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Can you not see that 'remembering' (whitewashing would be a better term) only the bitish war dead is a deeply problematic move? Especially when these 'servicemen' did a lot of things they should not have done? Moreover, it legitimises the british army when it is currently doing things in Irak...

Why would anyone want to remember people who, quite willingly by and large, fought for an anglo-saxon supremacist regime? It is quite clear that the main impulse structuring the UKs involvement and its choice of allies in the WWs was the desire to maintain its empire. It is also quite clear...

Since that war ( in its european incarnation) was against Stalin, the worst mass murder the world has seen, and against the european colonialising powers (in asia), this is a very anglo-centric world-view.

Wearing poppies is basically racism. In essence it says: It is more acceptable for Anglo-Saxons to invade other countries than for other countries to invade the Anglo-Saxons. Not surprisingly, only conservatives and the right wears poppies in my experience.

Great thread. I'll be working in SE Asia this winter. I wonder what sunglasses to get. I don't like these really really big ones, too trendy, hence probably already out of fashion once I arrive there. But my sunglasses should nevertheless be communicating a moderate interest in appearing modern...

What about the emergence of crews? Roll Deep, Heartless, ...?

I doubt that you find much in this direction. There is no good understanding or even notation of rhythm that matches our understanding of harmony. the conventional classification into quavers, semiquavers and such is way too crude for the multitude of rhythmic events that goes on in rapping (or...

A democracy is people governing themselves. That's very easy. By this standard, and that's the only one that that's democracy seriously, one measures the degree of democracy (DOD) a form of governance offers as the ratio of those who govern (directly or indirectly) versus those who are governed...

There are different arguments going on. i was pointing to psychological issues in observer reaction. On a political level i would argue differently. I do think that US politics has been deeply problematic.

Israel is NOT a democracy (at least if you take democracy to be that form of government, which allows people to govern themselves (directly or via elected representatives)) because the palestinians living in gaza and the westbank have no right to elect what is when we ignore all bullshit their...

I was told by a Japanese guy that "Mario" is a transliteration of the japanese word for "Truth".

is that how you spell it? i though it's "persy" or even "persi"! Bigup the bassline famo!

No, I have done my bit, in providing scientific evidence that backs my claim. I see the problems with these studies, but they may be the best we can currently say on this matter. I change my mind if i see convincing studies that prove me wrong (In the same sense that i know at least one of...

That's true, but have you got better studies that prove the opposite point? Certainly all vegetarians i know personally strike me as having massive problems with food, and onset of vegetarianism coincided with onset of anorexia.

Not sure I agree with this. This minimalism was done before, but there's nothing wrong with doing a good thing again. RN has been more visible in the mainstream though.

This happens where the gift tax is lower than inheritance tax. But there is a risk: that the children spend the money frivolously, and the parents live longer than expected. Recipe for unhappy families. Which is why gifts should be taxed no less than inheritance. In fact, some legistatures...

And then there is the obvious psychological point that one cannot really think about inheritance without at the same time imagining one's parents' death, which is truely a terrible thought.

I in fact think that a reasonable case can be made for low inheritance taxes, and that is that it may incourage saving. If a 100% inheritance tax would be enforced, then it makes perfect sense to blow one's money in old age on luxury goods the production and distribution of which may not be as...

Let's see what science says: This and this and and this and this. That last article has the nice line: "Vegetarianism may be best seen as a method for complicating the normalization of eating rather than a simple risk factor for eating disorders."

Because while it affects them only a few times (one may also inherit from one's grandparents), it usually pertains to a big chunk of wealth, especially in the UK where most people are homeowners. I reckon that many people with homeowning parents will secretly already have factored eventual...