'Campuses have become these padded rooms where people can't exchange ideas anymore' - "In 2015, Arriola founded a Men's Issues Awareness Society and applied for official club status. The Ryerson Students' Union (RSU) denied his application. The RSU also denied Arriola's appeal."
I got kicked out of diversity training - "It’s not a good sign when you discover that everybody in a diversity workshop thinks the same way... I joined this workshop in hopes that it would be a place to ask some tough questions and get insightful answers. I figured out some advocacy techniques — no thanks to the African-American workshop leader on that score — and also got a quick view of how feminist advocates are their own worst enemies. Things went south even before the workshop actually started, setting a poisonous tone. As the group got organized online, one member shared a screen grab from her Facebook feed, in which a stream of self-appointed diversity advocates pounced on a young woman who had shared her happiness about graduating from medical school... to the diversity Puritans, she had no right to celebrate what they labeled an ill-gotten accomplishment achieved in no small part by her white skin. Their glee in condemning her was exceeded only by their mutual congratulations for being so brave to bully her. Inevitably, the entire mess went viral, sparking an opportunity for most of the workshop participants to pile on. And the workshop leader was the worst of all, egging on members of the forming group to charge “privilege” toward every accomplishment of every white woman. She was bullying and encouraging bullying... It turned out that this expert’s credentials existed only in her imagination (though she constantly cited her experience as a licensed mental health worker in Nebraska. (Side note to corporate America: You’re going to be besieged by erstwhile diversity and sexual harassment consultants of all races. Please vet them before hiring them.) She told us that no woman of color could ever trust any white woman. She told us that every white woman owed every woman of color reparations — and then asked for donations through PayPal. (And yes, some women in the group were quickly guilt-tripped into donating money.) Every question from a group member was denigrated as an avoidance tactic"
Perhaps this is another example of over compensating - those who claim they are so kind (towards "minorities", aka virtue signalling) are so vicious and hateful towards those who do not agree with them. See also anti-gay figures caught doing gay things in public toilets, Democrats having more tax irregularities, liberals being more racist (in sacrificing white people) etc.
Feminism Made Katy Perry Irrelevant And Taylor Swift Win - "Many things can be blamed for the demise of Perry’s career but none more so than third wave feminism, a cancer she brought on herself. Perry had a meteoric rise in the pop world, releasing nine number-one singles in just five years from 2008 to 2013, and then Katy met feminism. The singer started her downward spiral quickly after announcing to the world “maybe I’m a feminist after all” in a 2014 Time interview."
Why Feminists Hate Male Sexuality - "One of the key underlying tenets of feminism is disdain for male sexuality and its inability to dance the tune of the “modern, empowered woman” (AKA careerist hag) that he “should” be attracted to"
Watch this dancing Pikachu get dragged mercilessly offstage for deflating mid-performance
There's a magical Japanese candy that reveals new scenes as you eat it - "Candy maker Nagatoya has thus created 'Fly Me to the Moon'—a block of sweet jelly that displays a new scene after each slice."
Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest - The New York Times - "Research shows what early childhood teachers have always known: that from infancy through age 4 or 5, boys are more emotive than girls. One study out of Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital in 1999 found that 6-month-old boys were more likely to show “facial expressions of anger, to fuss, to gesture to be picked up” and “tended to cry more than girls.” “Boys were also more socially oriented than girls,” the report said — more likely to look at their mother and “display facial expressions of joy.” This plays out in the work of Niobe Way, a professor of applied psychology at New York University. After 20-plus years of research, Dr. Way concludes that many boys, especially early and middle adolescents, develop deep, meaningful friendships, easily rivaling girls in their emotional honesty and intimacy. But we socialize this vulnerability out of them... Some universities offer counseling services for men of color and gay men, and some sponsor clubs through which male members explore the crisis of sexual violence against women. Only a precious few — the University of Massachusetts and Simon Fraser University among them — offer ways for all men to explore their shared struggles. And these don’t exist without pushback. Talk of empowering men emotionally yields eye rolling at best, furious protest at worst — as when the Simon Fraser center was proposed, in 2012, and men and women alike challenged the need for a “safe space” for members of the dominant culture.
Meet the Makech, the Bedazzled Beetles Worn as Living Jewelry
Amazing ad from Japan stars 72 actresses each showing one year of a woman’s life in one second
How vulture capitalists ate Toys 'R' Us - "The trio put up $6.6 billion to pay off Toys 'R' Us' shareholders. But it was a leveraged buyout: Only 20 percent came out out of the buyers' pockets... Bain, KKR, and Vornado will have to write off their investment, of course. But they did suck around $200 million in fees out of Toys 'R' Us over the course of their ownership. Basically, the trio took an imperfect-but-functioning company and cannibalized it for cash."
According to The Week, "vulture capitalists" are so evil that they will burn $1.12 billion (before accounting for the time value of money) of their own money just to ruin a company
YouTube Comedian Convicted of Hate Crime for Making Dumb Video of a Dog Saluting Hitler - "Count Dankula, whose real name is Mark Meechan, was released on bail earlier today and will be sentenced next month"
Meanwhile, grooming gangs... He should've had a wife who couldn't speak English and abused a 11 year old girl
Nazi Germany pursued 'Hitler salute' Finnish dog - "A Finnish dog which gave Nazi salutes so annoyed Germany's World War II government that it launched a campaign against its owner... Mr Borg was interrogated by the Germans on suspicion of insulting Hitler.Attempts were also made to sabotage his business"
If you're anti-Nazi you do the same things as real Nazis
Some Pundits Say There's No Campus Free Speech 'Crisis.' Here's Why They're Wrong. - "In 1976, 73 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 34 thought a racist should be allowed to make a speech in public, according to the GSS. By 2015, that percentage had fallen to 56 percent. Young people went from being the age group most tolerant of racist speech to the age group least tolerant. On the question of "should a racist book be removed from the public library," the findings were similar: Youth support for censoring such a book increased from 25 percent to 39 percent... Hartman cites the YouGov survey as evidence that "the vast majority of students, including conservatives, feel relatively uninhibited in expressing their views." But 58 percent of students, according to the survey, say they want to be part of a campus where they wouldn't be exposed to "intolerant and offensive ideas." Another 48 percent think the First Amendment should not protect hate speech. And cutting against the GSS's findings, a massive 2017 survey conducted by the Cato Institute found evidence that students' attitudes toward free speech might actually be more illiberal than other Americans'... Students think gay people, communists, and atheists should be permitted to speak in public because they don't consider these people's views to be hateful, offensive, or intolerant. At the same time, some students think speech that denigrates racial minorities, gay people, women, the trans community, and Muslims is not just unacceptable, but equivalent to violence. The survey that best captured this result was undertaken by McLaughlin & Associates and published in New Criterion in November of 2015: 50 percent of people between the ages of 17 and 30 said a university should ban the publication of a political cartoon that criticized a particular religion or ethnicity. When I talk to students who are protesting speakers they find offensive, they generally tell me that they support the First Amendment and don't want the government to arrest or punish people for engaging in free speech. They also tell me some combination of the following: Hate speech isn't free speech; if marginalized people feel threatened by the speech, the speech is actually violence; neither campus authorities nor mobs of angry students are forms of government force, and thus it's not illegal or unethical when these entities shut down offensive speech... what matters is whether their power to enforce their desire for censorship is increasing... 2016 saw twice as many would-be campus speakers being disinvited as 2015, according to FIRE. And in 2017, a record-breaking 900 students and faculty asked FIRE to help defend their free expression rights. Greg Lukianoff, the president of FIRE, has said that "the biggest and most noticeable change in campus censorship in recent years has been the shift in student attitudes." While students were previously the campus faction most supportive of free speech, it has become increasingly common over the last few years that the radical students are themselves the censors... The Office for Civil Rights defined "sexual harassment" very broadly, extending it to cover sexually suggestive expression that is clearly protected under the First Amendment and in some cases may even belong in the classroom. No judicial body has signed off on these interpretations. Even Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a feminist icon, thinks they violate certain fundamental rights."
Pourquoi les français ont-ils la réputation d'être sales ? - "De nos jours, un français consomme 580 g de savon par an, ce qui peut sembler honorable mais qui est en réalité 2 fois moins qu’un anglais ou qu’un allemand. De plus seuls 2 français sur 3 prennent une douche ou un bain tous les jours. 3,5% ne le font qu’une fois par semaine, alors que les plus propres se douchent plusieurs fois par jour à hateur de 11,5%... les Français étaient les Européens les plus préoccupés par leur hygiène. A cette occasion 97% des Françaises indiquaient être mal à l’aise lorsqu’elles sortaient sans se laver les mains ou les dents, contre 84% des Allemandes, par exemple... Peut-être est-ce simplement dû à l’utilisation moins large dans notre pays du déodorant. Seuls 65% des Français en mettent tous les jours, contre 83% des Américains. Mais on pourrait rétorquer qu’il y a bien pire que nous. En Chine c’est seulement 31%."
Police Uncover Antifa-linked Hoard of Chemicals, High-Explosives, Mobile Bomb Factory in Germany - "The authorities have uncovered an Antifa-linked hoard of chemicals, high-explosives, and a mobile bomb factory in Thuringia, Germany, according to local media. There is some suggestion that the haul, which is suspected to be linked to alt-left extremism, has been played down for political reasons, Welt Am Sonntag reports. Bodo Ramelow, Thuringia’s Minister-President and a member of Die Linke (The Left Party), gave one of the two individuals accused of being linked to the materials a democracy award for their commitment to taking on ‘Neo-Nazis’... “The days-long, almost booming silence of the entire state government is more than strange.” “We have a lot to do with extreme right-wing violence in Thuringia, but the escalation of left-wing violence at the G20 summit in Hamburg has shown that there is also a dangerous potential on this side of the spectrum,” admitted Thuringian Minister of the Interior Georg Maier. Left Party parliamentarian Katharina König-Preuss, whose “anti-fascist” credentials are displayed prominently on her Twitter account, has been particularly damaged by the case, as she knows one of the accused personally."
Of course people will still praise Antifa for being heroic freedom fighters battling the "Far right"
Alt-Left Extremists Post Police Photos Online, Threats, In Revenge For Police Action Against Them - "The German Police Union denounced the left-extremists labelling them “left-wing extremist terrorists”... Investigators have claimed that far-left extremists committed just over 2,000 crimes during the G20 summit including acts of violence, vandalism, arson, and looting. While Antifa extremists have attacked police repeatedly in cities like Berlin in the past, the scale of the G20 riots caused a shift in public opinion on left-wing extremist activity."
Police: Alt-Left Extremists Committed over 2,000 Crimes at G20 'Welcome to Hell' Clashes - "Editor in chief of Die Welt Ulf Poschardt compared the black-clad Antifa rioters to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s blackshirts saying: “Their black costume reveals that their aesthetic is inspired by Mussolini’s black shirts. They act like fascists.” Last week, authorities shut down the largest far-left website Indymedia.linksunten which brought protest from left-wing supporters over ideas of free speech. Many pointed out the site had been used to not only plan and call for violence but also had instructions on how to make Molotov cocktails and had published addresses and other personal information of right-wing politicians and activists with the intent of seeing them harmed."
Britain’s flawed definition of extremism is storing up trouble | Coffee House - "Ahmed Hassan was convicted at the Old Bailey of placing a bomb on a packed rush-hour train last September. The device left at Parsons Green, London, failed to detonate. But various interesting details emerged at his trial. One was confirmation that Hassan should never have been in the UK in the first place. He had travelled to Calais illegally and there spent time in the illegal ‘Jungle’ camp – that place whose occupants Lily Allen and Juliet Stevenson forever tell us we must take in if we are not to be deemed bigots. In fact, Hassan perfectly fitted the Allen-Stevenson invitee list. Not least because, being under 18 at the time, he would have been the perfect candidate for their spare bedrooms. In any case, Hassan was instructed at Calais – perhaps by the open-border NGOs which operate there – how to nix the British immigration system. And so he arrived in the UK illegally in the back of a lorry... The British state currently has to find a reason to explain why saying ‘Allah is gay’ is a fundamental assault on British values, but admitting to being a trained member of Isis is not. It has to explain why approaching the borders legally can lead to expulsion but breaking into the country illegally cannot... one must draw a moral equivalence between Muslims who blow things up and non-Muslims who do not, but have mean views. And an equivalence between Muslims who call for murder and non-Muslims who do not. Officials (retired and serving) at the borders, in the police force or in Parliament, who think that this will prove a formula for societal security and harmony can have no idea of the trouble they are storing up for some later date."
It seems ex-ISIS fighters are more welcome in the UK than those promoting gay-friendly Islam
MSNBC Rips 'Bitter' Biden for Threatening Trump; Rejects 2020 Run: ‘Dude, It’s Over’ - "Viewers may have temporarily forgotten they were watching MSNBC Thursday afternoon when 1:00 p.m. ET hour anchor Craig Melvin and his political panel hammered former Vice President Joe Biden for threatening President Trump with physical violence"
Somehow it's "bullying" when Trump responds to threats
Form Two girl admits to having many sex partners - "Police arrested 13 youths, between the ages of 13 and 21, for having “consensual” sex with a Form Two student over the past one year... police arrested 11 schoolboys aged between 13 and 16 from three schools and another two suspects aged 21. Kamaluddin said the suspects will be investigated for rape and committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature... Malacca Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) chairman Mak Chee Kin reminded boys that even with consent, sex with girls under 16 years old is statutory rape."
In Malaysia, if a 13 year old boy has sex with a 14 year old girl, he has raped her
When you can't live without bananas
Saturday, July 07, 2018
Feminists and Men
A: Someone who cares about men: "We need to do something about male suicide. Young men are killing themselves at an alarming rate."
Feminist: "Boo-hoo. Men had been powerful for centuries and centuries. Cry me a river."
Someone who cares about men: "Oh sh*t, what a perfectly logical rebuttal. Some powerful men in the past centuries utterly refutes the need to care about young men today. How silly of me. Thank you for educating me."
Feminist: "Yes, try mansplaining less next time and you would know."
Inspired by the Honourable MP Jess Phillips
B: Feminist: Men need to be able to express their emotions, otherwise you end up with toxic masculinity.
Man: Actually, I disag-
Feminist: Oh, look at all the MALE TEARS! Why don't you CRY some more, SNOWFLAKE! Fragile masculinity!
C: Also
Feminist: "We must do something about male suicides"
All her other comments: "Men are trash lmao. Male fragility. Male tears."
Of course, this won't stop feminists claiming that they care about men too and that feminism is the best way to tackle men's problems.
Related:
What's so funny about a men's rights debate?
"An extraordinary thing happened in the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday. A member of the seven-strong Backbench Business Committee burst out laughing at the suggestion that MPs should be allowed to debate a range of gender issues including domestic violence, suicide and premature mortality rates.
In an age when offending the sensibilities of anti-sexism campaigners can cause Nobel laureates to be sacked and drive astrophysicists with unfortunate dress sense to tears of redemption, it’s a miracle there hasn’t been another hysterical lynching in the court of public opinion.
At least it would be if it were a male politician caught on camera chortling at the suggestion that parliament should discuss issues like violence against women, breast cancer screening and eating disorders.
The reason the media hasn’t grabbed hold of SniggerGate yet, is that the sniggering MP is female and the gendered problems she appears to find funny are issues that disproportionately affect men and boys.
On the day that Jess Phillips MP sniggered at the suggestion that men’s issues should be discussed in Parliament on International Men’s Day, another 13 men died from suicide...
On the day the Labour member for Birmingham Yardley clapped her hands over her mouth to stop herself guffawing at Philip Davies MP’s request for a debate on men’s issues, more than 200 men died of cancer.
As a nation we spend more time, money and energy trying to prevent, detect and cure female cancers in the UK – and yet men are 58pc more likely to die of cancer before the age of 65 than women.
I don’t think that’s hilarious. Not for the men who die before their time and not for the loved ones they leave behind. Men of all classes have a lower life expectancy than women of the same background. It’s a men’s issue and like all men’s issues, we can’t solve it if we don’t discuss it.
On the day that the former manager of a charity supporting victims of domestic violence snorted at the idea that men’s issues are worthy of debate, more than 2,000 men and boys were victims of a violent crime...
We’re not so concerned about addressing these issues because we’re collectively more tolerant of the harm that happens to men and boys.
This tolerance is held in place by the underlying threat that anyone who tries to highlight these issues will be met with derision and ridicule.
I’ve been promoting the celebration of International Men’s Day in the UK since 2010 and each year at least one high profile woman will use it as an opportunity to denigrate men. In 2013, for example, it was the blogger/journalist Fleet Street Fox, who wrote that men should take a break from raping for the day."
Feminist: "Boo-hoo. Men had been powerful for centuries and centuries. Cry me a river."
Someone who cares about men: "Oh sh*t, what a perfectly logical rebuttal. Some powerful men in the past centuries utterly refutes the need to care about young men today. How silly of me. Thank you for educating me."
