretenses, it could be challenged in court.
  4. However, in some cases, if the police acted in “good faith” and had a reasonable belief that their actions were lawful, the evidence could still be admissible.
  5. Courts may also consider whether the search was conducted under exigent circumstances (such as immediate threats to public safety).
  6. If the police find evidence in “plain view” during a legal interaction, they may seize it, even if they initially had another reason for the stop.
  7. It is possible for police officers to justify their actions in court, even if they have lied. There is a term used in law enforcement called “testilying,” referring to the act of officers giving false testimony under oath, especially to cover up misconduct.
  8. Judges and juries often tend to trust police officers, which can allow false claims to stand, especially when there is no contradictory evidence.
  9. Know that a judge and jury almost always have more reason to trust a representative of the law than a defendant.


In criminal cases, the burden of proof is “beyond a reasonable doubt.” This is a high standard, meaning that the prosecution must convince the judge or jury that there is no reasonable doubt about the defendant’s guilt. Criminal cases involve severe consequences like jail time, so the law requires stronger proof before convicting someone. If there is any reasonable uncertainty, the defendant cannot be convicted.


In civil cases, the standard is “preponderance of the evidence.” This means that the plaintiff must show that their claim is more likely true than not—essentially, that there is a greater than 50% chance their argument is correct. Civil cases mainly deal with disputes between individuals, often involving financial compensation rather than imprisonment. A person/entity proven "not guilty" of criminal charges can be proven guilty of civil charges.

  1. PROBLEM: Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are compounds that can form when meat, particularly muscle meat, is cooked at high temperatures, such as grilling or frying. These substances are considered potential carcinogens and have been associated with an increased risk of cancer. SOLUTION: It's advisable to employ healthier cooking methods, like baking, boiling, or steaming, to minimize the formation of heterocyclic amines in food.

  2. PROBLEM: Diets consistently high in carnitine-containing foods (such as red meat) may enhance the likelihood of this metabolic pathway. When you consume (red) meat, bacteria in the gut can metabolize compounds like carnitine found in meat into trimethylamine (TMA). The liver then converts TMA into trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). Elevated TMAO levels have been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular issues, including the potential for cholesterol to accumulate in artery walls. SOLUTION: Eat less/controlled red meat. The types and abundance of bacteria in the gut play a crucial role. Some bacteria, like certain strains of Clostridium, are known to metabolize carnitine into TMA. The relationship between TMAO and cardiovascular health is complex and may be influenced by various factors, including an individual's overall diet and health status.

While the sex of a child is ultimately determined by genetics and the specific sperm that fertilizes the egg, some theories and methods have been suggested to potentially influence the likelihood of conceiving a male child. 


Here are some commonly mentioned approaches:


### 1. **Timing of Intercourse (Shettles Method)**:

   - **Sperm Type**: It’s believed that Y-sperm (which carry the male chromosome) are faster but less resilient than X-sperm (which carry the female chromosome). Intercourse should be timed to occur on ovulation day for the best chance of conceiving a boy.


### 2. **Positioning**:

   - **Deeper Penetration**: Positions that allow for deeper penetration, such as doggy style or missionary with the woman’s legs elevated, may place sperm closer to the cervix, which could favor Y-sperm.


### 3. **pH Levels**:

   - **Diet**: Some theories suggest that a more alkaline environment favors Y-sperm. Consider increasing intake of potassium and sodium-rich foods (like bananas, almonds, and spinach) while reducing acidic foods.

   - **Douching**: Some people consider douching with a baking soda solution before intercourse to increase vaginal pH, but this can be harmful and disrupt natural flora, so it's generally not recommended.


### 4. **Sexual Intercourse Frequency**:

X-sperm life (female): slower but more resilient, with a longer lifespan (up to 5 days) and reaches the egg in up to 12hrs of time

Y-sperm life (male): faster but have a shorter lifespan (around 2-3 days) and reaches the egg in 30min to a few hours of time

3 Days of Abstinence: Some proponents of the Shettles Method suggest that abstaining from ejaculation for about 2 to 3 days before ovulation as Y-sperm may still be more motile, and there can be a higher concentration of sperm available at the time of ovulation.


### 5. **Consulting a Professional**:

   - If you're seriously interested in gender selection, some clinics offer more advanced methods like preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) with in vitro fertilization (IVF), which can determine the sex of embryos before implantation.


