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Easter, North Korea, and more
Apr. 21st, 2014 02:17 pmEvery year a common image meme appears declaring that Easter is somehow related to Ishtar. This is demonstrably untrue. Easter is named after the month and the Germanic pagan goddess Ēostre, Easter eggs (a particularly Christian symbol) date from at least the 17th century, and the rabbit the carrier of the eggs. So whilst I grimaced somewhet when the speaker at the Unitarian service started the address by mentioning the Ishtar myth, I was pleased that the reading included a selection from an excellent humanist interpretation of the Christian Easter myth: Good Friday is for every good-hearted person who has ever been tortured or murdered or beaten down by the relentless forces of human oppression.
Saturday night's Isocracy meeting at Trades Hall could have had a better turnout, punished by both the Comedy Festival and tramworks leading to a parking disaster. Nevertheless Nick Langdon gave one of the most scholarly and nuanced accounts of human rights and international relations in North Korea, noting in particular how the regime exists on a cult-like propaganda machine (which is why sanctions and economic punishment is ineffectual and indeed, counter-productive). Importantly, Nick pointed out that the North Korean system is incapable of reform, only collapse. Which does raise, of course, the question of what comes afterwards. In all probability it would be a South Korean takeover of some sort which would lead to the uncomfortable situation of US troops on the Chinese border. In my opinion any sort of reunification in order to be successful would also require a substantial demilitarisation of the penisula, and, especially in a transition to social and liberal democratic governance, an expansion in the South Korean welfare system - which is difficult given the GDP etc differences between the two countries.
In other activities ran a session of Pendragon on Thursday night which concluded with contacting the Ten Saints of Britain who are now reciting a common prayer for a year to end the Waste Land. Sunday afternoon played Hacker with the usual suspects which, despite its age and some changes in contemporary technology, is actually a surprisingly good simulation of computer hacking. Perhaps a new edition is in order? On Friday afternoon attended a social gathering hosted by Anthony L., with excellent political, cultural, and technical discussions and some great food. Saturday afternoon convened the LUV Beginners Workshop which had Terry Kemp speaking on GNOME3 and particularly the GNOME Tweak Tool (slides available). Yes, that does mean for the entire Easter long-weekend, this is the first day I've had free.
Saturday night's Isocracy meeting at Trades Hall could have had a better turnout, punished by both the Comedy Festival and tramworks leading to a parking disaster. Nevertheless Nick Langdon gave one of the most scholarly and nuanced accounts of human rights and international relations in North Korea, noting in particular how the regime exists on a cult-like propaganda machine (which is why sanctions and economic punishment is ineffectual and indeed, counter-productive). Importantly, Nick pointed out that the North Korean system is incapable of reform, only collapse. Which does raise, of course, the question of what comes afterwards. In all probability it would be a South Korean takeover of some sort which would lead to the uncomfortable situation of US troops on the Chinese border. In my opinion any sort of reunification in order to be successful would also require a substantial demilitarisation of the penisula, and, especially in a transition to social and liberal democratic governance, an expansion in the South Korean welfare system - which is difficult given the GDP etc differences between the two countries.
In other activities ran a session of Pendragon on Thursday night which concluded with contacting the Ten Saints of Britain who are now reciting a common prayer for a year to end the Waste Land. Sunday afternoon played Hacker with the usual suspects which, despite its age and some changes in contemporary technology, is actually a surprisingly good simulation of computer hacking. Perhaps a new edition is in order? On Friday afternoon attended a social gathering hosted by Anthony L., with excellent political, cultural, and technical discussions and some great food. Saturday afternoon convened the LUV Beginners Workshop which had Terry Kemp speaking on GNOME3 and particularly the GNOME Tweak Tool (slides available). Yes, that does mean for the entire Easter long-weekend, this is the first day I've had free.
