Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Celerity
Celerity's Journal
Celerity's Journal
November 30, 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/30/jacinda-ardern-and-sanna-marin-dismiss-suggestion-their-age-and-gender-was-reason-for-meeting
The prime ministers of Finland and New Zealand have taken a swipe at suggestions their first face-to-face meeting in New Zealand happened because they are both young female leaders. “We’re meeting because we are prime ministers,” Finland’s Sanna Marin said at a joint press conference at Auckland’s Government House on Wednesday morning, after a journalist suggested some people may have thought they were meeting because they share a similar demographic.
Responding to the suggestion, Ardern said, “I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age.” “We, of course, have a higher proportion of men in politics – it’s reality – because two women meet, it is not simply because of their gender,” Ardern said.
She added that the two of them were focused on the responsibility they, as female leaders, had to women in countries who are facing “dire circumstances, where we are seeing the most basic of human rights being repressed and violated”. Ardern cited Iran specifically as a “good example” of those dire circumstances. Marin said they both wanted to stand together over equality “to make sure every woman and girl all across the world will have the same rights and the same opportunities as men”.
Marin is in New Zealand for her first official tour, marking the first visit to the country by a Finnish prime minister. After a bilateral meeting on Wednesday morning, the two leaders affirmed the warm relationship between New Zealand and Finland and their commitment to boosting trade opportunities, tackling climate change and deepening ties. Ardern said: “Our countries are aligned on incredibly important issues – we share a strong commitment to democratic values as the basis for open, tolerant, resilient, equal societies, and to multilateralism and a rules-based order that has underpinned global peace and prosperity since 1945.”
snip
Jacinda Ardern and Sanna Marin dismiss suggestion their age and gender was reason for meeting
Finland’s PM says she met Ardern in New Zealand because they are both ‘prime ministers’ after journalist asks whether it was due to similar age and genderhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/30/jacinda-ardern-and-sanna-marin-dismiss-suggestion-their-age-and-gender-was-reason-for-meeting
The prime ministers of Finland and New Zealand have taken a swipe at suggestions their first face-to-face meeting in New Zealand happened because they are both young female leaders. “We’re meeting because we are prime ministers,” Finland’s Sanna Marin said at a joint press conference at Auckland’s Government House on Wednesday morning, after a journalist suggested some people may have thought they were meeting because they share a similar demographic.
Responding to the suggestion, Ardern said, “I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age.” “We, of course, have a higher proportion of men in politics – it’s reality – because two women meet, it is not simply because of their gender,” Ardern said.
She added that the two of them were focused on the responsibility they, as female leaders, had to women in countries who are facing “dire circumstances, where we are seeing the most basic of human rights being repressed and violated”. Ardern cited Iran specifically as a “good example” of those dire circumstances. Marin said they both wanted to stand together over equality “to make sure every woman and girl all across the world will have the same rights and the same opportunities as men”.
Marin is in New Zealand for her first official tour, marking the first visit to the country by a Finnish prime minister. After a bilateral meeting on Wednesday morning, the two leaders affirmed the warm relationship between New Zealand and Finland and their commitment to boosting trade opportunities, tackling climate change and deepening ties. Ardern said: “Our countries are aligned on incredibly important issues – we share a strong commitment to democratic values as the basis for open, tolerant, resilient, equal societies, and to multilateralism and a rules-based order that has underpinned global peace and prosperity since 1945.”
snip
November 30, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/racist-youtuber-joins-kanye-wests-campaign
A racist YouTuber—who achieved internet infamy by urging pedestrians to say the N-word—has joined the ranks of Kanye West’s expanding, informal 2024 presidential campaign. Nico Kenn De Balinthazy, better known as “Sneako,” said on Monday night that he’s taking a hiatus from live-streaming to focus on his new role with the antisemitic rapper. “I met Ye, and then I ended up working with Ye,” the provocative YouTuber said while calling West his “childhood hero.”
The controversial streamer added he’s been working for West behind the scenes and producing videos for the rapper’s Twitter page. “I feel like this is the last opportunity America has,” De Balinthazy continued, indirectly speaking to West’s presidential candidacy. De Balinthazy didn't specify his exact role on the campaign, which has yet to be made official with the FEC, but said the gig could consume two years of his life (in the unlikely event the campaign lasts until the 2024 general presidential election).
