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The final chapter of John Gray's Seven Types of Atheism
Posted on June 12, 2018 by Nicholas Gruen
The God of monotheism did not die, it only left the scene for a while in order to reappear as humanity – the human species dressed up as a collective agent, pursuing its self-realization in history. But, like the God of monotheism, humanity is a work of the imagination. The only observable reality is the multitudinous human animal, with its conflicting goals, values and ways of life. As an object of worship, this fractious species has some disadvantages. Old-fashioned monotheism had the merit of admitting that very little can be known of God. As far back as the prophet Isaiah, the faithful have allowed that the Deity may have withdrawn from the world. Awaiting some sign of a divine presence, they have encountered only deus absconditus – an absent God.
The end result of trying to abolish monotheism is much the same. Generations of atheists have lived in expectation of the arrival of a truly human species: the communal workers of Marx, Mill's autonomous individuals and Nietzsche's absurd Übermensch , among many others. None of these fantastical creatures has been seen by human eyes. A truly human species remains as elusive as any Deity. Humanity is the deus absconditus of modern atheism.
A free-thinking atheism would begin by questioning the prevailing faith in humanity. But there is little prospect of contemporary atheists giving up their reverence for this phantom. Without the faith that they stand at the head of an advancing species they could hardly go on. Only by immersing themselves in such nonsense can they make sense of their lives. Without it, they face panic and despair.
According to the grandiose theories today's atheists have inherited from Positivism, religion will wither away as science continues its advance. But while science is advancing more quickly than it has ever done, religion is thriving – at times violently. Secular believers say this is a blip – eventually, religion will decline and die away. But their angry bafflement at the re-emergence of traditional faiths shows they do not believe in their theories themselves. For them religion is as inexplicable as original sin. Atheists who demonize religion face a problem of evil as insoluble as that which faces Christianity.
If you want to understand atheism and religion, you must forget the popular notion that they are opposites. If you can see what a millenarian theocracy in early sixteenth-century Münster has in common with Bolshevik Russia and Nazi Germany, you will have a clearer view of the modern scene. If you can see how theologies that affirm the ineffability of God and some types of atheism are not so far apart, you will learn something about the limits of human understanding.
Contemporary atheism is a continuation of monotheism by other means. Hence the unending succession of God-surrogates, such as humanity and science, technology and the all-too-human visions of transhumanism. But there is no need for panic or despair. Belief and unbelief are poses the mind adopts in the face of an unimaginable reality. A godless world is as mysterious as one suffused with divinity, and the difference between the two may be less than you think.
This entry was posted in Cultural Critique, Philosophy, Political theory, Religion. Bookmark the permalink.
40 Responses to The final chapter of John Gray's Seven Types of Atheism
John R Walker says:
Nicholas re
"Without the faith that they stand at the head of an advancing species …"
Do atheists really believe in what used to be called the 'great ladder ' of evolution : bacteria at the bottom fish in the middle and humanity at the top?
BTW while glad he speaks of monotheism (and not of 'religion' ) the usage still has real problems as a category.
Prime example is , Christians ( and one subgroup of Muslims )believe in the Trinity – in Luthers words trying to understand the Trinity would ' endanger your mental health '.
John Birnheim says:
The trouble with the cause of everything is that it explains nothing. The trouble with a common goal for all humanity is either that it warrants that anything people choose to want is a human goal, including anything we can imagine somebody wanting, and that is just a mess of desires that are in one way or another incompatible. The mythical common goal and the futile efforts of religions of all sorts to prescribe for it bear witness to a deep-seated desire to transcend being merely human.
I suggest that the push towards transcendence is simply our particular version of the perpetual scramble to invent new complexes that is the blind driving force of evolution. It is not a convergent process, but one of discovering complexes with much more varied capacities than their components. A few subatomic particles make a much greater variety of atoms, which in turn make huge variety of chemical compounds and so on. The random interactions of particles following their own natural trajectories ensure that every possible combination at a certain level of complexity gets tried, but only a few turn out to be stable and survive long enough to interact with similar complexes to produce a new level of activity quite different from that of their components in virtue of the ways in which those components are organised.
