Jazz notes: Quin Snyder reluctant to give progress report on Dante … – Deseret News

Posted on by

Scott G Winterton,

Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) lays in a shot as the Jazz and the Nets play at Vivint Smart Home arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 3, 2017.

SALT LAKE CITY If you want to slightly annoy Quin Snyder, just ask him about Dante Exums progress.

The Utah Jazz coach has had about enough of this question probably for good reason and hes not afraid to let you know that.

Here we go again, Snyder bristled Friday morning when a reporter asked a question about the 21-year-old Aussie.

So what does Snyder like best about the fifth pick in the 2014 draft?

His progress, the Jazz coach said. If he has a bad game tonight, Ill still be pleased with his progress, because its just part of it (the process). We just analyze and analyze and analyze Dantes growth and development. Its OK, but it doesnt help him to see his game on a day-to-day basis. Its better for him (to analyze), Where is Dante today versus where he was in January? Thats the important thing to me.

Snyder added that he likes where Exum is headed even if hes had some bumps along his return from a major knee surgery that kept him out his entire second season. (By the way, he also said he'd always answer reporters questions, but he'd rather compare Exum to where he was a month ago rather than give daily updates.)

I feel like I need to educate people about how we feel about Dante, Snyder said, and that is we think the world of what he is doing and his competitiveness.

Snyder pointed out that hed rather young guys like Exum, Trey Lyles and Raul Neto all of whom have started but are now in reserve roles or rarely playing to focus more on how they can help the team instead of centering their efforts around personal progress.

These guys cannot worry about their progress and they can think about how they can help the team. Thats how they make their progress, Snyder said. Every time we break Dantes game down like we do a young tennis phenom I dont think thats the best way for him to look at his development. I think it distracts and it hurts him.

AND EXUM?: The third-year point guard appreciates how the Jazz have helped him this season even if hes been on a short leash at times after making mistakes in games.

Im going to kind of develop in my own way, my own time, Exum said. Definitely with the injury I had last year, it makes things kind of tougher, but (Snyder)'s been really patient in helping me and making sure Im feeling comfortable.

Exum is averaging 6.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 18.3 minutes this season. As a rookie, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 boards in 22.2 minutes.

INJURY LIST: The Jazz had a brief moment last week when all of their players were available, but that hasnt been the case since they returned from their post-All-Star-break road trip.

Shooting guard Rodney Hood missed his second game in a row Friday because of right knee soreness. Forward Joe Johnson joined him in the training room. The 15-year veteran sat out against Brooklyn, his former team, with left groin soreness.

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

Originally posted here:

Jazz notes: Quin Snyder reluctant to give progress report on Dante ... - Deseret News

Destiny Character Progress Won’t Carry Over to Destiny 2 – Geek

Posted on by

When Destiny was announced, Bungie stated that character progress would be carried forward to all sequels and expansions. This has been true for all of Destinys DLC so far. Unfortunately, it appears that not all character progress will carry over to Destiny 2.

Sequels represent the start of a new adventure for every player, with new worlds to explore, new stories to tell, new powers to acquire, new loot to earn, and much more, said Bungie in a blog post. This led us to a decision that would enable us to serve both the game and the players best interests: Destiny 1 power, possessions, and Eververse-related items and currency will not carry forward. They will, however, remain accessible to you in Destiny 1.

We know that, just like us, you have grown fond of the Guardians youve created, so we do plan to preserve your character personalization. We are going to recognize the dedication and passion youve shown for this world. Specifically, the class, race, gender, face, hair, and marking selections for all characters that have achieved Level 20 and completed the Black Garden story mission will carry forward. We also plan to award those veteran accounts with honors that reflect your Destiny 1 accomplishments.

We believe this is the best path forward. It allows us to introduce the major advancements and improvements that all of us expect from a sequel, ensuring it will be the best game we can create, unencumbered by the past. Were looking forward to sharing more details with you later this year for how we will honor your legacy in the future.

Powers, items, and currency will not carry forward to Destiny 2. The blog post wasnt clear on what power and possessions means. Were going to have to presume it is abilities, light levels, weapons, and armor. The way your character looks will carry forward, but only for players who have reached level 20 and finished the Black Garden mission.

Destinys final event will take place at the end of March. Bungie plans to hold a series of live stream showcases for The Age of Triumph to show everyone what it is all about. Dates for each of these events can be found at the bottom of the latest blog post.

Go here to see the original:

Destiny Character Progress Won't Carry Over to Destiny 2 - Geek

Arizona: Progress made to keep I-10 dust down near San Simon – Arizona Daily Star

Posted on by

On Monday, the second day of Interstate 10 closures at San Simon caused by blowing dust from a nearby farm, state inspectors and farm managers agreed that more aggressive measures would be taken the next day.

Specifically, three water trucks starting around 7 a.m. would be used to wet down a recently prepped 50-acre plot, instead of the two that proved insufficient at Davids Agrigold Farms on Monday. An additional and closer water source was also to be used.

Instead, the first truck didnt get going until 9:30 a.m., a half hour before the Tuesday I-10 closure started, and the second didnt start until 10:30 a.m.

The third truck never got going because there was no one to drive it and the extra water source was not able to be used due to lack of correct parts until 3 p.m., resulting in lag time to refill the trucks, according to an inspection report obtained by the Star.

Caroline Oppleman, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, which conducted the inspections, said that all three days of closures including Tuesdays were avoidable.

David Turner, the farms owner, and two farm managers did not respond to requests for comment. Nicki Frank, of David Turner International, said the farm has no comment.

Asked if the farm had been meeting its commitments more consistently since Tuesday, Oppleman said it had. There have been no I-10 closures near San Simon due to dust since Tuesday.

An inspection report dated Wednesday stated the portion of the 50-acre plot nearest the interstate was heavily saturated after a microsprinkler system was set up the day before.

Oppleman said the microsprinkler system for the whole plot was installed a day ahead of schedule. A farm manager said it would be run through the weekend. ADEQ inspectors will also be on the property through the weekend.

Progress is being made, Oppleman said.

See original here:

Arizona: Progress made to keep I-10 dust down near San Simon - Arizona Daily Star

Thomas Isaac budget: Split between populism and Marxist rationalism – Times of India

Posted on by

Tapping into capital markets to fund infra projects is a smart move but shouldn't finance minister Dr Thomas Isaac have also used the Kerala budget he presented on Friday to bring down revenue expenditure? Is he split between mai-baap populism and Marxist rationalism, has the politician in him trumped the trained economist that he is?

The crucial and contentious part of the Kerala budget presented by finance minister Thomas Isaac on Friday in the state assembly, which the LDF government has touted as an "alternative development" path, lay buried in the fine print. In 201718, the state will receive loans worth Rs 21,227.95 crore from various agencies, but 75.6% of this - i.e., Rs 16,043.14 crore -will have to be spent to bridge the state's revenue deficit. A state which has to spend threefourths of the loan amount, meant for capital expenditure, to address revenue deficit is certainly not in the pink of economic health. Rather, it may be moving to an inexorable debt trap.

Isaac justified this state of affairs by citing the stagnation that has arisen as a result of demonetisation and the corresponding need on the part of the state government to increase its budget expenses considerably. He even drew a parallel with his own 2008 budget which was announced at the time of global recession.

Read more here:

Thomas Isaac budget: Split between populism and Marxist rationalism - Times of India

Pankaj Mishra’s ‘Age Of Anger’ Is A Flawed But Fascinating Intellectual History – Swarajya

Posted on by

British writer of immense learning, Pankaj Mishra has authored a new book, Age of Anger: A History of the Present, that reflects an extraordinary breadth of reading. It opens as a conventional work of intellectual history in this case, the history of modernisation and its travails but soon becomes more of a collage of aperus organised around themes laid out by the path-breaking critic of modernity Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the 1920s Iranian writer Jalal al-Ahmed and the Italian poet-cum-Duce Gabriel DAnnunzio, among many others.

For instance, Mishra pits Rousseaus finicky quest for authenticity against Voltaires heirs, the mimic men who try to replicate Anglo-French manners and mores. Mishra sees Voltaire as primarily a champion of enlightened despotism, while Rousseau is presented as a clear-eyed critic of liberal rationalism and cosmopolitan pretension. Mishra is sympathetic to al-Ahmeds obsession with the psychic damage or Westoxification imposed on the Islamic world by western colonialism. Hes fascinated by DAnnunzio, who, in the wake of the First World War, choreographed a disastrous fascist future that paved the way for Mussolini. DAnnunzio was the first Italian politician who decked out his supporters in black uniforms and stiff armed salutes. He cheered on the Italian armies as they conquered the Ottoman provinces that came to be called Libya and which, Mishra notes, suffered the worlds first aerial bombing in 1912. Libya became the testing ground for the New Man theorized by Nietzsche and Sorel.