While De Balinthazy insisted that it’s a career move to “fight the new world order,” he admitted that he would be “subservient” in his new role. So far, West has also enlisted the help of far-right internet troll Milo Yiannopoulos and white nationalist Nick Fuentes in his presidential endeavors. In West’s Mar-a-Lago “debrief” video posted on Twitter last week, following West and Fuentes meeting with Donald Trump at his Florida club, De Balinthazy was seated in the background.
https://twitter.com/Rap/status/1596170803543883781
The YouTuber—who in October was banned from the streaming platform—couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday. Yiannopoulos declined to comment when reached by The Daily Beast. Like Yiannopoulos and Fuentes, De Balinthazy traffics in misogyny and hate. He also has made violent threats online. For example, after his Twitter account was temporarily suspended in September, De Balinthazy threatened to “break” the face of fellow YouTube streamer Hasan Piker. The Daily Beast reported on Monday that Fuentes had joined West’s haphazard campaign, followed by a Tim Pool interview that quickly devolved into a train wreck after the rapper was met with mild pushback to his blatant antisemitism.
snip
Racist YouTuber Joins Kanye West's Campaign
The controversial streamer known as “Sneako” is known for his deliberately offensive prank videos.https://www.thedailybeast.com/racist-youtuber-joins-kanye-wests-campaign
A racist YouTuber—who achieved internet infamy by urging pedestrians to say the N-word—has joined the ranks of Kanye West’s expanding, informal 2024 presidential campaign. Nico Kenn De Balinthazy, better known as “Sneako,” said on Monday night that he’s taking a hiatus from live-streaming to focus on his new role with the antisemitic rapper. “I met Ye, and then I ended up working with Ye,” the provocative YouTuber said while calling West his “childhood hero.”
The controversial streamer added he’s been working for West behind the scenes and producing videos for the rapper’s Twitter page. “I feel like this is the last opportunity America has,” De Balinthazy continued, indirectly speaking to West’s presidential candidacy. De Balinthazy didn't specify his exact role on the campaign, which has yet to be made official with the FEC, but said the gig could consume two years of his life (in the unlikely event the campaign lasts until the 2024 general presidential election).
While De Balinthazy insisted that it’s a career move to “fight the new world order,” he admitted that he would be “subservient” in his new role. So far, West has also enlisted the help of far-right internet troll Milo Yiannopoulos and white nationalist Nick Fuentes in his presidential endeavors. In West’s Mar-a-Lago “debrief” video posted on Twitter last week, following West and Fuentes meeting with Donald Trump at his Florida club, De Balinthazy was seated in the background.
https://twitter.com/Rap/status/1596170803543883781
The YouTuber—who in October was banned from the streaming platform—couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday. Yiannopoulos declined to comment when reached by The Daily Beast. Like Yiannopoulos and Fuentes, De Balinthazy traffics in misogyny and hate. He also has made violent threats online. For example, after his Twitter account was temporarily suspended in September, De Balinthazy threatened to “break” the face of fellow YouTube streamer Hasan Piker. The Daily Beast reported on Monday that Fuentes had joined West’s haphazard campaign, followed by a Tim Pool interview that quickly devolved into a train wreck after the rapper was met with mild pushback to his blatant antisemitism.
snip
November 30, 2022
https://archive.ph/z8DSV
I have food on my mind. The few weeks between Thanksgiving and the end-of-year holidays are a time when eating becomes something more than a utilitarian need or even a personal pleasure. Now is the time of year when food’s cultural significance takes center stage in our overscheduled lives. We may eat standing at a desk most of the year, but during the holidays we are reconnected to food’s deeper meaning.
My grandmother died 10 years ago. The last Thanksgiving I had with her was also the last time I ate her sweet potato pudding. She made it just for me, once a year. I have no idea where the recipe came from or even if there was one. I have tried versions since she died. Online recipes have different names. Custard. Casserole. None of the recipes are quite right. Some add flour. I am sure that she did not. Others insist on coconut. She would never.
None of the recipes I have tried match the texture or depth of the dish my grandmother made: layers of buttery, grated sweet potato soaked in spices and baked until crispy on the outside and mushy in the center. I started thinking that maybe what didn’t work about these other dishes I tried was not the recipe but the ingredients.