We humans have discovered a great variety of forms of organisation that enable us to do extraordinary things, acquire amazingly powerful real and imaginary capacities in virtue of different networks, mostly by chance, but sometimes by design. Unfortunately, destructive violence and threats thereof are generally easier an quicker than construction as feats are more compelling than hopes. We have invented all sorts of spurious reasons for employing these capacities on moral grounds. I suggest that the task that lies ahead of us is to develop specific forms of organisation that will find rewarding ways of inducing people to do the various things that need to be done without threats of violence, not because everybody shares the same interests and values, but because we feel that the variety of things that needs to be done enriches us all in unpredictable ways as the variety of opportunities open to us in both imagination and reality expands by a mixture of cooperation and happenstance.
Every work of art is the valuable precisely in its originality. But at the same time is original only in relation to a tradition on which it is a comment. An ecosystem consists of organisms of very different kinds each doing it own thing, but adapting to the opportunities and nutrients that other organisms offer it. At the biological and animal levels organisms cannot create these things. We can, if only we can use our ability to cooperate in ways that others and we find fulfilling.
paul frijters says:
I have a lot of sympathy for the basic argument that religion does not need a supernatural god, an insight that opens us up to seeing religiosity in almost everyone. I also sympathise with the argument that monotheism is the norm and that it is particularly ill-suited to the way humans think, which means it must mainly be generated by the peculiar circumstances of our societies.
Unfortunately, where the author displays his ignorance is when he overlays his reasons for belief onto the rest of us, ie his phrase "Belief and unbelief are poses the mind adopts in the face of an unimaginable reality."
Different peoples at different times have believed for far more prosaic and pragmatic reasons: they just believed what their carers taught them was true, or they anthropomorphised what was around them, or they were trying to bargain without having real power, etc.. John Gray makes the classic mistake of presuming that his pre-occupations are those of all humans at all times, a nice example of monotheism in action. He is trying to connect to us via his one god, ie his 'unimaginable reality'. I wonder if he knew that this stance is reminiscent of the Greeks who took Chaos as the primal state from which gods were born. Sweet, in a way.
I give you
Brahms quartet g minor 4th movement
I'll see you Brahms and raise you Aaron Copland:
Copland was, by the way, a non-believer.
https://youtu.be/Mcfy3UmnyDY
Nicholas Gruen says:
Are you saying or assuming Gray is not an atheist?
He describes himself as one in the book.
well, he doesn't sound like an atheist from how I would define it (he cares too much about his own constructs), but he might well be in the way he defines it!
The text above says "Contemporary atheism is a continuation of monotheism" (which I largely agree with).
What's your take?
When Gray says "Contemporary atheism is a continuation of monotheism", that's the atheism he has it in for – what I call 'schoolboy' atheism. He also says that he's an atheist in the mould of either his sixth or seventh kind of atheism.
They are, for your reference
6 Atheism without Progress
George Santayana, an atheist who loved religion – Joseph Conrad and the godless sea
7 The Atheism of Silence The mystical atheism ofArthur Schopenhauer
Two negative theologies: Benedict Spinoza and Lev Shestov
On the other hand Gray is convinced that what we might call 'monotheistic atheists' are caught up in projecting their monotheism into new channels – politics and history. He makes a good case as to the horrendous excesses of this and his case that it's erroneous is quite well made. But the approach he doesn't deal with is the lesser claim which is not that the world is ineluctably moving towards transcendence, but that that if not transcendence, then improvement a worthy aspiration for us – individually and collectively.
I was raised as a schoolboy atheist and in that sense am a lapsed atheist. Sadly, that doesn't lead me to anything much more than a wide eyed respect for the yawning chasm between what we know and what the world is. People tend to sentimentalise this – Philip Adams can't wait to purr about 'the numinous' which sounds silly to me.
