à bas le ciel

Tuesday, 26 November 2024

The Critique of DXE: a Decade of Vegan Opposition to "Direct Action Everywhere."

LINK: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/a-bas-le-ciel/episodes/The-Critique-of-DXE-a-Decade-of-Vegan-Opposition-to-Direct-Action-Everywhere-e2rgv6f

One of the most despised (but most influential) movements in veganism's 21st century, DXE was known for public protest "stunts" that earned them momentary notice in newspapers but permanently discredited the movement as a whole. Initially claiming to be "fully horizontal" and "leaderless", the organization later revealed just how narrowly hierarchical it was as the donations poured in, eventually surpassing a budget of one million dollars per year, and sex scandals (amidst rumors of cult-like conditions at their live-in compound) were responded to with bureaucratic red tape. DXE was founded by Wayne Hsiung, with significant leadership roles played by his sister and two of his ex-girlfriends (Priya Sawhney and Cassie King) who continued to control the money after Wayne resigned, ran for mayor, and dealt with the details of world's most boring (and insincerely exaggerated) sex scandal. More than any other organization, DxE has associated vegans with screaming and weeping at random customers on the floor of fast food restaurants, and getting yourself banned from the local grocery store, with their dubious methodology of "disruption" justified by even more dubious "social science research". Despite big budgets, celebrity endorsements, and court cases with (brief) prison sentences keeping their name in the news, the organization has slid into obscurity in recent years —but the damage done to veganism as a movement (and to the lives of hundreds of individual vegans who were foolish enough to join their "network") still endures.

Friday, 15 November 2024

The Art of Being a Student: A Definition.

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right, but I can almost guarantee that you won't like or respect whoever is running or teaching the program

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I remember a French film, fiction, not documentary, in which the protagonist was a prostitute...

and she said that the art of the thing was FINDING something attractive about the men you slept with.

There'd be something you could admire about each one, no matter how ugly, but you had to find it.

Likewise, I can say, the art of being a student is FINDING something to respect about your professors.

No matter how ignorant, no matter how evil, no matter how stupid.

They have something they can teach you (perhaps just about the nature of ignorance, evil and stupidity) if only you can "find" it.

Wednesday, 28 August 2024

Immigration: my daughter's friend (?) Micah Johnson writes in…

Listen Up Donkey!

For someone who grew up with your Daughter, I've heard nothing but disgust! Keep complaining and roasting everyone you low life scum!

I'm not racist but… immigration is wrong: economically, politically and morally wrong. - FUCK YOU BALD HEAD DICK FACE! YOU DON'T MATTER!

-- Don't worry! You'll only have that shot with that lousy ass girlfriend of you

You're not only a racist but an ugly one. If there was a competition, even the word ugly would look beautiful.

You know what? You're a fucking joke. No wonder your Mom didn't take you Benjamin- or your DAD, and they'll take fucking anyone. I mean, you are a ridiculous, immature, half-wit moron. I have never met a sadder, more attention-starved jabbering little prick in my entire life, and that says a lot. ! And I'll tell you, you're right about one thing: "Women I could have had sex with BUT REFUSED when I was NOT single" NO ONE WOULD EVER HAVE!. You couldn't even save a relationship with a goddamn half-wit of a girlfriend! Motherfucker.

Want to talk about what's haunting you, or should we wait for a third act flashback? You really are God's Perfect Idiot, aren't you?

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I'll bet you have a really interesting, counterposing argument, that Japan should indeed rely on Pakistan and the Philippines to provide them with medical doctors and nurses, right?

;-)

E.M.

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Listen!

I'm half your age and I'll make a far better argument!

• Immigration can boost the economy by increasing the labor force, filling labor shortages, and stimulating innovation.

• Immigrants often pay taxes and contribute to social programs.

• In a globalized world, immigration is a natural consequence of economic integration and cultural exchange. Restricting immigration can hinder a country's ability to participate in the global economy and benefit from cultural diversity. You'd probably settle in China if you could!

MiJn

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Right, you're half my age, but you don't have an education in social science statistics.

Any increase in population boosts the statistics you're quoting here: if you "import" bedridden ill cancer patients from China, and offer them free health care (as citizens) for the remainder of their lives, they will boost GDP.

However, what is the net effect on the budget?

There are calculations for that, and guess what? They're bad: immigrants can indeed cost the benefit system far more than they provide in tax revenue.

If you regard immigration and refugee policy as a charity, that's not a problem, but you're proposing it as a self-serving (right wing) policy.

Is it moral (and is it more economically productive) for a factory in Texas to employ Mexican immigrants below minimum wage, or to employ American citizens above minimum wage?

The answer to this question cannot be the kind of math you're proposing:

in reality, what you're saying is, "new immigrants will be paid less" —and that is true. But that isn't boosting the economy: that prevents "moving up the value chain" as explained in the video.

The future of Japan isn't competing with the Philippines for the cheapest factory labor —nor is it importing Philippine citizens to work in Japanese factories at a lower rate of pay than Japanese citizens.

Listen to the whole video again: it isn't racist. There's something important for you to learn here.

E.M.

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For someone who talks this intellectually, I'm surprised with your content!

You're right about the fiscal impact. While some studies show short-term strains on public services, others point to long-term economic benefits. It's important to consider factors like the age and skill level of immigrants, as well as targeted support policies.

Exploitative labor practices are a serious concern. We need to advocate for fair labor standards and ensure all workers, regardless of immigration status, are treated fairly.

Your point about Japan's economic strategy is spot on. As countries develop, they should focus on innovation and quality rather than low-cost labor. But Japan's economic system is outdated!

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Right, but my point is genuinely altruistic (and I have made other videos articulating this recently, many are hidden away under the "shorts" tab on youtube, i.e., as "shorts" are now in a category separate from "videos").

I actually want to help the people of China.

I actually want to help the people of Cambodia, Syria and Afghanistan, too —I am not making an argument that is narrowly pro-Canadian, nor narrowly pro-Japanese.

It will not help the people of China to invite their citizens to live in ghettos in Canada, where they will earn less than minimum wage (or less than someone born a Canadian citizen, more generally). That is not going to help China progress toward democracy —it is neither good for China politically nor economically.

At the start of the Afghan conflict, we could have simply invited all of the highly educated people (doctors, architects, etc.) to evacuate Afghanistan and start living in Canada (and the United States, etc.) instead of living under Taliban domination. What would have been the effect on Afghanistan? Economically and politically and culturally? Now this did happen, but not all at once, in the rise and fall of Afghanistan as "an American colony": many of the educated people fled at every stage —beginning, middle or end. Many of the most highly educated Afghans (and Syrians, etc.) are now living in Canada, the U.S. and Western Europe —but this, also, does not benefit Afghanistan. In parallel, we are not helping China by "recruiting" labor from their country.

The type of multicultural exchange that has been justified economically for decades does not benefit China or Canada: it "make sense" only when you force a short term (single stage) of analysis on a very long term problem.

Short term, recruiting 10,000 medical doctors from Pakistan seems "to solve the problem" —the problem being a shortage of trained doctors. But this is misleading. Short term, recruiting 100,000 desperate people to work in fast food restaurants (McDonalds, etc.) seems "to solve the problem" —but this is misleading. The transformation you're seeing right now in California, in response to a $20 per hour minimum wage, indicates the long term solution —and this, also, is linked to higher levels of education, although not as obviously as medical science.

Thank you for taking the time to write in, please do "stay tuned" to à-bas-le-ciel,

Season three is gonna be lit, 🔥

E.M.