My grandmother usually bought small sweet potatoes from a local grower. She had her favorite sources. A distant cousin, Eugene, grew some of the best sweet potatoes, by her standard. He put aside some for her over the holidays. If he was busy, there were other local suppliers: a roadside pickup truck and stand with fresh vegetables sold by the bucket, for example. In a pinch, she would go to a local “country food store” that sold food not fancy enough to be sold at the local chain grocery stores. Something about my normal store-bought sweet potatoes does not measure up. They’re too big, too tough, too sweet or not sweet enough. The last time I ate my grandmother’s sweet potato pudding was the last time I tasted the culture that made that pudding possible. I wish I had known it was the last time.
snip
related
Eating While Black Explores How Food Shaming and Race Are Related
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/eating-while-black-food-shaming
Humiliating others about what they eat should never be okay.
Most everyone in America, has or quite possibly will experience food shaming at some point in their lifetime. The experience might be intentional or accidental, but it is bound to happen because we often violate people’s social, cultural, and racial boundaries without giving it a second thought. Sadly, many young people will experience this level of embarrassment early in life and most often it will be inflicted by a relative, a friend, or an authority figure. Many of us who came of age during the Presidential Fitness Test will recall both the horror and shame of being labeled unfit and unhealthy because we could not climb the dreaded rope in less than a minute or perform the flex-arm hang for more than two seconds. Imagine going from having been embarrassed in gym class by the lack of ability to perform military-style exercises to then being told you are overweight and will die soon from obesity. Or imagine leaving gym class and heading to lunch where your “friends” criticize your rice, egusi, and goat sauce or sambusas, or other foods with different aromas and smells. The horror. While food shaming alone is commonplace, its more insidious version is undergirded by racial ideologies and beliefs that often lead us to dismiss and even demonize the cultural practices of those unlike ourselves and most often this includes the food habits and behaviors of Black, Indigenous, Latina/o, and Asian Americans.
Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America calls attention to these instances and points out how racial animus and disdain toward Black people in America often underlies this behavior. The problem is exacerbated when one racial group assumes itself to be the norm, so our public and social policies are crafted in ways that privilege this group’s norms over all others. Nowhere is this more apparent than in tying food cultures and food consumption to body shape and size. There are countless studies attesting to obesity as one of most prevalent diseases in the United States. However, for some time now, there has been an equally large number of studies that argue for a consideration of the ways that our Body Mass Index (BMI), which measures body fat based on height and weight needs to be considered for its variation among racial and ethnic groups. Yet the average person does not understand the complexities of obesity and thus tends to rely upon visual evidence alone thinking that all larger people are unhealthy and all smaller people are not. Most people seem not to realize that even those who are smaller and appear to have a “normal” BMI can have high percentages of body fat and a low amount of muscle. Unbeknownst to the observer, diabetes and hypertension can and do affect even those who “look” healthy.
Sadly, from academic discourse to popular culture, the BMI of Black people who are on the heavier side is assumed to be out of control because it does not conform to European standards of beauty, (think about all of the ridiculous criticism and negativity heaped upon musical artist Lizzo). And to this end, the foods consumed by Black people tend to be vilified as the culprit for bodies that appear to be obese. This is so much the case that many of us go to dangerous lengths to lose weight and/or to insist that we eat healthy diets, even when these trends are not necessarily good for our body types. But, the truth of the matter is that there are any number of reasons that people’s bodies have extra weight — from genetics and body makeup, to medication consumption, pregnancy, and yes, overeating and lack of exercise. For many people of color there is also the daily stress of living with race and class aggressions, including lack of generational wealth, traumas from gun and police violence, and so many other factors that it is much too convenient to place the lion’s share of the blame for the appearance of people’s varying larger body shapes on eating alone.
It’s all quite sad, really. America was founded on the ethereal concept of freedom and liberty. But far too often we find that others want to define what these ideas mean for us. One would think that adults would help young people to appreciate rather than ridicule social, cultural, physical, and sexual differences. And nowhere is this more the case than in schools and institutions of learning. Modeling is especially important because young people are learning how to comport themselves in the world; in middle and high schools, they’re learning who they are or will be in this life. Shaming and humiliating others using food — especially children — should never be okay. Having one’s food cultures and body shamed by an adult can also make it difficult for a young person to feel comfortable confiding in their authority figures at a time when they often most need to do so. Not only can such actions have deleterious effects leading to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and much worse. But also, it is just not a good way to be a human.
snip
Help Black Farmers, Who Know Hyperlocal Doesn't Mean Fancy
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/opinion/charity-holiday-gift-black-farmers-fund.htmlhttps://archive.ph/z8DSV
I have food on my mind. The few weeks between Thanksgiving and the end-of-year holidays are a time when eating becomes something more than a utilitarian need or even a personal pleasure. Now is the time of year when food’s cultural significance takes center stage in our overscheduled lives. We may eat standing at a desk most of the year, but during the holidays we are reconnected to food’s deeper meaning.