Mishras loosely connected pearls of insight about belief, mindsets and outlooks are tied together by his anti-anti-Communism, an outlook echoed by todays anti-anti-Islamicism, exemplified in the pages of the British Guardian, which paints the Muslim world as the victim of western liberalism. Mishras disdain for the liberal ideals of progress and reasoned choice, understood as excesses of individualism, will be familiar to readers of Elie Kedourie on nationalism, Jacob Talmon on the creation of secular salvationism, Christopher Lasch and John Gray on the paradoxes of progress and William Pfaff on the pent-up violence of the modern world. But his discussion of the Nazi origins of Hindu nationalism will be eye-opening to many readers.

Mishras intermittent account of how the writings of Giuseppe Mazzini, the liberal nationalist founder of modern Italy, inspired nationalists in India and China places the problem of modernisation in an illuminating context. On a darker note, Mazzini influenced Georges Sorel, whose anti-liberal paeans to the power of myth excited would-be dictators on both right and left. Sorel saw in the working class the collective incarnation of the Nietzschean superman. Mussolini first read Sorels work on violence when he was a socialist, but he continued to incorporate his ideas as he moved to develop fascism.

Mishra is right to argue that attempts to modernise traditional cultures involve, as in Italy and Germany, considerable psychic dislocation. It can produce a burning anger fuelled by the emotional displacement of communal cultures fractured by the demands of economic individualism. But Mishra goes off the rails when he tries to assimilate the acquired insanity of Islamic jihad into the pains of modernisation. Modernization as in Iran offered an alternative to the meld of entitlements and resentments borne of Islamic claims to rule over infidels. Islam has always been a political theology of the sword. Muhammad wasnt responding to modernisation when he slaughtered the Jews of Medina.

See the original post:

Pankaj Mishra's 'Age Of Anger' Is A Flawed But Fascinating Intellectual History - Swarajya

Why America Can’t Afford to Get Into a Trade War with China – The National Interest Online

Posted on by

Throughout the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump blasted China for its protectionist trade policies, currency manipulation and a number of other accusations. Indeed, these accusations were not limited to Trump as China bashing is simply standard fare for anyone seeking elected office and on the campaign trail. Much of Trumps campaign was, however, met with derision. As the election process unfolded, the derision soon turned to snickers. As the election continued, the snickers turned downright somber while Trump sailed past his Republican opponents Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and others who had been deemed more likely to become the GOP nominee.

Among the intelligentsia, the mood has turned to alarm as now President Trump has set out to do exactly as he promised during his America First campaign. To show his sincerity to the campaign promise of bringing jobs back to the United States, he kicked off his first day in the Oval Office by issuing an Executive Order that cancelled American participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP was President Obamas signature trade deal. It created a free-trade zone with eleven other nations for approximately 40 percent of the worlds economy. Trump also threatened to impose a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods if China does not behave accordingly.

Since Trumps selection of Iowa governor Terry Branstad as his ambassador to China, the president may be backing away from some of his campaign promises. Still, the fact that Trump was elected based upon the use of these rhetorical devices suggests that there is a profound misunderstanding, if not complete lack of understanding, of the symbiotic relationship between the United States and China. It is also worth noting that, had his opponent Hillary Clinton won the election, she too would have won based upon some of the same anti-China trade rhetoric.

Is ignorance dangerous?

In his book, Anti-intellectualism in American Life (1963), Richard Hofstadter once wrote that after the 1952 election, the intellectual was now dismissed as an egghead, an oddity, [who] would be governed by a party which had little use for or understanding of him, and would be made the scapegoat for everything from the income tax to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Adding to that of Hofstadter, Arthur Schlesinger had remarked that anti-intellectualism (and anti-rationalism) has long been the anti-Semitism of the businessman. It appears that America has set a new low bar, with an electorate that is smug in its ignorance. Yet, it prides itself on knowing who best should guide the myriad U.S. policiesfrom trade, investment and currency to geopolitical strategyto achieve the national interest.

Americans always admire those that are decisive and true to their word. But those qualities are only admirable when decisions and actions are based upon a clear and unvarnished understanding of the problem. That either candidate could win an election based on attacking a trade policy that has benefitted so many people on both sides of the Pacific for so long is at best disingenuous, and at worst, exploitation. Voters need to be more informed about the policies and agendas of their candidates and politicians need to stop pandering to a political base that subscribes to a zero-sum, take no prisoners theology. Both need to develop an understanding of the historical context between the two countries.

Philosopher Sren Kierkegaard remarked that Life can only be understood backwards . . . but it must be lived forwards. In developing sensible and pragmatic Sino-U.S. policies for the future, likely the most consequential relationship in the twenty-first century, voters and policymakers must have at least an understanding and appreciation of the past.

Partners in peace

The generally understood starting point for Americas trade relations with China begins in 1784 when the privateer Empress of China set sail from New York Harbor for Canton (Guangzhou). In fact, trade relations had already begun during the seventeenth century. However, while Chinoiserie did exist in America at that time, direct trade with China was limited by the English Parliaments Navigation Act of 1651. It was not until after the 1783 Treaty of Paris that the Patriot war financier Robert Morris decided to establish trade between the new Republic of the United States and China to encourage others in the adventurous pursuit of commerce. Free from the mercantilist policies of England, Morris sent the Empress of China on its maiden voyage to China. In doing so, a tectonic shift was created for the Republic as it severed its commercial obeisance to the United Kingdom and embarked on a new relationship with the Middle Kingdom.

The rest is here:

Why America Can't Afford to Get Into a Trade War with China - The National Interest Online

Reason, Creativity and Freedom: The Communalist Model – Truth-Out

Posted on by

Whether the twenty-first century will be the most radical of times or the most reactionary will depend overwhelmingly upon the kind of social movement and program that social radicals create out of the theoretical, organizational, and political wealth that has accumulated during the past two centuries The direction we select may well determine the future of our species for centuries to come.

-- Murray Bookchin,The Communalist Project(2002)

In the aftermath of Donald Trump's election, devastating images and memories of the First and Second World Wars flood our minds. Anti-rationalism, racialized violence, scapegoating, misogyny and homophobia have been unleashed from the margins of society and brought into the political mainstream.

Meanwhile, humanity itself runs in a life-or-death race against time. The once-unthinkable turmoil of climate change is now becoming reality, and no serious attempts are being undertaken by powerful actors and institutions to holistically and effectively mitigate the catastrophe. As the tenuous and paradoxical era of American republicanism comes to an end, nature's experiment in such a creative, self-conscious creature as humanity reaches a perilous brink.

Precisely because these nightmares have become reality, now is the time to decisively face the task of creating a free and just political economic system. For the sake of humanity -- indeed for the sake of all complex life on earth as we know it -- we must countervail the fascism embodied today in nation-state capitalism and unravel a daunting complex of interlocking social, political, economic and ecological problems. But how?

As a solution tothe present situation, a growing number of people in the world are proposing "communalism": the usurpation of capitalism, the state, and social hierarchy by the way of town, village, and neighborhood assemblies and federations. Communalism is a living idea, one that builds upon a rich legacy of political history and social movements.

The Commune From Rojava to the Zapatistas

The term communalism originated from the revolutionary Parisian uprising of 1871 and was later revived bythelate-twentiethcentury political philosopherMurray Bookchin(1931-2006). Communalism is often used interchangeably with "municipalism", "libertarian municipalism" (a term also developed by Bookchin) and "democratic confederalism" (coined more recently bytheimprisoned Kurdish political leader Abdullah calan).

Although each of these terms attempt to describe direct, face-to-face democracy, communalism stresses its organic and lived dimensions. Face-to-face civic communities, historically called communes, are more than simply a structure or mode of management. Rather, they are social and ethical communities uniting diverse social and cultural groups. Communal life is a good in itself.

There are countless historical precedents that model communalism's institutional and ethical principles. Small-scale and tribal-based communities provide many suchexamples. In North America, the Six Nations Haudenasanee (Iroquis) Confederacy governed the Great Leaks region by confederal direct democracy for over 800 years. In coastal Panama, the Kuna continue to manage an economically vibrant island archipelago. Prior to the devastation of colonization and slavery, the Igbo of the Niger Delta practiced a highly cosmopolitan form of communal management. More recently, in Chiapas, Mexico, the Zapatista Movement havereinventedpre-Columbian assembly politics through hundreds of autonomousmunicipiosand five regional capitals calledcaracoles(snails) whose spirals symbolize the joining of villages.

