What I've Been Reading, December 2021

Links

• Bypass paywalls on popular online publications for free, by 7 Labs.
  There is a lot of important information out there that is behind paywalls, many requiring expensive subscription to overcome.
• Show me a 10ft paywall, I’ll show you a 12ft ladder.
  "Prepend 12ft.io/ to the URL of any paywalled page, and we'll try our best to remove the paywall and get you access to the article."

Above the Fold

• Solidarity Networks, by Gods & Radicals
  
• Seattle Solidarity Network
  
"Seattle Solidarity (“SeaSol”) is a volunteer network of working people who believe in standing up for our rights. Our goal is to support our fellow workers’ strikes and struggles, build solidarity, and organize to deal with specific job, housing, and other problems caused by the greed of the rich and powerful. Join us! Let’s fight to win."
• Microsolidarity, by Richard D. Bartlett, Microsolidarity
  "In late 2018, Richard D. Bartlett published a proposal to start a "microsolidarity" group — a small mutual aid community for people to do a kind of personal development, in good company, for social benefit."
• Courage Before Hope: A Proposal to Weave Emotional and Economic Microsolidarity
• Microsolidarity: Update 2020
  "How To Weave Social Fabric-- 3 Essential Pillars For a New Mutual Aid Community"

Miscellaneous

• Does Wisdom Really Come from Experience?, by Rachel Syme, The new Yorker
  " In “70 Over 70,” we learn what binds—and separates—the old and the young."
• Can someone seriously explain to me how there's even an argument for completely unregulated abortion laws? by Gareth Jones, Quora
  "OK. The argument is called “Canada”, believe it or not."
• The Fading Ways of Indigenous Arctic Hunters, by Ben Taub, The New Yorker
  "Ragnar Axelsson’s portraits from Greenland reveal the effects of climate change on ice floes, sled dogs, and a traditional culture."
• The Grim Secret of Nordic Happiness, by Jukka Savolainen, Slate
  "It’s not hygge, the welfare state, or drinking. It’s reasonable expectations."

Reactions to "The Dawn of Everything"

• Everything we “know” about the rise of Man is wrong, by David Wineberg, Medium--The Straight Dope
  "For 350 years, it has been common knowledge that Man went from bands of hunter-gatherers, to pastoralists, to farming, to industry. In parallel, Man lived in families, in tribes, in villages and then in cities, as technology improved. Technology, the third parallel, took us from the stone age through the bronze age and the iron age to the industrial revolution. All neat, tidy and clearly separable. David Graeber and David Wengrow claim there is no evidence for this. In The Dawn of Everything, they show proof of an unbelievable variety of living styles, governance and intellectual activity all over the world and throughout time. It was never a straight line progression. It was never the result of technology. And possibly most stunning, the larger the population was did not also mean more restrictions, more crime, more laws, or more inequality. This is an important book."
• All things being equal, by Nancy Lindisfarne Jonathan Neale, Ecologist
  Based on it's harsh criticism of the antropological establishment it was inevitable that someone would write a negative review of The Dawn of Everything. This review reads like the authors only read parts of the book and didn't understand most of those. The only point I agree with is that Graeber and Wengrow are largely blind to the ecological and resource limits faced by human societies on this planet.

The Other News

News that is being ignored by North American mass media

• 'We Will Bury Neoliberalism': Global Celebration Follows Leftist Victory in Chile, by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
  

Coronavirus

• Why do so many medical personnel in the U.S. refuse to be vaccinated against COVID? by Edward Meeker, Quora
  "When I find the actual statistics reported by hospitals etc. the percentage is almost always below 1%"
• What Autopsies of Vaccinated People (With Covid Vaccines) Show, by Shin Jie Yong, Medium--Microbial Instincts
  " And why it’s important to know them (and their limitations)"
• When "experts" say artificial immunity created by a COVID-19 vaccine is superior to natural immunity, are they lying? by Jonathan Trueman, Quora

Capitalism, Communism, Anarchy

• The Secret to the Weston Family’s Wealth Is Exploitation, Not Hard Work, by Mitchell Thompson, Jacobin
  "Canada’s ruling class is fond of praising the Westons for representing an ethical form of capitalism. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The Westons made their fortunes by ruthlessly exploiting workers."

Food

• Cheddar has conquered the world, but it hasn't been produced in its namesake English town for years. Now, an award-winning dairy is putting Cheddar, England back on the map, by Lizzie Enfield, BBC--Travel--Food & Hospitality | Food | England | Great Britain
  I made a couple of batches of cheddar (among other cheeses) before Christmas. Should be ready to eat a Christmas 2022, although even longer aging would produce an even more flavourful cheese.

Genetic Engineering

Before jumping to the erroneous conclusion that this section was paid for by Monsanto, stop for a moment and understand that organic agriculture/food is a multi-billion dollar per year industry that relies on fear to get people to buy its product. Millions of dollars are spent to convince you that non-organic food is dangerous. In fact both conventionally grown and organic foods are equally safe. Sadly neither method of agriculture is even remotely sustainable.