Feminist: "Yes, try mansplaining less next time and you would know."
Inspired by the Honourable MP Jess Phillips
B: Feminist: Men need to be able to express their emotions, otherwise you end up with toxic masculinity.
Man: Actually, I disag-
Feminist: Oh, look at all the MALE TEARS! Why don't you CRY some more, SNOWFLAKE! Fragile masculinity!
C: Also
Feminist: "We must do something about male suicides"
All her other comments: "Men are trash lmao. Male fragility. Male tears."
Of course, this won't stop feminists claiming that they care about men too and that feminism is the best way to tackle men's problems.
Related:
What's so funny about a men's rights debate?
"An extraordinary thing happened in the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday. A member of the seven-strong Backbench Business Committee burst out laughing at the suggestion that MPs should be allowed to debate a range of gender issues including domestic violence, suicide and premature mortality rates.
In an age when offending the sensibilities of anti-sexism campaigners can cause Nobel laureates to be sacked and drive astrophysicists with unfortunate dress sense to tears of redemption, it’s a miracle there hasn’t been another hysterical lynching in the court of public opinion.
At least it would be if it were a male politician caught on camera chortling at the suggestion that parliament should discuss issues like violence against women, breast cancer screening and eating disorders.
The reason the media hasn’t grabbed hold of SniggerGate yet, is that the sniggering MP is female and the gendered problems she appears to find funny are issues that disproportionately affect men and boys.
On the day that Jess Phillips MP sniggered at the suggestion that men’s issues should be discussed in Parliament on International Men’s Day, another 13 men died from suicide...
On the day the Labour member for Birmingham Yardley clapped her hands over her mouth to stop herself guffawing at Philip Davies MP’s request for a debate on men’s issues, more than 200 men died of cancer.
As a nation we spend more time, money and energy trying to prevent, detect and cure female cancers in the UK – and yet men are 58pc more likely to die of cancer before the age of 65 than women.
I don’t think that’s hilarious. Not for the men who die before their time and not for the loved ones they leave behind. Men of all classes have a lower life expectancy than women of the same background. It’s a men’s issue and like all men’s issues, we can’t solve it if we don’t discuss it.
On the day that the former manager of a charity supporting victims of domestic violence snorted at the idea that men’s issues are worthy of debate, more than 2,000 men and boys were victims of a violent crime...
We’re not so concerned about addressing these issues because we’re collectively more tolerant of the harm that happens to men and boys.
This tolerance is held in place by the underlying threat that anyone who tries to highlight these issues will be met with derision and ridicule.
I’ve been promoting the celebration of International Men’s Day in the UK since 2010 and each year at least one high profile woman will use it as an opportunity to denigrate men. In 2013, for example, it was the blogger/journalist Fleet Street Fox, who wrote that men should take a break from raping for the day."
Post ID: 3581108090765488084
Links - 7th July 2018 (1)
Child abuse imagery found within bitcoin's blockchain - "German researchers have discovered unknown persons are using bitcoin’s blockchain to store and link to child abuse imagery, potentially putting the cryptocurrency in jeopardy... Interpol sent out an alert in 2015 saying that “the design of the blockchain means there is the possibility of malware being injected and permanently hosted with no methods currently available to wipe this data”."
Three women arrested for smuggling 20 pounds of gold down their bras at Hokkaido airport
Parsons Green terror attack: Foster parents of teenage bomber Ahmed Hassan demand to know why he was not stopped - "Ron and Penny Jones MBE, took Iraqi refugee Ahmed Hassan, now 18, into their home in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, and cared for him like a son. They were never told of his links to the Islamic State terror group and have accused the Home Office and social services of putting their lives at risk. Hassan, who arrived in Britain in the back of a lorry in 2015, was found guilty yesterday (FRI) of attempted murder after causing a blast that injured 51 people on a packed London underground train"
About Contra Krugman | Contra Krugman - "Contra Krugman is a weekly podcast, available on iTunes and Stitcher, that critiques the New York Times column of economist Paul Krugman"
Japan Trend Shop | Upskirt Umbrella - "We're not going to pretend this is a mainstream trend in Japan but even the puritans among us have to admit: it's a fun idea. The Upskirt Umbrella (or An-burera, a play on the words for "underpants" and "umbrella") by Million Girls Project might be the most original umbrella you ever buy. Please just be careful not to get arrested when using it, though! The Upskirt Umbrella is a very tongue-in-cheek spin on Japan's reputation for turning schoolgirls into sex objects"
NHS 'plan to harvest organs of babies' which develop fatal defects in early stages of pregnancy - "A serious shortage of donated organs means mothers will be “supported” to have the baby at nine months instead of aborting it so the child’s vital organs can be taken for transplant... the proposal prompted an ethical debate with critics describing the proposal as “ghoulish” which also risked undermining public confidence in organ donation. The move was revealed at the annual meeting of the British Transplantation Society in Glasgow."
CA Senate names undocumented immigrant to financial aid post - "Senate officials acknowledged Friday that Mateo was not the first undocumented resident appointed to a statewide post."
If legal and illegal immigrants are all the same...
Indonesia makes criticising politicians a crime - "The so-called MD3 law opens to the door to pressing charges against anyone who "disrespects parliament or its members" but does not set out possible minimum or maximum jail terms."
Wollongong man convicted of oral sex on train 'couldn't help it' - "A commuter who received a criminal conviction and a $700 fine after receiving oral sex on the train wants to know 'how can you be so lucky and unlucky in the one day?'... Mr Brennan said he started speaking to the woman - who had a 'mad body' - on the train platform when she said, 'I'm horny, will you f*** me?'... He declined to have sex with her - but when the woman started masturbating on the otherwise 'empty' train carriage they shared he decided he would let her perform oral sex instead... It's unclear whether she ever got in trouble for her lewd behaviour, something he finds outrageous... Mr Brennan pointed out there was no one in the carriage at the time and 'you'd think the train guard would've said "good on ya, mate".'"
Mysterious Disappearance of Mano Sabnani’s Facebook Post - "A Facebook post by Chairman and CEO of Rafflesia Holdings Pte Ltd, Mano Sabnani, has mysteriously disappeared. The post, published on the 7th of March, was on the contrast between the behaviour of parliamentarians in the UK and Singapore. According to Sabnani, it received 350 reactions, 155 comments and was shared 650 times before it was mysteriously taken down two days later. It still remains unclear as to why or if Facebook took down the post."
WeChat joins list of Chinese technology banned by overseas militaries on security worries - "Late last year the US military banned the use of drones made by China’s DJI, the world’s largest maker of the devices, citing “cyber vulnerabilities.” Other Chinese technologies have come under scrutiny, with a plan by mobile phone maker Huawei for a tie-up with US telecoms firm AT&T falling through under US government pressure."
'God Bless You:' Microaggression Against Muslims, per Group - "The list, compiled by a group of college librarians in Boston, also counts ‘Merry Christmas’ as an offensive phrase. According to an “Anti-Oppression Library Guide” written by a group of librarians at Simmons College in Boston, “saying ‘God bless you’ after someone sneezes” is a microaggression against Muslim people... According to the guide, however, it is a big deal. In fact, it contains an entire section explaining that the prefix “micro” on the word “microaggression” is not intended to convey the idea that such supposed offenses are small matters with small impacts"
And we were told the War on Christmas was a paranoid right wing invention
Who are the real beneficiaries of overinflated costs in our public healthcare system? - "Paracetamol which retails online for less than $0.40 per packet of 16 tablets, MOH priced the cost of a generic drug at more than $5, equivalent to more than 12 packets. This despite bulk purchases in the tens/hundreds of thousands of tablets."
Jordan Peterson in Australia: ‘Important speech is offensive’ - "Dr Peterson’s appearances on university campuses regularly attract demonstrations — at a recent appearance at Queen’s University in Canada, protesters surrounded the building and smashed windows. One was later caught with a garotte. The 55-year-old has been highly critical of Western universities and in particular the humanities departments, which he blames for much of anti-free speech culture seeping into the private sector as graduates enter the workforce at companies like Google. He said it was “hard to tell” what the long-term impacts would be. “The broader social effect is not going to be good, because lots of the things that are happening in the universities that aren’t good are already leaking out into the broader social world”... “Part of what is going to happen is that people are going to stop coming and speaking on campuses. The comedians in the United States, many of them already won’t come and do their shows on campus, because everybody is so sensitive to offence. “But it also drives political polarisation, which isn’t a good thing, unless you want to drive political polarisation. And I think the universities are going to cut the branch off that they sit on.” He hit back at the suggestion being sensitive to causing offence was akin to good manners. “It’s a terrible problem,” Dr Peterson said. “Imagine the rule is you can’t offend anyone. Let’s say you’re speaking to one person. “I can’t offend you — all right, fair enough. What if I’m speaking to 10 people? Do I get to offend one in 10? How about one in 100? How about one in 1000? You’re going to come out onstage and you’re going to say something important about something vital and you’re not going to offend one person in 1000? “You can’t say something important about anything ever, without offending. Important speech about important issues, especially contentious issues, is instantly offensive.” On the Canadian law that started it all, Bill C-16 — which made it illegal to refuse to refer to a transgender person by their preferred “gender pronoun” — Dr Peterson described it as worse than a mere curtailment of free speech. “It’s a demand that the population uses a certain kind of linguistic approach,” he said. “It’s an appropriation of speech. There’s no excuse for that. That never has happened once in the history of English common law. It’s a barrier that we do not cross.”"
Norse culture and language "irrelevant" to students, says Norwegian government agency. They are dead wrong - "Schools barely touch upon Old Norse in the first place, so we may rightfully ask what there is left to cut before these lifelines are entirely severed. Downsizing whatever remains of a cultural historical perspective would no doubt have the opposite effect, if the goal is to encourage the intellectual development and independence of the students. Awareness of our linguistic heritage is essential to understand, not only the basis for the immense regional richness of our language, but also how Icelandic and Norwegian developed into two distinct languages. Such things are relevant to any society wishing to understand itself and its surroundings in a long-term perspective"
Did your spouse euthanize or steal your dog when leaving you? - "Some people try to hide assets from their spouses during a divorce. Other people try to take assets that have emotional value to the other person, including dogs or other pets. Keeping an animal away from you during a divorce can be a powerful tool to ensure you give the other person whatever he or she asks for during a divorce... If your former spouse had the the animal put down as a means of revenge, the courts may consider that terrible act as evidence of emotional abuse on the part of your former spouse. By demonstrating that your former spouse intentionally took actions to inflict great suffering on your part, your attorney may be able to obtain a more favorable division of assets"
Commentary: The buffet metaphor for integrated shield plan riders only goes so far - "A flat minimum co-payment rate may not do the trick – it does not adequately distinguish between an elective surgery and a heart operation, between a class A ward or a class B ward, or the choice between an expensive procedure that is only statistically slightly better than another significantly cheaper one... The Government can help by mandating that all medical establishments in Singapore share anonymised data on admissions, medical conditions, treatments, ward stays, medicines, outcomes and use of diagnostic services. Using this data, insurers can tightly price co-payments and deductibles on a per treatment or condition level. They can use data analytics to identify gaps in procedures that escalate costs unnecessarily and use the evidence to adjust contract conditions or influence care providers. Third, to avoid all this complexity from overwhelming consumers and to encourage price competition, there should be some means of comparing among insurance providers. The Government can help by setting up a web service to compare policies."
Justin Trudeau is less popular than Stephen Harper was at this point in his tenure as PM - "Angus Reid had to go back to Brian Mulroney in 1988 to find a prime minister with approval numbers as low as Trudeau’s at this point in their first term"
Lalo Dagach - Lalo Dagach added 121 new photos. - "“Lol free speech. That old chestnut.” - Yassmin Abdel-Magied, winner of the 2018 Young Voltaire Award for free speech."
Beepocalypse Myth Handbook: Dissecting claims of pollinator collapse - "There is no dangerous decline in the global honeybee population – in fact, bee populations are rising in North America and globally – and a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids are not fostering a global pollinator crisis. For years, some environmental advocacy groups have been warning of an impending “bee-pocalypse.”"
Pollinator myth: Are bees responsible for one third of global food, heightening crisis? - "Sixty percent of America’s crops can grow just fine without bees. Wheat, corn and rice are wind-pollinated. Lettuce, beans and tomatoes are self-pollinated. The 12 crops that worldwide furnish nearly 90 percent of the world’s food — rice, wheat, maize (corn), sorghums, millets, rye, and barley, and potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassavas or maniocs, bananas and coconuts — are wind pollinated, self-pollinated or are propagated asexually or develop without the need for fertilization (parthenocarpically). It’s true that about 35 percent of America’s crops — about a third — rely to some extent on bees. Sometimes the bees are essential. In other cases, they’re nice to have around, but their absence does not present a crisis"
'Clock boy' Ahmed Mohamed's lawsuit against Irving ISD, city dismissed - "U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay on Tuesday ordered that the suit be "dismissed with prejudice" and that "all relief requested by plaintiff is denied... Two months after Ahmed's arrest, the family's attorney sent letters to city and school officials that demanded they apologize and pay $15 million to stave off a lawsuit."
So much for that easy money train - maybe the plan failed
Nerds Rage Over Ahmed Mohamed's Clock - "Electronics experts who examined photos of 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed’s creation called it a fraud loudly enough to grab the attention of famed atheist and biologist Richard Dawkins, who on Sunday tweeted: “We were all fooled.” Dawkins went as far as suggesting the ninth-grader had a “motive” for his arrest over the digital clock, which was inside a black pencil case and tied shut with a cable. “If this is true, what was his motive?” Dawkins wrote. “Whether or not he wanted the police to arrest him, they shouldn’t have done so.”... Anthony DiPasquale, the webmaster for Artvoice.com, exposed the circuitry behind Mohamed’s clock.the self-styled electronics geek says that Mohamed’s homemade gadget is actually a factory-produced clock. “Somewhere in all of this—there has indeed been a hoax,” he wrote in a controversial post on Artvoice. “Ahmed Mohamed didn’t invent his own alarm clock. He didn’t even build a clock.”... DiPasquale questioned if other aspects of the teenager’s story about the clock aren’t being fully reported or fact-checked by reporters. In one interview, for example, Mohamed says he closed the pencil case with a cord so it wouldn’t look suspicious in school. “I’m curious, why would ‘looking suspicious’ have even crossed his mind before this whole event unfolded, if he was truly showing off a hobby project, something so innocuous as an alarm clock. Why did he choose a pencil box, one that looks like a miniature briefcase no less, as an enclosure for a clock?”... For some electronics experts, Mohamed’s windfall is unfair to students that actually invent things. Bryan Bergeron, an author of electronics books and editor in chief of the magazine Nuts & Volts, said that Mohamed’s project “would be ‘cute’ for someone age 7. But even then, not ‘inventive.’”"
'I did have the blinders on': Former feminist on what changed her mind - "Jaye's perspective has since changed, thanks to conversations she had while making her documentaryThe Red Pill. In the film, Jaye initially set out to expose men's rights activists, who have been criticised for providing a rhetorical basis for, and participating in, harassment campaigns against women. Researchers have also called the movement a backlash against feminism. "I definitely thought that they were woman haters, and I was fearful to go and interview them in person," she says, "I had heard from other feminists that men's rights activists would send them death threats and rape threats ... that's what I was expecting." But while meeting and interviewing members of men's rights organizations, Jaye says she began to reassess her own assumptions... "When I looked at their words ... they weren't woman bashing, they were not promoting violence against women, they were simply wanting to talk about men's issues"
What a lifelong Democrat learned from a year trying to live like a Republican - "At the evangelical youth rally, Stern was immersed in intense discussion on racial equity and refugees — how to help them, not how to kick them out. Why hadn't the mainstream captured the generosity and progressive ideas of this community? Why was an open mind denied to all those affiliated with America's right-wing party? There was one glaring structural issue that seemed to explain it... liberals in the media outnumber conservatives five to one... "We would never think about covering race issues with only whites, no matter how good a journalist we are. Or gender issues with only men, no matter how committed to the craft of journalism they are. We can't really be covering politics with people from one side no matter how dedicated, how honest, they are... By the end of his foray in conservative life, Stern discovered one thing supporters of both Republicans and Democrats can agree on: neither group is properly represented in the political system. He believes the rise of Donald Trump is a symptomatic of the nation-wide feeling of being left out of the conversation... "I didn't actually expect this. I went out a Democrat, spent a year as a Republican, and when I came back I re-registered as an Independent""
Three women arrested for smuggling 20 pounds of gold down their bras at Hokkaido airport
Parsons Green terror attack: Foster parents of teenage bomber Ahmed Hassan demand to know why he was not stopped - "Ron and Penny Jones MBE, took Iraqi refugee Ahmed Hassan, now 18, into their home in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, and cared for him like a son. They were never told of his links to the Islamic State terror group and have accused the Home Office and social services of putting their lives at risk. Hassan, who arrived in Britain in the back of a lorry in 2015, was found guilty yesterday (FRI) of attempted murder after causing a blast that injured 51 people on a packed London underground train"
About Contra Krugman | Contra Krugman - "Contra Krugman is a weekly podcast, available on iTunes and Stitcher, that critiques the New York Times column of economist Paul Krugman"
Japan Trend Shop | Upskirt Umbrella - "We're not going to pretend this is a mainstream trend in Japan but even the puritans among us have to admit: it's a fun idea. The Upskirt Umbrella (or An-burera, a play on the words for "underpants" and "umbrella") by Million Girls Project might be the most original umbrella you ever buy. Please just be careful not to get arrested when using it, though! The Upskirt Umbrella is a very tongue-in-cheek spin on Japan's reputation for turning schoolgirls into sex objects"
NHS 'plan to harvest organs of babies' which develop fatal defects in early stages of pregnancy - "A serious shortage of donated organs means mothers will be “supported” to have the baby at nine months instead of aborting it so the child’s vital organs can be taken for transplant... the proposal prompted an ethical debate with critics describing the proposal as “ghoulish” which also risked undermining public confidence in organ donation. The move was revealed at the annual meeting of the British Transplantation Society in Glasgow."
