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It's a Dress Thong, stop being serious you will die soon
Source: www.sde.co.ke/article/2001273846/pantyless-zodwa-wabantu-kicks-up-storm-after-being-featured-by-oskido
It's a Dress Thong, stop being serious you will die soon
Source: www.sde.co.ke/article/2001273846/pantyless-zodwa-wabantu-kicks-up-storm-after-being-featured-by-oskido
Andrew Welch would like to make it clear he has never had an orgy, thank you very much… He is not a pervert, he is not corrupting your children, and he is not – for the love of God – 'offending' you. Andrew Welch is just a naturist…
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/nude-awakenings-misunderstood-world-naturism/?platform=hootsuite
Tube driver, photographer and life model Natasha Porter explains why World Naked Bike Ride is much more than an excuse to get your kit off… 'Originally I thought I'd take part as a one-off, but the bike ride changed my life'.
Source: www.timeout.com/london/news/why-i-love-world-naked-bike-ride-060418
Talking to a gym buddy the other week, she asked me where I go to swim and I told her it was at the Naturist Club in our village. She looked at me with amused interest whilst inadvertently covering her clothed chest with both arms…
Source: www.bn.org.uk/news/information/about-bn/my-six-reasons-to-be-naked-r469/
We already knew that nudism has a positive influence on both our physical and mental health… Nudists have a lower divorce rate, is that because of the nudism itself? Or because of the whole lifestyle? Or is there no direct link? Let's find out.
Source: www.nakedwanderings.com/blog/2018/02/12/influence-nudism-your-relationship/?platform=hootsuite
Naturism. The internet is loaded with it… …but it's not naturism. According to the internet at large, naturism is sex, porn, bad stuff, naked people doing 'the unmentionable…
Source: nlpagan.net/what-do-you-think-about-naturism-and-what-do-you-know-about-it/?platform=hootsuite
Scrolling through Instagram and seeing "perfect" bodies can often make us feel insecure. As it turns out, even the most prominent women in Hollywood struggle with body image. With time, they've changed…
Source: www.prevention.com/life/g20144519/celebrity-body-image/?utm_campaign=Today
A few weeks ago, we were staying at one of those brilliant French campsites. It had fantastic facilities, including a "balneo" – a kind of walled garden, laid out in classical Roman style… I knew it would be professionally remiss of me not to see what the nudists were up to…
Source: www.independent.ie/life/getting-naked-to-feel-free-31408910.html
In 2010, Taylor got a phone call that would, at least temporarily, blow up her life. Someone had posted nude photos of her on a revenge porn website called IsAnyoneUp.com and sent her former employer the link. Her friend, who happened to be dating her ex-boss, called to let her know… "I had a full-blown panic attack on the phone as soon as she called me."
Source: lifehacker.com/what-to-do-if-youre-a-victim-of-revenge-porn-1825528442?utm_medium=sharefromsite
Naturism is the practice of going without clothes – whether that is just occasionally at a beach or in your garden, or as a more general part of everyday life. Naturism is healthy, sensible – who wants to wear clothes when the weather is hot – and great fun!
Source: www.bn.org.uk/aboutnaturism/
We've been talking about how to take the first steps as a man or as a woman, but the best way (at least to us because that's how we started) is as a couple. Most probably one of the two will drop the idea "honey, this summer I would like to spend our holidays in the nude". The other half will then respond with a "Yay, I want this too" or a "I'm not so sure about that" or even…
Source: www.nakedwanderings.com/blog/2018/06/11/9-tips-for-the-first-time-nudie-couple/


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Phillips's website Realm of Twelve
computer science
Kryptos Complex: Cracking the Mother Lode of Codes
For more information on this story contact:
Marcia Goodrich
MAY 12, 2009--Gary
II wants to set the record straight. Despite what Wired magazine says, he did not abandon his software business to devote all his waking hours to solving "
"I was already closing down my business," says Phillips, a junior majoring in
computer science
at Michigan Technological University. "I was changing careers." In 2004, he switched to construction. Then, in 2006, his life really changed when he was in a head-on collision.
For most people, being in a serious auto accident and out of work would be bad to the bone. Phillips looked on the bright side. "Being in an accident gave me time to do some things," he says.
Perhaps a little context is in order. "Kryptos" is an outdoor sculpture at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency. Created by artist James Sanborn, the 3D oeurve includes a 10-foot high, serpentine wall of copper with 865 cutout letters making up four coded messages, each requiring a different key. It was installed in 1989 for the eyes of intelligence personnel only, half art, half high-end cryptogram.
Knowledge of "Kryptos" was largely limited to the community of professional
crackers until it surfaced in an epic Dan Brown page-turner that mingles Mary Magdalene and the quest for the Holy Grail.
"I discovered this sculpture in late 2003 after reading 'The Da Vinci Code,'" says Phillips. "Some people are obsessed with sports, others with their work. My obsession happens to be numbers and codes."
That's when "Kryptos" set its hook and prompted Phillips to view his auto accident as a serendipitous event. "I was like, 'Leave me alone, I'm cracking this code,'" he remembers.
"Kryptos" has all the appeal of forbidden fruit. "Obviously, its not for civilians," Phillips notes. And while three of its parts are solved, the fourth, K4, has stymied would-be code breakers inside and outside the
for nearly 20 years. "It's hard because we don't know how K4 is encoded," Phillips explains. "We're not given a key, and so we try to glean clues from the sculpture. It's like finding a needle in a haystack. We don't even know if the final result will be pure English."
"The only information we have is the sculpture itself, and we go off on these rabbit trails. It's designed to mislead you, to make you run in circles. Everybody's been doing that, including CIA employees."
Eventually, Phillips raised his head, looked around, and realized that "Kryptos," however intriguing, was just a word game and not likely to contain the secrets of the universe. And he listened to his wife.
"A couple years ago she told me she wished I had either solved it or never heard of it, because I was sitting in a corner all the time, growling at anyone who came close because I was thinking," Phillips says. "I've learned a lot since then."
He channels more energy toward his family—his son is now three years old—his piano playing and his website, Realmoftwelve.net. The site has become a gathering place of sorts for the Yahoo! Kryptos group. "The main thing my website offers the community is animations that explain how these codes are solved," Phillips says.
Phillips has garnered mentions in The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian for his "Kryptos" expertise. Most recently, he was contacted by Wired magazine and ended up in Steven Levy's May 2009 piece on Kryptos, "Mission: Impossible." In the article, Phillips's story morphed hyperbolically, and he emerged as an unnamed Michigan man who dumped his business to focus on solving the mystery.
It's not exactly true, though Phillips can relate. Through the website, he hears from plenty of Kryptos maniacs. He finds himself playing main mentor to a de facto Kryptos Anonymous 12-step group.
"Most of my time on the website involves talking with people in that obsession phase," he says. "For me, it's become very social. I'm not practicing code; I'm leading people out of their delusions. When you get 10 emails from someone in one day, and nine of them are asking if you read their first email, you know they have a problem.
"Nobody can get them out of that but themselves," he notes. "But I can say, look, take a break. It's just a puzzle."
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Applications for the Ruth and William O. Sass Scholarship to encourage excellence in the field of nursing are being accepted through June 1.
Named in honor of Dr. and Mrs. William O. Sass, the scholarship is awarded annually to one or more qualified applicants pursuing a course of study for a baccalaureate degree in nursing. It is funded from interest income assigned to an endowment fund in the Sass' name at the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center Foundation.
Scholarship recipients must be a graduate of Niagara Falls High School, Niagara Catholic High School, the former LaSalle High School or Lewiston-Porter High School.
The scholarship was awarded last year to Louise Hines, a registered nurse at Memorial who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at Niagara University.
"Going back to school has truly changed me," said Hines, who has been a registered nurse since 1998. "The new knowledge I've gained has improved my nursing skills and I've enjoyed being able to share what I'm learning with others."
Criteria for consideration include academic achievement, community involvement and commitment, nursing career goals, personal and professional references and the availability of other resources.
Upon graduation, awardees are expected to apply for appropriate employment vacancies at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and to accept a position if offered.
Applications should be submitted to the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center Foundation. To obtain an application, call 716-278-4604.


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Deep Shade needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 213 designs submitted by 52 freelance designers.
I have my line of fine jewelry and currently have several locations in Malls & Hotels across America. It is time for us to make a new version of our logo. I live for making incredible jewelry designs, and I do everything myself. I travel around the globe finding the finest materials to create my designs. I most recently became the exclusive Jewelry Designer for a major resort in Tahiti, and we are continuing to grow everyday.
I have run into trademark conflict with my current business name, therefore we are starting fresh, and I cant wait to see the results
Woman who love Jewelry, and Husbands who love to treat their loved ones well. People with class, who expect only the best! People that shop at Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Rolex. People who love to travel and can appreciate fine jewelry.
My name is my brand. I am looking for the cleanest, and most elegant of logo design. Something very fresh, that you can imagine seeing next to Armani, Cartier, Tiffany & Co, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Bloomingdales ect.
Due to trademark restrictions, I am still deciding whether to go with
Van Balen Designs
Val Van Balen Designs
Van Balen Jewelry Designs.
Val Van Balen Jewelry Designs
But for starters please create the logo using "Van Balen Designs", and if we need to edit it from there, we will.
I want the name to look powerful, and to become recognizable, much like the names previously mentioned.
I would like to see some looks in a metalic silver, black, white.
I am only looking for 5 star entries, that are stunning and professional
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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We partisans of the games-is-art cause talk a big game. We're all for this idea that games ought to embrace some long-term goals in the realm of narrative artistry. Above all we demand maturity, by which we mean: something that is true to reality as it's experienced by adults. In fact I was praising Far Cry 2 for these very qualities in my last post; the attentive reader might notice that I might have cast some mild aspersions on pleasure for getting in the way of mature narrative.
Aaaaand then last night I decided to throw Devil May Cry 4 into my Xbox. Honestly, the whole enterprise mocks the search for le mot juste:
I should try anyways, since words are my business: The Devil May Cry series is a character-action demonicidal opera. You pilot a white-haired wiseass in an implausible red trenchcoat from one implausible scenario to the next, and kill a heap of demons. For some reason, your sword revs like a motorcycle. I have principles and all, but I'm not made of stone, people.
