SoylentNews

Police sources: New evidence suggests Jussie Smollett orchestrated attack

Brothers released in reported attack on 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett — 12 hours after police called them 'possible suspects'

Jussie Smollett Viewed As “Active Participant” By Cops In Alleged Assault

Jussie Smollett hires Michael Cohen’s criminal defense lawyer

After writing some scripts around espeak, I'm working through a very large backlog of text. I have espeak reading at twice its default rate of 150 words per minute and I sometimes "read" more than 100,000 words per day.

Unfortunately, my backlog includes SoylentNews. For more than one year, I've not been following SoylentNews very closely. Indeed, I've only been skimming SoylentNews since Apr 2018. So, I plan to read articles of interest on SoylentNews from Nov 2017 to present. I also plan to summarize the more thoughtful comments and the wittiest trolling. A digest may be intermittent and may purposefully lag by one year so that it acts as a retrospective.

Would this be useful? Is there anything that I should include or exclude? For example, I find astronomy presentations to be fascinating but I find astronomy articles to be samey. Even when an astronomy article gets my attention there isn't much I can contribute by commenting. I'll also avoid regional politics. To me, US politics seems like an endless procession of people who have escaped my attention. (I think Charlie Brooker and/or Adam Curtis had a similar opinion about political news.)

Paul Manafort "intentionally" lied to special counsel Robert Mueller's office, breaking the plea agreement that made him the star cooperator in the Russia probe, a federal judge found on Wednesday.

Manafort "made multiple false statements to the FBI, the OSC and the grand jury concerning matters that were material to the investigation," including his contacts with his Russian associate during the campaign and later, Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote on Wednesday.

Manafort was convicted of various financial crimes in August, and then cut the deal to plead guilty to two charges of conspiracy and witness tampering in September.
In all, Jackson determined Manafort intentionally lied about $125,000 he received for the legal bills, about another unnamed Justice Department criminal investigation and about his interactions with his longtime Russian associate Konstantin Kilimnik while he was campaign chairman and later.

Jackson noted twice in her order that two of the topics Paul Manafort lied about, Kilimnik and payments he received for his legal bills were "material to the investigation."

Judge voids Paul Manafort plea deal, says he 'intentionally' lied to the FBI, special counsel and grand jury

Boy, they sure do lie about Russia a lot!

Vox Media Attempts To Scrub Internet Of The Verge PC Build Video By Going After YouTubers

Many reuploads and analyses can be found.

There Is a Taboo Against Criticizing AIPAC — and Ilhan Omar Just Destroyed It

American Israel Public Affairs Committee

But AYYPAC doesn't donate to candidates!

A recent news piece posted here ("India Man to Sue Parents for Giving Birth to Him") concluded the summary with a statement that while this man's case may seem odd, "there are philosophical grounds in support of anti-natalism." A link to an article by philosopher David Benatar was then provided.

But are there really "philosophical grounds" presented there? Benatar has been making this argument for well over a decade now, making occasional splashes in the media like a New York Times piece by Princeton philosopher Peter Singer in 2010 ("Should This Be the Last Generation?), a New Yorker piece in 2012 ("The Case Against Kids"), and then a sort of New Yorker profile in 2017 ("The Case for Not Being Born"). I say "sort of" profile, because David Benatar is so guarded about his privacy that you can't even find a photo of him online, and he basically only agreed to do the interview if he wouldn't be asked any personal questions. In the past, I suspected him of being a total troll who might have a wife and five kids and was making absurd arguments just for the publicity (and feared that personal information about him would undermine his arguments), but I no longer believe that. (I've seen statements online claiming he actually doesn't have kids.) Now I think he's just a bit nuts. Seriously -- if we don't believe him to be an idiot, I think the most rational conclusion is that he's clinically depressed and has an almost egomaniacal need to spread his illness to others.

So, to see a piece of his posted yet again here uncritically -- and even claiming it has "philosophical grounds" -- makes me a bit confused.