Communalist predecessors also emerge in large-scale urban communities.From classical Athens to the medieval Italian city-states, direct democracy has a home in the city. In 2015, the political movement Barcelona en Com won the Barcelona city mayorship based on a vast, richly layered collective of neighborhood assemblies. Today, they are the largest party in the city-council, and continue to design platforms and policies through collective assembly processes. In Northern Syria, the Kurdish Freedom Movement hasestablisheddemocratic confederalism, a network of people's assemblies and councils that govern alongside the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

These are just a few examples among countlesspolitical traditions thattestify to "the great theoretical, organizational and political wealth" that is available to empower people against naked authoritarianism.

Power, Administration and Citizenship

The most fundamental institution of communalism is the civicassembly.Civic assembliesare regular communal gatherings opentoall adults within a given municipality -- such as a town, village or city borough -- for the purpose of discussing, debating and making decisions about matters thatconcern the community as a whole.

In order to understand how civic assemblies function, one must understand the subtle, but crucial distinction between administration and decision-making power. Administration encompasses tasks and plans related to executing policy. The administration of a particular project may make minor decisions -- such as what kind of stone to use for a bridge.

Power, on the other hand, refers to the ability to actually make policy and major decisions -- whether or not to build a bridge. In communalism, power lies within this collective body, while smaller, mandated councils are delegated to execute them. Experts such as engineers, or public health practicioners play animportantrole in assemblies by informing citizens, but it is the collective body itself which is empowered to actuallymakedecisions.

With clear distinctions between administration and power, the nature of individual leadership changes dramatically. Leaders cultivate dialogue and execute the will of the community. The Zapatistas expresses this is through the termcargo, meaning the charge or burden. Council membership execute the will of their community, leadershipmeans"to obey and not to command, to represent and not to supplantto move down and not upwards."

A second critical distinction between professional-driven politics as usual and communalism is citizenship.By using the term "citizen", communalists deliberately contradict the restrictive and emptied notion of citizenship invoked by modern-day nation-states. In communal societies, citizenship is conferred to every adult who lives within the municipality.Everyadult who lives within the municipality is empowered to directly participate, vote and take a turn performing administrative roles. Rather, this radical idea of citizenship is based on residency and face-to-face relationships.

Civic assemblies are a living tradition that appear time and again throughout history.It is worth pausing here to consider the conceptual resources left to us by classicalAthenian democracy. Admittedly, Athenian society was far from perfect. Like the rest of the Mediterranean world at that time, Athens was built upon the backs of slaves and domesticated women. Nonetheless, Athenian democracy to this day is the most well-documented example of direct, communal self-management:

Agora: The common public square or meetinghouse where the assembly gathers. The agora is home to our public selves, where we go to make decisions, raise problems, and engage in public discussion.

Ekklesia: The general assembly, a community of citizens.

Boule: The administrative body of 500 citizens that rotated once every year.

Polis: The city itself. But here again, the term refers not to mere materiality, but rather to a rich, multi-species and material community. The polis is an entity and character unto itself.

Paeida: Ongoing political and ethical education individuals undergo to achieve arete, virtue or excellence.

The key insight of classical Athenian democracy is that assembly politics are organic. Far more than a mere structure or set of mechanisms, communalism is a synergy of elements and institutions that lead to a particular kind of community and process. Yet assemblies alone do not exhaust communal politics. Just as communities are socially, ecologically and economically inter-dependent, a truly free and ethical society must engage in robust inter-community dialogue and association. Confederation allows autonomous communities to"scale up" for coordination across aregional level.

Confederation differs from representative democracy because it isbased on recallable delegates rather than individually empowered representatives.Delegates cannot make decisions on behalf of a community. Rather, they bring proposals back down to the assembly.Charters articulate a confederacy's ethical principles and define expectations for membership. In this way, communities have a basis to hold themselves and one another accountable. Without clear principles, basis of debate to actions based on principles of reason, humanism and justice.

In the Kurdish Freedom Movement of Rojava, Northern Syria, the RojavaSocial Contractis based on "pillars" of feminism,ecology, moraleconomy and direct democracy. These principles resonate throughout the movement as a whole, tying together diverse organizations and communities on a shared basis of feminism, radical multi-culturalism and ecological stewardship.

A Free Society

There is no single blueprint for a municipal movement. Doubtlessly, however, the realization of such free political communities can only come about with fundamental changes in our social, cultural and economic fabric. The attitudes of racism and xenophobia, which have fueled the virulent rise of fascism today in places like the United States, must be combated by a radical humanism that celebrates ethnic, cultural and spiritual diversity. For millennia, sex and gender oppression have denigrated values and social forms attributed to women. These attitudes must be supplanted by a feminist ethic and sensibility of mutual care.

Nor can freedom cannot come about without economic stability. Capitalism along with all forms of economic exploitation must be abolished and replaced by systems of production and distribution for use and enjoyment rather than for profit and sale. The vast, concrete belts of "modern"industrialcities must be overhauled and rescaledintomeaningful, livable and sustainable urban spaces. We must deal meaningfully with problems of urban development, gentrification and inequality embodied within urban space.

Just as individuals cannot be separated from the broader political community of which they are a part, human society cannot be separated from our context within the natural world. The cooperative, humanistic politics of communalism thus work hand in hand with a radical ecological sensibility that recognizes human beings a unique, self-conscious part of nature.

While managing our own needs and desires, we have the capacity to be outward-thinking and future-oriented. The Haudenasaunee (Iroquis) Confederacy calls this the "Seven Generations Principle." According to the Seven Generations Principle, all political deliberations must be made on behalf of the present community -- which includes animals and the broader ecological community -- for the succeeding seven generations.

While even a brief sketch of all the social changes needed today far exceed the scope of a short essay,the many works of Murray Bookchin and other social ecologists provide rich discussions about the meaning of a directly democratic and ecological society. From the Green Movement, the Anti-Globalization Movement, Occupy Wall Street, to Chile and Spain's Indignados Movements, communalist ideals have also played a growing role in social and political struggles throughout the world. It is a growing movement in its own right.

Communalism is not a hard and rigid ideology, but rather a coherent, unfolding body of ideas built upon acoreset of principles and institutions. It is, by definition, a process -- one that is open and adaptable to virtually infinitecultural, historicaland ecological contexts. Indeed, communalism's historical precedents in tribal democracy and town/village assemblies can be found in nearly every corner of theearth.

The era ofprofessional-driven, state "politics" has come to an end. Only grassroots democracy at a global scale can successfully oppose the dystopian future ahead. All the necessary tools are at hand. A great wealth of resources have accumulated during humanity's many struggles. With it -- with communalism -- we might remake the world upon humanity's potential for reason, creativity and freedom.

Originally posted here:

Reason, Creativity and Freedom: The Communalist Model - Truth-Out

Acknowledgment is Not Enough: Coming to Terms With Lovecraft’s Horrors – lareviewofbooks

Posted on by

MARCH 4, 2017

AS A FEMINIST, I am reluctant, at times, to admit to friends and academic colleagues that I appreciate H. P. Lovecrafts work. His misogyny and racism do not just haunt his tales; they are central to his mythos. Critical scholarship on the author has only recently started to grapple with the tension between the philosophical implications of his work and its inherent xenophobia. Lovecraft may enjoy a current vogue among predominantly masculinist philosophical methodologies, but he remains unpopular for those unwilling or unable to delve beyond his racist and misogynistic attitudes.

Edited by Carl H. Sederholm and Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, The Age of Lovecraft is a collection of 11 essays and one interview that questions Lovecrafts recent reemergence as a cultural force. The collection argues for Lovecrafts place in modernism, and more provocatively demonstrates the many ways in which the contemporary moment belongs to Lovecraft. As James Kneale suggests in his contribution to the book, the age of Lovecraft is an age in which we are clearly still living. Kneales claim is not just that we now live in an age for which Lovecraft might be a figurehead, but that its been that way for some time.

Lovecraft is one of those authors that most people have heard of, but few seem to have read. Thats because his influence is everywhere. From contemporary comic book appearances and popular role-playing games to Swiss surrealist paintings and American heavy metal music, the legacy of Lovecrafts mythos has been revived, and since his quiet death in 1937, his legacy once impoverished and unrecognized has flourished. So when exactly is (or was) the age of Lovecraft? And if its now, then why?

Elevated from pulp author to canonical classic when the Library of America published his oeuvre in 2005, Lovecraft has since been revived in both literary criticism and philosophy. In the last decade or so, Lovecrafts tales, letters, and essays have reemerged with intensity, markedly in the influential philosopher Graham Harmans book Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy (2012). Lovecrafts work has repeatedly appeared in philosophical essays and books that follow in Harmans speculative realist tradition, where the tales often serve as literary examples par excellence. Harmans presence in The Age of Lovecraft looms across the diverse essays, reaffirming his command of Lovecraft studies despite the grievances that many authors air regarding his approach to the burgeoning field.

