Le Bataclan is a gorgeous building.
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Nous aimons la musique, l’ivresse, la joie
Nov 15th, 2015 11:35 am | By Ophelia BensonThe cartoonist Joann Sfar explained Paris in a series on Instagram. (I saw it, appropriately, via Salman Rushdie.)
https://instagram.com/p/-C9kLunZWH/
Paris est notre capitale. Nous aimons la musique, l’ivresse, la joie.
https://instagram.com/p/-C9moBnZWO/?taken-by=joannsfar
Depuis des siècles, des amoureux de la mort ont tenté de nous faire perdre le goût de vivre.
And one in English:
https://instagram.com/p/-C-NNrHZXh/?taken-by=joannsfar
Friends from the whole world, thank you for #prayforParis, but we don’t need more religion! Our faith goes to music! kisses! life! champagne and joy! #Paris is about life!
Mancunians gather
Nov 15th, 2015 10:37 am | By Ophelia BensonRight now in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester. (I’ve been there. The window of my hotel room looked out on Piccadilly Gardens, and the Pennines beyond.)
Guest post: Blaming the generations of women who fought before them
Nov 15th, 2015 9:58 am | By Ophelia BensonOriginally a comment by tiggerthewing on The limits of internal self-perception as the sole arbiter of truth.
I agree that the the Baby Boomers as a demographic is a pretty useless classification – especially if they extend the label up to 1964.
I was born in 1957 – late enough that I never had to risk polio (the vaccine was already available) but early enough that I had to suffer most other so-called ‘childhood diseases’. Late enough that I was vaccinated against tuberculosis; and with a father young enough that his life was saved by antibiotics when he caught TB in his teens; but old enough that his mother died of TB a couple of years earlier. Early enough that … Read the rest
In an area specially set aside for wheelchair users
Nov 14th, 2015 4:33 pm | By Ophelia BensonHere’s a disgusting new detail, from the Telegraph:
… Read the restThe Foriegn Office has confirmed that a British man was among those who died in the attack on the Bataclan venue.
Nick Alexander, 36, from London, was killed at the venue. He was shot in front of Helen Wilson, an American expat who herself was wounded in both legs.
In a statement his family said he was “everyone’s best friend” and died “doing the job he loved”.
“It is with huge sorrow that we can confirm that our beloved Nick lost his life at the Bataclan last night,” the statement said.
“Nick was not just our brother, son and uncle, he was everyone’s best friend – generous, funny and fiercely
Fix yourself
Nov 14th, 2015 3:40 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe BBC did a feature on people in Iran pushed into being transgender as an acceptable alternative to being not straight.
Growing up in Iran, Donya kept her hair shaved or short, and wore caps instead of headscarves. She went to a doctor for help to stop her period.
“I was so young and I didn’t really understand myself,” she says. “I thought if I could stop getting my periods, I would be more masculine.”
If police officers asked for her ID and noticed she was a girl, she says, they would reproach her: “Why are you like this? Go and change your gender.”
So she did.
… Read the restFor seven years Donya had hormone treatment. Her voice became deeper, and she
France and those who follow her voice must know
Nov 14th, 2015 2:10 pm | By Ophelia BensonJon Henley at the Guardian reports from Paris:
… Read the restFrançois Molins told a news conference on Saturday that at least 129 people were killed and 352 more injured – including 90 critically – in the attacks on Friday night on the Stade de France, a city-centre concert hall and a series of packed cafes and bars.
Molins said three French nationals had been arrested in Belgium, where they all lived, in connection with the attacks, France’s deadliest since the second world war and the worst witnessed in Europe since the 2004 Madrid railway bombings.
…
Isis said it had dispatched eight jihadis – leaving open the possibility that one may still be on the run – wearing suicide bomb
To fulfill what they believe are “celestial demands”
Nov 14th, 2015 11:30 am | By Ophelia BensonAn Egyptian secularist group posted a statement on Facebook in Arabic, French and English.