My grandmother died 10 years ago. The last Thanksgiving I had with her was also the last time I ate her sweet potato pudding. She made it just for me, once a year. I have no idea where the recipe came from or even if there was one. I have tried versions since she died. Online recipes have different names. Custard. Casserole. None of the recipes are quite right. Some add flour. I am sure that she did not. Others insist on coconut. She would never.
None of the recipes I have tried match the texture or depth of the dish my grandmother made: layers of buttery, grated sweet potato soaked in spices and baked until crispy on the outside and mushy in the center. I started thinking that maybe what didn’t work about these other dishes I tried was not the recipe but the ingredients.
My grandmother usually bought small sweet potatoes from a local grower. She had her favorite sources. A distant cousin, Eugene, grew some of the best sweet potatoes, by her standard. He put aside some for her over the holidays. If he was busy, there were other local suppliers: a roadside pickup truck and stand with fresh vegetables sold by the bucket, for example. In a pinch, she would go to a local “country food store” that sold food not fancy enough to be sold at the local chain grocery stores. Something about my normal store-bought sweet potatoes does not measure up. They’re too big, too tough, too sweet or not sweet enough. The last time I ate my grandmother’s sweet potato pudding was the last time I tasted the culture that made that pudding possible. I wish I had known it was the last time.
snip
related
Eating While Black Explores How Food Shaming and Race Are Related
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/eating-while-black-food-shaming
Humiliating others about what they eat should never be okay.
Most everyone in America, has or quite possibly will experience food shaming at some point in their lifetime. The experience might be intentional or accidental, but it is bound to happen because we often violate people’s social, cultural, and racial boundaries without giving it a second thought. Sadly, many young people will experience this level of embarrassment early in life and most often it will be inflicted by a relative, a friend, or an authority figure. Many of us who came of age during the Presidential Fitness Test will recall both the horror and shame of being labeled unfit and unhealthy because we could not climb the dreaded rope in less than a minute or perform the flex-arm hang for more than two seconds. Imagine going from having been embarrassed in gym class by the lack of ability to perform military-style exercises to then being told you are overweight and will die soon from obesity. Or imagine leaving gym class and heading to lunch where your “friends” criticize your rice, egusi, and goat sauce or sambusas, or other foods with different aromas and smells. The horror. While food shaming alone is commonplace, its more insidious version is undergirded by racial ideologies and beliefs that often lead us to dismiss and even demonize the cultural practices of those unlike ourselves and most often this includes the food habits and behaviors of Black, Indigenous, Latina/o, and Asian Americans.
Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America calls attention to these instances and points out how racial animus and disdain toward Black people in America often underlies this behavior. The problem is exacerbated when one racial group assumes itself to be the norm, so our public and social policies are crafted in ways that privilege this group’s norms over all others. Nowhere is this more apparent than in tying food cultures and food consumption to body shape and size. There are countless studies attesting to obesity as one of most prevalent diseases in the United States. However, for some time now, there has been an equally large number of studies that argue for a consideration of the ways that our Body Mass Index (BMI), which measures body fat based on height and weight needs to be considered for its variation among racial and ethnic groups. Yet the average person does not understand the complexities of obesity and thus tends to rely upon visual evidence alone thinking that all larger people are unhealthy and all smaller people are not. Most people seem not to realize that even those who are smaller and appear to have a “normal” BMI can have high percentages of body fat and a low amount of muscle. Unbeknownst to the observer, diabetes and hypertension can and do affect even those who “look” healthy.