Devil May Cry, as a series, wields a simple and nonsensical palette: Motorcycles. Demon popes. Rocket Launchers. Boobs. It acts as if it doesn't owe you an explanation why these things belong together. There's such a gleeful devotion to artificiality and exaggeration that it ultimately comes off as charming naivete. It knows that the demon-slaying is the main attraction, and so it feels free to cram every cutscene full of absurd demon-centric melodrama. There isn't an authentic human emotion to be found in the series. Everything is subordinated to style. (This is where a comparison to opera might work. Even great operas are often crammed with of stock characters, exaggerated melodrama and convoluted plotting; and all that is immaterial, because the libretto is in service of the music.) The Devil May Cry series, like all great trash, has the courage of its convictions. It commits to its frivolousness with admirable devotion.
Were I a helpless genius, I'm sure I could transform this experience into some brilliant "Notes on Camp"-like cultural analysis. That woman could spin gold out of straw.
But here's the lesson I take. It's like hip-hop: regardless of how great your MC is, no matter how mesmerizing his wordplay and no matter how slick his storytelling, it doesn't matter if the track doesn't move you. A ridiculous beat will redeem a hapless vocal, but the opposite isn't true. (Exhibit A: Gang Starr. Exhibit B: Canibus) Same goes for games. Doing pleasurable things with your hands comes first.
That might serve as the credo of what N'Gai Croal called the "shake-your-ass" school of game criticism, in his discussion of God of War 2 with Stephen Totilo. : "[GOW2] is unquestionably a game that will make you shake your ass. And that's my point of departure when assessing the quality of my gameplay experiences." Alas, this is the case.
Addendum: I realized, having written this post, that over the course of this blog I'm just going to end up comparing games to every musical genre in existence. (In my defense, it was N'Gai Croal wot started it) When I compare Killzone 2 to bluegrass you have my permission to drag me behind the shed and put me down.


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Big Wheels Keep on Turning……
Well, where to begin?
There is the obvious, the accolades and astonishment of the instant-classic win over the Eagles, 41-37. It was the one of the toughest games to watch in terms of pure joy, fear, anger, joy, sadness…..HALFTIME…..anger, joy, sadness, excitement, and then……relief. A win is a win, and they are hard to come by in the NFL. This one was extra sweet due to the great Texas Stadium environment, the largest TV audience in the history of cable television (18.6 million viewers) and the fact that it came at the expense of the hated Eagles. Well, how bout them Cowboys? 2-0…..the reward: the next "Game of the Year"….another showdown for NFC supremacy against the Green Bay Packers, at Lambeau.
Where are we now?
Two weeks into the season and it feels like we are already in week 8 with Hard Knocks and the wait between the first 2 games. We are just starting on our "journey" and we have along way to go to the finish. Here are a few humble observations, from yours truly:
Playmakers: They are like good friends, either you have them or you don't, and the Boys have plenty. There is no question that we are the most explosive team in the NFL, and any play has the chance for a TD, no matter where we are on the field. It all starts with the quarterback and there is no question that with Tom Brady out and Peyton Manning struggling to regain his form following knee surgery, Tony Romo has established himself as the top QB in the league right now. When you add TO, Witten, Barber, Crayton and Felix, it is downright scary.
Penalties: This is becoming a major concern. Coach Phillips says the penalties are on him, but that is clearly "coach-speak". It is up to the players to not grab the facemask, or not commit a false start. I can't get to worked up about a holding penalty or pass interference calls because both seem to happen on every play, and it is just a matter of whether the official decides to throw the flag. The mental mistakes need to be kept to a minimum and hopefully that will begin to happen as the season wears on and the players settle into the routine.
Zone Defense: Am I the only one that doesn't think this works that great? This is, of course, a type of pass coverage. The DB's play an area of the field as compared to getting on a man and covering him wherever he goes. I understand that man-to-man has great risks as well, but against Philadelphia and a veteran QB, the receivers had no troubles sitting down in the open spots and just waiting for the ball to arrive, and McNabb was putting it on the money. On the flip side, it worked pretty well against Cleveland. Personally, I am not a fan of the zone defense for the whole game. I am no defensive coordinator, but I think with Pac Man and Newman, we should give them a chance to man up at times and at least have a chance at an interception. You have to bet big to win big. Through 2 games: 0 interceptions.
Injuries: So far, there have been big scares: Romo laying on the field in Cleveland looking like he just got hit by a bus, Barber's ribs banged up and Witten immediately grabbing his shoulder after an awkward landing. We have been fortunate that these guys are tough enough to fight thru these "minor" injuries. It's like the old saying: "Are you hurt, or are you injured?". These offensive stars were only hurt and not injured, thankfully. The news from the Philly game is that Roy Williams suffered a fractured forearm and is out about a month. And you add Kyle Kosier, who has been out for the whole season thus far as well as Terrence Newman and his gimpy groin, and it starts to add up. What can you do though? It's just a part of the game.
So, overall, things are good here in Cowboys Country, we are right on schedule, 2 wins, 14 more to go! It's good to be a Cowboys fan and I am looking forward to this very tough schedule we have. Fear no one, Respect everyone. I truly believe that the only team that can beat us is ourselves. We have the talent and the heart of a champion, now it's time to keep working towards getting a championship. I know one thing, were gonna need alot of popcorn.
Cowboys Fan for Life – TD


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HALLOWELL — U.S. Sen. Angus King said Wednesday that he won't support privatizing Social Security or instituting a voucher program for Medicare as the federal government seeks ways to reduce spending.
"The first thing I want to say, totally clearly and unequivocally: no privatization of Social Security and no voucherization of Medicare," he said.
King spoke to about 50 senior citizens at the Spectrum Generations Cohen Community Center in Hallowell, where the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare is circulating petitions to urge King and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to protect the benefit programs.
King said health care costs in general are the biggest reason for the deficit.
"It's health care expenditures that are killing us," he said. "Not Medicare per se, not Medicaid, but just health care in general. We need to do something about the underlying cost of health care for everybody."
He also noted that the March 1 deadline that will trigger $85 billion in federal spending cuts is arbitrary, and said it should be extended.
Social Security and Medicare are exempt from the cuts that will take effect if Congress fails to act.
But Max Richtman, president of the national group, said he's concerned about a compromise that could be struck between President Obama and Congress that could cut both programs.
"Social Security hasn't added to the debt and deficit," he said.
Materials handed out by the group indicate that the program can pay benefits fully through 2033, and Richtman said that leaves plenty of time to craft a long-term solution. Among the possible solutions is to eliminate gradually the cap on payroll contributions, which is set at $113,700, and raise the contribution rate from 6.2 percent to 7.2 percent.
King said he would consider raising the cap on payroll contributions because it hasn't kept pace with incomes.
Staffers for Collins and Democratic U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree attended Wednesday's meeting in Hallowell.
In remarks to the group, Richtman said Social Security has a $2.7 trillion trust fund that makes the program stable.
The petition presented to King reads, in part: "Social Security and Medicare belong to the people who have worked hard all their lives and contributed to the programs — not to the politicians in Washington who want to use them as a piggy bank."
In a news release, the group cites "some in Washington who have proposed cutting benefits by raising the retirement age for Social Security, the eligibility age for Medicare, means testing and cutting the cost of living allowance to cut the deficit."
Richtman said, "The thing that troubles me so much is these recommendations come from people who are disconnected from the average American citizen.
Susan Cover — 621-5643:
[email protected]
Varsity Maine
Boys' basketball: Maranacook holds off Yarmouth in Class B South
Nation & World
Police: Background check failed allowing Aurora shooter to buy gun
Varsity Maine
Boys' basketball: Cape ousts Freeport in Class B South
Cops & Courts
Person shot, one arrested in Windham
Boston Bruins
Bruins beat Ducks 3-0 for 4th straight win


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I realize many people here aren't worried about strengthening Atheism. Many people here, it seems, just want their families and social groups to be OK with their more rational beliefs. And so they should.
I'm here for a different reason. To me humanity is held back in so many ways by theistic beliefs that I feel it's important to somehow weaken theism in my time here. I'm not sure how i'm going to do that. Right now my means of doing so is constantly arguing against the soul. On a small community level it does seem to work. Because people are stuck on this question of "is there a god", "is there a heaven" etc... However, people are MORE afraid to "come out" with their lack of belief in souls than their lack of belief in god. And once a person realizes WHY they don't believe in souls. Their skepticism rises tremendously in god because... in the 5 major religions...god simply cannot exist without this mythology called the soul. The soul is the ROOT and CORE of these religions. I have friends who have become much more rational thinkers after being constantly faced with arguments for rationality, souls and religion.
To me the big 5 religions are the root of so many problems. People would be more likely to allow and be tolerant of gay marriage. People would embrace science more and reject irrational supernatural ideas. People might more likely be pro-choice if they realized that each abortion was not a person having a soul extracted from it. They might realize that a zygote without a brain can't even process it's own life let alone it's death, pleasure or pain. (not trying to downplay abortion here) Most important to me...humanity might be able to survive and progress if we lose our dependency on fossil fuels... and that is going to be a difficult thing to make happen unless we trust and empower science to unveil viable alternative energy sources. Religious people seem to not care as much about the environment either.. perhaps because they believe they will be living most of their life in heaven. With RATIONALITY as our center in stead of Atheism....Albinos in Africa might not be killed for their supposed supernatural powers...
I think we should be hitting theism with rationality or at least in the soul. To me arguing against God is difficult. Arguing against the soul is quite a bit easier and it is a somewhat unique take as so many people are embarrassed to come out. There must be a simpler way of proving these things that we argue against everyday. For example...believing in god AND believing in the soul require you to believe something that you can't prove is untrue. How can you prove something immaterial (like god or the soul) doesn't exist? You can't. That's why the flying spaghetti monster argument was created. One thing you can do however is explain the scientific method. When a theory is proposed, experiments are done to find a substantial amount of evidence. If that evidence isn't found then we can't believe it is true.
Maybe we can just encourage people to think rationally somehow. Maybe just getting people excited about science. Anyone else have ideas on how to promote rationality? Am I doing enough just telling my friends and family how I feel constantly? Annoying people on facebook with the burden of this seemingly boring subject?
