Links - 9th May 2017 (2)

Wealth Transmission and Inequality Among Hunter-Gatherers - "Wealth is defined broadly as factors that contribute to individual or household well-being, ranging from embodied forms such as weight and hunting success to material forms such household goods, as well as relational wealth in exchange partners. Intergenerational wealth transmission is low to moderate in these populations, but is still expected to have measurable influence on an individual’s life chances. Wealth inequality (measured with Gini coefficients) is moderate for most wealth types, matching what qualitative ethnographic research has generally indicated (if not the stereotype of hunter-gatherers as extreme egalitarians)."

How much do you really know about marginalized people in Singapore? - "In October 1980, 13 of us boarded a small fishing boat intended for 10 people with 69 other refuges. The flimsy boat’s engine even died a few times, and other passing ships refused to help. But, on the morning of the fifth day, we were spotted by a Norwegian oil tanker Berge Tasta that finally rescued us after sailing away at first. The Norwegian crew treated us with warm hospitality even though we were different. My father told me that one of our first meals on the ship was a delicious array of 300 boiled eggs. The Singapore government had a strong policy that refugees would only be accepted to the UNHCR refugee site if the country that rescued the boat people will be financially responsible for each refugee. The Norwegian government made a deal with the Singapore government that they would sponsor my family $3 per person per day and that within four months, they would re-locate us all to Norway so that we would become Norwegian citizens"

In China, Pigs Are Flying. Almost. - The New York Times - "China’s rural entrepreneurs have turned the pursuit into a tourist draw and a selling point for pork. Proponents say that diving pigs are healthier, leaner and tastier."

At last, a cure for feminism: sex robots - "It’s not overly optimistic to believe that the argument that women have complete autonomy over their own bodies is getting through. But this development? Automated bodies, designed to look and feel like women – it feels like an enormous refutation. “What? We are expected to see you as complete human beings, with your own minds and thoughts and choices? We aren’t having that. We have the technology to refuse this abomination”... Maybe people who want to buy sex robots need to present the agreement of a couple of doctors, before they are judged emotionally restricted enough to need to retreat to such an inhuman fantasy. Or maybe, out of respect for women, this technology should just be rejected."
Even when women are literally not involved, feminists find a way to paint it as harmful to women. This reveals that a key principle of feminism is regulating male sexuality - protecting women is just an excuse to do so
Comments: "Will the same doctors have to judge a woman who wants a sex toy as an 'inhuman' substitute for a man?"
"at least with the sex robot it's a representation of a whole person! A vibrator is just a part - talk about objectification...."
"Turbo-dildo good, plastic fanny bad. The feminist view of sextoys. I bet we're still an oppressive patriarchy even when we're having a wank."
"The great thing about sex robots is that Deborah Orr can get outraged on their behalf and they can't answer back or disagree with her or say they're actually perfectly happy being a sex robot thank you very much. This could be a whole new era for political feminism. Instead of claiming to represent all of women, some of whom have this annoying tendency to disagree with you or do things you say they shouldn't, you can buy some sex robots and then march on their behalf - and reprogram or hack them to march in step with you. And leave human womankind in peace."

Chemist Warehouse Virgin Pussy Palm Pal sex toy pulled from website - "“Since when have chemists become defacto sex shops? Chemists are supposed to be selling products with medicinal and health benefits, not promoting pedofilic fantasies and eroticising young girls for profit,” Melinda Tankard Reist, co-founder of Collective Shout, told news.com.au."
Apparently only young girls can be virgins

TURKISH MINISTER BARRED FROM HOLLAND FOR INCITING IMMIGRANTS - "Hundreds of Turks in Rotterdam are now protesting outside the consulate in support of President Erdogan. This a frightening misuse of the Turkish diaspora that raises questions about the security risk in having large, under-assimilated minorities"

Scarlett Johansson's divorce case shows why men are scared of being stay-at-home dads - "Dauriac gave up his career as a magazine editor and manager of a creative agency to raise the couple’s daughter, Rose, in Dauriac’s native France... will Johansson continue her quest for gender equality and give half her fortune to Dauriac, or at least half the dough she earned while he kept baby?... Johansson is requesting residential custody of their daughter, which Dauriac’s lawyer, Hal Mayerson, describes as “laughable,” adding: “He believes that her schedule makes it impossible for her to have physical custody – unless she intends to have her children raised by nannies and helpers... In Britain, we're currently seeing a rise in the number of stay-at-home dads – it's roughly quadrupled in the last 25 years, according to research by the Pew Research Centre. But are these really the men that careerist women want? Perhaps not, says divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt, who claims that divorces where the man is a full-time dad have doubled in the last five years, and now account for 10 per cent of all marital break-ups... In an age when equality is expected, and even demanded of dads, it’s a tragic footnote that the family courts seem stacked against them."