CA Senate names undocumented immigrant to financial aid post - "Senate officials acknowledged Friday that Mateo was not the first undocumented resident appointed to a statewide post."
If legal and illegal immigrants are all the same...
Indonesia makes criticising politicians a crime - "The so-called MD3 law opens to the door to pressing charges against anyone who "disrespects parliament or its members" but does not set out possible minimum or maximum jail terms."
Wollongong man convicted of oral sex on train 'couldn't help it' - "A commuter who received a criminal conviction and a $700 fine after receiving oral sex on the train wants to know 'how can you be so lucky and unlucky in the one day?'... Mr Brennan said he started speaking to the woman - who had a 'mad body' - on the train platform when she said, 'I'm horny, will you f*** me?'... He declined to have sex with her - but when the woman started masturbating on the otherwise 'empty' train carriage they shared he decided he would let her perform oral sex instead... It's unclear whether she ever got in trouble for her lewd behaviour, something he finds outrageous... Mr Brennan pointed out there was no one in the carriage at the time and 'you'd think the train guard would've said "good on ya, mate".'"
Mysterious Disappearance of Mano Sabnani’s Facebook Post - "A Facebook post by Chairman and CEO of Rafflesia Holdings Pte Ltd, Mano Sabnani, has mysteriously disappeared. The post, published on the 7th of March, was on the contrast between the behaviour of parliamentarians in the UK and Singapore. According to Sabnani, it received 350 reactions, 155 comments and was shared 650 times before it was mysteriously taken down two days later. It still remains unclear as to why or if Facebook took down the post."
WeChat joins list of Chinese technology banned by overseas militaries on security worries - "Late last year the US military banned the use of drones made by China’s DJI, the world’s largest maker of the devices, citing “cyber vulnerabilities.” Other Chinese technologies have come under scrutiny, with a plan by mobile phone maker Huawei for a tie-up with US telecoms firm AT&T falling through under US government pressure."
'God Bless You:' Microaggression Against Muslims, per Group - "The list, compiled by a group of college librarians in Boston, also counts ‘Merry Christmas’ as an offensive phrase. According to an “Anti-Oppression Library Guide” written by a group of librarians at Simmons College in Boston, “saying ‘God bless you’ after someone sneezes” is a microaggression against Muslim people... According to the guide, however, it is a big deal. In fact, it contains an entire section explaining that the prefix “micro” on the word “microaggression” is not intended to convey the idea that such supposed offenses are small matters with small impacts"
And we were told the War on Christmas was a paranoid right wing invention
Who are the real beneficiaries of overinflated costs in our public healthcare system? - "Paracetamol which retails online for less than $0.40 per packet of 16 tablets, MOH priced the cost of a generic drug at more than $5, equivalent to more than 12 packets. This despite bulk purchases in the tens/hundreds of thousands of tablets."
Jordan Peterson in Australia: ‘Important speech is offensive’ - "Dr Peterson’s appearances on university campuses regularly attract demonstrations — at a recent appearance at Queen’s University in Canada, protesters surrounded the building and smashed windows. One was later caught with a garotte. The 55-year-old has been highly critical of Western universities and in particular the humanities departments, which he blames for much of anti-free speech culture seeping into the private sector as graduates enter the workforce at companies like Google. He said it was “hard to tell” what the long-term impacts would be. “The broader social effect is not going to be good, because lots of the things that are happening in the universities that aren’t good are already leaking out into the broader social world”... “Part of what is going to happen is that people are going to stop coming and speaking on campuses. The comedians in the United States, many of them already won’t come and do their shows on campus, because everybody is so sensitive to offence. “But it also drives political polarisation, which isn’t a good thing, unless you want to drive political polarisation. And I think the universities are going to cut the branch off that they sit on.” He hit back at the suggestion being sensitive to causing offence was akin to good manners. “It’s a terrible problem,” Dr Peterson said. “Imagine the rule is you can’t offend anyone. Let’s say you’re speaking to one person. “I can’t offend you — all right, fair enough. What if I’m speaking to 10 people? Do I get to offend one in 10? How about one in 100? How about one in 1000? You’re going to come out onstage and you’re going to say something important about something vital and you’re not going to offend one person in 1000? “You can’t say something important about anything ever, without offending. Important speech about important issues, especially contentious issues, is instantly offensive.” On the Canadian law that started it all, Bill C-16 — which made it illegal to refuse to refer to a transgender person by their preferred “gender pronoun” — Dr Peterson described it as worse than a mere curtailment of free speech. “It’s a demand that the population uses a certain kind of linguistic approach,” he said. “It’s an appropriation of speech. There’s no excuse for that. That never has happened once in the history of English common law. It’s a barrier that we do not cross.”"
Norse culture and language "irrelevant" to students, says Norwegian government agency. They are dead wrong - "Schools barely touch upon Old Norse in the first place, so we may rightfully ask what there is left to cut before these lifelines are entirely severed. Downsizing whatever remains of a cultural historical perspective would no doubt have the opposite effect, if the goal is to encourage the intellectual development and independence of the students. Awareness of our linguistic heritage is essential to understand, not only the basis for the immense regional richness of our language, but also how Icelandic and Norwegian developed into two distinct languages. Such things are relevant to any society wishing to understand itself and its surroundings in a long-term perspective"
Did your spouse euthanize or steal your dog when leaving you? - "Some people try to hide assets from their spouses during a divorce. Other people try to take assets that have emotional value to the other person, including dogs or other pets. Keeping an animal away from you during a divorce can be a powerful tool to ensure you give the other person whatever he or she asks for during a divorce... If your former spouse had the the animal put down as a means of revenge, the courts may consider that terrible act as evidence of emotional abuse on the part of your former spouse. By demonstrating that your former spouse intentionally took actions to inflict great suffering on your part, your attorney may be able to obtain a more favorable division of assets"
Commentary: The buffet metaphor for integrated shield plan riders only goes so far - "A flat minimum co-payment rate may not do the trick – it does not adequately distinguish between an elective surgery and a heart operation, between a class A ward or a class B ward, or the choice between an expensive procedure that is only statistically slightly better than another significantly cheaper one... The Government can help by mandating that all medical establishments in Singapore share anonymised data on admissions, medical conditions, treatments, ward stays, medicines, outcomes and use of diagnostic services. Using this data, insurers can tightly price co-payments and deductibles on a per treatment or condition level. They can use data analytics to identify gaps in procedures that escalate costs unnecessarily and use the evidence to adjust contract conditions or influence care providers. Third, to avoid all this complexity from overwhelming consumers and to encourage price competition, there should be some means of comparing among insurance providers. The Government can help by setting up a web service to compare policies."
Justin Trudeau is less popular than Stephen Harper was at this point in his tenure as PM - "Angus Reid had to go back to Brian Mulroney in 1988 to find a prime minister with approval numbers as low as Trudeau’s at this point in their first term"
Lalo Dagach - Lalo Dagach added 121 new photos. - "“Lol free speech. That old chestnut.” - Yassmin Abdel-Magied, winner of the 2018 Young Voltaire Award for free speech."
Beepocalypse Myth Handbook: Dissecting claims of pollinator collapse - "There is no dangerous decline in the global honeybee population – in fact, bee populations are rising in North America and globally – and a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids are not fostering a global pollinator crisis. For years, some environmental advocacy groups have been warning of an impending “bee-pocalypse.”"
Pollinator myth: Are bees responsible for one third of global food, heightening crisis? - "Sixty percent of America’s crops can grow just fine without bees. Wheat, corn and rice are wind-pollinated. Lettuce, beans and tomatoes are self-pollinated. The 12 crops that worldwide furnish nearly 90 percent of the world’s food — rice, wheat, maize (corn), sorghums, millets, rye, and barley, and potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassavas or maniocs, bananas and coconuts — are wind pollinated, self-pollinated or are propagated asexually or develop without the need for fertilization (parthenocarpically). It’s true that about 35 percent of America’s crops — about a third — rely to some extent on bees. Sometimes the bees are essential. In other cases, they’re nice to have around, but their absence does not present a crisis"
'Clock boy' Ahmed Mohamed's lawsuit against Irving ISD, city dismissed - "U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay on Tuesday ordered that the suit be "dismissed with prejudice" and that "all relief requested by plaintiff is denied... Two months after Ahmed's arrest, the family's attorney sent letters to city and school officials that demanded they apologize and pay $15 million to stave off a lawsuit."
So much for that easy money train - maybe the plan failed
Nerds Rage Over Ahmed Mohamed's Clock - "Electronics experts who examined photos of 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed’s creation called it a fraud loudly enough to grab the attention of famed atheist and biologist Richard Dawkins, who on Sunday tweeted: “We were all fooled.” Dawkins went as far as suggesting the ninth-grader had a “motive” for his arrest over the digital clock, which was inside a black pencil case and tied shut with a cable. “If this is true, what was his motive?” Dawkins wrote. “Whether or not he wanted the police to arrest him, they shouldn’t have done so.”... Anthony DiPasquale, the webmaster for Artvoice.com, exposed the circuitry behind Mohamed’s clock.the self-styled electronics geek says that Mohamed’s homemade gadget is actually a factory-produced clock. “Somewhere in all of this—there has indeed been a hoax,” he wrote in a controversial post on Artvoice. “Ahmed Mohamed didn’t invent his own alarm clock. He didn’t even build a clock.”... DiPasquale questioned if other aspects of the teenager’s story about the clock aren’t being fully reported or fact-checked by reporters. In one interview, for example, Mohamed says he closed the pencil case with a cord so it wouldn’t look suspicious in school. “I’m curious, why would ‘looking suspicious’ have even crossed his mind before this whole event unfolded, if he was truly showing off a hobby project, something so innocuous as an alarm clock. Why did he choose a pencil box, one that looks like a miniature briefcase no less, as an enclosure for a clock?”... For some electronics experts, Mohamed’s windfall is unfair to students that actually invent things. Bryan Bergeron, an author of electronics books and editor in chief of the magazine Nuts & Volts, said that Mohamed’s project “would be ‘cute’ for someone age 7. But even then, not ‘inventive.’”"
'I did have the blinders on': Former feminist on what changed her mind - "Jaye's perspective has since changed, thanks to conversations she had while making her documentaryThe Red Pill. In the film, Jaye initially set out to expose men's rights activists, who have been criticised for providing a rhetorical basis for, and participating in, harassment campaigns against women. Researchers have also called the movement a backlash against feminism. "I definitely thought that they were woman haters, and I was fearful to go and interview them in person," she says, "I had heard from other feminists that men's rights activists would send them death threats and rape threats ... that's what I was expecting." But while meeting and interviewing members of men's rights organizations, Jaye says she began to reassess her own assumptions... "When I looked at their words ... they weren't woman bashing, they were not promoting violence against women, they were simply wanting to talk about men's issues"
What a lifelong Democrat learned from a year trying to live like a Republican - "At the evangelical youth rally, Stern was immersed in intense discussion on racial equity and refugees — how to help them, not how to kick them out. Why hadn't the mainstream captured the generosity and progressive ideas of this community? Why was an open mind denied to all those affiliated with America's right-wing party? There was one glaring structural issue that seemed to explain it... liberals in the media outnumber conservatives five to one... "We would never think about covering race issues with only whites, no matter how good a journalist we are. Or gender issues with only men, no matter how committed to the craft of journalism they are. We can't really be covering politics with people from one side no matter how dedicated, how honest, they are... By the end of his foray in conservative life, Stern discovered one thing supporters of both Republicans and Democrats can agree on: neither group is properly represented in the political system. He believes the rise of Donald Trump is a symptomatic of the nation-wide feeling of being left out of the conversation... "I didn't actually expect this. I went out a Democrat, spent a year as a Republican, and when I came back I re-registered as an Independent""
Post ID: 1751332348238378750
Friday, July 06, 2018
Links - 6th July 2018 (3)
Some public servants told me mediocrity is rewarded: Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng - "Ng said in Parliament that public servants are afraid of speaking up in case they anger their superiors, have their appraisals affected and get passed over for promotion, just because they rocked the boat and upset the status quo... Worse, he said he had even received messages forwarded to him to be careful, after he spoke up on this issue in 2017: “My sister was also passing me messages from her friends, telling me to be careful.” This problem stems from a fear of speaking honestly... Ng also said this culture of subordinates doing what they are told and not rocking the boat will be detrimental to the Public Service. It will result in the “loss of good ideas, of better ways of doing things and the loss of good public servants”... “Even if I meet you and share my thoughts, nothing will change so what’s the point”."
PAP MP Louis Ng scolded by Minister for speaking up - "Minister Ong Ye Kung told the PAP MP that he must deny the concerns of the public officers who told him otherwise"
Indonesian Christians whipped over shariah-banned child’s play - "Two Indonesian Christians were publicly flogged in conservative Aceh province today for playing a children’s entertainment game seen as violating Islamic law, as hundreds of onlookers ridiculed them and took pictures... About 98 per cent of Aceh’s five million residents are Muslims subject to religious law. Non-Muslims who have committed an offence that violates both national and religious laws can choose to be prosecuted under either system. Christians and other non-Muslims sometimes choose a flogging to avoid a lengthy court process and jail term"
What happens during khalwat raids? UK broadcaster joins Malaysia’s religious police in a show-all (VIDEO) - "The journalist expressed surprise in the video that someone can be arrested for “being with a girlfriend”. “You want to be respectful of other people's culture, but on the other hand, you remember being 24 years old, and you think is it possible for me, as an adult, being arrested for being in a hotel room with my girlfriend?” he said. The officers also explained that they can arrest transgenders on the street for not behaving and dressing according to their gender. “A man should behave like a man and a woman should behave like a woman. We must respect the divine laws and sharia laws”... the Federal Court overturned the Court of Appeal landmark decision that had declared as unconstitutional the Negri Sembilan Shariah Criminal Enactment that criminalises cross-dressing"
Buddhist monk leads mob to destroy church - "A group of Buddhists headed by a monk destroyed a Christian church in the North West Province of Sri Lanka earlier this month, leaving worshippers to now conduct their prayers under a tree."
Special Report: Buddhist monks incite Muslim killings in Myanmar - "Relishing his extremist reputation, Wirathu describes himself as the “Burmese bin Laden.”"
Why the naughty stereotype holds boys back at school - "from a young age, children think girls are academically superior. And, what’s more, they believe that adults think so too... Simply boosting boys’ self-belief could help close the academic gap, they said. Research showed that boys performed better in tests when told they were as good as girls."
Does studying Ethics make you more Moral? - "an ethics professors studies the reasoning behind moral decisions; so their work is more focused on reasoning: finding invalid arguments, counterexamples, etc, rather than living out ethics... Should we expect historians to be better at not repeating their own mistakes? Or psychologists to be more mentally healthy than other professionals?... for those skipping out on paying conference dues: why did they do it? What about the others? I doubt it, but perhaps the moral philosophers had a better reason, such as having given the money to Oxfam as utilitarians (or, as utilitarians, deciding that their own benefit through beer and cheeseburgers would be greater than the benefit for themselves and others of paying the dues – sorry a low blow, I know). I’m reminded a bit of a friend of mine who went to Yale Divinity School, and was told (and experienced) that it was a place where the faithful went to lose their beliefs. Paradoxically, the more theologically educated these students became, the skeptical they grew of religious beliefs"
Red Fascism > Paul Austin Murphy - "Habermas reacted against the frequent use of violence on the Left and instead emphasised 'rational discourse', democratic institutions and the reliance on 'conflict theory' to end political violence. Of course allied with that Leftist use of violence is its hatred of democracy and free speech; things which Habermas also noted. In fact, Habermas was an early user of the term 'left-fascism'... the Nazis themselves were National Socialists and even today many Nazis and Leftists hate exactly the same things: Zionists, capitalism, Jews, Das System, parliamentary democracy, democracy, tradition, Israel, 'the New World Order', the bankers, America, the multinationals, the platonic Media and so on. Both Leftist and Nazis also promise full employment, selfless and incorruptible leaders as well as, yes, a New World Order (or, alternatively, Utopia-by-other-names)... The popular French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy has also noted the irrationalism and violent tendencies of the new Left. In fact he calls this 'neo-progressivism' both 'barbaric' and 'red fascist'. (All this is very ironic since 'progressives' are often painted as being the exact antithesis of all these things.) Levy particularly points out the common and fundamental aspects of the new red fascism as being anti-liberal, anti-American, anti-Jew and 'pro-Islamofascism'. In fact other commentators have gone further than this and noted that much of the Left today is anti-everything - not actually for anything. Such Leftists define themselves exclusively by what they are against ('Islamophobia', parliamentary democracy, capitalism, the Media, 'Zionists', 'racists', 'the bankers', 'the New World Order', etc.) and not what they are for. Similarly, ideology and politics themselves are often jettisoned and violence and endless 'street activism', as well as the embracing of endless minority groups and minority causes, have taken their place. It is no surprise, then, that such a political negativism will also embrace violence, irrationalisms and a hatred of both democracy and free speech."
WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook - "Acton is not the first former Facebook executive to express unease about the company after leaving it. Last year, former head of growth Chamath Palihapitiya caused a firestorm after saying “we have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works.” Other former executives to express regrets include Sean Parker, Justin Rosenstein, and investor Roger McNamee."
Crisis manager: Why is Trump use of social data bad and Obama good? - "Dezenhall, who said he is not a Trump supporter, noted on "Squawk Box" that the public adored Obama after he credited his success during the 2008 election in part by how his campaign used social media. Now with Trump there is a "whiff of criminality," he said."
Both Facebook And Cambridge Analytica Threatened To Sue Journalists Over Stories On CA's Use Of Facebook Data - "in that Guardian story in 2015, Cruz told the publication that this data collecting and targeting effort was "very much the Obama model." And political consultant Patrick Ruffini has a well worth reading Twitter thread arguing that people are overreacting to much of this, and that the 2012 Obama campaign did the exact same thing, and was celebrated for its creative use of data and targeting on the internet. Ad tech guy Jay Pinho makes the same point as well. Here's a Time article from 2012 excitedly talking up how the Obama campaign used Facebook in the same way... it still wasn't Facebook per se coughing up the info. It was Facebook's own users. And, you might even argue that if you believe that Facebook doesn't "own" all this data in the first place, that it was actually those Facebook users coughing up a bunch of their own data -- including lots of data about their friends"
Opinion | Facebook’s Surveillance Machine - The New York Times - "This wasn’t a breach in the technical sense. It is something even more troubling: an all-too-natural consequence of Facebook’s business model, which involves having people go to the site for social interaction, only to be quietly subjected to an enormous level of surveillance. The results of that surveillance are used to fuel a sophisticated and opaque system for narrowly targeting advertisements and other wares to Facebook’s users. Facebook makes money, in other words, by profiling us and then selling our attention to advertisers, political actors and others. These are Facebook’s true customers, whom it works hard to please... Facebook even creates “shadow profiles” of nonusers. That is, even if you are not on Facebook, the company may well have compiled a profile of you, inferred from data provided by your friends or from other data. This is an involuntary dossier from which you cannot opt out in the United States... Should we all just leave Facebook? That may sound attractive but it is not a viable solution. In many countries, Facebook and its products simply are the internet. Some employers and landlords demand to see Facebook profiles, and there are increasingly vast swaths of public and civic life — from volunteer groups to political campaigns to marches and protests — that are accessible or organized only via Facebook. The problem here goes beyond Cambridge Analytica and what it may have done. What other apps were allowed to siphon data from millions of Facebook users? What if one day Facebook decides to suspend from its site a presidential campaign or a politician whose platform calls for things like increased data privacy for individuals and limits on data retention and use? What if it decides to share data with one political campaign and not another? What if it gives better ad rates to candidates who align with its own interests?"
WikiLeaks on Twitter: "Email between Facebook CTO, Sheryl Sandberg and Hillary Clinton campaign head John Podesta, signed with Facebook's key
Facebook Data Unfairly Mined by Democrats Claims Ex Obama Campaign - "Davidsen claimed Facebook saw what they were doing with data and decided to let it happen because of politics. “They came to office in the days following election recruiting & were very candid that they allowed us to do things they wouldn’t have allowed someone else to do because they were on our side”"
Facebook has suspended the account of the whistleblower who exposed Cambridge Analytica
And WhatsApp and Instagram too
Sengkang hospital opening in 2018, 7 years in the making - "SKH will have 1,400 beds and is meant to ease the bed crunch problem at public hospitals, a pre-existing condition in Singapore since the early 2000s... Bed occupancy rates above 80 percent are considered very high. Currently, our bed occupancy rates generally still hover at 80 percent or above. With the addition of SKH, the 1,000 beds are expected to contribute to an added 10 percent capacity for public hospital beds in Singapore."
An emerging scholarly consensus on mismatch and affirmative action (ideologues not welcome) - The Washington Post - "the authors find persuasive evidence that such mismatch effects occur, particularly in law school and in science education... Williams’s paper presents equations testing dozens of different combinations of models and outcomes. With impressive consistency, his analysis shows very powerful evidence for law school mismatch, especially for first-time takers. His results are all the more compelling because, as Arcidiacono and Lovenheim point out, the weaknesses of the BPS data bias all analyses against a finding of mismatch. Williams concludes his piece, too, with a plea for the release of better data. Meanwhile, not a single one of the law school mismatch critics has managed to publish their results in a peer-reviewed journal, though at least some of them have tried."
Malaysians upset coffeeshop drinks cost more than a litre of petrol - "Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Association (Presma), which has 4,000 registered members with 10,000 mamak eateries nationwide, said customers are charged between RM2.50 to RM3.00 per glass of iced Milo... Noorul Hassan also noted that customers usually insist on 'Milo kaw' (thick Milo or double strength) when ordering the beverage. He said the cost of condensed milk and ice cubes had also increased, without the customers realising."
Maybe this just shows petrol is underpriced
Best-selling introductory psychology books give a misleading view of intelligence - "Russell T Warne and his co-authors found that three-quarters of the books contain inaccuracies; that the books give disproportionate coverage to unsupported theories, such as Gardner’s “multiple intelligencies”; and nearly 80 per cent contain logical fallacies in their discussions of the topic... The most common inaccuracy (appearing in nearly half the books) was that intelligence tests are biased against particular groups or individuals. This contradicts the 1997 consensus statement which tackles this issue and concludes that “intelligence tests are not culturally biased”. Other common inaccuracies included promotion of the idea that it is not possible to measure intelligence in a meaningful way (in fact, Warne and his colleagues point out that “it is actually easier to measure intelligence than many other psychological constructs”), and claims that intelligence is only relevant in academic settings (in fact, intelligence correlates with many non-academic life outcomes, from life expectancy to risk of dying in a car accident, and is among the strongest predictors of career success). Among the logical fallacies in the books is what’s known as “Lewontin’s fallacy” – this idea, advanced in six of the books, states that because humans share about 99 per cent of the same genes, that genes cannot therefore have a role in the differences between individuals or groups. In fact, “slight differences in genotypes among organisms can result in major phenotype differences”, according to Warne and his team. Twelve other fallacies appeared in the books – see full list above – such as giving less scrutiny to politically correct ideas or claiming that intelligence doesn’t exist because it is a collection of abilities (suggesting the textbook authors had failed to understand the principle of g or “general intelligence”). In terms of questionable accuracy (i.e. errors not covered by the consensus statements), Warne highlights issues around the discussion of the taboo topic of race and IQ; textbook authors overplaying the role of “stereotype threat“, and authors having a tendency to overestimate environmental influences on intelligence (the books largely neglected the work of scholars who study the genetic influences on intelligence, such as the British researchers Ian Deary and Robert Plomin)... This new analysis helps explain why the public and lay journalists often express a scepticism toward intelligence and intelligence testing that is at odds with expert opinion (perhaps best captured by the hackneyed claim that “intelligence tests only measure your ability to take intelligence tests”)"
This Gay Man Made A Great Point About Why Women Should Dress However They Want - "The main premise of “modesty” culture is that women need to dress in a way that doesn’t provoke sexual response in men. Which is insane"
Somehow the comments aren't slamming him for being Islamophobic
Bielefeld Conspiracy – Bielefeld, Germany - "The Bielefeld Conspiracy originated in 1994 on a German internet forum as a satire of conspiracy theories... According to the Bielefeld Conspiracy, the city of Bielefeld is an illusion and no village is actually there. Believers in the conspiracy ask non-believers three questions: Have you ever been to Bielefeld, do you know anybody from Bielefeld, and do you know anybody who has ever been to Bielefeld? To most people, the answer to these three questions is “no,” supposedly proving the conspiracists’ point"
An employee whose job was to be sacked - "Apparently the employee was paid to sit among the boxes on Harrods top-floor smoking his pipe and reading the Sporting Life. From time to time a bell would ring and he would be summoned to a department where an irate customer was being mollified by the Head of the Department."
PAP MP Louis Ng scolded by Minister for speaking up - "Minister Ong Ye Kung told the PAP MP that he must deny the concerns of the public officers who told him otherwise"
Indonesian Christians whipped over shariah-banned child’s play - "Two Indonesian Christians were publicly flogged in conservative Aceh province today for playing a children’s entertainment game seen as violating Islamic law, as hundreds of onlookers ridiculed them and took pictures... About 98 per cent of Aceh’s five million residents are Muslims subject to religious law. Non-Muslims who have committed an offence that violates both national and religious laws can choose to be prosecuted under either system. Christians and other non-Muslims sometimes choose a flogging to avoid a lengthy court process and jail term"
What happens during khalwat raids? UK broadcaster joins Malaysia’s religious police in a show-all (VIDEO) - "The journalist expressed surprise in the video that someone can be arrested for “being with a girlfriend”. “You want to be respectful of other people's culture, but on the other hand, you remember being 24 years old, and you think is it possible for me, as an adult, being arrested for being in a hotel room with my girlfriend?” he said. The officers also explained that they can arrest transgenders on the street for not behaving and dressing according to their gender. “A man should behave like a man and a woman should behave like a woman. We must respect the divine laws and sharia laws”... the Federal Court overturned the Court of Appeal landmark decision that had declared as unconstitutional the Negri Sembilan Shariah Criminal Enactment that criminalises cross-dressing"
Buddhist monk leads mob to destroy church - "A group of Buddhists headed by a monk destroyed a Christian church in the North West Province of Sri Lanka earlier this month, leaving worshippers to now conduct their prayers under a tree."
Special Report: Buddhist monks incite Muslim killings in Myanmar - "Relishing his extremist reputation, Wirathu describes himself as the “Burmese bin Laden.”"
Why the naughty stereotype holds boys back at school - "from a young age, children think girls are academically superior. And, what’s more, they believe that adults think so too... Simply boosting boys’ self-belief could help close the academic gap, they said. Research showed that boys performed better in tests when told they were as good as girls."
Does studying Ethics make you more Moral? - "an ethics professors studies the reasoning behind moral decisions; so their work is more focused on reasoning: finding invalid arguments, counterexamples, etc, rather than living out ethics... Should we expect historians to be better at not repeating their own mistakes? Or psychologists to be more mentally healthy than other professionals?... for those skipping out on paying conference dues: why did they do it? What about the others? I doubt it, but perhaps the moral philosophers had a better reason, such as having given the money to Oxfam as utilitarians (or, as utilitarians, deciding that their own benefit through beer and cheeseburgers would be greater than the benefit for themselves and others of paying the dues – sorry a low blow, I know). I’m reminded a bit of a friend of mine who went to Yale Divinity School, and was told (and experienced) that it was a place where the faithful went to lose their beliefs. Paradoxically, the more theologically educated these students became, the skeptical they grew of religious beliefs"
Red Fascism > Paul Austin Murphy - "Habermas reacted against the frequent use of violence on the Left and instead emphasised 'rational discourse', democratic institutions and the reliance on 'conflict theory' to end political violence. Of course allied with that Leftist use of violence is its hatred of democracy and free speech; things which Habermas also noted. In fact, Habermas was an early user of the term 'left-fascism'... the Nazis themselves were National Socialists and even today many Nazis and Leftists hate exactly the same things: Zionists, capitalism, Jews, Das System, parliamentary democracy, democracy, tradition, Israel, 'the New World Order', the bankers, America, the multinationals, the platonic Media and so on. Both Leftist and Nazis also promise full employment, selfless and incorruptible leaders as well as, yes, a New World Order (or, alternatively, Utopia-by-other-names)... The popular French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy has also noted the irrationalism and violent tendencies of the new Left. In fact he calls this 'neo-progressivism' both 'barbaric' and 'red fascist'. (All this is very ironic since 'progressives' are often painted as being the exact antithesis of all these things.) Levy particularly points out the common and fundamental aspects of the new red fascism as being anti-liberal, anti-American, anti-Jew and 'pro-Islamofascism'. In fact other commentators have gone further than this and noted that much of the Left today is anti-everything - not actually for anything. Such Leftists define themselves exclusively by what they are against ('Islamophobia', parliamentary democracy, capitalism, the Media, 'Zionists', 'racists', 'the bankers', 'the New World Order', etc.) and not what they are for. Similarly, ideology and politics themselves are often jettisoned and violence and endless 'street activism', as well as the embracing of endless minority groups and minority causes, have taken their place. It is no surprise, then, that such a political negativism will also embrace violence, irrationalisms and a hatred of both democracy and free speech."
WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook - "Acton is not the first former Facebook executive to express unease about the company after leaving it. Last year, former head of growth Chamath Palihapitiya caused a firestorm after saying “we have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works.” Other former executives to express regrets include Sean Parker, Justin Rosenstein, and investor Roger McNamee."
Crisis manager: Why is Trump use of social data bad and Obama good? - "Dezenhall, who said he is not a Trump supporter, noted on "Squawk Box" that the public adored Obama after he credited his success during the 2008 election in part by how his campaign used social media. Now with Trump there is a "whiff of criminality," he said."
Both Facebook And Cambridge Analytica Threatened To Sue Journalists Over Stories On CA's Use Of Facebook Data - "in that Guardian story in 2015, Cruz told the publication that this data collecting and targeting effort was "very much the Obama model." And political consultant Patrick Ruffini has a well worth reading Twitter thread arguing that people are overreacting to much of this, and that the 2012 Obama campaign did the exact same thing, and was celebrated for its creative use of data and targeting on the internet. Ad tech guy Jay Pinho makes the same point as well. Here's a Time article from 2012 excitedly talking up how the Obama campaign used Facebook in the same way... it still wasn't Facebook per se coughing up the info. It was Facebook's own users. And, you might even argue that if you believe that Facebook doesn't "own" all this data in the first place, that it was actually those Facebook users coughing up a bunch of their own data -- including lots of data about their friends"
Opinion | Facebook’s Surveillance Machine - The New York Times - "This wasn’t a breach in the technical sense. It is something even more troubling: an all-too-natural consequence of Facebook’s business model, which involves having people go to the site for social interaction, only to be quietly subjected to an enormous level of surveillance. The results of that surveillance are used to fuel a sophisticated and opaque system for narrowly targeting advertisements and other wares to Facebook’s users. Facebook makes money, in other words, by profiling us and then selling our attention to advertisers, political actors and others. These are Facebook’s true customers, whom it works hard to please... Facebook even creates “shadow profiles” of nonusers. That is, even if you are not on Facebook, the company may well have compiled a profile of you, inferred from data provided by your friends or from other data. This is an involuntary dossier from which you cannot opt out in the United States... Should we all just leave Facebook? That may sound attractive but it is not a viable solution. In many countries, Facebook and its products simply are the internet. Some employers and landlords demand to see Facebook profiles, and there are increasingly vast swaths of public and civic life — from volunteer groups to political campaigns to marches and protests — that are accessible or organized only via Facebook. The problem here goes beyond Cambridge Analytica and what it may have done. What other apps were allowed to siphon data from millions of Facebook users? What if one day Facebook decides to suspend from its site a presidential campaign or a politician whose platform calls for things like increased data privacy for individuals and limits on data retention and use? What if it decides to share data with one political campaign and not another? What if it gives better ad rates to candidates who align with its own interests?"
WikiLeaks on Twitter: "Email between Facebook CTO, Sheryl Sandberg and Hillary Clinton campaign head John Podesta, signed with Facebook's key
Facebook Data Unfairly Mined by Democrats Claims Ex Obama Campaign - "Davidsen claimed Facebook saw what they were doing with data and decided to let it happen because of politics. “They came to office in the days following election recruiting & were very candid that they allowed us to do things they wouldn’t have allowed someone else to do because they were on our side”"
Facebook has suspended the account of the whistleblower who exposed Cambridge Analytica
And WhatsApp and Instagram too
Sengkang hospital opening in 2018, 7 years in the making - "SKH will have 1,400 beds and is meant to ease the bed crunch problem at public hospitals, a pre-existing condition in Singapore since the early 2000s... Bed occupancy rates above 80 percent are considered very high. Currently, our bed occupancy rates generally still hover at 80 percent or above. With the addition of SKH, the 1,000 beds are expected to contribute to an added 10 percent capacity for public hospital beds in Singapore."