• Panic-free GMOs, A Grist Special Series by Nathanael Johnson
  "It’s easy to get information about genetically modified food. There are the dubious anti-GM horror stories that recirculate through social networks. On the other side, there’s the dismissive sighing, eye-rolling, and hand patting of pro-GM partisans. But if you just want a level-headed assessment of the evidence in plain English, that’s in pretty short supply. Fortunately, you’ve found the trove."
  A series of articles that does a pretty good job of presenting the facts about GMOs. I plan to include one article from this series here each month.
• Rat retraction reaction: Journal pulls its GMOs-cause-rat-tumors study, by Nathanael Johnson, Grist
  "Retractions are typically the result of big goofs and frauds -- but in this case, the problem was inordinate attention paid to inconclusive results."

Practical Skills

• Building complete and warm survival shelter | Bushcraft earth hut, grass roof & fireplace with clay, by Cyprien Outdoor Adventures, YouTube
  "I built my little mud house to hide in nature,I used dead wood for the structure,clay and stones for the fireplace and grass for the roof. Here there are a lot of wild boars,I settled on their territory!"
• Nålebinding tutorial part 1 - Oslo stitch, by HomeWithMyBookshelf, YouTube
  

Debunking Resources

These are of such importance that I've decide to leave them here on an ongoing basis.

• Debunking, Wikipedia
• Pseudoscience, Wikipedia
• List of topics characterized as pseudoscience, Wikipedia
• Rational Wiki
• Science Based Medecine
• Quackwatch
• Snopes, debunks or validates urban legends
• Bad Astronomy
• The Skeptics Society
• The 8 Best Fact-Checking Sites for Finding Unbiased Truth, by Megan Ellis, MUO--Make Use Of
• Pain Science, by Paul Ingraham
• Techniques of Science Denial

Pseudoscience, Quacks and Charlatans

• Detox products are bunk, by Melanie Trecek-King, Thinking Is Power
• Six Exhausting Misconceptions That Many of You Still Hold, by Sean Kernan, Medium-- Lessons from History
  "Let’s set the record straight on a few historical and scientific myths."
• Looking at Iridology, by Joe Schwarcz PhD, McGill--Office for Science and Society
  "Separating Sense from Nonsense"

There is No God, and Thou Shall Have No Other Gods

I don't think I've made any secret of the fact that I am an atheist, but I may not have made it clear that I think any sort of worship is a bad thing and that believing in things is to be avoided whenever possible. Indeed, I do not believe in belief itself. That's what the "Thou shall have no other gods" is about—it's not enough to quit believing in whatever God or Gods you were raised to believe in, but also we must avoid other gods, including material wealth, power and fame.

Further, many people today (including most atheists) follow the religion of "progress", which is based on the belief that mankind is destined to follow a road that leads from the caves ever upward to the stars, and that however bad things seem today, they are bound to be better tomorrow due to technological advancement and economic growth. This is very convenient for those who benefit most from economic growth, but it is hardly based on any sort of science and leads to a great deal of confused thinking.

• Surprises within latest data on decline of US Religion, by David Gamble, Medium-- Science and Critical Thinking
  " On 14th December 2021, Pew issued their latest update on the religious landscape in the US. For the non-religious, it appears to be very good news. The decline of religion in the US continues unabated."

Poverty, Homeless People, Minimum Wage, UBI, Health Care, Affordable Housing

• Let There Be Money, Joe Manchin, by Sharon Woodhouse, Medium
  "Bathtubs, Modern Monetary Theory, and UBI"
  Not sure how valid Modern Monetary theory is--I'd rather do away with money altogether.

Books

Fiction

• Aurora Rising (The Prefect Dreyfus Emergencies, 1) , by Alastair Reynolds
• Leviathan Falls (The Expanse Book 9) , by James S. A. Corey
• Elysium Fire (The Prefect Dreyfus Emergencies, 2) , by Alastair Reynolds

What I've Been Reading, March 2020

Links

Above the Fold

• Bypass paywalls on popular online publications for free, by 7 Labs.
  There is a lot of important information out there that is behind paywalls, many requiring expensive subscription to overcome.
• Wearing Masks Must Be a National Policy, by Aaron Schildkrout, Bill Walczak, Dara Kass and Brian Jack, New York Times
• Jennifer Nuzzo: “We’re Definitely Not Overreacting” to COVID-19, by Yvonne Bang, JSTOR Daily
  "I think vaccines are not going to be a realistic solution for years. The 12-to-18 month timeline that you’ve likely heard assumes that the science works in our favor. But it will take years to get the quantities that we need. I don’t see vaccines being a viable solution for a long time."
• The Age of Catastrophe, by Umair Haque, Medium—Eudaimonia
  Only one quibble—Umair himself is still largely blind to resource depletion (Peak Oil, etc.) which stands to make all the other catastrophes we face just that much worse. But other than that, an excellent essay and a must read.
• Noam Chomsky: “Worship of Markets” Is Threatening Human Civilization, by C.J. Polychroniou, Truthout
• Enough will have to be good enough, by Tim Watkins, The Consciousness of Sheep
• Noam Chomsky: Sanders Threatens the Establishment by Inspiring Popular Movements, by C.J. Polychroniou, Truthout
• The IMF Confirms That 'Trickle-Down' Economics Is, Indeed, a Joke, by Jared Keller, Pacific Standard>br /> Pretty ironic to hear the IMF saying things like this.
• Decades of Science Denial Related to Climate Change Has Led to Denial of the Coronavirus Pandemic, by Neela Banerjee and David Hasemyer, Inside Climate News