Anyway.. try telling your friends that you don't believe in souls... tell them there has never been any proof of a soul in a controlled environment. See what they say.
"What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof"-Hitchens
"The burden of proof lies on religion"-Unknown
Views: 577
Laziness is the biggest culprit. People who are well-educated and well-read are far more likely to be atheist. This has already been statistically demonstrated in several studies. Anyone who reads the entire Bible and still sees it as a good source of morality is probably mentally deranged or has an uncanny capacity to skip over and ignore a lot of the passages. The most religious people I know have never read more than a few passages (and in some rare instances the 4 gospels, but never the whole Bible) and don't understand the level of intolerance, hate, and ignorance that motivated the authors.
Unfortunately, most people's fear of death and the unknown far outweighs their concern for truth. When telling people about my beliefs they often ask "Why would you want to believe that. Isn't it depressing?" As if belief is an emotional choice, rather than something driven by logic. But, I tell them, no, I am much happier believing in no creator than a creator who would sit back and allow holocausts, brutal rapes and murders to occur without lifting a finger. It is much better to create one's own morality than try to make sense of the malicious and capricious "morality" of this "supreme being."
I think that having websites like this one exist is a great step in the right direction.
Whatever reason people on here have regarding their atheism, the fact that they are here, and interacting with others around the world, is a step forward for global atheism.
We just need to be outspoken about atheism, and show others that they are not alone.
Once people see that there is more to the world than "god did it," they will come to science and reason on their own.
Sadly, we can't force it on people, because it will bring us down to the level of the evangelicals an zealots. We can show them the door, but each individual must make a choice to go through it on their own.
There is a quote I read recently that goes something along the lines of: "Humanity will truly be free when the last stone, from the last church is cast upon the last preacher."
The quote is from a science fiction novel, but it really rings true. But that must happen by the people's own will. Forcing it will just replace current religions with a new one, or will make people view atheism as a religion.
At the World Atheist conference in Ireland last year this topic was covered – What could be done aid the spread of Atheistic and Scientific ideas to a greater audience?
One good idea – and Dawkins offered his foundations help – was that many of the youtube videos that we all know could be translated into other languages for people to learn from – i.e. Farsi or Arabic. I will see if I can follow up on it as it is a good idea – imo.
There must be a better way to say this...:
"What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof" -Hitchens
Shouldn't it be more like:
"What can be asserted without proof SHOULD be dismissed without proof"
I was so encouraged by your title. So many atheism blogs are not about atheism at all, but rather are about anti-theism. So your title jumped off the screen at me. But then I read it... So disappointing. More of the same old same old.
You trumpet rationality, yet say things like "humanity might be able to survive and progress if we lose our dependency on fossil fuels." To believe than humanity is being held back or is threatened by fossil fuels is completely irrational. Do you have no idea how much we progressed during the past century because of fossil fuels? And do you really believe that any alternative energy sources will be more equitably shared?
Then, you end with what has to be the most foolish thing Hitchens ever said: "What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." Can you not see that this is a self defeating statement? He makes an assertion without proof. His assertion, by its own criterion, should be dismissed out of hand.
Irrational statements like this will never strengthen atheism.
The best way i can think to strengthen the case against religion is actually teaching the religious texts. I think in alot of zeal to protect our children from indoctrination some of us neglect to remember what it was that opened our own eyes to the ludicrousness of religious teachings.
I would support an atheist push to teach religion to people. Ive often thought about gaining a theocracy degree simply for this purpose.
The other thing is shame. We have to get past the shame cycle that is pushed on us and stop embracing language like "coming out" (which i find ridiculous). we continually reinforce an ideal that we are the abnormal group of people when in fact belief in superstition is the realm of the insane. Our wording is too gentle and even we as a group tend to be overly respectful of the superstitious notions of the world.
We need to stop promoting the liberal ideals of people involved in the community as a fundamental structure of atheism.(see the horseshit in OP about fossil fuels for an example)There is no one set of values and beliefs save the unifying disbelief in that which hasnt been proven through logical inquiry and verification.
And tone down the hero worship some. Darwin was fucking wrong as much as he was right. Hitchens had his moments of stupidity along with greatness, and Dawkins can switch from wishywashy, to on point in a heartbeat. We dont need prophets we need an all inclusive bond of like minded people who are sick of stupid.
And someone please tell David Silverman and other organization leaders to quit picking petty squabbles because they make us look petty(fucking street signs). Stand up for what really matters like upholding church and state, discrimination in schools and jobs, and lack of representation in Washington.
Just a start... but i think its roads that need explored.
Why would you want to spread atheism? As a christian who started doubting God and then turned atheist for several years before coming back to my religion, I can say that religion is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I think that it is more than just believing in a creator, it is being a part of a church that carries out his will. and while I think much of the bible is far outdated and don't have anything against gays or abortion, but my church helps me live as a better person. I attend regularly and donate 10% of what I earn, and I like to help go on mission trips and help those in need around my community. I really don't see why you have such a problem with christians. Not all of us believe in banning abortion or condemming gays. I think the way I live helps people and I didn't live that way before I was a christian. my religion has no affect on you, so why would you try and take it away?
Stephen Walski, so do you disagree with my evaluation of the importance of humanity losing our dependence on fossil fuels? Or do you disagree with my assessment that religion is somehow connected to it?
Being a part of an organization is all fine and good.
Would you be okay with a group of schizophrenics meeting every sunday, organizing and planning charitable work, pooling their resources, using their money to fund political agendas, going door to door in your neighborhood, telling your children to believe in the voices that talk to them?
Thats the issue i have. We lock up one person who listens to voices and see imaginary things... we offer unearned respect to groups of exactly the same nutbags just because they call themselves a religion.
@dragotron. I disagree that in either case fossil fuel has any bearing on atheism or belongs in any discussion about the strengthening of the voice of our community. Just as i think the following other unrelated agendas that come up all the time have nothing to do with strengthening the atheist community..
Gender bias
When your talking about those things as being affected by religion you are talking about the results of unchecked respect towards religious ideals.
I believe your looking at the effect and trying to cure the disease with one consequence at a time. Dont treat the symptoms diagnose the cause and kill it.
The cause is simple. We give undo respect and deference to organizations that give a breeding ground for stupidity and insanity. You fight stupidity with education and you cull insanity with dismissal.


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The Apollo 8 manned moon mission holds a number of distinctions in spaceflight history. It was the first manned spaceflight to leave Earth's orbit. It was also the first manned mission to orbit the moon. Perhaps most memorably, Apollo 8 was the first time in history human beings celebrated the Christmas holiday somewhere other than planet Earth.
On Dec. 21, 1968, astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders were launched into space. Three days later — Christmas Eve, 1968 — they entered lunar orbit. Over the course of 20 hours, the crew of Apollo 8 proceeded to circle our nearest satellite 10 times. A portion of Apollo 8's cislunar stay was broadcast on live television on Christmas Eve, to what was then the largest TV audience of all time. (They also, somewhat controversially, read verses from the Book of Genesis during the broadcast. The backlash from said reading led to NASA downplaying the religious context of any future missions.)
The next evening, Christmas Day, the crew was directed by Mission Control to open a discretionary cargo package from the food locker. To their surprise, the package contained a Christmas dinner of real (not freeze-dried) turkey and stuffing. Accompanying this feast were small presents from the astronauts' wives, smuggled aboard by Flight Director Deke Slayton. The crew remarked on the generosity of the gesture, but nonetheless left certain gifts from the "Christmas Surprise" intentionally and conspicuously unopened — making them some of the most sought-after space collectibles of all time.
WHAT ONBOARD CHRISTMAS GIFTS DID THE CREW OF APOLLO 8 LEAVE FAMOUSLY UNOPENED?Get the answer.
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Jay Garmon has a vast and terrifying knowledge of all things obscure, obtuse, and irrelevant. One day, he hopes to write science fiction, but for now he'll settle for something stranger — amusing and abusing IT pros. Read his full profile. You can also follow him on his personal blog.


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Mplus Discussion
Exploratory Factor Analysis
posted on Friday, October 29, 1999 - 11:43 am
What kind of rotations does Mplus use?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, October 29, 1999 - 11:49 am
Mplus uses the varimax for orthogonal rotations and promax for oblique rotations.
posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 12:33 am
I am sorry but I am experiencing some difficulties having Mplus read my summary data set (corr matrix) for a EFA. I am receing this error message: (Err#: 29)
Error opening file: EIHMa.dat
Here is my syntax:
FILE IS EIHMa.dat;
NAMES ARE v1-v10;
Here is my data file:
0.610 1.000
0.361 0.292 1.000
0.679 0.664 0.358 1.000
0.602 0.501 0.397 0.560 1.000
0.800 0.663 0.374 0.710 0.601 1.000
0.478 0.493 0.218 0.447 0.439 0.491 1.000
0.421 0.359 0.322 0.419 0.377 0.441 0.241 1.000
0.280 0.291 0.142 0.288 0.319 0.339 0.404 0.328 1.000
0.315 0.293 0.162 0.330 0.278 0.318 0.320 0.230 0.241 1.000
0.466 0.439 0.306 0.481 0.505 0.487 0.537 0.432 0.542 0.369 1.000
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 9:08 am
This message means that Mplus can't find the file that contains the data. So be sure that the data file exists under the name you have given it in the directory that you are running from or give the path as part of the file name.
I also notice that you say you have 10 variables but your correlation matrix is for 11 variables. You also need to correct this.
posted on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 11:08 am
When the Promax rotation is used, are the resulting factor "loadings" in the Mplus output factor pattern coefficients (i.e., regression weights) or factor structure coefficients (i.e., correlations)?
posted on Friday, December 14, 2001 - 1:28 pm
They are the factor pattern coefficients.
posted on Thursday, May 02, 2002 - 2:59 am
In an EFA with continuous indicators I tried to reproduce a factor loading table found in Mplus in SPSS using the same estimator (ULS) and rotation (Promax). One of the factors was dominated by high negative loadings in Mplus but high positive in SPSS while the loadings were numerically equal/similar. Is that because Mplus does NOT use Kaiser normalization as does SPSS? Does the same apply for categorical indicators?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, May 02, 2002 - 7:13 am
I don't know if the difference has anything to do with the Kaiser normalization but in EFA the signs of the factor loadings is indeterminate, that is, you can change all of the signs in a column of the factor loading matrix and reproduce the same correlation matrix.
posted on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 6:32 am
A couple of quick questions:
Is it possible to output the unrotated factor solution?