### Important Notes:

- **No Guarantees**: These methods do not guarantee a male child; they are simply theories and strategies that some believe may increase the chances.

 
  1. Current Human Population: 7.7 billion (Projected to be 9billion by 2050).
    Current livestock population: 27 billion (3.5x times) 
  2. Current average rate of human death: ~8.2%/year = 0.63 billion/year; 
    Rate of killing farmed animals = 74 billion/year (117x times)
  3. We have killed more animals in the last 1.5 years than all the humans that ever existed on this planet.
  4. Chicken population at any given time:
    23 billion (3x times current human population)
  5. Pig population at any given time:
    1 billion (13% of current human population)
  6. Sheep & Lamb population at any given time:
    1-2 billion (13-26% of current human population).
  7. Cow/Buffalo population at any given time:
    1.5 billion (20% of current human population).
    Cow/buffalo population in the US is 42 million.
  8. Effective total protein available in animal meat sold = only 4% of the total protein fed to animals over their entire lifetime.
  9. Effective total calories available in animal meat for consumption = only 3% of the total calories fed to animals as feed over their entire lifetime.
  10. To yield 1Kg of beef; a cow/buffalo releases 26.61Kg of greenhouse gases and needs to be fed:
     ->25KG of grains and
     ->15000L water (3.85x amount required for chicken) (13.66x amount required for wheat) 
  11. An average adult sized cow/buffalo releases 5200Kg (11,450 pounds) of greenhouse gases and yields ~200kg (440 pounds) of meat, requiring resources of 5,000Kg (11,000 pounds) of grains/feed and 3,000,000 liters of water to raise it.
  12. For yield the same amount of food insects require ~15x less feed and cause 100x lesser greenhouse effect compared to cows/buffalos.
  13. Cows/buffalos are ruminant animals; meaning they produce gas (methane) while digesting food (like humans do but unlike chickens and pigs who do NOT produce gas) and their GMO corn and soy feed/diet causes them to be more bloated and therefore produce more gas.
  14. Methane has a 21 times stronger NEGATIVE climate changing effect (of increasing global temperature) than CO2. 
  15. Cows/buffalos all over the world produce more greenhouse gases than 800 million cars (2/3rd of all cars on the road right now).
  16. Cows/buffalos all over the world produce 18 billion tonnes of manure/year (110x times that of humans/year).
  17. Cow manure accounts for 2/3rd of all nitrous oxide on earth; which has a 300 times the global warming effect to that of CO2.
  18. 17 billion pounds of Nitrogen fertilizer is used to grow feed for cows; which runs into rivers and then oceans where algae-based deoxygenated dead zones are created where sealife (fishes, etc) cannot stay alive.
  19. Accounting for hidden costs of water required, healthcare costs, greenhouse gases; 1 cow/buffalo costs citizens $266 (Rs1,86,000) through taxes and other indirect payments. Thus, 1Kg (2.2pounds) of beef costs citizens $13.3 (Rs930) after paying for the beef itself. 
  20. Meat and dairy production takes up:
    A) 27% of the world's total fresh water consumption.
    B) 30% of the world's total land area (8 times the land needed to grow plants/food for humans):
       ->Indirectly (for growing animal feed only) or
       ->Directly (for food for pasture of animals).
  21. Meat and dairy products make up 15% of the world's total greenhouse emissions.
  22. Meat and dairy products make up 18% of the world's total calorie consumption.
  23. Meat and dairy production takes up 80% of the US's total antibiotic drug consumption.
  24. Calories required to feed animals for Meat and dairy products can feed 45% (3.5 billion) of the world's current population.
    Note: Admittedly those calories will be derived from food which is not optimal for human health and/or consumption but the resources used to grow that animal feed can be invested into growing direct food (plants) for humans rather than indirect food (animals).

Here are some infographics detailing the environmental effect of meat and dairy production:






References:
  1. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/your-kitchen-and-the-planet-the-impact-of-our-food-on-the-environment
  2. https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-climate-change-health-what-you-eat-matters/climate-and-environmental-impacts/
  3. https://skepticalscience.com/animal-agriculture-meat-global-warming.htm
  4. http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/Shifting_Diets_for_a_Sustainable_Food_Future_1.pdf
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