trentmkelly/rationalwiki huggingface dataset:
Pleiades

[[Image:Pleiades_large.jpg|thumb|right|The Pleiades star cluster]]
{{Astronomy}}
'''Pleiades''', also known as ''The Seven Sisters'' or ''Messier 45'' among other catalog numbers is an {{wpl|open cluster}} in the [[Zodiac|zodiacal]] constellation of {{wpl|Taurus (constellation)|Taurus}} very easily visible with the {{wpl|naked eye}} and because of that known since very likely prehistoric times, with references to it in [[mythology]] in [[folklore]] being extant and ubiquitous all over the world since antiquity.

==Properties==
The cluster is located at a mean distance of the [[Sun]] of 440 light years<ref>[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/aada8b The Distance to the Pleiades According to Gaia DR2]</ref> and is young astronomically speaking, with an age of around 100 million years<ref>[https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9711099 Light Element Depletion in Contracting Brown Dwarfs and Pre--Main-Sequence Stars]</ref>. As the image shows, it's dominated by bright, blue, giant stars the most luminous and massive of which is {{wpl|Alcyone (star)|Alcyone}}

As also visible in the image, there's [[Nebula#Reflection_nebulae|nebulosity]] surrounding the cluster that can be guessed if there's no or little {{wpl|light pollution}} and that appears nicely in large exposure photographs. It was believed such nebulosity are remains of the gas cloud from which the stars formed, but it's currently though to be just a dust-rich region of the interstellar medium through which the cluster is passing by<ref>[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003ApJ...589..362G/abstract The Pleiades Reflection Nebula. II. Simple Model Constraints on Dust Properties and Scattering Geometry]</ref>

{{wpl|Teide 1}}, the first confirmed [[brown dwarf]], was found there back in 1995<ref>[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995Natur.377..129R Discovery of a brown dwarf in the Pleiades star cluster]</ref>

==Woo==
There is a magical species of white aliens with blonde/white hair named the [[Pleiadians]]. They have a stupidly long lifespan (700 years) and they also know telepathy<ref>https://www.gaia.com/article/who-are-the-pleiadians</ref>. Actually, given the young age of the Pleiades, if there's something alive in the (hypothetical, as to date no planets have been found there) planetary systems of the cluster's stars they'd be the equivalent of [[bacteria]].{{fact|joke}}

Some have also claimed there're [[Photon belt|rings of photons]] orbiting Alcyone and funny things will happen (or rather ''happened'', as that was predicted to happen in 1992 and [[2012]] and we're still here) on [[Earth|this planet]], which is pure [[bullshit|bollocks]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wpl|Pleiades|The Seven Sisters at the other wiki}}, in case you cannot see them in the night sky for whatever reasons.
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Ufology]]

Categories: Astronomy, Ufology
Plessy v. Ferguson

{{title-italics}}{{sources needed}}
[[File:Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).jpg|165px|thumb|right|Meme made to mock this decision.<ref>[https://x.com/SimpleSCOTUS/status/1540871281691828224 Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)]</ref>]]
{{constnav}}
{{Caselaw|Plessy v. Ferguson|163 U.S. 537|May 18, 1896}}
'''''Plessy v. Ferguson''''' was a case handed down in 1896 by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]. Homer Plessy, a man who did not consider himself "[[African American]]" and certainly ''looked'' white,{{efn|Although no known pictures of him exist, contempary reports refer to him as a white man.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxhKEzMbw2o "Separate But Equal" | Plessy v. Ferguson]</ref>}} but qualified as "black" under "[[One-drop rule|1-drop rules]]" (by the terminology of the time he was an "octoroon"), sued after being kicked out of a "whites only" car on a railroad. The legislation which caused this, the Separate Car Act of 1890, demanded that "equal but separate accommodations" be required to residents who were white and black.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/separate-but-equal separate but equal]</ref> After he agreed to sit there as a test case, and winning his suit at all levels, the Supreme Court handed Plessy a loss for himself and for the rights of Americans everywhere.

The holding of ''Plessy'' made clear that the equality guarantees of the newly passed [[Fourteenth Amendment]] were confined to rights of a civil and political nature. Social rights — such as equality in the public sphere — were not guaranteed. Specifically, ''Plessy'' held that the federal government, or state governments, may classify on the basis of race and perform social engineering activities designed to separate the races so long as they did not become inordinately oppressive. The majority of the Court did not define what ''would'' be inordinately oppressive.

