links for 2011-08-10
Bubble Universe (A Short Story) « Sci-Ence! Justice Leak!
Andrew Hickey writes yet another awesome short story in the true-SF genre.
(tags: fiction)
98-year-old woman earns judo's highest degree black belt
In the middle of this, let's have some awesome news. "Be gentle, kind and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both mentally and physically." <- I think I want that cross-stitched on a cushion.
(tags: judo)
MLK on rioting.
Asim relates a Martin Luther King speech to the race related issues being brought up by recent events. "Every large city reaps the results of the myriad poor and black people who have migrated there in desperate search of … fulfillment"
(tags: racism ukriots)
Hi-C Educates the Masses • The London riots.
"The official reaction to these riots confirms what activists from these communities have been saying for years; poor kids of color are either a) irrelevant to mainstream society, or if they are finally noticed are b) only seen as criminals. There’s very little opportunity for poor youth to be seen as the nuanced, complicated, diverse beings that they are. That’s intentional. The status quo is reinforced every time minority youth are seen as a terrifying, brainless monolith. That is what the mainstream media is going to try to do to these kids. Do not let them. "
(tags: politics ukriots)
The sad truth behind London riot
Brief but succinct piece from MSNBC: Without these events, would anyone pay attention to the disenfranchised?
(tags: london ukriots politics)
There is a context to London's riots that can't be ignored | Nina Power
This is probably the most linked news article around the Bringlish speaking world today, but there's a reason for that.
(tags: politics london ukriots)
Deaths in police custody since 1998: 333; officers convicted: none
Guardian article from last December, that also mentions 16 people (incl. 7 women, 4 children), murdered after police had prior contact with the victims.
(tags: politics police)
Uncle Steve on the looting
"Protests do nothing. Letter-writing does nothing. Unchecked capitalism failed, brought the economy to its knees, but it changed nothing. There is no help coming. I don’t know why there AREN’T riots.
But there aren’t, and these looters aren’t rioters. Their reasons they’re doing it aren’t political, even though the reasons they think they CAN do it, and that it’s ACCEPTABLE to do it, are entirely political."
The UK riots: the psychology of looting | Zoe Williams
"Consumer society relies on your ability to participate in it. So what we recognise as a consumer now was born out of shorter hours, higher wages and the availability of credit. If you're dealing with a lot of people who don't have the last two, that contract doesn't work."
(tags: psychology poverty ukriots)
David Cameron's tough talk shows he doesn't get it - sick people need healing, not imprisonment and water cannon
JUST as I was typing "will anything be done to address the root causes", my blog roll filled up with news of Cameron talking tough. Our Prime Minister appears to understand nothing.
Quite an experience
"I hopped on the tube at 18:15. Normally this is one of the worst times to be on the Piccadilly line, because all the museums have just shut in South Kensington (Science, Natural History, V&A) so the tourists as well as everyone who's gone for a pint after work are all trying to pile onto the tiny train carriages. (Fun fact: Each Piccadilly line trains can carry 1238 passengers. Each Victoria line train can carry 1448 passengers.)
This train was nearly empty. I had an entire row of seats to myself from Gloucester Road to Holloway Road (12 stops), which is unthinkable at rush hour. At Green Park, a pair of well-dressed young people boarded and sat across from me."
This post can also be found at Thagomizer.net. Feel free to join in the conversation wherever you feel most comfortable.