Woke up, coughed for two hours hacking up phlegm

[conuly]

Finally remembered we have decongestants.

At least I get to make The Joke. It goes like this: "I thought I was Walloon, but it turns out I'm Flemish." Ta-da! (It may not be very funny, but I was quite amused that my mother's Dutch pulmonologist makes the same joke. I think I may have said that before. Pretend I haven't.)

**************************

Why Did the Chickens Cross Under the Highway?

London's Stretcher Railing

Experts find that stone tools connected communities

The healthiest people in the world don’t go to the gym

Tolkien’s grandson on how WW1 inspired The Lord of the Rings

Gender, Sexism, and the Middle Ages: No More Fairy Tales

To Save Endangered Species, Should We Bring Them Into Our Cities? (Interesting proposal, and I'm sure nothing could possibly go wrong.)

Democrats Aren’t Moving Left. They’re Returning to Their Roots.

'It's a miracle': the scheme ending abuse against women in Tajikistan

China’s Health Care Crisis: Lines Before Dawn, Violence and ‘No Trust’

I’m an Amazon Employee. My Company Shouldn’t Sell Facial Recognition Tech to Police.

In Georgia, black voters see echoes of voter suppression

For 10 years, a chemical not EPA approved was in their drinking water

How the N.R.A. Builds Loyalty and Fanaticism

The Post on Anti-Semitism I Never Thought I’d Write

Philippines: scores of Islamic State fighters on Mindanao island

Civilian death toll in Yemen mounting despite US assurances

Comments

[greghousesgf]

thank you for posting these article links! I especially like the Middle Ages one!

[conuly]

:)

They've got a series on racism as it relates to our conception of the Middle Ages as well.

[robby]

So you are Phlegmish?

[conuly]

Phlegmatic, maybe :D

[dhampyresa]

What a good joke! :D

[conuly]

I try.

[nightdog_barks]

Ha, that reminds me of an old (bad) joke --

Q: What's green and ice-skates?
A: Peggy Phlegm!

Get it? Peggy Phlegm/Peggy Fleming? HAHAHAHAAAAA

Ahem. :D

[conuly]

Sure, but she's before my time, I'm afraid.

[malkingrey]

Interesting article on The American Rifleman and the NRA's hard-right turn. When I was very young, my father had a subscription to The American Rifleman and an NRA sticker on the car window, and then after a certain point the sticker vanished and the magazine stopped coming. Thinking back, the 1977 internal coup would have happened right about that same time, so I'm guessing that my father didn't approve of the change in direction.

[conuly]

Good for him. I don't approve it either.

[adafrog]

lol Love the joke.

[conuly]

Thanks :)

[siderea]

'It's a miracle': the scheme ending abuse against women in Tajikistan

Holy cats! That's fabulous – but, what exactly are those counselors doing? And what language are they practicing in? And where did they find them? And how many of them are there?

Off to read the linked documentation.

ETA: Fascinating [PDF]:

The team faced some challenges in explaining the consent forms and in conducting FGDs [==Focused Group Discussions] in Guli Surkh, which has a predominantly ethnic Uzbek population. Participants were not fluent in Tajik and some of them did not understand Tajik at all. Two research assistants were able to speak basic Uzbek and had to explain the consent form and the questions to them. Additionally, the research team had to ask others who were fluent in both Tajik and Uzbek to assist with translation during the FGDs. The majority of the population of Chorbogh village were Uzbeks as well but none of the participants had problems with Tajik and were able to speak and understand it fluently.

ETA2: More fascinating. The researchers developing he intervention found that despite a high level of piety, community members avoided going to clergy (imams) with domestic violence problems, because they saw clergy as formal authorities, like the police and the government, and they preferred to go to informal authorities, because informal authorities were thought (perhaps correctly) to be able to be more discreet and confidential:

It is worth keeping in mind that in spite of high levels of religiosity in the study villages, community members view the heads (imams) of the village mosques as formal leaders and rarely appeal to them in cases of family conflicts. This may be due to the fact that imams are not elected by the local communities but rather are appointed by the Government-controlled religious councils.

Also, they determine that one likely avenue of intervention is challenging the community norms that being a (sole) breadwinner is key to being a "real man", because not only is personal financial stress a common cause of DV, but because men struggling with breadwinner-pressure are sympathetic and open to the idea of redefining masculinity in terms that take that pressure off them:

Community social norms require men to be the main breadwinners in the family, so the ability to sustain one’s family financially is viewed as one of the main ideals linked to masculinity. The current economic crisis and high unemployment make it difficult for many men to meet these expectations. As a result, men who fear that they are no longer viewed as a ‘real mard’ in the eyes of community and family members, experience high level of frustration. Since it is mostly their wives who openly confront their husbands for being unable to fulfil the role of breadwinner, this frustration easily transforms into violence against women in the family. Alcohol abuse catalyses this process by increasing aggressiveness of men, leading to more frequent and severe episodes of violence. Therefore, one of the project tasks should be addressing community norms of hegemonic breadwinner masculinity. Promotion of alternative expressions of masculinity, such as commitment to family security and well-being, faithfulness, being a good Muslim, ability to control anger, indifference to gossip, helping family and community members in non-financial ways, may all seek to ease the negative pressure of social norms related to men’s role as breadwinner, reduce men’s frustration and prevent violence.

[...]

Financial dependence of wives on their husbands seems to be largely stipulated by social norms and, depending on the circumstances, provides both advantages and challenges for males and females within families. In terms of advantages from males’ perspective, financial dependence of wives is a strong control mechanism and an indicator of men’s masculine status. This explains men’s resistance to women’s employment. On the other hand, due to the high rate of unemployment in the country and decrease of economic opportunities in Russia and regionally, men seem to be willing, to a certain degree, to compromise their authority in order to ease the financial burden.

[...]

Our findings suggest that both female and male participants realise that, in addition to enabling women to meet their basic needs like buying clothes or paying for health services, financial income boosts their self-esteem, helps in building equal relationships with husbands and re-defines their position within the family hierarchy.

ETA3: Ah, the manual! [PDF] ETA4: I'm not even done reading the first day's instructions and I'm seriously impressed.

[conuly]

*watches all edits with fascination*

See, sometimes, just sometimes, it pays not to be too cynical!

[siderea]

Wait... it pays? How much?

In other news: I am fascinated to discover that Tajikistan culture apparently has no opprobrium about abortion. It is talked about as an option completely matter-of-factly in a way we certainly don't here.

Like, for one example I've encountered, I'm on the session notes for the session that's about "Caring for Pregnant Women":

Ask the groups to compare their signs of early pregnancy. If anyone mentions a woman’s stomach getting bigger, you should clarify that this is something that usually happens later in pregnancy. You should also mention that some women have some of these signs but not all of them. It is advisable for a woman to confirm the pregnancy at a clinic or by using an over-the-counter pregnancy test early so that she can get the right care from the start or that she can terminate the pregnancy if she does not want it.

OMG... you can't say that in health educational materials in the US. Or in Europe? OMG. Mind slightly blown.

[conuly]

Wait... it pays? How much?

Millions, you just have to wait patiently. They assure me that the check is in the mail :)