Hollywood's dads must break their omertà over the crisis of fatherlessness - "January Jones told Red Magazine that she has "no regrets" about choosing to raise her son without a father. "It's good to have strong women around a man to teach him to respect women," said the Mad Men actress. "He doesn't have a male person saying 'don't cry' or 'you throw like a girl'. All those s--tty things that dads accidentally do." Ms Jones is apparently unaware that Article 7.1 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights Of A Child enshrines a child’s right to know and be cared for by its parents. But more concerning still is the lack of appreciation in her words for the good a father does in a child's life. Numerous studies show that children who spend time with their biological fathers fare better in life."

St Stephen's security guard saves hostage from 'beheading' at Hull Mosque - "Haidar Hamid, 22, "frog-marched" a neighbour to Hull Mosque and Islamic Centre while holding a serrated knife to his throat and a Stanley knife in his other hand. With his victim bleeding from cuts to his cheek and chin, Hamid forced his head down in the mosque and asked: "Are you going to pray now?""

Stormtrooper costumes banned from 'Star Wars'-themed college reunion over alleged Nazi inspiration - "This is the second time in recent months that “Star Wars” became tangled in historical debates about Nazi Germany. “Rouge One” writer Chris Weitz tweeted, “Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization,” on Nov. 11 after Republican Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election."

In China, the true cost of Britain's clean, green wind power experiment: Pollution on a disastrous scale - "The reality is that, as Britain flaunts its environmental credentials by speckling its coastlines and unspoiled moors and mountains with thousands of wind turbines, it is contributing to a vast man-made lake of poison in northern China. This is the deadly and sinister side of the massively profitable rare-earths industry that the ‘green’ companies profiting from the demand for wind turbines would prefer you knew nothing about... By 2020, environmental regulation will be adding 31 per cent to our bills. That’s £160 green tax out of an average annual bill of £512. As costs rise, more people will be driven into fuel poverty"

Smart condom lets users know how good they are in bed - "Penis girth, thrust counts and sexual health are all measured by the i.Con smart condom ring, as wearable technology moves into the bedroom."

The Google delusion: we're not as clever as we think we are - "if people received information through internet searches, they rated their knowledge base more highly than those who received information through other means"

The New Yorker’s Big Cover Story Reveals Five Uncomfortable Truths About U.S. and Russia - "the article is largely devoted to what has now become standard — and very profitable — fare among East Coast newsmagazines: feeding Democrats the often xenophobic, hysterical Russophobia for which they have a seemingly insatiable craving...
Given that these points are made here by a liberal media organ that is vehemently anti-Trump, within an article dispensing what has become the conventional Democratic wisdom on Russia, it is well worth highlighting them:
1. Obama and Clinton have radically different views on Russia.
2. The risk of a new Cold War is very real and very dangerous.
3. The U.S. media refuses to say if the U.S. interferes in Russia’s domestic politics.
What makes this steadfast silence so bizarre is that there’s virtually no question that it is true. Some have noted the 1996 Time magazine cover boasting of how U.S. advisers helped the U.S.’ preferred candidate, Boris Yeltsin, win Russia’s presidency. And, of course, the U.S. has continually and repeatedly interfered in the domestic political processes, including democratic elections, of more countries than one can count.
4. The U.S. government still has provided no evidence of its theories about Russian hacking.
5. Fixating on Russia continues to be used to distract from systemic failures of U.S. elites."

The Muslims Who Aren’t Celebrating Mahershala Ali’s Oscar Win - "Mahershala Ali made history on Sunday night by becoming the first Muslim actor to win an Academy Award. But as the internet exploded with the significance of the moment—a black Muslim accepting an Oscar for his supporting role in Moonlight, a film about gay men—one tweet disappeared... Pakistan has systematically erased Ahmadis and their achievements from the public consciousness. The most glaring example: Its first Nobel Prize winner, the noted physicist Dr. Abdus Salam—who quoted from the Qur’an in his 1979 acceptance speech and said Pakistan was thankful for the honor—is barely mentioned in Pakistan. Nor has his groundbreaking work been celebrated. Instead, the word “Muslim” was removed from his tombstone to comply with anti-Ahmadi laws"

The Real Reason McDonald’s Coca-Cola Tastes Better Than Regular Coca-Cola - "McDonald's cares about two things: fresh water and a perfect temperature. The company spends a lot of money on a filtration system, so the water that mixes with the syrup is fresh, clean water. That same water is run through an insulated tube that keeps it cold"

Middlebury students disrupted the lecture of a controversial writer - "Prior to the point when Murray was introduced, several Middlebury officials reminded students that they were allowed to protest but not to disrupt the talk. The students ignored those reminders and faced no visible consequences for doing so... after Murray and a professor who interviewed him for the livestream attempted to leave the location in a car, some in the protest surrounded the car, jumped on it, pounded on it and tried to prevent the car from leaving campus."
How long can liberals dismiss these as unrepresentative, isolated incidents exggerated and taken out of context by right wing racist media outlets

