amiesphilip.bsky.social
Interested in history, earth science, biology.
3,563 posts
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Not in a systematic sense, no.
Political influence, in the sense of the original post is essentially irrelevant to academic science (we simply don't matter enough, politicians ignore us all the time).
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Whether you believe that undiluted free markets and capitalism are the engine of American greatness, or you believe democratic representation and basic protections for workers and the environment are, we should all be able to agree that Elon Musk is a terrifying symptom of profound problems.
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Elon Musk is a crucial test for our divided nation. Can we see that his efforts to tear down the constitutional order are an opportunity to unite almost the entire political spectrum? Can we recognize that he's as destructive to capitalism as democracy and equality? Is a popular front even possible?
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Third rule of modern grifting, send poor to fight, none of that robber baron stuff which might mean doing something risky, talk all big and hard, hide behind hired security.
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First rule of grifting, capture the budget for yourself, even more important if with tax cuts for yourself you shrink tax income, second rule of grifting increase amount of state funds you can grift by taxing the poor hellishly hard.
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I don't think any of us should feel surprised if we do not have the almost unimaginable courage to put yourself so undefended within harm in a tyranny, I certainly do not, we can still resist in a multitude of more survivable ways which damage the regime.
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Those people who have chosen to use civil disobedience in the face of tyranny amaze me, my mother went on an anti-Nazi demo in Brussels after the invasion, they just shot students, she did not do it again, she did small acts of resistance, the postman did big acts in the resistance.
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Civil disobedience is in a real way a privileged position, with some dramatic exceptions, taken by those who have some sense of security. Most rebels are sneaky with good reason.
www.powercube.net/other-forms-...
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www.history.org.uk/events/calen...
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Crimes such as poaching and incendiarism have been labelled by anthropologist James Scott as examples of ‘weapons of the weak’, covert actions that allow the powerless within a society to resist exploitation without having to resort to more overt deeds such as riot and rebellion.
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www.researchgate.net/publication/...
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Or are they rather the “cowards,” those millions of subject-citizens who, though unwilling to risk their lives, engage in daily, small, yet fully conscious acts of subversion against a hated government, and slowly but surely undermine it from within, until its downfall?
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Just drawing a line in how you frame what I am saying, you academics are tricky buggers and need reminding of the fact you tend to try to shape a debate your own way and when confronted pull your necks in, often claiming 'it is not fair I did not say that' you did. It is.
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between native and non-native, but White Stork illustrates the disputed nature of native status. If European Pond Turtle went extinct due to climate, then according to island biogeography ideas that is exactly the stochastic events which produce a unique assemblage.
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introduce anything they want, which you would hope is a separate group, a modern illegal version of historic legal acclimatisation societies which have left us with Grey Squirrel, Muntjac, Chinese Water Deer, Sika etc which is a reason we have rules. I'm sure most rewilders do sharply differentiate
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their minds between native, and dubiously so, but as White Storks have shown, not so much, especially when a unique selling point attraction for a tourist destination and for a movement sought, people certainly have benefitted from that, it was legal which makes me wonder if people will start to
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but I guess it is more difficult when that minority own most of the land and have much influence. I also don't think that is right. Main issue for me is shadowy rewilders behind this may decide to do something much less acceptable, or plain wrong-headed. I like to think a distinction exists within
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I think Beavers are a positive, and reestablishment of a UK managed population will be a positive and government delay is wrong given the process undergone, but let us not pretend everybody agrees, they don't, that should not stop process, we can not avoid doing things because a minority disagree,
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Hen Harriers with Langholm trial
www.gwct.org.uk/research/dem...
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your failure to see the equivalency which @iancarter67.bsky.social clearly does is a blind spot. In effect individuals are taking it upon themselves to take actions based upon their own ideas and not expose that to communal decision making process, while Beavers have had more scrutiny so have
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conviction, still some shooting people are, they believe that wildlife declines are the fault of conservationists protecting predators, nonsense giving scale of intensive land use, but it is an argument which gains support in some communities beyond the directly employed in shooting.
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Which I said, you want to deny the obvious equivalence because you think Beaver is good, killing raptors is bad, but some keepers and landowners hold the opposite view. While financial incentive more obvious for shooting industry, some individual rewilders make money, but I think more motivated by
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procedures followed with abundant evidence and trials and the state repeatedly delayed, and still is, Beavers still being released in pens, a nonsense.
