OK, this woman had two jobs: as a sex worker and as a central banker (in the austerity-promoting Netherlands, no less). In the first job, she hurt no-one, unless they specifically asked to be hurt. In contrast, central bankers in Europe have, over the last few years, wiped out trillions of euros in lost economic potential, and consigned millions to poverty. And yet it is the *first* job that is described as “indecent behaviour”. What standard of "decency" are we applying here, anyway?
>>><<<
Everyone eligible to vote in the UK! Could you please take a few minutes of your time to do this, and circulate it widely in your networks? It's a clever little tool the ECP have made that makes it very easy to email your candidates for the upcoming parliamentary election about sex workers' rights. It literally will only take a few minutes, and it could make a huge difference if enough people do it!
>>><<<
Incredible levels of stupidity and inhumanity on display by Scottish police. Shutting down safe working venues! Discouraging venues from stocking condoms! They apparently don't give a shit that sex workers are harmed by this.
>>><<<
Good, thoughtful piece on polyamory and mental illness
>>><<<
"The restaurants that you see now are the remnant of the Chinese population that used to fill the US-Mexico borderlands. Why? Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. The 1882 law banned people from China from entering the US. So tens of thousands went to Cuba, South America and to Mexico. Many settled along the Mexican border, becoming grocers, merchants and restaurant owners. Others managed to cross into the US. “The Chinese invented undocumented immigration from Mexico,” Romero says. “Smuggling with false papers, in boats and in trains, the infrastructure for that was all invented by the Chinese.”" PRI
>>><<<
This is a great idea
>>><<<
UK politics is a lot like a shitty high school drama at the moment...
Tories: "SNP and Labour are, like, totally in love!"
Labour: "Ewww SNP, gross!"
SNP: "Why you no love me, Labour? *sheds single tear*"
>>><<<
Talk by David Kramer about South African styles of music derived from Khoisan traditions, with performances by Hannes Coetzee
>>><<<
"Why is it that projects like DAN’s—projects aimed at democratizing society—are so often perceived as idle dreams that melt away as soon as they encounter hard material reality? In our case, at least, it had nothing to do with inefficiency: police chiefs across the country had called us the best organized force they’d ever had to deal with. It seems to me that the reality effect (if one may call it that) comes rather from the fact that radical projects tend to founder—or at least become endlessly difficult—the moment they enter into the world of large, heavy objects: buildings, cars, tractors, boats, industrial machinery. This in turn is not because these objects are somehow intrinsically difficult to administer democratically—history is full of communities that successfully engage in the democratic administration of common resources—it’s because, like the DAN car, they are surrounded by endless government regulation, and are effectively impossible to hide from the government’s armed representatives."
- Graeber
>>><<<
"This toddler-level technique involves spreading the cards out on a table, swishing them around with your hands, and then gathering them up. Smooshing is used in poker tournaments and in baccarat games in Monte Carlo, but no one actually knows how long you need to smoosh a deck to randomize it." Quanta
>>><<<
I think the more interesting question is why black South Africans aren't attacking *South African* whites. I mean, we've actually done some horrendous shit, and continue to hugely benefit from that. Foreigners who are currently alive, of whatever race (bar a few managers of multinational corporations), just haven't played as much part in the oppression of black South Africans. Not to say that I'm advocating violence against anyone, just that I'd understand anti-white violence a bit more easily. And yet not once have I ever felt threatened in South Africa because of my ethnicity. I can't even recall an instance where someone has been rude to me in a way that I would attribute to my white South African-ness.
[In case you're wondering, I am being faux naive here. I get that racial hierarchies in South Africa have been enforced for so long that they now appear "natural", whereas the appearance of relatively prosperous black foreigners is new. But still.]
>>><<<
"Vexed" is the correct word here. When it comes to tackling Boko Haram, there's tendency to think that the ends justify the means. But I dunno, it leaves a very sour taste in the mouth.
>>><<<
Very cool video of the surface of the sun
>>><<<
How Americans were convinced to start using shopping trolleys...
"Goldman eventually had to hire attractive models to walk around the store pushing the carts to make shopping carts seem like an acceptable or even fashionable item to use."
