Eh...Linkages..

[shadowkat]

1. How Germany Deals With Neo-Nazis

Interesting for this bit:

In Germany, the very presence of neo-Nazis openly marching through a city bearing swastika-emblazoned flags, as in Charlottesville, is unthinkable. Unlike the United States, Germany places strict limits on speech and expression when it comes to right-wing extremism. It is illegal to produce, distribute or display symbols of the Nazi era — swastikas, the Hitler salute, along with many symbols that neo-Nazis have developed as proxies to get around the initial law. Holocaust denial is also illegal.

The law goes further. There is the legal concept of “Volksverhetzung,” the incitement to hatred: Anybody who denigrates an individual or a group based on their ethnicity or religion, or anybody who tries to rouse hatred or promotes violence against such a group or an individual, could face a sentence of up to five years in prison.

These laws apply to individuals, but they and others are also defenses against extremist political parties. The Constitutional Court, Germany’s highest court, can ban parties it deems intent on impairing or destroying the political order. This year the court came close to banning the extremist right-wing National Democratic Party but determined the organization was too weak to outlaw.
This legal regime is backed by a political culture that effectively bans expression that might pass legal muster but still flirts with racist ideologies. The German right-wing-populist Alternative for Germany is a good example. Though its program and members do not openly embrace or reference Nazism, the party’s program dabbles in ideas that might be construed as racist, and as a result the party is considered untouchable by mainstream voters and politicians.

Germans have long argued over whether this legalistic strategy has worked. On the one hand, Germany’s democratic system is remarkably stable; on the other, it has a severe problem with right-wing extremist violence that again has been rising steeply since the refugee crisis of 2015. And our laws and cultural taboos have not prevented the Alternative party from gaining a small but steady 8 percent of voters ahead of the national election in September.
Furthermore, Germany’s legal ban comes at a cost. Limits on speech are a blunt instrument. Though it seems a legitimate and necessary act of respect toward Holocaust victims and their descendants to outlaw the denial of the Nazi atrocities, the American way of dealing with Nazism and its symbols always seemed to me the more mature way of handling threats to liberal democracy.

When in 1994, the Constitutional Court decided that denying the Holocaust was not covered by the constitutional right of freedom of expression, historians like Eberhard Jäckel argued that a truly liberal democracy should be able to allow for “stupidity” in its public debates. Germany’s ban on the swastika seems like a permanent declaration of distrust in itself, and more important, to argument and to education. It feels like a hasty surrender.

In a way, it is pointless to compare political cultures. Each is unique and deeply rooted in each country’s history. We won’t be able to copy America’s unique liberalism, and the United States probably won’t adopt our legalistic approach. However, there may be some convergence.

Very cautiously, Germany is allowing itself to confront Nazi thought. For decades, Hitler’s infamous book “Mein Kampf” was banned in Germany. But in 2016, when the copyrights owned by the Bavarian government ran out, it appeared in a critical edition for the first time, and it is now sold freely in bookstores.

In the wake of Charlottesville and Mr. Trump’s comments, I’ve heard some Americans bemoan the lack of strict anti-hate laws akin to Germany’s. And indeed, the episode is a reminder that an open and educated discourse cannot be taken for granted, anywhere. But it has also demonstrated the resilience of America’s civil society — for now.

Steffen Kailitz, an associate professor at the Technical University of Dresden’s Hannah Arendt Institute who studies extremism, authoritarianism and failing democracies, said he found the reaction to Mr. Trump’s statement about Charlottesville encouraging, because the broad backlash showed that in the United States, the taboos against racism and extremism remain intact.

But, he added, frequent breaches of that taboo may slowly shift the boundaries between politically legitimate and illegitimate public expressions. Consider the number of Mr. Trump’s supporters who approve of his position; many may not agree with white supremacy, but they are now less willing to condemn it because they are following the president’s lead.

In recent days, people in my Twitter feed have passed around a passage from the Austrian philosopher Karl Popper’s 1945 book, “The Open Society and Its Enemies,” that in essence says that tolerance toward the intolerant cannot be infinite, or the tolerant risk eradication.That’s Germany’s militant democracy in a nutshell. And there may come a day when the United States must embrace it as well. But for now, I have faith in a democratic public’s ability to police itself. I wish Germany did.

The argument over the degree to which hate-speech should be restricted has been going on for some time. We used to debate it constantly in law school. The First Amendment is a tricky amendment. It grants broad rights, with few restrictions and the restrictions have to be enforced, and aren't rigorously.