To be sure, there are philosophical arguments against having kids, especially for specific people. And perhaps there are philosophical arguments for reducing the overall population to decrease suffering. There might even be philosophical arguments from an environmental perspective that the earth would be "healthier" in some abstract sense without the species of humans on it. I don't think the latter would constitute moral arguments, since morality is a human creation for humans to judge, and if all humans were to die off, there would be no humans to judge the morality of that situation. Hence the future non-existence of humanity is at best morally neutral from that perspective.

Nevertheless, I can understand such arguments in an abstract case. However, "grounds" for antinatalism implies that Benatar presents at least a good foundation for the case that no one should have kids. Unfortunately, most of his arguments suffer from a curious illogic native to pessimists.

Let me repeat again that I think there are very good arguments for individual people to choose not to have kids, from personal preference or personal circumstances insufficient to provide for children to genetic predispositions for producing offspring who are likely to have serious medical problems. I'm even happy to allow for an individual making the personal choice not to have kids on similar grounds to Benatar's argument: an individual prospective parent may believe that there's too much suffering in the world and thus not want to have kids. (I'm particularly sensitive to the illogic in Benatar's antinatalist stance because I once held that personal belief myself, i.e., that I didn't want to have kids because of the state of the world. I no longer hold that belief, but I think it's a valid choice for any parent to make. It's quite a different thing for Benatar to try to argue for all humanity, however.)

I'll try to concisely summarize the key rationale behind Benatar's argument, because it's where the fundamental flaw lies. Benatar argues the following:

(1) For a human being to suffer is a moral wrong; for a human being to experience happiness/pleasure is a moral good.

(2) However, for potential future human beings not yet born, his calculus changes. For a not-yet-existent human being to potentially suffer in the future is a moral wrong, but for that same human being to experience future pleasure would be morally neutral.

Yes, that's the entirety of his argument. There's a lot of other smoke and mirrors around it, but really it comes down to the fact that he considers bringing a human being into the world with the knowledge it will suffer to be a moral wrong, while any amount of good the human experiences has no moral valence whatsoever. Thus, the moral wrong wins out: therefore, no one should have children. QED.

I'll get to his supposed justification for this rather illogical disparity in a moment, but note that the rest of the smoke and mirrors around his argument is not based in logic. It is just repeated appeals to a pessimist (if not depressed) mindset. To be clear, I'm a realist. I'd never consider myself an optimist. But Benatar gives philosophy a bad name by trying to pretend his arguments are based in rationality, rather than pessimist irrationality that stacks the deck. From the piece linked in the SN article, this is Benatar's position:

Considering matters carefully, it’s obvious that there must be more bad than good. This is because there are empirical asymmetries between the good and bad things. The worst pains, for instance, are worse than the best pleasures are good.

This isn't reason. It's opinion. Yes, Benatar makes valid points that our memories tend to be selective, and we tend to remember good things over the bad. (Hence the many "good ole days" arguments that often are based on a nostalgic past that never existed.) That is a human psychological bias, but weighing the good and the bad for an individual's suffering is up to an individual. Benatar wants to make the decision for everyone, though: whether you realize it or not, your suffering is worse for you than any positive things you have in your life. And if you don't believe that, you're just giving into a sort of delusion.

But this is all window dressing. To get back to Benatar's asymmetry: the crux of his argument that for anyone to have a child is morally wrong, you have to grant his assumption that knowingly having a child that may suffer is wrong, but knowingly having a child that will experience positive emotions is morally neutral. When pushed on this, Benatar falls back on some weird concept that the calculus should be different for non-existent beings compared to living humans. There's never any good justification for this.

