Society's ChildS


Bizarro Earth

Down social constructionism's epistemic rabbit-hole

Kåre Fog
Quillette
Fri, 06 Apr 2018 11:03 UTC
Peter L. Berger
The popularisation of 'social constructionism' is widely agreed to be traceable to the publication of The Social Construction of Reality by the sociologists Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann in 1966. In subsequent years, this concept attracted a large number of young, mostly left-leaning academics to the humanities departments of French universities, where social construction became an ideological tool useful to those engaged in the Parisian youth rebellion of 1968. From there, it spread rapidly though humanities departments in Europe and America, and into the social sciences.

The changes in intellectual thinking that this development catalysed reverberate across the West's academic institutions to this day. What transpired in the late sixties was nothing short of a cultural revolution, riding a wave of academic trends referred to as 'social constructionism,' 'postmodernism,' and 'poststructuralism,' although it never became entirely clear if or how these concepts differ from one another. While foreign to some, social constructionist jargon is now routinely invoked by the young academics who successfully conquered the humanities over the ensuing 40 years.

Comment:

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Snakes in Suits

Australian Police charge Mauritius Commonwealth Games delegate with sexual assault on 26yo female athlete


RT
Fri, 06 Apr 2018 11:07 UTC
Commonwealth Games
© David Gray / Reuters
Australian police have charged Mauritius 2018 Commonwealth Games chef de mission Kaysee Teeroovengadum with sexual assault following allegations made by a female athlete.

Teeroovengadum quit on the eve of the Games amid accusations of "inappropriate touching" made by the athlete, which allegedly took place in the Games' Athletes' Village.

"Police will allege the 52-year-old Mauritian man assaulted a 26-year-old woman in Southport on March 29," a Queensland Police statement, issued Thursday, read.
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People 2

Russian civil servants' careers now depend on internet feedback from citizens


RT
Fri, 06 Apr 2018 10:23 UTC
Civil servant
© Moskva city news agencyReceptionist in the Multi-functional Service Center.
The Russian government has changed the assessment criteria for civil servants - now their careers will depend on feedback from ordinary citizens, as well as their reactions to reviews posted on the internet.

The order, signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and published on the government's website on Friday, details the rules by which the work of heads of regional branches of various state agencies can be assessed by ordinary citizens. The document also describes how the assessments can impact the officials' careers, including "the early dismissal of such heads of agencies from their posts."

There are two main components: the citizen evaluations of their work, and their handling of reviews posted on Gosuslugi - a site allowing communication with various state and municipal bodies and agencies.

The program will be funded as part of the 'Information Society' state program, according to the order.
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Bad Guys

French and Malian troops kill dozens of US-backed ISIS insurgents in Mali


Reuters
Fri, 06 Apr 2018 12:00 UTC
Soldiers of the Operation Barkhane, a French counter-terrorism operation
© Daphné Benoit, AFPSoldiers of the Operation Barkhane, a French counter-terrorism operation in Africa's Sahel region have dinner with French defence minister Florence Parly as they celebrate New Year's eve, on December 31, 2017.
French and Malian troops killed about 30 Islamist insurgents during a gunbattle in a region near the border with Niger, where Islamic State are known to be active, the French army said on Thursday.

West Africa's arid Sahel region has seen a rise in violence by militant groups, some with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State, that is drawing an increasingly aggressive response from countries including France and the United States.

It was a Mali-based al Qaeda affiliate, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), that claimed responsibility for a March 2 assault on the French Embassy and army headquarters in Burkina Faso's capital that killed eight people.

Comment: Macron's France has become increasingly involved in the Western war of terror:

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Stock Down

Americans can no longer afford mobile-homes


Stock Board Asset
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 20:57 UTC
mobile home fire
A little over a month ago, after we first brought the market's attention to the crisis quietly unfolding in consumer debt, Business Insider has finally caught up, acknowledging that "lower-income consumers and younger borrowers with substantial student debt moving at a slower pace than more affluent and established participants." In other words, Bussiness Insider describes the economy as running at 'two speeds,' and mentions an ominous warning sign that lower-income consumers are entirely tapped out.

Without consumption, the US economy would collapse. Consumption accounts for about 70 percent of US GDP. Further, there are some 95 million Americans out of the labor force. The rosy narratives of how millennials and low-income consumers are propping up the economy are starting to fade, as Business Insider through a new UBS report -provides the knowledge that the "mobile-home market is showing signs of stress."

According to the consumer research desk at UBS, Americans can no longer afford mobile-homes, as the delinquency rate on these tiny trailers has soared two percentage points, over the past year. In fact, what is even more mindboggling, is the 30-day-plus delinquency level is now about five percent, not seen since the first quarter of 2005 or a few years after the dot-com bubble.

Comment: Are Trump's tax cuts too little too late? The economic downward spiral continues and there may not be much anyone can do. See also:

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Sheeple

Best of the Web: Israel kills Palestinians and the Western liberal sham of 'humanitarian intervention' is laid bare

Mehdi Hasan
The Intercept
Mon, 02 Apr 2018 15:55 UTC
Israeli troops
© Majdi Mohammed/APIsraeli troops fire teargas at protesters during a clashes following a protest to mark the Land Day, in the village of Qusra, near the West Bank City of Nablus, Friday, March 30, 2018.
"If the concept of intervention is driven by universal human rights, why is it - from the people who identify themselves as liberal interventionists - why do we never hear a peep, a word, about intervening to protect the Palestinians?"

