But buddy-buddy road movies are meant to be about men, goddammit! From Eastwood and Bridges via Laurel and Hardy to Pine and Foster, it’s jobs for the boys! The idea of subverting the genre and turning into a feminist message movie could only occur to people of real distinction. Like Ridley Scott and his writer Callie Khourie. So came Thelma and Louise (1991)

And feminist movie it is. It should be shown to all girls, compulsorily, at the age of ten and a half as Terrible Warning of the types of men they are about to meet. The tyrant husband ( played by Christopher McDonald), the bonehead ( played by Michael Madsen) the charming rapist (played by Tim Carhart), gorgeous sociopath ( played by Brad Pitt), and leering brute ( played by Marco St John), Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) meet them all in the course of one rather exciting girls’ weekend. It’s the sort of educational experience you will never get in Harvard, however many books you read. And all against the background of the American West, which as ever tries to steal the show as only it can.

The male of the species is redeemed by the inimitable Harvey Keitel, who plays a Detective who sympathises with the ladies’ plight, as it grows more and more acute by the hour. For this is no agit-prop-all-men-are-bad radfem diatribe. Its ultimate plea is for human, not feminist solidarity. It’s Keitel’s tragedy that he ultimately fails-but then, we don’t want to spoil the ending for anyone who hasn’t seen it.

The the only vindication, of a work of art is that it stands the test of time. And Thelma and Louise does this admirably. With a hypnotic soundtrack, two of Hollywood’s most intelligent actresses (we dare say no more) and luminous cinematography, we promise you an experience of living hard. If only they dared to make them this edgy any more.

#great films #thelma and louise #ridley scott #road movie #feminist

War between China and Russia? Are we mad? Surely the two totalitarian powers are cheerfully united in a new Axis, solid against the democracies forever? But once you look at the two studies we list below, you might just want to think again.

Wars start for two reasons. First, a growing imbalance of power between two nations (think Britain and Germany after 1900). Secondly when one side sees its overwhelming opportunity to attack. (Hitler in 1941 is instructive here). The imbalance argument writes itself. China, a growing highly successful nation must expand to satisfy the needs of its hungry, industrious billions. True: they could head south into the Pacific. But nations like Taiwan, Japan and India seem increasingly aware of their giant neighbour. They could make any Chinese moves increasingly costly. Now look north. Siberia is a vast, thinly-populated land full of oil, minerals and other riches. All of it corruptly and incompetently administered from distant Moscow.

And the opportunity? Russia has become increasingly embroiled in an unnecessary and expensive war that threatens to break its army, and its economy. The mere fact of launching it raises questions about the competence of its ruler and his underlings. While its value as an ally declines in proportion to its economic strength. If China has given Russia a sort of mortgage on its great power status , now might be the time to foreclose, as some will no doubt argue in Beijing.

How ironic indeed for Putin to find that his attempt to restore Russia’s imperial might results in its final dismemberment. As the old saying has it “Be careful what you wish for.”

Pravin Jethra, for the BESA centre, looks in detail at the hidden tensions between the two powers

https://besacenter.org/expect-war-russia-china/

MSN have a rather graphic video of how such a conflict might play out

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/what-if-china-invades-russia/vi-AAWRhu8?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=c2ce3fd31b0647c6aba7cd6750e9ee9d

#Xi Jinping #China #Russia Vladimir Putin #geopolitics #siberia #energy

stories of more than passing significance

The right to a healthy swim What’s more fun than a sea swim on a Bank Holiday? But if you think it’s good for your health, think again. According to those doughty campaigners Surfers Against Sewage and Top of the Poops, our coastal waters have suffered an avalanche of sewage discharges, and it’s getting worse. Yet we guess the problem isn’t confined to the waters of one little country! If you can help, try these organisations below

https//www.sas.org.uk https://top-of-the-poops.org/

The right to clean air So, you get out of the water-and you still can’t get clean! Because according to Shivali Best of the Mail , 97% of UK addresses breach the limit for at least one toxic pollutant. Once again, we doubt the problem is unique to these islands:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10763757/How-polluted-air-live-Shocking-interactive-tool-reveals-levels-toxic-pollutants.html

Hidden dangers of climate change Can sudden changes in environment such as climate or deforestation spark new waves of pandemic disease? According to the authors of this study in Nature, the danger is a very real one. Some authors, such as Professor Harper think this has brought down mighty civilisations in the past. Are you sure it won’t happen again?

