I think what you are talking about is predicting the most reasonable trajectory given the historical evidence. Certainly not absolute proof but certainly not complete bullshit either. It is reasonable to make predictions of the most likely outcome as long as we recognise them as such - predictions. There is only a subtle difference between this and pure speculation though.
This was what I was referring to when I said "What is far more scary is the trajectory of all of this ".
So in effect if it is what you are saying then I agree.
The problem is we have no idea what will be possible with these sort of resources even 5-10 years into the future. Big Data is a thing now. Storing peta-bytes of data has never been easier. Surveillance has never been easier, cheaper or more ubiquitous - and not just in the US. And you are right to speak of AI. Facial recognition, data mining and autonomous robots are part of the field of AI also - it does not have to be as science fiction as a full blown AI entity. (I should know, I did my thesis in the field of AI)
"No, you can't blame them for the countless deaths"
The CIA actively funded, trained and supplied death squads in SA. They did that in Iraq also including giving them the means to create and use the chemical weapons they dropped on the Kurds. So yes I can. NEXT!
"You mean like Bin-Laden?"
No, I mean the list of people (including some US citizens) that are marked for death. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/05/obama-kill-list-doj-memo NEXT!
"Saddam lied about WMD in Iraq, and tricked George Bush. "
No. Tony Blair, Bush and the intelligence agencies lied about that also. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street_Memo NEXT!
"We're all against that. They say they thought the guy was there, but it was a wedding. Oops. You can believe that shit or not, idk."
If you are seriously arguing that blowing up an entire wedding with women and children to kill one guy is ok (regardless if he is there or not) then you are an evil shitbag. There is no way to put that nicely. I believe that is also against the Geneva convention...oh wait the US does not follow that for itself....like when it targeted and invaded a hospital in Iraq for example. NEXT!
"You talking about the 3 guys that got waterboarded at Guantanamo?"
"Yes, that's the thing, and why we're all here talking, and why I want to build a statue of Edward Snowden in my backyard."
Yeah..except your mind appears to be closed to everything that gets done. Apparently as long as it happens to foreigners its ok. Maybe you can blow up a few weddings while you are on holiday??
Satisfied yet? Didn't think so. Ideology and patriotism will always trump evidence in the weak of mind I guess....
If you think the republicans are the solution to ANY of the USA's problems then I am very sorry sir it would be a waste of time even responding to you because your head is stuffed so far up your arse you would not be able to hear me.
You post is barely literate and your reasoning likewise.
The funny thing about your post is that it appears to suggest that states will be less corrupt and do better overall. This would of course be the horse shit in front of the cart. But your reference to the progressive movement tells otherwise and is a far more enlightened response. I am sure it will be over the heads of most though...
I would maintain though it is still a very naive position to take though:
The problem with this situation is that it is not at all, even slightly, about finding a "solution".
A lot of people seem to naively think that all we need is someone to come up with the right "solution" to the problem and then everyone will just do that and magical things will happen. (they almost always have one to offer - mostly not very well thought out)
The "problems" we are having are only problems for the plebs. The people that actually run the country (the plebs having effectively lost control of their country long go) have things just the way they want them.
To "fix" the current problem you will have to "destroy" the current system. (I am using a broad definition of the word destroy) This will require nothing short of revolution.
And to be honest I don't hold out much hope that the current booze, sports, movies and McDs generation has that in them...
You are not talking about being reasonable or rational. Once you suspend the burden of proof you disappear down a rabbit hole and Christ only knows where you will end up - probably wearing a tin foil hat. I knew a completely crazy hardcore conspiracy theorist. Used to stay up all hours of the morning watching videos on the fact that 911 and the moon landing was a hoax etc. I can only imagine this is being used to justify all the conspiracies she believed in. This does not make her any less crazy.
Calling something is truth without evidence is "faith". And that apparently leads to tithes, cults, sex orgies, human sacrifice and child sex abuse.
Calling it faith does not make you anything other than crazy either.
"a state with 2 parties that are basically 2 wings of one party, a party of the rich "
So true.
