Showing posts with label Capitalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Capitalism. Show all posts
Monday, December 16, 2024
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Best Buds
I cried while watching a Super Bowl commercial.
Having spent nearly a decade with my Yellow lab Ben I feel smack in the center of the target audience. As much as I may disparage the Super Bowl for bringing out the worst of American Culture - celebrating voluntary head injuries, exploiting minorities, claiming non-profit status for an entity that is anything but "non-profit" - I do think all the dollars being thrown about produce some of the most concise social commentary each year. And here we are talking about our collective cultural obsession with pets be they puppies or draft horses. However contrived you might think this is does not nullify the reaction many will have while watching. Whenever I see my mom's cat snuggle up to her dog on the couch I can't help feel all mushy, same response here.
After first seeing the ad I kept thinking of Peter Singer's expanding circle. The idea that the next phase of human morality ought to expand to include cognitive non-humans and further as we understand more about how other animals feel. This train of thought also reminded me of the nascent "inter-species-internet." I first heard about this during a panel discussion about the future prospects of the internet titled "Internet Everywhere" presented as part of the World Science Festival in 2012. MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld explains the inter-species internet (ISI) as a small group loosely coordinated by musician Peter Gabriel. Apparently, Gabriel started conducting jam-sessions with bonobos and found bonobos to be incredibly responsive.
What emerged from this initial observation was a network among cognitive animals. Giving the bonobos ipads they found they could use them to communicate to each other and to other species like dolphins. Though I have yet to find video on the internet of bonobos sharing selfies with dolphins, I can imagine it being so. So, although the #BestBuds ad is most surely a heartfelt fabrication it certainly touched a universal chord with me.
Having spent nearly a decade with my Yellow lab Ben I feel smack in the center of the target audience. As much as I may disparage the Super Bowl for bringing out the worst of American Culture - celebrating voluntary head injuries, exploiting minorities, claiming non-profit status for an entity that is anything but "non-profit" - I do think all the dollars being thrown about produce some of the most concise social commentary each year. And here we are talking about our collective cultural obsession with pets be they puppies or draft horses. However contrived you might think this is does not nullify the reaction many will have while watching. Whenever I see my mom's cat snuggle up to her dog on the couch I can't help feel all mushy, same response here.
After first seeing the ad I kept thinking of Peter Singer's expanding circle. The idea that the next phase of human morality ought to expand to include cognitive non-humans and further as we understand more about how other animals feel. This train of thought also reminded me of the nascent "inter-species-internet." I first heard about this during a panel discussion about the future prospects of the internet titled "Internet Everywhere" presented as part of the World Science Festival in 2012. MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld explains the inter-species internet (ISI) as a small group loosely coordinated by musician Peter Gabriel. Apparently, Gabriel started conducting jam-sessions with bonobos and found bonobos to be incredibly responsive.
What emerged from this initial observation was a network among cognitive animals. Giving the bonobos ipads they found they could use them to communicate to each other and to other species like dolphins. Though I have yet to find video on the internet of bonobos sharing selfies with dolphins, I can imagine it being so. So, although the #BestBuds ad is most surely a heartfelt fabrication it certainly touched a universal chord with me.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Tom Paine and the Ironies of Social Democracy
The 2011-12 Dewey Lecture in Law and Philosophy, recorded on February 29, 2012, was presented by Elizabeth Anderson, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and John Rawls Collegiate Professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies, University of Michigan.
To skip the introductions start the video to 6:55.
Professor Anderson begins speaking of Thomas Paine in detail around 16:30.
To skip the introductions start the video to 6:55.
Professor Anderson begins speaking of Thomas Paine in detail around 16:30.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
The Town of McCloud Says ‘No’ to Nestle Water Plant Proposals
Special Guest Post by Lucy Faraday
With a population of just 1400 people, the small town of McCloud in
Siskyou County, Northern California was a peaceful place. Located in the shadow
of Mt Shasta, residents and visitors can enjoy trout fishing, mountain climbing
and skiing in and around the area. But in the last ten years an altogether more
industrial issue has affected the area, leaving residents furious.
Nestle Water North America (NWNA) is a strand within the multinational
corporation of Nestle – the world’s largest food and beverage producing
company. Unsurprisingly, NWNA specialise in the production of bottled mineral
waters and in 2003 they set their sights on the water rights of the Mccloud
River, along with plans to create a proposed 1 million square foot bottling
plant near to the town. Being experts in the spring water field, the NWNA could
appreciate that the McCloud River is uniquely pure; most of the water comes
from springs and underground lava aquifers which act as superb natural water
filters and would therefore be a lucrative source for their bottled water.
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