The problem is that this differentiation rests on a confusion between reasoning about actualities and reasoning about probabilities. I agree with Benatar that if we know the possible outcomes of our actions, and if we know that a particular action will result in great suffering, perhaps we have a moral obligation to avoid that action. The problem is that we don't generally know all of the future. Do we let our children play outside? Well, if we do, perhaps a child experiences a particular photon of ultraviolet light that causes a mutation that will eventually result in malignant skin cancer and death in a few decades. But if we don't, perhaps the child is dissuaded that day against physical activity and ultimately will develop an obesity problem with no exercise and will die early. This is the Benatar way of looking at the world -- anything and everything will ultimately cause suffering. Forget enjoying the sun or playing with friends: you will all suffer, and that's all that matters.

But surely if it is a moral evil to do something that will cause suffering, it must be a more good to do something that will cause happiness. And Benatar grudgingly admits this, but only for real people who exist in the world. For non-existent possible babies, only the potential suffering matters.

To be clear, I am absolutely NOT arguing that anyone has a moral duty to procreate, nor would they incur a moral duty to do so even if they knew a child would experience great happiness in life. So it's illogical to then suggest for that no one should procreate simply because of the possibility of suffering. (Of course, to Benatar, it's not about any possibilities: he's stacked the deck to conclude that everyone is always suffering horribly on-balance in their lives, and they are merely delusional if they think otherwise.) Again, I'm happy to agree with Benatar in individual cases: maybe a couple who knows they will very likely have a child with a severe congenital defect that will lead to a life of great suffering has a good reason not to have kids. But there's no reason other than illogical pessimism to claim this must apply to all humans.

Furthermore, if we accept Benatar's premise, then we should argue that no one should ever take any action, because at some point it will produce suffering for someone. And that suffering can apparently never be negated by any potential good our actions might do.

Which is, of course, absurd. But this is Benatar's argument: we all are continuously contributing to future suffering of humans to various degrees. (He says that repeatedly in his writings.) If taken to its logical conclusion, Benatar should have committed suicide the moment he came to this conclusion to prevent the further suffering he is causing humans by existing. Anyone who agrees with him should also immediately commit suicide, if you were to follow logic and reason. One might even make an argument that we should painlessly murder all other humans who might be suffering (which is apparently everyone). Benatar does stop short of calling for that, on reasonable grounds that basically it would be interfering with other's rights to make decisions for their own lives. Apparently others are allowed to choose to live (even in deluded suffering), but they are not allowed to legitimately believe their happiness outweighs their suffering. To Benatar, they are merely deluded.

The only reason he offers for not committing suicide himself or advocating it for all others who buy his argument is because supposedly "death is bad." Seriously. That's it. Read the links I put up there, and you'll see no real fleshing out beyond that. He even goes to the absurd degree of arguing that humans shouldn't have any more children because it will result in a 100% death rate, and death is bad.

There seems to be no religious element in Benatar's reasoning, so it seems absurd to conclude that death is worse than nonexistence. Death is simply nonexistence, unless one believes in an afterlife or whatever. So once again Benatar wallows in illogic: we must accept that nonexistence is better than existence for all future humans, but the nonexistence of death is somehow "bad" and worse than that.

Huh?

Well, it's actually pretty clear why Benatar makes this piece of illogical argument. Because if he advocated suicide for everyone (let alone possible genocide of the poor and suffering), his arguments would be universally condemned and portrayed as a Jim Jones-style lunatic. So, he's forced into this weird netherworld of argumentation where nonexistence is morally neutral, except when it is caused by death, which is somehow "bad" in some nebulous way.

To conclude, I'll happily agree with Benatar that there's a lot of suffering in the world. I'll happily agree that some potential parents may make a personal decision not to have children for all sorts of reasons, including Benatar's position. But it's one thing to make a case that parents should seriously consider the potential downsides of having kids; it's quite another to argue that it would be a moral good for the human race to go extinct because for anyone to ever have a child is a moral evil.

And again, I'm not even saying the further existence of humanity is a moral good. I'm not arguing that anyone should be persuaded to have children. But Benatar seems to have gained the support of lots of people who apparently don't think logically about what his argument actually rests on. I truly do not understand why he is still alive, if he were rational and truly believed his argument. (His only justification is based on "death is bad" and some weird analogies -- he seriously says it's like going to a bad play... if you had known it would be bad, you might not have gone at all, but once you're there, are you really gonna stand up and leave in the middle?)