Miscellaneous

• How To Talk About Literally Anything Else, by Leah Fessler, Medium—Forge
• Five reliable Outlook PST file repair tools, by Jack Wallen, Tech Republic
  I'd been using Outlook as my email program for literally decades. The .pst file got too big (almost 20 gigs) and Outlook wouldn 't open it. I really needed to access my contacts list and just a few of those 70,000 emails. One of the tools recommended in this article (Kernel) was able to repair the file and recover my data. Now I'm using Thunderbird, and deleting a lot more emails after I read them, and some even before.
• Why do some people support abortions? by Camila S. Espinoza, Certified Chilean Midwife, on Quora
• Huge feral hogs invading Canada, building ‘pigloos’ as they go, by Andrea Anderson, National Geographic
• 15 Ways To Wipe Your Butt When The Toilet Paper Is Gone, Urban Survival Site
• What did people do before toilet paper? by Erin Blakemore, National Geographic
  "History shows it’s been around for a surprisingly long time—and that we’ve projected our anxieties on its supply before."
• The Self-Defense Scam, by Carolyn Bertolina, Medium
• The Woman Who Lives 200,000 Years in the Past, by Katherine Rowland, Outside
  "As we confront the reality of COVID-19, the idea of living self-sufficiently in the woods, far from crowds and grocery stores, doesn't sound so bad. Lynx Vilden has been doing just that for decades, while teaching others how to live primitively, too."

Coronavirus

• The Four Possible Timelines for Life Returning to Normal, by Joe Pinkser, Medium—The Atlantic
• Not wearing masks to protect against coronavirus is a ‘big mistake,’ top Chinese scientist says , by Jon Cohen, Science
  "The big mistake in the U.S. and Europe, in my opinion, is that people aren’t wearing masks. This virus is transmitted by droplets and close contact. Droplets play a very important role—you’ve got to wear a mask, because when you speak, there are always droplets coming out of your mouth. Many people have asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections. If they are wearing face masks, it can prevent droplets that carry the virus from escaping and infecting others."
  "Yes. Anywhere you go inside in China, there are thermometers. You have to try to take people’s temperatures as often as you can to make sure that whoever has a high fever stays out."
  "Infected people must be isolated. That should happen everywhere. You can only control COVID-19 if you can remove the source of the infection. This is why we built module hospitals and transformed stadiums into hospitals."
  From what this expert says we are slipping up in a few areas in our COVID-19 response here in Canada.
• Universal mask-wearing is the most overlooked COVID-19 lifesaver, by Masks Save Lives
  "Western countries are experiencing higher rates of COVID-19 infections compared to Asian countries because of the West's aversion to wearing masks. We need universal mask-wearing to aid in lowering COVID-19's virality."
• Make a Mask, by MaskBuilders.com
  "Our no-sew design was designed by a hospital epidemiologist to simulate a surgical mask and can be created in 10 minutes "
• IY Cloth Face Mask , by ashevillejm on Instructables
• How South Korea Flattened the Curve, by Max Fisher and Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times
• Canadians Can Wear Non-Medical Masks To Prevent COVID-19 Spread: Feds, bySamantha Beattie, HuffPost
• The psychology behind why toilet paper, of all things, is the latest coronavirus panic buy, by Scottie Andrew, CNN
  I noticed that stores in our little town were out of toilet paper and bread (which makes more sense), but also canned tomato soup, while other types of canned soup were still available. Strange.
• Coronavirus: All non-essential workplaces ordered to close in Ontario, by Ryan Rocca and Nick Westoll, Global News
• ‘I’m going to keep pushing.’ Anthony Fauci tries to make the White House listen to facts of the pandemic, An interview wioth Dr. Fauci, by , Jon Cohen, Science Magazine
• How deadly is COVID-19? Why it's different in every country, by Adam Miller, CBC News
• Will the coronavirus change how skeptics think about science?, by Hari Sreenivasan and Naomi Oreskes, PBS News Hour

