Not news: Cambridge still full of Tabs

From the Jewish Chronicle:

Benny Morris talk cut by Cambridge Israel society

Cambridge University’s Israel Society has been slammed for bowing to pressure from Muslim students to cancel a speech by a top Israeli historian.

Benny Morris used to be an enfant terrible of the Israeli history establishment, and was considered a “revisionist” for questioning the mainstream historiography of that country, especially with regards to its war of independence in 1948 and the exact nature of what happened to the Arabs living in Israel at that time. At some point in the mid-1990s he even considered moving away from Israel because of the hostility he was facing for carrying out his research.
Which is why this story is so incredibly stupid. Why would Muslims want his talk to be cancelled, and not the right-wing Israelis who disagree with his view of history?
The article continues:

Prof Benny Morris had been due to speak on Thursday, but the event was cancelled after complaints from, among others, the university’s Islamic and Pakistan societies who claimed he was an “Islamophobic hate speaker”.

He must hate absolutely everybody then. No examples were given in the article of any Islamophobic comments he made.

[...] the JC understands the cancellation may have been part of a pre-emptive strategy ahead of a planned visit by Daud Abdullah, Muslim Council of Britain deputy secretary.

He is due to speak on February 18 as part of Islam Week. Last year he signed the Istanbul Declaration which threatened violence against supporters of Israel and British troops. Cambridge’s Jewish students now plan to ask for his invitation to also be withdrawn.

The level of Stupid here is now too high. In order to get a talk by someone advocating violence cancelled, the Israeli society needs to “balance” it with its own cancellation? What exactly is Morris accused of, which is equal to threatening violence against those exercising their right to free speech?

Mr Witzenfeld said: “While Prof Morris’ contribution to history is highly respectable, his personal views are, regrettably, offensive to many.

Ultimately, we place respect for those who have been offended above the importance of hosting this speaker.” [emphasis added]

So Morris is simply accused of offending someone, somewhere. By that standard, no-one will ever give a talk at the Israel Society. How about intellectual curiosity and integrity being a priority instead, Mr Witzenfeld, and letting those who are offended by intelligent debate simmer in their self-righteousness while the adults get on with their lives?
Some questions that need to be answered, urgently: how did the society come to make this decision? Was it made purely by Mr Witzenfeld, by the committee, or by the membership? If Morris is an unacceptable speaker, why was he invited in the first place?
The final irony is that Morris is going to speak at Cambridge (his alma mater, for goodness sake!) anyway:

Prof Morris said: “Basically, it is foolishness. But the cancellation has generated an invitation for me to speak at Cambridge’s Department of Political and International Studies, which will have a bigger audience.”

If the leadership of the Israel Society of Cambridge is the cream of the crop of British Jews, I’m very worried for the future.

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Cadbury’s not owned by Cadbury’s any more since, erm, a long time ago actually

The board of Cadbury's have agreed a takeover of their firm by Kraft. (You're not allowed to read it in Japan, apparently, so be very, very careful).

A woman who isn't sure if she even owns shares in Cadbury's complains on the radio about it. The woman happens to be a descendant of the founder of Cadbury's, as though that makes any difference.

Here's an idea for future family-owned firms: if you don't want your firm to be bought by naughty foreigners, don't sell shares in it on the open market, as Cadbury Schweppes PLC had been doing since 1969. Genius.

By the way: is this the same Cadbury's that has gobbled up lots of other previously-independent confectionary makers? That was part of the enormous multinational Cadbury Schweppes until 2008? That has had a scandal pretty much every single year for the last few years? So not really something to be overly proud of now, is it?

Please keep your pathetic self-righteousness to yourself, if you find yourself tempted to share it. If you wanted to keep Cadbury PLC "British" for whatever reason (where "British" can include being owned by shareholders all over the world, as long as they don't own all of it), you should have put your money where your mouth is and done something about it, like offering a higher counter-offer to Kraft's one. Otherwise, put up and shut up.

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A wise namechange

An amusing titbit I received today from the American Statistical Association as a new member:

Originally called the American Statistical Society, the organization's name was changed at its first meeting

I wonder why… 

 

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Bagel Bakers Local 338

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bagel Bakers Local 338 was a trade union local that was established in the early 1900s in New York City and whose craftsmen were the primary makers of New York’s bagels, prepared by hand, until the advent of machine-made bagels in the 1960s led to its end as an independent organization in the 1970s.

