• California „propositions“ (referendums) have become an industry, providing laws for big money http://j.mp/qDXXSd #democracyiscomplicated #
• I usually doubt articles like this, but interesting that supposedly least nutritious veggies are also most tasteless ones http://j.mp/oDOs2y #
• Victory for Pastafarians (& atheists): Austrian driver’s license picture wearing spaghetti strainer for religious reasons http://j.mp/p2gLnc #
• #Krugman Economic policy can achieve short-term growth, while we know little about long-term factors http://j.mp/nwFcSQ http://j.mp/pLz51U #
• #Krugman Money is the most difficult to explain economic topic because it inherently deals with market imperfections http://j.mp/r8EBfF #
• Dîner en Blanc in Paris: An aristocrat flash-mob (since 1988) http://j.mp/pE4l7g And New York tries to copy. We will see… #
• #Krugman debunks helplessness-talk concerning the economy http://j.mp/rauRM7 Which begs the question: Why is nothing done?! #
• Assange’s acts might be legal rape or not, they certainly are rape by any reasonable moral judgement http://j.mp/rtMXjm Bah. #sadbuttrue #
• Development from low to middle income through occupation change, further to high income through qualification change http://j.mp/qwZiDp #
• Median household income gain in US since 1975 (!) explained entirely by working longer http://j.mp/pMWrlf Yay rising standards of living! #
• US Inequality Quiz http://j.mp/on0heh Why is shrinking welfare popular, social mobility, taxes and growth, per capita income per work-hour #
• Informelle Große Koalition zur Steuerpolitik http://j.mp/nIyRsz Die FDP fängt an mir richtig leid zu tun. #
• Democracy succeeds or fails over „small“ technical details http://j.mp/omIzXo What Arab Spring countries should learn from US mistakes. Wow! #
• #Krugman on (contemporary) Great Recession http://j.mp/qqRDwe Unemployment is not a structural problem, it’s a lack of political will #
• The stunning culture of our own past: silent reading was a revolution for our oral ancestors, and writing had no spaces http://j.mp/rouNLF #
• #travelinsight 68: In 80 hours around Lake Victoria. Phew. Involves three border crossings. I’ll have to rant about the Ugandan ones later. #
• Tagebücher eines „kleinen“ Justizbeamten 1939 bis 1945 zeigen deutlich, was man wissen konnte http://j.mp/oBj9w2 Traurige Wahrheit. #ZEIT #
• „Rape Mythology“ creates a strong incentive for legitimate victims to lie about circumstances http://j.mp/qdgqPN #DSK #lifeiscomplicated #
• #ZEIT Fahrrad-Verkehrsregeln-Quiz http://j.mp/pXY3eL Geschwindigkeits– & Promillegrenzen, Musikhören & Einkaufstaschen, und #CriticalMass #

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• Sexism among atheists — what’s wrong with asking somebody if they want to have sex in an enlightened age? http://j.mp/kppPr0 #privilege #
• Economist reviews „Too Big to Fail“ (and „Inside Job“) http://j.mp/ioVhzc where do mistakes „cross over into villainy“? #
• Heribert #Prantl hält Laudatio zum Negativ-Preis Verschlossene Auster an Atomindustrie http://j.mp/lWlj0T „Kommuniziert wie der Teufel“ #
• #travelinsight 67: Trying not generalize African culture myself, I hear „we Africans“ all the time. A healthy, inclusive identity, I hope. #
• #travelinsight 66: I’m not the only one living out of a suitcase (that is, backpack) here: Most man my age do. Furniture is rare. #
• The church of fiscal conservatism #cartoon http://j.mp/l4ThiB #
• CDU/CSU/FDP nach Wulffs Lob für die Grünen http://j.mp/lpVOId Wir haben auch Basisdemokratie. http://j.mp/kL2FYH Lächerlich. #
• The #SlutWalk movement and Feminism — fighting the „division of women into good girls and bad ones“ http://j.mp/kv1gI5 #
• Die erfolgreiche schlechte Regierung: hört auf Stimmung der Bürger aber ist ideenlos, verbraucht deshalb „Diskursmasse“ http://j.mp/kUiYlT #
• Only perfect women are raped? Arguments for not dropping the #DSK case in the face of other lies from the alleged victim http://j.mp/iRjCeY #

