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Saturday Link Encyclopedia

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It would never occur to me to use this weepy, emotional language in my tenure documents. People are too weird.

If you are looking for a life coach, check out this guy. He might be young but he’s good and he knows what he’s doing.

The man who created the House of Books.

Yet another story of a student’s tender religious sensibilities wounded by a literature class.

Two women in India were sentenced to rape for their brother’s actions.

How stupid does one have to be to tell Yale students how to combat “the ruling class”? God, people are dumb. What’s next? Visiting Goldman Sachs with suggestions on how to organize Occupy Wall Street more effectively?

And another idiot blabs stupidly: “Demonstrating an ability to “defeat” ISIS or “roll back” Iranian influence doesn’t tell Russia and China anything about U.S. commitments in their respective regions.” Actually, yes it does tell them a lot. Putin knew everything he needed to know about Obama when the US President swallowed his condescending letter on Syria. And immediately invaded Ukraine.

A massive win for labor rights!

A new species of crayfish has been named after Snowden. Knowing the connotations of the word crayfish in Russian, I can say it’s very fitting.

Uber has invented. . . a bus.

Gluten sensitivity does not exist. It’s all a ploy to sell “gluten-free apples” at a markup.

24 responses to “Saturday Link Encyclopedia”

  1. el Avatar
    el

    \ Knowing the connotations of the word crayfish in Russian, I can say it’s very fitting.

    Somebody who hides?

    I knew about “Я тебе покажу, где раки зимуют” and “Когда рак свиснет, и рыба запоет” but don’t see the connection.

    This seems suitable: “На безрыбье и рак рыба” (in places w/o fish, even crayfish will do) –> Snowden got turned into a hero since nobody better appeared.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      Путин его ставит раком как он и заслуживает.

      Like

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  2. richmondguide Avatar
    richmondguide

    I really wish gluten sensitivity were that simple- nonexistent. The science article so proudly links to the research articles, which granted is more than what some writers on-line might do, but I think it stills fall into the category of incomplete internet buzz. The scientists in Australia and the scientists in the United States who study digestive systems tend to be much more humble and noncommittal when pressed for quotes on food allergies.
    The studies, even the one touted for being larger, are too small in sample size and short in duration to come to a decisive conclusion. Scientists have identified 16-18 proteins in wheat that can trigger allergies- it may not necessarily be limited to a gluten problem.
    I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy as a small child, decades before it was deemed a food fad. It’s no joke- I’ve seen the slides of intestinal damage done by food sensitivities (collected by John’s Hopkin’s University), and I’ve personally felt the effects.
    This comment is long winded, but I’ve had people assert to my face that food allergies as a whole don’t exist. When articles like this are circulated on the internet it confirms their beliefs, and then servers in restaurants think it will be no big deal to give me a meal which for me will have serious, immediate ramifications.

    The larger, latter cited study was done over the course of two weeks. They reported that most people still reported indigestion. If I eat one bowl of wheat based noodles, I know that I will be sick for at least 10-14 days. Is it gluten or another protein? Or perhaps a carbohydrate in the wheat, as mentioned on NPR? I don’t know, and neither does science, yet.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      You were diagnosed as a child, so you are definitely not one of the people who lived perfectly well without even knowing the word “gluten” and then suddenly discovered a huge intolerance after it became fashionable. For every person with an actual disorder there is always a thousand who thinks it makes them special to have a special relationship with food. So this is about them.

      I wish you every success in managing your food allergy, though.

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  3. richmondguide Avatar
    richmondguide

    One last thing- I was diagnosed by a physician- not self diagnosed, as all study participants claimed. 🙂

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      You were diagnosed as a child, so you are definitely not one of the people who lived perfectly well without even knowing the word “gluten” and then suddenly discovered a huge intolerance after it became fashionable. For every person with an actual disorder there is always a thousand who thinks it makes them special to have a special relationship with food. So this is about them.

      I wish you every success in managing your food allergy, though.

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  4. el Avatar
    el

    As tragedies shock Europe, a bigger refugee crisis looms in the Middle East
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/as-tragedies-shock-europe-a-bigger-refugee-crisis-looms-in-the-middle-east/2015/08/29/3858b284-9c15-11e4-86a3-1b56f64925f6_story.html

    I was interested in how Arab countries treated refugees. Interestingly:

    // In Lebanon, memories of the role played by Palestinian refugees in triggering the country’s 1975-1990 civil war have deterred government action to improve the lives of the 1.1 million Syrians registered as refugees with the United Nations.

