"Most of the people you talked to today were probably "atheists", in the sense that they don't believe in a personal deity who can be talked to and invoked; or in the sense that they don't give it very much thought one way or the other. But it is increasingly clear that what the "new atheists" disbelieve in is not the God of church and religion. It's also feelings and cultural meanings and subjectivity and the humanities and just about anything which isn't cold A = B logic. And if "atheism" means denying all that stuff as well, you have probably never met an atheist." Andrew Rilstone
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"In working to correct the white-supremacist media narrative we can end up reproducing police tactics of isolating the individuals who attack property at protests. Despite the fact that if it were not for those individuals the media might pay no attention at all. If protesters hadn’t looted and burnt down that QuikTrip on the second day of protests, would Ferguson be a point of worldwide attention? It’s impossible to know, but all the non-violent protests against police killings across the country that go unreported seem to indicate the answer is no." New Inquiry
>>><<<
"One source close to developments in the DA, who is strongly aligned with Mazibuko’s group, told the M&G the biggest problem in the DA at the moment was Zille. “There is a lot of unhappiness with her leadership style… a lot of the problems boil down to her.”" M&G
>>><<<
Related to the article I posted yesterday...
"Of the 2,850 men and women surveyed, the researchers concluded that men engaging in sex with a familiar partner have a greater chance of orgasm than women – a mean ratio of 85% of men compared with 63% of women. Lesbians, though, had orgasms 75% of the time. For the guys, it didn’t matter if they are gay, bi or straight – having a penis was enough." Guardian
>>><<<
This sounds like nothing more than an accelerated form of the aid economy in general - give money to white people who want to "help", irrespective of how poorly they understand the situation, rather than to locals who could do a lot more with it.
"It was so easy to make money in Kabul that it felt like we were all citizens of some Gulf oil state. If you could string a few coherent sentences together into a grant application, odds were that there was some contracting officer out there who was willing to give you money, no matter how vapid your idea. Want to put on a music festival in Kabul? Here's a few hundred thousand. Shoot a soap opera about heroic local cops? A million for you. Is your handicraft business empowering Afghan women? Name your bid." Rolling Stone
>>><<<
Various things to reflect on here. Like how so many people think it's somehow less of an abuse of human rights to incarcerate a transwoman in a men's prison just because the reason she's in prison is particularly horrible.
Also, doing the math, she's now been in jail for 21 years for a crime she committed when she was 17. Can we now even meaningfully identify her with the very troubled youth who did those terrible things? I think our use of jail time as the primary criminal sanction creates a paradox generally - the more time we give someone, the more different they'll be from the person who originally committed the crime at the end of it. So the more we punish, the less the punishment makes sense. Buzzfeed
>>><<<
"Sex workers have been done with this sort of “blame the victim” stance — from both the mainstream and the political left — since its early circulation. But we are equally through with the so-called “savior mentality,” the perfumed version of the same refuse that has shamed us into silence and relegated us to the margins of movements for worker’s rights, union representation, and feminist struggles." Red Wedge
>>><<<
Shit is getting real.
"Madonsela also accuses Zuma of being guilty of an attack on the constitution and the rule of law by granting Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko the power to review her findings... "Reports of the public protector are by law not subject to any review or second-guessing by a minister and/or the cabinet. The findings made and remedial action taken by the public protector can only be judicially reviewed and set aside by a court of law."" Times Live
>>><<<
"The relationship between religion, interpretation, identity and politics can be complex. We can see this if we look at Myanmar and Sri Lanka where Buddhists – whom many people, not least humanists and atheists, take to be symbols of peace and harmony – are organizing vicious pogroms against Muslims, pogroms led by monks who justify the violence using religious texts. Few would insist that there is something inherent in Buddhism that has led to the violence. Rather, most people would recognize that the anti-Muslim violence has its roots in the political struggles that have engulfed the two nations... And yet, few apply the same reasoning to conflicts involving Islam. When it comes to Islam, and to the barbaric actions of groups such as Isis or the Taliban, there is a widespread perception that the problem, unlike with Buddhism, lies in the faith itself." Ken Malik
>>><<<
A cute little story, of the sort I'm sure happens all the time. It occurs to me that you hear this sort of narrative much more often about women though, because we have this idea that women's sexuality is so much more "fluid". MindBodyGreen
>>><<<
Huh, I did not know this.
"For the longest time, your best bet for seeing a Star of David was a church, or at a sketchy magician's place (the star was a common symbol in alchemy and magic). The modern Star of David didn't start to see widespread usage until the 19th century, when they redesigned a local flag for the Prague Jewish community and it struck a chord with the Zionist movement. So why did it become so prominent? Simple: Because it looks cool and is memorable." Cracked
>>><<<
"Radical" feminism: guys, it's just a total coincidence that it targets just the same people despised and hounded by conservatives. Really, it's a "radical" position, promise.