The reemergence of Lovecrafts work within this context is therefore no coincidence. The adoption of Lovecraft by speculative realists marks his work as a quintessential example of literature that denies the centrality of human life within a rapidly expanding cosmos, where humans feel their smallness and insignificance in the face of larger and more powerful cosmic forces. His fiction serves as a link between the modernist period and the contemporary one through this de-emphasis of the human and the inherent inability to fully comprehend the mysteries of the universe. In the Anthropocene a term generally accepted across disciplines to mark our current geological epoch it is perhaps clear why a writer with what S. T. Joshi has called Lovecrafts cosmic pessimism would serve as a contemporary philosophical model.

In their introduction to the volume, Sederholm and Weinstock write that it is against all odds that Lovecraft has become a 21st century star. The introduction thoroughly accounts for Lovecrafts widespread influence throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, and it charts references to his mythos across global literary and popular cultures. But indeed, the odds were against his apparent prevailing influence he died impoverished, selling stories to pulp magazines just to feed himself, and he enjoyed no real popularity or fame during his lifetime. In the 21st century, as the editors explain, there are other elements working against his reemergence as a celebrated literary figure, including Lovecrafts well-documented racism and xenophobia, which can be found in his letters and stories. Sederholm and Weinstock believe that Lovecrafts racism cannot be separated from his fiction, that it must be taken a central tenet of his writing and his philosophy.

Though the essays span a wide variety of subjects related to Lovecrafts work and influence, some essays may be loosely grouped together for their shared theoretical foundation in speculative realism and/or new materialism. The book begins with James Kneales Ghoulish Dialogues: H. P. Lovecrafts Weird Geographies, which begins from Harmans influence on the study of Lovecrafts style and form, but ultimately argues for a marriage between the examination of form and content in his work. Kneale emphasizes the presence of technologies throughout Lovecrafts tales (telescopes, telephones, radios) that together reveal the presence what he calls a weird geography a distance or gap between space and time that troubled Lovecraft, and that also serves to merge form and content in his tales.

Jeffrey Andrew Weinstocks Lovecrafts Things: Sinister Souvenirs from Other Worlds cites speculative realist and object-oriented philosophers from Harman to Ian Bogost, but draws primarily from Jane Bennetts work on enchantment in order to interrogate what readers find appealing and satisfying in weird and gothic fiction. His attention to the things in Lovecraft (and in other Gothic narratives) places Lovecrafts work in a tradition he calls dark enchantment that is characterized by a postmodern cynicism aroused by thing-power, a portal that is opened up to the other and to the outside.

Perhaps the most original of this group is the contribution from Isabella van Elferen titled Hyper-Cacophony: Lovecraft, Speculative Realism, and Sonic Materialism. Van Elferen looks at Lovecrafts work through the lens of critical musicology in order to point out the inconsistencies in Lovecrafts thinking and to challenge his prevailing place in speculative realist philosophy. What she provocatively calls alien timbres the sonic qualities of Lovecrafts literary scenes and creatures alludes to profound conditions of immateriality and is thus incommensurable in many ways with speculative realism. Her essay urges us to consider Lovecrafts greater universe, and it draws our attention away from the dominance of visual references in order to think about Lovecrafts hyper-cacophony.

Three essays in the collection offer feminist and queer readings of Lovecrafts writing and ethics. Carl H. Sederholms H. P. Lovecrafts Reluctant Sexuality: Abjection and the Monstrous Feminine in The Dunwich Horror argues that despite critics outstanding claims that sex has no place in Lovecraft, the authors sexual loathing, fear of women, and horror at the means of human reproduction is expressed throughout his stories and correspondence and is central to his figuring of the human body.

Lovecrafts fear of otherness is also explored in Jed Mayers Race, Species, and Others: H. P. Lovecraft and the Animal, one of the best essays in the collection, which examines the influences of evolutionary narratives that have elevated certain species over others, and grapples with the racist attitudes inherent in Lovecrafts own speciesism. Drawing from contemporary animal studies scholarship, Mayer explores the inherent conflict between Lovecrafts own fear of kinship with other ethnic groups and his obsession with imagining connections (genealogies, intimacies, histories) with nonhuman beings. Mayer broadens his inquiry by asking how questions of racism and speciesism inform the genre of weird fiction more broadly. He argues that without forgiving Lovecrafts racism, we can recognize the provocative notion in Lovecrafts work that however much we learn about the other, it remains alien. Mayer demonstrates that Lovecrafts racism is what paradoxically becomes the means by which his stories achieve intimate contact with the feared other.

Patricia MacCormacks contribution, Lovecrafts Cosmic Ethics, is perhaps one of the boldest essays of the collection; it serves as a powerful climax to the volume as a whole. Here, MacCormack, who has been one of the few women writing in Lovecraft studies, argues against critics who dismiss Lovecraft for racism and misogyny, proclaiming instead that he offers a way into feminist, ecosophical, queer, and mystical (albeit atheist) configurations of difference. Acknowledging that her reading may seem perverse (and it is, in more ways than one), MacCormack says that this writer of unimaginable horror [] can also be argued to offer a glimpse into unimaginable structures forged through connectivities. In a vein similar to Mayers essay, MacCormack writes that Lovecrafts total inclusion of the complete foreignness of the universe forces a reorienting of traditional criticisms of his work as simply racist and xenophobic. In the last pages of her essay, she shifts her discussion to sex, persuasively arguing that Lovecrafts work is more focused on desire than sex, perhaps even offering a queer refusal of satisfaction or completion; his works are characterized by moods of profound suspension within a perpetual state both within and beyond a frenzy of potential.

Other essays in the collection offer useful examinations of the influence of Lovecrafts work on other texts and genres. In Prehistories of Posthumanism: Cosmic Indifferentism, Alien Genesis, and Ecology from H. P. Lovecraft to Ridley Scott, Brian Johnson reads Ridley Scotts Alien (1979) alongside Lovecrafts At the Mountains of Madness (1936), interrogating how Lovecrafts cosmic indifferentism strongly influences Scotts prequel Prometheus (2012). Johnson effectively reveals a shift in the way Ridley Scotts thematic preoccupation with human origins can be understood as he moves away from the monstrous feminine of Alien toward a

planetary version of the Frankenstein myth in which the beneficent mother is always already absent, her generative power usurped in advance by the new Promethianism of paternal science that appropriates creation as its exclusive province.

Moving from the screen to the graphic novel, David Simmonss H. P. Lovecraft and Real Person Fiction: The Pulp Author as Subcultural Avatar considers real person fiction in graphic novels as a way to challenge and upend Lovecrafts changing cultural position. He makes the argument that we must see Lovecraft as a fictional persona and not a static biographical figure. His essay can be usefully read alongside Jessica Georges A Polychrome Study: Neil Gaimans A Study in Emerald and Lovecrafts Literary Afterlives, which reads Lovecraft as a destabilizing figure; George sees this as perhaps one reason why he is so prone to reworkings and reimaginings, particularly in Gaimans work. These contributions reopen what many would consider closed discussions regarding authorship and biography as they challenge readers to think of Lovecraft and his influence beyond the pages of his tales.

The Age of Lovecraft is a welcome addition to the growing body of scholarship focused on Lovecraft, and it contains several essays that are especially important within this field. These essays have certainly helped me think about my own relation to studying and even enjoying Lovecrafts work, given that I am someone invested in non-oppressive, queer, and feminist critiques of literature and culture. The contributions that answered the call of the editors introduction and their collective refusal to separate Lovecraft from the problem of racial difference were particularly effective in this regard. Their sentiment is underscored in a wonderful interview with China Miville at the books conclusion: Acknowledgement [of racism, misogyny, xenophobia] is absolutely not enough, Miville says. To properly and ethically read Lovecraft in the 21st century, to celebrate his view of the cosmos and to herald his philosophy as ahead of its time, or to claim that we may live in an Age of Lovecraft in the present day, one must also accept the difficult responsibilities associated with taking on his discriminatory attitudes as keys to informing his philosophy. What does it mean that out of prejudice, fear, and a hatred of otherness was born a literary tradition that has particular merit in the contemporary moment? This collection helps readers of Lovecraft work through the incorporation of his deeply problematic attitudes into the ways we think about his work and its place in literary criticism and theory. It advances efforts to do more than just acknowledge Lovecrafts problematic politics by actually showing the ways they are entangled with form, content, ethics, and his vast fictional universe.

Alison Sperling is finishing her PhD in literature and cultural theory at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee.

Read this article:

Acknowledgment is Not Enough: Coming to Terms With Lovecraft's Horrors - lareviewofbooks

Why Indian Censorship Is Hurting the Country’s Cinema – IndieWire

Posted on by

Its always something with the Indian censors.