Life is not a play, though, though in this case it does sound like a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing. The only rational way to excuse his refusal to commit suicide in the face of the argument he presents is to conclude he suffers from a sort of megalomania that he must spread his pessimist ideas and convince others that his irrational arguments are true.

I am committed to reason, and therefore I can't stand for such ideas promoted here without challenge.

Reducing drug costs feature prominently in Trump's State of the Union Address.

However, his much-touted NAFTA re-write would grant an additional ten years of patent protection to pharmaceutical patents. That means generic medications will take ten more years to come to market and allows pharmaceutical companies to charge monopoly prices for ten years longer.

That will not result in cheaper medications.

Stronger Drug Patents in New NAFTA To Cost U.S. Manufacturing Workers Jobs

Why some people are worried about drug patent protections in the new NAFTA

Oscars 2019 ceremony to go without host after Kevin Hart row

This year's Oscars will be held without an official host - for the first time in 30 years. The head of ABC Entertainment, which airs the Academy Awards ceremony, said it would instead highlight celebrities presenting the trophies.

Reports had suggested the broadcaster was struggling to fill the role - one of the toughest in US show business.

In December, comedian Kevin Hart pulled out of hosting the ceremony following a controversy over old homophobic tweets. He said he did not want to be a distraction and that he was "sorry he had hurt people".

Bud Light gets earful from angry corn lobby after Super Bowl ad

Bud Light’s Super Bowl campaign is calling out competitors that use corn syrup — and the corn lobby is not happy about it.

In Anheuser-Busch InBev’s ads, a medieval crew delivers a cask of unwanted corn syrup to Miller Lite and Coors Light. Bud Light is using the “brewed with no corn syrup” on its ads for the night.

Following the spots, the National Corn Growers Association tweeted at Bud Light that “America’s corn farmers are disappointed in you. Our office is right down the road! We would love to discuss with you the many benefits of corn! Thanks @MillerLight and @CoorsLite for supporting our industry.”

Pope Francis Acknowledges, For First Time, Sexual Abuse Of Nuns By Priests

Pope Francis, for the first time, acknowledged the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops, including a case in which some clergy used women as sex slaves. He said on Tuesday that he is committed to ending the problem in the Roman Catholic Church.

His comments came in response to a reporter's question on his flight returning to Rome from Abu Dhabi. The reporter asked the pope about a Vatican magazine article published last week detailing reports of sexual abuse by clerics resulting in nuns having abortions or giving birth to children fathered by priests.

It's a habit.

Brexit is the gift that keeps on taking, and we haven't even left (the EU) yet. That happens at midnight on 29th March.

The thorny issue of the Irish border has yet to be solved as this Channel 4 News report explains despite Nigel Farage's blatant stupid signalling on Irish TV.

This was in a week where Gerard Batten, UKIP leader, formally wrote to the Queen asking her to suspend Parliament (i.e. British sovereign democracy) to prevent Remainer MPs sabotaging Brexit. It is worth noting that the last time a monarch interfered with Parliament England became a Republic.

Meanwhile in Sunderland, which overwhelmingly voted Leave, the local Nissan car factory will not be making the new X-Trail model due to Brexit uncertainty.

And, of course, there are plans to evacuate the Queen "if Brexit turns ugly."

Why would Brexit possibly turn ugly when there will be no downsides. only upsides?

takyon writes:

I'll put this here so it can appear on the front page, since it would not with this user's low karma. Use this advice at your own risk.

fakefuck39 writes:

If anyone is interested, I thought I would share some practical results from shocking yourself with electricity for years. Typing this now w/ a 3-electrode ab-belt on my stomach, and 8 electrodes on my arms, while eating oatmeal. I had this up on reddit in /fitness. got me banned because it's not about the latest cabbage diet. you can get fit while you sit in a chair, just put up with pain and discomfort.