>>><<<
“We are living with 71 years of jetlag and it’s unsustainable.” Guardian
>>><<<
"When stalking web-building spiders, Portias try to make different patterns of vibrations in the web that aggressively mimic the struggle of a trapped insect or the courtship signals of a male spider, repeating any pattern that induces the intended prey to move towards the Portia. Portia fimbriata has been observed to perform vibratory behavior for three days until the victim decided to investigate. They time invasions of webs to coincide with light breezes that blur the vibrations their approach causes in the target's web; and they back off if the intended victim responds belligerently. Portias that retreat may approach along an overhanging twig or rock, descend down a silk thread and kill the prey. Other jumping spiders take detours, but Portia is unusual in its readiness to use long detours that break visual contact." Wikipedia
>>><<<
Fighting fatphobia
>>><<<
"But perhaps boldest of all was a 1954 plan by Geoffrey Jellico, Ove Arup and Edward Mills to remake the whole of Soho as a concrete landscape of sunken roads, plazas and office towers. It would have involved knocking down much of Soho, and building a raised concrete platform, with 24-storey pinwheel towers, gardens and glass-bottomed canals over the streets beneath." Guardian
>>><<<
Fun fact: Snoop Dogg and Cameron Diaz went to high school together, and he probably sold her weed at some point.
>>><<<
Of course, it wasn't only UK policy, but it was a deliberate decision on the part of EU governments to cease search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean, on the full understanding that people would die.
>>><<<
"Military operations" against Mediterranean people smugglers? What are these people actually thinking? Suppose that such a mission could even be successful on its own terms, and they manage to kill/arrest smugglers, and destroy their ships... then refugees are simply going to end up in the hands of less experienced smugglers, using less seaworthy ships. The *only* solution to this problem is to give refugees a safe and legal route to the places they want to be.
>>><<<
Incredible levels of police brutality in South Africa. This remains an issue that isn't being taken anywhere near seriously enough.
"However, the records still reveal that 2 681 people died in police custody over the 10-year period. The cases indicate that, even though many suspects died in custody from apparently natural causes, many died due to assault. Of those who died in custody, records state nine were beaten to death with truncheons, nightsticks or riot batons."
>>><<<
Wowzers, someone (it's not clear yet who) has designed a bot that is able to parse the semantic content of tweets and execute very lucrative trades on the basis of this information *within seconds*. Putting aside issues about the implications for financial markets, this is quite impressive just as an AI exploit.
>>><<<
TW: Sexual abuse, sexual harassment, rape, child abuse
Answers to the question: "Women of Reddit, when did you first notice that men were looking at you in a sexual way? How old were you and how did it make you feel?"
>>><<<
"All of Europe has a responsibility to stop people from drowning. It’s partly due to their actions in Africa that people have had to leave their homes. Italy is doing so much to help save refugees and it needs support. Countries such as Britain, France, Belgium and Germany think they are far away and not responsible, but they all took part in colonising Africa. Nato took part in the war in Libya. They’re all part of the problem." Guardian
>>><<<
Everyone eligible to vote in the UK! Could you please take a few minutes of your time to do this, and circulate it widely in your networks? It's a clever little tool the ECP have made that makes it very easy to email your candidates for the upcoming parliamentary election about sex workers' rights. It literally will only take a few minutes, and it could make a huge difference if enough people do it!
>>><<<
Incredible levels of stupidity and inhumanity on display by Scottish police. Shutting down safe working venues! Discouraging venues from stocking condoms! They apparently don't give a shit that sex workers are harmed by this.
>>><<<
Good, thoughtful piece on polyamory and mental illness
>>><<<
"The restaurants that you see now are the remnant of the Chinese population that used to fill the US-Mexico borderlands. Why? Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. The 1882 law banned people from China from entering the US. So tens of thousands went to Cuba, South America and to Mexico. Many settled along the Mexican border, becoming grocers, merchants and restaurant owners. Others managed to cross into the US. “The Chinese invented undocumented immigration from Mexico,” Romero says. “Smuggling with false papers, in boats and in trains, the infrastructure for that was all invented by the Chinese.”" PRI
>>><<<
This is a great idea
>>><<<
UK politics is a lot like a shitty high school drama at the moment...
Tories: "SNP and Labour are, like, totally in love!"
Labour: "Ewww SNP, gross!"
SNP: "Why you no love me, Labour? *sheds single tear*"
>>><<<
Talk by David Kramer about South African styles of music derived from Khoisan traditions, with performances by Hannes Coetzee
>>><<<
"Why is it that projects like DAN’s—projects aimed at democratizing society—are so often perceived as idle dreams that melt away as soon as they encounter hard material reality? In our case, at least, it had nothing to do with inefficiency: police chiefs across the country had called us the best organized force they’d ever had to deal with. It seems to me that the reality effect (if one may call it that) comes rather from the fact that radical projects tend to founder—or at least become endlessly difficult—the moment they enter into the world of large, heavy objects: buildings, cars, tractors, boats, industrial machinery. This in turn is not because these objects are somehow intrinsically difficult to administer democratically—history is full of communities that successfully engage in the democratic administration of common resources—it’s because, like the DAN car, they are surrounded by endless government regulation, and are effectively impossible to hide from the government’s armed representatives."