An emerging scholarly consensus on mismatch and affirmative action (ideologues not welcome) - The Washington Post - "the authors find persuasive evidence that such mismatch effects occur, particularly in law school and in science education... Williams’s paper presents equations testing dozens of different combinations of models and outcomes. With impressive consistency, his analysis shows very powerful evidence for law school mismatch, especially for first-time takers. His results are all the more compelling because, as Arcidiacono and Lovenheim point out, the weaknesses of the BPS data bias all analyses against a finding of mismatch. Williams concludes his piece, too, with a plea for the release of better data. Meanwhile, not a single one of the law school mismatch critics has managed to publish their results in a peer-reviewed journal, though at least some of them have tried."
Malaysians upset coffeeshop drinks cost more than a litre of petrol - "Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Association (Presma), which has 4,000 registered members with 10,000 mamak eateries nationwide, said customers are charged between RM2.50 to RM3.00 per glass of iced Milo... Noorul Hassan also noted that customers usually insist on 'Milo kaw' (thick Milo or double strength) when ordering the beverage. He said the cost of condensed milk and ice cubes had also increased, without the customers realising."
Maybe this just shows petrol is underpriced
Best-selling introductory psychology books give a misleading view of intelligence - "Russell T Warne and his co-authors found that three-quarters of the books contain inaccuracies; that the books give disproportionate coverage to unsupported theories, such as Gardner’s “multiple intelligencies”; and nearly 80 per cent contain logical fallacies in their discussions of the topic... The most common inaccuracy (appearing in nearly half the books) was that intelligence tests are biased against particular groups or individuals. This contradicts the 1997 consensus statement which tackles this issue and concludes that “intelligence tests are not culturally biased”. Other common inaccuracies included promotion of the idea that it is not possible to measure intelligence in a meaningful way (in fact, Warne and his colleagues point out that “it is actually easier to measure intelligence than many other psychological constructs”), and claims that intelligence is only relevant in academic settings (in fact, intelligence correlates with many non-academic life outcomes, from life expectancy to risk of dying in a car accident, and is among the strongest predictors of career success). Among the logical fallacies in the books is what’s known as “Lewontin’s fallacy” – this idea, advanced in six of the books, states that because humans share about 99 per cent of the same genes, that genes cannot therefore have a role in the differences between individuals or groups. In fact, “slight differences in genotypes among organisms can result in major phenotype differences”, according to Warne and his team. Twelve other fallacies appeared in the books – see full list above – such as giving less scrutiny to politically correct ideas or claiming that intelligence doesn’t exist because it is a collection of abilities (suggesting the textbook authors had failed to understand the principle of g or “general intelligence”). In terms of questionable accuracy (i.e. errors not covered by the consensus statements), Warne highlights issues around the discussion of the taboo topic of race and IQ; textbook authors overplaying the role of “stereotype threat“, and authors having a tendency to overestimate environmental influences on intelligence (the books largely neglected the work of scholars who study the genetic influences on intelligence, such as the British researchers Ian Deary and Robert Plomin)... This new analysis helps explain why the public and lay journalists often express a scepticism toward intelligence and intelligence testing that is at odds with expert opinion (perhaps best captured by the hackneyed claim that “intelligence tests only measure your ability to take intelligence tests”)"
This Gay Man Made A Great Point About Why Women Should Dress However They Want - "The main premise of “modesty” culture is that women need to dress in a way that doesn’t provoke sexual response in men. Which is insane"
Somehow the comments aren't slamming him for being Islamophobic
Bielefeld Conspiracy – Bielefeld, Germany - "The Bielefeld Conspiracy originated in 1994 on a German internet forum as a satire of conspiracy theories... According to the Bielefeld Conspiracy, the city of Bielefeld is an illusion and no village is actually there. Believers in the conspiracy ask non-believers three questions: Have you ever been to Bielefeld, do you know anybody from Bielefeld, and do you know anybody who has ever been to Bielefeld? To most people, the answer to these three questions is “no,” supposedly proving the conspiracists’ point"
An employee whose job was to be sacked - "Apparently the employee was paid to sit among the boxes on Harrods top-floor smoking his pipe and reading the Sporting Life. From time to time a bell would ring and he would be summoned to a department where an irate customer was being mollified by the Head of the Department."
Post ID: 7175879222407769048
When pulling the victim card backfires
Two women warned for making 'inflammatory' race-related comments on Facebook: Police
"Two Singaporean women were on Friday (Jul 6) issued a warning for making inflammatory comments online, after they posted remarks on Facebook alleging that members of one race looked down on people of another race.
The women, both 28 years old, were investigated for posting comments that were "prejudicial to the maintenance of racial and religious harmony in Singapore", said the police in a news release.
The Facebook comments were sparked by an incident in October 2017, when the two women were spotted praying at a fire escape stairwell of a shopping mall.
According to the police, the security personnel who found the women had waited for them to finish their prayers before explaining that the fire escape stairwell needed to be kept unobstructed for safety reasons.
The security personnel advised the women to pray in a designated prayer room in the vicinity.
However, the women returned to the same stairwell the next day to conduct their prayers.
"When a security personnel again advised them to use the designated prayer room, one of them demanded to meet the security supervisor, and subsequently accused the supervisor of being racist by disallowing them to pray there," the police said.
"After the encounter, the two women posted remarks on Facebook alleging that members of one race looked down on members of another race."
The police added: "The allegations the two women made were serious, but baseless. Such allegations can over time affect our racial and religious harmony. Obstructing a fire escape stairwell is also serious."
A decision was made, in consultation with the Attorney-General Chambers, to issue the women with a 12-month conditional warning, for the offences of making inflammatory comments online and for criminal trespass.
"Police decided to exercise discretion in their favour and administer a warning instead of prosecuting them," said authorities.
The offences will be resurfaced for consideration if they re-offend within the 12-month period."
Related:
Muslim sisters who call out “racist” security guard who allegedly prohibited them from praying at mall stairwell face backlash from Malay netizens
"When twin sisters Syahidah and Hirah Rostam posted about an incident where they were allegedly prohibited from using a stairwell at Alexandra Central Mall by a “racist” security guard working there, they received widespread criticism instead of support mostly from members of their own Malay and Muslim community.
On Wednesday (25 Oct), Syahidah shared on Facebook that she and her sister had unfurled their prayer mat at a stairwell at the mall and had begun praying silently at the staircase when a “racist” Indian security supervisor allegedly tried to get his Chinese and Malay security staff stop them from praying.
The sisters also shot videos showing them confronting the security guards. In the videos, Syahidah and Hirah can be seen shouting at the guards.
Syahidah added that in her and her twin’s 29 years, they “have always been doing prayers at any staircase in shopping malls or hospitals be it public or private ones.”
She claimed that non-Indian security guards usually allow the sisters to pray at staircases and added:
“Everytime Hirah & I encountered with police, security guards or authorities, they are always Indians who look down on us Malays or Muslims.
“I am aware most Indians look down on us Malays & Malays are an inferior race to them. They are capable of teaching & influencing people close to them to be superior or unapologetic about mistakes done.
“This is what I feel everytime Indian security guards, police & authorities speak to us Malays. Or when Indians who are not close to me or extended friends who are Indians treat me.
“Like we Malays are nothing and they are superior as ever.”
While Syahidah’s post has been shared over 800 times on Facebook, countless netizens commenting on her post have criticised her and her twin for having a bad attitude, for playing the race card and supposedly pretending to be victims.
Netizens also commented that the sisters could have prayed at IKEA Alexandra, which is right next door and has a Musholla for Muslims to freely use. Additionally, the nearest mosque to Alexandra Central Mall is an 12 minute bus ride or 6 minute car ride away.
Interestingly, most of these criticisms came from Malay and Muslim netizens"
"Two Singaporean women were on Friday (Jul 6) issued a warning for making inflammatory comments online, after they posted remarks on Facebook alleging that members of one race looked down on people of another race.
The women, both 28 years old, were investigated for posting comments that were "prejudicial to the maintenance of racial and religious harmony in Singapore", said the police in a news release.
The Facebook comments were sparked by an incident in October 2017, when the two women were spotted praying at a fire escape stairwell of a shopping mall.
According to the police, the security personnel who found the women had waited for them to finish their prayers before explaining that the fire escape stairwell needed to be kept unobstructed for safety reasons.
The security personnel advised the women to pray in a designated prayer room in the vicinity.
However, the women returned to the same stairwell the next day to conduct their prayers.
"When a security personnel again advised them to use the designated prayer room, one of them demanded to meet the security supervisor, and subsequently accused the supervisor of being racist by disallowing them to pray there," the police said.
"After the encounter, the two women posted remarks on Facebook alleging that members of one race looked down on members of another race."
The police added: "The allegations the two women made were serious, but baseless. Such allegations can over time affect our racial and religious harmony. Obstructing a fire escape stairwell is also serious."
A decision was made, in consultation with the Attorney-General Chambers, to issue the women with a 12-month conditional warning, for the offences of making inflammatory comments online and for criminal trespass.
"Police decided to exercise discretion in their favour and administer a warning instead of prosecuting them," said authorities.
The offences will be resurfaced for consideration if they re-offend within the 12-month period."
Related:
Muslim sisters who call out “racist” security guard who allegedly prohibited them from praying at mall stairwell face backlash from Malay netizens
"When twin sisters Syahidah and Hirah Rostam posted about an incident where they were allegedly prohibited from using a stairwell at Alexandra Central Mall by a “racist” security guard working there, they received widespread criticism instead of support mostly from members of their own Malay and Muslim community.
On Wednesday (25 Oct), Syahidah shared on Facebook that she and her sister had unfurled their prayer mat at a stairwell at the mall and had begun praying silently at the staircase when a “racist” Indian security supervisor allegedly tried to get his Chinese and Malay security staff stop them from praying.
The sisters also shot videos showing them confronting the security guards. In the videos, Syahidah and Hirah can be seen shouting at the guards.
Syahidah added that in her and her twin’s 29 years, they “have always been doing prayers at any staircase in shopping malls or hospitals be it public or private ones.”
She claimed that non-Indian security guards usually allow the sisters to pray at staircases and added:
“Everytime Hirah & I encountered with police, security guards or authorities, they are always Indians who look down on us Malays or Muslims.
“I am aware most Indians look down on us Malays & Malays are an inferior race to them. They are capable of teaching & influencing people close to them to be superior or unapologetic about mistakes done.
“This is what I feel everytime Indian security guards, police & authorities speak to us Malays. Or when Indians who are not close to me or extended friends who are Indians treat me.
“Like we Malays are nothing and they are superior as ever.”
While Syahidah’s post has been shared over 800 times on Facebook, countless netizens commenting on her post have criticised her and her twin for having a bad attitude, for playing the race card and supposedly pretending to be victims.
Netizens also commented that the sisters could have prayed at IKEA Alexandra, which is right next door and has a Musholla for Muslims to freely use. Additionally, the nearest mosque to Alexandra Central Mall is an 12 minute bus ride or 6 minute car ride away.
Interestingly, most of these criticisms came from Malay and Muslim netizens"
Post ID: 2943902199746777835
Links - 6th July 2018 (2)
XXIII 🐐 11 L.P. on Twitter: "Muslim activist accuses Trump of inciting racism towards him, then forgets to switch accounts before posting a fake hate speech tweet directed at himself, from his own account
Two Afghan migrants who raped woman for three hours while their mate filmed it on Facebook Live are jailed for just TWO years
Sweden
Cambridge extremist jailed for four years after inciting racial hatred online
Taxi monopoly at Quebec City airport dismays budget travellers - "Quebec City is the only city in Canada with a population of 500,000 with no shuttle bus or public transit to and from the airport. Instead, the 1.6 million passengers who land or depart from Jean Lesage Airport every year must all take a taxi, if they don't have a lift."
Women's March Invite to Bernie Sanders Sparks Outrage - "Many supporters of the group, which spearheaded the record-setting marches around the U.S. to protest President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, were outraged that conference organizers would pick a white man to address a convention meant to elevate women of color. Others were annoyed that Sanders—who recently endorsed a candidate for mayor in Nebraska who has been criticized as anti-abortion—would be embraced by a movement that supports reproductive rights. Others nursed a grudge against Sanders and his supporters for their role in Hillary Clinton’s election defeat."
Of course they prefer Linda Sarsour
RUMOR - Marvel Comics in trouble, Disney relocating it to Burbank? - "There are rumors circulating that the House of Mouse is unhappy with Marvel Comics’ rapidly declining sales and creators’ combative presence on social media"
"Comic writers straight up insulting their audience on social media and saying "straight white men should stay away", turned out to be bad for business"
This cruise ship is just one massive sex party - "The X-rated trip — dubbed “The Naughty Cruise” — will see hundreds of couples from all over the world leave their inhibitions on land for four days of non-stop adult fun... Besides plenty of kinky playrooms, the ships also has dungeons, dark rooms, rooms for the ladies and an ever changing lineup of themed rooms for those looking for something different."
'Sex island' holiday with unlimited sex and booze starts today - here's what guests can expect - "A "high profile British pop star" is said to be among tourists booked on the trip to on a tropical party island where guests get to romp with 16 girls at once. The mystery British singer, who has had "many number one hits", paid the £3,100 price for a ticket to the four-day sex fest where 60 high-class hookers will be on hand for "unlimited sex"... a local priest in Cartenega, the town in northern Colombia where the holiday company is based, even complained to the Pope about the debauchery... People paying for the trip will get two girls for 24 hours to "satisfy their every need", claim the firm behind the trip."
Surprise, this incredibly youthful 41-year-old woman shows off equally stunning sisters AND mother - "Dubbed the "goddess with a frozen age" by the Chinese media, Lure Hsu might just be the most youthful 41-year-old around. Yes, you read that right. The Taiwanese woman is not 18, but in her 40s... Their mother (centre), a retired dancer aged 63, looks incredibly youthful as well"
New Zealand’s Crusade Against Mammals - "The sort of amateur naturalist who in Oregon or Oklahoma might track butterflies or band birds will, in Otorohanga, poison possums and crush the heads of hedgehogs. As the coördinator of one volunteer group put it to me, “We always say that, for us, conservation is all about killing things.”... So dire has the situation become that schoolchildren are regularly enlisted as little exterminators. (A recent blog post aimed at hardening hearts against cute little fuzzy things ran under the headline “Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Serial Killer.”)... The logo of the group, Predator Free New Zealand, shows a kiwi with a surprised expression standing on the body of a dead rat... The Australian naturalist Tim Flannery has described New Zealand’s avian-dominated landscape as a “completely different experiment in evolution.” It shows, he has written, “what the world might have looked like if mammals as well as dinosaurs had become extinct 65 million years ago, leaving the birds to inherit the globe.” Jared Diamond once described the country’s native fauna as the nearest we’re likely to come to “life on another planet.”... Roughly a quarter of New Zealand’s native bird species are now extinct, and many of those which remain are just barely hanging on. If current trends continue, it is predicted that within a generation or two the land of Kiwis will be without kiwi... New Zealand is the only country in the world that has succeeded in turning pest eradication into an export industry... in New Zealand, killing small mammals brings people together"
Olympic diving duo splits after teammate’s ‘marathon sex session’ - "It’s the first rule of team diving: Never go down without your partner. Yet a pair of synchronized divers from Brazil split up this week after one of them kicked the other out of their Olympic Village dorm room to engage in a “marathon sex session” on the eve of their competition... Giovanna Pedroso, 17, says she was forced to spend the whole night before her event wandering around outside her room while her partner, 20-year-old Ingrid Oliveira, got wet and wild with a male canoeist named Pedro Goncalves. The long night for both teammates showed the next day at the Olympic diving pool. The women came in dead last in the 10-meter synchronized event, with a performance that reportedly drew laughs from the crowd."
What women want? The 'sex move' all men should be using to massively boost their partner's enjoyment - "A post-coital cuddle boosts women's sexual enjoyment by 30 per cent... a cuddle after sex made men feel better too, while increasing the chances of their being a repeat encounter"
This Nurse Is Being Dubbed As 'The World's Sexiest' And We See Why - "After her Instagram was found and the photos shared on the internet, 23-year-old Carina Linn found out that her Instagram was immensely popular, quickly gaining over 400,000 followers in a few short weeks... Despite her modesty, there are definitely still a ton of people who find the Taiwanese nurse absolutely stunning"
Middlesbrough penis attack: How do you have sex if your penis is CHOPPED OFF? We answer all the embarrassing questions about the horrific injury - "A Chinese study of 50 men who underwent reattachment surgery found that all but one achieved full functionality again. Remarkably, that was the case even if the operation required reattaching both tissue and bone... in the Chinese study all but one of the patients recovered full functionality with some reportedly going on to father children after the removal. Apparently with the reattachment option a manufactured penile implant is needed for an erection to take place, but ejaculation is either not possible or not done with as much force."
