Links - 3rd August 2018 (2)

Colour Blindness - "Colour (color) blindness (colour vision deficiency, or CVD) affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women in the world"

The women with superhuman vision - "Although the relevant combination of genes does not seem to be especially rare – perhaps 12% of women might have four distinct cones – many of the people that Jordan tested just didn’t seem to show any differences in their perception"

Men and Women Really Do See Things Differently - "Females are better at discriminating among colors, researchers say, while males excel at tracking fast-moving objects and discerning detail from a distance—evolutionary adaptations possibly linked to our hunter-gatherer past."

The Story Behind This Bald Eagle Stealing a Rabbit From a Fox - "“I thought the eagle would scare the fox into dropping its dinner,” says Ebi. Yet, for just a few seconds, the fox steadfastly held on before it was flung back onto the ground."

Somali militant group bans samosas for being too Christian - "the extremist group al-Shabaab has proclaimed—via loudspeakers mounted to vehicles—that this delicious snack shall henceforth be banned from sale or consumption. Samosas are, in the words of al-Shabaab, “offensive.” Their reason for offense? The triangular shaped of the snack (it’s known as samboosas in the Horn of Africa) resembles the symbol of Christianity’s Holy Trinity"

The making of StarCraft - "With Command & Conquer having found huge success with its modern military setting, it was clear there was one option for Blizzard from the start—and so initially ‘Orcs in space' was the driving goal for the game. “It was sort of like re-envisioning what would happen if the world of Warcraft just went into space,” Patrick says, “and so the perspective was the same, the art style was a bit different.” Gone was the natural greens and browns of fantasy-fuelled Warcraft, instead here Blizzard opted for something more space-like—a horrific blend of putrid pinks, bright blues and garish greens. It stood out, for sure, but not in a good way. Blizzard found itself the victim of trade show disaster as the team attended E3 1996 to discover that no one was a fan of what would be the company's next game."

As far as Mahatma Gandhi (and lots of others) are concerned, eggs are as vegetarian as milk - "One fourth of India's vegetarian population actually seems to quietly go along with this. The Hindu-CNN-IBN State of the Nation survey in 2012 concluded that about 31% of Indians profess to vegetarianism while another 9% count themselves as "eggetarians," essentially vegetarians who will eat egg... Indian vegetarians' shunning of eggs can be vehement – a Jain Samiti spokesperson commenting on Madhya Pradesh's move said it would reduce "sensitivity" in children. But their championing of other animal products, like milk or even cow urine can be equally vehement."

Girl Surprised When Man Wearing Confederate Flag Helps Change Tire - "“For me and my family, as a black person, the Confederate army = oppression,” she tweeted. “Therefore the flag as a symbol utilized = oppression.”"

Wellness, Womanhood, and the West: How Goop Profits From Endless Illness - "Since Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop launched in 2008, the site has earned its reputation as the internet’s kooky rich aunt. From detoxes to cleanses; vitamins to clean food; vaginal eggs to vaginal steaming and recurring features by a self-described “Medical Medium” (a man who diagnoses disease via spirit guidance), Goop has built a small digital empire. In between primers on how to wear denim jackets and a curated shop featuring Ulla Johnson jumpers and Marni sandals, Goop peddles “wellness,” the site’s iteration of health content, sleekly packaged as lifestyle content"
I said something very similar to Jezebel, the feminist blog, and got scolded for being misogynistic, so

Mario Rudeboy - Posts - "I'm a Muslim and proud to be one but I think it's time as Muslims we fix this bullshit problem we have. Yes we do have a problem with our community & so called 'Muslim' brothers. Whatever is going on it's time we stop blaming others, stop being the 'victims' & blaming the west. We need to fix this epidemic of inbreds from doing these despicable crimes. Sorry I don't care if you think I'm being harsh. Islam is a beautiful religion BUT these uneducated monkeys misinterpret things & feel they are acting on Gods behalf & it's only getting worse... I'd love to see these people talk crap in Muslim countries. They would be smashed in seconds. Locked up & tortured. I think it's time the British or west deport not only those who incite hatred against the country themselves, but the entire family also. You come to a country to milk the benefit system, free education & health system yet complain. Try that in Pakistan or Iraq or the Gulf. See what will happen. It's pissing me off seeing this shit. Monkeys like Anjem Choudhury etc. Try talk bad in the Muslim states and see... I was raised in England. Never had any issues with racism or islampbobia. My closest friends were English & non Muslims. They treated me like a brother and likewise. I was able to practice my religion without offending them and they did without offending me"