Noam Chomsky: "In the United States, the political system is a very marginal affair. There are two parties, so-called, but they're really factions of the same party, the Business Party. Both represent some range of business interests. In fact, they can change their positions 180 degrees, and nobody even notices. In the 1984 election, for example, there was actually an issue, which often there isn't. The issue was Keynesian growth versus fiscal conservatism. The Republicans were the party of Keynesian growth: big spending, deficits, and so on. The Democrats were the party of fiscal conservatism: watch the money supply, worry about the deficits, et cetera. Now, I didn't see a single comment pointing out that the two parties had completely reversed their traditional positions. Traditionally, the Democrats are the party of Keynesian growth, and the Republicans the party of fiscal conservatism. So doesn't it strike you that something must have happened? Well, actually, it makes sense. Both parties are essentially the same party. The only question is how coalitions of investors have shifted around on tactical issues now and then. As they do, the parties shift to opposite positions, within a narrow spectrum."
I have heard all these arguments before and I am sorry I just don't agree. Other replies have articulated why in ways acceptable to me so I will not go further.
But in summary: 1) In general I don't accept the false premise that because you are "the best" that this is good enough and therefore somehow prevents me from pointing out why it is terrible. E.g. Discussing the "kindest" mass murderer and have you argue that this person cannot be called nasty because he was the kindest.
2) I don't accept that your government is the best system implemented yet
- The wishes of the people are not carried out
- There are only two parties and they are very very similar when compared globally
- Most voters are very disillusioned with the system
- Your media (a vital part of any democracy) is a joke.
- Wealth distribution and wages for the middle class in the US are truly obscene - not just bad, TERRIBLE. Its like your country's economy is run by a super villain. There are MANY other countries that do it better than you.
3) My list of US faults is not in anyway overboard. None of the items on that list is untrue. Most of them were released as part of the CIA historical documents and have been described in numerous places.
4) I don't agree that you can "clean house". You are naively assuming that the people are still in control of their government.
What is far more scary is the trajectory of all of this - they are light years ahead of where we thought they were in the inevitable decent into a police state. If you had made such claims about the NSA a few years ago on slashdot you would have been ridiculed and marked a troll. It would have been unbelievable to most. (NB: I am NOT saying this justifies making unsubstantiated claims about the future though)
But where will they be in 5-10 years when they are better at hiding their activities? I am not saying I know and I am not a conspiracy theorist but to be honest whatever it is it looks pretty grim.
We now also know that one of the NSA's primary functions is squashing political dissent and corporate espionage so this is not limited to terrorists etc.
We already knew that the US engaged in this (assuredly with the help of the NSA) and more:
- Manipulations in places such as South America resulting in countless deaths.
- Presidential writs for assassination
- Lying about WMD in Iraq
- Drone attacks on civilians
- State authorised torture
- Mass surveillance
- etc etc And this is just what we know to be true...
So what is even scarier still is that this is paralleled by the advance of drones and robotics. They just took the governors off R&D on weaponised robots. This includes law enforcement application such as for riots.
Looking at all this and the complete lack of traction in undoing or slowing down any of it where do you think this is all going? No place good.
NB: This looks like I am very anti american. I am not. I am anti-super power. I have no delusions that China or Russia are any better for mostly the same reasons.
I know that many Americans are quite myopic about the US, mostly due to their media, but this is a bit much.
If you think Bush and his evil cartoon sidekick Cheney (who looked exactly like The Penguin!) are not the same then you are WAAAAYYY off base:
- The unilateral invading of countries while claiming "support" from small island nations depending on financial aid. - The "Mission Accomplished" sign - The "fancy dress" outfits Bush would wear with a straight face: e.g. "The Cowboy" & "Air-force Pilot" - The corporate rorts (e.g. the company Cheney was a CEO of) and millions in money that went missing in Iraq - The tortured prisoners and gulag that is Guantanamo - Cheney shooting someone IN THE FACE - Palestine and Israel anyone?!
Bush was a complete joke around the world. And while I know many Americans thought he was a joke too, he was a two term president there.
If you think that the US's foreign policy is not directly related to why Putin thinks he can get away with this you are simply mistaken. That is why he uses the word hypocrite and that is why he scoffs every time the US tries to tell him off.
Not to mention the fact that the UN security council is an even bigger joke which he has veto powers at which all the super powers have used around the world constantly to shoot down any attempt at doing anything productive in any major conflict. None of the super powers are bastions of goodness and almost all are the complete opposite.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely....
They were tasty, slow and us Maoris are big eaters.
QED
Why this is surprising news is beyond me. The extinction of the moa has always been portrayed as a human event ever since I was a kid. Glad they found definitive proof but hardly something I needed to know. What would have been newsworthy would have been the amazing coincidence of humans showing up and NOT having been the cause.
Being from NZ myself I do not find this at all surprising.