Man cuts off his own penis because he was so frustrated about not having a girlfriend - "Unlucky in love Yang Hu was so fed up with not having a girlfriend that he chopped off his own penis -because he had no real use for it."
You've got to be yolking! Teenage boy 'lays an EGG in front of baffled doctors' - "A hospital spokesman said: "Our suspicion is that the eggs were deliberately shoved into Akmal's rectum."
How young women convince men who want to use a condom to have unprotected sex instead - "The most common tactics used were seduction and risk reassurance — meaning getting a man so sexually excited that he agreed to have sex without a condom and convincing a man that a condom is unnecessary because she was “clean.” Some women also said that they complained condoms made sex less enjoyable, told their partner they would be angry if they used a condom, or simply asked their partner not use a condom. About 3 percent of women said they had convinced a man not to use a condom by withholding sex or sabotaging the condom. A slightly smaller percentage reported using physical force to prevent a man from getting a condom... women with a history of STIs were much more likely to use condom use resistance tactics than women without a history"
Christian couple rejected as adoptive parents argue rights violated - "The Edmonton couple — whose are identified only by initials in court documents — allege an initial recommendation they be allowed to adopt was revoked after “interference” by the Ministry of Children’s Services, and that they were told their religious beliefs related to gender and sexuality were contrary to the “official position of the Alberta government.”"
Illegal brothels shut down by man paid to have sex - "MEET ‘John’. He’s in his 60s, divorced, and he gets paid to have sex with prostitutes. John is a brothel buster. Actually, “more often than not it’s just a handjob”... For the past four years, John says he’s averaged around one “job” every three weeks, usually at one of the countless Asian massage parlours dotting Sydney’s streets. Walk down busy George Street in the CBD, for example, and it seems like there is one every 50 metres. According to John, they “most definitely” all provide sexual services of one kind or another. “If you looked hard enough, you might be able to find a massage parlour that doesn’t offer sexual services,” he says. “In my experience there have only been three premises where I have gone in and not been offered that service some time during the course of the treatment.”"
"Birth Rape" Rhetoric is Ugly, Misleading - "Some factions within the natural childbirth movement are attempting to popularize the concept of "birth rape." The idea is that women who are handled roughly, verbally abused, or bullied into unwelcome interventions during labor are literally being raped by their health care providers... "Birth rape" is an emotionally manipulative metaphor that encourages women to re-frame traumatic experiences in a way that makes them seem even more traumatic... To encourage women to recast that experience as a sexual violation, even when everyone agrees that the doctor did nothing sexually inappropriate, is cruel, not liberating."
From 2010, at least. This might not have been written in 2018
Rape Culture in Singapore – Is it really that different from Delhi? - "Many are outraged at the circumstances of women in India and in other countries, and are quick to voice their gratefulness for the treatment of women in Singapore where women are much freer to wear what they desire and travel when they want, without fearing for their lives or dignity. As an immigrant myself, I truly appreciate the security and freedom enjoyed by women in this regard, especially compared to my country of origin. I agree it is certainly something to be very proud of."
When you're so eager to push your agenda you don't realise you're contradicting yourself
The Progressive Case Against Assisted Suicide - "We all must take a skeptical look and acknowledge the role that money and power play in end-of- life decisions, and how assisted suicide is being used by some health care companies and decision-makers to increase their bottom line by denying treatment. Physician assisted suicide disproportionately affects the poor and people living with disabilities. That explains, at least in part, why there is widespread opposition from virtually every disability rights group in the nation, including the National Council on Disability, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, the World Institute on Disability and FREED... In Oregon where assisted suicide is legal, cancer patients Barbara Wagner and Randy Stroup were denied coverage of their chemotherapy prescribed by their doctor but were informed by their health care provider, Oregon’s state run health plan, that it would pay for their assisted suicide. When assisted suicide is offered as a “choice” and coverage for care is denied, the patient is left with no control over their medical choices and no real choice at all"
The Inventor Who Has Developed a Sweet-Smelling "Fart Pill" - "From the man who brought the world toilet paper printed with news articles for combined bathroom utility and entertainment comes Pilule Pet, a “fart pill” seriously intended to rid us all of the offensive smell of human gas... Christian Poincheval, who Toor describes as “some sort of hippie Da Vinci; a compulsive inventor-artist-musician living in the rural hills of northwest France.” ... He started with pills to turn your toots into rose-, violet- and chocolate-scented delights and, more recently, released a ginger-scented pill for Valentine’s Day."
Last Night in Malmö - "A huge part of the reason why people are trusting misrepresentations of the situation in Sweden is because almost nobody who is actually experiencing what’s happening is talking about it, especially not in English... ethnic Swedes would feel excluded if they decided to come and live here. If they were to send their children to schools in the area they would be bullied badly. This is something I’ve seen first hand, and every Swedish person who had the misfortune to go to a mostly immigrant school was forced to leave after a few years... While immigrants are being married away and forced to conform to age old ideals, Swedish girls are fighting against patriarchy in Swedish culture, and complaining about unequal representations in TV-shows. This is actually a good thing at first glance, as it means that they’ve never had to deal with real oppression, something that shows how good Swedish society is, but the sad thing is real oppression is present, and instead of being able to identify it and fighting it they are allying themselves with it"
Having A Woman Boss Doesn't Help Women Get Ahead - "They improve neither the amounts the women earn nor the the jobs they hold... The paper is called “Women in Charge: The Impact of Female Managers on Gender Inequality.”... The study does show one way that female managers make a difference for workers: Women bosses are more willing to grant flexible work arrangements. Employees working for women managers were 2.25 times more likely to work part-time as were those reporting to male managers. However, both men and women reap this benefit more or less equally, says the study... Thought Abraham didn’t pose this question to her study subjects, she does engage in some interesting speculation in the paper, citing other research by scholars who suggest that “because women fear that others will not perceive them as valuable members of the organization, they will be less apt to support other women within the organization. Not advocating for female employees in terms of wages and job allocation may be a response to female managers’ perceived external appraisals.” In other words, women managers may be afraid to promote and advocate for women because they feel their reputations are on the line and they don’t want to risk a negative judgment."
Other possible explanations: women aren't really being discriminated against, woman bosses see other women as competition
Why Don't More Women Want to Work With Other Women? - "Pew asked 2,002 people if they would prefer to work with men or women. Most—78 percent of men and 76 percent of women—said they didn't care. But for the 22 percent who did have a preference, "it’s men who get the nod from both sexes by about a 2-1 margin," Pew's Rich Morin writes. In fact, more women said they'd rather work with men than men did... Far more Millennial women than men (59 percent versus 19 percent) said being a working parent makes it hard to advance in a job, and fewer Millennial women said they aspired to become managers.The results are similar in other surveys on who Americans would prefer to work for, rather than with... female respondents told one British pollster that male bosses are "more straight-talking" and "less prone to moods." Social scientists who have been poking at this can of worms for decades have found that women sometimes exclude other women from opportunities in order to gain a competitive edge. Women tend to mainly only bully other women in the workplace, while men are equal-opportunity harassers."
If women are more sexist than men, one response is just to blame "patriarchy"
Why Women Bully Each Other at Work - "Some of the male partners could be curt, she said, but others were nice. Almost all of the female partners, on the other hand, were very tough... A 2009 study published in the journal Gender in Management found, for example, that although women believe other women make good managers, “the female workers did not actually want to work for them.” The longer a woman had been in the workforce, the less likely she was to want a female boss. In 2011, Kim Elsesser, a lecturer at UCLA, analyzed responses from more than 60,000 people and found that women—even those who were managers themselves—were more likely to want a male boss than a female one. The participants explained that female bosses are “emotional,” “catty,” or “bitchy.” (Men preferred male bosses too, but by a smaller margin than the female participants did.)... women who reported to a female boss had more symptoms of distress, such as trouble sleeping and headaches, than those who worked for a man... Her research suggests that women and girls are less willing than men and boys to cooperate with lower-status individuals of the same gender; more likely to dissolve same-gender friendships; and more willing to socially exclude one another. She points to a similar pattern in apes... Even when workplace bullying becomes severe, employment lawyers told me, women are less likely to sue for gender discrimination if their tormentor is another woman, since people tend to assume that women look out for one another. (One lawyer said that this is why companies often appoint members of “protected classes,” such as minorities and women, to human-resources roles. Having someone from one of these groups handle a firing can make it harder to sue for wrongful termination.)... Nurses might have a better solution. Their profession is rife with female bullying, but a group of nurses has floated an idea in which hospitals would have financial incentives to eliminate staff infighting
Given the literature on female aggression...
Given that it's always said that you need more women in high places to help other women, it's not surprising that these women would be seen as biased
If even a female-dominated occupation such as nursing has these problems, it is curious that male-dominated environments and tokenism are blamed for bullying
High-ranked women less generous than men when sharing a reward with their collaborators - ""From early in childhood, girls form relationships with same-sex peers of equal status more than boys do, whereas boys are more willing to cooperate with same-sex peers of differing status levels."... The participants were told they were the leader of the group and had to allocate the rewards they earned to their partners. In all of the experiments, the participants’ partners were of the same sex."
This suggests that the claim that women are only mean to other women in male-dominated environments is wrong
Incivility at Work: Is 'Queen Bee Syndrome' Getting Worse? - ""Across the three studies, we found consistent evidence that women reported higher levels of incivility from other women than their male counterparts," Gabriel said. "In other words, women are ruder to each other than they are to men, or than men are to women... women who defied gender norms by being more assertive and dominant at work were more likely to be targeted by their female counterparts"
Two Afghan migrants who raped woman for three hours while their mate filmed it on Facebook Live are jailed for just TWO years
Sweden
Cambridge extremist jailed for four years after inciting racial hatred online
Taxi monopoly at Quebec City airport dismays budget travellers - "Quebec City is the only city in Canada with a population of 500,000 with no shuttle bus or public transit to and from the airport. Instead, the 1.6 million passengers who land or depart from Jean Lesage Airport every year must all take a taxi, if they don't have a lift."
Women's March Invite to Bernie Sanders Sparks Outrage - "Many supporters of the group, which spearheaded the record-setting marches around the U.S. to protest President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, were outraged that conference organizers would pick a white man to address a convention meant to elevate women of color. Others were annoyed that Sanders—who recently endorsed a candidate for mayor in Nebraska who has been criticized as anti-abortion—would be embraced by a movement that supports reproductive rights. Others nursed a grudge against Sanders and his supporters for their role in Hillary Clinton’s election defeat."
Of course they prefer Linda Sarsour
RUMOR - Marvel Comics in trouble, Disney relocating it to Burbank? - "There are rumors circulating that the House of Mouse is unhappy with Marvel Comics’ rapidly declining sales and creators’ combative presence on social media"
"Comic writers straight up insulting their audience on social media and saying "straight white men should stay away", turned out to be bad for business"
This cruise ship is just one massive sex party - "The X-rated trip — dubbed “The Naughty Cruise” — will see hundreds of couples from all over the world leave their inhibitions on land for four days of non-stop adult fun... Besides plenty of kinky playrooms, the ships also has dungeons, dark rooms, rooms for the ladies and an ever changing lineup of themed rooms for those looking for something different."
'Sex island' holiday with unlimited sex and booze starts today - here's what guests can expect - "A "high profile British pop star" is said to be among tourists booked on the trip to on a tropical party island where guests get to romp with 16 girls at once. The mystery British singer, who has had "many number one hits", paid the £3,100 price for a ticket to the four-day sex fest where 60 high-class hookers will be on hand for "unlimited sex"... a local priest in Cartenega, the town in northern Colombia where the holiday company is based, even complained to the Pope about the debauchery... People paying for the trip will get two girls for 24 hours to "satisfy their every need", claim the firm behind the trip."
Surprise, this incredibly youthful 41-year-old woman shows off equally stunning sisters AND mother - "Dubbed the "goddess with a frozen age" by the Chinese media, Lure Hsu might just be the most youthful 41-year-old around. Yes, you read that right. The Taiwanese woman is not 18, but in her 40s... Their mother (centre), a retired dancer aged 63, looks incredibly youthful as well"
New Zealand’s Crusade Against Mammals - "The sort of amateur naturalist who in Oregon or Oklahoma might track butterflies or band birds will, in Otorohanga, poison possums and crush the heads of hedgehogs. As the coördinator of one volunteer group put it to me, “We always say that, for us, conservation is all about killing things.”... So dire has the situation become that schoolchildren are regularly enlisted as little exterminators. (A recent blog post aimed at hardening hearts against cute little fuzzy things ran under the headline “Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Serial Killer.”)... The logo of the group, Predator Free New Zealand, shows a kiwi with a surprised expression standing on the body of a dead rat... The Australian naturalist Tim Flannery has described New Zealand’s avian-dominated landscape as a “completely different experiment in evolution.” It shows, he has written, “what the world might have looked like if mammals as well as dinosaurs had become extinct 65 million years ago, leaving the birds to inherit the globe.” Jared Diamond once described the country’s native fauna as the nearest we’re likely to come to “life on another planet.”... Roughly a quarter of New Zealand’s native bird species are now extinct, and many of those which remain are just barely hanging on. If current trends continue, it is predicted that within a generation or two the land of Kiwis will be without kiwi... New Zealand is the only country in the world that has succeeded in turning pest eradication into an export industry... in New Zealand, killing small mammals brings people together"
Olympic diving duo splits after teammate’s ‘marathon sex session’ - "It’s the first rule of team diving: Never go down without your partner. Yet a pair of synchronized divers from Brazil split up this week after one of them kicked the other out of their Olympic Village dorm room to engage in a “marathon sex session” on the eve of their competition... Giovanna Pedroso, 17, says she was forced to spend the whole night before her event wandering around outside her room while her partner, 20-year-old Ingrid Oliveira, got wet and wild with a male canoeist named Pedro Goncalves. The long night for both teammates showed the next day at the Olympic diving pool. The women came in dead last in the 10-meter synchronized event, with a performance that reportedly drew laughs from the crowd."
What women want? The 'sex move' all men should be using to massively boost their partner's enjoyment - "A post-coital cuddle boosts women's sexual enjoyment by 30 per cent... a cuddle after sex made men feel better too, while increasing the chances of their being a repeat encounter"
This Nurse Is Being Dubbed As 'The World's Sexiest' And We See Why - "After her Instagram was found and the photos shared on the internet, 23-year-old Carina Linn found out that her Instagram was immensely popular, quickly gaining over 400,000 followers in a few short weeks... Despite her modesty, there are definitely still a ton of people who find the Taiwanese nurse absolutely stunning"
Middlesbrough penis attack: How do you have sex if your penis is CHOPPED OFF? We answer all the embarrassing questions about the horrific injury - "A Chinese study of 50 men who underwent reattachment surgery found that all but one achieved full functionality again. Remarkably, that was the case even if the operation required reattaching both tissue and bone... in the Chinese study all but one of the patients recovered full functionality with some reportedly going on to father children after the removal. Apparently with the reattachment option a manufactured penile implant is needed for an erection to take place, but ejaculation is either not possible or not done with as much force."
Man cuts off his own penis because he was so frustrated about not having a girlfriend - "Unlucky in love Yang Hu was so fed up with not having a girlfriend that he chopped off his own penis -because he had no real use for it."
You've got to be yolking! Teenage boy 'lays an EGG in front of baffled doctors' - "A hospital spokesman said: "Our suspicion is that the eggs were deliberately shoved into Akmal's rectum."
How young women convince men who want to use a condom to have unprotected sex instead - "The most common tactics used were seduction and risk reassurance — meaning getting a man so sexually excited that he agreed to have sex without a condom and convincing a man that a condom is unnecessary because she was “clean.” Some women also said that they complained condoms made sex less enjoyable, told their partner they would be angry if they used a condom, or simply asked their partner not use a condom. About 3 percent of women said they had convinced a man not to use a condom by withholding sex or sabotaging the condom. A slightly smaller percentage reported using physical force to prevent a man from getting a condom... women with a history of STIs were much more likely to use condom use resistance tactics than women without a history"
Christian couple rejected as adoptive parents argue rights violated - "The Edmonton couple — whose are identified only by initials in court documents — allege an initial recommendation they be allowed to adopt was revoked after “interference” by the Ministry of Children’s Services, and that they were told their religious beliefs related to gender and sexuality were contrary to the “official position of the Alberta government.”"