The woman in the image is Marianne, the symbol of the republic and thus of opposition to tyranny.
… Read the restOn behalf of the entire team at Cilantro Secularists, we would like to express our deepest condolences to our friends the people of France .. It pains us to see your suffering today at the hands of Islamic terrorists.
The world will continue to suffer for many decades to come from the brutality of the Islamists and their willingness to spill innocent blood to fulfill what they believe are “celestial demands” .. we also know that sadly .. Muslims will suffer as a result of this poisonous ideology
In Defense of Modern Industrial Agriculture, Agribusiness and Our Food Supply: Appendices
Nov 14th, 2015 | By Thomas R. DeGregoriIn the following Appendices, we provide a selection of authors and their data including some used in the text that reinforce the argument being made here.
Appendix I – Dairy production – Capper http://jas.fass.org/cgi/content/full/87/6/2160 and https://www.academia.edu/195371/The_environmental_impact_of_dairy_production_1944_compared_with_2007
The environmental impact of dairy production: 1944 compared with 2007 by Jude Capper, Journal of Animal Science, Vol. 87, March, 2009, pp.2160-2167.
ABSTRACT:
A common perception is that pasture-based, low-input dairy systems characteristic of the1940s were more conducive to environmental steward-ship than modern milk production systems. The objective of this study was to compare the environmental impact of modern (2007) US dairy production with historical production practices as exemplified by the US dairy system in 1944. A deterministic model based on the metabolism and … Read the rest
Around the world
Nov 14th, 2015 9:54 am | By Ophelia Benson… Read the restCNN iReport @cnnireport 4 minutes ago
“Peace is a universal message,” says French artist @jean_jullien after #ParisAttacks: http://cnn.it/1kVdfABIndia Today @IndiaToday
#ParisAttacks: From Akshay Kumar to Alia Bhatt, B-Town celebs pray for the victimshttp://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/parisattacks-from-akshay-kumar-to-alia-bhatt-b-town-celebs-pray-for-the-victims/1/522910.html …
Under a blue sky
Nov 13th, 2015 5:35 pm | By Ophelia BensonA happier place and time – the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris.
Paris updating
Nov 13th, 2015 3:14 pm | By Ophelia Benson4:37 The New York Times also reports 1oo killed at Le Bataclan, on its live update page.
A French police official says at least 100 people have been killed inside Bataclan, the live-music venue where attackers seized hostages Friday night, The Associated Press is reporting.
Reporters for The New York Times heard gunfire and explosions at the venue about 12:15 a.m., and then an explosion at 12:30. The sounds were apparently connected with a police assault.
They also have an eyewitness story from someone who escaped:
… Read the restJenny Watson was on the first floor of the Bataclan, a popular music venue, when gunmen opened fire on Friday night. She told France 24 what it was like when the deadly terror
Paris
Nov 13th, 2015 2:32 pm | By Ophelia BensonOh shit – simultaneous attacks all over Paris. At least 26 dead so far.
USA Today says 46 dead, 100 taken hostage.
… Read the restAt least 18 people have been killed in several shootings in the French capital, Paris, as well as explosions near the Stade de France.
French media say at least 15 people have been killed near the Bataclan arts centre. A hostage taking is under way, with reports of up to 60 held.
At least one man opened fire at a restaurant in the 11th district, causing several several casualties.
Three explosions are also reported outside a bar near the Stade de France.
