Can you prove it's not true?

'Here's a picture with you and her. That proves you know eachother! So why did you lie when I said her name yesterday and you claimed you never heard of her?'

Easy. This picture was taken a long time ago. At one of a few hundred parties I worked at as entertainer. With two of several thousand people that share a picture frame with me. So no, I don't know who all those people are. Not even when one of them turns out to be a female 'Tinder Swindler', a famous politician, friends with a dictator or an unknown fashion designer.

Besides that: it has gotten very easy to change things in pictures. Here's a famous example out of the Ukraine/Russia war:

And if I can easily turn this

into this

in just a few minutes with a free app on my smartphone, just imagine what a professional editor can do with actual professional editing equipment.

We are constantly bombarded with extremely manipulitive words and pictures. Usually used as 'clickbait', just so an information channel can make more money by selling advertising space. Hidden between the highly suggestive editorials and ads, it's hard to find actual data. 

'Doing your own research' becomes increasingly difficult because most articles are written by people. And every single one of us is prejudiced. Or lying when they state they are not.

Perhaps we should have computer programs write every (news) article. Before you ask if A.I. can write articles without the reader knowing it's not a human: chances are you have already read several hundred articles that were written by bots. Computer code (click) takes factual data and gets increasingly better at forming whole sentences based on that data.

It's true. Bigly. My friend John can testify. Great guy. 

But wait! What if one day we won't read any articles anymore that outline the dangers of A.I....will that be the day that the robots have taken over?

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She made (a poem. Now as picvoice)

Understanding came before the vision
So when she said 'It's just like I remember',
he replied 'I remember it differently
but I know what you mean.'

And so they sat in silence,
each in their own thoughts.
Just like she remembered.

While he smiled,
recollecting the sounds she made.

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Now also available as picvoice:

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Fake news! Propaganda!

“In war, truth is the first casualty.” is a quote that had been attributed to several people. The oldest source dates back to around 500BC, when the Greek tragedian Aeschylus added more people as well as more conflict to plays and is therefore known as 'the father of Tragedy'. 

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He was right of course. I only have to point you towards the many reports that turned out to be fake news in the recent Ukraine/Russia war: clips from a fighter jet taking down a Russian counterpart turned out to be taken from a videogame. Here are a few examples of clips that were shared as 'real': 

and a picture of president Zelenskyy proudly showing a t-shirt with a swastika quickly turned out to be photoshopped.

The Russian government even paid several online influencers to read the same script, claiming Russia was a victim and Ukraine was the agressor:

Only in a dictatorship the ruling elite would lie to its people, right? And bombard them with fake news and propaganda? Not quit. Not so long ago the exact same thing happened in America. When anchors of local TV stations, all owned by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group were forced by the group owners to tell a certain narrative. That was automatically believed by at least 70 percent of the viewers of local TV-stations. Sinclair has be known to be one of the most faithful donors of the Republican Party and the 'news' segment was scripted to make Donald Trump look good and every news station that made him look like he actually is like fake news. But it was Sinclair itself that made up fake news. 

But when people believe something, it's nearly impossible to change their minds. They simply dismiss facts. So the damage is done. And sometimes it's hard to blame them because 'deep fake' is getting increasingly harder to distinguish from 'the real thing'. 

Countering American senator's Marco Rubio's 'mistake' in which he - against the wishes of the Ukranian consulat - 'accidentally' took a screenshot (and posted it!)

of his talk with Zelensky in which he may have given Russian intelligence some valuable information regarding the man they have high on their kill list, someone created this fake video: we see 'Zelensky' getting back at the US Senator:

There's only one kind of 'good' propaganda. And that's this:

Come what may (a poem)

Living life in full swing

when the swing is set to chill

Time has come to play

after every night comes a new day

Yesterday is gone

and tomorrow is yet to come

So let us live for today

and together

Come what may

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'What has the EU ever done for us?'

'There's no mention of it in the Bible, so it can't be real!' is often heard regarding Evolution Theory. And many other subjects. Weird, really because the Bible may be a large collection of books but even the most extensive encyclopedia can't hold all knowledge. Besides: does the fact that the Bible never once mentions socks, mean they are not real and 'against God's wishes?'

