Links - 16th October 2012

"I find righteous denunciations of the present state of the language no less dismaying than the present state of the language" - Lionel Trilling

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Which is the world's biggest employer? - "The National Health Service (NHS) in England is at the centre of a big political row about its reform. It's often said to be the third biggest employer in the world, after the Chinese army and Indian Railways. But is that really true?"

Sewage plant plays Mozart to stimulate microbes - "The plant expects savings of as much as €1,000 a month"

Stanford Magazine - The Menace Within - July/August 2011 - "I didn't think it was ever meant to go the full two weeks. I think Zimbardo wanted to create a dramatic crescendo, and then end it as quickly as possible. I felt that throughout the experiment, he knew what he wanted and then tried to shape the experiment—by how it was constructed, and how it played out—to fit the conclusion that he had already worked out. He wanted to be able to say that college students, people from middle-class backgrounds—people will turn on each other just because they're given a role and given power."

Cain Quotes ‘Pokémon’ Movie in Final Speech - "When ending his speech Saturday, Cain once again did it his way: even with acknowledging the source for his quote, he still proudly recited it. As with so much of his campaign, it was cringe-worthy, kind of crazy, and unintentionally humorous. But it was unmistakably Herman Cain."

Standard Chartered sued in U.S. over Iran ties to Lebanon bombing - "The estates of the victims of the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut sued Standard Chartered seeking compensation over the bank's concealment of Iran-linked transactions"

On the Freedom to Offend an Imaginary God : Sam Harris - "Either our government is unwilling to address the problem at hand, or the problem is so vast and terrifying that we have decided to placate the barbarians at the gate. The contagion of moral cowardice followed its usual course, wherein liberal journalists and pundits began to reconsider our most basic freedoms in light of the sadomasochistic fury known as “religious sensitivity” among Muslims. Contributors to The New York Times and NPR spoke of the need to find a balance between free speech and freedom of religion—as though the latter could possibly be infringed by a YouTube video. As predictable as Muslim bullying has become, the moral confusion of secular liberals appears to be part of the same clockwork... Some percentage of the world’s Muslims—Five percent? Fifteen? Fifty? It’s not yet clear—is demanding that all non-Muslims conform to the strictures of Islamic law... Religion only works as a pretext for political violence because many millions of people actually believe what they say they believe: that imaginary crimes like blasphemy and apostasy are killing offenses... The freedom to think out loud on certain topics, without fear of being hounded into hiding or killed, has already been lost. And the only forces on earth that can recover it are strong, secular governments that will face down charges of blasphemy with scorn"

Pasta Boobs (picture)

What signal is Marissa Mayer giving to Yahoo employees? - "Mayer's assurance that having a child will require so little adjustment in her work schedule has led many women to worry that she is naive about the physical and emotional price she will pay for taking so little time to recuperate and bond with her new baby. Others express concern that her child will suffer for her decision... very short maternity leaves do increase the risk of insecure attachment between mother and child... But Mayer's insistence that she will get back to work so quickly sets a bad precedent for Yahoo's lower-level employees, mothers and fathers, who do not have the job flexibility and cannot afford the extensive social support and backup systems that Mayer and her husband will be able to construct."
Given that her biggest critics were other women, this speaks volumes about the usual claims by feminists about what's holding women back

David Briggs: Muslim-Majority Nations More Likely to Deny Religious Freedom - "Violent religious persecution is present in every country with a Muslim majority with a population of more than 2 million... two-thirds of movements seeking the adoption of religious law were in Muslim-majority nations. Only 4 percent of such movements were in Christian-majority nations...One irony for Muslim-majority nations, many of whom defend legal restrictions under the premise of protecting the faith, is that the harshest religious persecution is often directed at other Muslims, such as the Ahmadiyya sect in Pakistan and Indonesia, Grim and Finke note. Their study also found governments in more than seven in 10 Muslim-majority countries harass Muslims, while Muslims are harassed in only three of 10 Christian-majority nations."
Islamophobia!; the biggest oppressors of Muslims... are other Muslims

Channel 4 cancels Islam documentary screening after presenter threatened - "The investigation into the origins of the religion claimed that there is little written contemporary evidence about the prophet Mohammed. It examined claims that rather than Islam's doctrine emerging fully-formed in a single text, the religion instead developed gradually over many years with the expansion of Arabic empires. Holland, the writer of best-sellers Rubicon and Persian Fire, said that Islam is "a legitimate subject of historical inquiry". The Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA) accused him of making "baseless assumptions" and engaging in "selective scholarship". Iranian state media suggested the broadcast was an "insult" to Islam. One message sent to Holland read: "You might be a target in the streets. You may recruit some bodyguards, for your own safety.""