KS only just became available for NZers BTW. I assume it took enormous amounts of time to get through the IRD and all the other red tape bullshit.
It should also be noted that almost all NZ SMEs are not publicly listed. The fraction is tiny. Private investment is the way of things because it avoids an awful lot of overhead and unnecessary waste if you can go private.
Not at all lip-service. Just the plebs using the wrong context.
When the plebs say "distance" they mean financially, contractually and to uncomfortably avoid eye contact at dinner parties and whisper nasty about them behind their back.
When IBM says it they mean in terms of marketing/PR/Branding only.
This whole NSA fiasco is only a minor inconvenience that has exposed a few flaws in the way they keep their evil shit hidden. It will in the long term only serve to make them better at it. There is already talk of new systems and procedures that do essentially the same thing using legal loopholes and new laws to create more holes to hide in.
This will only make the police/surveillance state stronger.
Considering that a recent study showed only one side had to fire its nukes to create a mass extinction event both side are engaging in pointless posterior-driven posturing.
I do like how they manage to vocalise so convincingly with their anal muscles though. Very impressive.
I still remember as a small child in the late 70's/early 80's reading about how robots and automation were going to mean in the future we all only had to work 10 hours a week and could spend the rest of the time being creative and enjoying ourselves and leading meaningful lives.
Under the current system can anyone see anything even approaching that happening at all?
There is still hope however that we can realise this utopian future.
Of course it will require stepping over the bloody corpses of a few thousand million and billionaires......so who's with me!?
In this case you need to know that you can safely ignore the announcement on June 2nd.
I love how the author desperately attempts to explain the lack of originality as a strength and a very brave thing to do and the biggest selling point of the game.
"Boldly going where everyone and his dog has gone before!" *weeeooo oooo weee ooo oo oo oooooooo* (etc)
I guess that is how they get invited back for more pampering at PR events. Its good to be an embedded journalist.
I maintain that the Atkins "diet" is only efficient for losing weight and not as a permanent solution and certainly not a healthy one. (the last part meaning you probably should not do it at all)
While the body is bad at regulating the storage of fat it also bad at regulating the consumption of simple carbs. Putting the two together is a disaster as we all know.
One of the main benefits of the Atkins diet for most people is that you simply cannot over eat. You become so sick of the food which is extremely filling and "heavy" that you almost have to force yourself to eat at times. I would argue that this is the main explanation for the "secret" to its "success". (and studies have shown it to be relatively successful) I was extremely fit and gym going and lost 6 kgs and became "cut" on this diet over 8 weeks. Then kept the weight off on a less extremely diet (i.e. just put more veges in) for 3 years until I had a kid and got fat...they have that effect...
It appears that high fat, low carb diets can work well which is somewhat counter-intuitive hence why those ignorant on the subject feel it is safe to comment. It is not. Having said all that, your straw man of 20k calories is rather ridiculous on its own with no help required from your other false statements.
On a related note: I have conducted similar home experiments with super high fibre/vitamin meal replacement drinks (More like a "Goop" than a drink which is what I call it) using things such as oats, linseed, lentils, almond, milk powder, vegetable oil and frozen berries. About 15 natural ingredients all up with no processed ones excepting the milk powder. One glass of this at lunch (dinner was unchanged) and you not only sate your appetite it easily holds you till your next meal - and it does not taste half bad also. Lost 5 kgs over a month without much trouble.
Aside from the monotony of the Goop it appears to be a perfectly healthy and good way to lose weight without the hunger pangs or putting your body into "starvation mode" as many diets do.
You do not have a "left" in your country. What you erroneously refer to as the mainstream "left" (i.e. Democrats) is actually a centre right party at best.
Of course the typical US discourse is somewhat myopic and hence why the confusion...
Slashdot Mirror
Don't be mean now.
They don't have the BBC channel on the special bus...
I think what you are talking about is predicting the most reasonable trajectory given the historical evidence. Certainly not absolute proof but certainly not complete bullshit either. It is reasonable to make predictions of the most likely outcome as long as we recognise them as such - predictions.
There is only a subtle difference between this and pure speculation though.
This was what I was referring to when I said "What is far more scary is the trajectory of all of this ".
So in effect if it is what you are saying then I agree.
The problem is we have no idea what will be possible with these sort of resources even 5-10 years into the future. Big Data is a thing now. Storing peta-bytes of data has never been easier. Surveillance has never been easier, cheaper or more ubiquitous - and not just in the US.