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It is completely apposite, in that case an introduction of a non-native (with a breeding record, of annual occurrence and could naturally colonise) was introduced legally by following procedure, a gross abuse of policy objected to internally by appropriate state advisors. While Beaver is native, all
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status, or cause of decline if native, or impacts on other people and their businesses, and how conflict can be resolved.
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Which we agree upon, I suppose I'm mainly concerned about people making their own choices, process should expose lack of evidence (which failed with White Stork) which hopefully should result in something better than people releasing whatever they think is cool despite lack of evidence of native
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I think that is exactly the issue, you often pay a price for an act of civil disobedience because you act openly your identity known.
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many of us even if they did in fact break the law, harsh punishment in that case makes the state and law the enemy. We negotiate our public norms and ethics this way over time and eventually laws might shift to reflect that, depending on our opinion or interests for better or for worse.
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It is our culture, we love the loveable rogue, the rebel, the rule breaker with a heart of gold (however mythic they are in truth) we seek a truth beyond laws negotiated through custom and parliament, a moral rightness or an understandable reason, a starving person stealing bread is no criminal for
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It certainly illustrates the boundaries of law and regulation, that life is not neat and tidy, that people do break the rules, and that most of us can have some sympathy in some cases when we agree with what people are doing in principle even if we would not do it as we are more compliant.
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Beavers are native, the causes for extirpation are known and resolved, the +/- well attested, as is need for management of the species if abundant of having local significant impact. Dubious evidence of native status damages credibility of the process.
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White Storks introduction was done by the rules, and that was an abuse of process, a greater scandal than Beavers, likely with greater consequence as people pick and mix their favourite species making up dubious evidence and negotiating system successfully due to money and social capital.
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Then again, the rewilders involved are not publicly owning their actions, as far as |I know (correct me if I am wrong), but then neither are the raptor killers.
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influential people appear to be involved. Maybe they all just are entitled and feel above the laws which are only for plebs?
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civil servants. This long running exercise of establishment tacit complicity with organised crime which has significant financial gain, and enshrines rural power structures is a massive issue. I don't suppose the Beaver issue is an equivalency but it does flout rule of law, and rich politically
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instances such as keepers illegally killing protected species such as Hen harriers, in an organised crime conspiracy involving rich and powerful members of the establishment including the monarchy, politicians, property owners and maybe a few vicars? Certainly some military, police, judiciary, and
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less so because we like the outcome, and suspect the establishment was always going to find reasons for delay and the day would never come for legal release. As Beavers are super cool the end result of crime kind of paid in this instance (for some of us) but as Ian has said might not in other
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Basically what people want because the outcome was good is an endorsement of illegal behaviour, I'm not in favour of rule breaking, which is funny as I don't much like rules, a quirk of personality I suppose, @iancarter67.bsky.social has a coherent position, no faulting that. The rest of us perhaps
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little about wildlife crime, and is more likely to act when repeat offences suggest contempt of the court. I'm sure 'guardians of the countryside' would claim the law persecutes keepers and ignore rewilders, but they would. Certainly, the authorities acted rapidly with released Lynx.
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I do see some of those who in the past paid the price as part of struggle which resulted in the law changing as right, because I have the same views as them, others I don't because I disagree with them. Ultimately the law needs to be enforced evenly, has it been? I don't know, it seems the law does
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I feel zero need to turn rule breakers into heroes, then again, I have zero interest in that concept. If one were prosecuted, I would not care, they made their choices as people have done on other issues, and paid the price for doing so.
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I'm pleased Beavers are breeding in the wild, official path seems perminantly closed, thinking about it I can both be pleased some people broke the rules and we got Beavers, while doubting that people should break rules and not trusting the people who do.
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might end up needing rebellion. These things both exist in tension, are part of our history, and both exist for good reason. What may have worked for Beaver will not for Wolf.
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traditional or trendy progressive, very little concern with evidence, more with identity and celebrates, or simplistic low effort gut takes (which of course may at times be wise, but could also lack nuance), maybe right now looking at US we should value rule of law and government norms, but the we