I mostly intellectualise it – which is probably just as comical. I suspect a friend of mine emotionalises it – that is tries to relate to it emotionally and has become a Catholic. Good luck to him. My emotional reaction is despair if I'm to look it in the face, but it's also a kind of bloody minded faith that I should do the right thing – that if there's a God it's immanent. Then I tend to have ideas from my culture about what that might be – which are essentially Christian.
But this is just a nice middle class 'faith' in so far as it's anything. It's never been really tested, so it doesn't amount to much.
I'm not an atheist in the sense of having some strong sense of what the universe is not. That is a view that strikes me as absurd on its face – a refusal to shake ourselves out of the idea that really everything is pretty commonsensical whatever arguments the smarties come up with.
It's pretty obvious, for instance, that the world is made of matter, that this mind thing is constructed of it. Well it does seem obvious, but it also seems obvious that the sun is revolving round the earth. In fact this kind of thinking is mistakes all the way down because not only is the instinct behind it simply untutored – unreflective – but even if it's true that the universe is made of nothing but matter, we haven't the slightest idea what matter is. I discussed a little of this in this post.
There are some extremely good arguments that the mind is not made of matter. See for example. almost anything by David Chalmers. The field of consciousness studies is filled with materialists, nonmaterialists, delusionists, intervalists, and several other positions.
There are four fairly obvious propositions in consciousness studies, but no more than 3 of them can be valid.
(1) The mind is a nonphysical thing.
2) The body is a physical thing.
3) The mind and the body interact.
4) Physical and nonphysical things cannot interact.
Westphal, Jonathan (2016-09-22T22:58:59). The Mind–Body Problem (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series) (Kindle Locations 156-158). The MIT Press. Kindle Edition.
I'm not advocating any particular position, just suggesting that it is a much more complex issue than you've described.
R. N. England says:
Some short musings on religion from this atheist.
As far as I can make out, the Christian God is a personification of Christian culture. Christian culture is very real, and the dominant part of our cultural heritage, but it is an impersonal thing, and anthropomorphising it brings all sorts of problems. It doesn't answer prayers. It didn't create the earth etc.. It isn't a feudal ruler in the sky. But it does continue to shape much of our behaviour for better and, more rarely for worse.
On the manuscripts of many of his major works, Josef Haydn (1732-1809) wrote "In nomine Domini" at the beginning, and "Laus Deo" at the end. I learned long ago from a classical scholar that "Laus Deo" means "The praise belongs to God". The scholar was headmaster of a school whose motto that was, so I have no doubt he would have done his homework. I therefore interpret Haydn's inscriptions as: "This work is dedicated to the Christian culture whose servant I am"; and "The praise for it belongs to my Christian culture". It is an acknowledgement by the musician that without his culture the work would not exist. I see this as a far more realistic, uplifting, and even scientific outlook, than sordid individualism in which everybody scrambles for every last bit of personal credit for some piece of rubbish they claim to have "created".
Michael Robbins here gives a pithy summing of the tediousness of schoolboy atheists .
He concludes the piece:
My own preferred image of God comes from Dante. At the end of the "Paradiso," Dante the pilgrim has at last ascended to the Empyrean and is vouchsafed a vision of God, who is not the white-bearded figure of iconography. As often throughout the last canticle of his Comedy, Dante stresses that what he witnessed "was greater than speech can show." Everything he can say of his vision is but an approximation, a translation of the ineffable into human terms.
With this qualification in place, Dante describes God as an infinitely transparent point of light, conflating "substances and accidents and their modes … in such a way that what I describe is a simple light," where goodness is gathered. "And what is perfect there falls short elsewhere."
Um … you don't often encounter religious believers willing to concede the real possibility that their god may have withdrawn entirely from the world. The point of view seems particularly rare among noted religious thinkers. I'm not saying there are none, only that they are thin on the ground. I would in fact be grateful for pointers to those who have made this particular point.
The far more common claim is that a god is present and has revealed himself to all who have opened themselves to the experience.
Matt Moore says:
"you don't often encounter religious believers willing to concede the real possibility that their god may have withdrawn entirely from the world"
It was very common historically. The 17th & 18th century were rife with deists who believed exactly that.
