Posts tagged "politics":

Diary: software, blogging, estrangement

The new woman who is set to replace me when I retire in a couple of months seemed a little surprised today. First of all there was a screaming match going on in the next room over the submission of a fundraising proposal. I wasn't paying much attention to it as I was busy trying to explain some things about the job (maybe that surprised her too). Then, when I got into explaining about Piwigo (the photo gallery software we use), and kept praising the recent changes introduced by the "developer", she asked me what I meant by "a developer." She is used to big companies with hundreds of developers, not free open source software. She said she didn't feel safe otherwise because "What would happen if the developer goes away?"

National self-harm

I watched the 2nd part of the BBC's The Modi Question, heard a discussion with a historian of modern India, on The Wire, and watched the Israeli TV news.

Europe and its problem with Fascism

The world watches in trepidation while yet another European election threatens to bring in right-wing populists - this time in Italy. It's pretty exasperating to see this constant tussle between inept centerist parties and their far-right adversaries. Europe needs change, but its people keep looking in the wrong direction, choosing the worse over the simply bad.

India's independence day

Just as it's hard to think of Israel's independence day without remembering the Nakba, it's impossible to think of India's independence day without remembering Partition. Although it took place 75 years ago, the news media have still been able to find survivors who remain traumatized. Soon, there will be no one left to remember.

2022-07-20 UK visa process

I spent the late afternoon and evening helping a neighbour and friend fill out his application forms to obtain a temporary charity work visa to the UK - a frightful process. Among the tasks involved was to detail every visit to another country within the last ten years, page after page of form filling, questions about having expressed "extremist views" or support for "terrorism", if he had committed "war crimes", if he had been convicted of breaking any law.

2002-03-29 Trying to recycle an old router as a range extender | nations

There are a few articles and YouTube videos on how to do what I spent a few hours fiddling with today. But eventually I grew convinced that the reason I stopped using my old router was that it simply doesn't work - in any capacity. Not even after several attempts and a firmware upgrade. Also another old range extender didn't work. I do have one range-extender working, and I've done this before. Never mind; now I know just to ditch these old devices.

2022-01-27

I think the tiredness and weirdness I feel today may be a result of the 2nd booster shot that I had yesterday. It just occurred to me that that may be the cause. I hope it's the vaccination and not the virus itself.

Naming and shaming

Owen Jones, in the Guardian says: "History is not being erased by those seeking to topple the statues of slavers and murderous white supremacists; it is being remembered. That is the real sin as far as the protesters’ detractors are concerned. They understandably fear what will happen if historical atrocities committed by the British state enter wider public consciousness."