"Jeffreys's work is particularly pernicious for the way it plays right into the hands of the political far right. Because Jeffreys is a lesbian who considers herself a left-wing radical feminist, Williams says, "It gives the right wing this notion, this appearance of an unbiased source" when people like Sean Hannity, who name-checked Gender Hurts on his daily radio show, cite her work approvingly." Village Voice
>>><<<
"In working to correct the white-supremacist media narrative we can end up reproducing police tactics of isolating the individuals who attack property at protests. Despite the fact that if it were not for those individuals the media might pay no attention at all. If protesters hadn’t looted and burnt down that QuikTrip on the second day of protests, would Ferguson be a point of worldwide attention? It’s impossible to know, but all the non-violent protests against police killings across the country that go unreported seem to indicate the answer is no." New Inquiry
>>><<<
"One source close to developments in the DA, who is strongly aligned with Mazibuko’s group, told the M&G the biggest problem in the DA at the moment was Zille. “There is a lot of unhappiness with her leadership style… a lot of the problems boil down to her.”" M&G
>>><<<
Related to the article I posted yesterday...
"Of the 2,850 men and women surveyed, the researchers concluded that men engaging in sex with a familiar partner have a greater chance of orgasm than women – a mean ratio of 85% of men compared with 63% of women. Lesbians, though, had orgasms 75% of the time. For the guys, it didn’t matter if they are gay, bi or straight – having a penis was enough." Guardian
>>><<<
This sounds like nothing more than an accelerated form of the aid economy in general - give money to white people who want to "help", irrespective of how poorly they understand the situation, rather than to locals who could do a lot more with it.
"It was so easy to make money in Kabul that it felt like we were all citizens of some Gulf oil state. If you could string a few coherent sentences together into a grant application, odds were that there was some contracting officer out there who was willing to give you money, no matter how vapid your idea. Want to put on a music festival in Kabul? Here's a few hundred thousand. Shoot a soap opera about heroic local cops? A million for you. Is your handicraft business empowering Afghan women? Name your bid." Rolling Stone
>>><<<
Various things to reflect on here. Like how so many people think it's somehow less of an abuse of human rights to incarcerate a transwoman in a men's prison just because the reason she's in prison is particularly horrible.
Also, doing the math, she's now been in jail for 21 years for a crime she committed when she was 17. Can we now even meaningfully identify her with the very troubled youth who did those terrible things? I think our use of jail time as the primary criminal sanction creates a paradox generally - the more time we give someone, the more different they'll be from the person who originally committed the crime at the end of it. So the more we punish, the less the punishment makes sense. Buzzfeed
>>><<<
"Sex workers have been done with this sort of “blame the victim” stance — from both the mainstream and the political left — since its early circulation. But we are equally through with the so-called “savior mentality,” the perfumed version of the same refuse that has shamed us into silence and relegated us to the margins of movements for worker’s rights, union representation, and feminist struggles." Red Wedge
>>><<<
Shit is getting real.
"Madonsela also accuses Zuma of being guilty of an attack on the constitution and the rule of law by granting Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko the power to review her findings... "Reports of the public protector are by law not subject to any review or second-guessing by a minister and/or the cabinet. The findings made and remedial action taken by the public protector can only be judicially reviewed and set aside by a court of law."" Times Live
>>><<<
"The relationship between religion, interpretation, identity and politics can be complex. We can see this if we look at Myanmar and Sri Lanka where Buddhists – whom many people, not least humanists and atheists, take to be symbols of peace and harmony – are organizing vicious pogroms against Muslims, pogroms led by monks who justify the violence using religious texts. Few would insist that there is something inherent in Buddhism that has led to the violence. Rather, most people would recognize that the anti-Muslim violence has its roots in the political struggles that have engulfed the two nations... And yet, few apply the same reasoning to conflicts involving Islam. When it comes to Islam, and to the barbaric actions of groups such as Isis or the Taliban, there is a widespread perception that the problem, unlike with Buddhism, lies in the faith itself." Ken Malik
>>><<<
A cute little story, of the sort I'm sure happens all the time. It occurs to me that you hear this sort of narrative much more often about women though, because we have this idea that women's sexuality is so much more "fluid". MindBodyGreen
>>><<<
Huh, I did not know this.
"For the longest time, your best bet for seeing a Star of David was a church, or at a sketchy magician's place (the star was a common symbol in alchemy and magic). The modern Star of David didn't start to see widespread usage until the 19th century, when they redesigned a local flag for the Prague Jewish community and it struck a chord with the Zionist movement. So why did it become so prominent? Simple: Because it looks cool and is memorable." Cracked
>>><<<
"Radical" feminism: guys, it's just a total coincidence that it targets just the same people despised and hounded by conservatives. Really, it's a "radical" position, promise.
"Jeffreys's work is particularly pernicious for the way it plays right into the hands of the political far right. Because Jeffreys is a lesbian who considers herself a left-wing radical feminist, Williams says, "It gives the right wing this notion, this appearance of an unbiased source" when people like Sean Hannity, who name-checked Gender Hurts on his daily radio show, cite her work approvingly." Village Voice
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