Sure, I'll just post everything Peter Frase writes, why not?
"The sex work “abolitionist” position makes about as much sense to me as reacting to Foxconn by calling on China to ban factory work. But perhaps it’s the troublesome “remoralizing” of work that Weeks identifies which is at the root of the uneasiness that pro-sex worker positions provoke in some Leftists. A lot of left-wing critiques of sex work, particularly in private conversations, strike me as the bad conscience of reflexively upholding the work ethic, rather than a coherent account of sex work in particular." Jacobin
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Everyone, I've found my cause. http://www.eyebeam.org/projects/wages-for-facebook
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"The problem that crops up in all discussions of this kind, however, is the ambiguity of the term “work,” particularly in a capitalist society. It has at least three distinct meanings that are relevant. One, it can mean activity that is necessary for the continuation of human civilization, what Engels called “the production and reproduction of the immediate essentials of life.” Two, it can mean the activity that people undertake in exchange for money, in order to secure the means of continued existence. Three, it can mean what Gourevitch is talking about, an activity that requires some kind of discipline and deferred gratification in pursuit of an eventual goal." Jacobin
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The success of a universal basic income scheme in Namibia.
"A few weeks ago, Dirk Haarmann published his annual report, which he sent to politicians, the United Nations and even a few presidents. According to the report, economic activity in the village has grown by 10 percent, more people are paying tuition and doctors' fees, health is improving and the crime rate is down.
The report also stated that the basic income could be funded through the tax system by increasing the value-added tax or income tax by a few percent. Only 3 percent of the gross domestic product, or €115 million, would be enough to provide a basic income for all Namibians." Spiegel (starts printing automatically)
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"As Bernard Harcourt examines in The Illusion of Order, broken windows policing is predicated on separating neighborhoods into regular, ordered insiders and disordered strangers. Wilson’s view is that regular insiders are the “decent folks” who need to be protected from the disorder generated by strangers. The police, rather than upholding laws and the rights of citizens, uphold order by regulating the behaviors of disorderly insiders and excluding the disorderly outsiders. Criminals lose their insider status in this telling, and excluding them from the community becomes a goal of law. The approach is based on a privileging of order over law, for a lack of order is what attracts criminal behavior, always waiting in the wings to descend." Jacobin
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Oh for the love of mercy. This article can't even get basic facts straight. Sex work is NOT treated like "any other job" in Germany etc - it is strictly regulated, often with an inconsistent patchwork of local regulations. These regulations often exclude and effectively criminalise the most vulnerable workers. Sex workers overwhelmingly demand DECRIMINALISATION, along the lines of the New Zealand model (a legal regime that the Guardian doesn't even see fit to mention here), not LEGALISATION along the lines of Germany. The Guardian
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Startling to hear China described in these terms, but I suppose it's all relative.
"China has one of the world’s most extensive and sophisticated censorship systems. It regularly jails activists and dissidents. But you can use the internet; you can watch foreign movies. You can wear what you like, or travel abroad. You can grumble to neighbours about officials without looking over your shoulder. “The biggest difference is that here they respect human rights. You can sell whatever you want and go to foreign countries and do whatever you want; everything is free here. There is no control,” Chae said." The Guardian
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"The sex work “abolitionist” position makes about as much sense to me as reacting to Foxconn by calling on China to ban factory work. But perhaps it’s the troublesome “remoralizing” of work that Weeks identifies which is at the root of the uneasiness that pro-sex worker positions provoke in some Leftists. A lot of left-wing critiques of sex work, particularly in private conversations, strike me as the bad conscience of reflexively upholding the work ethic, rather than a coherent account of sex work in particular." Jacobin
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Everyone, I've found my cause. http://www.eyebeam.org/projects/wages-for-facebook
>>><<<
"The problem that crops up in all discussions of this kind, however, is the ambiguity of the term “work,” particularly in a capitalist society. It has at least three distinct meanings that are relevant. One, it can mean activity that is necessary for the continuation of human civilization, what Engels called “the production and reproduction of the immediate essentials of life.” Two, it can mean the activity that people undertake in exchange for money, in order to secure the means of continued existence. Three, it can mean what Gourevitch is talking about, an activity that requires some kind of discipline and deferred gratification in pursuit of an eventual goal." Jacobin
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The success of a universal basic income scheme in Namibia.
"A few weeks ago, Dirk Haarmann published his annual report, which he sent to politicians, the United Nations and even a few presidents. According to the report, economic activity in the village has grown by 10 percent, more people are paying tuition and doctors' fees, health is improving and the crime rate is down.
The report also stated that the basic income could be funded through the tax system by increasing the value-added tax or income tax by a few percent. Only 3 percent of the gross domestic product, or €115 million, would be enough to provide a basic income for all Namibians." Spiegel (starts printing automatically)
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"As Bernard Harcourt examines in The Illusion of Order, broken windows policing is predicated on separating neighborhoods into regular, ordered insiders and disordered strangers. Wilson’s view is that regular insiders are the “decent folks” who need to be protected from the disorder generated by strangers. The police, rather than upholding laws and the rights of citizens, uphold order by regulating the behaviors of disorderly insiders and excluding the disorderly outsiders. Criminals lose their insider status in this telling, and excluding them from the community becomes a goal of law. The approach is based on a privileging of order over law, for a lack of order is what attracts criminal behavior, always waiting in the wings to descend." Jacobin
>>><<<
Oh for the love of mercy. This article can't even get basic facts straight. Sex work is NOT treated like "any other job" in Germany etc - it is strictly regulated, often with an inconsistent patchwork of local regulations. These regulations often exclude and effectively criminalise the most vulnerable workers. Sex workers overwhelmingly demand DECRIMINALISATION, along the lines of the New Zealand model (a legal regime that the Guardian doesn't even see fit to mention here), not LEGALISATION along the lines of Germany. The Guardian
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Startling to hear China described in these terms, but I suppose it's all relative.
"China has one of the world’s most extensive and sophisticated censorship systems. It regularly jails activists and dissidents. But you can use the internet; you can watch foreign movies. You can wear what you like, or travel abroad. You can grumble to neighbours about officials without looking over your shoulder. “The biggest difference is that here they respect human rights. You can sell whatever you want and go to foreign countries and do whatever you want; everything is free here. There is no control,” Chae said." The Guardian
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"But in defense of white people, we're not actually selfish assholes [debatable, but whatever] -- we've just gotten so used to having everything be about us that when we see a movie directed by a black man, starring a black man, telling a personal story about experiencing slavery, we just assume that it's still about us, but indirectly. Like it's trying to send us a message about how we should feel about ourselves. Who else could the movie be for?" Cracked
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A good long interview with Trevor Manuel. I won't try to select out the most important bit, just read it all. Daily Maverick
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"Mmusi himself is forever rehearsing the roles our great-grandchildren will play if this place doesn’t slide into the abyss. He doesn’t have it anywhere near as easy as Julius Malema, because Juju doesn’t have to flit between classes, between races, between universes. Juju doesn’t have to marry striations of self with layers of policy jingo and Kumbaya catch phrases. Mmusi, however, is constantly shape-shifting. He’s a man and a politician trying to justify his choices and his outlook to a country carved up by the narrow ruts of race, and in turn sell those justifications to an electorate too battered to look for subtleties." Daily Maverick
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Very detailed, and I wouldn't recommend reading it all, but this is great for it's sheer evidence-based contrarian-ness. The piece essentially argues that nicotine (note: NOT cigarette smoke) is relatively cheap, harmless and gives substantial boosts to cognitive performance. Gwern
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