Climate Change will boost viral outbreaks

Over the next 50 years, climate change could drive more than 15,000 new cases of mammals transmitting viruses to other mammals, according to a study published in Nature. The research predicts that many of these transmissions will happen when species end up together in cooler locales as temperatures rise. And it projects that this will occur in species-rich ecosystems at high elevations, particularly in areas of Africa and Asia, and in areas that are densely populated by humans, including Africa’s Sahel region, India and Indonesia. “This work provides us with more incontrovertible evidence that the coming decades will not only be hotter, but sicker,” says disease ecologist and co-author Gregory Albery.Nature | 5 min read
Reference: Nature paper

Harper, Kyle: The Fate of Rome Princeton 2019

Heart Warming kittens An old friend ,and regular contributor to the creative side of this blog, has sent us this picture of some kittens who have recently become members of his family. How could we resist?

Well, that’s quite a reading list for you on a day of leisure, so we’ll leave it there. Enjoy

#cats #climate change #pandemic #global warming #pollution #virus #sewage #bank holiday

“Words are the tokens current and accepted for conceits, as moneys are for values”-Bacon

LSS is a passionate blog-why do it if we don’t believe in it? Yet sometimes the depths of human folly excite our scorn so much that our feelings escape the bounds of civilised language. We don’t mean to, but we do. Such was the case with our little post last Monday (LSS 26 4 2022) when we railed against the feckless squandering of antibiotics.

Well, the post has excited strong feelings. A lot of likes. But one with raised eyebrows from a supporter whose opinions we have valued for five decades. Thoughtful, it was-and valid. Because in its humble, LSS way it goes straight to the heart of what is happening in England and around the world right now.

Our correspondent objected to our use of the language we used to describe over eaters, characterising it as “fat-shaming” Aggressive, judgemental language, she said, which failed to address the real issues by sliding into schoolboy abuse. And then we had our lightbulb moment. Currently a prominent female Labour Politician has been accused by a powerful Tory newspaper of using her charms to distract our Prime Minister during his duties in the House of Commons. The attacks, which allude to an actress called Sharon Stone (who she?-ed) seemed to us at once puerile, witless and venal. They are an example of the ad hominem attack, a common logical fallacy to which we link here [1] Ad hominem is just Latin for calling names and is used when the speaker has no idea of how to counter his adversary’s facts and arguments (for the record, the politician in question regularly bests the Prime Minister in debate) And the matter goes deeper. For now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter, his opponents allege that the ad hominem style will now take over this huge platform, rendering it useless for intelligent debate.

Time will tell. But we at LSS have no time for intellectual laziness. As long as we go out on Twitter or anywhere else, we shall eschew the ad hominem style, and any other logical errors we can think of. And so-thanks to everyone who read Monday’s post. We welcome any further comments. Our first duty is to be read, true. But to be read intelligently. We leave the rest to the tabloids.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem?msclkid=f7879ac9c61311ec94168851fb6b62f2

#angela rayner #boris johnson #daily mail # sharon stone #logical fallacies #antibiotic resistance

Humanity has a mental problem. We are thick. Stupid. Dumb. And vain, vain vain. Proof of this comes in a recent article by Robin McKie for the Guardian.[1] To get better yields (in this case, pigs) farmers are drenching their livestock in antibiotics. As you might guess this practice has led to a colossal rise in antibiotic-resistant organisms . Robin highlights one particular nasty called Clostridioides difficile which has now evolved to be resistant to all but three antibiotics. The last three, that is. After they fall, it will kill and kill and kill. Horribly.

And the stupid bit? All this over antibiotic-ing is in the name of short term yields to farmers. So they in turn can sell on cheap meat to fat bloated consumers for whom these colossal levels of protein and fat consumption are positively harmful. Please tell us: where is the intelligence in all this? And: have you ever watched a group of fatties tucking in at your local fast food outlet? Edifying, isn’t it?

