[weekly linkdump, somewhat edited from my diigo]
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Mechanical Ostrich Sculpture constructed from three mechanical arms by British artist Tim Lewis pic.twitter.com/thM5xtCQaG
— 41 Strange (@41Strange) February 17, 2018
Pieceocast 081 . The dreamers of the dream https://t.co/rTXkpwnXC4 pic.twitter.com/xZsfeZzd64
— 🐭 (A)nticapitalist(A) 🐭 (@pieceoplastic) February 16, 2018
The Intercept has obtained DMs from a private Twitter group with @WikiLeaks and its most loyal supporters. It includes:
– A desire for GOP to win the 2016 election
– Trolling
– Anti-semitism
– Rampant misogyny, sexist attacks on feminists
– Transphobiahttps://t.co/pYtZqRvVOG— Micah Lee (@micahflee) February 14, 2018
Anyone cheering the hiring of Quinn Norton — we have issues. yes, it matters who your friends are.
— Natasha Lennard (@natashalennard) February 13, 2018
We found the best athlete at the Olympics pic.twitter.com/km1ndhJAnC
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 12, 2018
#ifyouonlyreadone
They Say We Can’t Meme: Politics of Idea Compression – “Memes, however, are merely cultural bi-products of the app ecosystem; the medium, not the meme, is the message. Memes are eyewash of an optimization arms race that strives to reach as far down into the limbic system as possible.” But we can.
Peterson deflated (not that he ever was inflated here)
Why They Listen to Jordan Peterson – “It’s religion for atheists; Protestant Christianity remixed for the age of YouTube and Reddit. And as Peterson’s wild popularity shows, there are plenty of people out there looking for a prophet.” This article is a relatively tame effort with some stronger points towards the end. But it links to:
Jordan Peterson is the rising self-help guru of young conservatives. Here’s what he’s telling them. – “Peterson believes Christianity is the foundation of societal greatness, that same-sex marriage is a potential Leftist assault on traditional family structures, and that “white privilege” is a destructive concept that will engender a suicidal level of guilt in the West.” A historically interesting approach.
Jordan Peterson’s Bullshit – “Jordan Peterson’s thought is filled with pseudo-science, bad pop psychology, and deep irrationalism. In other words, he’s full of shit.” Maybe a bit pseudo-philosophical, but spot on politically.
#watch,
Kaspar (Inspired by the Life of Kaspar Hauser) – “This animated short by Diane Obomsawin tells the story of Kaspar, a young man who discovers life – and light – after spending his entire life in a dark cave with a small wooden horse as only company.”
“The Force Theme” – Star Wars – stairwell with awesome reverb – And what about the neighbors? LOL
THE FURBY ORGAN, A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MADE FROM FURBIES – “THE #FURBY ORGAN! tooooo many hours were spent on this project haa Check the previous build log video here :-”
CORTEO ANTIFASCISTA // ANTIFA-DEMO in GENUA am 03.02.2018 – “On February 3 a big antifascist demonstration took place in Genova. It was organized by the Antifascist Assembly “Genova Antifascista” due to the opening of two Neonazi-centres in the city. One of it is an office of the house squatting movement and neo-fascist party ‘CasaPound’ which stands for nationalist and racist positions and aims at putting through social policies but only for a white italian population.” They sing “siamo tutti anti-fascisti differently.
Here’s The Fucking News! – “After a long hiatus, subMedia’s foul-mouthed news anchor, the Stimulator, is finally back with his brand new show…. The Fuckin News!”
listen and
#learn
Why Silicon Valley billionaires are prepping for the apocalypse in New Zealand – “How an extreme libertarian tract predicting the collapse of liberal democracies – written by Jacob Rees-Mogg’s father – inspired the likes of Peter Thiel to buy up property across the Pacific” Wait, they are rich and opportunist assholes? Who is surprised?
THE FINAL, TERRIBLE VOYAGE OF THE NAUTILUS – “Kim Wall went for a ride on a submarine, hoping to write a story about a maker of “extreme machines.” She never did. I needed to know what happened.”
A Hacker Has Wiped a Spyware Company’s Servers—Again – “Last year, a vigilante hacker broke into the servers of a company that sells spyware to everyday consumers and wiped their servers, deleting photos captured from monitored devices. A year later, the hacker has done it again.” Vigilante hacker is an interesting way to frame this.