"While science is advancing more quickly than it has ever done, religion is thriving – at times violently …"
In certain places, religion is thriving. In other places, not so much.
See this graph
Indeed, putting your finger on an important weakness of Gray's and a way in which he risks a kind of simpatico with the crazies. Personally I don't think of fundamentalism as in any way religious. For me religion has to be about somehow submitting to our own ignorance of what this world of which we are a part is. And I'm afraid if you think it's contained within the literal words of some translation of some holy book, you haven't really turned up.
As one of many possible definitions, that seems fine.
It is, however, incumbent on people who think this way about religion to acknowledge that it's a view held by a tiny minority of believers. My guess is that it's far less common than simply being unconvinced about the existence of a god or gods. If it had a name, it would be a type of belief you hardly ever heard of, like Yazidism or anarcho-syndicalism, held by people you rarely met and having little influence in the wider world.
Most believers I have talked with think that Jesus actually came back to life or that Mohammed really flew to Heaven on the back of an actual flying horse, and regard those facts as integral to their belief.
More generally, most religious people seem to be enthusiastic about the certainty aspects of their belief. Uncertainty is, for such people, a bug, not a feature. It's really interesting to me that there are few if any religions which say "we think this might be how it is, but we're not completely sure". Some forms of Hinduism may get close.
But it's NOT incumbent on me to speak on behalf of anyone ;)
Nor you :)
I'm not much of a one for pistols at dawn between two abstract nouns.
while there are actually a large number of quiet comtemplatives in many faiths they are on the whole by nature ,quiet.
BTW if I had certainty I would not need faith.
It was one such quiet contemplative who first made this point to me. "Whenever I speak to people at church about this," she said, "I feel like I belong to a different religion than they do."
And for her, talking about it at all was a bit of an experiment. I think she's stopped now, in favour of, you know, quiet contemplation.
Does she know of the World Community for Christian Meditation?
If not she could have a look.
Can't say that I have felt a sense of , belonging to a different religion. Comtempative is simply one of the six ( or seven not sure) main threads of practice. The Desert Fathers after all go way back.
It's important to remember that "believing" is simply one third of the "belonging, behaving, believing" triad of organised religion.
Most self-identified Christians are not theologians. They do not have a rigorously worked out worldview. They may well believe that Jesus was raised from the dead in some manner. But fewer Australians believe that the Bible is literally true than believe in UFOs. And fewer still believe in something like young earth creationism.
For some believers, certainty is draw – I absolutely agree. But for others structure and ritual or a sense of communal engagement are more important.
That( mostly )tally's with my experience of about 16 years of membership of the Canberra Goulburn diocese.
Caveat is , the second great commandment and the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup is litteraly a link in a unbroken chain going right back to the events in that upstairs room in Jerusalem.
I'm not sure that I follow your "caveat". What do you mean by it?
Simply that the communion and love your neighbors as yourself are (literally) primary – came, come first. They are not 'just' ritual bonding exercises.
There's nothing "just" about ritual bonding exercises. Human groups have engaged in rituals and rites that signify group membership (and exclusion) for millennia. They are incredibly primal.
Communion has much in common with other collective rituals in other communities. I doubt you will agree.
As for the injunction to love your neighbours, behaviour by Christians over the centuries has indicated that it is entirely optional.
Re human behaviour .
Somebody asked Evelyn Waugh :
How come if your such a devout Christian, you can at times be such a hard bastard.
Waugh replied :
You don't know what I'd be like without it.
I don't believe that Christianity makes people especially violent. But I don't believe that it makes them especially peaceful either. My point was that saying it's "primary" for Christians is not held up by the evidence.
I reckon Evelyn Waugh would have been a right prick no matter what religion (or lack of) he was exposed to.
I like John Gray's writing and thought – although I also find it hilarious. His worldview is so unremittingly bleak that it goes right into self-parody. He is the Eeyore of modern philosophy. And a lot of the content in the passage above is familiar from Gray's "Black Mass" where he links modern political movements to historical religious movements*.
