Tollund_Man4
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User ID: 501
Tollund_Man4
9mo ago
See also Skrillex's "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" EP, which spawned an entire genre of purely computer-generated piss-off-your-dad music, and was tremendously popular to boot.
Small correction: Dubstep was a thing in the UK since the early 2000s, Skrillex made it popular in America.
Tollund_Man4
9mo ago
I think my overall problem is not being in the moment. I am just thinking about performing well during the actual sex, is my penis rock hard right now, oh god it’s not what do I do, etc
You should set the standard as "we're just having fun" instead of "it's a failure if one of us doesn't orgasm".
Tollund_Man4
9mo ago
I don't worry about it beyond making sure I eat a lot and include a lot of meat. I think consistency in going to the gym is the most important thing and optimisation should be sacrificed if they conflict (i.e. you should be willing to lift in jeans and short on sleep if the only time for gym is straight after work), I know that I could get from A to B in a shorter time with optimised nutrition but I'm still impressed with what I've achieved when I've lifted consistently for a year straight.
If you take it back to the French Revolution, you saw some of the best political philosophy ever created such as with Rousseau
Rousseau influenced the French revolution but he died a decade before it happened and his best known books predate it by 30 years.
Even Monty Python is more subversive than anything we see today
Sam Hyde's World Peace was pretty funny, definitely subversive, and might have had a great run if it wasn't cancelled.
Tollund_Man4
9mo ago
Even if you are not a utilitarian, I think you should agree that "people getting more of what they value" generally tends toward moral progress,
I don’t see why you should agree. If you’re not a utilitarian you can say “people getting more of what they value” can be a bad thing if their values are confused, perverse or evil.
I will grant that the theoretical TikTok maximally viral culture can eventually meet the condition of “the most people possible getting what they want”, but that says nothing about whether what they want is worth anything at all.
It would be odd to say of England legislating the use of common law by English subjects in 14th century Ireland that England had to adopt common law for real this time. It’s more that English law lagged behind English possessions, and this was only fixed if England (or later the UK) started caring enough and had enough control to do it.
Ireland
Some interesting developments in the refugee saga and some more of the same:
(i) The more of the same was a fire at a convent in Longford earmarked to host 85 Ukrainian refugees. This is the first time Ukrainians have been the target as far as I'm aware. Ukrainians aren't considered asylum seekers as they are granted refugee status immediately and don't have to be confined to one place until they are processed, but they do spend some time in emergency accomodation given how hard it is to find a place to rent in Ireland. A local Fine Gael counciller said that he was aware that there were rumours circulating that the building was going to be used for asylum seekers so maybe the arsonists mistakenly targeted this place or maybe they just assumed that if it's going to be used for Ukrainians it will eventually be used for asylum seekers.
(ii) A protest in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary became unusually violent as protesters attempted to block a bus carrying 17 asylum seekers (out of a proposed 160) from entering a hotel that had recently been repurposed as asylum accomodation. The protest was broken up by police (the first time that this has happened besides the Dublin riot) and the fact that some of the asylum seekers were women and children has given the protesters some bad PR.
Roscrea has a population of 5,500 and already has an asylum centre and is hosting Ukrainian refugees in another building so they've got more of a reason to complain than most, the hotel was also closed on short notice last Thursday with job losses and wedding party cancellations. The fact that locals supplied the protesters with food and firewood is a mark against the narrative that these protests are the work of a small group of troublemakers with no links to the local communities travelling from town to town. As far as politicians go local counciller Shane Lee took part in the protest and Tipperary Independent TD (member of parliament) Mattie McGrath criticised the government's handling of the situation.
(iii) Mayo County Council has voted to cease co-operation with the Department of Children, Integration, and Youth:
The motion, spearheaded by Independent Councillor Michael Kilcoyne, calls for an immediate halt to collaboration with government officials until clear plans are in place for the provision of essential services, such as medical care, transportation, training, and delivery schedules.