Justice John Marshall Harlan filed a blistering dissent, arguing for a [[colorblind]] [[United States Constitution|Constitution]], and stating that he would have stricken down [[segregation]] over 50 years before the Court did in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]''. He correctly predicted that the decision was going to be as infamous as ''[[Dred Scott v. Sandford]]''.

==See also==
*''[[Dred Scott v. Sandford]]'', the other horrible historic United States Supreme Court decision
*[[Jim Crow laws]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Constitutional law]]
[[Category:Government incompetence]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases]]

Categories: Constitutional law, Government incompetence, Racism, United States Supreme Court cases
Poisoning the well

{{sources needed}}{{logicnav}}
'''Poisoning the well''' (also called the '''smear tactic''') is a rhetorical technique and [[logical fallacy]] that uses the [[association fallacy|association]] of negative [[emotional appeal|emotions]] to distract a subject from actual [[evidence]] in an argument.

Poisoning the well is an [[appeal to hate]].

The usual method is to point out the unpleasant nature of the person making the opposing argument, in which case it is a special case of a personal attack or ''[[ad hominem]]''. In general, "to poison the well" means to pre-provide any information that could produce a biased opinion of the reasoning, positive ''or'' negative.

It can be done subtly or quite blatantly. A subtle way of poisoning the well would be to use particular adjectives in introducing something that would influence people who are about to hear an argument. A good example would be introducing an argument that you disagree with by using the phrase 'Do you believe this rubbish?' The word 'rubbish' poisons the well.

In a more blatant display, someone can make an outright personal attack in an introduction. For example, asking people to remember that a person has been in [[prison]] before listening to their statements; the well is now "poisoned" because people are likely to distrust a person making an argument knowing that they're a convict, regardless of the reasoning that they put forward.

==See also==
* [[Appeal to emotion]]
* [[Appeal to shame]]
* [[Antisemitism]] — in the context of which the accusation of literal well-poisoning goes back millennia.
* [[Fear, uncertainty, and doubt]]
* [[Loaded language]]
* [[Shill gambit]]
{{otherlang
|pt=Envenenar o poço}}

==External links==
*{{wpa|Poisoning the well}}
*[http://www.fallacyfiles.org/poiswell.html Poisoning the Well], [[Fallacy Files]]
*[http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/skepticism/blfaq_fall_poisoningwell.htm Poisoning the Well], About.com
*[http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#PoisoningtheWell Poisoning the Well], Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
*[http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/poisoning-the-well.html Fallacy: Poisoning the Well], [[Nizkor Project]]

{{logfal}}

[[Category:Ad hominem]]
[[Category:Fallacious arguments]]

Categories: Ad hominem, Fallacious arguments
Pole shift

{{pseudoastronomy}}{{sources needed}}
'''Pole shift''' is the [[hypothesis]] that extreme movement of the [[Earth]]'s [[Rotation of the Earth|rotational axis]] occasionally occurs and can explain catastrophes such as earthquakes and tsunamis. This phenomenon refers to a change in the geographic location of the poles and is distinct from [[plate tectonics]], [[geomagnetic reversal]], and change in axial orientation. Significant shift has not occurred for at least 800 million years and often occurs over periods of thousands, if not millions, of years. A slight pole shift over time is normal and harmless; for example, the effects of precession where the angle of the rotation move around like a gyroscope over a cycle of around 26,000 years.

This, of course, is an attempt to piggyback off (and mimic) the [[Technobabble|cool science-sounding terminology]] related to shifting poles. The fact that most [[crank]]s [[Willful ignorance|willingly conflate]] the concept of a [[Geomagnetic reversal|''magnetic'' pole shift]] with the cartoonish idea of ''the sudden physical inversion of the [[Earth]]'s rotational axis'' only sweetens the deal.

==Predictions==
In 1997, a rapid pole shift was predicted for 2000. Unsurprisingly, this did not happen.

In 1996 a pole shift was predicted for 2001. This did not happen either.

The [[2012 apocalypse|2012]] pole shift didn't happen either.

See the pattern?