Items not protected under the First Amendment Freedom of Speech, which have been debated:

Pornography
Hate Speech
Libel and Defamation
Plagiarism

Although, in each case? You sort of have to prove it, and it's not easy. Also, it's controversial.
I remember my Constitutional Law Professor informing us that there's a slippery slope. If you start restricting things where does it stop? For example one person's interpretation of pornography, may be another's on art. Mapplethorp's nude portraits of gay men, for example. The test is based on intent, what is the intent of the art. And whether it does harm...ie. objectifies or exploits. But not as clear cut as one might think.

Same deal with Hate Speech. Also in regards to Germany, very different history from the US. You can't really compare what happened after WWII with what happened in the US after the Civil War and in the years following. For one thing, Germany is about the size of Pennsylvania, with a corresponding population. And, it was split apart and occupied after WWII by the US and The Soviet Union. I remember that...I even visited it when it was two separate countries, East and West. I also have talked with people who lived under political regimes that restricted their right to free speech, and it's relatively easy to slip down that slope.

OTOH...as much as people rail against censorship...every fan board or discussion board that I've been on has censored content. Either spoilers, trolls, or in one instance a kerfuffle over a television writer. Also, it's worth mentioning that some of the hate speech was prevalent and less in our face prior to the internet.

Would outlawing it or placing deeper and broader restrictions help? Or just drive it deeper underground and allow it to fester? There's something to be said for seeing the hate, as opposed to pretending its not there.

I don't know the answer. I'm of two minds regarding it.

2. Ohhh, Jay Thomas died...I liked him. (So too did a coworker, who I barely knew but was in the hospital. Again, Universe? Evil politicians??? Still here? What is this? The Rapture?)

3. Hmmm...they actually did a Ted Talk on this, and the history of it...apparently the US borrowed the process from their British forebears...

Watch on YouTube

4. What Amber Benson has been up to...which is apparently continuing the 1990s Clueless film as a comic

5. Uhmmm...okay... apparently a theater is holding an all clown pre-screening of the horror film "IT" based on the Stephen King novel about an evil monster posing as clown torturing kiddies. I rest my case, last years evil clown sightings were publicity for the movie.

6. First time a hurricane has hit Texas, specifically this area of Texas in ages...

Watch on YouTube

Thanks to petz for the link.

7. 15 Times America and Brits Went Head to Head on Tumblr

(Thanks to or rather blame elisi for the link, that I can snark at.)

* I rest my case, Tumblr is impossible to follow and crazy.
* My personal favorite is the Lifesavers vs. Polos battle. No, that was before I read the whole thing...I think it's the battle over who has the bigger cities or fortnight. Oh, as an aside, the hashtag is next to the $ on the American keyboards. (And yes, I've had these crazy-ass arguments with Brits online. Which is why I found it so hilarious, been there done that. Also, why I find myself saying and writing Britishisms...too many years corresponding with Brits online.)
* There's nothing more hilarious than the British and Americans fighting over stuff -- mainly because we're both arrogant assholes that threw our weight around and were governed by white entitled men (well for the most part, the Brits had a few bratty entitled women, the US is behind in that department.)
* It's like watching a pissing contest.
* And apparently the two countries have very different views regarding how to make and drink tea. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure I drank iced tea in Britain and they have it. And yes, I've heated up and made tea from a microwave, even though I own a kettle. And at work from the hot water heater on the water cooler.

8. Why you'll never win an argument on social media EVER!

Comments

[ex_peasant441]

Never seen iced tea served anywhere. Never heard of anyone drinking it. If you did see it it must have been in some speciality place catering to American tourists. Or London - all sorts of weird stuff happens in London.

[shadowkat]

Considering the last time I was there was in 1988, it's more than possible that I dreamed it - or my memory made it up. ;-)

It does raise the question as to why...I mean it's not all that hard to make iced tea. Very easy. Also quite tasty. To make: You make with hot water, chill, put in ice, and add lemon and/or sugar as desired. As a child we put it tea bags with water in a jug and set it out in the sun and made sun tea. Until my parents obtained a hot water faucet in their kitchen and just made with hot water. (That said, I don't make it myself that often...because you have to make hot tea first, chill, then add ice...so time consuming, and I'm lazy. It's easier to just buy it.)

You really should try iced tea sometime, it's delicious. Particularly herbal blends, such as passion fruit or hibiscus, lemon works well too. Best unsweetened. There's also some lovely blends with green tea.

[ex_peasant441]

Considering the last time I was there was in 1988, it's more than possible that I dreamed it - or my memory made it up. ;-)

Perhaps you just forgot to drink some tea and it went cold ;)

[shadowkat]

No idea. I'm drinking hot tea now, although it is getting cold...so I'd probably know the difference.

[shadowkat]

Okay, I decided it was odd that Britain had never had iced tea or tried it in over 100 years of drinking tea. Not to mention all the importing of various cultures. So, I looked it up...and, yes, there is iced tea in Great Britain:

Are Britons becoming more accustomed to iced tea

A specialist tea brand based in Manchester is ramping up production of iced tea as the cold drink becomes more popular among traditional brew lovers in the UK.

