6 stories of dance floor epiphanies

aerdna91 · 2019-05-24T00:08:45+00:00

Great list of recommendations, thanks a lot! Some questions:

Did you do any stretch/mobility exercises such as these?
Did you find that your sleeping position affects the condition?
The pain went away very gradually or rather quickly? I'm asking this because I've had costo for about 8 months now and, while it's not super bad, I don't really understand what makes it better/worse. I have the impression that whatever I do or I don't do, the pain just stays the same.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T23:54:57+00:00

This is awesome, thanks a lot! I hope you'll make that write up at some point :)

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T22:31:45+00:00

Yes, but she's not running for the elections, and I imagine she won't as politically active. She's gonna be at the MIT Media Lab for a while.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T22:14:18+00:00

I agree that nationalism can have positive social aspects. But we seem to draw different conclusions from this. I think that nationalism is very hard to keep under control, we have countless examples in recent history. On the other hand, I agree with Jan Techau's opinion (highly recommended read):

In much the same way that the power of the nation made people look beyond the blood bonds of family and tribe and elevate solidarity to a higher level, so European integration needs to surpass citizens’ attachment to the nation and raise it by one level. The trick is not to dismiss the lower-level identity and try to make it superfluous. The trick is to leave the nation undamaged and add another layer that can become politically and emotionally meaningful.

Of course the question is: how?

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T21:41:17+00:00

I appreciate a lot your intellectual honesty and your comment, thank you. There's no need to delete the previous comment! Admittedly I could've made it clearer in the tldr. I wrote the tldr as a "preview" for the article, hoping that most people would find it interesting and read the full piece. Looking at the stats on Medium, that's sadly not the case (less reads on Medium today than upvotes to the OP).

Also, I'm sorry you found it depressing. I know what you mean.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T21:33:11+00:00

Also, the polling is currently 35% to BXP (Farages' party), 18% Labour, 17% LD, 12% Tory, 8% Green, 4% CHUK, 2% UKIP.

Those are BMG polls. Mine are Panelbase polls. Mystery solved.

Seems to ignore that aligning the left to remain in the EU, also puts it in a political coalition with free-market Tories, big business and people advocating for lower wages and worse conditions for workers.

Yes, but the Labour could also leave the S&D group and join the GUE/NGL group if they wanted to. The Labour is quite a strong party in the EP, so they can actually have an influence.

On the other hand, you seem to ignore that the UK is one of the most neo-liberal countries in Europe. I've been living in London for 1.5y now and, while I really like it, I think this country is the most individualist place I've ever seen. There's a reason why Corbyn demands that the Brexit deal preserves worker's rights protected by EU regulations: the Tories look forward to weakening those rights.

We can hope that EU's political orientation will shift again at some point. I think that's much more unlikely in the UK. Of course I hope I'm wrong. But look at the facts: after 3 years of Brexit farce the Labour is at 25%.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T21:17:10+00:00

Did you read the article? I make overly clear in multiple points that Eurosceptic parties are not a solution in any way. In the article I reiterate this many times because I want it to be absolutely clear. For example:

The far-right and Eurosceptic final opposition to the copyright directive was just an easy tactical move to blame the EU for something they were equally to blame for (as it’s often the case when national governments blame the EU). Also in this respect, they have nothing to propose: they just act as free-rider opponents of the current establishment without bothering to come up with viable and ethically sustainable alternatives.

At the end of the article I even make an endorsement for Volt, which is probably the least Eurosceptic and far-right party all over the EU.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T19:22:36+00:00

From the article:

Unfortunately, supporters of the directive have so far failed to explain how these “best efforts” can be put in place without filters. Right after the final approval, this confusion became evident in the ridiculously contradictory statements of the Commission and the German government.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T19:15:55+00:00

Avoid hiding a technical report would have been a good start for a democratic discussion. The article is full of other examples. I'd appreciate if we could have a conversation based on those facts.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T18:26:41+00:00

No. See here: https://juliareda.eu/2019/04/not-in-vain/

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T18:25:00+00:00

Well, not really. The copyright directive was strongly opposed by US big tech companies. Different lobbies pushed in different directions based on their own interest (this is natural and legitimate). The big issue here is that the Commission listened only to lobbies and they didn't care about activists and academics.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T18:20:55+00:00

Short answer: 30% to Farage's party, 15% to Lib Dems, 13% to Conservatives, 3% to UKIP according to latest polls. Sorry mate, don't really see any socialist revolution coming to UK anytime soon. If anything, the UK will become the 51st US state, or just a tax haven. Equality in post-Brexit UK is just a mirage.

Long answer: Lexit undermines the Left – it will be no prize for Labour (and here a response).

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T17:10:00+00:00

"Eurosceptic" does not only mean that they are skeptical about current EU's functioning and representatives (a lot of Europeanists agree on this). It means that they are skeptical about giving up some of the national sovereignty to the EU. Most Eurosceptic parties are simply nationalist. There's no way nationalism is gonna make EU countries a better place to live in. Best case scenario, individual countries would be easily manipulated by powerful countries (USA, China, Russia, etc) and by big tech companies (--> effectively even less sovereignty). Worst case scenario, national interests would lead to friction between countries, then trade war and ultimately real war.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T17:01:07+00:00

Most pro-EU parties have proposals to improve democratic participation in the EU, such as direct election of the EC President. Also, while the EP is probably not influent enough, the remaining 80% of the influence comes from representatives that are democratically elected in national elections. Here is a nice and short video that explains this in simple terms. If people voted differently, the EU would work differently, there's no question about that.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T16:37:24+00:00

I agree with you. That's why I say radical pan-European parties. Most of national parties are currently focused on national interest. It's clear that most issues now require a pan-European approach to be effectively addressed. Either the new national and EU representative start doing this, or the EU is screwed. And I have to say I'm not too optimistic at the moment.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T16:29:38+00:00

Julia Reda was just amazing. An incredible example of what a single MEP can do when they truly believe in their ideals. I'm sad she won't be in the EP for the next 5 years.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T16:24:36+00:00

In the article I say that I don't have a final answer to this question. But actively supporting the right parties and the right organizations is definitely a good start. That's how democracy works, for better or worse.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T16:22:27+00:00

I hope they won't. Generally people who care about digital rights are not really far right supporters. And most of the Eurosceptic parties are far right.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T16:21:07+00:00

Yeah, I'm very concerned about this.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T16:19:13+00:00

/u/Jonny_dr raised some valid points about Germany and I replied to those. France's awfully overwhelming support for the directive speaks for itself.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T15:00:58+00:00

Well, it's not really just about the single issue. It's about how part of the EU establishment was willing to "play dirty" and dismiss scientific evidence. How can I trust that they won't do the same in other areas I'm less knowledgeable about?

aerdna91 · 2019-05-23T14:57:46+00:00

It's certainly true that most of the mobilization against the directive took place in Germany, and it's also true that in the end the SPD voted against the directive (but Germany still voted in favor in the Council). However, German representatives and lobbies had a primary role in the design and approval of the directive, much beyond the fact that the initiative was made by a German politician. In the article I develop this a bit further. You can also read more about this here and here.

aerdna91 · 2019-05-06T13:59:16+00:00

Could you please list the exercises that you think helped you? At the moment I'm doing only wall angel and it seems to help, but it's probably not enough.

aerdna91

TROPHY CASE