Linkdump

[danohu]

Back in Berlin, since Monday. Sorry about everybody in the UK I didn't get to see -- this is what comes of taking a holiday without properly clearing your workload first. Now, a bits-n-bobs post...

I'm less distraught than most by the new government. Yes, I hate the tories as much as the rest of you, but don't think joining a coalition automatically means selling your soul. As always, I'm in favour of making the world marginally less shit, rather than keeping yourself pure and shouting ineffectively from the sidelines. So this is better than a Conservative minority government. Less good than a Lib-Lab coalition, but arguably not much worse than a lib-lab-nat coalition which can only just scrape a majority, and can't do anything for fear of falling apart.

On which note, I feel I should relay back to Britain (or possibly just England) the Europe-wide bafflement at Westminster panic over a coalition, and grumbles about it taking all of five days to resolve. Much as I try to explain the effects of FPTP and history, there's a universal reaction of "so what?".

--

Meanwhile friend_of_tofu picks apart Cameron/Clegg slash. (also here
):

So, from a feminist perspective, I find it more than a little bothersome that negotiated agreements are (still) being presented, even slightly, as less puissant, less masculine than adversarial snarling - phallologocentrism* FTL. But can we blame anyone? My inner adolescent is loving every minute! The cognitive dissonance is driving me batty.

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Despite having Waco permanently lodged somewhere in my imported-from-America cultural consciousness, before today I'd never heard of the 1985 MOVE bombing -- just before my time, I guess. Democracy Now explains:

[Yesterday] marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of a massive police operation in Philadelphia that culminated in the helicopter bombing of the headquarters of a radical group known as MOVE. The fire from the attack killed six adults and five children and destroyed sixty-five homes. Despite two grand jury investigations and a commission finding that top officials were grossly negligent, no one from city government was criminally charged.

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Pattern Passion, a romance about numbers. Was just recommending this to somebody, & realised I hadn't plugged Remittance Girl on here for ages. Her Beautiful Losers is reliable a piece of comfort reading for me. [both mildly nsfw, I guess]

He was a three, I realized with a little shiver. A metal-legged spider scampered up the ladder of my spine and curled itself into a cold, tingling ball just beneath the back of my skull. A perfect, perfect three.

--
Mike, on journalists/aid workers/researchers trying to get distance from human suffering:

There's no trite lesson at the end of this post. Except to glumly remark that our liberal Ummah doesn't stretch anywhere near as far as we would like to think. That our (or my) habit of picking and choosing the acquaintances we maintain at a distance - between the friendly, well-educated, useful ones we want to keep up with on Facebook, and the ones who aren't on Facebook at all - is repellent. And that there must be a way of doing better?

Comments

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

I love Pattern Passion! It's great! Not just because I completely recognise myself in that - I am definitely the sort of person who likes counting their steps, counting their seats, counting their bites of food, etc. Also, the whole business of one's cunt "ticking like a clock" is an excellent way of describing TRUFAX 4 GRRRLS.

I'm not surprised the rest of Europe thinks we're being a bit weird. Did you see Chris Addison berating constitutionally-illiterate journalists on HIGNFY? I don't know how iPlayer works outside the UK...

Very flattered that you enjoyed my musings. For some light relief, how about this charming series of exchanges? It seems PM Dave's bike is missing... (pretty safe for work, I think, unless someone's commented with some swearing, but I don't suppose that's a problem for you?)

[oedipamaas49.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked the story; of all the people I've pointed at RG over the years, you're probably the first to actually like her stories;)

Iplayer, alas, only does radio outside the UK.

[bloodofareptile.livejournal.com]

I'm /American/ and have never heard of this MOVE bombing thing. It was, however, 1985 and Waco was later. I was all of four when the MOVE thing happened. I wonder if my mother would remember it...

I'm also amused that you put "mildly" NSFW. I've never worked anywhere where either would have been approved office browsing! :-p

[bloodofareptile.livejournal.com]

Also, I am only distraught because I think I might lose my job in the whole thing due to us being axed! I don't really think it's inherently bad.

[oedipamaas49.livejournal.com]

well, it looks like waco killed several times as many people, so it has more reason to be remembered.

and yeah, OK, I may be optimistic about what gets people fired;)

[bloodofareptile.livejournal.com]

For what feels like my 417th comment on this post... I have a random question about Berlin.

Is there still a Schlotzsky's Deli near Checkpoint Charlie? There was in like 2005, but I haven't been since. This was kind of key in my enjoyment of the city. :-p

Edited to add: and we're thinking of going there in a few weeks.

[oedipamaas49.livejournal.com]

Not sure, I'll check next time I'm in that part of town.

ooh, have fun! [& give me a prod if you feel like company, or not if you don't]

[bloodofareptile.livejournal.com]

Decided not to wait for the Deli news. Some internet scouring leads me to believe that it's gone. :( I would appreciate confirmation if you happen to wander by it. I will have to find something else to eat as we're going anyway!

Arrive: 8:40pm on Saturday, 22nd May
Leave: 9:20pm on Friday, 28th May

We are staying here.

Would be lovely to see you!

Do you know T?