Capitalism, Communism, Anarchy

• If healthcare should be free because we all need it, why shouldn't food and accommodation be as well? by Pascal Morimacil, Quora
• Dorothy Day’s Radical Faith, by Casey Cep, The New Yorker
  From where I sit her radicalism is far more significant than her faith.
• Coronavirus Is Forcing the GOP to (Tacitly) Admit Its Ideology Is Delusional, by Eric Levitz, The Intelligencer
  For those of us who are sick and tired of conservative political and economic nonsense, this article is pretty sweet. Delusional indeed!
• Free Comrade Britney! by Sara Luterman, The Nation
  "Britney Spears called for the redistribution of wealth—but she’s not even allowed to give away her own money."
• What If a Shrinking Economy Wasn’t a Disaster? by Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily

Collapse

• The Age of Collapse, by Umair Haque, Eudaimonia & Co.
• Nafeez Ahmed on Synchronous Failure and Post-Pandemic Systems Change, by Ahser Miller and Nafeez Ahmed, Resilence

Responding to Collapse,

• So You Want to Start a COVID Farm? by Dawn Allen, Legal Reader
• Uncharted Territory: Nate Hagens on coronavirus and the economy, by Asher Miller and Nat Hagens, Post Carbon Institute

Peak Oil

• Antonio Turiel: Explaining Peak Oil the Easy Way, by Antonio Turiel, on /Alice Friedemann's Energy Skeptic blog
• THE ENERGY DISASTER KICKING INTO FULL GEAR: World Is Totally Unprepared For What’s Ahead, by Steve St. Angelo, The SRSrocco Report
  "There’s more evidence finally surfacing in the media of the dire energy predicament the world is now facing. The negative ramifications of peak oil and the falling EROI were going to hit the world economy within the next 2-5 years, but the global contagion has sped up the process considerably. Unfortunately, the world will never return back to the energy consumption and GDP growth experienced in 2019. I believe the peak of unconventional oil production has finally arrived… FOREVER."
• The Only Logical End To The Oil War, by Amad Shaikh, OilPrice.com
• The Oil Giant Drowning In Debt, by Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.com

Climate Change

• Why are climate change skeptics routinely referred to as “science deniers”? by Steven Haddock, Quora
  
• Greenland's melting ice raised global sea level by 2.2mm in two months, by Oliver Milman, The Guardian
  "Analysis of satellite data reveals astounding loss of 600bn tons of ice last summer as Arctic experienced hottest year on record."

Economic Contraction and Growing Inequality

• A Debt Jubilee is the Only Way to Avoid a Depression, by Michael Hudson, Counterpunch
• Shedlock: Recession Will Be Deeper Than The Great Financial Crisis, by MIke Shedlock, Real Investment Advice

Energy

• Energy Slaves: every American has somewhere between 200 and 8,000 energy slaves, by Alice Friedemann, Energy Skeptic

Emergency Preparation

• The Sane Prepper Mantra: Common sense rules for prepping, by The Prepared
  The advice here is certain a lot more sane than what you get from many survivalists/preppers. Still too much of that good old American "protect yourself from attackers" shit, though.
• To Avoid the Trap of Panic Buying, Change the Way You Shop, by Jessica Wildfire, Medium—Mind Cafe
• What to Buy (and What to Skip) to Prepare for Coronavirus, by Jessica Migala, Medium—Elemental
  "Advice from people in quarantine about what you actually need — and how to make life work"
  Only one thing in this article that I disagree with: it says you don't need to stock water if your tap water is currently drinkable. The pandemic may not immediately lead to water problems, but it could in the long run if thing go badly. Always include water in your prepping. The article also mentions having frozen peas to add to pasta, but doesn't include pasta on its list of things to stock. Strange.
• Here's What's Inside Ina Garten's Quarantine Pantry, by Alyse Whitney, Food52
  

Recipes and Cooking

• Potatoes, 12 Ways, by Mark Bittman, Medium—Heated
  "Variations on baked, braised, mashed, and fried"
• Mark Bittman’s Master List of Interchangeable Ingredients, by Mark Bittman, Medium—Heated
• Kasha Carbonara, by Emma Laperruque, Food52
  When you are out of pasta... and it might be interesting to try with other grains as well.

Genetic Engineering

Before jumping to the erroneous conclusion that this section was paid for by Monsanto, stop for a moment and understand that organic agriculture/food is a multi-billion dollar per year industry that relies on fear to get people to buy its product. Millions of dollars are spent to convince you that non-organic food is dangerous. In fact both conventionally grown and organic foods are equally safe. Sadly neither method of agriculture is even remotely substainable.