==Comparison to geomagnetic reversals==
The Earth's magnetic field ''can'' flip. This is called [[geomagnetic reversal]]. But these magnetic-pole reversals haven't been correlated to any widespread disasters, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, or the dead rising from the grave, so it appears to be nothing worth getting ''that'' worried about. Also, they happen over a period of thousands of years, not suddenly on a given date — so whenever you hear a claim that a pole shift will occur on a specific day, you know not to believe it.

==Actual pole shift in the Solar System==
[[Mars]] is thought to {{wpl|True polar wander on Mars|have suffered}} polar shift, like [[Saturn]]'s moon {{wpl|Enceladus (moon)|Enceladus|.}}

==See also== 
* [[Charles Hapgood]]
* [[Robert W. Felix]]
* [[ZetaTalk]]
* [[Crust displacement]]

==External links== 
* "[http://www.crystalinks.com/poleshifts.html Pole Shift Hypothesis]."  Crystalinks. 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080610045557/http://www.physics.org/facts/frog-magnetic-field.asp FAQ at physics.org]
* [http://www.phy6.org/earthmag/reversal.htm An explanation of pole reversals]
* [http://www.phy6.org/earthmag/magnQ&A1.htm#q6 Four questions about pole reversals, answered]

{{stub|pseudoastronomy}}


[[Category:Science woo]]
[[Category:Silly "Earth" theories]]
[[Category:End of the world]]

Categories: Science woo, Silly "Earth" theories, End of the world
Political Vel Craft

{{conspiracynav|1}}
'''Political Vel Craft''' is a website hosting the [[paranoia|paranoid]] ravings of a [[Minnesota]]-based [[Tea Party|Teabagger]] lunatic in the form of [[green ink]] articles and a blog. The proprietor's favorite conspiracies seem to be ones of the [[Obamunism|Obamunist]], [[birther]], [[Illuminati]], [[New World Order]], [[Federal Reserve]], [[chemtrails|chemtrail]], and [[International Jewish conspiracy|international Jewish]] varieties. The site is also ragingly [[racist]] and promotes bigotry of all kinds, including [[homophobia]], [[Islamophobia]] and [[antisemitism]].

==It's the Jewish banksters (who aren't actually Jews)==

In the world of Political Vel Craft, just about every political leader is a [[Rothschild family|Rothschild]] stooge (and the [[British]] monarchy plays into this somehow, because apparently they have massive amounts of political power). The site, for all the anti-Islam and anti-Arab rambling, ironically dredges up an old antisemitic [[canard]] once popular among some in the Middle East (and Russia): Most [[Jew]]s aren't really Jews!<ref>http://politicalvelcraft.org/rothschild/</ref> This is the old and widely debunked "[[Khazar myth]]" which states that Ashkenazi Jews are actually descended from the Turks of the Khazar Empire. The (pseudo?) Jews, according to the site, are in bed with the [[communism|commies]] to create the New World Order and we need to "drive the money-changers from the temple" to stop them. It appears as though [[Father Coughlin]] never really died, he's actually locked up in someone's basement in Minnesota with only an internet connection to maintain human contact.

==Pseudoscience==

[[Crank magnetism|As should be expected]], the site promotes [[wingnut]]s' favorite forms of [[pseudoscience]]: [[creationism]]<ref>http://politicalvelcraft.org/evolutionism/</ref> and [[global warming denialism]].<ref>http://politicalvelcraft.org/category/climategate/</ref>

==Notable claims==
Aside from the normal Teabagger howlings of Obama being a Secret Muslim, radical Marxist, and/or black Nationalist, this person has also [[PIDOOMA|claimed]] that Obama is a member of [[NAMBLA]]. Which, even we have to admit, is a new one. Even most Tea Partiers know not to be so blatantly obvious when they make shit up.

==Recycling material==
The [[green ink]] is generously interspersed with images, videos, and documents ripped off from the websites of other conspiracy nuts, including [[Alex Jones]] and [[Lyndon LaRouche]], so you know what you're dealing with here.