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What could have been a tweet is becoming a small post instead, because I found a discussion in the comment section so enlightening that I want to quote it here, along with some of the original content. The starting point is a story of sexual harassment at a (as far I understand) atheist or sceptic conference. Now, as some people said, the harassment was not „serious“: She was in the elevator back to her room after a party early in the morning, and a guy who got into the elevator with her asked her to have coffee in his room or something. She declined, end of story.

The case becomes interesting and even illustrative because it pits two camps against each other that I both subscribe to: open communication (and sexuality) advocates and feminists. And because the fascinating issue of „privilege“ (in this case the classic „male privilege“) comes in, which I’m starting to find a useful figure of thought in a number of social issues. To give my conclusion away: I’m siding with the feminist critique. And here’s why:

[…]

• Der freiwillige „Beitrag“ der Banken zur Griechenlandrettung hilft den Banken & belastet Griechenland http://j.mp/lpkqXJ http://j.mp/jC8kTV #
• Der Journalist „pusht“ zum #FrauenWM Paralympics-Vergleich http://j.mp/keVe3L Unfein. Aber komischer Geschmack nach allen Seiten. Allen. #
• What is the opposite of pro? This teacher obviously LOL! http://twitpic.com/5izh66 Full explanation here http://j.mp/jAWeeq #
• What’s popular with #facebook on #NYTimes http://twitpic.com/5ip1wc Sorry, facebook! #
• Inventor of highly successful Dialectical Behavior Therapy Marsha Linehan comes out as Borderline herself http://j.mp/kkBtsb Powerful! #
• #NYTimes Magazine account of an illegal immigrant becoming successful journalist, but living a life of fear http://j.mp/jvdcxk So touching! #
• Plausible psychologizing of why Obama has disappointed so much http://j.mp/jXlaCl Mediation, empathy and all-sidedness in the wrong place #
• Misbehaving words and structural Marxism in a children’s book http://j.mp/mKEwUM Literary allusions can be fun after all! #

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In a series of feminist reading that I suppose my very un-feminist environment pushes me to I just found the Blog „No, Seriously, What About Teh Menz?“, which looks at gender issues with a focus on male disadvantages, something they call masculism. At the same time, they have a strong commitment to feminism and what they call „Gender Equality“ as the intersection of the two. What seems to be a trend among blogs that presuppose a lot of shared knowledge, they have an introductory section called „101“, which used to be the FAQ in the old days.

I highly recommend that FAQ for a brief and broad entry into how modern feminism (including masculism) should be understood. And want to quote the section on the „Kyriarchy or the Oppression Olympics“ here, which explains how to work together from different angles, instead of against each other:

[…]

In one of my probably last random internet excursions for the next months I came across the „World Socialist Web Site“ published by the International Committee of the Fourth International (trying to find out who that actually is on Wikipedia leads into the abyss of socialist splinter groups). While there is a lot of predictable nonsense on the website (you really don’t want to read what they write about the Western intervention in Lybia), I’ve come to find some modern Marxist thinking quite inspiring. This is especially true of a critique of Post-Modernism, a line of thought I also vaguely identify with (finding out more about what is really behind the term is somewhere near the top on my reading list for 2012). Let’s start with a definition of post-modern that maybe is (and certainly should be) commonplace, by Jean-François Lyotard, considered the founding father the philosophical Post-Modern:

[…]