Middlebury Responds to a Protest Gone Wrong - "One sign said, “Fuck rhetorical resilience,” objecting to a value many, including the administration and numerous faculty members, hold dear... Even during the livestream, protesters tried to disrupt the event from outside the secure room, chanting, banging on windows, and even pulling fire alarms. And that’s all before Allison Stanger, the professor who spoke with Charles Murray on the livestream, pressing him on many of his controversial views, was made to fear for her life. That’s how she put it in a public Facebook post that described events that ended with her at a hospital with a neck injury... At Middlebury, some of the students who mobbed Murray and Stanger as they left the event—surrounding their car as some banged on its hood and windows—then portrayed themselves as the party that was physically endangered... allowing Murray to stand on a stage and speak about Coming Apart was “an intense act of aggression,” while mobbing a speaker and faculty member, surrounding their car, banging on its windows, and jumping on its hood was “peaceful protest.”"

Understanding the Angry Mob at Middlebury That Gave Me a Concussion - The New York Times - "Part of the problem was the furor that preceded the talk. This past month, as the campus uproar about Dr. Murray’s visit built, I was genuinely surprised and troubled to learn that some of my faculty colleagues had rendered judgment on Dr. Murray’s work and character without ever having read anything he has written. It wasn’t just students: Some professors protested his appearance as well. Intelligent members of the Middlebury community — including some of my own students and advisees — concluded that Charles Murray was an anti-gay white nationalist from what they were hearing from one another, and what they read on the Southern Poverty Law Center website. Never mind that Dr. Murray supports same-sex marriage and is a member of the courageous “never Trump” wing of the Republican Party."

‘Rogue One’ Actor: If You Don’t Put Muslim Actors On TV, Muslims Will Join ISIS - "I didn’t see a lot of Orthodox Jews on television growing up. Somehow, I didn’t end up a member of the Neturei Karta. But this is the sort of patronizing nonsense in which the left routinely engages regarding Muslims and other supposed “victim groups” – that if they don’t see enough people “like them” in positions of power, they’ll go bad."

Rock star Ronnie James Dio set for world tour – despite having died in 2010 - "The Dio hologram first performed at last year’s Wacken Open Air festival in Germany and made its US debut at the Pollstar Live! awards in Los Angeles."

Disney’s Gaston was based on gay ‘trade’, Beauty and the Beast director reveals - "Ashman’s preference for ‘trade’ – a slang term for masculine-looking and straight-identifying men who engage in a bit of man-on-man action on the downlow – was the basis for dishy douchebag Gaston"

Dear Hollywood: Stop Gaying All the Things, Especially Straight Characters... - "Today it seems Hollywood’s primary mission, especially television, is to shove gayness into wherever it may fit. It’s getting tired. Namely because it’s being pushed by a tiny minority of militant gay activists in the gay community. I want to make this crystal clear. I’m not suggesting ALL gays are pushing for all gay characters in all TV shows or movies. I contend like with most issues in our political climate, the “Gay Agenda” in TV is being shoved by a fraction of a percent of the gay population. Their members of the Gaystapo. Small in numbers, shrill in voice. As stated before, the Gaystapo, and now the Hollywood Gay Agenda Pushers DO NOT represent millions of gay people who just want to live their lives in peace. Okay? Okay. The thing is, there seems to be a gay storyline in every modern TV show out there. The one and only modern show I can think of without any uber-gay plot line? Breaking Bad. I’ve watched the show three times. Didn’t see any gayness. But every other show I’ve seen? Somehow it always manages to slip in... Contrary to what you push on TV, homosexuals make up about 3.4 percent of the population, but make up 14 percent of films released in 2014. Yet they still complain about being under-represented... Most Americans believe the gay population is much greater than 3.4 percent. Americans believe the gay population is 23 percent or more, as shown in recent Gallup polling:.. It’s getting worse: straight character appropriation. It’s happening. Yes, there’s now a movement in the left, which I’m sure will reach y’all in Hollywood, to make existing heterosexual characters into homosexual ones. A writer in Vanity Fair lamented that Captain America was not gay with Bucky. Why? Because apparently men can no longer be just friends. You militant Hollywood Gay Agenda Pushers seek to turn healthy male friendships into closeted gayness. As if all people are secretly gay, they just need to meet the right person to be gay with. Then and only then, can they truly blossom into a gay butterfly, in all their gayness. It’s even been suggested that James Bond should be gay. James Bond. Gay. Think about that for a second. James Bond is a serial womanizer. He loves the ladies. The ladies love him. But we’re living in a culture where people feel comfortable suggesting a character like James Bond should be gay without being laughed at... Have we reached a time in our culture where being straight is scandalous, where insisting we’re not sexually fluid will be seen as backwards hate speech?"