Oppression
I can’t pinpoint exactly where it comes from, but somewhere along the way I’ve internalised a core value of “siding with the underdog”. Anti-Thatcherite Britain? Aussie tall-poppy syndrome? Catholic public school? Perhaps a mix of all these and more. I was recently introduced to the following quote from Periyar Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy that is I think a perfect formulation of the idea:
If a larger country oppresses a smaller country, I’ll stand with the smaller country.
If the smaller country has majoritarian religion that oppresses minority religions, I’ll stand with minority religions.
If the minority religion has caste and one caste oppresses another caste, I’ll stand with the caste being oppressed.
In the oppressed caste, if an employer oppresses his employee, I’ll stand with the employee.
If employee goes home and oppresses his wife, I’ll stand with that woman.
Overall, oppression is my enemy.
- Thanthai Periyar E. V. Ramasamy (17 Sep, 1879 – 24 Dec, 1973)
Looking back now, I can see how this quote made the rounds on social media over the past few years, but I haven’t yet found a primary source to cite. This may be me running into a language barrier, as I presume his original words were probably in Tamil.
Nevertheless, it explains why my first instincts in all modern conflicts have been right .. IMHO!
And why I think that UN Security Council reform is essential to preserve and improve the prospect for all peoples to enjoy peace and security.
Until now, I thought that was a pipe dream, as who could imaging the US giving up its veto power? But now I see a rising chorus of people calling for reform
Kishore Mahbubani has argued in the Financial Times that “UN credibility depends on adjusting veto rights to match shift in global power” .. including quite provocatively suggesting the poetic justice if the UK were to cede its UNSC seat in favour of India.
And everyone seems to be calling for reform at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Leadership for Peace…
- Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has called to “constrain the exercise of the veto”
- French President Emmanuel Macron has “suggested that the UN Security Council limit veto power”
- even the US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield echoed the need for reform .. but of course without mentioning veto powers; no surprise there.
- But most significantly, I think Finland’s President Alexander Stubb may have punched a winning ticket by calling for expansion of the U.N. Security Council, abolition of its single state veto power, and suspension of any member engaging in an “illegal war”.
Please, no to the veto!
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2024 Rails Survey Surprises?
The results of the 2024 Ruby on Rails Community Survey are out. Are there any surprises? For me: nothing earth -shattering. But that in itself may be the surprise, as the results show a re-invigorated community that is perhaps stronger than it has been in years.
While the demographics imply that the community is still maturing, it is growing enough to replace those that “aged out” around the 13 year mark.
Interestingly, the exodus of Ruby/Rails devs around 13 years ago (2011-2012) was just at the time when node.js, go and rust were starting to break though. Coincidence? I think not!
See the full results at https://railsdeveloper.com/survey/2024/. To be honest, nothing particularly unexpected, just solid confirmation that Rails appears to be back on a on a very healthy track.
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The Planes of Imperial Japan
The Planes of Imperial Japan is a little project I made while waiting for a plane at Haneda Airport back in 2023.
I wanted a way to quickly lookup Japanese planes from the second world war and get a basic summary with pictures and links to more information .. including a link to scalemates if you are looking for scale models;-)
Sources are available on GitHub, click through for more information..
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Long Live The Blog!
Over the past week I’ve subscribed to THREE NEW BLOGS in the old reader:
- Chris Meddings’ the Model Philosopher
- an amazing Shadow Box showcase シャドーボックス・ラ・マーニ
- and Build by Jake McKee
AND here’s my first post in 4 years.
Are blogs back!?!?!?!?!?!?
I think so and apparently I’m not the only one. For two reasons:
- we’re jaded by the entrenched social networks (especially when captured by raving loony fascist billionaires)
- and AI is rapidly devaluing stumbled-upon content
For some like me, and admittedly perhaps not for the majority, this means I find myself skewing back to personally curated information and hand-crafted experiences.
Blogs are good for that.
For over a decade, Twitter was my main social network. It was largely responsible for drawing me away from blogs. Of course when Google killed reader it was apparently game over.
I gave up Twitter a few years ago when Musk took over, had a half-hearted attempt at moving to mastodon, but it never really fired in the same way.
I’ve since found a pretty nice home over on Instagram - especially for my model builds and craft - but it is not a place for discussions. And by virtue of my Instagram account I do dabble a bit in Facebook, but I try to avoid it (despite the insistence of some of the communities I circulate in to do all their business on Facebook …harrumph).
Anyway for now, raise your glass and let’s toast to the ongoing success of one of the most viral, subversive, and underground content movements the world has seen since the days of flagrant pamphleteering … THE BLOG.
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