SUMMARY

Can EMS completely replace working out, and make me fit w/ bulging muscles: yes.

Is it bad for you: there is literally nothing you can do to hurt yourself unless you get a plug-in medical device that costs over $1k. The little pocket battery units don't have enough power to reach your heart or organs, even on max power. Even if you put electrodes to go through your body, it'll still traverse through the outside tissue (uncomfortable but safe - tested many times). In fact, since I replaced lifting with EMS for half my workouts, my joints stopped hurting.

How does it compare to lifting: Not as much visible muscle volume increase (but some), but more actual strength, like when you punch.

Do those electric body vests at the gym do anything: No. Waste of sweat/time/money.

Are $1k+ medical plug-in units better: No. You need the help of a professional to use them, as they have the power to kill you. They can crank it much higher, and with a lot of pain (bite down on something) cut your 5-hour pocket EMS workout to 30min.

If I bench 300lb 20 times, stop lifting and just do EMS for a year, can I still bench 300? Yep, and now you'll push it up it 25 times. But you won't be able to do 350lb 20 times. You'll have more muscle, but it'll look the same volume-wise.

Is it expensive: No. About $200 initial investment for everything I use, about $10/year for replacement stuff.

Does it hurt or itch: Yes, a lot. If you power through a few months of being uncomfortable 1/4 of your day, you no longer notice it.

Can I work out w/ EMS under my clothes while in a meeting at work, at dinner, or dancing at a club: absolutely.

If I'm a fatass, can EMS alone, w/o going to the gym, with no effort, get me in shape so I look toned and built: Yes. You have to do it several times a week for 5-10 hours at a time. The more fat you have the less electricity reaches your muscle, so you have to turn it up more till you lose the fat.

Has anyone famous gone hardcore on EMS for an extended time: Bruce Lee.

ME

40/male. 5'11, 170lb, ~6% bodyfat, fit all my life. I don't pay attention to my diet and often eat before bed. I pop a lot of dried berry type supplements and a centrum per day, but don't do anything else like protein powder or creatine. I'm in STEM, and know quite a bit about biology and organic chemistry. I have worked at a hospital assisting nurses and am fairly well-versed in medicine.

I will link to some stuff I use. I am in no way affiliated with anything or make money from it - it is simply what I've come to find as an optimal complete solution in my 20 years of experience. What I have done is a ridiculous amount of research over the years, and tried many different pads, belts, EMS units, leads/wires, and even tshirts.

I did a lot of track, and after 18 started lifting, which progressed to some ridiculously heavy weights - and that caused some joint problems later in life. About 20 years ago I injured my shoulder. I picked up a soccer mom ab belt as seen on TV, strapped it to my shoulder and did that for about 6 months till I could lift again. It used a watch battery and made the aux muscles in the shoulder stronger around the scar tissue. Once that passed, I tossed it and got one with larger batteries for my abs. I've been doing that instead of sit-ups since then - for 20 years.

ABS

I wake up, put on an ab belt, and do my morning wash/brush/dress stuff, including eating breakfast, with it on. I start at 50% and after an hour go to 100%. 2 hours a day, pretty much every day. The morning belt only does the front, and does not use gel pads. It has these carbon-rubber nipples - you just touch them with a wet hand for conductivity and put on the belt. They don't itch at all, but leave little red marks that go away fully an hour after you take it off. I place it low (touching top of pubes) one day, and high (touching bottom of ribs) the next day. This works the middle muscle twice as much as the upper and lower, which keeps all 6 the same size, as the middle ones are slowest to grow.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N7RAQ6F

I use programs 1-3. Start at level 12, then crank it to 20(max). It takes 3 AAA, and I just put in 3 NiMH rechargeables which last 2 months before needing a recharge. Make sure to get a charger that charges individual slots, not pairs. The 3 batteries last 5-10 years.

https://www.amazon.com/EBL-Battery-AAA-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B071X6KHCW