This time, its the refusal of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to grant filmmaker Alankrta Shrivastavas Lipstick Under My Burkha certification for a theatrical release in India. The film, a drama following four women in small-town India exploring sexual empowerment, freedom from patriarchy, and personal fulfillment won the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality at the Mumbai Film Festival last October and the Spirit of Asia Award at the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival, with upcoming screenings at festivals everywhere from Miami to Glasgow. The boards rejection of the film reignites familiar outrage, as the filmmakers and audiences alike have taken to social media to slam the decision as an assault on womens rights.

Infuriating as it is, this is hardly the boards first frustrating clampdown. The CBFC has long been the bane of films that push the envelope as far as social issues or physical intimacy are concerned. Some may recall the outright bans in the past of movies deemed too vulgar, like Shekhar Kapurs Bandit Queen in 1994, or Mira Nairs Kama Sutra A Tale of Love in 1996. More recently, in 2015, it raised objections to sex scenes in films like Anupam Sharmas UnIndian and Shonali Boses Margarita With a Straw, calling for re-edits that shortened the allegedly offensive depictions before clearing them for release.

And in its most high-profile and heavily disputed controversy to date, the CBFCcalled for a record 94 cuts pertaining to strong language, drug use and the mention of state names in last Junes star-studded Udta Punjab, arguing that the content jeopardized the countrys integrity and could compromise tourism in the region.

With a group as notoriously orthodox as the CBFC so often standing between films and theaters, then, some may say that the content of Lipstick Under My Burkha bold in the context of Indian cinema was bound to raise a few flags. But the refusal to certify this film, while unsurprising, has hit a particularly raw nerve for the wording used to explain its decision. The boards letter to the films producer, Prakash Jha, stated that the story is lady-oriented, their fantasy above life. There are contanious [sic] sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography, and a bit [sic] sensitive touch about one particular section of society, hence film refused under guidelines.

Its already flawed logic to deem a film inappropriate merely because it provides a perspective that could be displeasing to a certain segment of the audience. But to specify that the content is unsuitable precisely because it prioritizes the physical and emotional expression of female characters takes the decision to new levels of hypocrisy. Despite the widespread outrage over social media by industry members and audiences alike, the CBFC has only doubled down on its rejection. Board member Mamta Kale defended the decision, claiming that being a woman, you can talk about your sexual rights but you have to keep one thing in mind as to how you are showing that issue. Can families go together to watch such a movie? No, they cannot.

The argument is weak, given that watching movies especially non-mainstream ones like Lipstick Under My Burkha is less of a family affair in India today than it once was. More importantly, its a tone-deaf assessment from a group that evidently believes that routinely objectifying women for the sake of the male gaze qualifies as family-friendly entertainment.

In fact, if placing fantasy above life werentacceptable, an overwhelming proportion of mainstream, escapist Bollywood should have been banned as unsuitable for Indian audiences by now. For decades, weve watched item numbers cater predominantly to male sexual imaginations, whether in their early iterations in 1930s, when actresses playing cabaret dancers would shimmy for a roomful of men to lyrics dripping with innuendo, topresent-day Bollywood, where lithe actresses do essentially the same thing, only in even skimpier costumes, much to the delight of men ogling and hooting from the lower stalls of cinema halls.

Theres been little pushback by anyone of influence to the notion of stalking as an appropriate form of wooing a woman, a strategy that began in the 60s, when heartthrob Shammi Kapoor made it look like innocent persistence rather than harassment, and has continued to this day with 2014s Raanjhanaa, 2016s Sultan, and possibly even in the upcoming Badrinath Ki Dulhania next month. Actors over the age of 50 still woo heroines less than half their age, and actresses half-naked bodies are still plastered on posters and highlighted in film trailers to shamelessly lure in the male contingent.

The CBFC has protested to little, if any, of this. Yet the moment an outspoken film like Lipstick Under My Burkha gives female perspectives a realistic voice, or attempts to shed light on how women discover and experience their own fantasies, the censor board decides that a lady-oriented film is inappropriate. The message is clear: A male fantasy is a natural expression of masculinity; its female equivalent is somehow a threat to the sanctity of Indian society.

Its a double standard so blatant, it delegitimizes any lingering credibility the CBFC enjoyed, and throws into question the sincerity of any government calls to support creative liberty over excessive moral policing. The eventual court ruling last June to release Udta Punjab with an A (restricted to adults) certificate and a single cut, seemed to be an encouraging move pushing the board to stick to its role of certification rather than censorship. For many, it was an indication that audiences could henceforth make their own judgements about what they should or shouldnt watch. The ability of a movie like last years Parched a daring and sometimes explicit critique of misogyny in rural India to escape relatively unscathed from the boards easily offended sensibilities further re-stoked the sputtering confidence of the public.

But those hopes were extinguished just as fast when the CBFC kicked off a year-long battle with the makers of Haraamkhor, the BAFTA-nominated film about arelationship between a teenage student and her teacher, after deeming the subject matter not suitable for India. (The film was finally released in January after several enforced cuts made it suitable for a U/A certificate.) Later last year, outrage was sparked once again after the trailer of Hansal Mehtas Aligarh was restricted to adult-only audiences simply due to its mention of the word homosexuality.

By outright refusing to give Lipstick Under My Burkha a certification at all, effectively blocking a theatrical release, the CDFC confirmed that for all the alleged intent to certify rather than cut, it essentially remains a censorship body. Exercising creative liberties in India remains an exhausting, one step forward, three steps back process, at the mercy of an overly conservative boards arbitrary guidelines of what constitutes appropriate entertainment or art.

As far as Lipstick Under My Burkha goes, director Shrivastava has vowed to fight for the films big-screen release in India though it remains to be seen whether it can happen with or without edits that inevitably dilute the films message. As the country misses out on the bold storytelling talent of its own natives, well appreciate that the rest of the world can still acknowledge what India has to offer and hope that Netflix is watching.

Watch the trailer of Lipstick Under My Burkha below:

View original post here:

Why Indian Censorship Is Hurting the Country's Cinema - IndieWire

The Night Berkeley Betrayed The Free Speech Movement – Breitbart

Posted on by

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

In 1964, Berkeley student Mario Savio addressed his peers in a speech about the importance of the free and open discussion on college campuses. In his address, Savio argued that the university must return to its intended function where students are invited to explore all ideas both radical and mainstream freely and without fear of social or academic repercussion.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Its been said, that you know weve been revolutionaries, and all this sort of thing uh in a way thats true. Weve gone back to a traditional view of the university. The traditional view of the university is a community of scholars of faculty and students get together who um you know, with complete honesty who bring the hard light of free inquiry to bear upon important matters in the sciences but also in the social sciences the question of just what ought to be not just what is.

Before discovering the work that the Berkeley free speech activists did under Savio in the 1960s, MILO inspired me to write a manifesto for college students who, in 2016, desired a similar return to form for American universities. Interestingly, a lot of the language in my manifesto echoed the sentiment offered by Savio over 50 years ago.

Savio directly called for a return to the universitys original function; a place where scholars of all political persuasions can come together and participate in freeinquiry. In my early 2016 rally cry to my conservative and libertarian peers, I argued for something very similar.

The tides are changing on the American college campus. Authoritarian administrators and faculty members and pearl-clutching campus social justice warriors are finally being challenged bya new brand of radicals poised to reclaim the American university and return it to its original function and purpose: expanding young minds.

When I first learned about Savio, I felt an instant connection to him. Aside from being 22-year-old champions of free speech and intellectual freedom on our campuses, Savio and I are both of Sicilian-American ancestry. We also both put in time as altar servers at our local Catholic churches. Despite our similarities, Savio and I diverge when it comes to personalpolitics except when it comes to free speech.

Saviojoined the socialist party as a symbolic rejection of the two-party system thatdominated the politics of not only the country but also the University of California in the 1960s. But despite our ideological differences, Savio and I sought something very similar for our campuses the return of the university to a place where students and faculty of all political persuasions are encouraged and feel welcome in expressing themselves without fear of social or academic repercussion.

Tonight, fires blazed across the same parts of the University of California, Berkeley campus from which Savio once addressed his fellow students. Attendees were attacked and left bleeding by mask-wearing thugs. Windows were smashed. A girl was pepper-sprayed.

By responding to MILOs call for no restrictions on the content of speech as Savio did so many years ago with riots and violence, the Berkeley socialists of 2017 that participated in the riots have betrayed the efforts ofthose that came before them.

Tonight, Fox 10 Phoenix anchor John Hook, during a live broadcast of the Berkeley riots, argued that MILO made his point without saying a word.

Now more than ever, we need to listen to Savios impassioned plea for a return to a university thatvalues a diversity of perspectives, keeping in mind that, tonight, some of the students who follow in the tradition of socialistic activism at UC Berkeley burned the ground on which he once spoke in the demand that the university censor speech that they found objectionable.

Tonight, Berkeley betrayed the free speech movement for which the institution is famous. The university has much work to do if it is to protect the legacy of Mario Savio and reclaim the values espoused by the Free Speech Movement of some 50 years ago.