And you are right to speak of AI. Facial recognition, data mining and autonomous robots are part of the field of AI also - it does not have to be as science fiction as a full blown AI entity. (I should know, I did my thesis in the field of AI)
Thank god for that! :)
"No, you can't blame them for the countless deaths"
The CIA actively funded, trained and supplied death squads in SA. They did that in Iraq also including giving them the means to create and use the chemical weapons they dropped on the Kurds.
So yes I can.
NEXT!
"You mean like Bin-Laden?"
No, I mean the list of people (including some US citizens) that are marked for death.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/05/obama-kill-list-doj-memo
NEXT!
"Saddam lied about WMD in Iraq, and tricked George Bush. "
No. Tony Blair, Bush and the intelligence agencies lied about that also.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street_Memo
NEXT!
"We're all against that. They say they thought the guy was there, but it was a wedding. Oops. You can believe that shit or not, idk."
If you are seriously arguing that blowing up an entire wedding with women and children to kill one guy is ok (regardless if he is there or not) then you are an evil shitbag. There is no way to put that nicely. I believe that is also against the Geneva convention...oh wait the US does not follow that for itself....like when it targeted and invaded a hospital in Iraq for example.
NEXT!
"You talking about the 3 guys that got waterboarded at Guantanamo?"
Nope. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_in_the_United_States
"Yes, that's the thing, and why we're all here talking, and why I want to build a statue of Edward Snowden in my backyard."
Yeah..except your mind appears to be closed to everything that gets done. Apparently as long as it happens to foreigners its ok. Maybe you can blow up a few weddings while you are on holiday??
Satisfied yet? Didn't think so. Ideology and patriotism will always trump evidence in the weak of mind I guess....
If you think the republicans are the solution to ANY of the USA's problems then I am very sorry sir it would be a waste of time even responding to you because your head is stuffed so far up your arse you would not be able to hear me.
You post is barely literate and your reasoning likewise.
The funny thing about your post is that it appears to suggest that states will be less corrupt and do better overall. This would of course be the horse shit in front of the cart.
But your reference to the progressive movement tells otherwise and is a far more enlightened response. I am sure it will be over the heads of most though...
I would maintain though it is still a very naive position to take though:
The problem with this situation is that it is not at all, even slightly, about finding a "solution".
A lot of people seem to naively think that all we need is someone to come up with the right "solution" to the problem and then everyone will just do that and magical things will happen. (they almost always have one to offer - mostly not very well thought out)
The "problems" we are having are only problems for the plebs. The people that actually run the country (the plebs having effectively lost control of their country long go) have things just the way they want them.
To "fix" the current problem you will have to "destroy" the current system. (I am using a broad definition of the word destroy) This will require nothing short of revolution.
And to be honest I don't hold out much hope that the current booze, sports, movies and McDs generation has that in them...
I disagree.
You are not talking about being reasonable or rational. Once you suspend the burden of proof you disappear down a rabbit hole and Christ only knows where you will end up - probably wearing a tin foil hat.
I knew a completely crazy hardcore conspiracy theorist. Used to stay up all hours of the morning watching videos on the fact that 911 and the moon landing was a hoax etc.
I can only imagine this is being used to justify all the conspiracies she believed in. This does not make her any less crazy.
Calling something is truth without evidence is "faith". And that apparently leads to tithes, cults, sex orgies, human sacrifice and child sex abuse.
Calling it faith does not make you anything other than crazy either.
"a state with 2 parties that are basically 2 wings of one party, a party of the rich "
So true.
Noam Chomsky:
"In the United States, the political system is a very marginal affair. There are two parties, so-called, but they're really factions of the same party, the Business Party. Both represent some range of business interests. In fact, they can change their positions 180 degrees, and nobody even notices. In the 1984 election, for example, there was actually an issue, which often there isn't. The issue was Keynesian growth versus fiscal conservatism. The Republicans were the party of Keynesian growth: big spending, deficits, and so on. The Democrats were the party of fiscal conservatism: watch the money supply, worry about the deficits, et cetera. Now, I didn't see a single comment pointing out that the two parties had completely reversed their traditional positions. Traditionally, the Democrats are the party of Keynesian growth, and the Republicans the party of fiscal conservatism. So doesn't it strike you that something must have happened? Well, actually, it makes sense. Both parties are essentially the same party. The only question is how coalitions of investors have shifted around on tactical issues now and then. As they do, the parties shift to opposite positions, within a narrow spectrum."
