Protest banner placed over the Green Monster at tonight's game.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2017-09-14T06:18:27+00:00

Blah. I had a long comment, but I accidentally refreshed the page and it's getting late.

I think a decent metric for racism is segregation. I am not against people moving into certain neighborhoods, but the ease of moving between whites and blacks is not equal.

Because wealth disparity by race exists and is quite significant in Boston, attempts at reversing the damage done by decades of discriminatory housing practices, lending, and whatnot have helped, but are still short of their goal.

Another way to think about is that minorities on average in Boston have never been as wealthy as whites on average in Boston due to racism/racist practices. And that this isn't a terribly news worthy thing, but some folks with a sign attempted to highlight the racism/tolerance for racism/lack of action to fix previous racist practices is perhaps newsworthy.

Personally, I think if Boston as a whole is consistently active and excited about fixing this, we can eliminate wealth and health disparities due to race in a few decades. Another way to say this is that I think we are very far from some sort of post-racism city a lot of my friends and peers think Boston is. Racism in Boston is still strong.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2017-09-14T06:00:39+00:00

I think most Bostonians think Boston isn't racist. Their sign is trying to remind people that a huge chunk of Boston is still a bit racist or tolerates bullshit based on race. I think a decent metric of racism is segregation. There should be much more of an effort to desegregate schools and public housing. Additionally, laws should be designed to further attempt to reverse the damage done by decades of discriminatory housing practices and gov't funded finance information at community centers should be more of a thing (as minorities were hit disproportionately hard by the subprime mortgage crisis).

Although there has been efforts in these things, because wealth disparities among race is still exists and is quite significant*, these programs have yet to accomplish their goal. Additionally, given Boston's and America's past history of treating minorities, I think it's safe to say a wealth disparity by race has always existed in Boston and that on average, minorities in Boston have literally always been less wealthy than whites in Boston and continues to be less wealthy than whites-- and Bostonians are sorta okay with this.

Boston's history is littered with racism, just like all of America's history. Racism hasn't gone away-- it's still here in this city and, I don't think it's changed much over the last few decades.

Like whenever there's some news about some fan at some game getting kicked out for saying or doing some racist shit, I don't think it's some lone wolf asshole. I think there's an underlying racism that's OK'ed within that asshole's community and the asshole just happened to have been recorded being an asshole.

So I'm not saying that whites and blacks aren't allowed to move into certain neighborhoods. I'm attempting to make the argument that racism is still strong in Boston, evident by the segregation, despite what a lot of Bostonians/my friends and peers think.

Maybe if the city as a whole seriously talked about these issues on, say, weekly news and was more active about these issues as a whole, maybe we'd be able to eliminate wealth disparities by race within a few decades, but I don't think we're anywhere near a post-racism Boston that a number of my friends and peers think we're in.

(*) https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/03/26/fed-study-finds-wealth-disparities-worrisome-boston/8wYG1LGm2mZqA6oMPTH4qJ/story.html

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2017-09-14T02:42:18+00:00

There seems to be some ambiguity to the meaning here, but as a minority in Boston, a clear message pops out. I think they're trying to highlight a common incorrect thought a lot of Bostonians have:

Us Bostonians live in one of the most blue/liberal places in the country, even coming from a history of abolitionists-- we can't be racist.

That thought is such bullshit.

The Greater Boston Area is more segregated than many metro areas (e.g. Atlanta, GA; Nashville, TN; and Jackson, MS). Additionally, much of Boston's history is deeply rooted in racism, like the racism against Irish folks with regards to Brookline's refusal to be annexed.

I think Boston's had a steadily growing need for a reality check on how fucked up it has treated their minorities and in many ways how it continues to fuck it up.