How common is lntersex? A response to Anne Fausto‐Sterling - "If the term intersex is to retain any meaning, the term should be restricted to those conditions in which chromosomal sex is inconsistent with phenotypic sex, or in which the phenotype is not classifiable as either male or female. Applying this more precise definition, the true prevalence of intersex is seen to be about 0.018%"
In response to SJWs who claim Male/Female as choices for sex is inadequate

How to Save Europe
Interestingly Soros is against ever closer union, compulsory migrant quotas and compulsory Euro membership

There's No Such Thing as a Slut - "All but five or six of the women practiced “slut-shaming,” or denigrating the other women for their loose sexual mores. But they conflated their accusations of “sluttiness” with other, unrelated personality traits, like meanness or unattractiveness. It seems there was no better way to smear a dorm-mate than to suggest she was sexually impure."
It would be more accurate to title this "Why, when women call each other sluts, they don't mean 'a promiscuous woman'"
Also this suggests that just bashing men for oppressing women is misguided

Japan’s Affection for Love Hotels - "love hotels came to be categorized as “immovable sex-related establishments,” placed under the jurisdiction of the police. Because of this, when new hotels were built an effort was made to steer clear of the “love hotel” classification. This was done, for example, by hotel owners avoiding designs featuring bizarre exteriors and interiors... around 90% of the time women are the ones to choose the room at a love hotel. More love hotels these days are offering special, low-priced “ladies plans” for female guests who simply want to spend the night at a hotel. This offers guests a resort-like experience, with upscale amenities such as esthetic services and gourmet meals. Hotels hope that women who take advantage of these plans will end up as return customers, bringing along a male companion the next time."

MGTOW—A boycotting of women - "generally speaking: women just aren’t worth my time. Doesn’t mean I hate women—just means I’m not interested in them. Feminists have two important slogans: “her body her choice” and “She doesn’t owe you anything”. Well, it goes both ways: “MY body, MY choice”, “I don’t owe YOU anything.”"

WHAT A WAYNE-ANKER: LeedsLive Editor Says Reporter Who Published Tommy Robinson Address was 'Brave' - "Robinson wrote on social media “Do you know how many times I have gone into Bedford police station, I have gone into Kempston police station, to say here are comments to kill my family but nothing ever gets done.”... an address had been released online claiming to be where he lived, but the information was wrong and the current occupants of that address were now “terrified”."
Doxxing is good when it's against the "Far right"

Women now hold a majority of all management and professional positions in the U.S. - "Women now hold 52 percent of management, professional, and related positions, according to a new report from BMO Bank."
"Male privilege"

Mariella Frostrup: Men face 'double standard' over celebrity lust - "Broadcaster Mariella Frostrup has complained of a new "double standard" that allows women to lust over men - but sees accusations of sexism arise when the role is reversed... she can comment on a "shot of a shirtless, sea-soaked Aidan Turner". But men would not be able to remark similarly on his female co-stars... "we live in confusing times and I'm the first to admit to double standards - if a male colleague had penned those preceding lines about any of Turner's equally appealing female co-stars, his cries of contrition would be drowned out by Twitter's Troll Chorus." The presenter said she feared that "we are losing not only our sense of humour but our sense of proportion as we throw every act of perceived sexism into the #MeToo basket"... "There's an enormous difference between judging a person's worth only on the basis of their physical assets and expressing admiration for a fellow human with God's gift (allegedly) of good looks.""
In a different age this would've been called... sexism
To say nothing of the double standard that if a man had said the exact same thing as her, Twitter's Troll Chorus would've been bashing him as a misogynist

'Pokemon Go' players deter suicides in Fukui - "“The area around Tojinbo had been very dark and eerie after 5 p.m. after all the tourists leave,” Shige told The Japan Times on Friday. “But since ‘Pokemon Go’ was released, the area has been bustling, even late at night.”... the atmosphere “was not quite right for committing suicide”"

