Notices by Juggling With Eggs (jugglingwitheggs@mstdn.social), page 4

@AR1955 @StillIRise1963

I think this is an issue in the UK too. STEM doesn’t encourage reading for pleasure, debating current political and societal issues or realising there is an ethical dimension to both economics and science. Without an understanding of our historical past and how it plays out in the present, STEM graduates accept the status quo because they don’t even realise questioning it is a possibility. Who benefits? Hmmm…

I’m really ashamed as someone who is moderately to severely #deaf to say that I’ve only today come across the word #Audism:

‘belief that the ability to hear makes one superior to those with hearing loss.’

I feel lucky to have generally not been on the receiving end of much prejudice…but it does happen. And I now I know there is a word for it.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/prejudice

I refuse to believe that a vending machine using facial recognition without the knowledge of customers can be GDPR compliant.

How can individuals give their consent?
How can they know what their data is being used for?
How could they possibly request their data be removed?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/23/vending-machine-facial-recognition-canada-univeristy-waterloo

@roberttsai before the arrival of Trump on the political scene, this headline would have belonged in a dystopian novel. The sad truth is the shock value which it should hold (for it describes the epitome of a fascist regime) has been drained by years of Trump’s constant batshit verbal utterings.

How does the US protect itself from a rogue ex-President seeking re-election? Are we witnessing the constitutional cogs whirring into protective action? If not, then how? The stakes cannot be ignored.

@Ruth_Mottram @ErikJonker I just assumed it was an incontrovertible fact that every UK school child learned that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust…so I was alarmed that 52% of British people surveyed did not know this: https://www.claimscon.org/uk-study/

I decided to study history at both GCSE and A level which perhaps makes me slightly more aware of recent history…but it was also taught in RE lessons, where we watched Schindler’s List.

I spent 3 hours standing on the high street of a busy bustling market town today trying to offer people details of grants to retrofit their homes…and free mince pies and mulled wine!

How many people were interested?

Just 5

How did this town vote at the last general election?

Tory

How were their homes heated?

Predominantly oil.

Did people want to get off fossil fuels?

No

Did they believe they could make their homes warmer and cheaper to run?

No

Tories = inertia and cynicism

When you read about employees working 80 hr weeks, taking off prescription ADHD medication, using IV drips to combat excessive heat exhaustion and falling asleep in the bathroom do you think:

‘Wow, I’d love to work for that guy’

or

‘That’s some serious A grade slavery level exploitation going on there’ ?

Only Sunak thinks the former.

Billionaires exploit. Always.

https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-workers-took-adderall-slept-bathroom-iv-treatments-deadlines-report-2023-11?r=US&IR=T

‘try to imagine Ross, a scientist, now never thinking about climate change. Today, Phoebe would be a member of Extinction Rebellion; Rachel would be into fashion sustainability; Monica would have seven different recycling bins, not 11 types of towel; Joey … well, Joey would be the same.’

But many who came of age in 90’s got Chandler jobs…

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/30/why-do-so-many-people-still-love-friends-because-it-reminds-them-of-a-time-when-life-was-still-fun

I enjoyed the 90’s: a hedonistic decade where you could just about get by financially and you didn’t fear nuclear annihilation. Simple pleasures…

We should have worried more about the future and been more proactive. But it was also a time when global responsibility was the responsibility of the older generation…young people were just allowed to be young and have fun. Somewhere along the line that stopped. Why?

CEO’s sexual preferences really shouldn’t be used by oil giants to depose them and row back on climate targets

‘Looney was the last of a generation of BP managers to be mentored by the former chief executive John Browne, who also promised bold steps towards a clean energy transition at the start of the century. He too was forced to quit after admitting he had lied to court about a relationship. After this, BP delayed climate action and increased its cash-cow business of hydrocarbon extraction.’

Am I the only person who has spent the week looking at the wind direction and then right now at midnight I realise it’s dead on blowing from the ‘East’ think ‘if they were going to to do it, it would be now’?

@goatsarah thanks again for your honesty and explaining what you experienced. From your comments and others I feel more reassured that the courses do change behaviour in most cases, which is what is definitely better for society rather than just meting out financial punishments with no impact beyond the wallet.

@goatsarah thanks for your honesty and positivity about the courses.

Can I ask whether you think the good content that you experienced should be the same across the country? Should you be charged the same wherever you are in UK? And would an exam at the end have made any difference to how you remembered the content and behaved going forward?

Another bad day for Braverman…

But reading this, I wonder 3 things:

1) Why can you get out of points and fines on your license by taking a course?

2) Who are these private firms offering bespoke courses to celebrities to get them off the hook for points on license? The law seems unequal.

3) Any research as to whether courses actually make better drivers?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/22/inappropriate-for-braverman-to-ask-for-one-to-one-speed-course-says-motoring-solicitor

Live Facial Recognition to be used on Coronation crowds.

2 aspects strike me about this story:

A) The Met obviously think being an anti-monarchist signifies you may be willing to engage in other protests on the future. I don’t buy that this is a fishing trip to pick up those with previous convictions…its about populating database for future.

B) King approved it.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/03/metropolitan-police-live-facial-recognition-in-crowds-at-king-charles-coronation

@feditips ok so I’m with mastodon.social just because after much delay, trial and error I managed to create an account there. I haven’t a clue about how to change instances and given the time it took to get going and that I’ve invested in getting settled here, I don’t want to be told ‘start again’ just because you perceive my instance to be ‘too popular’. I can’t be the only one in this position?

Got to ask whether the photo accompanying this piece would inspire you to take your kids for a dip? #Coffey turns up (without her swimming costume) for a grey photoshoot in her own constituency on the River Debden in #Suffolk proclaiming it to be safe to swim in. How little self-preservation would you need to have to believe or vote for this?

#Tories
#Sewage

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/where-new-bathing-sites-uk-sewage-rivers-therese-coffey-346515/