Revenge of the perverted little tarts.
I really, really want to read the book on the political history of literary criticism. I’m an ideological critic, and I stand by this kind of literary criticism proudly.
I laugh at people who fret over “the liberal bias” of secondary education. I went to a Soviet school where there was nothing but hard-core Soviet propaganda. As far as I know, not a single person who graduated from it ended up being a Leninist. Everybody ends up making up their own mind, so let’s relax already.
And the folks who are worried by what they see as the transformation in the vision of perfect masculinity should similarly unclench. If they weren’t as grievously uneducated, they’d know that world literature since ancient times is filled with female fantasies about gentle, sensitive, tender masculinity. If you tried pizza for the first time today, that doesn’t mean pizza didn’t exist last year. Things exist even if you don’t know about them.
Naked Capitalism is still busily fellating Putin.
Another gay cake debacle? Seriously? Have you noticed how it’s only the entirely superfluous, whimsical consumer desires of the wealthy that get this kind of attention? It’s never about, say, a trans woman who has been fired from her job and needs to prostitute to buy food.
[In Spanish] How well do you know Spain’s architectural landmarks? I’m ashamed to say, I only got 50% right, and 2 of the questions I missed, I should have really been able to get.
Kenan Malik on cultural appropriation. Please make sure you read the two long quotes. They are fantastic.
As I keep saying, Canada has a brilliant immigration policy that, for instance, brought you me. The US, the UK, Germany, etc would have never taken me. Or any of my very successful and brilliant family members who love Canada and contribute to its economy. If we are not an immigrant success story, I don’t know who is.
I really respect this person for getting bariatric surgery. I like people who are not in denial about their weight. Of course, there are also many people who need it but can’t get coverage under thrir sucky insurance. And that’s a crying shame.
Clarissa's Blog 
One of our candidates for governor put out this video. I like it. https://youtu.be/0XFyBobZ40U
What’s really annoying about the gay cakes is that there are times when not being allowed to buy things could be a big problem. But apparently weddings and stuff are all we care about.
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Great video! I hate political videos but this one is actually informative and important. It’s not just self serving sound bites. Finally!!
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В Бундестаге ФРГ состоялось публичное обсуждение темы исторической ответственности Германии перед Украиной. Перед дискуссией с речью выступил известный историк Тимоти Снайдер. Предлагаем перевод его выступления.
http://taki-net.livejournal.com/2595413.html
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I just want Germany not to contract any new historical responsibility right now, you know?
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A Russian religious television channel is offering to pay for one-way plane tickets for gay people serious about emigrating from the country.
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“Just recently, California – the most liberal state in the USA by the way – proposed to facilitate the granting of green cards to Russian perverts,” said TV host Andrei Afanasyev.
The channel regularly uses offensive terms to refer to LGBT people.
“The staff of Tsargrad TV support this initiative. Moreover, we are ready to pay for a one-way ticket to anyone who plans to emigrate in complete earnest, and can provide a medical certificate proving that they are sodomites or have other forms of perversion,” he added.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-40456443
The sentence about regularly using “offensive terms to refer to LGBT people” is just killing me; it reads like pure comedy in this article for Western audiences.
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I was planning to buy many beautifully illustrated books in both Russian and Hebrew when I have children, but turns out it’s not the best approach:
Less is more when it comes to helping children learn new vocabulary from picture books, according to a new study.
While publishers look to produce ever more colourful and exciting texts to entice buyers, University of Sussex psychologists have shown that having more than one illustration per page results in poorer word learning among pre-schoolers.
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/40738
Does Klara love pictures? I loved illustrations and not only in young age. Often I only was looking at illustrations without reading – whether for fairy tales or in children’s encyclopedia.
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Right now her favorite activity is not listening to me read (unless I sing the text) but to take out her favorite books and to name things in the pictures. I bought a ton of flash cards with pictures for her to learn words. She has an insane vocabulary for her age. People freak out when she goes “What is this, Mamma?” So in her case, this study doesn’t bear out.
I think the format of the books or the pictures is a lot less important than having a parent help her learn words.
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Found an interesting article on potty training:
The nine-year-olds who still need nappies: Britain faces ‘potty training crisis’ as 70% of schools report increase in number starting lessons who cannot use the toilet
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A report states the avergae age at which children are toilet trained has increased to three-and-a-half years, when it was 15 months 50 years ago
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4649006/Britain-faces-potty-training-crisis.html
In a Hebrew article, which led me to this one, an expert said that it’s better to do potty training till the age of two than later, close to the age of three.
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I’m afraid of spooking the folks with anal stage traumas, so I won’t say a word on potty training. 😁😁
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That’s simply funny:
Страна уникального христианство
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Так вот, во всем мире нет ни одной христианской страны, в которой Министерство юстиции официально заявляло бы, что коллективное чтение Библии в кафе несет опасность для общества и должно согласовываться с правоохранительными органами. Именно такое разъяснение дал уполномоченный России при Европейском суде по правам человека и заместитель министра юстиции России Михаил Гальперин.
Нет ни одной другой христианской страны, в которой существовала бы статья о наказании за незаконную миссионерскую (!) деятельность, по которой штрафуются, например, протестанты просто за то, что они где-то читают Библию, молятся или проповедуют. Сегодня число таких дел в России уже исчисляется десятками. В России возбуждаются дела за молитвенные собрания на дому, за раздачу Евангелий в поезде, за простое упоминание Бога на общественном мероприятии. Все, что хоть как-то связано с Библией и христианством (если это не “правильно понятое” православие), все чаще становится красной тряпкой, раздражающей власти.
http://trim-c.livejournal.com/1893636.html
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I have read a few defenses if UBI, but have never seen this one – a theory on how UBI will stop illegal immigration to America:
http://secondlanguage.blogspot.co.il/2017/07/basic-income-open-borders.html
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UNESCO declares Cave of the Patriarchs as Palestinian World Heritage Site
Israel efforts fails to foil Arab resolution to recognize Hebron’s Old City—and in it the Cave of the Patriarchs—as a Palestinian World Heritage Site passes with 12 voting for, 3 against, and 6 abstained.
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Hebron claims to be one of the oldest cities in the world, dating from the Chalcolithic period or more than 3,000 years BC, the UNESCO resolution said.
At various times it has been conquered by Romans, Jews, Crusaders and Mamluks.
The city is home to the imposing Tomb of the Patriarchs, the resting place of key Biblical figures Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and one of the most important religious sites to Muslims and Jews alike.
The Cave of the Patriarchs, known to the Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque, is holy to both faiths and has long been a flashpoint of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4986036,00.html
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