For the rioters, engaging with MILOs call for open discussion and intellectual freedomon college campuses wouldnt be a bad start.

Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about social justice and libertarian issues for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com

View post:

The Night Berkeley Betrayed The Free Speech Movement - Breitbart

Free Speech For People Staff – Free Speech for People

Posted on by

John Bonifaz, Co-Founder and President

John Bonifaz is the Co-Founder and President of Free Speech For People. Mr. Bonifaz previously served as the Executive Director and then General Counsel of the National Voting Rights Institute, an organization he founded in 1994, and as the Legal Director of Voter Action, a national election integrity organization. Mr. Bonifaz has been at the forefront of key voting rights battles in the country for more than two decades: pioneering a series of court challenges, applying political equality principles, that have helped to redefine the campaign finance question as a basic voting rights issue of our time; initiating and leading a legal strategy for revisiting Buckley v. Valeo in the courts;leading the fight in the federal courts in Ohio for a recount of the 2004 presidential vote in that state; and prevailing in federal court in Pennsylvania on the eve of the 2008 election to ensure that Pennsylvania voters would receive emergency paper ballots when they faced long lines caused by voting machine breakdowns. In addition to his work in the field of voting rights and democracy advocacy, Mr. Bonifaz has also served as co-counsel in international human rights and environmental litigation, including litigation to hold the Chevron-Texaco oil company accountable for its widespread destruction of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Mr. Bonifaz is a 1992 cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and a 1999 recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.Back to top.

Oske Buckley is the Director of Administration and Finance for Free Speech For People. Ms. Buckley has served as the Administrative Assistant for Voter Action. Prior to joining Voter Action, Ms. Buckley worked as the Development Associate and Administrative Associate for the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri, where she managed the organizations donor database, engaged in event planning, coordinated and supervised volunteers, and carried out numerous administrative responsibilities. Ms. Buckley received her BA from Hendrix College in 2005 and MPA from Evergreen State College in 2013.Back to top.

Steve Cobble is the Senior Political Advisor for Free Speech For People. Mr Cobble is also an Assistant Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). Mr. Cobble is a longtime activist on both voting and campaign finance reform issues. He is a co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org and Progressive Democrats of America, and has written for The Nation, HuffingtonPost, TomPaine.com, The Progressive, and many other magazines and newspapers. Mr. Cobble is a former Political Director and speechwriter for the National Rainbow Coalition, served as the National Delegate Coordinator for Jackson for President 88, and directed the Keep Hope Alive PAC. He has worked on electoral campaigns at every level from state legislature to mayor to Congress to Senate, and has had a serious role in seven presidential campaigns, from McGovern to Kucinich. Mr. Cobble once directed the Arca Foundation, served as a Fellow at Harvards Institute of Politics, and conducted election training workshops for the African National Congress in South Africa in 1991.Back to top.

Edward Erikson is a Communications Consultant for Free Speech For People. He is the Founder and President of Erikson Communications Group. Mr. Erikson specializes in the integration of social, earned and paid media across all platforms in order to tell stories, engage people and advance issues. He has been featured in CNN, Politico, Huffington Post, TechPresident, Bill Moyers and other outlets. He has taught courses in Political Theory, American Political Thought, Media and Politics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and was the recipient of the 2012/2013 Distinguished Teaching Award. He received his MA in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University.Back to top.

Ron Fein is the Legal Director for Free Speech For People.Mr. Fein previously served as Assistant Regional Counsel in the United States Environmental Protection Agencys New England office, where he received the EPAs National Gold Medal for Exceptional Service, the National Notable Achievement Award, and several other awards.Mr. Fein supervised the offices Clean Air Act practice and won several major cases, including a first-in-nation air quality permit for an offshore wind farm and a nationally recognized settlement requiring a power plant to virtually eliminate its use of a local river.Mr. Fein previously clerked for the Honorable Kermit Lipez of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Honorable Douglas Woodlock of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He has also worked as an independent consultant to non-profits, as deputy campaign manager of a congressional campaign, and in software development, for which he was awarded nine patents.Mr. Fein graduated Order of the Coif from Stanford Law School and summa cum laude from Harvard College.Back to top.

Jasmine Gomez is the 2016-18 Democracy Honors Fellow at Free Speech For People.

Ms. Gomez, a graduate from the Boston University Law School, served on the Journal of Science and Technology Law and has written about potential state responses to corporate Big Data surveillance. She has held a number of leadership roles at the law school, including as Co-President of the Latin American Law Student Association, Vice President of the American Constitution Society, Co-Chair for the First-Year Advisory Program at BU, and Networking Chair for OutLaw. During her leadership positions, Jasmine helped create, facilitate, and host at least 30 events at the law school and around the city of Boston. She also received the Emerging Leader Award from the Black Law Students Association.

While in law school, Jasmine interned at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice and the National Consumer Law Center, and has done pro bono work for the Mississippi Center for Justice and several Boston public schools. At the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, located in Harvard Law School, Jasmine researched and critiqued a variety of legal and policy issues that cause harm to communities of color. She examined prosecutorial misconduct and Title VI enforcement, worked on a team to create a robust website that connects nonprofits working on anti-racism work around the country, and worked with other organizations to create the first Massachusetts state-wide conference on criminal justice reform: Massachusetts and the Carceral State.Back to top.

Bri Holmes serves as Free Speech For Peoples Digital Media Strategist. She brings with her several years worth of digital campaign experience, as well as a background in producing a variety of multimedia content. She worked on President Obamas 2012 reelection campaign and with local elections, labor unions, a nonprofit biotech, the Aspen Institute and a public radio station. Ms. Holmes is driven by the ability of technology to activate and inspire new movements, and its potential to cross party lines and bring a new awareness to long standing issues. She is focused on the crossroads of social media, the arts and political action. Ms. Holmes received her BA from UC Davis in 2011.Back to top.

Brenna Kupferman is the Development Directorfor Free Speech For People. Previously, Ms. Kupferman held the position of Director of Development at GoodWeave, International. Prior to her time at GoodWeave, she spent more than 13 years at ActionAid USA, including as Director of Development, developing the organizations fundraising for work in the US and around the globe. Her development work has focused primarily on foundations and major gifts, and overall strategic planning. Ms. Kupferman received her BA from Bennington College and holds a University Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from Akron University.Back to top.

Aspen Webster is the Administrative and Development Assistant for Free Speech for People. Ms. Webster has worked in a variety of nonprofit organizations in operations, development, and programmatic capacities. She served as the Operations Manager for the National Network of Abortion Funds in Boston, MA, where she was responsible for database management, administrative duties, and event planning. Ms. Webster is dedicated to creating a just and equitable society through legal and community efforts. She graduated summa cum laude with a BA from Tufts University in 2011. Back to top.

Comments are closed.

See the article here:

Free Speech For People Staff - Free Speech for People

Quotes About Free Speech (112 quotes)

Posted on by

Some Christian lawyerssome eminent and stupid judgeshave said and still say, that the Ten Commandments are the foundation of all law.

Nothing could be more absurd. Long before these commandments were given there were codes of laws in India and Egyptlaws against murder, perjury, larceny, adultery and fraud. Such laws are as old as human society; as old as the love of life; as old as industry; as the idea of prosperity; as old as human love.

All of the Ten Commandments that are good were old; all that were new are foolish. If Jehovah had been civilized he would have left out the commandment about keeping the Sabbath, and in its place would have said: 'Thou shalt not enslave thy fellow-men.' He would have omitted the one about swearing, and said: 'The man shall have but one wife, and the woman but one husband.' He would have left out the one about graven images, and in its stead would have said: 'Thou shalt not wage wars of extermination, and thou shalt not unsheathe the sword except in self-defence.'

If Jehovah had been civilized, how much grander the Ten Commandments would have been.

All that we call progressthe enfranchisement of man, of labor, the substitution of imprisonment for death, of fine for imprisonment, the destruction of polygamy, the establishing of free speech, of the rights of conscience; in short, all that has tended to the development and civilization of man; all the results of investigation, observation, experience and free thought; all that man has accomplished for the benefit of man since the close of the Dark Ageshas been done in spite of the Old Testament. Robert G. Ingersoll, About The Holy Bible

More:

Quotes About Free Speech (112 quotes)

With Key TV Station Takeover, Is Free Speech in Georgia at Stake? – Global Voices Online

Posted on by

Rustavi2 staff members, supporters and prominent public figures, including Georgias first lady, Maka Chichua (left), gathered outside the studios of the television network on March 3. (Screenshot of Rustavi2 report).

The following is a partner post fromEurasiaNet.orgwritten by Giorgi Lomsadze.Republished with permission.

Journalists at Georgias last major opposition broadcasting company are digging in and refusing to comply with a court order altering the outlets ownership structure. Doing so, they say, would sound the death knell for independent media in the country.