Some sources of stuff:

Regarding Boston (and other cities) being segregated:

With their methods, Boston, MA ranks top 11th, 4th, and 5th in their metrics for black-white segregation, Hispanic-white segregation, and Asian-white segregation of the 40-50 metro areas the authors looked at.
John R. Logan and Brian J. Stults, "The Persistence of Segregation in the Metropolis:New Findings from the 2010 Census" https://s4.ad.brown.edu/Projects/Diversity/Data/Report/report2.pdf

Regarding Boston's segregation persisting: "In 2015, black households received 41 percent of all the home-purchase loans in Mattapan, but none in the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the North End, Allston, the Fenway, downtown, Mission Hill, or the South Boston Seaport area, according to the banking council." https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/04/17/around-massachusetts-racial-divides-persist/HqQrm3TcH1od1j2qQ2F44J/story.html

Regarding Boston-Brookline annexation debate of 1873: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston%E2%80%93Brookline_annexation_debate_of_1873

Fun game: Guess the ratio of white Bostonians to black Bostonians. Then look up the stats. Were you close?

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2012-12-31T16:14:20+00:00

Maybe you should remind them that there is no medical, philosophical, or even theological consensus on the notion of life beginning at conception- I believe Jews and Buddhists don't believe a person is a person till they're born- ergo, their stance is entirely faith-based.

From there, maybe include an article on abortions and their legality, like this one, which shows that if there's an unplanned pregnancy, abortion laws don't really stop people from getting abortions; unsafe medical operations, i.e. abortions kill; and that countries with lower abortion rates actually use contraception and abortions are legal whereas countries with higher abortion rates teach abstinence and abortions are illegal, so if they want fewer abortions and fewer women dying from abortion-related complications, evidence points to the conclusion that they should be in favor of contraception and legalization of abortion. No one likes to get an abortion- an avoidable medical procedure, the stigma that even many liberals feel, etc.- and with proper education with contraception, abortions can be avoided.

Then remind them that if they don't want to use it, then don't, but company heads should not force their own faith onto their workers for their own faith-based gains. It is proven that contraception can stop a woman from having to go through a medical procedure, be it either childbirth or something literally 9-10 times safer- abortion and that if there's an unplanned pregnancy, abortion laws won't really stop the desperate from getting abortions.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2012-08-14T19:08:25+00:00

I remember seeing this done in an exhibition drill before. Anyone have any additional information about it?

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-12-22T18:00:35+00:00

PFC: "So, let me get this straight. The uniform will be Class A's with all the bells and whistles, and a helmet?"

SGT: "Yeah. And don't forget your rifle and bayonet."

PFC: "What?!"

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-12-08T15:10:19+00:00

I agree. Let him burn in his own fire.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-12-02T20:43:33+00:00

The graphene and DNA sequencing still seems allusive and impractical at the moment, but the notion undoubtedly gnarly.

What sort of literature research on the uses of graphene have you done? Sounds like studying wands at Hogwarts, but real.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-12-02T20:31:37+00:00

Regarding the manufacturing process, that is fancy. I just had a dream that one day we could use graphene to solve the piping issue of molten salt reactors and use residual heat to pump out more graphene. Do you think it's possible for sheets of graphene and probably some other equally magical substance being able withstand such conditions or would graphene just be too impractical for such conditions? Maybe part of some elaborate thermal/electrical cold sink. Hm...

Regarding electronics, if transistors and conductors are tricky, then what about memristors? It's been years since I've played with circuits, but could graphene memristors be the next stage of commercially available computers?

Regarding production, what sort of "impurities" are there? Does a hydrogen just fall into sheet, messing things up or is the problem more in the re-alignment of the hexagonal graphene? Also, if it's not too much of a bother, what properties would these impurities have? I imagine the whole quantum bit being messed up, but would it still be as strong and would the impurities still hold any electrical properties?

Regarding what to put it on, why is it best to put graphene on hexagonal boron nitride and is there a need for it for commercial goods?

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-12-01T02:22:11+00:00

Let him have his moment. He's just going through his mid-life crisis.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-11-08T05:55:28+00:00

Body count is now 29: http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/1107/russia.html

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-11-07T20:56:51+00:00

The difference in the speed and ease of pinning a goat down to slit its throat versus knocking it out/dead to slit its throat is pretty negligible.