I have heard all these arguments before and I am sorry I just don't agree. Other replies have articulated why in ways acceptable to me so I will not go further.
But in summary:
1) In general I don't accept the false premise that because you are "the best" that this is good enough and therefore somehow prevents me from pointing out why it is terrible.
E.g. Discussing the "kindest" mass murderer and have you argue that this person cannot be called nasty because he was the kindest.
2) I don't accept that your government is the best system implemented yet
- The wishes of the people are not carried out
- There are only two parties and they are very very similar when compared globally
- Most voters are very disillusioned with the system
- Your media (a vital part of any democracy) is a joke.
- Wealth distribution and wages for the middle class in the US are truly obscene - not just bad, TERRIBLE. Its like your country's economy is run by a super villain.
There are MANY other countries that do it better than you.
3) My list of US faults is not in anyway overboard. None of the items on that list is untrue. Most of them were released as part of the CIA historical documents and have been described in numerous places.
4) I don't agree that you can "clean house". You are naively assuming that the people are still in control of their government.
They are not.
Your post was very amusing. Thanks for that I needed the laugh.
I would have pointed out all the fallacies in your statements but you, me and anyone else who reads it know what they are.
The vitriol and hatred you express is very telling from a psychological point of view.
I feel very sorry for you and sincerely hope you work it all out at some stage and are not taking it out on your loved ones in the meantime.
Peace brother.
You are not depressed enough. ;)
What is far more scary is the trajectory of all of this - they are light years ahead of where we thought they were in the inevitable decent into a police state.
If you had made such claims about the NSA a few years ago on slashdot you would have been ridiculed and marked a troll. It would have been unbelievable to most.
(NB: I am NOT saying this justifies making unsubstantiated claims about the future though)
But where will they be in 5-10 years when they are better at hiding their activities? I am not saying I know and I am not a conspiracy theorist but to be honest whatever it is it looks pretty grim.
We now also know that one of the NSA's primary functions is squashing political dissent and corporate espionage so this is not limited to terrorists etc.
We already knew that the US engaged in this (assuredly with the help of the NSA) and more:
- Manipulations in places such as South America resulting in countless deaths.
- Presidential writs for assassination
- Lying about WMD in Iraq
- Drone attacks on civilians
- State authorised torture
- Mass surveillance
- etc etc
And this is just what we know to be true...
So what is even scarier still is that this is paralleled by the advance of drones and robotics. They just took the governors off R&D on weaponised robots. This includes law enforcement application such as for riots.
Looking at all this and the complete lack of traction in undoing or slowing down any of it where do you think this is all going? No place good.
NB: This looks like I am very anti american. I am not. I am anti-super power. I have no delusions that China or Russia are any better for mostly the same reasons.
Errr....
I know that many Americans are quite myopic about the US, mostly due to their media, but this is a bit much.
If you think Bush and his evil cartoon sidekick Cheney (who looked exactly like The Penguin!) are not the same then you are WAAAAYYY off base:
- The unilateral invading of countries while claiming "support" from small island nations depending on financial aid.
- The "Mission Accomplished" sign
- The "fancy dress" outfits Bush would wear with a straight face: e.g. "The Cowboy" & "Air-force Pilot"
- The corporate rorts (e.g. the company Cheney was a CEO of) and millions in money that went missing in Iraq
- The tortured prisoners and gulag that is Guantanamo
- Cheney shooting someone IN THE FACE
- Palestine and Israel anyone?!
Bush was a complete joke around the world. And while I know many Americans thought he was a joke too, he was a two term president there.
If you think that the US's foreign policy is not directly related to why Putin thinks he can get away with this you are simply mistaken. That is why he uses the word hypocrite and that is why he scoffs every time the US tries to tell him off.
Not to mention the fact that the UN security council is an even bigger joke which he has veto powers at which all the super powers have used around the world constantly to shoot down any attempt at doing anything productive in any major conflict.
None of the super powers are bastions of goodness and almost all are the complete opposite.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely....
Again I say...
Where is the interesting news here? It is not about whether this is valid science but whether it is worth reporting as general news.
Why is this on slashdot?
There are 100's of thousands of articles just as nominal as this and we don't reference those.
You are a moron.
I was commenting on the newsworthiness not the science.
I assume you avidly read the 100's of thousands of articles from around the world that discover that things are as we thought them to be?
Thought not..
They were tasty, slow and us Maoris are big eaters.