- Graeber
>>><<<
"This toddler-level technique involves spreading the cards out on a table, swishing them around with your hands, and then gathering them up. Smooshing is used in poker tournaments and in baccarat games in Monte Carlo, but no one actually knows how long you need to smoosh a deck to randomize it." Quanta
>>><<<
I think the more interesting question is why black South Africans aren't attacking *South African* whites. I mean, we've actually done some horrendous shit, and continue to hugely benefit from that. Foreigners who are currently alive, of whatever race (bar a few managers of multinational corporations), just haven't played as much part in the oppression of black South Africans. Not to say that I'm advocating violence against anyone, just that I'd understand anti-white violence a bit more easily. And yet not once have I ever felt threatened in South Africa because of my ethnicity. I can't even recall an instance where someone has been rude to me in a way that I would attribute to my white South African-ness.
[In case you're wondering, I am being faux naive here. I get that racial hierarchies in South Africa have been enforced for so long that they now appear "natural", whereas the appearance of relatively prosperous black foreigners is new. But still.]
>>><<<
"Vexed" is the correct word here. When it comes to tackling Boko Haram, there's tendency to think that the ends justify the means. But I dunno, it leaves a very sour taste in the mouth.
>>><<<
Very cool video of the surface of the sun
>>><<<
How Americans were convinced to start using shopping trolleys...
"Goldman eventually had to hire attractive models to walk around the store pushing the carts to make shopping carts seem like an acceptable or even fashionable item to use."
>>><<<
“We are living with 71 years of jetlag and it’s unsustainable.” Guardian
>>><<<
"When stalking web-building spiders, Portias try to make different patterns of vibrations in the web that aggressively mimic the struggle of a trapped insect or the courtship signals of a male spider, repeating any pattern that induces the intended prey to move towards the Portia. Portia fimbriata has been observed to perform vibratory behavior for three days until the victim decided to investigate. They time invasions of webs to coincide with light breezes that blur the vibrations their approach causes in the target's web; and they back off if the intended victim responds belligerently. Portias that retreat may approach along an overhanging twig or rock, descend down a silk thread and kill the prey. Other jumping spiders take detours, but Portia is unusual in its readiness to use long detours that break visual contact." Wikipedia
>>><<<
Fighting fatphobia
>>><<<
"But perhaps boldest of all was a 1954 plan by Geoffrey Jellico, Ove Arup and Edward Mills to remake the whole of Soho as a concrete landscape of sunken roads, plazas and office towers. It would have involved knocking down much of Soho, and building a raised concrete platform, with 24-storey pinwheel towers, gardens and glass-bottomed canals over the streets beneath." Guardian
>>><<<
Fun fact: Snoop Dogg and Cameron Diaz went to high school together, and he probably sold her weed at some point.
>>><<<
Of course, it wasn't only UK policy, but it was a deliberate decision on the part of EU governments to cease search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean, on the full understanding that people would die.
>>><<<
"Military operations" against Mediterranean people smugglers? What are these people actually thinking? Suppose that such a mission could even be successful on its own terms, and they manage to kill/arrest smugglers, and destroy their ships... then refugees are simply going to end up in the hands of less experienced smugglers, using less seaworthy ships. The *only* solution to this problem is to give refugees a safe and legal route to the places they want to be.
>>><<<
Incredible levels of police brutality in South Africa. This remains an issue that isn't being taken anywhere near seriously enough.
"However, the records still reveal that 2 681 people died in police custody over the 10-year period. The cases indicate that, even though many suspects died in custody from apparently natural causes, many died due to assault. Of those who died in custody, records state nine were beaten to death with truncheons, nightsticks or riot batons."
>>><<<
Wowzers, someone (it's not clear yet who) has designed a bot that is able to parse the semantic content of tweets and execute very lucrative trades on the basis of this information *within seconds*. Putting aside issues about the implications for financial markets, this is quite impressive just as an AI exploit.
>>><<<
TW: Sexual abuse, sexual harassment, rape, child abuse
Answers to the question: "Women of Reddit, when did you first notice that men were looking at you in a sexual way? How old were you and how did it make you feel?"
>>><<<
"All of Europe has a responsibility to stop people from drowning. It’s partly due to their actions in Africa that people have had to leave their homes. Italy is doing so much to help save refugees and it needs support. Countries such as Britain, France, Belgium and Germany think they are far away and not responsible, but they all took part in colonising Africa. Nato took part in the war in Libya. They’re all part of the problem." Guardian
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