Black Actors Revisit Roles Originally Played By Whites - "Denzel Washington stepped into Frank Sinatra’s shoes with 2004’s The Manchurian Candidate, and even Will Smith took a stab at it with the reboot of I Am Legend (inspired by the 1971 Charlton Heston starrer, The Omega Man)... [in] 2008 when we saw TV veteran Debbie Allen direct her Tony award-winning big sister, fellow small screen legend Phylicia Rashad, in the role of Big Mama in the first all-black production of Tennessee Williams’ classic play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof... Just last month, another one of Williams’ plays, A Streetcar Named Desire, added some color to the Broadway stage. Soul Food alum Nicole Ari Parker stepped into the role of Blanche, previously played by Vivien Leigh. She joined Blair Underwood as Stanley (formerly portrayed by Marlon Brando), with Broadway newcomer Wood Harris as Mitch and Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent) as Underwood’s leading lady, Stella... the once colorless drama Steel Magnolias was getting an all-black remake"
Also, Samuel L Jackson played Nick Fury. Yet when white actors play characters that were originally non-white, this is called "whitewashing", and when black actors do whiteface this is alright

David McAlmont: Black Actor White Script? - "[He argues] it is not an 'all black' production but one set in an unspecified East Africa country decades ago... productions like this never have white cast members. Why, when Europeans have been in Africa for hundreds of years? I insist that it's tantamount to positive discrimination in the theatre - how about an all black Othello with a white moor for a change?... isn't it all a bit backward bandying words like black and white around? I contact another friend, actor and filmmaker Giles Terera, to see what he thinks. I ask if these notions are anything more than a frustrating bore to him. He confirms "I don't want to be considered a black actor- I get very bored with it!""

R-word | Spread the Word to End the Word - "The R-word is the word 'retard(ed)'. Why does it hurt? The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It’s offensive. It’s derogatory. The R-word is hate speech... When they were originally introduced, the terms “mental retardation” or “mentally retarded” were medical terms with a specifically clinical connotation; however, the pejorative forms, “retard” and “retarded” have been used widely in today’s society to degrade and insult people with intellectual disabilities. Additionally, when “retard” and “retarded” are used as synonyms for “dumb” or “stupid” by people without disabilities, it only reinforces painful stereotypes of people with intellectual disabilities being less valued members of humanity... Why "intellectual disability" is replacing "mental retardation": The R-word, “retard,” is slang for the term mental retardation. Mental retardation was what doctors, psychologists, and other professionals used to describe people with significant intellectual impairment. Today the r-word has become a common word used by society as an insult for someone or something stupid"
Pledge to stop using "retarded". In a few years you'll pledge not to use "intellectually disabled"
Friend: "Not allowed to say 'disabled', it's now 'differently abled'... this is pointless." (i.e. the site is already outdated and offensive)

Tutor who sexually assaulted 7 boys blames ghost - "ustice Woo said the tutor's explanation about the ghost did not make him any less culpable. Even assuming the story was true, he said, the question was whether he could have resisted the instructions. The judge noted that the tutor also told psychiatrists the ghost had instructed him to do other things such as touch girls' buttocks and throw stones at people, but he managed to restrain himself. "Furthermore, there was no suggestion that the ghost told you to take photos and video of your depraved conduct, but you did," said Justice Woo"

How Apple’s Obsession with Google Is Hurting Apple | Cult of Mac - "Every once in a while, a company becomes so obsessed with a competitor that it loses focus on its own customers. They start designing and positioning their products more to hurt rivals than thrill users. And I fear that now it’s happening to Apple. Again. Everybody knows about Apple’s near-death experience in the 90s. But few appreciate why it happened. From 1985 to 1997, Apple went in a series of bizarre product directions. Yes, Apple made some cool stuff back then. But they also made a lot of weird moves that would be inconceivable by the standards of today’s Apple... they become obsessed with Microsoft, and were throwing all kinds of spaghetti against the wall to see what would stick"

The iPhone 5 (Parody): A Taller Change Than Expected - YouTube

Worldwide bacon shortage is "unavoidable"

SPIN - YouTube

Fatherhood by Conscription: Nonconsensual Insemination and the Duty of Child Support by Michael Higdon - "Nathaniel was not only a new father, but was also a victim of statutory rape. Nonetheless, in a subsequent action for child support, the court held that Nathaniel was liable for the support of the child who was born as a result of his rape. According to the court, "Victims have rights. Here, the victim also has responsibilities"... the strict liability approach poses a grave injustice not only to the men who are pressed into the obligations of fatherhood but also to society, which has an interest in protecting all citizens from sexual assault"

This is the worst death scene ever committed to film