A couple of times per week I wear a different belt to the office. This does obliques. I use program 8. On level 30-40 there is no visible twitching and you can be in public. At home I use level 100-150(max). It has a big pad in the middle, and a pad on each side. 3 gel pads total, and I stick the outer ones as far out as they go. If you take care of the pads, they last over a year, and then you shell out $5 for a new set. These don't need gel - they are made of a conductive gel. Any gel pads itch, and the higher the electricity the more they itch. The unit I am linking has a non-removable battery and needs to be charged weekly. The battery has been the same for a year, so I'll estimate it lasts 3-5 years. After that you need to toss the belt and get a new one, because batteries are non-removable, or pull the charger apart and do some tinkering. This belt is very thin and invisible under a shirt, and the control/battery just goes in your pocket.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G748N5R

EMS

I have two EMS7500 units. https://www.tensunits.com/product/DE7502.html

You cannot get these on amazon, as they are "almost/kinda" medical grade. The ones on amazon have much less power than these. Thankfully if you go to many of the sites specializing in these, they resell the units. If you go to the manufacturer, Rosco Medical, they'll want a prescription.

This has 3 modes - I only use the Constant mode (C). Frequencies of https://www.amazon.com/OKcell-Rechargeable-Battery-Helicopter-Microphone/dp/B01LZIQ7EA

fan: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XN24GY

PADS

You need large pads. What comes with all the units goes in the trash. 3x5" pads are perfect, because if they fold a little or crease you don't care as the remaining contact area is enough. If you can't fit 4 of these on your tiny girl-chest, I recommend a 3x5 for the negative (black) going to a 2x4 positive (red). Keep in mind that the black wire is going to hit your muscle harder than the red. The right side of your body also conducts worse, so if you just do 2 pads across the chest, black on the right and red on the left, unless you want one of your tits to look bigger.

When you take them off, put the plastic cover back on. Once every couple of weeks, get your hand wet and wash the conductive side. I also spray that side with 91% alcohol weekly. This will keep them working for about 6 months.

Putting some electrical tape on the wire joints also keeps the wires from folding too much and breaking in your pocket. With that, the wires are also good for about 6 months.

3x5 pads https://www.otcwholesale.com/axelgaard-cf7515-3-5-rectangle-cloth-electrode.html

2x4 pads https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HX1NO8I

wires https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HX1NO8I

Pads no longer stick after about 10 uses. This is fine, as even when they are fresh, it's helpful to wear a compression shirt to keep them in place. I just bought 10 shirts and I wear them under everything when I have the pads on. You want it way tighter than a regular shirt, so if you sweat a little pads don't spil - they press on parts where muscles curve, such as the inner part of the chest. When I do arms, I put socks on the upper arm over the pads. Just take thin tight dress socks and make them into a tube by cutting off the toe.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G7CM82M

If you have the pads on the same spot for 5-10 hours at a time, you'll get little skin bumps in those spots after you shower. Don't scratch that area, don't use a hard sponge in the shower. The bumps go away when your skin dries. If you scratch the area and rip off a little skin, you're not in for a good time when you put the electrodes back on. You can put pads on top of lotion after it dries - I do. You do not need to clean the skin area before putting on pads.

Chest / Arms / Upper Back

Simplest thing is take one wire, stick the black far on your right tit, stick the red far on your left, and turn everything all the way up. Go to work in the morning and take it off when you come back. Turn it down to 20-50Hz while you eat lunch. That's about 2 hours of hardcore bench press, and you'll see it volume-wise and feel quite sore the next morning.

I use 2 EMS units for this - one for each side of the body. I also work out opposing muscles in groups. Doing this lets you not lock up and have the EMS going while you go on about your day. Chest+back and bis+tris. For example, per arm, I put a negative (black) from the wire on the bottom of the bicep, and it's positive (red) on the top or the front of the shoulder. The second wire's negative goes on the bottom of the tricep under your armpit, or the back of the shoulder.

