"The guanine nanocrystals are arranged in a lattice throughout the cell, the spacing of which determines the cell’s colour. When the chameleon is calm, the crystals were found to be organised into a dense network, reflecting blue wavelengths most strongly. When excited, the chameleon was found to loosen its lattice of nanocrystals by about 30%, allowing the reflection of yellows or reds. " Guardian
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"It could be argued that anything that humanises and shows Arab women not being beaten, enslaved, force married or honour-killed is a good thing. But when everything that is not that is treated as a novelty, one is effectively reinforcing the stereotypes by saying, “Look! Here is a woman NOT being beaten, enslaved, force married or honour killed. How about that?” It is not worthy of reporting because it shows a woman defying the norms and prejudices of Arab society; it is newsworthy because it challenges your views and prejudices about Arab society." Guardian
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What I'm finding interesting about this piece is the extent to which it focuses on the *visibility* rather than the *fact* of inequality in South Africa. As in, what's the significance of building a massive luxurious golf estate right next to Diepsloot as opposed to in the middle of nowhere? I agree it definitely provokes more discomfort, but what are we to make of that discomfort?
Kind of reminds me of that Jonny Steinberg piece going around a while ago where he describes the discomfort of living in such an unequal society, but also *wanting* that discomfort, for aesthetic and professional reasons.
But does it matter to poor black people in South Africa whether Jonny (or a golf estate dweller) continues to be rich here or in England, except insofar as Jonny being rich in South Africa might mean a bit of that wealth gets directed their way?
I guess my worry is that our aesthetic reactions (positive or negative) to visible inequality risk obscuring the argument that needs to be head about the structural conditions of equality, and how they are to be tackled. But maybe we need to experience that discomfort before we can address the structural issues, idk. Thoughts?
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"Large-scale intervention in eastern Ukraine by regular Russian troops began last August, reaching a peak of 10,000 in December, and Moscow has been struggling to maintain operations on such a scale and intensity, according to a report." Guardian
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"The novel therapy involves taking stem cells from HIV-infected patients and using a gene editing tool to cause them to form into white blood cells with a specific mutation. The mutation affects a protein known as CCR5, and interferes with the virus’s ability to latch onto blood cells. The mutation occurs naturally in a small percentage of the world’s population and gives these individuals a life-long resistance to HIV infections." Medical Daily
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"For the first time in human experience, people had watertight containers readily available in any desired shape. With their new ability to boil or steam food, they gained access to abundant resources that had previously been difficult to use: leafy vegetables, which would burn or dry out if cooked on an open fire; shellfish, which could now be opened easily; and toxic foods like acorns, which could now have their toxins boiled out. Soft-boiled foods could be fed to small children, permitting earlier weaning and more closely spaced babies. Toothless old people, the repositories of information in a preliterate society, could now be fed and live longer. All those momentous consequences of pottery triggered a population explosion, causing Japan’s population to climb from an estimated few thousand to a quarter of a million." Discover
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"Being in Yarl’s Wood opened my eyes to a lot of things I never knew went on in this country. That place was worse than a prison. There were so many women who, like me, were innocent of any crime, but had been locked up." Guardian
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What an excellent idea
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"White people in South Africa live by the grace of blacks’ willingness to pursue reconciliation, and therefore many of us would like for Mr. de Kock to remain “Prime Evil” so that we ourselves can escape blame; we prefer that he not change so that the rest of us, who find it hard to confess our beneficial co-culpability in apartheid, need not change ourselves." NY Times
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I'm currently reading up about slavery in the Cape and the related practices of Arab slavery in the Indian Ocean.
One thing I'm finding interesting is to the extent to which these practices, while abhorrent, were somewhat less predicated on racial ideology than slavery in the United States and were consequently less rigid. The manumission of slaves was far more common and protected by custom, slaves were able to own some property, there were substantial populations of "free blacks" who lived alongside free whites, and interracial unions were not prohibited. Indeed, in the Cape, many slave women were freed so that they could marry free white settlers (though this has enormously coercive implications in itself).
Also interesting to read about people of African descent in the Middle East and South Asia who are descended from slaves. Again, although they suffer discrimination, they are less of a distinct minority in these places than African Americans are in the US.
