Progressology

"Children are not deceived by fairy-tales; they are often and gravely deceived by school-stories...."

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:44:44 -0600

“Children are not deceived by fairy-tales; they are often and gravely deceived by school-stories. Adults are not deceived by science-fiction; they can be deceived by the stories in the women’s magazines.”

- C. S. Lewis on fantasy vs. fact, a timeless and timely reminder of the role of critical thinking in making sense of the stories we’re told. (via explore-blog)

theyoungturks: Fox News Viewers Are Less Informed Than Viewers...

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:22:49 -0600

theyoungturks: Fox News Viewers Are Less Informed Than Viewers of No News

Jacob Appelbaum (Part 1/2) Digital Anti-Repression Workshop -...

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:58:09 -0600

Jacob Appelbaum (Part 1/2) Digital Anti-Repression Workshop - April 26 2012

Jonathan Kay: Time to call Pakistan what it is — a state...

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:30:00 -0600

Jonathan Kay: Time to call Pakistan what it is — a state supporter of terrorism

Here in the West, the killing of Osama Bin Laden was considered a triumph. In Pakistan, where the al-Qaeda leader lived out his final years, attitudes are very different: On Wednesday, a Pakistani court brought down a guilty verdict against the Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA locate bin Laden in May, 2011. Having been convicted of treason, Shakil Afridi now faces a 33-year prison sentence.

Each story like this brings fresh evidence that Pakistan, a nominal Western ally in the war on terrorism, actually is doing more to enable the jihadis than fight them. We don’t yet have definitive evidence to suggest that the Pakistani military and intelligence establishment was actively housing and protecting bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad. But that certainly would have been in keeping with long-standing Pakistani policies.

I find this yesterday’s news so disturbing.

Following the West’s phased withdrawal from Afghanistan, however, we will no longer have tens of thousands of soldiers being fed, housed, and air conditioned in the Afghan outback. No longer will the United States have to go through the cynical pantomime of “co-ordinating” border operations with the Pakistani military, an exercise that inevitably leads to the Taliban learning of America’s plans in advance.

It’s not only that Pakistan is a terrorist haven, but they moved to openly defy USA and its allies, while continuing to receive significant support.

Alexanderpf: I definitely agree that this is a troubling sign — but I’m not too surprised considering the blow-back from the US drone program. The idea of ‘silent death from above’ that could come at any moment is beyond disturbing, and makes the US very unpopular.

Terrorism, or as I prefer to call it: asymmetric warfare, is violence traveling up the power hierarchy rather than down. The police roughing up and arresting a homeless person, a large company polluting the water supply of some indigenous group, a human killing an animal for sport rather than food — these are all examples of concepts of violence traveling downwards; something that our brains have been numbed into begrudgingly accepting in one way or another. That a drone strike may inflict non-combatant fatalities (to use the P.C. terms) is another example of violence flowing down the hierarchy.

The concept of violence flowing up the hierarchy is a little harder for our brains to process. How many sharks die for shark fin soup and how much time does the news spend documenting shark attacks? This violence doesn’t even have to be acted out — i.e. a slave talking back to his master.

[Reference: Derek Jensen: Today’s Slavery Exposed - Derrick Jensen on Structural Violence of Monetarism] (FYI, this video has some pictures that may trigger flashbacks / panic attacks in victims of abuse)

Think about Pakistan’s history with India, think about the US drone program, think about the widespread poverty in Pakistan.

Asymmetrical warfare can and should be fought with asymmetrical diplomacy — engagement through political and economic in ways that leverage information technology and alternative energy to create partnerships between people rather than governments.

Dan Savage discusses bible at High School Journalism convention.

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:59:00 -0600

Dan Savage discusses bible at High School Journalism convention.

The Far Left Side: Punchbowl Economics via azspot

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:50:26 -0600

The Far Left Side: Punchbowl Economics via azspot

Chancellor Merkel was never quite the same after losing Sarkozy....

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:49:19 -0600

Chancellor Merkel was never quite the same after losing Sarkozy. via peterfeld

hey i saw a post of yours on an urban gardening tumblr. what is the plant you're growing with the circular-ish leaves with the yellow/orange flowers? tastes a little like water cress. im growing one but i cant remember the name of it!

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:37:34 -0600

It’s called nasturtium.

Those ‘Big Ideas’ of Newt now include bankruptcy. Wife #4 looks...