• #SZ Kommentar zum Ausstiegs-Ja, der viel Hoffnung für die Grünen macht http://j.mp/maaKDD So oder so: gut gemacht, Grüne! #
• RE #RSS If you want me to visit your blog, how about writing something that invites me to comment? Web 2.0, right? #
• If you have an #RSS feed, don’t make it be one-liners. I won’t be teased and visit your stupid blog over and over. I’ll delete your feed. #
• Getting „married“ on facebook http://j.mp/jN7fQY „no pending invites to stray“ #moderntimes #
• #travelinsight 65: Saying good-bye to people with no digital communication feels much more final — even though, who really writes e-mails? #
• While Obamacare & Ryancare are similar, one is a good compromise for uninsured, the other worsening existing care http://j.mp/jNOnFz #
• Nations are not companies. EU Countries make their economies weak and unequal by trying to be „competitive“ http://j.mp/jh1rRV #
• Free speech in the west and the knowability of truth, from prescribed history to political correctness http://j.mp/lELj7f Fascinating! #
• Compassionate story of an ex-gay, showing the struggles and mind-games that still trouble our sexual identities http://j.mp/mIJgwZ #
• Nachrichten aus unserem abgeschafften Entwicklungshilfeministerium und dem ecudorianischen Regenwald http://j.mp/jSKPTW Genau falsche EZ #
• After frustration with my WordPress-Blog comment system: I’m not alone http://j.mp/kTiVZo but where do I go from there? Help! #
• #Krugman on liberalism & 5 influential books http://j.mp/jJsjMh Fascinating how central epistemology is, a topic I keep coming back to, too. #
• Historischer Bogen Grüner Bildungspolitik: Bildung für soziale Gerechtigkeit, der Weg zur „Gemeinschaftsschule“ lang http://j.mp/mJnR5c #
• Secret rule of the proletariat (sort of) in the US: managerialist, not capitalist http://j.mp/lZrJPR Do we need corporate democracy? #
• The cocaine-related death of a basketball star triggered the US war on drugs 25 years ago http://j.mp/iQnvyK Can coincidences shape history? #
• #Krugman argues the Greece problem can only be solved by defaulting the debt, and talks about the costs of delaying that http://j.mp/iFe2ny #
• When companies try to do science — McKinsey’s bold health care claim and refusal (inability?) to produce the evidence http://j.mp/m0OmnX #
• #travelinsight 64: Good gear and boots — happy as a child in the rain! And the mixed smell of wet mud, grass and eucalyptus, ahhh! #
• #travelinsight 63: It can be a privilege to not understand the language: You get lots of time to observe and think about things. #
• #travelinsight 62: I’m good with Kiswahili grammar and pronunciation, not so much with vocabulary — does that mean I’m lazy? #
• US has only been militarized as intensely as now since WWII, and maybe ending the superpowerdom will not hurt too much http://j.mp/m9l8Tz #
• Die #TAZ hat ein simples Online-Tool zur Suche von Parteispenden über 10.000€, Firmen & privat. Es lebe die Transparenz! http://j.mp/jalJIi #
• Neuroscience is a (reflexive) social science: disbelief in free will changes brain activity (and behavior) — to the worse http://j.mp/klB8zG #
• Spannende und kontroverse Liste von technischen Durchbrüchen, die (vielleicht) bevorstehen. Gut gemacht #ZEIT http://j.mp/mscLMl #
• #Mankiw shows how you get the same behind different language in health care http://j.mp/iW1Jd8 Why do democrats choose the „bad“ language? #