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"It could be argued that anything that humanises and shows Arab women not being beaten, enslaved, force married or honour-killed is a good thing. But when everything that is not that is treated as a novelty, one is effectively reinforcing the stereotypes by saying, “Look! Here is a woman NOT being beaten, enslaved, force married or honour killed. How about that?” It is not worthy of reporting because it shows a woman defying the norms and prejudices of Arab society; it is newsworthy because it challenges your views and prejudices about Arab society." Guardian
>>><<<
What I'm finding interesting about this piece is the extent to which it focuses on the *visibility* rather than the *fact* of inequality in South Africa. As in, what's the significance of building a massive luxurious golf estate right next to Diepsloot as opposed to in the middle of nowhere? I agree it definitely provokes more discomfort, but what are we to make of that discomfort?
Kind of reminds me of that Jonny Steinberg piece going around a while ago where he describes the discomfort of living in such an unequal society, but also *wanting* that discomfort, for aesthetic and professional reasons.
But does it matter to poor black people in South Africa whether Jonny (or a golf estate dweller) continues to be rich here or in England, except insofar as Jonny being rich in South Africa might mean a bit of that wealth gets directed their way?
I guess my worry is that our aesthetic reactions (positive or negative) to visible inequality risk obscuring the argument that needs to be head about the structural conditions of equality, and how they are to be tackled. But maybe we need to experience that discomfort before we can address the structural issues, idk. Thoughts?
>>><<<
"Large-scale intervention in eastern Ukraine by regular Russian troops began last August, reaching a peak of 10,000 in December, and Moscow has been struggling to maintain operations on such a scale and intensity, according to a report." Guardian
>>><<<
"The novel therapy involves taking stem cells from HIV-infected patients and using a gene editing tool to cause them to form into white blood cells with a specific mutation. The mutation affects a protein known as CCR5, and interferes with the virus’s ability to latch onto blood cells. The mutation occurs naturally in a small percentage of the world’s population and gives these individuals a life-long resistance to HIV infections." Medical Daily
>>><<<
"For the first time in human experience, people had watertight containers readily available in any desired shape. With their new ability to boil or steam food, they gained access to abundant resources that had previously been difficult to use: leafy vegetables, which would burn or dry out if cooked on an open fire; shellfish, which could now be opened easily; and toxic foods like acorns, which could now have their toxins boiled out. Soft-boiled foods could be fed to small children, permitting earlier weaning and more closely spaced babies. Toothless old people, the repositories of information in a preliterate society, could now be fed and live longer. All those momentous consequences of pottery triggered a population explosion, causing Japan’s population to climb from an estimated few thousand to a quarter of a million." Discover
>>><<<
The enforcement of austerity towards Greece and other EU countries in economic trouble is often justified by reference to "EU rules". But here's a little-known fact: Germany is also in defiance of EU "macroeconomic balance" rules, which prohibit maintaining a current account surplus greater than 6% of GDP for 3 years or more. Germany has in fact exceeded this threshold for 7 of the last 8 years, with a record high of 7.5% in 2014 (the rules have only been in place since 2011 however). Who thinks that this brazen rule-breaking will result in the German economy being subjected to external supervision by EU institutions?
>>><<<
"Being in Yarl’s Wood opened my eyes to a lot of things I never knew went on in this country. That place was worse than a prison. There were so many women who, like me, were innocent of any crime, but had been locked up." Guardian
>>><<<
What an excellent idea
>>><<<
"White people in South Africa live by the grace of blacks’ willingness to pursue reconciliation, and therefore many of us would like for Mr. de Kock to remain “Prime Evil” so that we ourselves can escape blame; we prefer that he not change so that the rest of us, who find it hard to confess our beneficial co-culpability in apartheid, need not change ourselves." NY Times
>>><<<
I'm currently reading up about slavery in the Cape and the related practices of Arab slavery in the Indian Ocean.
One thing I'm finding interesting is to the extent to which these practices, while abhorrent, were somewhat less predicated on racial ideology than slavery in the United States and were consequently less rigid. The manumission of slaves was far more common and protected by custom, slaves were able to own some property, there were substantial populations of "free blacks" who lived alongside free whites, and interracial unions were not prohibited. Indeed, in the Cape, many slave women were freed so that they could marry free white settlers (though this has enormously coercive implications in itself).
Also interesting to read about people of African descent in the Middle East and South Asia who are descended from slaves. Again, although they suffer discrimination, they are less of a distinct minority in these places than African Americans are in the US.
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