Defiant supporters pitched tents outside the studios of the television channel Rustavi2, forming a human shield in front of the building in response to a March 2 Supreme Court decision to return ownership of the broadcaster to businessman Kibar Khalvashi. We will continue our work and we are staying on the air, said Rustavi2s General Director Nika Gvaramia, who was flanked by the companys news crews as he spoke.

The governing party, the Georgian Dream, has long criticized Rustavi2 as a hyperpartisan outlet, supportive of Georgias self-exiled ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. But Rustavi2 also has been a must-watch for its critical coverage of the Georgian Dreams performance. The station may now be headed toward a standoff with law enforcement officials, given that it has mobilized opposition political parties, civil society groups and prominent public figures to defy execution of the court verdict.

The Supreme Court on March 2 rejected the companys appeal of an earlier verdict to reinstate Khalvashi as majority owner. The company and its supporters allege that the Georgian Dream party and its founder, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, influenced the Supreme Courts decision in order to bring the recalcitrant channel to heel. Government officials deny meddling in the case, insisting that the ownership dispute is strictly commercial in nature.

However, Georgias leading human rights watchdogs and freedom of information advocacy groups joined forces in criticizing the Supreme Courts judgment and earlier verdicts by lower courts, describing the decisions as legally dubious. All three instances of judicial proceedings, as well as the final result, do not meet the requirement of independent court decision-making, and strengthen our doubts about the governments crude interference, several of Georgias most prominent civil society groups, including Transparency International Georgia, said in a joint statement.

The United States Embassy in Tbilisi said that it views with concern the Supreme Courts decision that could effectively limit the access to opposition voices to Georgian broadcast media. Similar concerns were voiced by international media freedom watchdogs like Freedom House.

Rustav2s chief, Gvaramia, said that he and his staff are eager to buy the company back from Khalvashi an offer the businessman was quick to decline. He said such a buyout could land the station back in the hands of self-exiled ex-president Mikhail (Misha) Saakashvili. So long as there is a Misha menace, I am not selling the TV company, Khalvashi said.

The businessman claims that he was improperly strong-armed by then-president Saakashvili to relinquish his majority stake in Rustavi2 in 2006. Gvaramia served as a minister of justice and, later, headed the Education Ministry during Saakashvilis administration. Leaked phone conversations last year suggested that Gvaramia and Saakashvili maintain close contact, including engaging in strategy sessions to stave off what they describe as a government takeover of Rustavi2.

Many media analysts charge that the court decision could mark the final act in an assiduous campaign carried out by the Georgian Dream to neutralize mass medias watchdog function. Initially, during the early days of its rule, the Georgian Dream was credited with breaking the Saakashvili-era governments control of the national airwaves, which were at that time dominated by three news channels: Rustavi2, Imedi and Public TV. But observers say that the Georgian Dream later carried out its own takeover of television news broadcasts, via which the vast majority of Georgians obtain information about the doings of the government.

We have seen the [Georgian Dream] government slowly but surely moving to usurp the media space, focusing primarily on television, said Nino Danelia, a media studies professor at Tbilisi-based Ilia Chavchavadze University.

Imedi TV dropped two major current-affairs talk shows in 2015 amid claims of government pressure. The network moved to absorb a small, mostly free-wheeling station, Maestro, and then merged with GDS, a station owned by billionaire Ivanishvilis son, Bera. Imedi TV now leans toward celebrity gossip and infotainment, and is largely government-friendly. In February, Public TV announced controversial plans to suspend political talk shows citing the need to upgrade both the equipment and content.

Rustavi2 has been seen as the last holdout operating beyond the influence of Georgian Dream officials. One opposition group, the Republican Party, went so as far as to warn in a March 3 statement that the court ruling on Rustavi2 marks a pivotal moment in Georgias post-Soviet experience, in which a pluralistic system is giving way to the formation of an authoritarian regime.

The Georgian Dream already has full control of other democratic institutions, like the executive government, the parliament and, as weve seen, the judiciary, so full submission of the news media is its goal now, Danelia said.

The Georgian Dream and Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili refuted those allegations and called for the courts decision to be respected. The government will spare no efforts to protect the freedom of the media in the country, the prime ministers office said in a statement.

The dispute over Rustavi2s ownership dates back to the Saakashvili era, when the company went through byzantine, reportedly government-orchestrated, ownership changes. Founded in 1994 in the town of Rustavi, about a 20-minute drive outside of Tbilisi, Rustavi2 gained popularity for broadcasting exposes on corruption and stagnation during the administration of the late president, Eduard Shevardnadze. Eventually becoming the nations most watched news channel, Rustavi2 played an instrumental role in catalyzing the Rose Revolution, which brought Saakashvili to power.

Two of the companys original founders, entrepreneurs Davit Dvali and Jarji Akimidze, claimed they were robbed of the station by the Saakashvili government in 2004. Khalvashi was then seen as one of the governments many hand-picked favorites to take over Rustavi2, but he too was allegedly forced to sell his stake under duress after a falling-out with the government.

Khalvashi and the two original founders became unlikely allies in the current ownership dispute, with the businessman promising to give half of his shares to Dvali and Akimidze should the court reinstate him as the channels majority owner. Following the Supreme Courts decision, though, Khalvashi appeared to back away from that promise.

With the court decision in place, many media observers and opposition leaders are painting a dark future for free speech in Georgia. Gvaramia said that what was ultimately at stake was whether free speech will exist in Georgia, whether democracy will have a chance in Georgia, [and] whether Georgia will become a part of the Euro-Atlantic space.

Other observers remain guardedly optimistic that the government will be unable to control the flow of information. No Georgian government has won a battle with the media, said Danelia, the media studies professor. It may take a long time, but ultimately the government will lose.

Continue reading here:

With Key TV Station Takeover, Is Free Speech in Georgia at Stake? - Global Voices Online

USC Shuts Down Scheduled Event with Free Speech Advocate … – Breitbart News

Posted on by

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Public safety officials notified the student organizers of the event that they would be required to fork over nearly $600 in additional security fees if they wanted to proceed with the event as planned.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Rubin recently starred in a popular online video for Prager University in which he explained his move away from the American political left and towards classical liberalism.

Administrators told the events organizers that Rubins controversial history may present security issues and that two armed guards trained in dealing with potential disruptions or protests would be required in order for the event to proceed.

Breitbart News has covered the topic of security-fee censorship extensively. On more than one occasion, students planning to host former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos were hit with last-minute security fees that made it nearly impossible for the events to take place as scheduled.

Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about education and social justice for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com

Read this article:

USC Shuts Down Scheduled Event with Free Speech Advocate ... - Breitbart News

The Hubble telescope won’t crash into Mars, but it may look that way – USA TODAY

Posted on by

106

Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about

The Hubble Space Telescope will pass in front of Mars on Friday night and because of our depth perception it will look like the decades-old telescope is slamming into the Red Planet.

Try Another

Audio CAPTCHA

Image CAPTCHA

Help

CancelSend

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

USA Today Network Bernie Badger Published 11:40 a.m. ET March 3, 2017 | Updated 22 hours ago

NASA released the largest photo ever of the Andromeda Galaxy. The panoramic image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is 1.5 billion pixels. 1-20-15

In this image released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Hubble Space Telescope is backdropped against black space.(Photo: Getty Images/file)

The Hubble Space Telescope will pass in front of Mars on Friday night and because of our depth perception it will look like the decades-old telescope is slamming into the Red Planet.

The Hubble's expected pathputs it right in front of Mars at 7:58:42 p.m.People think that they can see in 3-D, but this isnt true. Our retinas are fundamentally two-dimensional. We see light in different positions but not truly at different depths.

So, thanks to our lack of true depth perception, we'll see the illusion of a Mars-Hubble collision, even though Mars is about 140 million miles from Earth.

Scientists find incredible fountains shooting from Jupiter's moon

If you are looking through the observatory telescope, you may or may not see the Hubble Space Telescope zoom through the field of view. I cannot predict it with that much accuracy. A low power eyepiece will offer the best chance. But for anyone looking without optical aid, you should see the Hubble Space Telescope glide right over Mars. No explosions will ensue but perhaps a feeling that the Red Planet has just dodged a bullet.

The Hubble, according to NASA, was launched in 1990 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Since then it's been orbiting Earth, snapping photos and collecting data that has been used in more than 14,000 scientific papers. It's roughly the size of a school bus and moves orbits at a speed of about 17,000 miles per hour. So far, it's traveled more than 3 billion miles.

