Finland: the most atheist society in the world… that is neither Communist nor Post-Communist, I suppose.

Yes, admittedly, the Vietnamese claim that they're the most atheistic country in the world, and I'm sure North Korea could muster up some statistics to challenge the claim, BUT NEVERTHELESS…

According to GE2015, 24% of Finns identify positively as nonreligious (see Table 1). There has been some increase since 2011 (19%), when this option was introduced to the identification question. The percentage of religious identification was 36%. It is much smaller than Christian identification (67%), which most likely demonstrates that Finns consider themselves to be culturally Christian even when not regarding themselves as religious. Altogether 16% said that they were atheists.

[…]

Among those with only basic level education, 28% identify as nonreligious, whereas among those with tertiary-level education the figure is 23%.

[…]

For them, contrary to the older generations, being nonreligious or atheist has very little to do with the Soviet Union or Communism. At the same time, however, the historical filter that has connected Lutheranism and national identity explains (partly) why nonreligious identification is not more popular. In other words, the drift away from organic nationalism that combines ethnicity and religion towards the situation where national identity (or the idea of what it is to be an ordinary Finn) is divorced from religion advances the normalisation of nonreligious identities. At the same time, being religious is increasingly becoming a reflective choice rather than a taken-for-granted identification, as it should be in a scenario of weakening cultural Christianity.

So, we are led to suppose, the new Russophobia is not anti-atheist whereas the old Russophobia was precisely that: a sort of defensive Christianity erected as a barrier against Communism. This would be counterproductive, of course: Christianity leads to Communism in much the same way that Judaism leads to Christianity —Karl Marx is merely the author of another "new testament" —he offers neither an antithesis nor an antidote to the beliefs that came before.

Source:

"Normalisation of nonreligious identity in Finland"

Teemu Taira,Kimmo Ketola, Jussi Sohlberg.

Journal of Contemporary Religion.

Volume 38, 2023 - Issue 1. Pages 1-19 | Published online: 14 Nov 2022

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13537903.2022.2138020#abstract

The Slipped Disc: My Current (AND ONGOING) Spinal Injury.

AFAIK, what I've been suffering with is a herniated disc down at the bottom of the lumbar region. Yes, that "AFAIK" disclaimer could be significant.

This website presents a perspective on the illness and the process of recovery different from what I've seen before:

https://buffalorehab.com/blog/the-recovery-time-for-a-lumbar-disc-herniation/

This makes sense to me...

however, sadly, I have been making the injury worse, not better, by returning to the gym as quickly as possible, again and again…

whereas, in reality I shouldn't have even been sitting in a chair at all, but should have limited myself to bed rest (FOR SEVERAL MONTHS).

Within the last few days, I was evidently making the condition worse when I was working on the German translation (sitting at a desk) whereas I previously thought of that type of mild strain as a positive exercise, helping rather than hindering recovery (i.e., I could feel that sitting and working at desk caused strain / pain).

I am now really limited: all I can do is lie down flat. And I do not know for how long that will last.

-----

Activities that will cause more fluid to leak are bending, lifting, twisting, sitting, and any impact (running or jumping). The more we stick to the “good” positions and limit the “bad,” the sooner our discs start to heal.

Typically, it takes three to four weeks for the fluid to stop leaking from the outer layer. Keep in mind, this only applies if you start limiting the bad positions and promoting those good positions.

At this time, the point of leakage will scar over and trap the fluid within the outer layer. This is the point in treatment when you can start to tolerate sitting for a little longer.

Over the next four weeks, the fluid will continue to work its way back toward the center of the disc, and eventually, the inner layer will scar over

-----

This is significantly different from how I'd visualized the problem before.

-----

When following the ideal plan, after about twelve weeks your disc is healed enough to tolerate impact, such as running or jumping

...

Suffering a back injury may seem catastrophic, however, it does not mean you will have back issues for the rest of your life. With proper guidance, patience, and a little bit of hard work, you can heal your disc injury within twelve weeks!