Illegal brothels shut down by man paid to have sex - "MEET ‘John’. He’s in his 60s, divorced, and he gets paid to have sex with prostitutes. John is a brothel buster. Actually, “more often than not it’s just a handjob”... For the past four years, John says he’s averaged around one “job” every three weeks, usually at one of the countless Asian massage parlours dotting Sydney’s streets. Walk down busy George Street in the CBD, for example, and it seems like there is one every 50 metres. According to John, they “most definitely” all provide sexual services of one kind or another. “If you looked hard enough, you might be able to find a massage parlour that doesn’t offer sexual services,” he says. “In my experience there have only been three premises where I have gone in and not been offered that service some time during the course of the treatment.”"
"Birth Rape" Rhetoric is Ugly, Misleading - "Some factions within the natural childbirth movement are attempting to popularize the concept of "birth rape." The idea is that women who are handled roughly, verbally abused, or bullied into unwelcome interventions during labor are literally being raped by their health care providers... "Birth rape" is an emotionally manipulative metaphor that encourages women to re-frame traumatic experiences in a way that makes them seem even more traumatic... To encourage women to recast that experience as a sexual violation, even when everyone agrees that the doctor did nothing sexually inappropriate, is cruel, not liberating."
From 2010, at least. This might not have been written in 2018
Rape Culture in Singapore – Is it really that different from Delhi? - "Many are outraged at the circumstances of women in India and in other countries, and are quick to voice their gratefulness for the treatment of women in Singapore where women are much freer to wear what they desire and travel when they want, without fearing for their lives or dignity. As an immigrant myself, I truly appreciate the security and freedom enjoyed by women in this regard, especially compared to my country of origin. I agree it is certainly something to be very proud of."
When you're so eager to push your agenda you don't realise you're contradicting yourself
The Progressive Case Against Assisted Suicide - "We all must take a skeptical look and acknowledge the role that money and power play in end-of- life decisions, and how assisted suicide is being used by some health care companies and decision-makers to increase their bottom line by denying treatment. Physician assisted suicide disproportionately affects the poor and people living with disabilities. That explains, at least in part, why there is widespread opposition from virtually every disability rights group in the nation, including the National Council on Disability, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, the World Institute on Disability and FREED... In Oregon where assisted suicide is legal, cancer patients Barbara Wagner and Randy Stroup were denied coverage of their chemotherapy prescribed by their doctor but were informed by their health care provider, Oregon’s state run health plan, that it would pay for their assisted suicide. When assisted suicide is offered as a “choice” and coverage for care is denied, the patient is left with no control over their medical choices and no real choice at all"
The Inventor Who Has Developed a Sweet-Smelling "Fart Pill" - "From the man who brought the world toilet paper printed with news articles for combined bathroom utility and entertainment comes Pilule Pet, a “fart pill” seriously intended to rid us all of the offensive smell of human gas... Christian Poincheval, who Toor describes as “some sort of hippie Da Vinci; a compulsive inventor-artist-musician living in the rural hills of northwest France.” ... He started with pills to turn your toots into rose-, violet- and chocolate-scented delights and, more recently, released a ginger-scented pill for Valentine’s Day."
Last Night in Malmö - "A huge part of the reason why people are trusting misrepresentations of the situation in Sweden is because almost nobody who is actually experiencing what’s happening is talking about it, especially not in English... ethnic Swedes would feel excluded if they decided to come and live here. If they were to send their children to schools in the area they would be bullied badly. This is something I’ve seen first hand, and every Swedish person who had the misfortune to go to a mostly immigrant school was forced to leave after a few years... While immigrants are being married away and forced to conform to age old ideals, Swedish girls are fighting against patriarchy in Swedish culture, and complaining about unequal representations in TV-shows. This is actually a good thing at first glance, as it means that they’ve never had to deal with real oppression, something that shows how good Swedish society is, but the sad thing is real oppression is present, and instead of being able to identify it and fighting it they are allying themselves with it"
Having A Woman Boss Doesn't Help Women Get Ahead - "They improve neither the amounts the women earn nor the the jobs they hold... The paper is called “Women in Charge: The Impact of Female Managers on Gender Inequality.”... The study does show one way that female managers make a difference for workers: Women bosses are more willing to grant flexible work arrangements. Employees working for women managers were 2.25 times more likely to work part-time as were those reporting to male managers. However, both men and women reap this benefit more or less equally, says the study... Thought Abraham didn’t pose this question to her study subjects, she does engage in some interesting speculation in the paper, citing other research by scholars who suggest that “because women fear that others will not perceive them as valuable members of the organization, they will be less apt to support other women within the organization. Not advocating for female employees in terms of wages and job allocation may be a response to female managers’ perceived external appraisals.” In other words, women managers may be afraid to promote and advocate for women because they feel their reputations are on the line and they don’t want to risk a negative judgment."
Other possible explanations: women aren't really being discriminated against, woman bosses see other women as competition
Why Don't More Women Want to Work With Other Women? - "Pew asked 2,002 people if they would prefer to work with men or women. Most—78 percent of men and 76 percent of women—said they didn't care. But for the 22 percent who did have a preference, "it’s men who get the nod from both sexes by about a 2-1 margin," Pew's Rich Morin writes. In fact, more women said they'd rather work with men than men did... Far more Millennial women than men (59 percent versus 19 percent) said being a working parent makes it hard to advance in a job, and fewer Millennial women said they aspired to become managers.The results are similar in other surveys on who Americans would prefer to work for, rather than with... female respondents told one British pollster that male bosses are "more straight-talking" and "less prone to moods." Social scientists who have been poking at this can of worms for decades have found that women sometimes exclude other women from opportunities in order to gain a competitive edge. Women tend to mainly only bully other women in the workplace, while men are equal-opportunity harassers."
If women are more sexist than men, one response is just to blame "patriarchy"
Why Women Bully Each Other at Work - "Some of the male partners could be curt, she said, but others were nice. Almost all of the female partners, on the other hand, were very tough... A 2009 study published in the journal Gender in Management found, for example, that although women believe other women make good managers, “the female workers did not actually want to work for them.” The longer a woman had been in the workforce, the less likely she was to want a female boss. In 2011, Kim Elsesser, a lecturer at UCLA, analyzed responses from more than 60,000 people and found that women—even those who were managers themselves—were more likely to want a male boss than a female one. The participants explained that female bosses are “emotional,” “catty,” or “bitchy.” (Men preferred male bosses too, but by a smaller margin than the female participants did.)... women who reported to a female boss had more symptoms of distress, such as trouble sleeping and headaches, than those who worked for a man... Her research suggests that women and girls are less willing than men and boys to cooperate with lower-status individuals of the same gender; more likely to dissolve same-gender friendships; and more willing to socially exclude one another. She points to a similar pattern in apes... Even when workplace bullying becomes severe, employment lawyers told me, women are less likely to sue for gender discrimination if their tormentor is another woman, since people tend to assume that women look out for one another. (One lawyer said that this is why companies often appoint members of “protected classes,” such as minorities and women, to human-resources roles. Having someone from one of these groups handle a firing can make it harder to sue for wrongful termination.)... Nurses might have a better solution. Their profession is rife with female bullying, but a group of nurses has floated an idea in which hospitals would have financial incentives to eliminate staff infighting
Given the literature on female aggression...
Given that it's always said that you need more women in high places to help other women, it's not surprising that these women would be seen as biased
If even a female-dominated occupation such as nursing has these problems, it is curious that male-dominated environments and tokenism are blamed for bullying
High-ranked women less generous than men when sharing a reward with their collaborators - ""From early in childhood, girls form relationships with same-sex peers of equal status more than boys do, whereas boys are more willing to cooperate with same-sex peers of differing status levels."... The participants were told they were the leader of the group and had to allocate the rewards they earned to their partners. In all of the experiments, the participants’ partners were of the same sex."
This suggests that the claim that women are only mean to other women in male-dominated environments is wrong
Incivility at Work: Is 'Queen Bee Syndrome' Getting Worse? - ""Across the three studies, we found consistent evidence that women reported higher levels of incivility from other women than their male counterparts," Gabriel said. "In other words, women are ruder to each other than they are to men, or than men are to women... women who defied gender norms by being more assertive and dominant at work were more likely to be targeted by their female counterparts"
Post ID: 452819790742539007
If The Speech From Independence Day Happened Today
College Humor: "We think the president should spend less time talkin' and more time doin' #presidentshitmore"
Post ID: 4200310912996947824
Links - 6th July 2018 (1)
[UPDATED] Katy Perry Kissed a Boy On The 'American Idol' Premiere, And He Didn't Like It - "The audition started with 19-year-old Benjamin Glaze talking about the cute girls he talks to while working as a cashier. Judge Luke Bryan then asked Glaze if he’d ever kissed a girl and liked it, to which Glaze responded, “No, I’ve never been in a relationship. I can’t kiss a girl without being in a relationship.” Surprised, Perry stood up and demanded he come kiss her. Fellow judge Lionel Richie encouraged it and waved him over to the panel. After hesitating and saying no a few times, Glaze went in for a kiss on the cheek, but didn’t make a kissing sound — to Perry’s great disappointment. So he went in for a second attempt, which is when Perry pulled a switcheroo and landed a big one on his lips. She cheered, “I got him!” High fives were exchanged between the judges while Glaze fell to the ground with his mouth wide open in shock"
Actually he was right that it wasn't sexual harassment - it was sexual assault. (as a feminist might say when she wants to make sexual assault seem like a huge problem
Is an unwanted hug and kiss sexual assault? Not always, judge rules in trial of ex-Yukon MLA - "During a two-day trial in August, several witnesses — including Laxton’s common-law wife — testified it was no uncommon for Laxton to be seen hugging and kissing his female friends and that the relationship between Laxton and his accuser during her days as a waitress was flirtatious. Laxton testified he had previously hugged and kissed the woman on a number of occasions. Laxton’s lawyer, Andre Roothman, homed in on how long it had taken the accuser to report the incident and reportedly quipped there should be a ban on French, Portuguese and Italian immigrants because of their proclivity for kissing... Asked Friday if Laxton planned to continue his habit of kissing and hugging his female friends, Roothman said he couldn’t comment on his client’s intentions. “My advice to any man would be to avoid kissing any women, other than his own mother!” he wrote in an email."
Vacuum Wars: Xiaomi vs Roborock S50 Robot Vacuum Review - "Xiaomi has consistently been placed on the must buy list of robot vacuums since the debut of the Mi Robot Vacuum 2 years ago, and it’s any wonder, really. Aside from having some of the best navigational routines and cleaning abilities of any robot vacuum out there, the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum is also one of the least expensive robot vacuums around"
Why They Hate Margaret Atwood - "literary critic Carmine Starnino once noted, Atwood is the “best-known English-language novelist of contemporary sexual politics.” She more or less invented the modern Anglo Canadian feminist fiction genre, specializing in what Starnino aptly describes as “salty post-Freudian satires on gender inequalities, the oppressiveness of marriage and the historical animosity of women.”... the ideological mobbing of Atwood and other well-established writers has become a mass-participation phenomenon among young Canadian literati who mobilize daily on social media... the closest comparison I can offer would come by way of imagining the late Edward Said being denounced by Palestinian-rights advocates as a febrile Zionist—or Black Lives Matter protestors savaging the work of Ta-Nehisi Coates. As magazine writer Alicia Elliott put it recently, the world of Canadian literature (“CanLit,” as it’s known within the treehouse) has become “a raging dumpster fire” of embittered identity politics and ideological tribalism... As one B.C. author told me, “If you’re having sex with someone to get a poem published in a magazine, then there are bigger problems to deal with [in your life] than regret.”... In her 2017 book The Perils of Privilege, Toronto-based writer Phoebe Maltz Bovy noted that the call-out culture of Twitter metes out especially cruel treatment to successful women—a phenomenon she traces to “the fetishization of powerlessness.”... hierarchies of merit can be understood in purely political terms, which means that successful writers such as Atwood are guilty of taking up “space” that should be given over to others—even if those others are commercially obscure and possess less talent... to understand the CanLit feminist attack on Atwood is to understand how the very concept of literary merit came to be understood in a radically different way. “I kind of blame the university creative-writing programs,” a prominent Canadian writer and former professor told me. “Students come out of these programs without any clue about how hard authors have to work to produce a good novel.” “That’s because the students don’t get honest feedback. University life is now customer-focused. Hurting a person’s feelings—by telling them they’re not a good writer—now can be characterized as a form of harassment... an entire generation of fiction writers has come through creative-writing programs thinking that they’re skilled auteurs with important, luminous stories to tell the planet—especially in the case of female, immigrant or Indigenous writers, who constantly are being bombarded with well-practiced aphorisms about the special moral urgency of their message. When they graduate, and there’s no market for their work, these writers naturally conclude that dark forces are at work... “they somehow have this weird idea that if they get some famous author ‘canceled’ by shaming him [on Twitter], then that author’s spot [on bookshelves] will open up in the market for their own book. But of course, it doesn’t work that way.”... When one of their kind focuses on an ethnic group that doesn’t match his or her own skin hue, he or she often is accused of racism or cultural appropriation. So everyone “stays in their lane.” For the most part, their only real subject of daily concern is the purported injustices within their own tiny professional subculture. “It is increasingly common for academics to see and teach literature as fundamentally a kind of activism, and their role as critics as an activist one as well,” a successful Ontario-based novelist told me. “And there is really a very easy way of determining [a book’s value]. It is not by its content or form. It is in the identity of its author... Our country has long been vulnerable to “tall-poppy syndrome,” by which mediocrities in a particular métier will work together to cut down the reputation of an outlier who has achieved success beyond Canada’s borders. And thanks to the modern fixation on gender and race, these poppy cutters can now cynically present their scythes as tools of social justice."
MIT Librarian: Star Trek Posters Discourage Women from STEM Fields - "As the Fix noted, nearly half the attendees of the Creation 40th Anniversary Star Trek convention were women. What’s more, a 2010 survey of 5,014 Star Trek fans found that 57 percent of them were female... it seems as though the main stereotype being reinforced here is the one that Star Trek fans are exclusively male — and Bourg is the one reinforcing it"
How Taipei Metro turned itself around - and the lessons for Singapore's MRT system - "the Taipei Metro, which opened in 1996, was not always a success story. In 2003, six delays of over an hour had a major impact on commuters and affected its image... The Taipei Metro is nationalised and is majority-owned by the Taipei City government... “If profit is the only criterion … then very quickly, the public transport will break down.”"
Immigrants Are Getting the Right to Vote in Cities Across America - "With a tie-breaking vote from the mayor, the City Council in College Park approved the measure to allow undocumented immigrants, student visa holders and residents with green cards to vote in local elections"
Bizarre video of turkeys circling dead cat goes viral - "The recording shows what appears to be 17 turkeys circling the cat."
FB touted its elections impact as Zuckerberg called the idea 'crazy' - "Facebook had apparently been proudly documenting the influence it had on politics, and even reportedly had a section in the "Success Stories" tab on its business site that showed how much of a role the platform had played in elections around the world"
Facebook, Twitter: Russian actors sought to undermine Trump after election
Funny, I thought he was a Russian agent
Revealed: Which degrees could earn you the highest graduate salary - and the lowest - "Medicine has been revealed as the degree subject attracting the highest graduate salaries according to figures from the Department for Education... At the other end of the spectrum people graduating with creative arts degrees had the lowest average salaries, standing at just £20,200 five years after graduation... While medical students had the highest median salaries after five years, those who studied economics were earning more at the higher end of the scale. The top quarter of earners among economic graduates earned in excess of £54,500 after five years, compared to £52,100 among medical students... Other than law, the top eight subjects for pay progression were all science based."
Law was actually below average
$100 Billion Chinese-Made City Near Singapore 'Scares the Hell Out of Everybody' - "The scale of the projects is dizzying. Country Garden’s Forest City, on four artificial islands, will house 700,000 people on an area four times the size of New York’s Central Park. It will have office towers, parks, hotels, shopping malls and an international school, all draped with greenery"
Opinion | Pope Francis Is Beloved. His Papacy Might Be a Disaster. - The New York Times - "They aren’t usually paying close attention to the battles between cardinals and theologians over whether his agenda is farsighted or potentially heretical. Nor are they focused on his governance of the Vatican, where Francis is a reformer without major reforms, and the promised cleanup may never actually materialize... Francis has allowed a tacit decentralization of doctrinal authority, in which different countries and dioceses can take different approaches to controversial questions... The church’s approach to assisted suicide is traditional if you listen to the bishops of Western Canada, flexible and accommodating if you heed the bishops in Canada’s Maritime Provinces... there is no sign as yet that Francis’s liberalization is bringing his lapsed-Catholic admirers back to the pews; from Germany to Australia to his native Latin America, the church’s institutional decline continues. And sustaining a for-the-time-being Catholicism, as his immediate predecessors did, is not an achievement to be lightly dismissed. Whereas accelerating division when your office is charged with maintaining unity and continuity is a serious business — especially when the eventual resolution is so bafflingly difficult to envision or predict."
Perhaps this shows that most religious people aren't really looking for a modern, liberal form of religion
The Agency - The New York Times - "Russia’s information war might be thought of as the biggest trolling operation in history, and its target is nothing less than the utility of the Internet as a democratic space."