Federal Judge Says Embedding a Tweet Can Be Copyright Infringement – “Even worse, the logic of the ruling applies to all in-line linking, not just embedding tweets. If adopted by other courts, this legally and technically misguided decision would threaten millions of ordinary Internet users with infringement liability.” This sucks from all the way from @ to #.
Google removes ‘view image’ button from search results to make pics harder to steal – “Better for websites and photographers but worse for users” This will create soooo much more RSI in users.
In Leaked Chats, WikiLeaks Discusses Preference for GOP Over Clinton, Russia, Trolling, and Feminists They Don’t Like – “The archive spans from May 2015 through November 2017 and includes over 11,000 messages, more than 10 percent of them written from the WikiLeaks account. With this article, The Intercept is publishing newsworthy excerpts from the leaked messages.” Sloppy Julian is sloppy.
Graffiti Artists Awarded $6.7M from Landlord Who Destroyed Their Work – “In November 2017, a jury ruled in favor of the artists, and this week, a federal judge in Brooklyn delivered the final blow: Wolkoff, a real estate developer, owes 21 artists a combined $6.7 million.” Fair recompense.
25 years of data shows we missed something important about sea level rise – “Right now the oceans rise by around 3 millimetres each year, but that number is going up by 0.08 mm every 12 months, the data shows. By the time the next century rolls around, we could be up to a rise of 10 mm every year. In total we would be looking at a rise of 65 centimetres (25 inches) by 2100, compared with around 30 cm if the annual rises steadied at the current speed.” Oh oh.
Red wolves may be going extinct in the wild — again – “Their fate is mired in politics, bickering, scientific disputes and a legal challenge” Everything went wrong here.
The Great Stink – “I don’t want to live in a world where men don’t change until you threaten to destroy everything they love. I wanted to believe that men would care enough about women to want to change of their own accord.” Laurie is spot on as always.
Study finds gender and skin-type bias in commercial artificial-intelligence systems – “Three commercially released facial-analysis programs from major technology companies demonstrate both skin-type and gender biases, according to a new paper researchers from MIT and Stanford University will present later this month at the Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency.” The bias in AI will keep us busy for some time.
The omnipotent victim: how tyrants work up a crowd’s devotion – “Psychoanalysis explains how authoritarians energise the hatred, self-pity and delusion while promising heaven on Earth” By hypnosis. No, but sort of.
The alt-right is killing people – “The Southern Poverty Law Center counted over 100 people killed or injured by alleged alt-right perpetrators” Extreme right terrorism is what this should be called.
Ruby Tandoh’s Eat Up is a manifesto for freedom that targets the cult of wellness – “Eat Up discusses, among other things, the violent history of the sugar trade, the Black Panther Party and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (“Give yourself over to absolute pleasure – swim the warm waters of sins of the flesh”). It also digs into the meat of bodily functions – I cannot think of another food book that contains so many references to shit: part-Delia Smith, part-Irvine Welsh.” That book, I am tempted.
Scientists studying psilocybin accidentally proved the self is an illusion – “Your brain hallucinates consciousness. Right now, billions of neurons in your brain are working together to generate a conscious experience—and not just any conscious experience, your experience of the world around you and of yourself within it.” Hello? Just a few hours of meditation taught me this ages ago.
#oldiebutgoodie
“Oh My God, This Is So F—ed Up”: Inside Silicon Valley’s Secretive, Orgiastic Dark Side – “Some of the most powerful men in Silicon Valley are regulars at exclusive, drug-fueled, sex-laced parties—gatherings they describe not as scandalous, or even secret, but as a bold, unconventional lifestyle choice. Yet, while the guys get laid, the women get screwed. In an adaptation from her new book, Brotopia, Emily Chang exposes the tired and toxic dynamic at play.” Wait, they are rich and sexist assholes? Who is surprised?
AIDS in der Schweiz. Über ein mutloses Buch und eine ebensolche Buchvernissage – “Das soeben erschienene Buch Positiv. HIV und die mutigste Kampagne der Schweiz beschreibt eine Erfolgsgeschichte. Teilweise zurecht. Teilweise geht dabei Wichtiges vergessen. Gastbeitrag von Michèle Claudine Meyer” This book is actually a scandal.
Von Kanälen und Menschen [Director’s Cut] – “Der Traum vom ‚Gran Canal‘ spaltet Nicaragua. Und er erzählt viel über die Geschichte des ärmsten Landes Zentralamerikas und sein Verhältnis zu den USA und der Welt.” Very well written and presented article on the plans for a canal in Nicaragua.
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Here’s a test