Sadly, from academic discourse to popular culture, the BMI of Black people who are on the heavier side is assumed to be out of control because it does not conform to European standards of beauty, (think about all of the ridiculous criticism and negativity heaped upon musical artist Lizzo). And to this end, the foods consumed by Black people tend to be vilified as the culprit for bodies that appear to be obese. This is so much the case that many of us go to dangerous lengths to lose weight and/or to insist that we eat healthy diets, even when these trends are not necessarily good for our body types. But, the truth of the matter is that there are any number of reasons that people’s bodies have extra weight — from genetics and body makeup, to medication consumption, pregnancy, and yes, overeating and lack of exercise. For many people of color there is also the daily stress of living with race and class aggressions, including lack of generational wealth, traumas from gun and police violence, and so many other factors that it is much too convenient to place the lion’s share of the blame for the appearance of people’s varying larger body shapes on eating alone.
It’s all quite sad, really. America was founded on the ethereal concept of freedom and liberty. But far too often we find that others want to define what these ideas mean for us. One would think that adults would help young people to appreciate rather than ridicule social, cultural, physical, and sexual differences. And nowhere is this more the case than in schools and institutions of learning. Modeling is especially important because young people are learning how to comport themselves in the world; in middle and high schools, they’re learning who they are or will be in this life. Shaming and humiliating others using food — especially children — should never be okay. Having one’s food cultures and body shamed by an adult can also make it difficult for a young person to feel comfortable confiding in their authority figures at a time when they often most need to do so. Not only can such actions have deleterious effects leading to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and much worse. But also, it is just not a good way to be a human.
snip
November 30, 2022
https://thebanter.substack.com/p/heres-why-trump-went-full-nazi
by Ben Cohen
In The Banter Roundtable Podcast, we have long discussed the need to talk about Holocaust denying, White Supremacist Nick Fuentes. I argued recently that Fuentes would become a big MAGA star and would in time be totally normalized by the GOP. As Justin has often reminded me, what is considered extreme on the right today will almost always be normalized tomorrow. Fuentes, I figured, fit this formula exactly. The rabid Jew hater is young, incredibly stupid, and extraordinarily confident. In the MAGA world, this combination of traits is a perfect recipe for stardom. Figures like Milo Yiannopolous, Candace Owens, and Marjorie Taylor Greene have paved the way for the rise of Fuentes, and he only needed the Orange stamp of approval to become a bonafide MAGA star. This, I figured, would only be a matter of time.
So when the news broke that Donald Trump had invited America’s most prominent anti-semite Kanye West and none other than Nick Fuentes to Mar-a-Lago, I wasn’t surprised at all. I was in fact, kind of relieved. Why? Because I have always known that anti-semitism is one of the major driving forces behind the MAGA movement, and that Trump was almost certainly an anti-semite himself. Trump has flirted with borderline antisemitic statements in the past, but has always been quite careful (at least for him) about openly hating Jewish people. Now he is openly palling around with virulent Jew haters just as he begins his ‘Make America Great Again, Again’ campaign.
This is a good thing in my opinion, just so we can be clear about what we are facing this time around. A more serious question though, is why Trump decided to invite two of the most repellent political/cultural figures in America to Mar-a-Lago for a chinwag? I spent a good deal of time thinking about this over the holiday and have come to quite an unnerving conclusion.
Trump’s skills
When thinking about this question, we have to look at the bigger picture in order to assess Trump’s motives. One mistake Trump’s opponents have made over the years is underestimating his intelligence — or at least his unique skill set. I do not operate on the assumption that Trump is an idiot, and I think there are often unseen calculations he makes that the left doesn’t latch onto until it is too late. I have learned over the years of watching Trump that he has two key skills: The first is understanding his base, and the second is understanding the innate weakness of Republican politicians. This admittedly narrow set of talents has allowed Trump to do truly extraordinary things. He might have the attention span of a flea and have no intellectual interests outside of making money, but he has bent the GOP to his will and created a cult like movement completely impervious to logic, reason, or basic morality.
snip
Here's Why Trump Went Full Nazi
Trump invited two rabid antisemites to the White House (my add, I think the author means Mar-A-Lardo), Kanye West and Nick Fuentes. Why? The answer is bleak.https://thebanter.substack.com/p/heres-why-trump-went-full-nazi
by Ben Cohen
In The Banter Roundtable Podcast, we have long discussed the need to talk about Holocaust denying, White Supremacist Nick Fuentes. I argued recently that Fuentes would become a big MAGA star and would in time be totally normalized by the GOP. As Justin has often reminded me, what is considered extreme on the right today will almost always be normalized tomorrow. Fuentes, I figured, fit this formula exactly. The rabid Jew hater is young, incredibly stupid, and extraordinarily confident. In the MAGA world, this combination of traits is a perfect recipe for stardom. Figures like Milo Yiannopolous, Candace Owens, and Marjorie Taylor Greene have paved the way for the rise of Fuentes, and he only needed the Orange stamp of approval to become a bonafide MAGA star. This, I figured, would only be a matter of time.