Councillor Kilcoyne spoke on the importance of equal distribution across national constituencies, challenging the disproportionate burden placed on Mayo compared to other regions.
This is a non-binding resolution from an institution that doesn't control much in the first place but it's interesting to see politicians sticking their neck out for a cause that is popular in polling but extremely unpopular in the media.
(iv) Finally Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the government will likely take the option of paying money rather than directly taking in migrants under a new EU pact. Dealing with this problem through the EU seems like a good answer to the "international obligation" argument for taking in more migrants, and since the EU is both very popular in Ireland and composed of countries which are far more familiar with the downstream consequences of mass migration this seems like a way to reduce immigration while avoiding the shame of Ireland being seen as racist (whether or not Europeans actually think that about us doesn't matter as much as whether Irish people think they think that).
Edit One more story: Chainsaw-wielding man jumped out of van and threatened security guards at Dublin 4 building earmarked for migrants.
Tollund_Man4
10mo ago
According to the Government Accountability Office ICE has been accidentally doing this for years already: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-487
Tollund_Man4
10mo ago
After a few seconds of trying the only time that 'still image' is the best description is remembering seeing Notre Dame or other nice looking places, but I'm not sure how much of that is true memory and how much me recreating the place in my imagination. Some memories are almost purely emotional because nothing interesting was happening around me except for the thoughts I was having, at most I have my eyes closed or I'm staring at a book. I'm sure some of this is corrupted by my reliving that thought each time I think about it but it does feel like the original moment is still there somewhere. Most memories are clips of a sort, though they're not consistently vivid all the way through and with effort I can usually unlock more details and lengthen the memory.
One thing I've noticed about my memory is that I'll remember very random things at times where no trigger seems apparent, it's a fun game to ask 'why am I remembering this now?'.
Another interesting thing I've noticed is that in certain emotionally salient moments I'll take on a sort of 'life history' perspective of all the other moments when I felt this way. My perspective is narrowed so that I'm not looking back on things linearly but thematically, all the parts not relevant to the current feeling feel extremely short compared to this series of important moments. The present is experienced linearly, but I wonder if 'looking back on life' is more a series of concurrent themes that fall in and out of prominence? The feeling of 'has it been three years already?' makes a lot more sense when most of the time in between these important points is being excluded (even though it may become relevant in some other narrative), especially when being reminded of where you were only a year ago makes it feel long again.
The moments that trigger this feeling don't have to be extreme: the change in seasons takes me back to the long evenings of previous summers, a good book takes me back to my first books, the taste of beer after a period of sobriety ensures I'll have plenty of stories to tell in an hour.
Ireland
More suspicious fires on real or rumoured asylum accomodation. I think the story is getting to the point where every instance of arson or accidental fire in one of these places is going to be reported as an attack (to be fair to the media this is more a conclusion you're pointed towards rather than a direct claim, but one case of police not treating a fire as suspicious was omitted by the Irish Times and reported in other papers), but since the police keep mentioning their investigating of far-right rumours online there is something of political substance to fires that may have had no political motive.
Last Sunday at Sandyford, Dublin. Article claims that there were online rumours circulating about the building, the Department of Integration is checking whether they had any plans for the place, police are investigating and haven't said whether or not they're treating it as suspicious.
The early hours of Tuesday the 9th of January in Buncrana, Donegal. This building was certainly an asylum centre and was the first building that was actually occupied. Some people have been taken to hospital over smoke inhalation. Police have said that the fire was likely started within the building, but online commenters are pinning this one on our new domestic terrorists.
There was also a far more direct political angle to this story. Fianna Fáil councillor Noel Thomas and a person known to another FF councillor Seamus Walsh were subject to dawn raids by police in relation to a fire that took place in Galway in December. Thomas and Walsh were criticised by party leader Michael Martin for making criticisms of the government's immigration policy in December. Walsh's comments about the raid are fairly radical for a politician:
“I will never while there is breath in me cooperate with the guards on anything.
“My wife is some woman, she has been with me 43 years and she is well used to me and politics but this broke her. She burst out crying.