Vice Media Replaces CEO With Nancy Dubuc, Following Era Of Sexual Harassment Culture - "Vice Media, under the helm of CEO Shane smith, was supposed to usher in a feminist-friendly atmosphere; a culture themed around progressivism and Liberal-leaning content. However, what Smith fostered is a culture that many former female employees labeled as a culture of sexual harassment. Multiple journalists and former executives at Vice have been fired for sexual misconduct, including some of the executives. The company is also facing down against a gender pay-gap lawsuit, spurred on by multiple female employees who discovered that they were being paid less for the same job positions as their male counterparts. The real irony was that those who were fired claimed to be male feminist allies, and even their most outspoken journalists who stood against #GamerGate were fired for sexual misconduct."
Flashing your finger is no middling matter - "flashing a middle finger, as per the aforementioned law, is considered ‘an indecent gesture in pubic and a crime related to breaching a victim’s pride, privacy and/or modesty’... The cassation and supreme courts in the UAE handed out several precedents and landmark rulings in which any form of public indecency — including the act of flashing a middle finger — has been considered and is treated as a crime of breaching a victim’s pride, honour and modesty... "deportation is obligatory against those who are incriminated of committing an indecent gesture in public such as flashing their middle finger, kissing, cuddling or hugging""
More evidence essential oils 'make male breasts develop' - "The American study found that key chemicals in the oils boost oestrogen and inhibit testosterone... The plant-derived oils are found in a number of products such as soaps, lotions, shampoos and hair-styling products. They're also popular as alternative cleaning products and medical treatments... lavender and tea tree oil had properties that competed with or hindered the hormones that control male characteristics, which could affect puberty and growth"
Our Society Needs More Masculinity, Not Less - "26 out of the last 27 deadliest mass shooters were fatherless. That’s why boys who grow up in single-mother homes are twice as likely to commit crimes than those who grow up with a present dad. That’s why both sons and daughters are more likely to become depressed without a strong relationship with their father. That’s why 71% of high school dropouts are fatherless. Not because they had too much male strength in their lives, but because they didn’t have enough. If masculinity were truly toxic, then wouldn’t boys and girls who grow up without dads be happier and healthier? If it were better that men were more like women, wouldn’t kids be just as content with a mom than with having a father, too?... Those without a strong father tend to act out in aggression in their adolescent and adult years– not because they’re oversaturated with maleness, but because they’re starving for it. The void caused by fatherlessness, along with its consequential damage, should be a pretty good indication that it’s not less or weaker men that we need, but more strong ones. If the family deteriorates because of a lack of a strong male figure, doesn’t it follow that society, too, falls apart without strong, honorable men?"
Infamous Google memo author shot down by federal labor board - "In explaining the board's reasoning, NLRB member Jayme Sophir points to two specific parts of the controversial memo circulated by Damore in August: Damore's claim that women are "more prone to 'neuroticism,' resulting in women experiencing higher anxiety and exhibiting lower tolerance for stress" and that "men demonstrate greater variance in IQ than women.""
Science is discriminatory and sexual harassment
African gangs in Melbourne are a problem, police admit, as Victorian Government defends strategy - "Victorian police have conceded Melbourne has a problem with African street gangs, after earlier insisting there were no gangs in the city"
Police hunt after 'gay men punched and told you are not welcome in homophobic attacks' in Walthamstow
Gal Gadot of 'Wonder Woman' called 'ableist' for Stephen Hawking tweet - ""Rest in peace Dr. Hawking. Now you're free of any physical constraints.. Your brilliance and wisdom will be cherished forever," Gadot tweeted."
Not to mention the pro-Palestine crowd
Medicine is ableism
“Can we stop classifying ‘realistic proportions’... - ""This Is What Disney Princesses Would Look Like If They Had Realistic Proportions"
"“Can we stop classifying ‘realistic proportions’ as fat please? Like seriously? Do these people really think a mermaid who swims constantly would be fat? Or a woman living in France before the French Revolution would be fat?* Or a Native American girl who constantly runs around and maybe helps to carry heavy things and hunt would be fat? Every time I see articles like this one it makes me so mad. They boast about ‘oh think of all the little fat girls that look at these skinny princesses and hate themselves!’ but fail to think about the little skinny girls who hear people talk about how being skinny isn’t ‘normal’ or ‘realistic’ and feel bad about themselves. There are two sides to every coin, skinny and fat kids get picked on for being skinny and fat. This type of shit isn’t for ‘teh liddle gurls’ it’s for fat, vain adult women who feel insecure because of a freaking cartoon.”"
"Realism" = Glorifying obesity
Actually he was right that it wasn't sexual harassment - it was sexual assault. (as a feminist might say when she wants to make sexual assault seem like a huge problem
Is an unwanted hug and kiss sexual assault? Not always, judge rules in trial of ex-Yukon MLA - "During a two-day trial in August, several witnesses — including Laxton’s common-law wife — testified it was no uncommon for Laxton to be seen hugging and kissing his female friends and that the relationship between Laxton and his accuser during her days as a waitress was flirtatious. Laxton testified he had previously hugged and kissed the woman on a number of occasions. Laxton’s lawyer, Andre Roothman, homed in on how long it had taken the accuser to report the incident and reportedly quipped there should be a ban on French, Portuguese and Italian immigrants because of their proclivity for kissing... Asked Friday if Laxton planned to continue his habit of kissing and hugging his female friends, Roothman said he couldn’t comment on his client’s intentions. “My advice to any man would be to avoid kissing any women, other than his own mother!” he wrote in an email."
Vacuum Wars: Xiaomi vs Roborock S50 Robot Vacuum Review - "Xiaomi has consistently been placed on the must buy list of robot vacuums since the debut of the Mi Robot Vacuum 2 years ago, and it’s any wonder, really. Aside from having some of the best navigational routines and cleaning abilities of any robot vacuum out there, the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum is also one of the least expensive robot vacuums around"
Why They Hate Margaret Atwood - "literary critic Carmine Starnino once noted, Atwood is the “best-known English-language novelist of contemporary sexual politics.” She more or less invented the modern Anglo Canadian feminist fiction genre, specializing in what Starnino aptly describes as “salty post-Freudian satires on gender inequalities, the oppressiveness of marriage and the historical animosity of women.”... the ideological mobbing of Atwood and other well-established writers has become a mass-participation phenomenon among young Canadian literati who mobilize daily on social media... the closest comparison I can offer would come by way of imagining the late Edward Said being denounced by Palestinian-rights advocates as a febrile Zionist—or Black Lives Matter protestors savaging the work of Ta-Nehisi Coates. As magazine writer Alicia Elliott put it recently, the world of Canadian literature (“CanLit,” as it’s known within the treehouse) has become “a raging dumpster fire” of embittered identity politics and ideological tribalism... As one B.C. author told me, “If you’re having sex with someone to get a poem published in a magazine, then there are bigger problems to deal with [in your life] than regret.”... In her 2017 book The Perils of Privilege, Toronto-based writer Phoebe Maltz Bovy noted that the call-out culture of Twitter metes out especially cruel treatment to successful women—a phenomenon she traces to “the fetishization of powerlessness.”... hierarchies of merit can be understood in purely political terms, which means that successful writers such as Atwood are guilty of taking up “space” that should be given over to others—even if those others are commercially obscure and possess less talent... to understand the CanLit feminist attack on Atwood is to understand how the very concept of literary merit came to be understood in a radically different way. “I kind of blame the university creative-writing programs,” a prominent Canadian writer and former professor told me. “Students come out of these programs without any clue about how hard authors have to work to produce a good novel.” “That’s because the students don’t get honest feedback. University life is now customer-focused. Hurting a person’s feelings—by telling them they’re not a good writer—now can be characterized as a form of harassment... an entire generation of fiction writers has come through creative-writing programs thinking that they’re skilled auteurs with important, luminous stories to tell the planet—especially in the case of female, immigrant or Indigenous writers, who constantly are being bombarded with well-practiced aphorisms about the special moral urgency of their message. When they graduate, and there’s no market for their work, these writers naturally conclude that dark forces are at work... “they somehow have this weird idea that if they get some famous author ‘canceled’ by shaming him [on Twitter], then that author’s spot [on bookshelves] will open up in the market for their own book. But of course, it doesn’t work that way.”... When one of their kind focuses on an ethnic group that doesn’t match his or her own skin hue, he or she often is accused of racism or cultural appropriation. So everyone “stays in their lane.” For the most part, their only real subject of daily concern is the purported injustices within their own tiny professional subculture. “It is increasingly common for academics to see and teach literature as fundamentally a kind of activism, and their role as critics as an activist one as well,” a successful Ontario-based novelist told me. “And there is really a very easy way of determining [a book’s value]. It is not by its content or form. It is in the identity of its author... Our country has long been vulnerable to “tall-poppy syndrome,” by which mediocrities in a particular métier will work together to cut down the reputation of an outlier who has achieved success beyond Canada’s borders. And thanks to the modern fixation on gender and race, these poppy cutters can now cynically present their scythes as tools of social justice."
MIT Librarian: Star Trek Posters Discourage Women from STEM Fields - "As the Fix noted, nearly half the attendees of the Creation 40th Anniversary Star Trek convention were women. What’s more, a 2010 survey of 5,014 Star Trek fans found that 57 percent of them were female... it seems as though the main stereotype being reinforced here is the one that Star Trek fans are exclusively male — and Bourg is the one reinforcing it"
How Taipei Metro turned itself around - and the lessons for Singapore's MRT system - "the Taipei Metro, which opened in 1996, was not always a success story. In 2003, six delays of over an hour had a major impact on commuters and affected its image... The Taipei Metro is nationalised and is majority-owned by the Taipei City government... “If profit is the only criterion … then very quickly, the public transport will break down.”"
Immigrants Are Getting the Right to Vote in Cities Across America - "With a tie-breaking vote from the mayor, the City Council in College Park approved the measure to allow undocumented immigrants, student visa holders and residents with green cards to vote in local elections"
Bizarre video of turkeys circling dead cat goes viral - "The recording shows what appears to be 17 turkeys circling the cat."
FB touted its elections impact as Zuckerberg called the idea 'crazy' - "Facebook had apparently been proudly documenting the influence it had on politics, and even reportedly had a section in the "Success Stories" tab on its business site that showed how much of a role the platform had played in elections around the world"
Facebook, Twitter: Russian actors sought to undermine Trump after election
Funny, I thought he was a Russian agent
Revealed: Which degrees could earn you the highest graduate salary - and the lowest - "Medicine has been revealed as the degree subject attracting the highest graduate salaries according to figures from the Department for Education... At the other end of the spectrum people graduating with creative arts degrees had the lowest average salaries, standing at just £20,200 five years after graduation... While medical students had the highest median salaries after five years, those who studied economics were earning more at the higher end of the scale. The top quarter of earners among economic graduates earned in excess of £54,500 after five years, compared to £52,100 among medical students... Other than law, the top eight subjects for pay progression were all science based."
Law was actually below average
$100 Billion Chinese-Made City Near Singapore 'Scares the Hell Out of Everybody' - "The scale of the projects is dizzying. Country Garden’s Forest City, on four artificial islands, will house 700,000 people on an area four times the size of New York’s Central Park. It will have office towers, parks, hotels, shopping malls and an international school, all draped with greenery"
Opinion | Pope Francis Is Beloved. His Papacy Might Be a Disaster. - The New York Times - "They aren’t usually paying close attention to the battles between cardinals and theologians over whether his agenda is farsighted or potentially heretical. Nor are they focused on his governance of the Vatican, where Francis is a reformer without major reforms, and the promised cleanup may never actually materialize... Francis has allowed a tacit decentralization of doctrinal authority, in which different countries and dioceses can take different approaches to controversial questions... The church’s approach to assisted suicide is traditional if you listen to the bishops of Western Canada, flexible and accommodating if you heed the bishops in Canada’s Maritime Provinces... there is no sign as yet that Francis’s liberalization is bringing his lapsed-Catholic admirers back to the pews; from Germany to Australia to his native Latin America, the church’s institutional decline continues. And sustaining a for-the-time-being Catholicism, as his immediate predecessors did, is not an achievement to be lightly dismissed. Whereas accelerating division when your office is charged with maintaining unity and continuity is a serious business — especially when the eventual resolution is so bafflingly difficult to envision or predict."
Perhaps this shows that most religious people aren't really looking for a modern, liberal form of religion
The Agency - The New York Times - "Russia’s information war might be thought of as the biggest trolling operation in history, and its target is nothing less than the utility of the Internet as a democratic space."
Vice Media Replaces CEO With Nancy Dubuc, Following Era Of Sexual Harassment Culture - "Vice Media, under the helm of CEO Shane smith, was supposed to usher in a feminist-friendly atmosphere; a culture themed around progressivism and Liberal-leaning content. However, what Smith fostered is a culture that many former female employees labeled as a culture of sexual harassment. Multiple journalists and former executives at Vice have been fired for sexual misconduct, including some of the executives. The company is also facing down against a gender pay-gap lawsuit, spurred on by multiple female employees who discovered that they were being paid less for the same job positions as their male counterparts. The real irony was that those who were fired claimed to be male feminist allies, and even their most outspoken journalists who stood against #GamerGate were fired for sexual misconduct."
Flashing your finger is no middling matter - "flashing a middle finger, as per the aforementioned law, is considered ‘an indecent gesture in pubic and a crime related to breaching a victim’s pride, privacy and/or modesty’... The cassation and supreme courts in the UAE handed out several precedents and landmark rulings in which any form of public indecency — including the act of flashing a middle finger — has been considered and is treated as a crime of breaching a victim’s pride, honour and modesty... "deportation is obligatory against those who are incriminated of committing an indecent gesture in public such as flashing their middle finger, kissing, cuddling or hugging""
More evidence essential oils 'make male breasts develop' - "The American study found that key chemicals in the oils boost oestrogen and inhibit testosterone... The plant-derived oils are found in a number of products such as soaps, lotions, shampoos and hair-styling products. They're also popular as alternative cleaning products and medical treatments... lavender and tea tree oil had properties that competed with or hindered the hormones that control male characteristics, which could affect puberty and growth"
Our Society Needs More Masculinity, Not Less - "26 out of the last 27 deadliest mass shooters were fatherless. That’s why boys who grow up in single-mother homes are twice as likely to commit crimes than those who grow up with a present dad. That’s why both sons and daughters are more likely to become depressed without a strong relationship with their father. That’s why 71% of high school dropouts are fatherless. Not because they had too much male strength in their lives, but because they didn’t have enough. If masculinity were truly toxic, then wouldn’t boys and girls who grow up without dads be happier and healthier? If it were better that men were more like women, wouldn’t kids be just as content with a mom than with having a father, too?... Those without a strong father tend to act out in aggression in their adolescent and adult years– not because they’re oversaturated with maleness, but because they’re starving for it. The void caused by fatherlessness, along with its consequential damage, should be a pretty good indication that it’s not less or weaker men that we need, but more strong ones. If the family deteriorates because of a lack of a strong male figure, doesn’t it follow that society, too, falls apart without strong, honorable men?"
Infamous Google memo author shot down by federal labor board - "In explaining the board's reasoning, NLRB member Jayme Sophir points to two specific parts of the controversial memo circulated by Damore in August: Damore's claim that women are "more prone to 'neuroticism,' resulting in women experiencing higher anxiety and exhibiting lower tolerance for stress" and that "men demonstrate greater variance in IQ than women.""
Science is discriminatory and sexual harassment
African gangs in Melbourne are a problem, police admit, as Victorian Government defends strategy - "Victorian police have conceded Melbourne has a problem with African street gangs, after earlier insisting there were no gangs in the city"
Police hunt after 'gay men punched and told you are not welcome in homophobic attacks' in Walthamstow
Gal Gadot of 'Wonder Woman' called 'ableist' for Stephen Hawking tweet - ""Rest in peace Dr. Hawking. Now you're free of any physical constraints.. Your brilliance and wisdom will be cherished forever," Gadot tweeted."
Not to mention the pro-Palestine crowd
Medicine is ableism
“Can we stop classifying ‘realistic proportions’... - ""This Is What Disney Princesses Would Look Like If They Had Realistic Proportions"
"“Can we stop classifying ‘realistic proportions’ as fat please? Like seriously? Do these people really think a mermaid who swims constantly would be fat? Or a woman living in France before the French Revolution would be fat?* Or a Native American girl who constantly runs around and maybe helps to carry heavy things and hunt would be fat? Every time I see articles like this one it makes me so mad. They boast about ‘oh think of all the little fat girls that look at these skinny princesses and hate themselves!’ but fail to think about the little skinny girls who hear people talk about how being skinny isn’t ‘normal’ or ‘realistic’ and feel bad about themselves. There are two sides to every coin, skinny and fat kids get picked on for being skinny and fat. This type of shit isn’t for ‘teh liddle gurls’ it’s for fat, vain adult women who feel insecure because of a freaking cartoon.”"
"Realism" = Glorifying obesity
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