October 11, 2015 archive

Anti-Capitalist Meetup: Violence. Without Which Not. by UnaSpenser

I set out here to write about capitalism and how it shapes our relationships to everything. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for quite a while. I had planned to write about how competition, individualism, and the insecurity of having to “earn a living” or be denied survival, defines how we approach one another and the way in which we interact with people in our lives. I started by examining the definition of capitalism. I turned to Wikipedia first and got this:

capitalism is “an economic system in which trade, industry, and the means of production are privately owned and operated via profit and loss calculation (price signals) through the price system.”

Most of my prior thinking had been focused on the profit and loss aspect and how the only valuation system capitalism uses is money. I had originally thought that I would want to discuss the lack of any ethics or social values in the definition and how that void gets filled by the profit imperative.

However, what I found myself focusing on first was the phrase “privately owned”. I was immediately writing about the concept of ownership. In the wake of three mass shootings in the US, this week, I found myself reaching the conclusion that any society which embraces the idea of private property is, at it’s core, violent. Violence is the very foundation that society. I found myself unable to focus on anything else. I realized that any system which includes any kind of ownership claim has to be violent. So, this isn’t a strictly anti-capitalist exploration. It’s an ownership exploration.

So, can we talk about how we are a fundamentally violent culture? How that’s a feature and not a bug? Can we talk about whether we want to be that? Whether we can change that?

I’ll walk you through my thoughts which led to “ownership = violence” and my not-yet-fully-formed ideas of alternatives and a vague sense of how to get there. My hope is that we spark the beginning of a growing dialogue.  

Six In The Morning

On Sunday

Ankara attacks: Turkey in mourning after blasts kill almost 100

 

BBC

Turkey is beginning three days of mourning after two blasts at a peace rally in the capital, Ankara, killed at least 95 people on Saturday, the deadliest ever such attack in Turkey.

The attack left 245 people injured, with 48 of them in a serious condition.

TV footage showed scenes of panic and people lying on the ground covered in blood, amid protest banners.

The government called the blasts a “terrorist act” and angrily rejected allegations that it was to blame.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there was evidence that two suicide bombers had carried out the attack, which comes three weeks before a re-run of June’s inconclusive parliamentary elections.




Sunday’s Headlines:

China arrests two more Japanese nationals on espionage charges – report

Ebola: Sierra Leone’s survivors return to daily life – but as outcasts

Protesters, police clash at refugee homes in Germany

Carson supporter pens Fox News op-ed blaming Jewish timidity for the Holocaust

The bittersweet story of a 19-year-old North Korean defector who’s now a San Francisco sushi chef

Junior League Division Series: Royals @ Astros Game 3

Today’s Meta (because what good is a day without Meta?).  BIG meeting Monday about our transition to Wordpress on the 15th (that’s Thursday folks!).  Blogging this week will be especially sucky, starting today and continuing until next Sunday probably.

While I’m attempting to keep up with my responsibilities for content and technical direction, I’m not particularly familiar with some of the issues we have already identified.  TMC and I will probably be in conference until well after midnight, and this comes on top of what has already been a stressful week or 3.  I got three whole hours of sack time in the last 48 hours and at that I can’t complain because it’s been worse for TMC.

I would certainly like to be providing you with live blogging but that’s not going to be possible and the posts themselves are going to be highly abbreviated if available at all.

In my exhausted state I find it hard to pretend that greatly grieves me today, but you know- I don’t really care about the Junior League anyway.

I’ll probably continue to rant about my Metropolitans especially after that criminal assault on Tejada last night.  Be of good cheer, it’s season not career ending and in 5 game series tems that split the initial road games advance over 60% of the time.

Friday’s Game

Top 1st Walk.  RBI Double. Astros 1 – 0.

Top 2nd Leadoff Single.  Walk.  Single, Bases Loaded.  2 RBI Single.  Astros 3 – 0.  Double Play.

Bottom 2nd Solo Shot.  Astros 3 – 1.

Top 3rd Leadoff Solo Shot.  Astros 4 – 1.

