Prosthetic Conscience

Jason McBrayer's weblog; occasional personal notes and commentary

Mon, 16 Nov 2009

Linkspam for the week of November 9–15

Manliness: The Baby and the Bathwater | The Art of Manliness

As probably the only person who enjoys both “The Art of Manliness” and “I Blame The Patriarchy”, I’d like to point out that this article sums up why that’s possible.

Source: 2009-11-10 Tue, Manliness: The Baby and the Bathwater | The Art of Manliness

Why You Should Never Talk to the Police : Law is Cool

Source: 2009-11-10 Tue, Why You Should Never Talk to the Police : Law is Cool

[ Posted: 07:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Sat, 07 Nov 2009

Links for this week

[ Posted: 18:10] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Tue, 27 Oct 2009

Lunchtime Linkspam

DeMint, Maddow and Honduras: Don’t Dare Call It Treason

Maddow prefaced her remarks with a long homily on how badly the U.S. government hated military coups, because they ran counter to everything the U.S. government stands for, were so abhorrent to American values that the U.S. government cut off all ties to such repugnant pariah regimes, and blah blah woof woof.

This is amazingly stupid…

Source: 2009-10-06 Tue, DeMint, Maddow and Honduras: Don’t Dare Call It Treason

FBI Investigated Coder for Liberating Paywalled Court Records | Threat Level | Wired.com

the feds mounted a serious investigation of Swartz for helping put public documents onto the public web.

The crime of making public documents public…

Source: 2009-10-06 Tue, FBI Investigated Coder for Liberating Paywalled Court Records | Threat Level | Wired.com

The First Counter-revolutionary

This is really a brilliant article, in that it does a very clear job of explaining Hobbes’s conception of liberty, and how that conception of liberty is still held by modern libertarians (and many modern liberals) and opposed by modern radicals. It really gets to two issues that had been previously puzzling me:

  1. Why some libertarians appear to prefer monarchy to democracy (see Democracy: The God That Failed for the canonical example)
  2. Why I can’t get along with agorists.

Agorists are basically a split of the anarcho-capitalist tendency who maintain most of that tendency’s theory, but have a leftist cultural identification (that is, they identify or attempt to identify with the working class) rather than the rightist (owning-class) identification of mainstream anarcho-capitalists, and a robust critique of actually-existing corporatist capitalism. I’d like to see them as allies. But they always rub me the wrong way, I think this is pretty much the reason: agorists have a Hobbesian conception of liberty that is at odds with my own radical-democratic ideals.

Source: 2009-10-07 Wed, The First Counter-revolutionary

Some Libertarian Socialist Fragments « Bowers of Paradise (Life After Authority)

A good explanation of what’s wrong with the homesteading theory of property.

Source: 2009-10-07 Wed, Some Libertarian Socialist Fragments « Bowers of Paradise (Life After Authority)

Ra’s Al Ghulah - Libya

Huh, how about that?

Source: 2009-10-09 Fri, Ra’s Al Ghulah - Libya

Cameron could well be the last ever UK prime minister | Jackie Ashley | Comment is free | The Guardian

Source: 2009-10-09 Fri, Cameron could well be the last ever UK prime minister | Jackie Ashley | Comment is free | The Guardian

Charlie’s Diary: Politics

Re: Scotland leaving the UK

Source: 2009-10-10 Sat, Charlie’s Diary: Politics

LENIN’S TOMB: The pitfalls of tolerance

A discussion of “tolerance” as it exists as a tool of colonialism or of dominance.

Source: 2009-10-13 Tue, LENIN’S TOMB: The pitfalls of tolerance

The Alexandrian - Misc Creations

Dissociated mechanics

Source: 2009-10-13 Tue, The Alexandrian - Misc Creations

A Little Help From Your Friends: How Common Security Clubs Can Mend Our Social Fabric | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet

Source: 2009-10-14 Wed, A Little Help From Your Friends: How Common Security Clubs Can Mend Our Social Fabric | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet

Meet the New Healthcare Boss

How liberal tinkering with the payment system doesn’t solve the basic factors that make health care unaffordable.

Source: 2009-10-15 Thu, Meet the New Healthcare Boss

Wired 11.09: PowerPoint Is Evil

An oldie, but a goodie.

Source: 2009-10-19 Mon, Wired 11.09: PowerPoint Is Evil

Worldchanging: Bright Green: Tragedy of the Commons, R.I.P.

Over many decades Ostrom has documented how various communities manage common resources – grazing lands, forests, irrigation waters, fisheries— equitably and sustainably over the long term. The Nobel Committee’s recognition of her work effectively debunks popular theories about the Tragedy of the Commons, which hold that private property is the only effective method to prevent finite resources from being ruined or depleted.

Source: 2009-10-19 Mon, Worldchanging: Bright Green: Tragedy of the Commons, R.I.P.

Schneier on Security: The Commercial Speech Arms Race

Source: 2009-10-19 Mon, Schneier on Security: The Commercial Speech Arms Race

The 5 Most Popular Safety Laws (That Don’t Work) | Cracked.com

Via Free Range Kids.