People believe the strangest of things, just because of some faith. Usually emphasized because what they belief is often repeated inside the bubble they have chosen to live in. 

To many people this picture 'proves' humans and apes do not share a common ancestor.

'Just look at the size of that skeleton!' You can tell them over and over again that the story has been debunked many times but - and here's the thing with faith - if people strongly believe something, it's really, really hard to convince them they are wrong. Their faith is simply stronger than all arguments pointing in another direction combined.

The same thing goes for people who copy eachother, stating: 'The EU hasn't done anything good for us!'

Since just words are simply lost on people whose faith is stronger than evidence, people have made short videos on 'what has the EU done for us?'. Here's one of them:

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Angel with a Chainsaw (a short story)

No point in pretending

Making small talk is make belief

Pick up lines are wasted

as much as the guy on her sofa

the week after they met

Faking is stupid

Because she reads him

Like the book he never wrote

and he will never write

although he loves to edit

their small adventures

while they lie on his couch

No need to hide

Like there's no wall

That can't be demolished

By an angel with a chainsaw

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Do you say 'expat' or 'immigrant'?

When a person from Sweden comes to work in America, he or she is called an expat. Right?

When a person from Zambia comes to work in America, he or she is called an immigrant. Right?

An immigrant being: 'Someone who moves to another country to live there permanently'.

An expat being: 'Someone who doesn't live in his or her native country'. 

Yes, 'living in some other country than your own' is the same as 'not living in your own country'. 

The actual difference between an expat and an immigrant is really non-existent but simply a question of semantics.

Let me present you with an interesting question:

What if someone from Sweden, coming to work in America, has a dark skincolour? Is that person now an expat or an immigrant?

I wrote about this problem before in 2015 (click) and have presented the question to many people since.

But sofar have not been offered an explanation. Except for the obvious answer: the difference solely lies in the colour of the skin so it's simply a racist thing.

'Yeah, but immigrants refuse to learn the language of their new homeland whereas expats are quickly fully submerged in the language and habits of their new home, so we prefer expats over immigrants!'

Nice thought. But still racist. As a matter of fact: it's exactly the other way around: it's expats (click. Short for 'expatriate') who cling to the culture and language of the country of originin while most immigrants (click) make an effort for the long stay. 

I found it hard to find accurate information because the US tax system is *ahem* not the most transparent in the world but it seems that non-residents (i.e. 'expats' and people living abroad bur making their money in the US) pay less income tax than American residents. While immigrants are required to pay all their taxes ánd the US government made it harder for them than for others to file a tax report. 

So let me ask again: can someone explain to me the actual difference between 'immigrants' and 'expats' and why do expats pay less taxes? Try to answer without using the term 'skin colour'. Good luck!

And oh, if you could translate the US taxpayer system so it doesn't acquire a law degree to understand, that would be highly appreciated. 

Because this lady explains it in 'simple' terms but I'm still a bit confused. It's almost as if the US government only wants people who can afford expensive lawyers to be able to use all the legal loopholes in their tax system.

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Of Her (a short story)

Last night I dreamed

I woke up

from a dream.

Now I am on watch,

knowing that coming night

I will dream again.

Hopefully of her

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Is there hope? Yes, there is!

At times we may think there's no hope for humanity: we willingly destroy the planet and more than a few people seem to be fixed on making life miserable for as many others as they can. Let's - for a moment - pretend all people are like the people in this clip. 

When a father posted a message online, hoping his son's dying wish to come true, he hoped for some twenty to thirty bikers to drive past his motorcycles loving son. The bikers spread the message through to their communiy and this is what happened:

Not 20, not 30, not even a hundred bikers stepped up to lift the spirits of one motorcycle enthousiast but 20,000 of them showed up to show their respect.

We all have our moments of despair. All of us can feel all hope is lost. Some know they are dying but still they find the courage, the strength, the energy, the hope...to live. 

It's okay to feel desperation, to feel that all is lost. But there's always a way out. Have faith.

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