Some thoughts

 Just once I'd like to visit a museum in the UK that hasn't fallen to the woke crowd. This past year it seemed wherever I went there were little plaques apologizing for the sins of our forebearers. My recent trip to Cardiff was no exception, on the first day I went to the National Museum Cardiff . This is a nice mix with geological/natural history galleries on the ground floor, and artwork upstairs. When wandering through the collection of paintings I found this exhibition:  Reframing Picton – from idea to exhibition .  Apparently having a portrait of a former colonial governor is now unthinkable. While the exhibition makes clear his conduct as governor has some issues, they also admit this caused outcry back home and a trial, which is not something that would have happened in other contemporary colonial powers.  Here is the painting as currently displayed, they have at least kept it,  even if it is partly obscured by the packing crate:  What really annoyed...

 A sample of my inbox today: I especially like the 'Hostels are GAY!' one from Hostelword. I remember when calling something gay was a slur, guess it's now been reclaimed? The email had a link to some inclusive hostels, I'm guessing none of which are in the Middle East or Africa... As the Lotus Eaters point out, this is really getting out of hand:

An interesting read on Con Home by James Frayne:   Why businesses act woke and what to do about it   I def agree with the analysis that the marketing/social media teams often act quickly and unthinkingly to avoid bad publicity and that they haven't realized that social media is not representative of the general population. I also like how he notes they’re just dysfunctional like everyone else.'- this is an issue the right tends to overlook, assuming businesses are all ruthlessly trimming the fat wherever they can but in reality (esp. in the biggest firms) can be just as bloated and bureaucratic as the public sector) Finally, I don't think expecting Tory MP's to lead the fightback is a good plan, too many are uninterested in cultural matters (or wish to avoid getting involved), they will only do so if pressured into action by public opinion.  

 It is well-established that militaries tend to get soft in peacetime and it takes the trauma of a major war to shake them up and reestablish their fighting prowess (see for example the states of the UK and USA's armed forces at the start of both world wars. With that in mind, a trio of worrying stories. First up,  Royal Navy appoints first female admiral . I don't have an issue with women in the military, apart from in front-line infantry (and that's only because to get them in standards have been lowered). However, as the linked article states: 'her career has seen her move up the ranks from a Royal Navy Logistics Officer to the Deputy Director of People Delivery. Jude Terry has also worked with the MoD as an operational planner, a branch manager for Navy Command HQ and Assistant Chief of Staff at the Standing Joint Force HQ' So she has basically worked in support roles and is the equivalent of a Director of HR. The fact that the Navy has a 'Director of People...

I don't use Twitter anymore due to it devolving into a cesspit, but I occasionally see nuggets elsewhere. Case in point: this tweet ( via ) True.  

Via Guido, we see this story:  Police action over 'slavery' flag flying in Norwich garden   Someone was flying the confederate flag, that must mean they support slavery! Quick, ba repeats of the Dukes of Hazzard and Primal Scream's 'Give out but don't give up' album! As is often the case, this was due to one wokescold: It was reported to police as a hate crime by 34-year-old teacher Emily Robinson, who spotted it while passing by with her artist partner. Sigh, why is it always a teacher? The article also notes she has moved there from Brighton, which is even less surprising. She also was quoted as saying: To me, this is a great opportunity to educate people on how damaging this is to many people who are a minority in our lovely city - as I know many people may not have any reason to know why it is such a big deal.  It isn't a big deal, and you are wasting police time. Norwich BTW is currently  90.9% white  and 1.6% black. Even if this proportion were higher,...

Remember that episode of the Simpsons where the moral guardians got in a tizzy over Michelangelo's David? And how that argued for 'empowerment' often end up as modern-day prudes? Well here's another example, which I spotted today:  Backlash against giant Marilyn Monroe statue for ‘forcing upskirting’ The 26-foot-tall, stainless steel and aluminum statue portray the movie star in her famous scene from The Seven Year Itch, wearing a white dress while standing over a subway grate. A Change.org petition set up in protest of the statue also argues that it is “misogynist” and “hyper-sexualized”. The petition has received over 40,000 signatures of its 50,000 target. "She’s literally going to be mooning the museum," Elizabeth Armstrong, a spokesperson for the petition effort, told NPR. "It’s blatantly sexist. It forces people almost to upskirt." Said spokesperson needs to go have a look in some of the stores in Akihabara selling anime figures! That said, I d...

 ...will be Harrison Bergeron  (haven't read this story for many years, re-reading today it is quite prophetic) As the story begins: They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. This leads into today's insanity:  Virginia moving to eliminate all accelerated math courses before 11th grade as part of equity-focused plan This the tall poppy syndrome writ large, no one must have an advantage. This won't end well, I'm beginning to think the USA is too far gone to come back. (The UK is still savable imo, provided Boris grows a spine)

When I was a kid it was often said  'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me'. Now it seems the opposite is true, we often hear talk of the damage words can cause to mental wellbeing. This to me is sending the wrong message to young people, making them less resilient and leads to the encouragement of victimhood mentalities. Which brings me to this piece I read today:  The Macroaggression of Microaggressions . Key quote- The problem is that he refused to simply roll over and accept that microaggressions could be anything other than microaggressions rather than just clueless utterings. In other words, she simply couldn’t tolerate being questioned about her pet theory, one that as noted in the quoted piece is less than rigorously defined. This circles back (as always) to critical theory ideas, that such ideas are inherently true and anyone who disagrees either does not fully understand the theory or wilfully refuses to.