That was the question I put to the French philosopher, author, and champion of liberal (or humanitarian) interventionism, Bernard-Henri Lévy, on my Al Jazeera English interview show "Head to Head" in 2013.

The usually silver-tongued Levy struggled to answer the question. The situation in Palestine is "not the same" as in Syria and "you have not all the good on one side and all the bad on the other side," said Levy, who once remarked in reference to the Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, that he had "never seen such a democratic army, which asks itself so many moral questions."

I couldn't help but be reminded of my exchange with the man known as "BHL" this past weekend, as I watched horrific images of unarmed Palestinian protesters at the Gaza border being shot in the back by the "democratic army" of Israel. How many "moral questions" did those Israeli snipers ask themselves, I wondered, before they gunned down Gazan refugees for daring to demand a return to their homes inside the Green Line?
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Gold Seal

If Western media spoke honestly about how they cover Russia here's what they'd say...

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
breaking news
Today's Caitlin Johnstone article has been replaced with a statement from the Editorial Board of the National News Conglomerate, your trusted source for real news and authorized opinions. Obey.

Well, this is awkward.

Many of our readers have been pointing out the recent revelations that some rather significant falsehoods have been knowingly advanced by the British government about Russia and promoted uncritically by trusted media outlets of the western world. Following said revelations, there have been some attempts by the Foreign Office and those same media outlets to cover up said falsehoods.

Rather than double down and risk making a bad situation worse, we here at National News Conglomerate have decided to come clean with our readers about exactly what's going on with this whole Russia kerfuffle.

It should here be noted that after typing the preceding paragraph, we here at the NNC Editorial Board have spent the last six and a half hours sitting around the conference room table chewing on our erasers and checking our Twitter notifications, not quite sure how to continue. This is the first time we've ever tried being honest with our readers about this stuff, and it's just weird for everyone. We are sure you can relate.

Comment: Yeah, that sounds about right.

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Star of David

Corbyn attends left-wing Jewish group's Passover event... and is attacked regardless


RT
Tue, 03 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
Jeremy Corbyn
© Peter Nicholls / Reuters
After having anti-Semitic accusations hurled at him, Jeremy Corbyn is now being slammed for spending time with Jews. He attended a Passover celebration run by left-wing group Jewdas, copping ire from other Jewish groups and MPs.

Corbyn stopped by the Passover Seder in his home constituency of Islington, and - according to one of the attendees - he stayed for four hours and was an active participant in the event's rituals. A representative of Corbyn said he had not attended the function in his capacity as Labour leader, but in a personal capacity.

Jewdas last week accused the Jewish Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council and Jewish Labour Movement of "playing a dangerous game with people's lives" after they took aim at Corbyn, claiming that he supports anti-Semitic values. Jewdas also described last week's protests against the Labour leader as "faux-outrage greased with hypocrisy and opportunism."

Comment: The Jewish power politics is the major tool for the PTB that is controlling the Western Population. These accusations of Semitic or Anti-Semitic has nothing to do with religion, they are tools to witch-hunt the people whom they don't like. See also:

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Attention

Best of the Web: All Russiagate roads lead to London: Evidence emerges of Joseph Mifsud's links to UK intelligence

Elizabeth Vos
Disobedient Media
Wed, 04 Apr 2018 00:01 UTC
Joseph Mifsud
Over the last few months, Professor Joseph Mifsud has become a feather in the cap for those pushing the Trump-Russia narrative. He is characterized as a "Russian" intelligence asset in mainstream press, despite his declarations to the contrary. However, evidence has surfaced that suggests Mifsud was anything but a Russian spy, and may have actually worked for British intelligence. This new evidence culminates in the ground-breaking conclusion that the UK and its intelligence apparatus may be responsible for the invention of key pillars of the Trump-Russia scandal. If true, this would essentially turn the entire RussiaGate debacle on its head.

Comment: See also:

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Star of David

As Israel and its apologists continue the coverup there are 7 things you need to know about the latest Gaza massacre

Michael Lesher
ZNET
Thu, 05 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
Israel Land Day massacre Gaza
Video said to be from Gaza border March 30, 2018, shows shooting in the back of a man identified as Abed el-Fatah Abed e-Nabi, 18, on left, as he ran. He was reportedly killed.
Being of mild disposition, I am ill suited to describe in detail the thuggery by which the putative Jewish State executed 17 of its 2 million Gaza prisoners (wounding some 1,400 more) by way of inaugurating the Jewish Festival of Liberation last Friday.

Fortunately, however, there is no need of such descriptive talent. The things everyone must know about the latest Gaza massacre - and its rapidly ensuing cover-up - are as simple and uncontroversial as they are abhorrent.

1. Israel's killings were premeditated.

Before the first demonstrators set foot anywhere in the vicinity of Gaza's border with Israel, the "most moral army in the world" had openly declared its violent intentions toward any Palestinian reckless enough to challenge Israel's crippling siege. A hundred snipers, we learned, were to be deployed around Gaza's prison wall and "prepared to use live fire," supplemented by "heavy machinery" and even the novelty of "drone-deployed tear gas." Education Minister Naftali Bennett - who likes to boast about killing Arabs - swore that the Gazans would be kept inside their cage (a place described in a recent U.N. study as verging on uninhabitable) "at any cost."

Comment: More on the Land Day massacre:

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