What tuning constant does M-Plus use for promax rotation (eg SPSS uses a "kappa" default of 4)? And is it possible to alter this? (eg, so as to reduce promax loadings from being greater than 1 to be <1)?
posted on Thursday, July 25, 2002 - 9:38 am
No, Mplus does not output the unrotated factor solution. But any rotation can be obtained from a solution such as the Varimax.
The Promax rotation uses the exponent value 3. In Lawley-Maxwell's factor analysis book, page 77, the exponent is stated as "m-1", which means that Mplus uses m=4.
Hervé CACI
posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2002 - 1:41 am
In some of my EFAs (i.e. the same variables in independent groups) I get loadings greater than 1.00 after PROMAX rotation. In other statistical packages, I used to resolve the problem by reducing the exponent. Wouldn't it be nice to add this option to Mplus ?
posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2002 - 3:46 pm
In this situation the residual variances are negative. The residual variances are not affected by the rotation. You probably want to avoid this by extracting fewer factors.
posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2002 - 4:34 pm
Correction - I was thinking VARIMAX and you said PROMAX - yes, different PROMAX exponents might be of some use in some situations.
posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2002 - 7:56 pm
On the same note as above, is there anything fundamentally wrong with a Promax loading being greater than 1.00 given that these loadings are regression coefficients between the latent variables and the latent (continuous) indicators, rather than correlation coefficients?
posted on Thursday, September 05, 2002 - 5:52 am
I think you are right. With say 2 factors, the PROMAX factor correlation can be negative so that the variance in an item due to the factors can be less than one, and the residual variance therefore positive, even with a loading greater than one.
posted on Thursday, September 05, 2002 - 10:29 pm
Just to add my $0.02 to the above, another valid situation with Promax loadings greater than one in the two factor case is when the Promax factor correlation is positive (eg 0.7), one loading is negative (eg -0.5) and the other > 1.00 (eg 1.1), in which case the the explained variance for that item is less than one (=69% for the above) due to the cross-product term in the expression for the explained variance in an item being less than zero.
posted on Friday, September 06, 2002 - 6:22 am
Good; taken together, this establishes that PROMAX loadings greater than one can legitimatly occur quite often, which reduces the need for choosing other PROMAX rotation exponents. Some reviewers, however, may incorrectly get nervous about loadings greater than one, but...
Hervé CACI
posted on Friday, September 06, 2002 - 7:20 am
OK. Anyway, wouldn't it be useful to check that the loading>1 remains after the exponent has been reduced ? Some reviewers may ask for that ? Is it complicate to implement the option in Mplus ?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, September 06, 2002 - 10:08 am
No, it is not complicated. I will add it to our long list of future development ideas.
Hervé CACI
posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 - 7:12 am
Just a reference I picked up recently:
Tataryn DJ, Wood JM and Gorsuch RL (1999) "Setting the value of k in PROMAX: a Monte-Carlo study", Educational & Psychological Measurement, 59(3), pp.384-391.
posted on Saturday, September 14, 2002 - 8:17 am
The note below by Joreskog gives a good account of why standardized values greater than one are acceptable:
posted on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 10:09 am
Does MPLUS EFA with dichotomous variables have a method for partialing out the variance contributed to a factor structure by a covariate? or is this something that can only be done through CFA?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 10:15 am
Covariates cannot be included in an EFA. CFA or EFA in a CFA framework can include covariates.
posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 9:43 pm
I am new to Mplus and am exploring the use of it for my analysis. Does Mplus v.3 have a limit on the number of dichotomous variables and number of cases for EFA?
posted on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 4:47 pm
Mplus currently has a limit of 500 variables; no limit on cases.
posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 11:44 am
Is there a way for MPLUS to show rotated factor loadings for a One-Factor EFA? Why are these values not shown in the output?
posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 12:11 pm
There is no rotation with 1 factor. With m**2 indeterminacies in EFA with m factors, a 1-factor model has only one indeterminacy and that is taken care of by fixing the factor variance to 1. Beyond that there is no rotation/indeterminacy (except for changing signs of all the loadings).
posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2006 - 10:07 am
I am working on a new technique for EFA which needs the structure matrix output.
Can Mplus produce structure coefficients(i.e., correlations)in the output when the Promax rotation is used? I
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2006 - 11:13 am
No. This cannot be done.
posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2006 - 7:59 pm
Thank you very much.
If you don�t mind, I have another question regarding CFA. Can one use Chi squared difference test to investigate factorial invariance (i.e., strong & full invariance) between two groups for categorical data in the same manner as the multi-group CFA in LISREL for continuous data?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 6:57 am
The models tested are not the same but the chi-square difference test can be used.
Model A: A model in which factor loadings and thresholds are freely estimated across groups. Factor means are fixed at zero and scale factors are fixed at one in all groups.
Model B: (A model in which factor loadings and thresholds are held equal in all groups. Factor means are fixed to zero in one group and free in the others and scale factors are fixed to one in one group and are freely estimated in the other groups.
gerry leyna
posted on Sunday, February 05, 2006 - 5:17 am
what is the commonly used default (delta)in CFA when attempting an oblique rotation?
G Leyna
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Sunday, February 05, 2006 - 5:04 pm
We use m=4. See page 77 of Factor Analysis as a Statistical Method by Lawley and Maxwell.
posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 - 10:39 am
Please assist! How do I specify oblique rotation in EFA. Thanks so much.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 - 10:47 am
You don't need to specify it. Both oblique and orthogonal are given as the default.
Nitikul C
posted on Thursday, October 05, 2006 - 12:04 am
I don't know what MPlus is, but I'm only interested in SPSS.
In SPSS, how do I use varimax rotation? And what results do we actually look for in this?
Any websites?
Also, factor analysis, regression and correlation do not compute the categorical variables such as male=1, female=2, or Secondary grade 1,2,3,4,5,6.
How do I recode this? I have checked dummy coding, I couldn't understand when one variable has more than 3 values (or up to 6).
Any other ways to input categorical into factor analysis, regression (stepwise), and correlation (spearman)?
Please please help.
Nitikul C
posted on Thursday, October 05, 2006 - 12:09 am
Oh are you only discussing MPlus?
Anyone who could help me with SPSS please.......
Pajarita Charles
posted on Monday, June 04, 2007 - 5:29 pm
Is it possible to change the kappa for an EFA with a promax rotation? I understand that the default in M+ (from previous posting) is 3. The default for SPSS is k=4 but this can be modified in SPSS. Can I do it in M+?
Thank you so much.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, June 04, 2007 - 5:31 pm
There is no option to do this in Mplus currently.
Maggie Chun
posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - 8:16 am
Dear Dr. Muthen,
How was your trip?
I met a basic problem: a scale with severe right skewed data.
I tried to dichotomize all items, but EFA could not continue because of lossing too much information.
Could I just delete all cases with zero sum score of the scale but keeping it as a ordinal scale? Is this method acceptable?
Thank you very much for your time!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - 2:04 pm
I'm not sure I totally understand your problem. If your original variables were ordinal with a floor or ceiling effect, I would use WLSMV on the original variables.
Kou Murayama
posted on Sunday, April 27, 2008 - 11:48 pm
Why does Mplus output no CFI/TLI with promax rotation?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 - 9:07 am
We did not implement these fit statistics for the old rotations. I suggest using the better performing rotations of Geomin or Quartimin.
Christina Chan
posted on Thursday, May 22, 2008 - 8:19 am
I recently upgraded to MPLUS version 5 and am trying to find the best rotation option for my analysis.
Prior to the upgrade, I was using VARIMAX rotation for an Exploratory Factor Analysis with uncorrelated factors. But after reading the other posts that discuss the new (and improved) default settings in version 5, I am concerned that VARIMAX might be outdated and that version 5 might now offer better options. I see that orthogonal rotations can also be specified using other criteria: CRAWFER, GEOMIN, OBLIMIN, CF-VARIMAX, CF-EQUAMAX, CF-PARSIMAX, CF-FACPARSIM. Can you clarify whether or not VARIMAX is the best option?
For my specific analysis, the dataset has 378 observations; 36 factor indicators (a mix of continuous, binary, and ordinal variables), and anticipate that approximately 5-7 factors will be extracted. I want to get uncorrelated factors with high loadings on more than one factor. I am using the WLSMV estimator.
Thank you in advance for any feedback you can provide.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, May 22, 2008 - 3:31 pm
To learn more about EFA rotations, you may want to read the Cudeck-O'Dell article that the Mplus UG refers to as well as the Fabrigar et al (1999) Psych Meth article. Both are very useful factor analysis overviews. Many argue that correlated factors better represent substantive phenomena and give a simple factor loading pattern. In such cases the Mplus quartimin (default in v5) or geomin (default in v5.1) are suitable. But if your substantive reasoning calls for uncorrelated factors, then use CF-Varimax (Orthogonal) which is the new Mplus version of Varimax. I would not say that the Varimax method (cf-varimax orthogonal) is outdated.
For more technical comparisons of the rotation methods, see the technical appendix Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling - a new version of this, version 2, is to be posted shortly.
Julien Morizot
posted on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 5:15 pm
Hello Linda and Bengt. I'm running some EFAs and would like to have two different rotations for the same solution in the same output, is there a command, or some trick?
I tried "ROTATION = GEOMIN CF-Varimax (Orthogonal)" but it's not working, only the geomin was computed.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 5:33 pm
Only one rotation type is allowed for an analysis.
Kihan Kim
posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 7:08 pm
Hi, I ran a EFA with GEOMIN ratation (Mplus 5.1 default). The output shows "Geomin Rotated Loadings," and "Factor Structure." I'm reading "Geomin Rotated Loadings" as the factor loadings, and the "Factor Structure" as the correlation between each item and factor. Just want to confirm whether I'm reading the output correctly. Many thanks!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, October 17, 2008 - 8:32 am
You are reading the output correctly.