My take is related to Gray's in that I don't ever see "religion" disappearing from human societies. As I child I was told there was a "god shaped hole" in all of us. And there is. But I no longer think there is a god to fill it. Or rather we have to fill the hole ourselves. There is no supernatural readymade.
There are two useful empirical studies of unbelief in Australia: Tom Frame's Losing My Religion and Hugh Mackay's Beyond Belief. Both of which are great when they stick to social science but become much less interesting when they shift to theology.
The number of self-identified "atheists" in Australia is actually quite small (around 50,000 if I recall). Far larger are the people who have no interest in organised religion (around 20-30%) or have a vestigial attachment to Christianity (around 50-60%). Which isn't to say that these groups do not have religious impulses and desires that manifest in other ways – as Mackay details at length in ch. 3 & 4 of his book.
In a sense, Gray is behind the times. The New Atheists (Hitchens, Dawkins) who are obviously the targets of Gray's scorn here were a 2000s phenomenon that arose out of a particular period in history. I don't think they play that role now.
A few people on this thread also talk about "Christian culture" – which is a concept which is bandied about a lot (along with the term "Judeo-Christian") and that I am a little suspicious of. For example it implies that we have more in common with the Democratic Republic of Congo (a majority Christian country) rather than Japan (a nation shaped by Shinto and Buddhism). It also suppresses the violent disagreements within Christianity. Varieties of Christian belief have absolutely influenced the culture and laws of Australia but not in the monolithic way that this term sometimes implies.
*On reflection, in his amodernism, he reminds me most of Bruno Latour.
The slow movement of the Brahms quartet I referenced is ironic ,very incheck.
I am not your , object.
I'm more into Joey Beltram.
In fact, I would propose that the closest aesthetic analogue of John Gray's anti-humanism can be found in the early 90s work of R&S records, Marc Acardipane, and Ardkore. Both have:
– A close but uneasy relationship to 80s neo-liberal capitalism.
– A contempt for humanism and rationalism.
– An obsession with apocalypse and dystopia.
Yes, I noted Gray's neoliberal (Hayek) phase – one of the most astute fellow travellers.
I have not read his book on Hayek but this NS article causes much consternation in the libertarian circles where the Austrians are venerated: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/07/john-gray-friedrich-hayek-i-knew-and-what-he-got-right-and-wrong
Is the earlier Gray worth reading – and if so, anything in particular?
"He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord."(Deuteronomy 23:1)
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Luvia Petersen was raised in Montreal, Quebec, until the age of 6 when her family relocated to Alberta. In the late 1990s her family moved to BC which is where she lives today.
Linda Perry was born on April 15, 1965 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. She has been married to Sara Gilbert since March 30, 2014. They have one child.
Paula Pell was born on April 15, 1963 in Joliet, Illinois, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), Inside Out (2015) and 30 Rock (2006).
Danny Pino was born on April 15, 1974 in Miami, Florida, USA as Daniel Gonzalo Pino. He is an actor and writer, known for Cold Case (2003), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) and Burn Notice (2007). He has been married to Lilly Pino Bernal since February 15, 2002. They have two children.
Trine Dyrholm was born on April 15, 1972 in Odense, Denmark. She is an actress and director, known for Den skaldede frisør (2012), In a Better World (2010) and A Royal Affair (2012).
Kamala Lopez is an award-winning film and television actress, producer, director, writer and editor as well as an internationally recognized political activist, blogger and published editorialist.
Michael Tucci was born on April 15, 1946 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Grease (1978), The Heat (2013) and Blow (2001).
Lou Romano was born on April 15, 1972. He is known for his work on The Incredibles (2004), Le Petit Prince (2015) and Samurai Jack (2001).
Sam McMurray was born on April 15, 1952 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Raising Arizona (1987), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) and L.A. Story (1991). He is married to Elizabeth Collins. They have two children.
Damien Dante Wayans was born on April 15, 1980 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Dance Flick (2009), My Wife and Kids (2001) and Malibu's Most Wanted (2003).