Bottom 3rd Leadoff Double.  Infield Single, Runners at Corners.  RBI Double Play.  Astros 4 – 2.

Bottom 6th Double.  RBI Single.  Astros 4 – 3.  Single, Runners at Corners.  Walk, Bases Loaded.  RBI Walk.  Game Tied at 4.

Bottom 7th Leadoff Triple. RBI Single.  Royals 5 – 4 Final.

Series Tied at 1.

Analysis and Setup

So the Royals (96 – 68) won the Battle of the Losers.  Remember what I said above about the Mets chances?  Well, the Royals are on the short side of that.  They must at least split on the road to force a deciding 5th game.

If you’re an Astros (88 – 77) fan (can’t imagine why) don’t sweat Friday’s game.  Sweep at home and advance.

The Astros will send out Dallas Keuchel (L, 20 – 8, 2.48 ERA) and the Royals Edinson Volquez (R, 13 – 9, 3.55 ERA).  Keuchel is the Astros Ace.  He pitched six scoreless innings in a 3 – 0 win over the Yankees.  On paper this is a blowout.

Game time is 4 on MLB.

Junior League Division Series: Blue Jays @ Rangers Game 3

Today’s Meta (because what good is a day without Meta?).  BIG meeting Monday about our transition to Wordpress on the 15th (that’s Thursday folks!).  Blogging this week will be especially sucky, starting today and continuing until next Sunday probably.

While I’m attempting to keep up with my responsibilities for content and technical direction, I’m not particularly familiar with some of the issues we have already identified.  TMC and I will probably be in conference until well after midnight, and this comes on top of what has already been a stressful week or 3.  I got three whole hours of sack time in the last 48 hours and at that I can’t complain because it’s been worse for TMC.

I would certainly like to be providing you with live blogging but that’s not going to be possible and the posts themselves are going to be highly abbreviated if available at all.

In my exhausted state I find it hard to pretend that greatly grieves me today, but you know- I don’t really care about the Junior League anyway.

I’ll probably continue to rant about my Metropolitans especially after that criminal assault on Tejada last night.  Be of good cheer, it’s season not career ending and in 5 game series tems that split the initial road games advance over 60% of the time.

Friday’s Game

Top 1st Leadoff Double.  RBI Single.  Rangers 1 – 0.  Single, Runners at Corners.  RBI Sacrifice cuts down the Runner at Second.  Rangers 2 – 0.

Bottom 1st Solo Shot.  Rangers 2 – 1.

Top 2nd Leadoff Walk.  Sacrifice advance Runner to Third.  RBI Sacrifice.  Rangers 3 – 1.

Bottom 2nd Error, Runner at First.  Ground Rule Double, Runners at Second and Third.  RBI Single. Rangers 3 – 2.  RBI Double Play.  Tied at 3.

Bottom 5th Leadoff Double.  Sacrifice.  RBI Single.  Blue Jays 4 – 3.

Top 8th Leadoff Single.  Sacrifice.  RBI Single.  Tied at 4.  Caught Stealing.

Top 14th Infield Single.  Single.  RBI Single.  Rangers 5 – 4.  RBI Single.  Rangers 6 – 4 Final.

Rangers lead Series 2 – 0.

Analysis and Setup

No doubt about it, the Blue Jays (93 – 91) are in trouble.  You don’t drop 2 at home in a 5 game series and expect to advance.

If you’re a fan and you want to see them play one last time, you better watch today’s game.

If on the other hand you’re a Rangers (90 – 74) fan (though I can’t imagine why) you’re in the Catbird seat (yes a bird pun, what about I haven’t slept in days are you not understanding?).  Today, tomorrow, who cares?

Well I do dammit.  If they win today it’s one less thing I have to do tomorrow.

Bye bye Birdie (getting it?).

Martin Perez (L, 3 – 6, 4.46 ERA) will be on the mound for the Rangers.  The Blue Jays will be starting Marco Estrada (R, 13 – 8, 3.13 ERA).  Alas, on paper the Jays cream ’em.

Game time is 4 on MLB.

