Racism

[Rico1304]

Were we clapping for the doctors who recommended withdrawing treatment or the doctors who wanted to continue? 

[VladimirIlyich]

13 hours ago, Rico1304 said:

Were we clapping for the doctors who recommended withdrawing treatment or the doctors who wanted to continue? 

It doesn't matter because it wasn't sincere anyway.

[Sugar Ape]

Fucking hell. 
 

 

[Bjornebye]

Decent them. No need for the Ku Klux Klan angle. 

[TheHowieLama]

Are those available in all sizes?

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

I'm sure there'll be a flock of D list celebrities announcing a 48 hour boycott of Amazon. Right about now. Hold on. Any second...

[Gnasher]

Sorry it's the mail but Wetherspoons in Leeds, sounds fucking lovely. What a bunch!

 

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8603747/Drinker-tells-student-looks-like-Jew-says-GASSED-lot-you.html

 

I might give that pub a miss.

[Bruce Spanner]

8 minutes ago, Gnasher said:

Sorry it's the mail but Wetherspoons in Leeds, sounds fucking lovely. What a bunch!

 

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8603747/Drinker-tells-student-looks-like-Jew-says-GASSED-lot-you.html

 

I might give that pub a miss.

There’s a massive problem with ‘locals’ and students not getting on in Leeds.

 

The locals feel like their city is being taken over, whilst in fact, a bit like Lancaster and a fair few other cities, those student loan payments help prop up a their cities/towns.

 

Nowt like insular, petty, parochialism to really get cunts to gel.

[Nelly-Szoboszlai]

A large proportion of the people who were recently claiming that "all lives matter" don't actually seem to be that concerned about the lives of the people who've successfully got dinghies across the English Channel in the past few days. 

 

Who'd a thunk it? 

[TheHowieLama]

NASA has signaled it is joining the social justice movement by changing unofficial and potentially contentious names used by the scientific community for distant cosmic objects and systems such as planets, galaxies and nebulae.

In a statement last week, the space agency said that as the “community works to identify and address systemic discrimination and inequality in all aspects of the field, it has become clear that certain cosmic nicknames are not only insensitive, but can be actively harmful”.

 

 

 

Black Holes Matter

[Mudface]

Quote

 

Nasa to change 'harmful' and insensitive' planet and galaxy nicknames
Space agency says ‘certain cosmic nicknames are insensitive’ and vows to drop any reference to them


Planetary nebula NGC 2392, previously known as the ‘Eskimo Nebula’.
Nasa has signaled it is joining the social justice movement by changing unofficial and potentially contentious names used by the scientific community for distant cosmic objects and systems such as planets, galaxies and nebulae.

In a statement last week, the space agency said that as the “community works to identify and address systemic discrimination and inequality in all aspects of the field, it has become clear that certain cosmic nicknames are not only insensitive, but can be actively harmful”.

Nasa added that it is “examining its use of unofficial terminology for cosmic objects as part of its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion”.

One of the steps Nasa would immediately take would be to drop references to planetary nebula NGC 2392 known as the “Eskimo Nebula”, a dying Sun-like star that is blowing off its outer layers. “Eskimo”, the agency said, “is widely viewed as a colonial term with a racist history, imposed on the indigenous people of Arctic regions.”


It will also cease to refer to a pair of spiral galaxies, NGC 4567 and NGC 4568, in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster referred to as the “Siamese Twins Galaxy”, as part of its effort to align cosmic objects with current thinking and conventions.

“These nicknames and terms may have historical or culture connotations that are objectionable or unwelcoming, and Nasa is strongly committed to addressing them,” said Stephen Shih, associate administrator for diversity and equal opportunity at Nasa. “Science depends on diverse contributions, and benefits everyone, so this means we must make it inclusive.”

In future, Nasa said it will use only the official, International Astronomical Union designations in cases where nicknames are inappropriate. Cosmic objects, such as Barnard 33, nicknamed “the Horsehead Nebula” would be retain their names.

The “Siamese Twin Galaxy” was so-named by Frederick William Herschel, the British, German-born astronomer and composer. Herschel also identified and named the “Eskimo Nebula” which he described in January 1787 as “a star 9th magnitude with a pretty bright middle, nebulosity equally dispersed all around. A very remarkable phenomenon.”

Herschel then spent nine years surveying the heavens for double stars, publishing catalogues of nebulae in 1802 (2,500 objects) and in 1820 (5,000 objects). Among Herschel’s achievements was to note a new object in the constellation of Gemini.

It was confirmed to be a new planet, named Uranus, and considered to be the first planet to be discovered since antiquity. He also identified the planet’s moons, Titania and Oberon, as well as Enceladus and Mimas, both moons of Saturn.

But his nomenclature will now fall from official use at the US agency, said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of Nasa’s science mission directorate in Washington.

“Our goal is that all names are aligned with our values of diversity and inclusion, and we’ll proactively work with the scientific community to help ensure that. Science is for everyone, and every facet of our work needs to reflect that value,” Zurbuchen said.

 

 

Thank Christ. I'm sure the Universe will breathe more easily after this brave, stunning victory that is in no way pure tokenism in the slightest.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

3 hours ago, Mudface said:

 

Thank Christ. I'm sure the Universe will breathe more easily after this brave, stunning victory that is in no way pure tokenism in the slightest.

 

To be fair they were way ahead of the ball, they put a kneel Neil on the Moon. 