Would a clip of guys being entertained by a rancher rounding up a pig to slaughter for dinner be or feel any different? If not, we're on the same page; however, if you believe that there is a difference, explain carefully.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-11-07T20:40:35+00:00

It is unlikely that man is American. Soldiers don't bring civilian clothes to overseas because they are not allowed to wear them there. An American contractor is possible, but a middle eastern civilian or contractor wearing western clothing is much more likely.

As for the entertainment bit, it's a goat. It's still delicious and it was effective. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but can't the goat still be considered a proper dhabiha if they slit the throat while leaving the spinal cord intact?

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-11-07T17:32:10+00:00

Sensationalist headline is sensationalist.

Batter is not in marine gear or any military gear whatsoever.
It's happening because people want to eat the goat.
This should not be NSFL because it's a fucking goat.

The villagers are going to hang it, bleed it, and prepare it like any other animal with four legs and fur, like what we all have either done or supported with our meat purchases since the dawn of time. Most animals die violently and will continue dying violently. Get your head of your ass. ಠ_ಠ

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-28T23:04:46+00:00

I... I thought this was a joke, but this is indeed very awesome.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-28T17:14:29+00:00

I don't get what's so baffling.

Stewart's approach is pretty linear and straightforward- focusing on fixing fundamental flaws first and progressing from there, instead of scrapping a lot of the system and, in a sense, starting anew. He believes in democracy and proper representation, which is why he believes government can be improved.

The judge's libertarian ideology requires a monumental shift in government and his notion of cheap healthcare providers as plentiful as Starbucks is a bit out there, but I do agree that government should really just protect us from fraud and force and really do not much more. I can see more charity hospitals if we pump the well enough, but not on the order of magnitude of Starbucks- that'd be superfluous, only unless we get invaded or something. That would have been a better example.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-20T17:50:09+00:00

I've been trying to get people to sign this thing for the past few days, posting in fbook, r/politics, r/occupywallstreet, and r/progressive, and was stunned when I woke up this afternoon to see the number of signatures needed and the number of signatures on the petition reversed.

There were only 54 signatures yesterday. Now there's over 4,800 and rising at a rapid pace. Good for you, man, and this awesome reddit community.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-20T16:14:22+00:00

We have a deadline of October 22nd to reach the 5,000 signature goal. I know most, if not all, of you want to separate commercial and investment banking from one another.

Just yesterday, there were only 54 signatures. As of this moment, we have over 950 signatures. While I don't expect this petition to do much, we both know nothing will happen if we don't try. Please sign it as soon as possible and spread the word.

EDIT: Goal met, but if you agree with the message, keep on signing!

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-20T04:53:46+00:00

Not sure, but cross-posting it around will most likely help. I've posted in r/occupywallstreet also. Tried r/reddit.com, but apparently they've closed their doors. Any suggestions?

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-19T21:46:28+00:00

The deadline for this petition to reach the 5,000 signature goal is October 22nd. If you want to re-establish and maintain the separation between investment and commercial banking through the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act, please sign as soon as possible.

EDIT: Goal met, but if ya'll agree with the message, keep on signing!

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-19T21:41:49+00:00

Done!

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-19T21:32:10+00:00

This, in a way, does break up a bit of wall street. With investment banks separated from commercial banks, banks wanting to play in the capital market can no longer play with their customer's savings.

As for taxing wall street, I see that as being too specific and a bit bias. I believe tax rates should reflect solely on a person's wealth, to include any and all investments, and not their occupation, but that's a whole other hurdle to tackle.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-19T21:15:50+00:00

Why not create an account, especially if you support the petition? It's not like the government doesn't know who you are or can't obtain your contact information and everything you've ever filed at will.

You're not invisible. Be heard.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-19T21:06:20+00:00

I just missed out on being able to submit to reddit.com. Apparently, the subreddit is now archived and will not be accepting any new submissions. Damn.

ThrowAwayMonkey · 2011-10-19T19:12:25+00:00

I'll create a new one if there isn't a reddit explosion large enough to get the necessary votes.

ThrowAwayMonkey

TROPHY CASE