==External links==
*[http://politicalvelcraft.org/ Political Vel Craft] (you'll probably have to wipe the bat guano off your monitor after viewing)

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Blogs]]
[[Category:Internet hate sites]]
[[Category:Islamophobia]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoting organizations]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Tea Party]]

Categories: Blogs, Internet hate sites, Islamophobia, Pseudoscience promoting organizations, Racists, Tea Party
Political action group

{{politics}}
A '''political action group''' (also, '''political action committee''', or '''PAC''') is an organization formed for the explicit purpose of [[lobbying]] the [[government]] about a particular issue. Some focus on a very specific issue (like the [[National Rifle Association|NRA]] with [[gun control]]), while others are simply broadly [[liberal|left-leaning]] (such as [[MoveOn.org]]) or broadly [[conservative|right-leaning]] (such as the [[Club for Growth]]). The [[Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission|Citizens United ruling]] has led to the advent of so-called Super PACs, which deal with millions of dollars.

Their methods for lobbying politicians include harassing [[Congress|Congressmembers]] by mass-mailing protest letters to them by the truckload, donating money to politicians and [[political party|political parties]], organizing protests, and producing ad campaigns about an issue. 

'''Super PACs''' are the mothers of all other PACs, in the sense that they can spend an unlimited amount on their lobbying, with no restrictions on whom they can raise funds from — with the caveat being that they can't directly contribute to the campaign account.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_action_committee#Super_PACs</ref> That doesn't matter, since they get around this by [[Poisoning the well|unloading sprees of negative ads ("attack ads", colloquially) onto a rival candidate]] to spread their message.

== External links ==
*[http://www.fec.gov/ans/answers_pac.shtml FEC FAQ about PACs], kids love Alpha-Bits cereal!
*[http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/ A comprehensive list of PACs].


[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:Political action groups]]

==References==

{{stub|politics}}

Categories: Organizations, Political action groups
Political binary

{{politics}}
A '''political binary''' system in politics is the theory or practice that all of politics can be best (or only) expressed as a binary on a single axis, with people being more "a" or "b"—and attempting to attract voters or writing laws based on that single axis.

==United States==
In the [[United States]], for example, politics is typically portrayed as a conflict between "Left v. Right" or "[[Conservative]] v. [[Liberal]]", and only two parties ([[Republicans]] and [[Democrats]]) participate significantly in governance. The two parties identify along binary, polarized systems on several hot-button issues.

The effect of seeing politics as a polarized binary field is that any other possibility for organization is not given a strong voice, or even a place at the table, and most candidates must align themselves within the spectrum of that binary.

Simple examples as they play out in US politics, include issues such as "[[pro-life|pro-Life]]" v. "[[pro-choice]]", where there is no real room to accommodate within the system someone who says "Hey, let's focus on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies".

If the discussion is about taxes, the options are "tax more" and "tax less". Creative solutions which do not fit into that system do not fit into the binary and are not heard.

In addition, any politician who does not match the binary on all hot button issues is marginalized and voters who do not match are left out. No US politician on the national level can be pro-life and support gun control.

==The rest of the West==
Many other, if not most, Western countries mitigate the extreme sense of the polarization seen in the US, by having many active parties that are not founded on a single axis, but represent different issues (e.g. [[Socialist Workers Party]], [[Green Party]], [[Front National]], {{wpl|New Republican Party}}, and the other [[Workers Revolutionary Party|Socialist workers' party]]).

==See also==
*[[Axis of Evil]]

[[Category:Political theory]]

Categories: Political theory
Polonium

[[File:Electron shell 084 Polonium.svg|right|thumb|175px|Electron shell diagram of polonium]]
{{Chemistry}}
'''Polonium''', Element 84, is an incredibly radioactive and toxic element. It has {{wpl|Isotopes of polonium|42 isotopes|,}} all of which are radioactive and unstable. Due to the short half-life of all its isotopes,{{efn|The shortest being Polonium-186, with a half-life of about 34 ''milliseconds''}} it is rarely found in nature. It was first discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie and is named after Marie's home country of [[Poland]]. During the [[Cold War]], it was used to heat [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] satellites but is now just used to {{wpl|Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko|assassinate ex-FSB agents|.}} Polonium is also present in [[tobacco]] smoke.<ref>[https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/smoking.htm Cigarette Smoking and Radiation], ''CDC''</ref>