So when the news broke that Donald Trump had invited America’s most prominent anti-semite Kanye West and none other than Nick Fuentes to Mar-a-Lago, I wasn’t surprised at all. I was in fact, kind of relieved. Why? Because I have always known that anti-semitism is one of the major driving forces behind the MAGA movement, and that Trump was almost certainly an anti-semite himself. Trump has flirted with borderline antisemitic statements in the past, but has always been quite careful (at least for him) about openly hating Jewish people. Now he is openly palling around with virulent Jew haters just as he begins his ‘Make America Great Again, Again’ campaign.
This is a good thing in my opinion, just so we can be clear about what we are facing this time around. A more serious question though, is why Trump decided to invite two of the most repellent political/cultural figures in America to Mar-a-Lago for a chinwag? I spent a good deal of time thinking about this over the holiday and have come to quite an unnerving conclusion.
Trump’s skills
When thinking about this question, we have to look at the bigger picture in order to assess Trump’s motives. One mistake Trump’s opponents have made over the years is underestimating his intelligence — or at least his unique skill set. I do not operate on the assumption that Trump is an idiot, and I think there are often unseen calculations he makes that the left doesn’t latch onto until it is too late. I have learned over the years of watching Trump that he has two key skills: The first is understanding his base, and the second is understanding the innate weakness of Republican politicians. This admittedly narrow set of talents has allowed Trump to do truly extraordinary things. He might have the attention span of a flea and have no intellectual interests outside of making money, but he has bent the GOP to his will and created a cult like movement completely impervious to logic, reason, or basic morality.
snip
November 29, 2022
Billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men in the world and the CEO of BNSF Railway’s parent company, saw his wealth jump by nearly $1.4 billion in a single day earlier this week, a sum that could easily fund 15 days of paid sick leave for every rail worker in the United States. BNSF is one of the major railroad giants refusing to budge in contract negotiations with rail unions as they fight for 15 days of paid sick leave.
Full story: Truthout
One day of Warren Buffett wealth gains could cover rail workers' paid sick leave
https://ble-t.org/news/one-day-of-warren-buffett-wealth-gains-could-cover-rail-workers-paid-sick-leave/Billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest men in the world and the CEO of BNSF Railway’s parent company, saw his wealth jump by nearly $1.4 billion in a single day earlier this week, a sum that could easily fund 15 days of paid sick leave for every rail worker in the United States. BNSF is one of the major railroad giants refusing to budge in contract negotiations with rail unions as they fight for 15 days of paid sick leave.
Full story: Truthout
November 29, 2022
Label:
Parlophone – 12RDJ 6668X
Format:
Vinyl, 12", Single Sided, White Label, Stamped
Country:
UK
Released:
Aug 2005
Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Leftfield, Tech House, Electro
peak mid noughties.................. expand
Label:
Parlophone – 12RDJ 6668X
Format:
Vinyl, 12", Single Sided, White Label, Stamped
Country:
UK
Released:
Aug 2005
Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Leftfield, Tech House, Electro
November 29, 2022
https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-solve-moral-problems-with-formal-logic-and-probability
The relationship between mathematics and morality is easy to think about but hard to understand. Suppose Jane sees five people drowning on one side of a lake and one person drowning on the other side. There are life-preservers on both sides of the lake. She can either save the five or the one, but not both; she clearly needs to save the five. This is a simple example of the use of mathematics to make a moral decision – five is greater than one, so Jane should save the five.
Moral mathematics is the application of mathematical methods, such as formal logic and probability, to moral problems. Morality involves moral concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong. But morality also involves quantitative concepts, such as harming more or fewer persons, and taking actions that have a higher or lower probability of creating benefit or causing harm. Mathematical tools are helpful for making such quantitative comparisons. They are also helpful in the innumerable contexts where we are unsure what the consequences of our actions will be. Such scenarios require us to engage in probabilistic thinking, and to evaluate the likelihood of particular outcomes. Intuitive reasoning is notoriously fallible in such cases, and, as we shall see, the use of mathematical tools brings precision to our reasoning and helps us eliminate error and confusion.