Thomas A. Schmitt
posted on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - 11:39 am
Hello Linda and Bengt:
I have a few questions related to interfactor correlations and the factor weights in the pattern matrix. I have read in Gorsuch (1983) that the quartimin criterion produces solutions where factors are very highly correlated. Is this the same rotation procedure applied within Mplus? Also within Mplus, what is estimated first, the interfactor correlations or the factor weights, or are both estimated simultaneously? Does this depend on the rotation selected and how do the weights and interfactor correlations affect one another in the different rotations? It is somewhat convoluted to me as to how interfactor correlations and weights affect one another across the rotation methods within Mplus. Thank you!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - 5:18 pm
Gorsuch refers to the old Carroll approach to quartimin, not the Jennrich direct quartimin Mplus uses. For a good and modern overview of rotations, see the Browne (2001) overview in MBR that the Mplus UG refers to.
As does most factor analysis programs, Mplus first estimates the factor loadings of an orthogonal model and then rotates from there. In the rotation, the orthogonality may be kept or relaxed to give a simpler pattern. Again, Browne is good reading here.
Thomas A. Schmitt
posted on Friday, November 07, 2008 - 9:59 am
Hello Linda and Bengt:
I've read the Brown (2001) article carefully as you suggested and have some questions.
(1) From the ESEM paper with Asparouhov should the Varimax criterion in Appendix A be 1/p as opposed to 1/m?
(2) I know that choosing a rotation is difficult, and I�m really struggling with how to say this, but can we not state that certain rotation methods will more accurately represent complex data structures? What I guess I�m really struggling here with is what is �truth.� I do understand that there is no right or wrong rotation, but can�t we say that certain ones will reproduce the true complex loading patterns better than other rotation methods? For this I mean within a simulation study with simulated data matrices looking at bias. Because when I look at simulation results it seems some rotation criteria reproduce known data patterns �better� than others. I guess my question is can we look at rotation methods and think of them in the confines of a simulation and look at bias?
(3) Lastly, is a question about the standard errors for individual loadings in EFA. Cudeck (1994) provide a method for getting the critical Z under oblique rotation that takes into account the number of items and number of factors. I�m wondering if this is necessary for the standard errors from Mplus?
As always thank you for the wonderful insight provided on this board.
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Friday, November 07, 2008 - 5:36 pm
(1) There are typos in Appendix A. The new corrected Vesrion 5 of the technical paper will be posted next week. Thank you for pointing this out.
(2) I see nothing wrong with looking at the bias for different rotation methods. The true simple loading structure is easy to define usually, especially in a simulation study. Different rotation methods do lead to different MSE and bias when the estimated loading structure is compared with the simple loading structure. Looking at Bias and MSE should lead to the best rotation method, i.e., the method that recovers best the simple structure.
(3) I think you are referring to Cudeck O'Dell (1994) considerations regarding multiple testing for significance of loading parameters, where they propose a Bonferroni type adjustment of the p-value. If so, the same procedure applies to the Mplus standard errors.
Thomas A. Schmitt
posted on Saturday, November 08, 2008 - 12:33 pm
Thank you Tihomir!
posted on Thursday, December 04, 2008 - 1:06 pm
I didn't realize the big change Mplus did in EFA until I ran it. It seems that geomin and quartimin are the default rotation in Mplus now and recommended oblique rotation methods. But what would be the recommended rotation method for orthogonal rotation? Thanks a lot!
posted on Thursday, December 04, 2008 - 1:10 pm
Dr. Muthen,
When you recommended "CF-Varimax (Orthogonal)" which is the new Mplus version of Varimax, is it the same as the option of "Varimax" that's also available in Mplus? Thanks!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, December 04, 2008 - 5:58 pm
Yes, Mplus has added quite a lot to its EFA capabilities, also including EFA-SEM (see ESEM paper on our web site under SEM).
CF-Varimax(Orthgonal) is the same as the old Varimax, except that the old Varimax automatically includes row standardization (which you can request in the new rotation).
posted on Monday, December 08, 2008 - 8:37 am
Thanks, Dr. Muthen!
So CF-Varimax is better than the old Varimax? Why?
Thanks again.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, December 08, 2008 - 9:24 am
They are the same if you use row standardization in CF-Varimax. CF-Varimax is our newer track for doing Varimax and can also be used in exploratory SEM, so I would recommend it on those grounds.
Thomas A. Schmitt
posted on Wednesday, May 06, 2009 - 12:40 pm
Concerning example 11.5, could you tell me how the residual values of .51 and .36 where calculated. Thank you!
Thomas A. Schmitt
posted on Wednesday, May 06, 2009 - 1:01 pm
Just to clarify this question a little further. I understand that you took 1-.49^2=.51, but don't you have to take into account the correlation between factors when calculating the residual?
Thomas A. Schmitt
posted on Wednesday, May 06, 2009 - 1:48 pm
Correction: 1-.7^2=.51
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:20 am
The covariance between the factors is not involved when the factors have different factor indicators as in Example 11.5.
Thomas A. Schmitt
posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 12:25 pm
Hello Linda,
We used Mplus for an EFA simulation and it seems that we should take the cross-loadings and possibly also the interfactor correlations into account when calculating the residuals. From what I can see is that the communality calculations for a variable from (e.g., Gorsuch 1983, p.30) are a function of the primary loading, cross-loadings, and interfactor correlations, which in turn affects the size of the residuals. We used the equation: residual=1-lamda1^2+lambda2^2, with lambda1=loading on factor1 and lambda2=cross-loading on factor2. Notice, we did not take the interfactor correlation into account. We noticed in the Asparouhov and Muthen ESEM manuscript that they calculate the residual as 1-lambda^2 (p.27) and did not take into account the cross loading or interfactor correlation. Is there a reference or rationale for doing it this way? Perhaps more importantly, what equation is used to calculate the residuals?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 5:47 pm
When an item loads on 2 correlated factors with unit variances and loadings lambda1 and lambda2, the variance of the item is
V(y)= lambda1^2 + lambda2^2 + 2*lambda1*lambda2*psi21 + V(e),
where psi21 is the factor covariance (correlation) and V(e) is the residual variance.
So the factor correlation certainly needs to be taken into account. I don't think the A-M ESEM paper claims a total V(y)=1, so maybe that's where the confusion arises.
Thomas A. Schmitt
posted on Friday, May 08, 2009 - 10:00 am
If I understand you correctly, it sounds like it is a standardization issue. If V(y) is not set equal to 1, then the value of the residual is arbitrary?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Saturday, May 09, 2009 - 11:02 am
Yes. In general the residual variance is a free parameter, not restricted to making the y variance add up to 1. With categorical outcomes and in EFA it is common to consider unit y (or y*) variance, but this is not necessary.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Saturday, May 09, 2009 - 11:06 am
TYPE=COMPLEX with ESTIMATOR=ML gives maximum likelihood.
TYPE=COMPLEX with ESTIMATOR=MLR gives pseudo maximum likelihood.
When Chi-square is available CFI is automatically given.
I don't know what you mean by PLL.
Thomas A. Schmitt
posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 - 7:58 am
Thank you Bengt and Linda!
Lise Jones
posted on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 12:05 pm
I have resently started using Mplus as I have a scale (20 items and 577 cases) with dichotomous variables and wanted to perform a FA.
I have run an EFA with promax rotation as the variables are correlated. When reporting my 2 factor solution, do I report the promax rotated loadings or the factor structure? In the promax rotated loading some of the loading are negative..
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 2:08 pm
Typically, the loadings ("factor pattern") are of primary interest. Negative loadings can be interpretable.
Erkki Komulainen
posted on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 3:57 am
Hi! I may miss something very elementary, but using syntax in 5.21:
VARIABLE: NAMES ARE r g c e1-e40 a1-a18 ;
USEVARIABLES ARE e1-e40 ;
USEOBS IS c eq 2 ;
the run fails. If I remove (or exclamete) the ROTATION line it gives VARIMAX and PROMAX rotations. Using it like above I get the following error:
*** ERROR in Analysis command
Unknown option:
How should ROTATION be defined?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 5:54 am
It sounds like you are not using a version of Mplus that has the ROTATION option. Look at the top of the output to see which version of Mplus you are running. If you can't figure this out, please send the full output and your license number to
Erkki Komulainen
posted on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 6:17 am
This was printed in the out-file:
Mplus VERSION 4.1
Really!!! Mplus 5.21 syntax run activates Mplus 4.1 which executes the commands! How is this possible? Should the earlier version be unistalled?
These program versions are installed (of course) in different subfolders in Program files directory.
The new 5.12 just (two weeks ago) came from Statmodel and I did the installation today.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 6:23 am
You should uninstall Version 4 before you install Version 5.21. Mplus uses the first Mplus.exe file it finds and it sounds like that is Version 4.1.
Erkki Komulainen
posted on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 8:14 am
I renamed the old version exe-files with extension .old (e.g. mplus.exe.old). It solved the problem. Thanks!
luke fryer
posted on Tuesday, September 07, 2010 - 11:41 pm
Dr. Muthen
I have carefully read your most recent manual. I would like to read more about the rotations employed by Mplus so I can make sound choices. Could you point me in the right direction? Also, some of the rotations provide fit statistics some do not or only provide a few (the older ones I think). Is there a list somewhere describing which have them and which don't and why?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, September 08, 2010 - 11:13 am
See the following two papers on the website:
Asparouhov, T. & Muth�n, B. (2009). Exploratory structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling, 16, 397-438.
Sass, D.A. & Schmitt, T.A. (2010). A comparative investigation of rotation criteria within exploratory factor analysis. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 45, 73-103.
and the Browne (2001) reference from the user's guide.
PROMAX and VARIMAX have a limited set of fit statistics. The newer rotations have a larger set of fit statistics.
Bo Fu
posted on Thursday, October 21, 2010 - 11:25 pm
May I ask whether ROTATION is available in version 4.21?
I don't see any example using ROTATION in the three examples provided (4.1,4.2,4.3)
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, October 22, 2010 - 5:40 am
The ROTATION option was added in Version 5.