Jason Sehorn was born on April 15, 1971 in Berkeley, California, USA as Jason Heath Sehorn. He is an actor, known for Third Watch (1999), Women's Murder Club (2007) and Kickin' It (2011). He was previously married to Angie Harmon and Whitney Casey.
Leonie Elliott was born on April 15, 1988 in Brent, London, England as Leonie Samantha Elliott. She is an actress, known for Call the Midwife (2012), Danny and the Human Zoo (2015) and Black Mirror (2011).
Tom started doing voiceover work professionally at the age of 15, in his hometown of Kansas City. By the time he got out of college he had done several hundred commercials, then he moved to Hollywood and started landing Movie Trailers, Network Promos, Games, Feature Films and Cartoons.
Harvey Lembeck was an American actor of Jewish descent, primarily known for comedic roles. Early in his life, Lembeck had worked as a dancer, and radio announcer.
Natalie Casey was born on April 15, 1980 in Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. She is an actress, known for Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2001), Hollyoaks (1995) and Merry Widows (2011).
Elissa Knight was born on April 15, 1975 in Santa Cruz, California, USA. She is known for her work on WALL·E (2008), Cars (2006) and Inside Out (2015).


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text:
I King of Asgard sono un gruppo musicale melodic death metal, formato in Svezia nel 2008.

Il gruppo

Il gruppo è nato nel 2008 dal fondatore Karl Beckman, insieme al compagno Karsten Larsson, già insieme in passato nei Mithotyn. La loro prima registrazione la fecero l'anno successivo, nel 2009, pubblicando un EP, 'Prince of Märings', con dentro 7 pezzi. Nello stesso anno è entrato nel gruppo Jonas Albrektsson (ex-Thy Primordial), e alla fine dell'anno, nel dicembre, i King of Asgard hanno firmato un contratto con la Metal Blade Records. Nel 2010 registrarono il loro album di debutto e, durante l'estate, girarono un video per il loro pezzo 'Einhärjar'. Nel mese di agosto il gruppo rilasciarono quindi il loro primo album, Fi'mbulvintr, ma la band aveva bisogno di un secondo chitarrista per i concerti, e tennero Tängmark Lars per quel mese. Per tutto il 2010 e il 2011 la band ha suonato in diversi festival e locali. Nel 2012 finirono di scrivere il loro secondo album, e in aprile tornarono negli studi di registrazione per registrare ...To North, e a maggio girarono anche in questo caso un video.

Formazione

Karl "Kalle" Beckmann - voce, chitarra
Lars Tangmark - chitarra
Jonas Albrektsson - basso
Karsten Larsson - batteria

Discografia
Album in studio
2010 - Fi'mbulvintr
2012 - ... To North
2014 - Karg
Demo
2009 - Prince of Märings

Collegamenti esterni

 Sito ufficiale

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
UK trade union: freight statistics worrying
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) says the latest statistics, released last week by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), show a worrying downward trend. The Union has called for the UK government to fully support the sector.
The quarterly analysis of the rail freight industry, reported here last week, has brought a concerned response from the RMT, the trades union representing more than 83,000 members across the transport industry.
Volume fallen significantly
The Union was responding to the quarterly report, published last Thursday, by the independent ORR, the non-ministerial government department responsible for regulation of Britain's railways. The figures cover the period January to March 2020, the last quarter of the financial year. The annual figures, also indicated in the results, are only marginally affected by the coronavirus crisis, which gives the Union cause for concern.
In their latest analysis, the Office of Rail and Road graphically illustrate the downward trend highlighted by the RMT
According to the ORR, in their headline summary of annual trends, the total volume of rail freight moved fell to 16.6 billion net tonne kilometres in the financial year 2019-20, a 5 per cent decrease from the total in 2018-19. They add that the total has fallen significantly since it peaked in 2013-14 and 2019-20 is the lowest total recorded for freight moved in 23 years.
Call for government measures
Despite some optimism expressed in the commentary, and the caveat that the rapid removal of coal traffic is still working through the industry, the RMT is unimpressed. They say these latest rail freight usage statistics show a worrying downward trend.