Robin concentrates on C. difficile and the pig industry; but antibiotic squandering is widespread across all kinds of farming, and all kinds of resistant organisms are springing up, which you can read about here [2] in this introduction from the charity antibiotic resistance uk. There are many types of mental disorders, and we feel sorry for the individuals who suffer from them. But the worst disorder of all is plain stupidity; and we all suffer from that.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/24/pigs-can-pass-deadly-superbugs-to-people-study-reveals?mscl

[2] https://www.antibioticresearch.org.uk/about-antibiotic-resistance/antibiotic-resistance-farming/#:~:text=Antibiotic%20resistance%20and%20farming%20also%20increases%20the%20contamin

#antibiotic resistance #foodproduction #obesity #farming practice

some stories which we hope will be important in the long term

Closing in on Cancer The more research we do, the closer we get to dealing with the threat of cancer. Serena Nik Zainal and her team at Cambridge University in the UK are now looking incredible detail at genomes for early warning signs of cancer. It’s a big step forward, as reported by the PA via the Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/22/like-fingerprints-at-a-scene-study-finds-new-clues-about-causes-of-cancer?fr=o

Muddy waters It’s a media cliche that England’s rivers have morphed into lifeless sewers since 2010. Maybe so; but it doesn’t have to be like that everywhere, as this optimistic report on the Thames shows. Veronica Edmonds Brown for the Conversation

https://theconversation.com/from-biologically-dead-to-chart-toppingly-clean-how-the-thames-made-an-extraordinary-recovery-over-60-years-180895?utm_me

Womens’ Football-Equality is the goal We’ve been reading Simon Kuper‘s excellent book about Barcelona FC. [1] For understandable historical and cultural reasons, the ladies’ section there is still a bit of a Cinderella. But, worldwide, the womens’ game is coming out of the tunnel and if the author of the next piece is to be believed, one day a ladies Barca eleven will take its proud first step onto the hallowed turf of the Camp Nou. Keith Parry for the Conversation

https://theconversation.com/womens-football-record-crowds-and-soaring-popularity-heres-how-to-keep-it-this-way-180718?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20April%202

Could Brain Implants help the disabled? This is one we have dreamed of for a long time: artificial implants which will let apparently hopeless cases walk and talk again. We’ll pass you over at once to Nature Briefings, that most excellent of publications The Big Promise of Brain Reading Implants

Interest is surging in brain–computer interfaces (BCIs): implants that have shown promise for helping paralysed people to move, talk and touch. “I am always stunned at what we are able to do,” says trial participant James Johnson of his ability to control a computer, drive a simulated car, operate a robotic arm and play video games using his BCI. “It’s frigging awesome.” Bringing a BCI to market will, however, entail transforming a bespoke technology, road-tested in only a small number of people, into a product that can be manufactured, implanted and used at scale. Large trials need to show that BCIs can work in non-research settings and demonstrably improve the everyday lives of users — at prices that the market can support.Nature | 15 min read

These thing are what we can achieve to make life better when we put our minds to it. How much more might be possible if we did not waste all our time and money fighting stupid senseless wars over lines on maps,

[1] Barca: the Inside Story of the World’s Greatest Football Club by Simon Cooper Octopus 2022

#pollution #river thames #brain implants #football #womens rights #cancer #genes #dna #rna

Today we devote our cocktail page to the life and times of Henry Charles Albert Davis Mountbatten-Windsor, known to the readers of popular magazines and newspapers as Prince Harry Duke of Sussex, who has been in the news lately, somewhat. Harry and his wife Meghan Markle belong to the whole world; so what follows is definitely anthropology not British navel gazing.

For reasons we do not understand, this rich but essentially unremarkable couple have fallen dreadfully foul of the right-wing British tabloids. Odd: when we were young their readers used to toast his impeccable CV. Privately educated at Eton, best of regiments (Blues and Royals) and on to a seemingly raffish life of a young aristocrat on the social scene. Allegations about flings with young ladies were greeted with a knowing smirk and a wink of the if-only-it- were-me kind. Suddenly, around the time of his betrothal to Meghan, all changed, both with the media and his family. And has stayed dire ever since.

So, purely in the interests of balance, we are going to base our cocktail selection on Harry. Balance it, as t’were, on his fine mane of ginger hair (couldn’t do this for brother William!) And the site we have chosen is the incredibly aptly-named Make me a cocktail– [1] Its beautifully presented and photographed pages will give you the details, making them another must for fun lovers of all social classes and backgrounds everywhere. They’ve got lots and lots of good ones, so we have simply picked out the best mixes.