[VladimirIlyich]

1 hour ago, Pistonbroke said:

 

To be fair they were way ahead of the ball, they put a kneel Neil on the Moon. 

Welcome to the bad jokes club.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Pistonbroke said:

 

To be fair they were way ahead of the ball, they put a kneel Neil on the Moon. 

Not to mention being Armstrong.

[SasaS]

2 hours ago, Pistonbroke said:

 

To be fair they were way ahead of the ball, they put a kneel Neil on the Moon. 

Brilliant.

[skend04]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/09/uks-womens-refuges-turn-away-victims-who-speak-no-english

 

Safe spaces. But only if can speak English.

[VladimirIlyich]

20 hours ago, skend04 said:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/09/uks-womens-refuges-turn-away-victims-who-speak-no-english

 

Safe spaces. But only if can speak English.

How about the offer English speaking courses at the refuge? Really shitty way to treat women and children of any creed or colour.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

On 09/08/2020 at 03:33, Mudface said:

 

Thank Christ. I'm sure the Universe will breathe more easily after this brave, stunning victory that is in no way pure tokenism in the slightest.

I wouldn't be too quick to sneer. Every organisation needs to take a look at itself for any examples of racism in the organisational culture. Some things will take time and be difficult to change; others (like informal names for things) are much easier.  They would be wrong to persist in using racist terminology, so their action in dropping it deserves acknowledgement. 

[SasaS]

17 minutes ago, AngryofTuebrook said:

I wouldn't be too quick to sneer. Every organisation needs to take a look at itself for any examples of racism in the organisational culture. Some things will take time and be difficult to change; others (like informal names for things) are much easier.  They would be wrong to persist in using racist terminology, so their action in dropping it deserves acknowledgement. 

I could never understand, why is the term "Eskimo" considered racist by itself? I always thought it had all the same connotations as "Inuit". Also, when you look at the Wikipedia entry for Eskimo, it is still used to denote a group of peoples and languages which includes Inuits. 

And what is wrong with Siamese twins? Is Siam racist?

[Mudface]

27 minutes ago, AngryofTuebrook said:

I wouldn't be too quick to sneer. Every organisation needs to take a look at itself for any examples of racism in the organisational culture. Some things will take time and be difficult to change; others (like informal names for things) are much easier.  They would be wrong to persist in using racist terminology, so their action in dropping it deserves acknowledgement. 

I see what you mean, but it just seems to be a bit of a waste of time. I doubt the problem is widespread, and that anybody really has an issue with, for example, the trivial name for a nebula or galaxy having the term 'Eskimo' or 'Siamese twins' in it. It just looks like a token gesture when there are much bigger issues around which people's time and effort would be better spent on.

[VladimirIlyich]

13 minutes ago, SasaS said:

I could never understand, why is the term "Eskimo" considered racist by itself? I always thought it had all the same connotations as "Inuit". Also, when you look at the Wikipedia entry for Eskimo, it is still used to denote a group of peoples and languages which includes Inuits. 

And what is wrong with Siamese twins? Is Siam racist?

Siam is the former name of Thailand so maybe Siam is a link to a colonial name?

[Strontium]

33 minutes ago, SasaS said:

And what is wrong with Siamese twins? Is Siam racist?

 

It's anti-Siamitism.

[SasaS]

18 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

Siam is the former name of Thailand so maybe Siam is a link to a colonial name?

I know, but you have traditional, historic use of the term Siam, from when it was a former name, hence the Siamese twins for conjoined twins. It sounds silly to go back and change historical, traditional names, Summer in Siam song should be renamed Summer in Thailand, or the film Mission to Burma Mission to Myanmar. George Orwell's Myanmar Days? Also, Thailand sounds equally colonial to me, "land of the Thais", and in English.

It would smack of tokenism, here is a press release, look at as being so progressive. Like all those companies recently boycotting Facebook and telling us about it, until you read that big companies are less than 6% of Facebook's revenues, and advertising on Facebook is even less in their advertising budget, so they calculated that the promotional value of telling us they are boycotting Facebook to make it fight hate speech (for free) is greater than one or two months of advertising on FB.

[TheHowieLama]

I have a few Persian rugs which I have started just calling rugs, trying to help.

[Mudface]

19 minutes ago, SasaS said:

I know, but you have traditional, historic use of the term Siam, from when it was a former name, hence the Siamese twins for conjoined twins. It sounds silly to go back and change historical, traditional names, Summer in Siam song should be renamed Summer in Thailand, or the film Mission to Burma Mission to Myanmar. George Orwell's Myanmar Days? Also, Thailand sounds equally colonial to me, "land of the Thais", and in English.

It would smack of tokenism, here is a press release, look at as being so progressive. Like all those companies recently boycotting Facebook and telling us about it, until you read that big companies are less than 6% of Facebook's revenues, and advertising on Facebook is even less in their advertising budget, so they calculated that the promotional value of telling us they are boycotting Facebook to make it fight hate speech (for free) is greater than one or two months of advertising on FB.

I really hate that virtue signalling from big companies- just pay your fucking taxes and stop pretending that decorating your coffee cups with a rainbow actually achieves anything.

 

Going back to the NASA story, this is also the kind of thing that leads to ridicule and dilution of the overriding message, like the aims of the BLM movement being trivialised over citing a Coco Pops packet as racist for example. It's easy for the Twitterati pricks and alt-right bloggers to develop the notion that it isn't serious, just a bunch of lefty liberal loudmouths kicking up a stink about minor issues and get things dismissed in a lot of minds.