…
A BBC journalist at the Petit Cambodge restaurant says
In Defense of Modern Industrial Agriculture, Agribusiness and Our Food Supply: A Spirited Response to the Critics part 2
Nov 13th, 2015 | By Thomas R. DeGregoriPart 2
“In 1950, the U.S. had 22 million head of dairy cows producing an average of 2,415 kg of milk per year. In 2,000, the U.S. dairy industry had 9.2 million cows averaging 8,275 kg milk per year. Total U.S. milk production in 1950 was 53 MT, compared to 76.2 MT in 2000. The dairy industry produced 44% more milk in 2000 with 58 percent fewer cows than in 1950” (Blayney, 2002, cited in Havenstein, 2006). Blayney, D. P., 2002. The changing Landscape of U.S. Milk Production, USDA/ERS, Stat. Bull. 978, June, http://ers.usda.gov/publications/sb978/sb978.pdf
Contrary to the critics of modern agriculture, there is no scientific evidence that “organic” is healthier. There is substantial evidence in peer reviewed scientific literature that … Read the rest
In Defense of Modern Industrial Agriculture, Agribusiness and Our Food Supply: A Spirited Response to the Critics
Nov 13th, 2015 | By Thomas R. DeGregoriIn some circles, there is now what appears to be an established, unquestioned and largely unchallenged consensus that modern agriculture is an unsustainable failure and responsible for any number of ills in our society. The media and our larger cultural discourse are riddled with well-orchestrated misinformation about our food supply and how it is produced. Every ill is blamed on modern food production. An outbreak of E coli 0157:H7 in spinach was widely blamed on industrial. Months later when the source was identified as being organically grown spinach and that the E coli probably came from free range cattle in a low density ranch across the river, it was old news and largely unreported. In fact, it is difficult to … Read the rest
The cold fusion of autism therapies
Nov 13th, 2015 10:21 am | By Ophelia BensonI thought “Facilitated Communication” had been killed once it was demonstrated to be a Clever Hans phenomenon, but how silly of me – of course it wasn’t. David Auerbach has a long, informative piece on the subject at Slate.
… Read the restFC has never been accepted by the medical or psychological communities (it’s been called the “cold fusion” of autism therapies). Dozens of professional organizationshave specifically issued statements against its use, including the American Psychological Association, the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Clinical psychologist Jerome Sattler categorically states in his standard Foundations of Behavioral,
Shukira
Nov 12th, 2015 5:55 pm | By Ophelia BensonHardeep Matharu in the Independent:
Guards shot at protestors who had carried the coffin of a young girl to the Afghan president’s palace after she was found beheaded on Saturday.
The girl was one of seven Hazaras – a minority group of Persian-speaking Shia Muslims – whose bodies were discovered in the country’s south-eastern Zabul province. It is believed that the group was taken hostage by militants about a month ago.
No one has claimed responsibility for the killings, but Afghan officials have blamed extremists ranging from the Taliban to Isis.
We know it was extremists of some sort. Non-extremist people don’t take hostages and they don’t murder.
… Read the restFemale protestors carried the coffin of the youngest victim, named Shukira,
A world sodden with violence against women
Nov 12th, 2015 12:13 pm | By Ophelia BensonSarah Ditum connects a pornographic murder of a teenage girl to pornography.
She starts with a character in Ali Smith’s novel How to be Both, a teenage girl named George who watches a pornographic clip over and over as a way of acknowledging what happened to the girl depicted in the clip.
… Read the restMost people, of course, do not watch pornography for the same high-minded reasons as George. Most of them watch it to get off, and most of them are men – pornography is produced by and for men, an orgiastic confirmation of the most brutal sexual and racial stereotypes. At this point, it’s habitual for pornography defenders to step in and muddy the waters. Not all porn is
Time’s up
Nov 12th, 2015 11:26 am | By Ophelia BensonA judge in the US state of Utah has ordered that a foster child be removed from the care of a lesbian couple, and placed with a heterosexual family.
The Utah Division of Child and Family Services is searching for ways to challenge to Tuesday’s decision.
Without a challenge, the child will be removed from April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce’s care within a week.
The decision, made by Judge Scott Johansen in the town of Price, has been criticised by gay rights groups.
The judge wants the child removed because the foster parents are a lesbian couple. Not because they’re bad foster parents, but because they’re not straight.
… Read the restThe decision to remove the child that the