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:39:09 -0600

Those ‘Big Ideas’ of Newt now include bankruptcy. Wife #4 looks proud.

via liberalsarecool

Qatari women prepare for Olympic debut

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:48:01 -0600

Qatari women prepare for Olympic debut

"@implementation HelloWorld - (void)printHelloWorld { NSString *hello = @”I am. I think. I..."

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:41:00 -0600

“

@implementation HelloWorld

- (void)printHelloWorld
{
NSString *hello = @”I am. I think. I will.”;
Printer *printer = [[Printer alloc] init];
if (printer)
{
[printer print:hello inExchangeForUSDollars:2.00];
[printer release];
}
else
{
// In Objectivist-C, objects are self-sufficient.
// Here, I implement string printing from scratch.
[self createTheUniverse];
[self createStandardOutputDevice];
[self print:hello];
}
}

// …

”

- The language of the 54% — it’s Objectivist C: a selfish programming language

Comment by Purplecat: Also, in this implementation, you cannot create an object to hold other objects of various types, because unions are a communist concept.

NEW POLL: 56% of Americans Want Legal Marijuana

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:33:31 -0600

NEW POLL: 56% of Americans Want Legal Marijuana:

Yeah, this is one bandwagon that I don’t see Obama jumping on.

curiositycounts: Mapping U.S. ancestry, based on data from the...

Tue, 22 May 2012 05:49:08 -0600

curiositycounts: Mapping U.S. ancestry, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau

Thanks to WWI and WWII a country of mostly Germans claims mostly Irish or Italian heritage.

Pollster: Romney favored as candidate to fix the economy

Mon, 21 May 2012 21:07:00 -0600

Pollster: Romney favored as candidate to fix the economy:

He’s going to fix it alright — fix it to favor the rich. Er, more than it already does.

A skywalking video Vitaly Raskalov of Moscow posted online...

Mon, 21 May 2012 03:47:00 -0600

A skywalking video Vitaly Raskalov of Moscow posted online caught the eye of authorities.

via harvestheart

Photo

Mon, 21 May 2012 03:46:58 -0600

wnyc: Census figures suggest tens of thousands people FLY to...

Mon, 21 May 2012 03:37:47 -0600

wnyc: Census figures suggest tens of thousands people FLY to work each week. Check out Transportation Nation’s interactive map of the top routes to the biggest “super commuter” cities.

Adult Rappers (Documentary Trailer) As rappers get older, their...

Sun, 20 May 2012 16:44:23 -0600

Adult Rappers (Documentary Trailer)

As rappers get older, their music arguably stays the same age. Will we see rappers age gracefully and perform well into their winter years like so many Jazz greats? Do rappers have expiration dates, and if so, do they know it? How does a rapper get a real job after years on the grind? All questions Paul Iannacchino, Jr. wants to answer with his upcoming documentary Adult Rappers.

The line-up of featuring artists is crazy so far: J57, Blockhead, DJ JS-1, J Zone, Bobbito, Masta Ace, Torae, RA The Rugged Man, Homeboy Sandman, Jarobi, Slug, Blueprint, Louis Logic, and many more. Pledge or share Adult Rapperson Kickstarter to support the project.

Paul: “Many of my friends new and old either were or are actively pursuing a career in hip hop…and ‘the game’ is a cruel, cruel bitch with little to give but heartache, bad credit and chronic wanderlust.

So not too long ago I embarked on a journey to talk to some of my friends. Many of whom, like me, grew up in what’s considered the Golden Age of hip hop. And many of whom, like myself, remember a time before hip hop and it’s current ubiquity across our pop culture landscape. And many of whom, like I, have watched as our peers have struggled to maintain relevance and earn a paycheck as the torch is passed to a new generation of rappers that cut their teeth on YouTube instead of YO! MTV Raps.”

Support Project via beatsrhimesandlife

The unbelievable story of the Zimbabwe prison officer who...

Sun, 20 May 2012 16:39:35 -0600

The unbelievable story of the Zimbabwe prison officer who decided to turn a video camera on his work.

The story he came out with shows prison staff forced to vote for Mugabwe, imprisoned MDC officials. Most of all it illustrates the underbelly of a one party African state in action.

newsweek: Police in Chicago vs. protesters right now. Watch.

Sun, 20 May 2012 16:39:07 -0600

newsweek: Police in Chicago vs. protesters right now. Watch.