Bo Fu
posted on Friday, October 22, 2010 - 8:56 am
Could the R package of mPlus can run all functions in mPlus, such as EFA and CFA, with all options, such as rotation?
Because I only have a 4.21 mPlus, and would like to do rotation in EFA. And today find that the R package is available. And have no enough time to read the document well. Just wondering whether I could do EFA with rotation in this R package.
Thank you so much for answering!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, October 22, 2010 - 9:51 am
No, the R package will not extend the features of the version of Mplus you are using.
QianLi Xue
posted on Thursday, November 11, 2010 - 9:50 am
Hi, The following is the example given in the user's guide on page 44:
TITLE: this is an example of an exploratory
factor analysis with continuous factor
indicators using exploratory structural
equation modeling (ESEM)
DATA: FILE IS ex4.1b.dat;
VARIABLE: NAMES ARE y1-y12;
MODEL: f1-f4 BY y1-y12 (*1);
In the text following this, it states "When no rotation is specified using the ROTATION option of the ANALYSIS
command, the default oblique GEOMIN rotation is used." But when I added the ANALYSIS with rotation=PROMAX, it gave an error message saying rotation is only available for Type=EFA. Is there a different way to request other types of rotations in ESEM?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, November 11, 2010 - 10:00 am
It sounds like you are using an older version of the program where ESEM is not available. If not, please send your output and license number to
Lorraine Ivancic
posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2012 - 11:17 pm
I understand that a good way to do an Exploratory Factor Analysis is to do an oblique rotation first and then an orthogonal rotation. Is there any way to do this in Mplus - I can't seem to figure out how to do this.
Thank you
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Thursday, February 09, 2012 - 6:55 am
See the ROTATION option in the user's guide where several oblique and orthogonal rotation settings are available.
Elina Dale
posted on Monday, October 28, 2013 - 10:51 pm
Dear Dr. Muthen,
I have read Sass & Schmitt article. Thank you for recommending it.
However, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could clarify the following 3 points:
1. Geomin a default oblique rotation in MPlus. Why? From Sass & Schmitt it didn't seem like it always outperformed other oblique rotation methods.
2. Promax seems to be used far more often than Geomin, but Sass & Schmitt don't discuss its (dis)advantages compare to Geomin. My prof thinks I should use Promax instead of Geomin. Could you please, clarify what are the main minuses of Promax, beside what you wrote earlier about limited fit stats?
3. They say that when using Geomin, a researcher should decide whether to modify ϵ parameter. What is the default value of this parameter in Mplus? How does one modify it?
Thank you!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 5:43 pm
I would try several different rotations to learn about your data. Note that all rotations fit the data the same.
1. The 2001 Browne article that we refer to in the UG gives good arguments for the value of Geomin. The simulations that Sass & Schmitt do are difficult to draw conclusions from as they point out on page 99 in the paragraph starting with "Despite..." - see also the Asparouhov-Muthen (2009) reference they refer to on that.
2. Promax is an older (superseeded?) rotation. Quartimin was developed to replace it and quartimin is outperformed by Geomin according to Browne (2001). One Promax drawback is that you have to choose the degree of correlatedness among the factors. Furthermore, Browne(2001) on page 117 says:
"Although a simple structure is known to exist, and can be recovered
making use of prior knowledge, Thurstone�s box data pose problems to blind rotation procedures (Butler, 1964; Eber, 1966; Cureton & Mulaik, 1971).
Well known methods, such as varimax and direct quartimin, that are available
in statistical software packages, fail with these data. This is due to the
complexity of the variables rather than to their nonlinearity. Other artificial
data can be constructed to yield similar problems (e.g. Rozeboom, 1992)
without any involvement of nonlinearity." - You may want to try Promax on the Box data.
3. No need to modify the Geomin settings in Mplus.
Elina Dale
posted on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - 6:34 pm
This is very very helpful! Thank you!
Bandhan Majumdar
posted on Saturday, May 10, 2014 - 3:29 am
I have a set of 18 ordinal or likert type items for doing EFA..I have some specific queries:
1. Which rotation method is appropriate for ordinal data? can we use VARIMAX...or GEOMIN has to be used.
2. How do we fix the factor loading to a minimum value so that the values lower to that do not appear on the final rotatted matrix.
3. How to find % variance explained by each factor?
4. Based on 1-F, 2-F, 3-F,4-F models for my data two of them are having adequate GOF for being significant from CFI/TLI, RMSEA, Chi square for base/ SRMR....all means as per your technical appendices TLI>0.95, CFI>0.95, RMSEA<0.06 so how to choose over one model than another?
5. If there is any specific issue related to selection of Estimator for Ordinal data.
6. As I am a new user of MPlus please suggest me if there are some other guidelines for using Ordinal data for EFA..in MPLus
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Saturday, May 10, 2014 - 11:16 am
1. You can use any rotation.
2. Mplus has no such option.
3. With orthogonal factors, sum the squared factor loadings and divide by the number of factor indicators.
4. Substantive theory and the dimensions for which the items were developed.
5. You can use weighted least squares or maximum likelihood. Maximum likelihood has better missing data handling. Maximum likelihood requires one dimension of integration per factor so can become computationally heavy. Weighted least squares has an advantage when there are many factors because it does not require numerical integration.
6. See the Topic 2 course video and handout.
Bandhan Majumdar
posted on Saturday, May 10, 2014 - 11:29 am
Thank you for your response. I have another query,in my EFA I found RMSEA value=0.106. should I accept the model? Other Goodness of Fit tests are fine as per the criteria
Bandhan Majumdar
posted on Saturday, May 10, 2014 - 11:43 am
As per EIGENVALUES FOR SAMPLE CORRELATION MATRIX upto factor 4 I get a eigen value >1..what will happen if I select 5-F or 6-F model. Is my result get affected by eigen value consideration?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, May 12, 2014 - 9:56 am
You should study the Topic 1 course video and handout on the website. It goes over EFA in detail. See also, the PARALLEL option in the user's guide.
posted on Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 9:07 pm
This is my first time to run EFA in Mplus. Just would like to confirm:
1.The factor loading (pattern structure) I suppose to read is "Geomin rotated loadings" right?
2. I have one item with negative loading >0.5. Can this be due to the item is reverse score? Or is there any other reason why it can be negative?
3. For model fitness, can we just rely on SRMR<0.05 (I followed your video on topic 1)? Or we need to make sure other fit indices (CFI/TLI, RMSEA) are fit like in CFA?
Thank you
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, December 28, 2015 - 10:34 am
1. Yes.
2. It has the same meaning as a negative regression coefficient.
3. You should use all of the fit statistics.
Lu Gram
posted on Sunday, April 03, 2016 - 6:38 am
Dear Linda,
Is it possible to use rotations with CFA? What about if we perform EFA through CFA, i.e. ESEM?
Is there a statistical/mathematical reason we cannot perform rotations in CFA?
Thank you.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Sunday, April 03, 2016 - 4:46 pm
Rotations are available with ESEM not CFA.
Juerg Schmid
posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 - 10:39 am
Dear Linda
In doing bifactor-ESEM using orthogonal target rotation (Mplus version 7.3), we ran into convergence problems (WARNING: THE RESIDUAL COVARIANCE MATRIX (THETA) IS NOT POSITIVE DEFINITE. THIS COULD INDICATE A NEGATIVE VARIANCE/RESIDUAL VARIANCE FOR AN OBSERVED VARIABLE, ...). We are pointed towards a particular observed variable which has a small negative residual variance. When we tried to restrict this residual variance to a value > 0 (using the MODEL CONSTRAINT OPTION in the MODEL block), we observed that this constraint is not taken into account and the problem persists. Moreover, no warning is issued that, for example, this option is not available. However, if we just apply another rotation technique, i.e., orthogonal BI-CF-QUARTIMAX and orthogonal BI-GEOMIN, the MODEL CONSTRAINT command works perfectly alright. May we kindly ask you for a pointer into the right direction?
Thank you
Jürg Schmid
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 - 1:19 pm
Try fixing the residual variance to zero in the MODEL command, for example,
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text:
Dropped passes ruin Brooks' productivity
Dropped passes ruin Brooks' productivity
By DAVID JACKSON
Courier Correspondent
Saints running back Deuce McAllister (26) rushed for 116 yards on 29 carries in Sunday win over the Bears. (Jonathan Cohen/The Courier)
NEW ORLEANS -- It should have been a monster game for New Orleans Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks. But five dropped passes by the receiving corps made sure that Brooks looked merely adequate in their 20-13 win over the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon in the Louisiana Superdome.
Brooks, who completed 14 of 29 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, delivered nearly perfect passes to receivers Joe Horn, Donté Stallworth and tight end Ernie Conwell before they simultaneously dropped the football and his quarterback rating.
"Six penalties on offense and three dropped passes in the first half," Saints coach Jim Haslett said. "Those are things that we are going to have to eliminate. The good football teams don't do that."
After Horn dropped a deflected pass with 8:03 left in the first quarter on third down and 10, Stallworth dropped a potential 7-yard gain on third-and-four after running a slant route up the middle at the beginning of the second quarter.
But the biggest drop came with 12:13 remaining in the second quarter as the Saints led 3-0. Horn beat his defender on a double move. Brooks stepped up on his own 37-yard-line and threw the ball directly to Horn. The ball sailed more than 45 yards and landed directly over Horn's right shoulder. But he dropped the pass with only the end zone in front of him.
"I should have caught the damn ball," Horn said. "I could say 'the guy had his hand in there' and 'he was too close.' No, I should have caught the ball, put the corner(back) on my back and made a touchdown. I'm not going to make excuses. I should have caught the damn ball."
Six offensive plays later, Conwell dropped a pass thrown directly to his stomach on first and 18 with 5:08 left in the first half.
After Stallworth and Horn dropped third-down passes, Brooks took both players on the sideline and threw passes to them for several minutes as the defense took the field.
Both Conwell and Horn, however, redeemed themselves by catching touchdown passes in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. Conwell caught a nine-yard-strike from Brooks in the middle of the end zone with 12:09 in the third quarter to make the score 13-3 in favor of the Saints.
Brooks found Horn for a 6-yard completion with 7:23 to go in the fourth quarter, increasing the lead to 20-6.