A December 1951 labor dispute between Local 338 and the Bagel Bakers Association closed 32 of the city’s bagel bakeries, leading to what The New York Times called a “bagel famine”, with the two remaining bakeries unable to keep up with the 1.2 million weekly demand for the product. As a result of the work stoppage, area delicatessens reported that sales of lox had dropped by as much as 30 to 50%.[5]

Local 338 went out on strike in February 1962, leading to an estimated 85% drop in the bagel supply.

Bagel unions? Crazy times.

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Quick Takes: Duke Criticized Over Sex Toy Study – Inside Higher Ed

Duke Criticized Over Sex Toy Study

The Rev. Joe Vetter, the Roman Catholic chaplain at Duke University, is criticizing a study for which female undergraduates were recruited to small parties at which they could see and discuss sex toys, The Raleigh News and Observer reported. The university noted that the study was subject to standard peer review procedures. The research comes at a time when some researchers have advocated education about sex toys as a way to encourage healthier attitudes about sex. Father Vetter isn’t convinced, telling the newspaper: “I’m concerned about promiscuity also…. And to be honest, I don’t have the solution…. My concern is these students are in this developmental phase, and I don’t think it’s a good developmental practice to just tell somebody to just sit around and masturbate. I don’t think that promotes relationships.”

Is it even technically possible to “sit around and masturbate”? It sounds tantric or accidental, depending on your interpretation. Is there something Father Vetter isn’t telling us?…

Also: how many undergraduates are still in the “developmental stage”? Puberty must come late in the Father’s parish. Or he has no idea what he’s talking about. I couldn’t possibly say.

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Violet Nabaztag/tag – The second first wireless rabbit: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Picture yourself at home. In a corner of the room, on a coffee table, a shelf or a desk, a pretty little white Rabbit, knee-high to a grasshopper, has made his abode. He says nothing, just sits there unobtrusively, silently flashing funny little luminous animations on his tummy. You glance at Nabaztag and, through the color of his lights, effortlessly discover that the FTSE is down but that tomorrow’s weather is sunny.

Suddenly, your Nabaztag comes alive and begins talking and moving his ears. He tells you that the important e-mail you were expecting has just arrived, he reads out breaking news from the Times website like you asked him to, or he breaks into “I just Called to Say I Love You”, a musical declaration of love sent by a special someone. Or perhaps Nabaztag is just enjoying a few relaxing Tai Chi exercises.

That’s Nabaztag: a companion who is often discreet (but loud when he has to be), adaptable and versatile; in turn useful, funny and poetic, or all of these at once. A magical presence in your real world.

Nabaztag isn’t only a Rabbit. He’s also a new kind of technological object.

Nabaztag has just one wire, for electrical power. But his true umbilical cord is cordless: he connects to the Internet through a broadband connection and Wi-Fi Access Point. He can function even when your computer is off.

Adopt a Rabbit, set him up in your home.

Nabaztag lives his quiet life, while continually monitoring the internet to provide the services you have requested, accomplish the missions you have assigned, give you real-time info and transmit messages from your friends. He’s usually tame, but occasionally voices his own opinions and moods.

Best of all, because Nabaztag feeds on the Internet and because the Internet is boundless, there are no limits to what he can do or could do tomorrow.

Soon, every Thing will be connected to the Internet. It might be a good idea to start with a Rabbit.

Nabaztag, the world’s first smart rabbit

That rabbit is very cute, right? But the description is just bizarre! I’m not sure I want to buy anything from the people who wrote that description and then thought it’s OK to put it on Amazon. [And indeed, the customer reviews for the rabbit are less poetic than the description, but to compensate are much. much angrier].

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Language Log » The grammar gravy train

Looking for a job? How about one where you set your own hours, you don’t have a boss, you have nothing to do but write at your own pace, you end up receiving fat royalty checks, and you don’t have to know anything at all about the topic that you write about? The job is to write non-fiction (textbooks and handbooks), only it’s OK if you don’t have a clue about the subject matter.

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This ‘revolt of the experts’ is revolting | spiked

It was wrong of the government to sack David Nutt. But it’s also wrong for experts to pose as paragons of wisdom who are above democracy.

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7661/

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Fuzzy maths

Even more fuzzy maths for “3″

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Fuzzy maths

Thanks to the appositely named phone company “3″

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