• Panic-free GMOs, A Grist Special Series by Nathanael Johnson
  "It’s easy to get information about genetically modified food. There are the dubious anti-GM horror stories that recirculate through social networks. On the other side, there’s the dismissive sighing, eye-rolling, and hand patting of pro-GM partisans. But if you just want a level-headed assessment of the evidence in plain English, that’s in pretty short supply. Fortunately, you’ve found the trove."
  A series of articles that does a pretty good job of presenting the facts about GMOs. I plan to include one article from this series here each month.
• Genetic engineering: Do the differences make a difference? by Nathanael Johnson, Grist

Practical Skills

• How to Weather a Storm, by Eric Larsen, Pocket—Outside
  "In other words, how to not lose your mind to boredom, according to polar explorer Eric Larsen"
• How to Prevent Blisters When Hiking and Backpacking, Cloudline
  The article doesn't mention this: when putting on your socks, make sure there are no bits of grit stuck to your feet. Since I started making a point of doing this I've had very few blisters.
• How to prepare willow for basket weaving, by Big Green Art, YouTube
• Willow Basket Weaving Techniques—Randing, by Big Green Art, YouTube
• Basketry Techniques—"Irish Randing", by Asaf Salim, YouTube

American Politics

• Trump says Republicans would ‘never’ be elected again if it was easier to vote, by Sam Levine, The Guardian
  I've been saying this for years, glad to have it confirmed from the top.
• The destructive effect of disinformation and the "Fire Hose of Lies", by NIck Carmody, Patreon

Canadian Politics

• WARREN: There's a right way and a wrong way to be an Opposition leader during COVID-19, by Jim Warren, Toronto Sun
• Andrew Scheer and the Monstrous Nature of the Cons, by Montreal Simon, on his blog

Debunking Resources

These are of such importance that I've decide to leave them here on an ongoing basis.

• Debunking, Wikipedia
• Pseudoscience, Wikipedia
• List of topics characterized as pseudoscience, Wikipedia
• Rational Wiki
• Science Based Medecine
• Quackwatch
• Snopes, debunks or validates urban legends
• Bad Astronomy
• The Skeptics Society
• The 8 Best Fact-Checking Sites for Finding Unbiased Truth, by Megan Ellis, MUO—Make Use Of
• Pain Science, by Paul Ingraham
• Techniques of Science Denial

Science

• A New Map of the Milky Way, by Mark J. Reid, Xing-Wu Zheng, Scientic American
  "High-resolution surveys chart the spiral structure of the galaxy and the location of our solar system."
• How Dogs Went From Wolves to Man’s Best Friend, According to Scientists, by Josie Rhodes Cook, Pocket—Inverse

Lacking an Owner's Manual

The human body/mind/spirit doesn't come with an owner's manual, and we continually struggle to figure out how best to operate them.

• Your Brain Is Not an Indestructible Punching Bag, by Stella Fidem, Medium—The Startup
  "7 ‘feel-good’ habits that are harming your brain"
• The Life-Changing Magic Of Bullet Journaling, by Kristin Iversen, Pocket—Nylon
  I don't use a bullet journal because my handwriting is just terrible and slow as well. Sounds interesting though, for anyone who is not writing challenged.
• 8 Fatal Flaws of Truly Terrible Leaders, by Jessica Wildfire, Medium
  Sound like some of the guys I've worked for, and many of the politicians in the news today.
• Stop Answering Your Kid’s Questions, by Michelle Woo, Pocket—Life Hacker
  "It’ll help them gain a critical skill—and get you out of the hot seat."
• We are wayfinders, by Michael Bond, Aeon
  "Navigation and spatial awareness sustained humans for tens of thousands of years. Have we lost the trail in modern times?"
• Selfishness Is Learned, by Matthew Hudson, Pocket—Nautilus
  "Most of us are genuinely good. And if we’re not, we can be encouraged to be."

Gender and Sexuality

• 10 Truths That Will Change the Way You Have Sex, by Stacey Herrera, Medium
• Biologist Explains Biological Sex, by Rebecca R. Helm, GeekXGirls

There is No God, and Thou Shall Have No Other Gods

I don't think I've made any secret of the fact that I am an atheist, but I may not have made it clear that I think any sort of worship is a bad thing and that believing in things is to be avoided whenever possible. Indeed, I do not believe in belief itself. That's what the "Thou shall have no other gods" is about—it's not enough to quit believing in whatever God or Gods you were raised to believe in, but also we must avoid other gods, including material wealth, power and fame.

Further, many people today (including most atheists) follow the religion of "progress", which is based on the belief that mankind is destined to follow a road that leads from the caves ever upward to the stars, and that however bad things seem today, they are bound to be better tomorrow due to technological advancement and economic growth. This is very convenient for those who benefit most from economic growth, but it is hardly based on any sort of science and leads to a great many confused and incorrect ideas.

• Ten Cliches Christians Should Stop Saying, by Christian Piatt, Medium—Religion
  Though written by a Christian, he at least gets how irritating many of the standard things Christians say really are.
• Common Sense Atheism, by Barry Goldberg, Quora
• What are the flaws in the argument that "science changes, but the Quran stays the same" as a justification for the Quran? by Barry Goldberg, Quora
• The Religious Right’s Hostility to Science Is Crippling Our Coronavirus Response, by Katherine Stewart, The New York Times
  "Trump’s response to the pandemic has been haunted by the science denialism of his ultraconservative religious allies."