Far out: Most distant galaxy cluster discovered

The Hubble Space Telescope will pass in front of Mars on Friday evening.(Photo: USA TODAY)

Mr. Badger is Project Coordinator at the Eastern Florida State College Planetarium in Cocoa. Send questions, suggestions, or comments tobadgerb@easternflorida.edu

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2lHDTOl

0) { %>

0) { %>

View original post here:

The Hubble telescope won't crash into Mars, but it may look that way - USA TODAY

Hubble Telescope Captures Massive Galaxy 400 Million Light-Years Away – Outlook India

Posted on by

The Hubble space telescope has captured a new image showcasing an incredibly massive galaxy located under 400 million light-years away from the Earth.

The galaxy UGC 12591 sits somewhere between a lenticular and a spiral, according to NASA.

It lies in the westernmost region of the PiscesPerseus Supercluster, a long chain of galaxy clusters that stretches out for hundreds of light-years - one of the largest known structures in the cosmos.

Advertisement opens in new window

UGC 12591 itself is also extraordinary: it is incredibly massive, NASA said.

The galaxy and its halo together contain several hundred billion times the mass of the Sun; four times the mass of the Milky Way.

It also whirls round extremely quickly, rotating at speeds of up to 1.8 million kilometres per hour.

Observations with Hubble are helping astronomers to understand the mass of UGC 12591, and to determine whether the galaxy simply formed and grew slowly over time, or whether it might have grown unusually massive by colliding and merging with another large galaxy at some point in its past.

Continue reading here:

Hubble Telescope Captures Massive Galaxy 400 Million Light-Years Away - Outlook India

Russia invites NATO leadership for ‘open discussion’ at Moscow Security Conference – RT

Posted on by

NATO's top leadership and member states' officials have been invited to the Moscow Security Conference, Russias Defense Ministry has said, reaffirming its persistent pursuit of open dialogue amid the alliances firm rejection of military cooperation.

Despite suspended cooperation in the military sphere, invitations to the forum have been sent to all member countries of the North Atlantic alliance and the European Union, as well as to the NATO leadership, Aleksandr Fomin, Deputy Defense Minister, said during a briefing in Moscow on Friday.

Read more

Russias Defense Ministry has been staging the Moscow Conference on International Security annually since 2011. The open forum offers a unique opportunity for international defense officials and organizations, as well as non-governmental experts and journalists to address key security issues.

As in the previous years, were ready to provide a tribune for our partners for the free expression of views and an exchange of opinions on various aspects of global and regional security in the presence of more than 200 Russian and foreign journalists, Fomin is cited as saying by TASS.

If someone holds a different point of view, let him outline it and well take it into account in our further work. In a word, we count on open and interested discussions, he added.

READ MORE: From predictable position of force? NATOs chief tells Russias FM theres room for dialogue

This years conference is scheduled to take place on April 26-27, with Russias Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Security Council secretary Nikolay Patrushev and Chief of Russias General Staff Valery Gerasimov expected to address the forum.

Read more

One of the main goals of the upcoming event, according to Fomin, is to try and unite the efforts of the defense ministries in the search for more effective measures to counter common challenges and threats.

Apart from NATO and the EU representatives, defense ministers and military delegations from 84 countries have been invited, as well as the heads of nine international organizations and over 130 foreign security experts, Fomin announced.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Arab League have already confirmed their participation for the Moscow meeting.

NATO opted to put cooperation with Russia on hold in 2014 following a coup in Kiev that triggered an armed backlash in the east of Ukraine and a referendum in Crimea to join Russia. The military alliance accuses Russia of direct involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, while Moscow denies this perceived aggression.

Read more

After almost three years of no practical cooperation, NATO Military Committee General Petr Pavel held a phone conversation with Chief of Russias General Staff, Valery Gerasimov. During the call, Gerasimov reiterated Russias concerns over NATO's significantly increased military activity near Russian borders. The sides also discussed the prospects of restoring military communications between Russia and the bloc as well as devising mutual steps to decrease tensions in Europe.

Earlier this week, General Sir Gordon Kenneth Messenger, UKs Vice Chief of the Defence Staff discussed NATO-Russian relations with General Alexander Zhuravlev, deputy chief of Russia's General Staff.

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that NATOs newly-declared official mission to deter Russia and constant attempts to drag Moscow into a confrontation contributes to global security degradation. NATO continues to insist that there is room for dialogue and for engagement with Russia even if practical cooperation is suspended, while Moscow believes that idle talks with the military alliance make little sense without joint work in the defense sphere.

See the original post here:

Russia invites NATO leadership for 'open discussion' at Moscow Security Conference - RT

Bosnia- Herzegovina Referendum Caravan against NATO and Euro-Atlantic Integration – Center for Research on Globalization

Posted on by

Activists of the opposition political forces and public organizations from Montenegro initiated a rally from Podgorica to Brussels. According to the organizer of the action, the head of the movement Hopeless Resistance Marco Milachich, the activists are to declare in front of the international community about the necessity of a referendum on the countrys accession to NATO.

The event Referendum caravan which was launched on February 20 will end on March 3. After Belgrade the activists still have to overcome the way to the capital of Belgium through the city of Banja Luka, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Vienna, Prague and Berlin.

One of the stop on the way to Brussels was the city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Banja Luka is the capital of one of the two national entities within the country called the Republic of Srpska (RS). The Montenegrin opposition expected to get considerable support from the Serbian population, negatively related to the prospect of accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to NATO.

According to the official position of Sarajevo, the most important issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina external policy is to create conditions for the early entry into NATO and the EU. This policy of Euro-Atlantic integration is welcomed in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where 50-70 percent of the people support countrys membership in NATO. In the Srpska Republic, the vast majority of the population does not support the idea of accession.

The protests against the country accession to NATO have been held in Banja Luka before. Residents of city often gather on the main square, to remind of the bloody NATO military actions in Yugoslavia in 1999.

According to the leader of public patriotic organization of the Republic of Srpska Our Serbia Mladjan Djordjevic, the West is actively working to maintain artificial separatist movements inside the RC. Moreover, the West is providing active support for Sarajevo, to deprive Banja Luka sovereignty and the right to resist the policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina to join NATO. At the same time, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina actually lives on external funds. The corruption reaches colossal scales, and the authorities have become puppets of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, despite the political pressure from the West and the official Sarajevo, the Srpska Republic, headed by its national leader Milorad Dodik, continues to protect its sovereignty and legitimacy. They actively supported the rally on February 24 in Banja Luka.

See the original post here:

Bosnia- Herzegovina Referendum Caravan against NATO and Euro-Atlantic Integration - Center for Research on Globalization

Delay in Montenegro’s NATO bid urged – The Durango Herald

Posted on by

PODGORICA, Montenegro Pro-Russian opposition leaders in Montenegro have asked the White House chief strategist to help block the Balkan countrys NATO bid, saying the Obama administration has presented false facts about its readiness to join the Western military alliance.

Two opposition officials, Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic, wrote in a letter to Steve Bannon, a senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, that the U.S. Senate should vote against the accession. The vote has been stalled because of objections by two senators.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter on Friday.

So far, 25 of 28 NATO members have approved Montenegros membership bid, but the U.S. endorsement is considered crucial.

Trumps stand on NATO, which he once described as an obsolete organization, and his positive remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin have caused worries in Montenegro that the small country could be left without U.S. support amid the Kremlins expanding influence in the Balkan region.

The Montenegrin opposition has boycotted parliament since the October election, when the countrys pro-Western government accused it of attempting a pro-Russian coup that allegedly included plans to take over power and kill the then-prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, because of his NATO bid.

The letter, written on behalf of a coalition of opposition parties called the Democratic Front, warned that the security situation in Montenegro is very complex and that the matter of relations to NATO demands exceptional caution. It added that Bannon should gain a clear picture of the situation before the final approval.

Mandic and Knezevic alleged that the U.S. has been presented with false facts and superficial information about Montenegro by the Obama administration.

They said Montenegro has been deeply split between those who seek NATO membership and those who reject it.

Montenegrin society does not have a unique attitude regarding the admission to NATO as falsely alleged by the former administration in Washington, the letter stated. In reality, Montenegro does not meet the criteria for admission to the Euro-Atlantic alliance because it cannot ensure its own internal stability and democratic system.

Russia has strongly opposed NATO expansion in Europe, especially if it brings countries like Montenegro that were considered close allies of Moscow into the military alliance.

See the rest here:

Delay in Montenegro's NATO bid urged - The Durango Herald

Donald Trump fact check: His claims about NATO, jobs, military, immigration are mostly false – Globalnews.ca

Posted on by

Globalnews.ca
Donald Trump fact check: His claims about NATO, jobs, military, immigration are mostly false
Globalnews.ca
TRUMP: Speaking of the NATO alliance, Our partners must meet their financial obligations. And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that. In fact, I can tell you the money is pouring in. Very nice. Very nice..

and more »

Originally posted here:

Donald Trump fact check: His claims about NATO, jobs, military, immigration are mostly false - Globalnews.ca