Ginger smash That’s Harry alright! A delicious tropical mix of lime juice apple liqueur and dark rum, whose gingery bit comes from the strips of that plant cunningly introduced click now for more!

Azaadi Refreshing mix of pineapple juice, Cointreau ,dark rum and naturally made ginger juice Will get all couples clicking glasses.

Tropical fruit punch Lime, pineapple and orange juices, kicked to life with a real slug of rum. Looks good, tastes good and by golly it does you good, or so we found

The Harvest Sparkle Complex mix of honey, prosecco, ginger and bourbon Sounds like a nice full taste for the discerning connoisseur!

https://makemeacocktail.com/recipes/s/?ing=91&msclkid=119a5d0dc24b11ecb581969ada85ee59

We often wax lyrical here about new advances in computing (LSS passim). And how even the most advanced AI system may soon be rendered obsolete by its smarter sister, quantum computing. Now David Nield of Science Alert [1] reports how a humble Namibian rock may contain just the right compound to make quantum computers real. How so? Apparently it contains Cuprous Oxide (Cu2O) which if cut thin will allow the formation of Rydberg Polaritons. As anybody in the Dog and Duck will tell you, these are complicated quantum phenomena which are simultaneously light and matter. Don’t worry too much about the physics. The point is such an entity will store any value between 0 and 1, unlike boring old digital computers which can only do 0 and 1. The way is truly open to a revolution in computer speeds, and hence marvellous possibilities in things like nuclear fusion, health and food production.

So what has all this got to do with ol’ Pooters? Well you may have noticed he has started a brutal destructive war. Why ? Because his mind is wedded to an ancient, primitive doctrine of conquering land. Who holds the biggest bit of land is best,. The Top Banana. Mr Big. Some say it all goes back to the nineteenth century, but we think it probably dates back to Australopithecus. The possibility that science and technology might offer a better life to us all just does not occur to him. He has drawn all of us into a sterile process of death and destruction, whereas we might have such possibilities. That is why he must be stopped.

[1]https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/an-ancient-namibian-stone-could-hold-the-key-to-unlocking-quantum-computers/ar-AAWlUXm?o

#putin #quantum computers #artifical intelligence #ukraine

Spin, gloss and bluster all you like. But the actuarial tables of a declining nation tell the true story, as we have alluded to in blogs past, And the set reported by the OECD make grim reading indeed for the poorest women in England. [1] Although our write-up uses Andrew Gregory of the Guardian, we found it in many media outlets. And it’s a tale of real injustice.

Let’s imagine three different sisters from the same English family who, by chance of marriage or work (as these things usually are) end up at different parts of the national income distribution. The eldest, Laura, marries a successful property developer. She can expect to live 86.7 years, comparable with the overall average for Japan, which is the best in the world. The middle sister, Anna, marries a teacher; Her life expectancy is about 83 years, coming in at 25th out of the 38 OECD countries; mediocre. The youngest, Amy, who ends up as a single mum working as a care assistant can expect 78.7 years of life, which puts her on the same average level as women in Mexico. Without disrespect to the good people of Mexico, a sombre comparison indeed.

It’s the truly vast gaps that impress; for life expectancy grows from decades of lived experiences, of either easy comforts or crushing burdens of deprivation and disappointment. This is one data set of many, and we need to know more. But it seems to point to an England that is made up of about three different countries, with vastly different life experiences. Rather like Victorian Britain, in fact. And the social legacies of Victorian Britain were the direct cause of its decline in the following century [2]. We don’t know about your country, overseas readers. But British followers should be concerned indeed.

_{we thank Mr Peter Seymour for this idea}

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/17/women-in-englands-poorest-areas-die-younger-than-in-most-oecd-countries?msclkid=337d4c91c07611

[2] Corelli Barnett The Audit of War Macmillan 1986

#poverty #women #life expectancy

As the first part of the year draws to a close we wish to offer a big thank you to all readers, contributors and those who have helped with ideas. In particular we thank our new followers and all those who take the trouble to say how much they have liked the posts. They are now too numerous to list here, but you will recognise yourselves from this.

It has been an eventful spring. But the big issues like Climate Change, Womens’ rights and freedom of speech won’t go away. We believe in those causes not out of a sense of moral obligation but because solving the problems they pose will make all of us more prosperous.

So in our last post before the holiday we wish all of you every success

#climate change #antibiotic resistance #global warming #democracy #womens rights