Moral mathematics employs numbers and equations to represent relations between human lives, obligations and constraints. Some might find this objectionable. The philosopher Bernard Williams once wrote that moral mathematics ‘will have something to say even on the difference between massacring 7 million, and massacring 7 million and one.’ Williams expresses the common sentiment that moral mathematics ignores what is truly important about morality: concern for human life, people’s characters, their actions, and their relationships with each other. However, this does not mean mathematical reasoning has no role in ethics. Ethical theories judge whether an act is morally better or worse than another act. But they also judge by how much one act is better or worse than another. Morality cannot be reduced to mere numbers, but, as we shall see, without moral mathematics, ethics is stunted.
In this essay, I will discuss various ways in which moral mathematics can be used to tackle questions and problems in ethics, concentrating primarily on the relationship between morality, probability and uncertainty. Moral mathematics has limitations, and I discuss decision-making concerning the very far future as a demonstrative case study for its circumscribed applicability.
snip
Moral mathematics
Subjecting the problems of ethics to the cool quantifications of logic and probability can help us to be better peoplehttps://aeon.co/essays/how-to-solve-moral-problems-with-formal-logic-and-probability
The relationship between mathematics and morality is easy to think about but hard to understand. Suppose Jane sees five people drowning on one side of a lake and one person drowning on the other side. There are life-preservers on both sides of the lake. She can either save the five or the one, but not both; she clearly needs to save the five. This is a simple example of the use of mathematics to make a moral decision – five is greater than one, so Jane should save the five.
Moral mathematics is the application of mathematical methods, such as formal logic and probability, to moral problems. Morality involves moral concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong. But morality also involves quantitative concepts, such as harming more or fewer persons, and taking actions that have a higher or lower probability of creating benefit or causing harm. Mathematical tools are helpful for making such quantitative comparisons. They are also helpful in the innumerable contexts where we are unsure what the consequences of our actions will be. Such scenarios require us to engage in probabilistic thinking, and to evaluate the likelihood of particular outcomes. Intuitive reasoning is notoriously fallible in such cases, and, as we shall see, the use of mathematical tools brings precision to our reasoning and helps us eliminate error and confusion.
Moral mathematics employs numbers and equations to represent relations between human lives, obligations and constraints. Some might find this objectionable. The philosopher Bernard Williams once wrote that moral mathematics ‘will have something to say even on the difference between massacring 7 million, and massacring 7 million and one.’ Williams expresses the common sentiment that moral mathematics ignores what is truly important about morality: concern for human life, people’s characters, their actions, and their relationships with each other. However, this does not mean mathematical reasoning has no role in ethics. Ethical theories judge whether an act is morally better or worse than another act. But they also judge by how much one act is better or worse than another. Morality cannot be reduced to mere numbers, but, as we shall see, without moral mathematics, ethics is stunted.
In this essay, I will discuss various ways in which moral mathematics can be used to tackle questions and problems in ethics, concentrating primarily on the relationship between morality, probability and uncertainty. Moral mathematics has limitations, and I discuss decision-making concerning the very far future as a demonstrative case study for its circumscribed applicability.
snip
November 29, 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/29/manuscript-treasure-trove-may-offer-fresh-understanding-of-hegel
A biographer researching the German philosopher Hegel has uncovered a massive treasure trove of previously undocumented lectures that could change perceptions regarding one of the leading figures of modern western philosophy.
More than 4,000 pages of notes on Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s lectures were found by Klaus Vieweg in the library of the archdiocese of Munich and Freising.
“The discovery of these manuscripts is comparable to finding a new score by Beethoven or a previously unseen painting by Constable,” said Vieweg, a professor at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany.
He said an early reading of the notes had hinted at a fresh understanding of how Hegel formed his influential ideas on aesthetics, the philosophy around beauty and art, and how he analysed Shakespeare’s plays to help develop his ideas.
snip
Manuscript treasure trove may offer fresh understanding of Hegel
Exclusive: Library discovery of undocumented transcripts of German philosopher’s lectures like ‘finding new Beethoven score’https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/29/manuscript-treasure-trove-may-offer-fresh-understanding-of-hegel
A biographer researching the German philosopher Hegel has uncovered a massive treasure trove of previously undocumented lectures that could change perceptions regarding one of the leading figures of modern western philosophy.
More than 4,000 pages of notes on Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s lectures were found by Klaus Vieweg in the library of the archdiocese of Munich and Freising.