"Charbrew specialises in flavoured teas including Strawberry & Cream and Chocolate Rooibos, which it sells in pyramid bags across retailers including Waitrose and WH Smith."

When in doubt? Google or Yahoo or whatever your search engine of choice currently is.

Continuing my search as to why Briton doesn't do iced tea or at least not to the degree Americans do, I found this article No ice, please, we're British.

It has something to do with "ice". Ice apparently is treated as something of a novelty over where you are?? Here, we can get huge bags of it for less than five dollars. Actually, I can get a cup of ice for free sometimes from a coffee house. But we also have scorching temperatures here...so there's that.

The second is the lack of ice in the hospitality trade. When one orders tap water in a restaurant it is, more often than not, warm. Most pubs still use a bucket full of partially melted ice for making gin and tonics. Americans are baffled by this. They have had a regular supply of ice since the 19th century. They would harvest ice in the winter and store it in specially designed ice boxes to keep it frozen.

The Chinese, of course, were there first. Elizabeth David https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/dec/08/elizabeth-david-first-lady-of-food noted that “the harvesting and storing of ice are recorded in a poem of circa 1100BC in the Shih Ching, the famous collection of Food Canons”. In 1838, the New York Mirror wrote how an ice box ‘‘is now considered as much an article of necessity as a carpet or dining-table”. British visitors in the 19th century were surprised to find that Americans generally drank nothing but iced water with their meals.

By the late 19th century, steamship technology allowed ice to be harvested in vast blocks in America or Canada and sped across the Atlantic to be sold as a luxury item in British department stores. Ice became madly fashionable in Victorian England for those who could afford it. According to George Saintsbury http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n17/steven-shapin/against-the-pussyfoots, a literary critic and pioneering wine writer, it was a “barbarous time”, when people drank their claret chilled and put ice cubes in their champagne.

It proved a passing fad and never caught on for the ordinary drinker, as the ice was much too expensive. But even when artificial refrigeration became commonplace, ice still never became ubiquitous in Britain. It’s not that we don’t appreciate an iced drink in the right climate: the ultimate hymn to the joys of a cold beer, Ice Cold in Alex http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053935/, is a British film. But at home, our national beer is served cool, not freezing. We don’t have scorching summers like they do in America, or indeed Egypt, so for British people, ice is still not an essential.

[ex_peasant441]

Ice is certainly not a novelty - it is hard to keep the pestilential stuff out of soft drinks and water in pubs since it is added by default unless you stop them.

The main explanation of why we don't like iced drinks is the weather. In hot weather we appreciate cold things, but we don't often get hot weather. It is currently August, the hottest month, and the temperature is 69F. That's the warmest it has been all week.

There is also an issue of taste buds. Chilling food or drink suppresses the flavour. So British real ale, stout or porter must always be served at room temperature to appreciate the flavours. Lager (American beer) has less rich flavours and is served cold. It is like the difference between red and white wine. Proper whisky or whiskey has rich and subtle flavours so should never be served with ice, bourbon (being rougher) needs ice to tone it down.

I also offer you this: Ditch straws and iced water at meal-times to lose weight, says Oxford prof

A specialist tea brand based in Manchester is ramping up production of iced tea as the cold drink becomes more popular among traditional brew lovers in the UK.

"Charbrew specialises in flavoured teas including Strawberry & Cream and Chocolate Rooibos, which it sells in pyramid bags across retailers including Waitrose and WH Smith."

Never heard of it, never seen it. It is presumably a niche thing. But it turns out my local supermarket is offering a selection of 4 types, two alcoholic, two non alcoholic, peach flavoured and lemon flavoured, so there must be some demand. For comparison there are pages and pages of normal teas.

For the record I hate tea and I hate chilled drinks so I doubt iced tea is a combination that would appeal to me :D

[shadowkat]

I think taste is a subjective thing and can't be generalized. Also it does change. For instance, I used to hate kimichi and sauerkraut, now I love it, and cannot abide jelly beans.

Here, we have temperatures in the summer time that range between 80-110 F. In Phoenix, Arizona, 120 F. Temperatures during the winter range between -30F to 70 depending on where you are.

I don't think ice weakens the taste, at least it hasn't in my experience. In some cases it enriches it. Depends on what it is. I love it in vodka tonics and gin and tonics, in part because it will water down the alcohol content, and gives a different, more delicate taste. And chilled lagers and beers...are quite good and refreshing, neither better nor worse than warm beer, just different.

But, mileage varies. One of the links above, "why you will NEVER win an argument on the internet" is worth viewing. ;-)