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• Learn child care, health care and fair pay from the military. A well-functioning socialist endeavor in the US’s heart http://j.mp/jJtjG6 #
• CIA ordered by Bush administration to find „damaging“ information about displeasing Middle East blogger http://j.mp/jky8qo Very disturbing. #
• It makes me sick that there’s a whole politics of its own about winning Wall Street donations http://j.mp/koMGx2 And especially Obama! #
• Subtle corruption by naming a building or institution after somebody http://j.mp/k5xTfv very much agree with #Mankiw here #
• The virtue of „moral imagination“ vs. one step leading to the next. Good freshman talk, and very noteworthy comments too! http://j.mp/mvhlh7 #
• Review of a SF-Book that promises fun — and insights into how language and stories shape our world http://j.mp/kt7HCf Can’t wait! #
• Griechenland-Krise ähnelt dem Versailler Vertrag, und Lösung ist Europäische Finanzpolitik ohne nationale Parlamente http://j.mp/jn85mU wow! #
• Auguri, Italia! http://j.mp/kkGADw Die Berlusconi-Ära scheint vorbei, hoffen wir dass die italienische Linke was zu bieten hat. #
• Things can always be different, and not every US war is for oil. Libya definitely isn’t, read why on #InformedComment http://j.mp/jgMwNJ #
• #travelinsight 61: RE sugar cane: Europe and US here are refined sugar of course, making this an inverted U-shaped development curve for me. #
• #travelinsight 60: The difference between Africa and India and is chewing sugar cane and drinking fresh sugar cane juice. Both nice, but… #
• #TechTip SafeSleepOnce http://j.mp/mTJN4W the much-needed „deep sleep“ (hibernation) Button for Mac OS X. Also here: tested many, kept one #
• #TechTip „Mental Case“ the first spaced repetition learning software that does the job for me http://j.mp/iGObOs not free, but worth it #
• Paul #Krugman has a chart comparing Medicare and private insurance cost increases. Health markets not a good idea http://j.mp/jF7zUl #

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• Illustration of private health care system waste http://j.mp/iefY2F But I don’t agree http://j.mp/ikH95N health care is so very different #
• #travelinsight 59: Stayed up till 3 refining a four-voice choir composition with my guest brother. Demanding, but also very rewarding! #
• Nice explanation why the „food plate“ is a big step forward from the old pyramid http://j.mp/iR3m91 #
• A rare case where feminism and „men’s rights“ arguments obviously coincide http://j.mp/kZb8rg why it has to be ok for men to send naked pics #
• What puzzles me most about Obama — how and why he expands on the previous Administration’s tight grip on his citizens http://j.mp/k1f8hf #
• Intuitive, perceptual learning advanced by brain scientists http://j.mp/l5fi32 Helps with most important task: What kind of problem is this? #
• Critical Review of Adapt (book) http://j.mp/ixlSnv How evolutionary/market-style trial and error bites its own tail as a big principle. #
• #travelinsight 58: I love thinking people, both in trait and state sense Great to watch the kids put their heads together over a problem! #
• Evolutionary just-so story debunked: Dogs‘ past in family packs and implications for hierarchy, cooperation and training http://j.mp/l6oLlR #
• #travelinsight 57: When you’re constantly observed (and different) anyway, you might as well do what you feel like doing. Liberating! #
• 11 bizarre beliefs Americans hold http://j.mp/kZWkcs Depending on your level of social science training, laugh at Americans or pollsters… #
• #travelinsight 56: Twitter is teaching me to summarize. And cut unnecessary adjectives. I suppose that’s good, all in all… #
• #travelinsight 55: Why do I sometimes get that sudden craving to buy stuff, to consume?! Preferably high-end tech stuff, and new clothes… #
• Rechtliche Folgen von Stuttgart 21 für zukünftige Großprojekte http://j.mp/mcPwjq Spielarten der Bürgerbeteiligung und Verfahrensdauer #

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Despite my best efforts, this Sunday is on the best way to being a random-web-surfing day, reading (among many other things) critiques of Capitalism using an Indian company’s mobile network in remote Tanzania…

This randomness is of course the source of what we often deplore as procrastination, but I’m realizing it can also set free creativity, by presenting side by side concepts that seem only very loosely related at first. So here is my starting point, a very insightful remark on what difference it makes if we speak about Capitalism or Free Market Economy, from John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist and author, published in the article Free Market Fraud in The Progressive magazine in 1999:

[…]