Being booed by fans after nearly every incompletion, Brooks finally hooked up with Conwell on the touchdown pass. Brooks celebrated by raising his hands and pointing exuberantly to the crowd.
Horn said Brooks remained confident "without a shadow of a doubt" in his receivers.
"We made some big plays and we also left a lot of big plays out there," Horn said. "But, we didn't stop there. We didn't hang our heads. We just kept chopping wood. I could have had 190 yards today and four touchdowns. But we have to put the ball in the end zone."
Despite the miscues by the passing attack, McAllister continued to chop away at the defense with 116 yards rushing on 29 carries.
"They stop Deuce (McAllister) when we don't convert the big play," said Horn. "If we make those plays then it will continue to open holes for Deuce."
Dropped passes ruin Brooks' productivity
Sporting News
Saints team report
Oct. 13, 2003
The book on the Saints is to load the box to stop the run and make the club\'s inconsistent passing game beat you. So far this season, QB Aaron Brooks and his receivers haven\'t been able to take advantage. The most troubling aspect for coordinator Mike McCarthy is that the problems are not isolated to one area. Brooks has struggled with his accuracy. And when Brooks does find his targets, the receivers often drop the ball. The unit also has been plagued by illegal motion and false start penalties. That\'s inexcusable for an offense with this much veteran talent.
Dropped passes ruin Brooks' productivity
Yo \"08\", read the article above (the one that Billy posted) and then come back to me with that nonesense about Brooks throwing the ball too hard. I would think that now you can see that your posting that crap is a complete wast of everybody\'s time, but then I\'m bettin\' you wont\' see that, or at least I\'m bettin\' you won\'t admit it because it goes squarely against your agenda.
See all those quotes from the players on the TEAM? Funny how their opinion differs completely from yours and the rest of the Brooks bashers.
Exposed yet again!
|All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:04 AM.
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text:
Posted: 3:55 pm Thursday, June 1st, 2017
By Jamie Dupree
Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he would withdraw the United States from a landmark world agreement on climate change, arguing the Paris accords do more economic damage to the U.S. than help in terms of cleaning up the environment.
"I cannot in good conscience support a deal that harms the United States," the President said during a sun-splashed event in the White House Rose Garden, as he said he was still open to new negotiations that would not be a negative economic impact on the U.S.
Mr. Trump said the Paris deal would cost the U.S. trillions in economic development, and millions of jobs, as he charged the accord would do little to rein in big polluters like China and India, and would only give them an "economic edge" over the U.S.
"I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris," he declared.
"The agreement is a massive redistribution of United States' wealth to other countries," the President added.
President Trump on his decision to pull the US from climate agreement: it "disadvantages the United States" https://t.co/EtRGXnzAt5
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 1, 2017
Mr. Trump rattled off a number a U.S. industries that he says have been harmed by excessive efforts on climate change – paper, cement, iron, steel, coal and natural gas.
"No responsible leader can put the workers of their own country at a debilitating disadvantage," Mr. Trump said.
"The Paris agreement handicaps the United States economy," he added.
BREAKING: Trump claims Paris accord is less about climate and more about other nations gaining "financial advantage" over U.S.
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) June 1, 2017
With the decision, the U.S. joins only Nicaragua and Syria in not being a party to the Paris agreement, a non-binding document that allows countries to set their own goals for pollution reductions.
"Thanks to President Donald Trump, America is back," said Vice President Mike Pence to applause.
"President Trump made the right call on the Paris Climate Accord," said Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL).
"America finally has a leader who answers only to the people," said EPA chief Scott Pruitt.
Mr. Trump has made clear before that he sees little to support when it comes to climate change – and while some Republicans might not agree with the President, GOP strategists like Rory Cooper were not overly concerned by the politics of the move.
"I think most Republicans would welcome Democrats centering their campaign around the Paris Agreement," Cooper tweeted.
My Paris story posts soon but basically Trump is flipping off fancy-pants elites, smarty-pants scientists, tree-hugging squishes & furners.
— Michael Grunwald (@MikeGrunwald) June 1, 2017
Democrats argued this move could swing pivotal votes to them, and away from the GOP, especially in suburban areas – but for the most part, Democrats are already in a strong political position near most big urban centers.
The White House told reporters that the accord accomplishes little, arguing that the United States has already taken major steps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
White House will argue Paris climate pact would cost US economy $3T and 6.5M jobs over next several decades; and "decapitate" coal industry. https://t.co/T1LKL3DOtZ
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) June 1, 2017
While the decision by the President sounds immediate, it evidently takes time for the U.S. to officially back out.
"According to the terms of the Agreement, no country can begin the withdrawal process until three years after the Agreement enters into force and the withdrawal would not take effect for one year after that date," the Sierra Club said in a statement, as it joined in opposition to Mr. Trump's declaration.
Former Obama Administration officials also expressed their distress, even before, even before Mr. Trump's decision was made public.
"Does anyone truly believe that he even knows what is in it?" asked former Obama foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes.
A Rose Garden celebration of a step that denies science and hurts children. History will note those who participated in this moral wreckage
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) June 1, 2017
"Trump pulling US out of Paris Accord is a historic mistake," said Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), as Democratic lawmakers mocked Mr. Trump on social media.
Dear planet, we're sorry. Please just hang on for three and a half more years and we'll fix this. We promise.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 1, 2017
Critics of the President also argued the withdrawal represents a broader effort to dismantle federal policies that emphasize climate change, something that should spark budget battles in the Congress later this year.
"Elections have consequences," said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), as he urged his party to make climate change and the environment a big issue in 2018 and 2020.
"Trump has just elevated "the environment" as a political issue in 2018 and 2020. And that definitely is not to his or the GOP's advantage," said political expert Stu Rothenberg.
But for many Republicans, this and other moves by the White House simply make sense, as they argue that American businesses were being shackled with costly pollution regulations, which were almost unattainable.


text:
|2012-10-18, 02:46
|Link #1582
Join Date: Mar 2006
There really is nothing like Fox on the left, or the conservative viewpoint machine at all really. There's a strong element of propaganda to it, sometimes Orwellian even. This isn't to say that a form of this doesn't exist at all for the left, but I'm not going to play the "both sides do it" card - conservative messaging is simply better run, bigger, more pervasive, and better funded.
What I find most disturbing is how Fox and other conservative outlets play the underdog card. They constantly hammer into their audience that mainstream media is liberal and full of liberal bias, even though Fox dominates cable news ratings, conservative books top best seller lists, and figures like Limbaugh and Beck rule talk radio. I'm registered as a Democrat.....but I've received far more flyers, mailings, and robocalls from conservative PAC's who all claim that Obama is the worst President in history.
To be honest, this is why news should be boring. I'd like to see these pundit shows called for what they are: editorial content. They're opinion columns, nothing more, but because they can fill airtime and generate ratings, they're everywhere. It's great that these shows, when done with some seriousness, can really dig into issues and hopefully be more informative, but because everything demands "spin" and "narrative", any relevant information has to fight through hearsay first and hopefully not come out distorted in the echo chamber.
|2012-10-18, 03:20
|Link #1583
Logician and Romantic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Within my mind
Age: 38
I am just mad that fiscal conservatism is in danger of dying out in America. That outspoken guy in Europe, Nigel Farage, is every bit a conservative. He demands deregulation, rights, less government control, democracy. But at no stage did I feel Nigel was retarded, or was trying to speak to retards.
I should be on the opposite political spectrum from Nigel, but I still respect him because he makes his case well.
Life is difficult in Europe right now. People are suffering. But I don't feel Europeans are dumb. I feel they would vote for the right choice if given the chance to do so. At the very least they would vote for their own interests.
And then I turn to America. And all the talk was about "what's important is the presentation, not substance".
It is frankly disgusting that it took until THIS MONTH for PBS NewsHour to dedicate a feature on fact checking. What, you never needed to do this before? You are too late.
|2012-10-18, 03:43
|Link #1587
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 29
It is the naive, the dreamers, those willing to speak up, those desperate enough to fight, to live and die for idealistic hopes of liberty and equality that I would fear. You will whine and sleep; they will fight and take me down.
Note the rise of Golden Dawn in Greece, for example, or Marine Le Pen and Front national's success in France. Interesting times indeed.
Of course, however disturbing their rise, they are not the other half of a major world power's two-party system.
|2012-10-18, 05:47
|Link #1588
Basileus Basileōn
Join Date: Jan 2011
|2012-10-18, 06:42
|Link #1589
Logician and Romantic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Within my mind
Age: 38
But that assumes intelligence. And as such any democracy that values stupidity above all else, is doomed.
|2012-10-18, 08:22
|Link #1590
cho~ kakkoii
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: 3rd Planet
The point is that the impression you are getting about us in that manner is because we are our biggest critic. We are going to be alright.
|2012-10-18, 08:31
|Link #1591
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
If you want to stop the people from rising up, keep them divided and fighting against each other. The purpose of mainstream media is to give them false and irrelevant information to divide the masses, while directing attention away from danger i.e. Ron Paul.
The presidential debates are exactly that. Two sides who are only pretending to be opponents. They are actually on the same side. There's nobody who becomes US President who isn't a part of the in-group, and however bad people think Bush was, Obama took Bush's every policy and expanded on them. The punch line is that it's not even Obama's decision. He's there as an international mascot. A face to make people happy.
Divide and Control. Illusion of choice.
Whether they assassinate Barack Obama or Ben Bernanke doesn't matter. They're replaceable puppets. The real danger to them is if people wake up to discover the truth of what's really happening in America. If you simply "fight" against those in power, they will laugh at you, just like they laughed at the whole "occupy wall street" joke.
Last edited by monir; 2012-10-18 at 10:10.
|2012-10-18, 08:37
|Link #1592
Join Date: Feb 2006
Age: 35
@Conspiracy Theorist(s) --
I'm quite confused about this whole idea that mass media is controlled by "The Man"
Did Watergate never happen? Did, not after the initial skepticism, the media not do stories on Monica Lewinski? Was Al Gore not shown to be sighing disgustedly during the debates with Bush Jr.? Did the Bushisms not get aired? Just because the media has conflicting desires with regards to profit doesn't mean it's necessarily under the thumb of the government as much as you or anyone think it is. It's funny cause I hear this from EVERYONE.