Source: 2009-10-23 Fri, The 5 Most Popular Safety Laws (That Don’t Work) | Cracked.com

Worldchanging: Bright Green: Transition Towns or Bright Green Cities?

I basically agree with the argument here, except for the negativity about the transition movement. The problem is that a bright green future is ideal, but the chance that we will fail to bring one about is significant. I don’t begrudge anyone trying to achieve a “soft landing” on the (hopefully false!) assumption that a crash is the only alternative.

Source: 2009-10-27 Tue, Worldchanging: Bright Green: Transition Towns or Bright Green Cities?

[ Posted: 12:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Mon, 05 Oct 2009

A Fist Full of Links

The quagmire of masculinity

“But there is, of course, a way out. It’s called feminism. It offers men a way to understand the nature of this toxic conception of who we are.

Feminism is a gift to men, if we are smart enough to accept it.”

Source: 2009-09-25 Fri, The quagmire of masculinity

Language Log » Moving low-hanging fruit forward at the end of the day

“Going forward” is my particular bête noire. As commentator Nathan Myers says ‘it is meant as a sort of prayer, suggesting ‘please let everyone here forget all that has gone before’. I find this particularly true of political use of the phrase, and not surprisingly, it is a particular favorite of the Obama administration.

Source: 2009-09-28 Mon, Language Log » Moving low-hanging fruit forward at the end of the day

Why I don’t contribute to Wikipedia anymore - Where is Ploum ?

The actual problem with Wikipedia is how desperate its editors are for (academic) credibility — to the extent that they are willing to destroy any unique value it might once have had in pursuit of (academic) credibility. But the sad thing is that they will never convince their critics, and in the mean time are alienating their would-be supporters.

Source: 2009-09-28 Mon, Why I don’t contribute to Wikipedia anymore - Where is Ploum ?

LENIN’S TOMB: G20 Protests

One of the better comments I’ve seen about the repression of the G20 protesters points out that when the ‘Teabaggers’ inspired by Glenn Beck turned out to protest over healthcare reform, they could bring a gun and cite the second amendment, without being harrassed. G20 protesters get beaten up and exposed to top notch military technology if they just cite the first amendment.

Source: 2009-09-28 Mon, LENIN’S TOMB: G20 Protests

Senate Dems against public option come from states with near-monopoly insurance markets

Source: 2009-09-30 Wed, ISS - Senate Dems against public option come from states with near-monopoly insurance markets

Groklaw - On Mono, Miguel, Stallman and Fusion with Microsoft

The best article currently available on the subject. Lays out full evidence for Miguel de Icaza’s perspective and why it is incompatible with the Free Software movement.

Source: 2009-09-30 Wed, Groklaw - On Mono, Miguel, Stallman and Fusion with Microsoft

Memes strike back: Gerbils, gay blood elves, and Glenn Beck - Ars Technica

How many legal documents have you seen that throw circumspection to the four winds and tell a WIPO arbiter that “only an abject imbecile could believe that the domain name would have any connection to the Complainant.” And that’s before the “HOMOSEXUAL BLOOD ELF” even makes an appearance.

This is quite possibly the best legal brief ever.

In other news, Rick Santorum is be “dipping his toes” in the 2012 Iowa “waters”. Ew.

Source: 2009-09-30 Wed, Memes strike back: Gerbils, gay blood elves, and Glenn Beck - Ars Technica

Commentator who called for coup against Obama worked in Johnson, Carter administrations

This is basically blawg drama, and thus, SERIOUS BUSINESS, but it’s interesting in what it says about the right-wing mind (such as it is). Hasn’t been reported in the MSM, but possibly only because it’s blawg drama.

Source: 2009-09-30 Wed, ISS - Commentator who called for coup against Obama worked in Johnson, Carter administrations

Bluetile - a modern tiling window manager with a gentle learning curve

I like the idea of a project that tries to bridge the gap between traditional window managers and modern tiling window managers.

Source: 2009-10-01 Thu, Bluetile - a modern tiling window manager with a gentle learning curve

LENIN’S TOMB: Victory for neoliberalism in Ireland

Source: 2009-10-04 Sun, LENIN’S TOMB: Victory for neoliberalism in Ireland

Woman’s Shattered Life Shows Ground Beef Inspection Flaws - NYTimes.com

Many big slaughterhouses will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their shipments for E. coli, according to officials at two large grinding companies.

Spew.

Source: 2009-10-05 Mon, Woman’s Shattered Life Shows Ground Beef Inspection Flaws - NYTimes.com

‘I’m not sure “bimbo” is the best translation’

The Conservapedia crew are busy rewriting retranslating the Bible to cleanse it of liberal bias. (Via.) Their talk page for the Gospel According to Mark is a record of stupidity and blundering that some day they are going to wish had never been there. They’ve had particular trouble updating the name of the Third Person of the Trinity (‘ghost is misconstrued as spectre or phantasm, rather than spirit (interestingly, they’re the same word in German, geist, from which I imagine we get the wording’, is one scholarly contribution) and after considering ‘Holy Force’ and ‘Divine Force’ have settled (for now) on ‘Divine Guide’. Which just makes the Third Person sound like some wandering swami.