Poverty, Homeless People, Minimum Wage, UBI, Health Care, Affordable Housing

• How Do You Shelter in Place When You Don’t Have a Home? by Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker
• What You Need to Know about Mortality Rates of Unsheltered Homeless, by Rohit Varma, Medium—Health
  
• The People Staying, and Living, in America’s Motels, by Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker
  

Artificial Intelligence

• Three questions you should ask anybody name-dropping AI or Machine Learning, by Magnus Bjerg, Medium—towards data science
  "Does artificial intelligence and machine learning seem like black boxes? Here are some basic questions to open their lids and approach them more critically."

Humour

These are great times for political satire.

• Dr. Anthony Fauci Changes Trump’s Twitter Password, by Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker, The Borowitz Report (satire)
  
• Dear Employees, Regarding COVID-19, You Can Work Remotely If You Are Absolutely Certain You Are Dying, by Virginia Dickens, Medium—Slackjaw
  "We trust that you will make the best decision for yourself and your employer." Sadly, the sentiments expressed her in jest are very typical of many employers. Part of my training as a manager was how to get sick people back to work. Just one more thing I saw fit to ignore.

Books

Fiction

• Halting State, by Charles Stross
• Rule 34, by Charles Stross
• Friday, by Robert A. Heinlein

Non-Fiction

I am reading currently "The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth", by Benjamin Friedman, which was lent to me by a friend. Written by a conventional economist who doesn't even seem to know what causes economic growth, or what its consequences really are, it is pretty tough going. Important to know how the other side thinks, though, I guess.

Here are a few non-fiction works that I can recommend. And appropriate to the season, as well.

• Seed to Seed, Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners, 2nd Edition, by Suzanne Ashworth
• The Resilient Gardener, by Carol Deppe
• The Tao of Vegetable Gardening, by Carol Deppe

What I've Been Reading, May 2019

May was a busy month between stacking up 10 cords of firewood for next winter and getting started on gardening, so I didn't do as much reading, or writing, as I would have liked.

Links

Miscellaneous

• Abortion is an Economic Issue, by Hanna Brooks Olsen, Medium—Economy
• Why I Left the Pro-Life Movement , by Sarah Olson, Medium—Human Parts
  "I protested abortion for years. But when I saw how the movement’s beliefs harm women, I realized I had to get out."
• The Debate of the Century or a Waste of Time? by Jackie Thornhill, Medium
  "Everything you need to know about today’s debate between Jordan Peterson and Slavoj Žižek"
  Well, maybe not everything. But apparently Žižek mopped the floor with Peterson, and that is good news.
  "Hopefully Jordan Peterson learned the most important lesson — he may have a devoted fan base and legions of followers, but he’s not the heavyweight public intellectual he pretends to be. Perhaps next time Peterson will think twice before challenging someone like Žižek."

Collapse

• (Why) American Collapse is Extraordinary, by Umair Haque, Medium—Eudaimonia
  Of course some will say that what Mr. Haque calls collapse is just change, albeit for the worse. But slow collapse is made up of many such changes.
  Others will say that his use of the word "fascist" is imprecise and inaccurate. Looking back, a few decades from now, I think those same people will have to admit while twenty first century American "fascist" may not have fitted a precise academic definition, they eventually had much the same effect as twentieth century fascists.
• Civilisational collapse has a bright past – but a dark future, by Luke Kemp, Aeon
• Civilisation peaked in 1940 and will collapse by 2040: the data-based predictions of 1973, from Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News, via Aeon

Peak Oil

• Oil is the Economy: #FuturesRadio, podcast with Art Berman
  Direct link to podcast audio.
• Greens call for ban on foreign oil imports, using Alberta oil instead, by Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press—Yahoo News
  Something surprising from Elizabeth May, the leader of Canada's Green Party.

Climate Change

• Names and Locations of the Top 100 People Killing the Planet, by Jordan Engel, Portside
• Greenwashing the Climate Catastrophe, by Kenn Orphan, Wrong Kind of Green

Economic Contraction

• The Economy Continues To Deteriorate, by Investment Research Dynamics
  This article is right about the state of the economy, but it doesn't go deep enough when it talks about the causes. Why is the economy contracting and why is debt being used to keep it going? Clearly, decreasing surplus energy is the underlying cause.

Energy

• Food or energy? The battle over the future of Australia's prime agricultural land, by Eliza Beck, ABC News

Hazard and Risk

• Odds of Dying: What You Should Really Worry About, by Robert Roy Britt, Medium—Luminate

Agriculture

• Farm Babe: Hey Natalie Portman, here’s why your term ‘factory farm’ is so offensive, by Michelle Miller, Farm Babe, AG DAily

Genetic Engineering

Before jumping to the erroneous conclusion that this section was paid for by Monsanto, stop for a moment and understand that organic agriculture/food is a multi-billion dollar per year industry that relies on fear to get people to buy its product. Millions of dollars are spent to convince you that non-organic food is dangerous. In fact both conventionally grown and organic foods are equally safe. Sadly neither method of agriculture is even remotely substainable.