General Population -- "The media just tells us what those in power want us to hear!"
Right Wingers / GOP -- "The media is totally all for Obama! That moderator was a crook!"
Left Wingers / Dems -- "Fox news is evil! Too much of the media is controlled by the rich elite!"
Again, the news and media isn't perfect, there are conflicting and profit motives involved and no one is ever 100% unbiased.. But it's like a statistical sample .. Enough lean in opposite directions and some international sources are bulletproof enough that in the aggregate there's value there.
Remember (again): Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity
|2012-10-18, 10:11
|Link #1593
cho~ kakkoii
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: 3rd Planet
|2012-10-18, 11:41
|Link #1595
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Tennessee
Age: 31
That, Kira, was a recording of Mitt Romney's childhood growing up in the deadly streets of L.A. The blonde girl is Hillary Clinton being mugged by a savage young girl belonging to the most bloodthirsty gang around, but thankfully Mitt Romney was around to bravely risk his life fighting the gang member and save poor Hillary.
|2012-10-18, 11:49
|Link #1596
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Tesla Leicht Institute
Age: 28
|2012-10-18, 11:51
|Link #1597
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Tennessee
Age: 31
I'm guessing darth means Greek-style direct democracy, where the people come together to vote on each individual law rather than simply electing people to more or less do as they please (ie the United States' representative democracy).
|2012-10-18, 12:26
|Link #1598
Not Enough Sleep
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: R'lyeh
Age: 42
|2012-10-18, 15:02
|Link #1599
As for the media, its been on a decline for a while but I think the same thing that pushed our culture over the edge has been the final nail in the coffin...pandering to social media trends.
|Thread Tools


text:
A lot of people are making New Years resolutions right now about their diet. Im gonna throw my hat into that ring too.
Ive been on a steady diet of Creationist Tard for the past few months, and I dont want them to get the impression their anti-science bullshit is any more special than all the other anti-science bullshit out there, so my resolution is to eat a wide variety of woo-ers in 2008. Luckily, I was bopping around the internet today and found a couple of woo-ers that are going to be talking in OKC in a few weeks!
April Renee-- Keynote speaker for VIC, Vaccine Injured Children and former president of TAAP, The Autism Autoimmunity Project. After the loss of her vaccine injured autistic daughter, she embarked on a mission to expose the cause of all "labels" such as autism, ADD, ADHD, diabetes, arthritis, depression, multiple sclerosis, ALS, fibromyalgia, and cancer.Check this chick out:
Gary L. Tunsky, N.D.-- Cellular Disease Specialist-- International speaker, author, and lecturer; currently in practisce as a traditional Naturopathic Doctor. He has opened up new doors to the world of customized human cell restoration treatment protocols. He applies strategies for full body detoxification, herbology, heavy metal chelation, homeopathy, and much more. His non-toxic, non-invasice cellular treatment strategies are directed to a wide spectrum of disorders that are prevalent in the 21st century.omg you guys...
This year, Hulda Clark canceled her visit at the last moment for unknown reasons. She is the proponent of the theory that diseases like cancer and AIDS are caused by parasites that can be eliminated from the body by electrical gizmos called "zappers" and "syncrometers". The Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. has successfully prosecuted some of these manufacturers. Hulda Clark operates out of a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, and is the author of a book called The Cure for All Cancers. She was to give two seminars on the use of her devices, which cost $130 each, but she did not show up.
Another last minute "no-show" was Texas naturopath Gary Tunsky. Rumours at the conference suggested that he had been prevented from entering Canada by either customs or immigration officials because he was bringing banned products into the country. This has not been confirmed, but officials for the show did mention that he was bringing in products that could save lives and that was the reason he was banned. Len Horowitz filled in. He is a Harvard trained dentist with a master's degree in public health. He is a frequent guest on Canadian radio and TV shows. Len Horowitz coined the phrase "iatrogenocide" and believes that vaccines and drugs "play a primary role in what amounts to genocide for profit, psychosocial control and even depopulation," according to an Internet ad for one of his tapes.
Gary rubbs shoulders with Clark (also believes AIDS is caused by liver flukes) and my bestest buddy LENNY? You KNOW this is going to be fun! CANNOT WAIT!
The radiologists and oncologists who administer radiation and AZT death serum wear full mop gear and protective clothing. And they're injecting this into the bloodstream of an AIDS patient who has no immune system! AZT destroys all cells including T cells, B cells and red blood cells that carry life giving oxygen. All the new antiviral drugs (ddl, D4T, 3TC, and ddc) are modeled after AZT under the guise of AIDS treatment. Cancer treatments of chemotherapy and radiation are no different!omg... like seriously... cannot wait... cannot wait... **drool**


text:
I actually have a fair amount of treasures in my genealogical collection, but I thought I'd start with the love letters/poems that Vanny (Virginia Vandalia McCroskey) sent to my great-grandfather Alexander Judd Doran. Only one is still in its envelope, and the postmark is torn, but it appears to have been sent in either JAN or JUN of 1920.
Alexander had written "by Vannie McCroskey" across the back of each one, so I thought she had actually written them. As part of writing this article, I did a quick Google search of the first lines, expecting to get no results. Boy, was I wrong! Apparently Vannie was sending lyrics and poems that were popular in the early 1900's. The endnotes citing the source and author are mine.
This packet was in the envelope:
In The Gloaming1
In the Gloaming O my darling
When the lights are dim and low
And the quiet shadows falling
Softly come and, softly go;
When the winds are sobbing faintly
With a gentle unknown woe,
Will you think of me and love me
As you did once long ago?
In the Gloaming O my darling
Think not bitterly of me,
Tho' I passed away in silence,
Left you lonely, Set you free.
For my heart was crushed with longing
What had been could never be,
It was best to leave you thus dear,
Best for you and best for me.
It was best to leave you thus dear
Best for you and best for me.
I hold your trembling hand to-night and yet2
I may not now what wealth of bliss is mine,
My heart is such a curious design
Of trust and jealousy! Your eyes are wet –
So must I think they jeweled some regret, --
And lo, the loving arms that round me twine,
Cling only as the tendrils of a vine
Whose fruit has long been gathered: I forget,
While crimson clusters of your kisses press
Their wine out on my lips, my royal fare
Of rapture, since blind fancy needs must guess
They once poured out their sweetness otherwhere.
With fuller flavoring of happiness
Than e'en your broen sobs may now declare
Pity me not, twill make me pitiable3
Grieve not for me, twill set me grieving too.
But write to me hopeful,
In words pure, strong and true.
Sincerely yours with all the richest blessings heaven has in store for you,
XXXXX tenthousand times tenthousand
P.S. you did not say where to send your letters, you seem to stay near Walters, but I see you still head your letters Devol so there they go. If you want them sent else where say so.
This was the second batch:
Last Night When All Was Still4
Last night the night-in-gale woke me!
Last night when all was still!
It sang in the golden moon-light,
From out the woodland hill.
I opened my window so gently,
I looked on the dreaming dew,
And Oh! the bird my darling
Was sing-ing, sing-ing of you, of you!
I think of you in the daytime,
I dream of you by night,
I wake and would you were here, love,
And tears are blinding my sight.
I hear a low breath in the lime tree,
The wind is floating through;
And Oh! the night my darling
Is sigh-ing sigh-ing for you, for you!
Oh, think not I can forget you:
I could not tho' I would;
I see you in all around me,
The stream, the night, the wood,
The flowers that slumber so gently,
The stars above the blue;
Oh! Heaven it-self my darling,
Is pray-ing pray-ing for you, for you!
O Heart of mine we shouldn't5
Worry so!
What we've missed of calm we couldn't
Have you know!
What we've met of stormy pain,
And of sorrows driving rain,
We can better meet again,
If it blow!
We have erred in that dark hour
We have known
When our tears fell with the shower,
All alone!
Were not shine and shower blent
As the gracious Master meant?
Let us temper our content
With his own.
For we now, -not every morrow
Can be said;
So, forgetting all the sorrow
We have had,
Let us fold away our fears
And put by our foolish tears
And through all the coming years
Just be glad.
1In the Gloaming by Annie Fortescue Harrison & Meta Orred in 1877
2Dearth by James Whitcomb Riley
3These first two lines are from Pity Me Not. by Ethelwyn Wetherald, the rest seem to be by Vannie
4Last Night When All Was Still by Halfdan Kerulf
5Kissing the Rod by James Whitcomb Riley


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If you are familiar with Hyderabad, Karachi Bakery is sure to ring a bell. To those who don't know, here is some info about it.
Karachi bakery is established by Khanchand Ramnani in 1952 near Mozamjahi market in Hyderabad. It is known the world over for its excellent biscuits, which include Fruit biscuits, Cashew biscuits etc. They are often carried outstation as souvenirs from Shahi Hyderabad.
The aroma of bread and biscuits, which emanates from the bakery, compels one to peep into the bakery once.
Mozamzahi Market also hosts the time tested hyderabadi favourite IceCreams - Famous ice cream parlour which is the 65 year-old ice cream parlour and has seasonal specials like mango ice creams and muskmelon ice creams.
Anyone visiting Hyderabad must not miss these, and not to mention the Hyderabadi Biryani!
Cherry Knob
Flour: 225 gms
Butter: 115 gms
Sugar: 60 gms
Egg: 1, seperated
Vannila Essence: 1/2 tsp
Lemon rind, a little
Milk, to mix, only if required
Cashewnuts: 60 gms, broken into pieces
Glazed Cherries: 30 gms
How I did it:
- Sift Flour and keep aside.
- Cream Butter till soft.
- Add Sugar, little by little, and beat till fluffy.
- Add egg yolk, essence and lemon rind to the butter mixture and beat on medium speed till well mixed.
- With the help of a clean wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, you can even use your hands if comfortable, add flour gradually and make a soft dough, do not knead it for long. (At this stage, add a little milk only if required i.e., if the dough is too stiff)
- Form small balls, and dip half in slightly beaten egg white.
- Roll in chopped nuts. Press half cherry into center of each ball.
- Put on a greased tray. Bake at 180C for 25 mins.
And the Verdict:
Crisp, soft and delicious.
Not very sweet but the cherry compensates the sweetness of the cookies.


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