For chest, you can have positives on the outer chest and negatives in the middle. I do back at the same time, so I'll have positives on the back below the armpits, and negatives at the base of the neck. You can also just use 2 3x5" pads on one wire to go across the chest. I do this when I'm going to be out while having the EMS on - less wires, less distraction - like when you're at work or at dinner.

When you turn it up high, you'll be twitching a bit and it'll hurt. The pain goes away after 10-30min. I recommend cranking it to max pulse width and max power on the knobs, at 150Hz for 10min. You get used to it, then turn it down to 120Hz and cut the pulse width by 1/3 (to 200). After being on max, this will feel like nothing, and you can go to work. You twitch a little bit, so if you're out in public, find the frequency range and power that makes you twitch less. Careful carrying that hot cup of coffee if you have it on max.

Lower back and Legs

I do this a couple of times per week when I sleep, as the wife is not happy with me sleeping with a compression shirt on. Use the lowest pulse width so it doesn't itch, and use 10-20Hz. I put the red terminals from each of the 2 wires on the lower back just above the ass, and the black terminals about half way in the middle of the back shoulder blades. With a compression shirt on, you sleep fine and they don't slip. It took about a week to get used to sleeping w/ the EMS on, now it's almost like falling asleep to a massage.

Same goes for your legs, just borrow your wife's pantyhose to keep the electrodes on at night (if you're into that). I walk around a crazy amount and take the stairs when I can, so I don't put electrodes on my legs at all, but you're free to try it if you're comfortable in your masculinity. I'm kidding - just get some biking pants.

I know a girl who just puts one pad on the left of her stomach and the other on the right, and on 10Hz sleeps while working out her abs. If you do this, keep in mind to put the black electrode on the right side of your stomach and red on the left - the black hits more, and the right side of the body conducts less, so it balances out. This itches, so I can't do it while sleeping. The belts all have timers, so you can't leave those on all night. If you are able to find an electric ab belt w/o a timer, dear god please post a link here.

Extended Use

I've been doing abs like this for about 20 years, no sit-ups at all. It's perfect, and I'd say even better. Other muscle groups, I've been using EMS for about 5 years. I cut lifting time about in half - I just do an hour of weights on the bowflex in the morning 3-4 times per week. You can also have electrodes on while you lift if you want, although I don't.

For over a year, I couldn't work out due to injury. In that year, I only used the electrodes - 5-10 hours per day, 4-5 times a week. Bodyfat did not increase at all, and muscle volume stayed the same. When I resumed lifting, I was not able to do more weight, but was able to do more reps w/ the same weight. This tells me you can actually replace working out w/ just EMS and you'll maintain your fitness level and muscle mass - you just won't get bigger. But you do have to crank it all the way up, and work out both type 2A muscle (20-80Hz) and 2B type muscle (80-150Hz).

You can place the electrodes anywhere, just make sure they don't go through your body - the amps still go around, not through, but it feels weird. Don't stick a positive terminal on your chest and the negative from that wire on your back. It won't kill you if you do, and it's not a big deal or really dangerous. It's just really, really uncomfortable. You can however put one pair of terminals from a wire on the chest, and another pair of terminals (from another wire) on your back. You can go across your chest, but don't go across your back so you don't hit your spine. On the back, you can either do black on the outer and red on the inner (by your spine), or go up and down your back. Even a red electrode above the left ass cheek, and the black on your left trap/shoulder by your neck.

Anywise, as I have gotten older and the joints can't take as much weight, as there is less time in my schedule, cutting down lifting to about 3-4 hours per week and using EMS to supplement it has been perfect. After 5 years, I am at least as fit as I was, probably a little better. You'll see stuff out there online that says don't put them across the chest - complete BS, it's fine. People will also write to take breaks. For example, the EMS has 2 other modes, where it's on a minute, then off a minute. Completely useless - just put it on always-on (Constant) and forget about it.

I also have some friends and family that do the same thing as I do w/ EMS. Same results, same lack of issues. If you want to be a little lazy and a lot fit, maybe give it a try.

Original Submission