“I’m not a man who goes running to the press – I avoid the press in fact. But this was cynical and came about from (political) pressure being applied.
“They feel like if they can break Noel Thomas and myself that he will frighten other councillors into their way of thinking.
And finally some good news for the moderates I guess. Two buildings in Carlow and Mayo that were earmarked to host male asylum seekers will now be hosting 'families and children' after local, peaceful protests. These families will still be asylum seekers, but I guess it's much harder to protest over 50 women and children being brought in than 50 single males.
Tollund_Man4
10mo ago
Usually in one sitting, but it's not rare for me to stop watching if it's getting late and finish it another day. I don't feel like it ruins the experience.
Tollund_Man4
10mo ago
Surely these are substantially overlapping groups?
I'm not sure actually. The definition of 'homelessness' is fairly expansive in Ireland. These numbers are from the start of last year:Just under 30% of homeless are children, around half are single adults, 61% of them are Irish and only 17% were from outside the European Economic Area. There's nearly 12,000 people in emergency accomodation being counted as homeless while the rough sleeper count in Dublin is at something like 150.
They probably weren't going to be majority non-European single men, maybe they'd be Roma or Irish gypsies, but it seems like normal but poor Irish families is a very plausible scenario too. I'll have to look into whether homeless families in particular is an actual category for who gets allowed into these types of places or whether homeless families are just the most sympathetic group to bring up in the news.
Tollund_Man4
10mo ago
Ireland
Another fire at a building (believed to be) earmarked for asylum accomodation. A vacant pub in Dublin which was also the site of anti-migrant protests last year was set alight during the night, but the government and homeless charities are saying that it was ultimately going to be used for homeless families and not asylum seeker accomodation.
An angry crowd of masked men was out at a building in Finglas, Dublin last night so I guess that's the next probable target.
Tollund_Man4
10mo ago
As far as the extra police equipment goes I think the general street crime problem in Dublin deserves a mention. Yes the rioters are “far-right” according to the government and they’re seizing the opportunity to push hate speech legislation, but they’re also the Dublin scumbags that have been embarrassing the government in the past year by, for example, earning Ireland an American embassy travel warning.
By all accounts Dublin should be more seriously policed and the type of authoritarianism that would remove ‘junkie’ as the first thought that enters non-Dubliner’s minds when visiting (I mean Irish people here, foreigners I’ve talked to seem to be used to this type of thing in their own cities) would ordinarily be welcomed by all sides of the political spectrum.
It’s just a shame that something is only done when the disorder takes on a political dimension, it makes me think that street crime isn’t the main thing they’re trying to tackle.
I find a lot of the pro/anti car arguments get bogged down in the fact that there aren’t many Americans who have lived in Europe and vice versa, for example practical confusions about how stock resupply works on pedestrianised streets or why Americans actually want to be somewhat isolated from the dangerous inner cities (I’ve seen this problem with Irish anti-car advocates too when they oppose pro-car compromises that are normal in very walkable European cities).
Personally I find these conversations very interesting, but you can’t really get anywhere when a good chunk of either side of the debate hasn’t experienced the alternative.
Tollund_Man4
10mo ago
That is, killing a cow and eating it may involve less animal death compared to eating bread.
This is a big ‘may’, I’m not sure how you can get to a confident ‘therefore’ without settling it.
I also think (2) is an easy bullet for a vegan to bite if you aren’t a utilitarian (though the utilitarian question remains unsettled). If you think killing animals is wrong full stop then arguments about how trying to avoid killing animals can backfire will sound the same as a pro-lifer hearing about how legalising abortion will lead to fewer murdered babies (this was an argument I heard a lot of during the build up to the Irish abortion referendum).
Tollund_Man4
10mo ago
Jeffrey the Librarian does a lot of interesting stuff on the early United States/Thirteen Colonies.
I also really liked Epic History TV’s hour long episodes on Napoleon’s campaigns.