    SB recently talked about Europe needing to follow America’s example in accepting (il)legal immigrants. I wish EU did just that (since the more Muslims are in Europe, the worse it will be for Jews). See here:

    The United States has accepted 1,500 Syrians for resettlement since the conflict began in 2011, but it hopes to admit more next year
    VS
    Germany announced earlier this month that it will grant temporary residence to all Syrian refugees arriving there and predicts an influx of more than 800,000 by the end of 2015. The United Nations is urging countries worldwide to grant asylum to 130,000 Syrians in the coming year.

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  5. el Avatar
    el

    App Alerts Parents if Their Kid Skips a College Class
    http://www.freerangekids.com/app-alerts-parents-if-their-kid-skips-a-college-class/

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  6. el Avatar
    el

    From comments:

    // “There’s an app for that!” If you have a fear, desire or need you can get an app for it. Just like we used to get pills for anything. Now its just how we do the intake.

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  7. el Avatar
    el

    Две педали Путина
    …
    Израильский режиссер Влади Антоневич, служивший в спецназе “Дувдеван”, по собственной инициативе пять лет расследовал это преступление. Выдавая себя за представителя американской радикальной националистической организации, Антоневич проник в лагеря боевой подготовки российских неонацистов, не раз встречался с их лидерами и пришел к выводу, что за многочисленными убийствами выходцев с Кавказа и из Средней Азии накануне президентских выборов в марте 2008 года стоят российские спецслужбы.
    http://www.svoboda.org/content/article/27212573.html

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      Great article, thank you! it is absolutely true that Putin’s 2008 campaign was heavily reliant on “The only alternative to us are neo-Nazis.” And there was a great number of people who bought into that. That’s why before 2014 the Russian neo-Nazis hated Putin.

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  8. el Avatar
    el

    Russian jets in Syrian skies
    Russia has begun its military intervention in Syria, deploying an aerial contingent to a permanent Syrian base, in order to launch attacks against ISIS and Islamist rebels; US stays silent.
    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4696268,00.html

    I was interested in the quotes below. Those interventions in Syria almost seem to be a non-direct war between Russia+Iran and countries supporting Muslim Brotherhood backed rebels, while USA tries to be as non-confrontational as possible. Am I exaggerating? Every country arms its side in Syria. And now Russia is sending “thousands of Russian military personnel” there. If other countries were to do the same, the situation could become very ugly, no? (But I don’t expect any other country will send thousands of soldiers into Syria anytime soon.)

    // the Russians and the Iranians reached a strategic decision: Make any effort necessary to preserve Assad’s seat of power, so that Syria may act as a barrier, and prevent the spread of ISIS and Islamist backed militias into the former Soviet Islamic republics.

    // Western diplomatic sources have emphasized that the Obama administration is fully aware of the Russian intent to intervene directly in Syria, but has yet to issue any reaction. The absence of a vocal opposition from the Obama administration is compounded by its cessation of calls for the dissolution of Assad’s murderous regime.

    // Even Turkey, which has so far avoided any action which would strengthen Assad, has had to come to terms with the Russian-Iranian move and the resulting American silence, leading it to launch its own bombing campaign against ISIS in Syria.
    During a recent trip to Qatar, Erdogan reached understandings with the Qataris and the Saudis regarding a program to arm Muslim Brotherhood backed rebels who are fighting against ISIS, de-facto fighting both Assad and ISIS.

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  9. el Avatar
    el

    // Two women in India were sentenced to rape for their brother’s actions.

    Update: VILLAGE elders who sentenced two sisters to be RAPED are facing arrest after more than 125,000 people signed a petition calling for authorities to intervene.
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/601768/village-elders-sisters-raped-face-arrest

    In other news:

    Europe breaking up? EU could scrap free movement in wake of migrant crisis
    …
    German chancellor Angela Merkel said the Schengen zone, which allows people to move across 26 European countries without the need for passports checks, could not continue unless all nations take in a share of immigrants.
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/602127/EU-european-union-could-scrap-schengen-free-movement-in-wake-of-migrant-crisis

    Read today that

    “HUNGARY has closed its main train station … to stop migrants travelling towards Austria and Germany.”

    and

    “The Syrian operative claimed more than 4,000 covert ISIS gunmen had been smuggled into western nations – hidden amongst innocent refugees.”