Cartnoon

On This Day In History October 11

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 81 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1982, The Mary Rose, a Tudor carrack which sank on July 19 1545, is salvaged from the sea bed of the Solent, off Portsmouth.

The Mary Rose was a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. After serving for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany and after being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 19 July 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a French invasion fleet, she sank in the Solent, the straits north of the Isle of Wight. The wreck of the Mary Rose was rediscovered in 1971 and salvaged in 1982 by the Mary Rose Trust in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology. The surviving section of the ship and thousands of recovered artefacts are of immeasurable value as a Tudor-era time capsule.

The excavation and salvage of the Mary Rose was a milestone in the field of maritime archaeology, comparable in complexity and cost only to the raising of the Swedish 17th-century warship Vasa in 1961. The finds include weapons, sailing equipment, naval supplies and a wide array of objects used by the crew. Many of the artefacts are unique to the Mary Rose and have provided insights into topics ranging from naval warfare to the history of musical instruments. Since the mid-1980s, while undergoing conservation, the remains of the hull have been on display at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. An extensive collection of well-preserved artefacts is on display at the nearby Mary Rose Museum.

The Mary Rose had no known career as a merchant vessel. She was one of the largest ships in the English navy throughout more than three decades of intermittent war and was one of the earliest examples of a purpose-built sailing warship. She was armed with new types of heavy guns that could fire through the recently invented gun-ports. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she was also one of the earliest ships that could fire a broadside, although the line of battle tactics that employed it had not yet been developed. Several theories have sought to explain the demise of the Mary Rose, based on historical records, knowledge of 16th-century shipbuilding and modern experiments. However, the precise cause of her sinking is still unclear, because of conflicting testimonies and a lack of conclusive physical evidence.

The Breakfast Club (Europe)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover  we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

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Breakfast Tune: Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn cover Europe’s “The Final Countdown”

Today in History: October 11th


Congress OK’s U.S. military force against Iraq; Former President Jimmy Carter wins Nobel Peace Prize; Anita Hill accuses Supreme Court pick Clarence Thomas; Second Vatican Council opens; ‘SNL’ premieres. (Oct. 11)

Something to Think about, Breakfast News & Blogs Below

Stephen Colbert – Pretending and Honesty

Adapted from Rant of the Week at Stars Hollow Gazette

Some Thoughts On Pretending And Honesty

Oneof the definitions of insanity is changing nothing and pretending that something has changed.

Senior League Division Series: Mets @ Dodgers Game 2

Yesterday’s game

Top 4th Solo Shot.  Mets 1 – 0.

Top 7th Walk.  Walk.  Walk.  Buh-By Kershaw.  2 RBI Single.  Mets 3 – 0.

Bottom 8th  Clippard ruins deGrom’s Shutout.  Double.  RBI Single.  Mets 3 – 1 Final.

Mets lead Series 1 – 0.

Analysis and Setup

Heh.  Looking pretty Amazing last night.

Oh sure, Kershaw had more Ks than deGrom (who had plenty, most in a Playoff debut since Tom Seaver), but who climbs out of the Ravine with the W hmm…

Why that would be the New York Metropolitans (91 – 72).  After our victory tonight their record will be equal to the perfidious Dodgers (92 – 71).  Boo…  Hiss…

Zack Greinke (R, 19 – 3, 1.66 ERA) will start for the Dodgers, the Mets will be putting Noah Syndergaard (R, 9 – 7, 3.24 ERA) on the mound.  Greinke’s 1.66 leads the League and Syndergaard’s?  Well, it doesn’t.

So they could lose I suppose, but I haven’t taken my lucky Mets Cap off or changed my socks and I’m starting to grow a beard.

However the Mets have already accomplished the goals that I said the Cubs must tonight-

They hung tough until the 8th Inning and it’s only the first game, on the road, and all we need is a split at Busch Stadium and we’re golden.  Go Cubbies!

Substitute Dodgers for Busch and Mets for Cubbies and it’s exactly the same thing.  Tonight’s game is bonus, it can only add to the humiliation.

The Cubs game is still in doubt as I write this but it seems they followed my advice.

Game time 9 on TBS.