• Do GMO Opponents Have a Problem with Cheese?, by Kevin Bonham, Scientific American

Practical Skills

• Medieval wood riving – An attempt to recreate craftsmanship, Örebro läns museum

Debunking Resources

These are of such importance that I've decide to leave them here on an ongoing basis.

• Debunking, Wikipedia
• Pseudoscience, Wikipedia
• List of topics characterized as pseudoscience, Wikipedia
• Rational Wiki
• Science Based Medecine
• Quackwatch
• Snopes, debunks or validates urban legends
• Bad Astronomy
• The Skeptics Society

Science Based Medicine

• Moms Across America sells product linked to cancer and kidney failure, by Stephan Neidenbach, Medium
• Dangerous DIY Sunscreen Recipes Are Spreading on Pinterest, by Angela Lashbrook, Medium—OneZero

There is No God, and Thou Shall Have No Other Gods

I don't think I've made any secret of the fact that I am an atheist, but I may not have made it clear that I think any sort of worship is a bad thing and that believing in things is to be avoided whenever possible. Indeed, I do not believe in belief itself. That's what the "Thou shall have no other gods" is about—it's not enough to quit believing in whatever God or Gods you were raised to believe in, but also we must avoid other gods, including material wealth, power and fame.

• If God Is Dead, Your Time Is Everything, by James Wood, The New Yorker
  A lengthy look at various views of what it means to be secular, as opposed to religious. Concentrating in particular on Martin Hägglund’s view, as articulated in his book This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom.
• The Cult of the Good Christian Woman, by Sarah Olson, Medium—Human Parts
  "The community that raised me is pushing an ideal for women that is repressive and damaging."

Poverty, Homeless People, Minimum Wage, UBI, Health Care, Housing

• 'It’s a miracle': Helsinki's radical solution to homelessness, by Jon Henley, The Guardian
• Why should governments give cash-handouts before providing free, quality public services to all? UBI without quality public services is a neo-liberal paradise., by Rosa Pavanelli , Open Democracy
  "What the studies do demonstrate is that giving cash payments to the poorest helps improve their lives and does not increase wasteful spending or laziness as many right wing politicians would have us believe. "
  "When we manage to build the political will to raise the substantial extra funds required to fight inequality – then surely funding public health, transport, housing and education would be our key priority?"

Autonomous Vehicles and Artificial Intelligence

• 10 Surprising Things About Riding in a Self-Driving Taxi, by Hope King, Medium—Cheddar

Books

Fiction

• Dead Water, by Ann Cleeves, book 5 in the Shetland Series
• Against A Dark Background, by Iain M. Banks
• The Protectors War, by S. M. Stirling

Non-Fiction

• The Cancer Chronicles, by George Johnson
  "Unlocking Medicine's deepest mystery."
  An excellent reality based survey of what we know, and can do, about cancer.

What I've Been Reading, June 2018

This note used to say that the links below appear in the order I read them and was meant imply that they were more or less random in their subject matter, other than being of interest to me. Recently I started a few new sections at the bottom of the links on subjects that are of particular interest to me. But I can see that as time passes I am moving to a greater degree of "curation", which the dictionary tells me is about organizing and maintaining a collection. Applied to this collection of links and books I guess this will mean selecting links less randomly and trying to make them relevant in the context of this blog and whatever is going on in the world during the month.

But my originally statement still applies to the first section of links—they are pretty much random and just in the order I read them.