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  10. el Avatar
    el

    What do you think about color blind casting in theatre? I saw this post (last 2 paragraphs) in Russian lj:
    http://caballo-marino.livejournal.com/195862.html#comments

    On the one hand, the post writer says it shouldn’t matter, but black Anna Karenina seems weird if the play attempts otherwise to represent Russia of those days and is not a modern remake. As the first commentor wrote:

    Чернокожая Анна Каренина
    Повстречала китайца Арбенина,
    А вот Бульба Тарас
    Был евреем как раз,
    Но с причёской товарища Ленина.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      I find it extremely bizarre. We once saw a rendering of Chekhov’s Cherry Garden where a local small-time landowner was black. And the result was not only completely ridiculous but also very confusing to the members of the audience who have no reason to know that there were no black people in XIX century Russia.

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  11. el Avatar
    el

    Funny story about Clinton’s not-existing scandal:

    Something’s gefilte-fishy in Clinton’s emails
    An email with a subject line featuring the Jewish food threw American reporters into a frenzy, however the truth was much less interesting.
    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4696769,00.html

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      Hilarious. 🙂 This is what this entire “scandal” has been like.

      Thanks for the link!

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  12. el Avatar
    el

    I began reading this Russian – Israeli lj and thought that may be you could like it too. For instance,

    Учиться дозволено и у врага (Овидий)
    http://lobastova.livejournal.com/801168.html

    and

    Рассказ об эфиопских евреях
    http://lobastova.livejournal.com/797366.html

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  13. el Avatar
    el

    Her latest post created a discussion on the topic – Израиль и провинциальность
    http://lobastova.livejournal.com/801710.html

    burum_bum commented with a really negative view of my country, but even though there is some truth in her words, I hope it’s not the whole truth.

    From my pov, most places in Israel are провинциальность, but America is not composed only of New York or Washington either. Hopefully, Tel Aviv, at least, may escape the label?

    Btw, I thought about your town while reading:

    \ Бивень слона в провинции (например, университет вокруг, которого вырос аппетитный и интеллигентный провинциальный городок) может быть намного лучше чем университет, простите, бивень в городе

    Is “интеллигентный провинциальный городок” a suitable description?

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      I don’t think the concept of provinciality has much value these days. Everywhere there are the same stores, cafes, restaurants. I went to London from my small town and found myself with the same coffee at the same Starbucks after looking at the same goods at the same stores.

      At home, I eat Ukrainian today, Peruvian tomorrow, and Turkish next week. I can have any book or object I can think of delivered to me, often overnight. Any place I might want to visit is just a flight away. People in New York dress a lot worse than people at my university.

      Provinciality is not located in geography these days. It’s located in people’s minds.

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  14. el Avatar
    el

    Terror Act passes first reading in the Knesset
    As part of new legislation, convicted terrorists will face up to 30 years in jail, administrative detention will be legalized, terror supporters could be sentenced to up to three years.
    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4697307,00.html

    Europe exploring Israeli solutions to migrant crisis
    Bulgaria and Hungary are looking into Israeli designed border fences and systems in order to help tackle the massive refugee crises currently enveloping European nations.
    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4697421,00.html

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  15. el Avatar
    el

    Welcome to Anatevka
    Ukrianian Jewish community brings fictional village to life to house Jewish refugees from conflict zone
    …
    Several months ago, Kiev’s Jewish community led by Rabbi Moshe Reuven Asman, bought some 80 dunams of land in a town just ten kilometers west of Kiev. Within three months the first building had been erected.
    …
    A total of 500 refugees are expected to be accepted into Anatevka. Male refugees are also taking part in the on-going construction.
    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4697508,00.html

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      In trying hard not to be cynical…

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  16. el Avatar
    el

    First time I read about anything good coming from Iran. I think it would be great for America with its huge prison population to adopt this approach:

    An Iranian court judge has come up with a novel idea to get offenders back on the right path without lengthy jail terms: he issued an order that allows for the replacement of jail sentences for “light” crimes with reading.
    http://sputniknews.com/art_living/20150910/1026800442.html

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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