QED
Why this is surprising news is beyond me. The extinction of the moa has always been portrayed as a human event ever since I was a kid. Glad they found definitive proof but hardly something I needed to know.
What would have been newsworthy would have been the amazing coincidence of humans showing up and NOT having been the cause.
Being from NZ myself I do not find this at all surprising.
KS only just became available for NZers BTW. I assume it took enormous amounts of time to get through the IRD and all the other red tape bullshit.
It should also be noted that almost all NZ SMEs are not publicly listed. The fraction is tiny. Private investment is the way of things because it avoids an awful lot of overhead and unnecessary waste if you can go private.
Not at all lip-service. Just the plebs using the wrong context.
When the plebs say "distance" they mean financially, contractually and to uncomfortably avoid eye contact at dinner parties and whisper nasty about them behind their back.
When IBM says it they mean in terms of marketing/PR/Branding only.
This whole NSA fiasco is only a minor inconvenience that has exposed a few flaws in the way they keep their evil shit hidden. It will in the long term only serve to make them better at it. There is already talk of new systems and procedures that do essentially the same thing using legal loopholes and new laws to create more holes to hide in.
This will only make the police/surveillance state stronger.
Considering that a recent study showed only one side had to fire its nukes to create a mass extinction event both side are engaging in pointless posterior-driven posturing.
I do like how they manage to vocalise so convincingly with their anal muscles though. Very impressive.
My thoughts exactly and nicely articulated.
...so who's with me!?
Well done good sir.
I still remember as a small child in the late 70's/early 80's reading about how robots and automation were going to mean in the future we all only had to work 10 hours a week and could spend the rest of the time being creative and enjoying ourselves and leading meaningful lives.
Under the current system can anyone see anything even approaching that happening at all?
There is still hope however that we can realise this utopian future.
Of course it will require stepping over the bloody corpses of a few thousand million and billionaires...
You sure can route through it. ;)
lol.
I hope you were joking....otherwise that is one hell of a knee jerk reaction to nothing.
In this case you need to know that you can safely ignore the announcement on June 2nd.
I love how the author desperately attempts to explain the lack of originality as a strength and a very brave thing to do and the biggest selling point of the game.
"Boldly going where everyone and his dog has gone before!"
*weeeooo oooo weee ooo oo oo oooooooo* (etc)
I guess that is how they get invited back for more pampering at PR events. Its good to be an embedded journalist.
Then you have missed Lucas's unsubtle attempt at answering that question in a small scene in a SW movie that shows R2 with rockets.
You could have googled it.
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/R2-D2
I maintain that the Atkins "diet" is only efficient for losing weight and not as a permanent solution and certainly not a healthy one. (the last part meaning you probably should not do it at all)
While the body is bad at regulating the storage of fat it also bad at regulating the consumption of simple carbs. Putting the two together is a disaster as we all know.
One of the main benefits of the Atkins diet for most people is that you simply cannot over eat. You become so sick of the food which is extremely filling and "heavy" that you almost have to force yourself to eat at times. I would argue that this is the main explanation for the "secret" to its "success". (and studies have shown it to be relatively successful)
I was extremely fit and gym going and lost 6 kgs and became "cut" on this diet over 8 weeks. Then kept the weight off on a less extremely diet (i.e. just put more veges in) for 3 years until I had a kid and got fat...they have that effect...
It appears that high fat, low carb diets can work well which is somewhat counter-intuitive hence why those ignorant on the subject feel it is safe to comment.
It is not.
Having said all that, your straw man of 20k calories is rather ridiculous on its own with no help required from your other false statements.
On a related note:
I have conducted similar home experiments with super high fibre/vitamin meal replacement drinks (More like a "Goop" than a drink which is what I call it) using things such as oats, linseed, lentils, almond, milk powder, vegetable oil and frozen berries. About 15 natural ingredients all up with no processed ones excepting the milk powder.
One glass of this at lunch (dinner was unchanged) and you not only sate your appetite it easily holds you till your next meal - and it does not taste half bad also. Lost 5 kgs over a month without much trouble.
Aside from the monotony of the Goop it appears to be a perfectly healthy and good way to lose weight without the hunger pangs or putting your body into "starvation mode" as many diets do.
PS: FYI
You do not have a "left" in your country. What you erroneously refer to as the mainstream "left" (i.e. Democrats) is actually a centre right party at best.
Of course the typical US discourse is somewhat myopic and hence why the confusion...