-----

Well... I could still cancel my gym membership. :-/

It does not seem reasonable to imagine I'll be back at the gym FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS… whereas, instead, I've been injuring myself anew pretty much every time I returned to the gym (for many, many months now) trying to increase the strength of the muscles surrounding the injury in the back.

The Ideological Stagnation of the 21st Century

Everything that was supposed to change hasn't changed.  The ideological stagnation of the 21st century is worse than the broken promises of the 20th century were before.

Learning Russian in 2026: am I talking myself into it or talking myself out of it, at this point?

Professor _______,

[…] [Many boring details have been omitted.] […]

I am asking a very broad question: do you have any advice or
suggestions if I were trying to find a Russian language tutor or
teacher, so that I am not learning the language entirely alone (with
books and the internet)?

This message is brief to avoid wasting your time.  I hope you will not
find this message rude.

I have studied other languages before, including languages that are
much more difficult than Russian (e.g., Chinese).  Grammatically, the
language I've studied that most closely resembled Modern Russian is
Ancient Pali (it has the locative, genitive, dative, instrumental and
accusative cases).  So, in some sense, I am prepared for how difficult
the work will be.

With thanks for your time and consideration,
Eisel Mazard (Mr.)

—————

[In her reply, the professor seemed to be primarily interested in my motivation for learning the language: she asked if I needed it "for work" or not. Work or play, hm?]

—————

(1) My interest is in (i) politics, (ii) philosophy and (iii) history.
I have studied several languages for these reasons (and, admittedly,
these reasons may not be enough).

(2) I am genetically half Jewish, and my grandparents were
specifically Russian Jewish, so it is possible I will try to make some
kind of contact with the Russian-speaking Jews of Israel and New York,
etc., simply to counteract the isolation of living in Newfoundland.  I
am aware of the intensity of antisemitism in Eastern Europe,
generally, and amongst Russians, specifically.  I am a visible
minority: although I'm an atheist, I look Jewish, and I am hated for
it.  This is a major factor in the decision I now make for the next
ten years of my life.

(3) I am a real intellectual: in Canada, there are none.  Learning
Russian would allow me to fly back and forth to various parts of
Europe (and Israel) where some intellectuals exist.  Some.  I am not
deluding myself into thinking that Eastern Europe is an intellectual
paradise (nor Israel) but I have some optimism about knowing other
intellectuals (who care about history, philosophy and politics) via
the Russian language.  With many other languages I've studied (e.g.
Lao and Cambodian) there is no such hope.

I have now published one book in Russian translation.  The cover
illustration is attached.  It will be published in five or six
languages in total.

E.M.

Civilization is not discredited by its own absence.

Veganism, Year One: 2026 to 2036.

After the End of the Vegan Movement: What Now, What Next?

This is, in fact, the sequel to a podcast titled, "Leviathan: the Vegan Movement's Decade of Decline, 2015 to 2025."

The Israeli Empire with the Mask On: the American Empire with the Mask Off.

 (1 of 2)
America vs Israel: Old Empires, New Enemies, Perpetual Bankruptcies.
https://youtube.com/shorts/WwMgIfHgYKU [Two minutes long.]

(2 of 2)
The "Israel Has a Right to Exist" Discourse is Corny.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Hy5bJhPtirw [Two and a half minutes long.]

I was tempted to title this post, simply, Israel: THE USUAL.

Instead, the title here alludes to my (still shocking?) statement about the primacy of local democracy in Ukraine, Crimea, etc., The American Empire with the Mask Off: the Canadian Empire with the Mask On.

"Let us be blunt: if Quebec has the right to establish its independence by a referendum, then the Crimea does, too —along with the Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk) and Taiwan and everyone else, everywhere else. If not, we're back to the phony sovereignty (and even phonier empire-building) of the Napoleonic wars."

^ Still worth reading. Still dangerous in principle and in practice. https://a-bas-le-ciel.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-american-empire-with-mask-off.html

It's still worth listening to the sequel that was published as a podcast, too. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5bXnSQIGAdvbu3B0REfG4Q

What I have to say about Israel is pretty closely parallel to what I have to say about Quebec, Scotland, Taiwan, etc. The making of history is a high-stakes game; perhaps that's why so many prefer, instead, to watch it transpire, passively.