“The discovery of these manuscripts is comparable to finding a new score by Beethoven or a previously unseen painting by Constable,” said Vieweg, a professor at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany.
He said an early reading of the notes had hinted at a fresh understanding of how Hegel formed his influential ideas on aesthetics, the philosophy around beauty and art, and how he analysed Shakespeare’s plays to help develop his ideas.
snip
November 29, 2022
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12757630/juventus-president-andrea-agnelli-and-rest-of-clubs-board-resign
The collective resignation comes after Juventus' financial statements underwent scrutiny by prosecutors and Italian market regulator Consob in recent months for alleged false accounting and market manipulation. The company has denied any wrongdoing. Furthermore, Juventus published an annual loss of £220m for last season - a record-breaking fee in the history of the club.
A Juventus statement read: "The Board of Directors, considering the focus and relevance of the pending legal and technical-accounting issues, have deemed it in the best interest to recommend that Juventus adopt a new Board of Directors to deal with these issues."
Alongside Agnelli, vice-president Pavel Nedved has offered his resignation as has chief executive Maurizio Arrivabene - but Juventus have asked the latter to remain in his position to transition over to the next board of directors. Board members Laurence Debroux, Massimo Della Ragione, Katryn Fink, Daniela Marilungo, Francesco Roncaglio, Giorgio Tacchia and Suzanne Keywood have also stepped down.
President Agnelli has been at the Juventus helm since 2010 and was one of the main figures in setting up the European Super League which failed to take shape last year, acting as vice-chairman of the division. Juventus, under Agnelli's stewardship, are still signed up to the breakaway league along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, despite the other nine European clubs quickly stepping away from the project due to backlash from the football community.
snip
the Agnelli mafia finally is cleansed out of football, they were one of, if not the most, toxic forces in football for decades
the sui generis of FFP, as well as puppeteering UEFA for ages
popping some champagne
this has been a LONG held desire of mine
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli and rest of club's board resign (woooooooooot!)
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli and vice-president Pavel Nedved have resigned from the club alongside entire board of directors; Serie A club have been accused of false accounting and market manipulation in recent months and recorded record losses; the company has denied any wrongdoinghttps://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12757630/juventus-president-andrea-agnelli-and-rest-of-clubs-board-resign
The collective resignation comes after Juventus' financial statements underwent scrutiny by prosecutors and Italian market regulator Consob in recent months for alleged false accounting and market manipulation. The company has denied any wrongdoing. Furthermore, Juventus published an annual loss of £220m for last season - a record-breaking fee in the history of the club.
A Juventus statement read: "The Board of Directors, considering the focus and relevance of the pending legal and technical-accounting issues, have deemed it in the best interest to recommend that Juventus adopt a new Board of Directors to deal with these issues."
Alongside Agnelli, vice-president Pavel Nedved has offered his resignation as has chief executive Maurizio Arrivabene - but Juventus have asked the latter to remain in his position to transition over to the next board of directors. Board members Laurence Debroux, Massimo Della Ragione, Katryn Fink, Daniela Marilungo, Francesco Roncaglio, Giorgio Tacchia and Suzanne Keywood have also stepped down.
President Agnelli has been at the Juventus helm since 2010 and was one of the main figures in setting up the European Super League which failed to take shape last year, acting as vice-chairman of the division. Juventus, under Agnelli's stewardship, are still signed up to the breakaway league along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, despite the other nine European clubs quickly stepping away from the project due to backlash from the football community.
snip
the Agnelli mafia finally is cleansed out of football, they were one of, if not the most, toxic forces in football for decades
the sui generis of FFP, as well as puppeteering UEFA for ages
popping some champagne
this has been a LONG held desire of mine
November 28, 2022
Police had to seal off parts of the center of Brussels, deploy water cannons and fire tear gas to disperse crowds following violence during and after Morocco’s 2-0 upset win over Belgium at the World Cup.
Brussels Riots - Belgium Football Fans Turn Violent After Defeat To Morocco
Police had to seal off parts of the center of Brussels, deploy water cannons and fire tear gas to disperse crowds following violence during and after Morocco’s 2-0 upset win over Belgium at the World Cup.
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: London
Home country: US/UK/Sweden
Current location: Stockholm, Sweden
Member since: Sun Jul 1, 2018, 07:25 PM
Number of posts: 50,821