Black applicants make up half of cheats, says Ucas - "More than half of students submitting fraudulent applications for degree courses are black, the university admissions body said yesterday. Black candidates make up 52 per cent of all applications flagged despite comprising only 9 per cent of applicants, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) said. The figures triggered a race row... Applications can be considered fraudulent for several reasons, including plagiarism of the personal statement, falsifying exam results, sending false documents, using fake identities, or making multiple applications at once. Ucas defended its systems from accusations of bias, saying the software that flagged questionable applications did not see the candidate’s ethnicity, and neither did university staff who raised queries. It said the proportion of flagged, or suspicious, applications from black students turned out to be almost identical to the proportion later confirmed as fraudulent... Only a small number of applications were flagged — 5,160 (0.18 per cent) and about 40 per cent of those — 2,085 (or 0.07 per cent of all applications) had their applications cancelled. The percentages cancelled, by ethnic group, were broadly proportionate to the percentages flagged in each ethnic group... The Ucas report said: “This suggests that the verification activities undertaken by Ucas are generally robust and fair.” It reviewed all cancelled applications from the past two years, and said it found they were genuine."
Of course, this story is being reported differently in other news sources, which omit the fact that the number of applications confirmed as fraudulent roughly matches up with that flagged by the software
Comments: "Sad to say it, but this was my experience in the university I worked in for years. We had proportionately far more issues with plagiarism, outright copying and various other forms of cheating amongst certain BME groups than among 'the rest'. I've had postgrad applications from African and Middle Eastern countries with 'degree certificates' from the Universities of Potters Bar and Golders Green; personal statements lifted straight from Google; syllabus details for degrees that don't exist and even a 'certificate' from my own university which had been faked. The other trick is to get someone else to sit your English language test. When IELTS started requiring photo ID at tests, we got a lot fewer mis-matches between results and actual ability."
"A huge majority of all applicants do not cheat. This whole business has been blown out of all proportion"

Oxford University involved in Twitter row with David Lammy - "Oxford University has apologised to David Lammy after retweeting a post labelling his criticism "bitter". The original tweet, sent by a student, was in response to the Labour MP saying Oxford was "a bastion of white, middle class, southern privilege"."
Apparently you can't be bitter in the pursuit of social justice

The Deadly Legacy of HIV Truthers - "Thousands of people died because the conspiracy theory was able to outrun the facts, thriving in the climate of fear and suspicion around a grisly disease that had struck a vulnerable population. To some groups who’d been fighting on behalf of AIDS patients, it was too tidy to see a multimillion-dollar drug market emerge, to treat the same people who’d already been stigmatized and marginalized... The message to HIV educators, Sheehy said, was “you’re an enemy of the gay community, and we’re going to silence you.” Finally, ACT UP San Francisco spokesman David Pasquarelli and one other activist were arrested and jailed. (The other activist said he didn’t agree with Pasquarelli’s views on HIV, but felt that HIV-prevention campaigns were aimed at suppressing gay sexuality.)... The more frequently someone used the internet, the readier they were to believe that there was no proof that HIV causes AIDS.
Conspiracy theories can kill

Samantha Bee Apologizes For Her Ivanka Trump Comments After Widespread Backlash - "Samantha Bee has apologized for calling Ivanka Trump a “feckless c**t” on her show “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee”... “The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling”"
Gendered insults against women aren't bad when used against "conservatives", even when they come from feminists

Actor Patton Oswalt Triggered By Ivanka Trump Cuddling Her Son

British man beaten by 10 Chinese in Cambodia for having 'Taiwan' tattooed on his forehead - "One of the Chinese men then shouted in Mandarin "Taiwan, China! In response, Paul retorted "Taiwan, Taiwan!" Paul says that they then "went insane, grabbed poles and started attacking me."

Israel restores electricity to Gaza - "IEC employees repaired the damage caused to the company's equipment in the Gaza vicinity as a result of a rocket fired by terrorists."
Worst. Genocide. Ever.
I'm sure many people blame Israel for a terrorist taking out Gaza's electricity supply in the name of "resistance"

Former NTUC Income CEO shares his thoughts on newly introduced CareShield Life versus ElderShield - "The increase in premium is about 15%. This is reasonable considering that the benefit provided under the new scheme is 50% higher."

Police dog killed with an axe by man shouting 'Allahu akbar' in Schiedam, Holland - "the suspect was a Syrian who had been living with his father in Schiedam"

Beware: Amazon Still Sells Counterfeit Memory Cards - "Counterfeit products can be found across Amazon these days. Engadget reports that two years ago, Apple purchased 100 Lightning cables and chargers marked “Fulfilled by Amazon” over 9 months and found that roughly 90% of the cables it received were counterfeit. In 2011, a SanDisk engineer estimated that roughly 1/3 of SanDisk-branded memory cards on Earth are actually fakes"