Democracy is not a haircut. Democracy is not a tattoo.

Forgetting Afghanistan.

LINK: https://youtu.be/3eBpamjQv2o

Canadian Culture: Lemons Without Lemonade

Plautus v. Terence: do we have evidence of casual speech in Ancient Latin?

 I begin with a fragment rendered into English by Google translate:

🏛️ Tam illud est admirandum [Terentio] quod et morem retinuit ut comoedian scriberet et temperauit affectum ne in tragoediam transiliret, quod cum aliis rebus minime obtentum et a Plauto et ab Afranio et Appio et multis fere comicis inuemimus.

🤖 It is so admirable in [Terentius] that he both retained the habit of writing comedy and tempered his passion so as not to leap into tragedy, which, along with other things, we find not achieved at all by Plautus, Afranius, Appius, and many other comedians.

The source of this statement is the ancient author Euanthius (no typo) about whom no Wikipedia article yet exists, admirably.  We should all be so lucky as to write influential works of major historical significance and then disappear from this world without polluting it with a Wikipedia article. And so, while Wikipedia maintains its glacial silence, we find a blog entry by Roger Pearce (June 18th, 2011) offering us the following red hot noise:

Evanthius wrote a commentary on Terence which included or was introduced by a discussion of the genre.  This is entitled De Fabula, but it is not clear how it became attached to the work of Donatus. […]

Here’s the first couple of lines of De Fabula, which I have converted from the French.  It looks like an interesting work.

1. Both tragedy and comedy had their first manifestations in the religious ceremonies with which the ancients consecrated themselves in fulfillment of vows made for benefits received. 2 In fact, when a fire had been lit on the altar and a goat brought, the type of incantations that the sacred choir made in honour of the god Liber was called tragedy.  The etymology of this is either from τράγος and ᾠδή, i.e. the word for a goat, the enemy of the vines, and the word for song (of which Virgil gives full details); or it is because the creator of this poem received a goat in return; or because a full cup of grape wine was given in solemn recompense to the singers or because actors smeared their faces with wine lees,  before the invention of masks by Aeschylus.  Indeed in Greek the lee is called τρύγες. This is why tragedy is so called.

I found the first quotation (marked with a 🏛️ for lack of a better emoji) in a footnote to the introduction to The Tragedies of Ennius by H.D. Jocelyn, 1969 (r. 2008), page 40, where it is cited as evidence that "the language of comedy" in Latin, in this period of the history of Ancient Rome, "moved away from that of tragedy and approached the common language."

The extant comedies of Plautus have inspired a saga of self-deception, with many scholars passionately arguing that his use of language preserves casual speech, as opposed to the artificiality of language used in poetry and legal arguments.  That thesis has been bunked and debunked: in fact, the language used as evidence was (irrefutably) written to be performed as song (or at least chanted) and therefore represents a different kind of artificiality, not the contrast to "natural language" modern readers are looking for.

The Encyclopedia Britannica now boldly claims that Terence's "language is a purer version of contemporary colloquial Latin."  If you are not already scoffing at this self-evident paradox, allow me to quote the old Encyclopedia of Genocide somewhat further: "His language was accepted as a norm of pure Latin, and his work was studied and discussed throughout antiquity."

Alas, (i) the norm of purity and (ii) evidence of informal, colloquial, casual language are two different things.  Perhaps, in the end, we will be left to infer that legal arguments (presented as a kind of theater in a court of law) are closer to natural language than anything written as entertainment --comedy, tragedy or poetry.

Perhaps two thousand years from now (or perhaps just two hundred?) the only evidence of our language will be rap music, and scholars will be left to reconstruct what they imagine to be our casual mode of communication from that mix of comedy and tragedy. Not a single scrap of our ancestors' legal and political reasoning will outlast the millennium: unlike rap music, it is neither useful nor aesthetically durable.