Double edition! Number 1:   'wokeism isn’t about protecting minorities. It’s not about making the world better for marginalized people. No, it’s about raw, naked power and nothing else'  True. From  On Chickens Coming Home To Roost   Number 2: 'the wars of religion that seemed to define pre-Enlightenment history never really went away; the religions just got new labels. Secular ideologies that supplanted the old confessions seized the mind with the same sense of spiritual mission. The loyalties they demanded were more divisive and even more destructive than anything organized religion ever managed. In the 19th century it was nationalism. In the 20th, communism and fascism. In the 21st woke cultural nihilism is the dominant confession, and a fanatical one.' Also true. From  The C-Suite Converts to the New Political Religion

 The long march through the institutions continues, with Royal Mint the latest to fall. I'd noticed previously their ' Diversity Built Britain ' 50p, but this time they've outdone themselves: The UK's Royal Mint makes history with a new coin featuring Britannia as a woman of color Because when you think of the personification of Britain why wouldn't she be non-white, bigots! No doubt this was partly to cause publicity and provoke a backlash (thereby proving systemic racism), but also to show showing what the powers that be see as the UK's future. As the linked article states: Clare Maclennan, The Royal Mint's director of commemorative coins, said "Britannia is an enduring symbol of the people, and as the nation evolves it is right that her image should evolve too."   Never mind that the UK is still (at least up until the last census, God knows what this year's one will show) 87% white, what matters is shoving the diversity agenda in our fac...

'But what is indisputable is that a weird, unsettling and censorious atmosphere of religiosity now surrounds the Duchess of Sussex. The cultural elites have beatified her. They’ve made her the patron saint of critical race theory, the goddess of wokeness. To venture a criticism of this high priestess of correct thought is to risk cancellation. Questioning her ‘truth’ is to 2021 what questioning the truth of the Bible was to 1521. Okay, you won’t lose your head, but you might lose your job.' Thou shalt not criticise St Meghan , Brendan O'Neill at Spiked. While I don't particularly have much sympathy for Morgan, a stopped clock is right twice a day and I agree with him on this.  More good commentary on this by the Lotus Eaters:

 Yesterday I finished reading  Cynical Theories: How Universities Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity - And Why this Harms Everbody  by  Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay and highly recommend it.  The authors do a fine job explaining the origins of Critical Theory in the Postmodernists of the '60s (especially Michel Foucault, who after reading this I'm adding to my list of 'authors whose baleful influence are the cause of the current mess' (so far him, Marx and Gramsci), and how these ideas were refined in subsequent decades leading to Critical Race Theory, Gender Theory, Queer Theory and so on. It is a good guide to the key academics in these fields whose writings have been influential, and what they are all about.  After finishing this I now understand where the woke left is coming from and how they see the world- especially in terms of everything being about power and oppression. It was especially interesting how the original postmodern...

 This is a beautiful work of genius/: People are starting to use Lefties' nonsensical language against them and it’s absolutely beautiful: Meet #SuperStraight and #BlueAnon

Its snowing outside, and due to Chinese New Year I've not got much online teaching at the moment. However I have my first opiece of coursework ddue in two weeks tomorrow anfd have a lot of reading to do so blogging with be brief for a while,. Netherlress, here'ss this weeks link roundup. First up, a  look ahead  to what 2021 holds for spaceflight by the RAS. I'm most excited to see how much progress SpaceX make on Starship, In environmental news, it looks as if after covid we should prepare for  the climate lockdowns . Yay :/ This ties in with my post on post covid predictions and how it is being used as a model by the ecoloons.  An interesting analysis of why people find Jordan Peterson's approach useful.  'Peterson’s detailed frame of reference allows people to understand where they are and what they need to do. Having resolved doubt, having found the North on their compass, much is settled. A person can thrust forward with confidence' While on the subject o...

  10 ways to fight back against woke culture

Last night I watched the first episode of 'The Great' on Channel 4. This show is described as a 'comedy-drama'  and the first episode is summarised as follows: 'Catherine marries the Emperor of Russia, Peter. However, her hopes of tying the knot with a great love are dashed as she learns that he is a selfish, spoiled brat who stands against everything she values.' Anyone wanting historical accuracy should look elsewhere, as the Wikipedia entry for it states (the writer) ' had jotted down some names, relationships and a few historical bullet points, torn up the paper, and started writing'. What we are left with is a typical current year Woke agenda-pushing piece of feminist fantasy, Catherine is strong and enlightened while the male characters are all weak idiots.  What I found most off-putting though was the casting, in the 18th-century Russian imperial court there would not have been much diversity yet we had two nobles played by a Black and Indian acto...

 A few articles I found interesting this past week: The woke have no vision of the future Charting the decline of the American Republic A positive deal overall – but problems lurk round the corner The year the ruling class got woke A United Europe Aligning With China Would Be A Disaster For The United States The Dunning-Kruger Effect Is Probably Not Real It’s time to start wasting solar energy No Families, No Children, No Future Give this woke nonsense the red card On a lighter note: A multibillion-dollar f-you Why is Japan obsessed with KFC on Christmas? 2020 Rated Worst Year Ever, Provided You Never Lived At Any Other Time In History And finally,  15 Economic, Historical, and Health Facts About Bacon !