==Polonium-210==
'''Polonium-210''' (<sup>210</sup>Po. Historically, Radium F) is an isotope of polonium and has the longest half-life of all naturally occurring isotopes, being about 138.376 days. Due to its radioactivity, it's ''extremely'' toxic to humans, having been used to poison {{wpl|Alexander Litvinenko}} in 2006<sup>(see above)</sup> and possibly having also been used to assassinate {{wpl|Yasser Arafat||.}}<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-arafat/swiss-institute-finds-polonium-in-arafats-effects-idUSBRE8621CL20120703 Swiss institute finds polonium in Arafat's effects]. Abnormally high amounts of polonium found on Arafat's clothes and personal belongings, leading some to suspect he was poisoned.</ref> It was originally intended to be used as a neutron initiator in [[nuclear weapons]], although later on concerns for the safety of workers handling it caused extensive studies to be taken up on its health effects.

==Polonium halos==
{{main|Polonium halos}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{stub|chemistry}}
[[Category:Elements]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Toxins]]

Categories: Elements, Science, Toxins
Poly-MVA

[[File:Al_Sanchez,_Jr,_CEO_of_AMARC_Enterprises,_who_distribute_POLY-MVA.jpg#file|thumb|165px| [https://web.archive.org/web/20171231072638/https://polymva.com/ceo-message.html Al Sanchez, Jr., CEO of AMARC Enterprises, who distribute POLY-MVA].]]{{altmed}}
'''Poly-MVA''' (or '''Polydox''') is a dietary supplement created by Merrill Garnett (b. 1931), a former [[dentist]] turned biochemist. Poly-MVA is an ineffective [[alternative medicine|alternative]] cancer treatment.<ref name=acs>{{cite book |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies |edition=2nd |year=2009 |isbn=9780944235713 |editors=Russell J, Rovere A |pages=804-807 |chapter=Poly-MVA}}</ref>

== Description ==
The "MVA" in "Poly-MVA" means "minerals vitamins and amino acids".<ref name=acs/> Poly-MVA contains lipoic acid, acetylcysteine, palladium, B vitamins, and other ingredients.<ref name=mskcc>{{cite book |vauthors=Cassileth BR, Yeung KS, Gubili J |title=Herb-drug Interactions in Oncology |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=etCkDPOW_oMC&pg=PA536 |year=2010 |publisher=PMPH-USA |isbn=978-1-60795-041-7 |page=536 |chapter=Polydox}}</ref> The substance is red-brown liquid that is taken by mouth.<ref name=acs/> Promoters of Poly-MVA refer to it as a "metallo-vitamin".<ref name=acs/>

In 2004, a year's supply of Poly-MVA was reported as costing US$19,800.<ref name=whl>{{cite journal |title=Is this cancer-fighting supplement too good to be true? |journal= Women's Health Letter |issue=May |year=2004 |page=4}}</ref>

== Alternative medicine ==

Poly-MVA is promoted with claims that it can treat a variety of human diseases including [[cancer]] and [[HIV/AIDS]].<ref name=acs/> The promotional effort is supported by customer [[testimonials]], but there is no [[evidence-based medicine|medical evidence]] that Poly-MVA confers any health benefit and some concern it may inhibit the effectiveness of mainstream cancer treatments if used at the same time.<ref name=acs/><ref name=mskcc/>

In 2005, Poly-MVA was listed as one of the ineffective alternative cancer treatments being sold by the clinics clustered in and around Tijuana, [[Mexico]].<ref name=moss>{{cite journal|title=Patient Perspectives: Tijuana Cancer Clinics in the Post-NAFTA Era|year=2005|last1=Moss|first1=R. W.|journal=Integrative Cancer Therapies|volume=4|pages=65–86|pmid=15695477|issue=1}}</ref>

==External links==
* Website of the distributors of POLY-MVA : AMARC Enterprises ... http://www.polymva.com 
* Video from [[Cancer Free University]] of CEO of AMARC Enterprises, Al Sanchez Jr, talking about POLY-MVA ... https://vimeo.com/215357706
* [http://archive.is/pZL53#selection-481.0-485.10 Apparently Al Sanchez Jr has promoted POLY-MVA since 2001]

== See also ==
*[[Antioxidant]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Cancer woo]]
[[Category:Dentists]]

Categories: Cancer woo, Dentists