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n__n 1 point ago +1 / -0

Night and day absolutely could work, the only reason you think it won't is because you are starting from the assumption that the sun is a ball of fire. If it's a spinning spotlight than night and day would behave similar to how it does now. And I don't understand why you think it would be a universe between us and China? The dimensions are clearly marked as equal to what we have measured the earth to be.

However there is a flaw. If the heavens are as small as illustrated then we should be able to look up with a telescope and see the other side of the earth.

For this to work there would need to be a black hemisphere, starting roughly near the firmament.

This is very easy to test though. Assuming gravity in this scenario is a result of the centripetal force of the rotating earth, we would expect gravity to be more powerful at the equator and diminish towards the poles. You can measure gravity pretty easily by making a video recording a falling object. A high speed camera would work better but isn't absolutely necessary. For the object I would use a lead ball and conduct the experiment on a calm day.

Alternatively you could try hitting the firmament with a rocket or a weather baloon.

Anyway. I think it's bullshit too. But your reasons are pretty weaksauce.

by pkvi
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n__n 1 point ago +1 / -0

There is little doubt that speaking fees are a form of corruption. But money laundering, in common parlance, is something else: ie. the money must first change hands, only after can it be laundered.

So if instead of receiving speakers fees, a politician is simply paid under the table, they could launder the money at a business they own by recording it under transactions that never actually occurred.

Speaking fees could be money laundering, if the politician is paid before hand and doesn't actually receive any speaking fees, but just presents a bill so both sides can make their books work out.

However since the services are rendered often years in advance of the payments, I would expect only a limited portion is dealt with in that manner. I expect politicians just trust the bankers, because if a banker ever stiffed them, then they would tell the other politicians about it and no one would want to work with that particular institution ever again.

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n__n 1 point ago +1 / -0

You're right that JFK ordered the treasury to print it's own money, bypassing the Fed, and I imagine this is why he was murdered. But the following is incorrect:

"JFK tried to bring back the gold standard"

The gold standard was abandoned by Nixon, 8 years after Kennedy died. So it didn't need bringing back by JFK