ave1125

[ave1125]

Voice and Phenomenon — Alfred Yun (jazz, free jazz, pop, heavy metal, hip hop)

voice and phenomenon (Bandcamp) “Voice and Phenomenon uses the medium of the voice, the most personal instrument of all, to investigate the concept of violence, by playing with the voice in its myriad forms: poetry, spoken word, singing, buddhist chants, games, voice overs, samples, gibberish, crying, and laughing. It argues that violence is not just physical violence but that of crossing the…

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By Any Means Necessary

Laws will not save the oppressed. Only power. Pompeo’s statements on Israeli settlements remind us once again that laws without power are toothless. The liberal delusion is that if we submit ourselves to the law, we will arrive at a neutral, self-correcting system. What liberals don’t tell you is that in order to assert the rule of law, it must be enforced by a powerful entity — the state. This…

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To be violated by the other

To be violated by the other

Multiculturalism, as practiced by liberals, is like diet coke. Liberals want to have tolerance without disturbance. They want to embrace the other without risk. They want love without uncertainty. They yearn for capitalism with a human face, without inequality and exploitation.   Love is predicated upon the negativity of the other. Love begins with the act of falling, which entails negativity —…

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Fox News, Vox, Capitalism

Vox makes a good point: Fox News is a freak show. It’s a chapter from a dystopian novel. Unabashed racism, sexism, partisan hackery, and distorted facts. Unsurprisingly, Vox wishes to return to the past, when news show hosts like Sean Hannity didn’t openly campaign for a political party. But, my question is this: didn’t the past lead to the present?

Liberal democracy requires its participants to…

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Gordon Ramsay = Donald Trump

Gordon Ramsay = Donald Trump

Gordon Ramsay is just like Donald Trump. Maybe even worse, because many liberals regard his old fashioned capitalist authoritarianism as some kind of “realness.” The boss talks down the workers, who must simply obey and listen to their boss who “knows better.” The managerial class of capitalism knows better than the “uneducated” working class. Listen to the economists who gave us the 2008…

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Neither Free Trade no Protectionism

Neither Free Trade no Protectionism

Richard Wolff reminds us that Free Trade vs. Protectionism is ultimately a futile debate. It’s like Coke or Pepsi. Both sides have been used by big industries for their own gain, because that’s how capitalism functions. Capitalism, in any kind of trade, begets a system of inequality and labor exploitation. In other words, the means of production are private.

I have criticized free trade, not…

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Sacha Baron Cohen the post-racial clown

Sacha Baron Cohen the post-racial clown

Ali G. and Sacha Baron Cohen represent white subjectivity. He represents the white person’s desire to move on from racism. Because they’ve moved on, they can make fun of racism as satire. It doesn’t matter if it’s indistinguishable from minstrelsy in many ways; they’re performing racism to criticize racism. In their mind, they have successfully moved on to the point that it is now acceptable to…

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Sacha Baron Cohen is a racist

Sacha Baron Cohen is a racist

Liberals love Sacha Baron Cohen, because he exposed the absurdity of Republicans. Yet, they say nothing about his racism and their complicity in it. Satire doesn’t excuse routinely portraying negative stereotypes. It actually affects people. For example, Kazakh students in the US and UK were mocked because of Borat. Kazakhs have no representation at all in the west. Frankly, Cohen’s intentions do…

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John Oliver, Facebook, the Printing Press, and Capitalism

John Oliver and many others are criticizing Facebook for effectively spreading hate and fake news. Indisputable at this point. Furthermore, I don’t think it’s good for one’s health. Nonetheless, I feel like they’re missing the point.

The printing press under capitalism has always been broken. One of the first major jobs of the printing press was the witch-hunt. They effectively spread the…

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Chink Speaks

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Finally releasing my first album! Thanks to Enmanuel Roman, André Giles Chávez, Hiroki Miura for rehearsing, performing, and recording these whacky songs with me! Also, huge shout out to Cristobal Cruz-Garcia who spent hours recording these songs in two studios! Gustaf Claesson was also a…

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Veganism, Christianity, and Capitalism

Veganism, Christianity, and Capitalism

It’s great if you can be totally vegan. But, these are the facts: 84% of vegans and vegetarians return to meat. We live in a society that is built on cheap meat, factory farming, labor exploitation, etc. An individual can only do so much to alter such structural issues. This is why I actually think a utilitarian model of veganism is more effective than “animal rights.” Rights are derived from…

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Favorite Anime Shows

Revolutionary Girl Utena

K-On!

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Gurren Lagann

Space Dandy

Hunter X Hunter

Monster

Bakemonogatari

Kyousougiga

My preferences changed over the years. I think I like shows that are lighter nowadays. K-On! was probably my turning point. Loving that show made me realize how much I have prevented myself from just enjoying happiness.

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K-Pop vs. J-Pop

K-Pop vs. J-Pop. This whole debate has a much more sinister backdrop than many assume.   Japan was destroyed by WWII. During its recovery, Japan copied and adapted the West. Like contemporary China, Japan developed its economy through developing infant industries. These infant industries shamelessly took ideas from the West. Frequently, the West criticized Japan for “stealing their patents and…

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Bernie Sanders, North Korea, Fear-mongering

Bernie Sanders, North Korea, Fear-mongering

Recently, Bernie Sanders has criticized Trump for talking up North Korea, accusing him of harboring admiration for dictators. Such criticisms are everywhere nowadays. I have a problem with Bernie Sanders’ approach to this issue. We were always at war with North Korea. Sanctions are not meant as a surgical blow against the leadership of any country, they’re meant as a general destabilizing…

[ave1125]

Bernie Sanders, North Korea, Fear-mongering

Bernie Sanders, North Korea, Fear-mongering

Recnetly, Bernie Sanders has criticized Trump for talking up North Korea, accusing him of harboring admiration for dictators. Such criticisms are everywhere nowadays. I have a problem with Bernie Sanders’ approach to this issue. We were always at war with North Korea. Sanctions are not meant as a surgical blow against the leadership of any country, they’re meant as a general destabilizing…

[ave1125]

Bernie Sanders, North Korea, Fear-mongering

Bernie Sanders, North Korea, Fear-mongering

Recnetly, Bernie Sanders has criticized Trump for talking up North Korea, accusing him of harboring admiration for dictators. Such criticisms are everywhere nowadays. I have a problem with Bernie Sanders’ approach to this issue. We were always at war with North Korea. Sanctions are not meant as a surgical blow against the leadership of any country, they’re meant as a general destabilizing…

[ave1125]

Scientists are not skeptics; they are theologians.

Scientists are not skeptics; they are theologians.

As Thomas Kuhn famously remarked in the Structure of Scientific Revolutions, “Perhaps the most striking feature of [normal science] is how little they aim to produce major novelties, conceptual, or phenomenal.” (Kuhn, 35) In fact, an extensive study by Bernard Barber reveals that scientists are intolerant of new discoveries.[1] Priestly never accepted Lavoisier’s oxygen theory. Kelvin never…