Tollund_Man4
11mo ago
The Ukrainian migrants generated no such disruption because they were majority women and children.
I’m open to being corrected, but barring the Roma weren't people from Eastern European EU countries also able to migrate en masse without causing much disruption? A part of this might be just that Eastern Europeans don’t have insurmountable cultural differences with Western Europeans.
Tollund_Man4
11mo ago
Western online feminists love to loudly complain about as a nightmarish dystopia to be avoided, namely a society plagued by enormous numbers of single, sexless and, one can imagine, bitter and traumatized, violent young men
Bitter, traumatised and violent, yes they treat that as a huge problem, but single and sexless? I’m not sure feminism explicitly worries about this, single and sexless men are to be dealt with on an individual level as inconvenient complainers who are to be ignored or shamed - feminism only deals with these men insofar as their situation (whether self-inflicted or not) causes them to step out of line. I don’t think women in general have this attitude but it’s the sense I’ve gotten from any explicitly feminist space I’ve seen.
Tollund_Man4
11mo ago
Ireland
Yet another hotel earmarked for housing asylum seekers has burned down during the night. The asylum seekers were due to move in on Thursday, protesters blockaded the entrance of the hotel on Saturday and it was set alight that same night. It's unclear whether the local protesters were involved in starting the fire, the hotel is very isolated so once the protest made the news pretty much anyone could drive up during the night and get away with it.
Rosscahill is a 7 minute drive from Oughterard, a town that gained some notoriety back in 2019 after an Irish Times article suggested that the town meeting on and protests over a proposed 250 person direct provision centre (asylum seeker accomodation) in a town of 1300 was hijacked by the far-right. The protest and arson took place very quickly but it makes sense if it didn't take long for people to act given that this type of thing was already rejected by the local community 4 years ago.
Tollund_Man4
11mo ago
What makes the crime a terroristic threat rather than just a death threat?
Tollund_Man4
11mo ago
One of the plot points of City of God is that there’s a gang member who actually knows how to shoot, might be worth a watch.
I find it hard to believe that their true motives were stuff like decreasing regional tax-kickups to the Holy Roman Emperor.
I don't know much about the continental side but in Ireland a lot of sectarian mob violence in the 17th and 18th centuries can be explained by fear of another Jacobite rebellion or unwanted economic competition from Catholics:
The winter of 1795–6, immediately following the formation of the Orange Order, saw Protestants drive around 7,000 Catholics out of County Armagh. In a sign that tension over the linen trade was still a burning issue, 'Wreckers' continued the Peep o' Day Boys strategy of smashing looms and tearing webs in Catholic homes to eliminate competition. This resulted in a reduction in the hotly competitive linen trade which had been in a brief slump. A consequence of this scattering of highly-political Catholics, however, was a spread of Defenderism throughout Ireland.
Tollund_Man4
11mo ago
Right now, there's one park in Europe and two in the US, you could build one in Texas, one in Italy and one in Turkey and all of them would be full.
Disney has the name recognition but there is some competition. Portaventura in Spain was just as good as Eurodisney Paris when I visited as a kid, and Gardaland in Italy is apparently also a world class theme park.
I'm having trouble understanding the idea that "the onus is on the person making the positive claim to provide sufficient evidence to prove their case". It looks obvious why this is a good idea, but it seems completely open to the rhetorical trick of putting the onus on the other party to prove you wrong even if your own case is unproven (perhaps because the question is a hard one and whoever is tasked with proving anything will have a hard time).
What got me thinking about this was an internet argument on immigration and crime. Half a century ago the status quo was restricted immigration and the onus would be on the person advocating for more to prove that it was a good thing, nowadays the status quo is liberal immigration and the onus is on the person advocating restrictions to prove that it is a bad thing. No scientifically relevant change has taken place, only a change in government policy, but one side can now quote a basic principle of science to bolster their case in an argument even if they know nothing more than the other party.
The due diligence question is obviously is this actually a fundamental aspect of science as stated or is it misrepresenting a more nuanced principle?
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