Source: 2009-10-05 Mon, The Early Days of a Better Nation

[ Posted: 07:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Fri, 25 Sep 2009

Linkspam of the Ages

  • Charlie’s Diary: The future, Indian-style

    India is going forward with producing (and exporting) Thorium-fuel-cycle fission reactors. Compared to Uranium-fuel-cycle reactors, the Thorium fuel cycle:

    offers several potential advantages over a uranium fuel cycle, including greater resource abundance, superior physical and nuclear properties of fuel, enhanced proliferation resistance, and reduced plutonium and actinide production.

    The criticism by commentator heteromeles is relevant, of course.

    Source: 2009-09-22 Tue, Charlie’s Diary: The future, Indian-style

  • Singularity Salon: Putting the Human Back in the Post-Human Condition - NYC Future Salon (New York, NY) - Meetup.com

    From Jamais Cascio:

    With their unwavering focus on computing power and digital technology, leading Singularity proponents increasingly define the future in language devoid of politics and culture—thereby missing two of the factors most likely to shape the possibility the direction of any technology-driven intelligence explosion. Even if the final result is a “post-human” era, leaving out human elements when describing what leads up to a Singularity isn’t just mistaken, it’s potentially quite dangerous. It’s time to set aside algorithms and avatars, and talk about the truly important issues surrounding the possibility of a Singularity: political power, social responsibility, and the role of human agency.

    Source: 2009-09-23 Wed, Singularity Salon: Putting the Human Back in the Post-Human Condition - NYC Future Salon (New York, NY) - Meetup.com

  • Claudia Hart: A Child’s Machiavelli

    A Child’s Machiavelli began as a series of paintings, imaginary pages from what I envisioned as a first-grade primer instructing the uninitiated on how to seize and hold power.

    Source: 2009-09-23 Wed, Claudia Hart

  • Orson Scott Card, meet Alan Turing at Feminist SF – The Blog!

    Geek Feminism Blog writes:

    Yonmei over at Feminist SF writes a heartbreaking post about Alan Turing (who was convicted of gross indecency for homosexual acts) and Orson Scott Card (who supports such criminalisation).

    Source: 2009-09-23 Wed, Orson Scott Card, meet Alan Turing at Feminist SF – The Blog!

  • New York Post Special Climate Edition

    A “special edition” of the New York Post cooked up by the Yes Men.

    Source: 2009-09-24 Thu, New York Post

  • Scanning Dead Salmon in fMRI Machine Highlights Risk of Red Herrings | Wired Science | Wired.com

    “And if I were a ridiculous researcher, I’d say, ‘A dead salmon perceiving humans can tell their emotional state.’”

    Source: 2009-09-24 Thu, Scanning Dead Salmon in fMRI Machine Highlights Risk of Red Herrings | Wired Science | Wired.com

  • Operation Northwoods and the 9/11 Truthers

    It’s one thing to believe, as I and the author of this article do, that the 9/11 Truthers have not made their case, and that the “blowback” hypothesis is much more likely. It’s quite another to believe them crazy because “it is simply inconceivable that federal officials would ever do such a dastardly thing.”

    Source: 2009-09-24 Thu, Operation Northwoods and the 9/11 Truthers

[ Posted: 07:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Mon, 21 Sep 2009

Everyone Loves Link Spam

Everyone loves link spam, and I’ve been neither posting links here, nor sharing them on FaceBook, so here is a quick update of links, brought to you by org-protocol

[ Posted: 06:30] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Sun, 25 Jan 2009

Links for Jan 25 2009

I promise to write something that isn’t just a link collection one of these days.

[ Posted: 20:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Tue, 20 Jan 2009

Links for [2009-01-20 Tue]

Again, some of this has been piling up.

[ Posted: 18:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Sat, 10 Jan 2009

Links for 2009-01-10 Sat

[ Posted: 11:55] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Tue, 06 Jan 2009

Links for Tue 2009-01-06

[ Posted: 22:01] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Fri, 02 Jan 2009

Links

[ Posted: 09:19] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Mon, 29 Dec 2008

Links for 2008-12-29 Mon

Again, these are delayed a little bit.

[ Posted: 19:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Fri, 12 Dec 2008

Links for 2008-12-12 Fri

Again, some of these have been piling up for a while.

[ Posted: 17:30] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Thu, 04 Dec 2008

Links for 2008-12-04 Thu

[ Posted: 20:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Fri, 28 Nov 2008

Links

[ Posted: 13:19] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Tue, 18 Nov 2008

Links for 2008-11-18 Tue

Some of these have been stewing for a while.

[ Posted: 22:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Tue, 11 Nov 2008

Links for 2008-11-11 Tue

[ Posted: 18:30] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Sun, 09 Nov 2008

Links for 2008-11-09 Sun

Some of these have been piling up for a while.

[ Posted: 23:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Tue, 04 Nov 2008

Links for 2008-11-04 Tue

[ Posted: 22:00] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

Thu, 30 Oct 2008

Links for 2008-10-30 Thu

[ Posted: 18:30] | [ Category: ] | Permalink | Comments: 0 ]

 

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