Links

• A brief history of pharming; Monsanto is not trying to make you sterile, by Stephan Neidenbach, Medium
• Abortion and Love, by Katha Pollitt, The Nation
  Ireland’s wildly successful movement to repeal the Eighth Amendment has given us a new way to frame reproductive rights.
  Or as I would have it, "pro life"="slavery for women".
• Feeling Isolated?, by Adam Taggart, Peak Prosperity
  If so, you're not alone.
• Why Grandmothers May Hold The Key To Human Evolution, by John Poole, NPR
  I think over the next few decades as industrial civilization withers on the vine we are going to have to relearn how to live a human beings did for most of our pre-history. Working together in small groups. Having a clear idea of how that actually worked might be quite helpful. And I also think there may be room for improvement. As discussed in this article—"man the hunter" providing 3.4% on the food might not be the best use of men's time.
• Is Sleeping With Your Baby As Dangerous As Doctors Say? by Michaeleen Doucleff, NPR
  Are three of our children slept with us from when they were born until the next one came along, or in the case of the youngest until he was about two and a half years old. The benefits hugely outweigh the risks. Which, as this article says, are pretty minimal.
• I Don’t Know How To Explain To You That You Should Care About Other People, by Kayla Chadwick, Huffington Post
  "Our disagreement is not merely political, but a fundamental divide on what it means to live in a society."
• FDA approves Golden Rice as anti-GMO activists spin lies to keep kids blind, by Stephan Neidenbach, Medium
• Fracking’s fundamental flaw, by Tim Watkins, The Consciousness of Sheep
• Hedge fund star David Einhorn calls fracking companies a joke, by Patrick Gillespie, CNN MOney
  "A business that burns cash and doesn't grow isn't worth anything."
• OPEC’s Dilemma: Demand Destruction Or Production Boost, by Nick Cunningham, Oil Price.com
• Lessons I learned from communicating science on social media, by Stephan Neidenbach, Medium
• How Trump Voters Decide Who to Trust, by Francesca Tripodi, Medium
  Google keywords, fact-checking the news, and the occasional sophistication of conservative media analysis.
• It’s employment Jim, but not as we know it, by Tim Watkinsa, The Consciousness of Sheep
• GFC II: The Anatomy of the Next Crash, by Tim Morgan, Surplus Energy Economics
  " most of the recorded “growth” in world GDP since 2008 has been cosmetic, amounting to nothing more substantial than the simple spending of borrowed money"
  "what we are looking at is a 10% ($7.6tn) increase in world prosperity trying to support a 54% ($98tn) expansion in total debt. Moreover, the 10% increase in aggregate prosperity has barely matched the rate of growth in population numbers. People have not been getting more prosperous, then, but they have been getting ever further into debt."
• How Worried Do You Need to Be About Those Cancer Warnings for Your Coffee?, by Jenny Splitter, Self
  “The first principle of toxicology is the dose makes the poison,” Carl Winter, Ph.D., a food toxicology scientist at the University of California at Davis, tells SELF. “It’s the amount of the chemical, not its presence or absence, which determines its potential for harm.”
  It makes much more sense to look at “dietary patterns [rather] than [the presence of] single chemicals,” she argues, adding that, “This whole decision in California just confuses people about coffee and its effects on health.”
• What If India And China Used Natural Gas And Oil Like The U.S.?, by Jude Clemente, Forbes
  Of course it is not going to happen, but it is useful to understand current energy usage in developing versus developed nations.
• Listen to Children Who’ve Just Been Separated From Their Parents at the Border, by Ginger Thompson, ProPublica
  ProPublica has obtained audio from inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, in which children can be heard wailing as an agent jokes, “We have an orchestra here.”
• What are natural foods?, by Joseph LaPorte, Aeon
  Putting forth some uncommonly sensible ideas about the meaning of the word "natural", while largely managing to avoid the naturalistic fallacy.
• The People Who Are Afraid of Food, by Virginia Sole-Smith, Medium—Trust Issues
  New kinds of eating disorders feed off our cultural obsession with healthy diets.
  I've posted similar articles to Facebook, only to be told by commenters that orthorexia is nonsense—no one has such a problem. Interestingly those who objected loudest had a keen interest in "clean food". I've said it before and I'll say it again: conventional and organic agriculture both produce food that is quite safe. Unfortunately both are about equally unsustainable.
• We’re In an Epidemic of Mistrust in Science, by Gleb Tsipursky, Medium—Trust Issues
  "Academia isn’t immune to the scourge of misinformation."

Intelligence

• Adoption and Cognitive Development: A Meta-Analytic Comparison of Adopted and Nonadopted Children’s IQ and School Performance, by ,van Ijzendoorn et al
  
• A Dynamical Model of General Intelligence: The Positive Manifold of Intelligence by Mutualism, by Han L. J. van der Maas et al, University of Amsterdam.
  

Refugees and Migration

• Five myths about the refugee crisis, by Daniel Trilling, The Guardian
  "...how likely is it that states which treat migrants with such callousness will behave similarly towards their own citizens?"

Poverty, Homelessness, Minimum Wage

• After 25 years of being homeless, I learned there’s one simple thing you can do to help, by Gregory P. Smith, The Guardian
• The Difference Between Being Broke and Being Poor, by Erynn Brook, Flipboard—Longreads
  
• This Is What Life Without Retirement Savings Looks Like, by Alana Semuels, The Atlantic.
  Many seniors are stuck with lives of never-ending work—a fate that could befall millions in the coming decades.

Books

Fiction

• Babylon's Ashes, by James S. A. Corey
• American War, by Omar El Akkad

Non-Fiction

I'm still wading slowly through The Bell Curve, in order to be able to criticize it with some degree of credibility. Almost half way through at this point. This has also lead to reading some scholarly articles about IQ on the web, further slowing down my other reading. I did read a couple of short non-fiction works this month, though.

• This is Water, by David Foster Wallace
  "Some thoughts, delivered on a significant occasion, about living a compassionate life."
  As a committed atheist, I don't agree with the author's thoughts on the impossibility of not worshipping. I do agree that many people do worship things other than God, that are a bad or worse than God. But the important part is what the author has to say about the importance of seeing things from the other guy's viewpoint.
• Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology, by David Graeber
  An excellent little book about anarchism.