The collapse of coal traffic remains a significant statistical factor (ORR graphic)
The Union highlights the figures that show the lowest total of rail freight moved for 23 years, and lowest total of freight lifted for 35 years. Union leaders have called on the UK government to put measures in place "to ensure the rail freight sector had a bright future."
Worrying to say the least
"These latest rail freight statistics are worrying to say the least", said Mick Cash, the RMT general secretary. He added that the part played by the industry in the current pandemic crisis has been crucial to the nation. "It's vital that the rail freight industry is not allowed to wither on the vine as it has proven to play a vital role in our response to the crisis, moving vital medical supplies and food to keep our country moving", said Cash.
Worried by the statistical trend. Mick Cash, general secretary of the RAil Maritime and Transport workers union, reprinting more than 83,000 workers accross the whole industry (RMT).
Immediate and long term actions
While the overall proportion of freight moved by rail in the UK remains small, the national and regional devolved governments have all made commitments to a greener economy, citing rail transport as a significant part of that strategy. However, the RMT sees a need for both immediate and long term action.
"The Government must ensure we get rail freight back on the rails," says Cash. He also wants rail to be at the heart of the long-term economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis. "That this vital sector is fully supported as part of an integrated transport strategy that will become even more vital as part of the country's revival."
As with other industry stakeholders, the Union is braced for the September analysis, which will cover the March-May period, and reveal the impact of the coronavirus crisis in more detail.
Tags: Mick Cash, Office of Rail and Road, RMT union, statistics
Author: Simon Walton
Simon Walton is RailFreight's UK correspondent.
Irish freight struggles to make case for Western Rail Corridor
Port of Gdansk aims to handle 60 million tonnes per year
Curzon Street HS2 showpiece for Birmingham terminal
Liverpool wins in container crunch
Rail freight's wishlist for 2021
METRANS: simplification of processes required for 2021
This is how the Fehmarnbelt tunnel will be constructed
Who profits from the soaring container prices?
UK 2021 - Another hard day's night or a ticket to ride?
Is the elimination of Chinese subsidies a good idea?
China presents freight train to break speed record with 350 kmph
Rise of intermodal services in Hungary shows the way
Freight figures big in UK Union Connectivity Review
Network Rail responds to costs and consults on Ely project
Concerns over South Wales' freight future
Rail sector demands equal treatment for infrastructure charges
'Twas the season of … engineering works

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Legends will remain forever. Such positive role models we look up to now and days. Nip was one of them. The tupac of our days, but left way too soon. They don't want us to win nip, but we're going to come together and make sure your vision is brought to life.
Proceeds will be donated towards nips family. RIP legend, you will forever be remembered.


I feel like every day there's a new viral video of a takedown of conservative ideology. It's not even overly liberal, it's that conservatives have become so overwhelmingly wrong across the board. Their foundation is broken. Their ideals and policies, rather than being focused on limited government, are focused on disenfranchisement of other people.
How can you live in our country and be a traditional conservative right now? How can you look me in the eyes and say your policies have worked? Our education system is shambles because Chambers of Commerce, the school boards they own and the DOE have turned education into test taking sweat shops. Our children are popping out babies like it's going out of style and your answer is that they pray about it. The babies that are already here aren't properly taken care of because your policies have defunded the program's (welfare, schools, Medicaid, food stamps, etc.) meant to help the poor. You claim to be the most "Christian," only to turn around to tell the neediest among us that they're on their own. That it's their fault and they deserve their situation. You live in an America where you worship individualism and scoff at the idea of the community until it's convenient.
America didn't become the greatest country in the world because of conservative policies and beliefs. America was revered because even though we were individuals our society thrived. Our society cared about each other. Well, our society is much bigger than it used to be. Actually, our society has always been like this. Conservatives are just being forced to acknowledge and listen to the groups they want to go away.
We have to choose to care about each other. No, you don't know that person and, yes, that person over there may be taking drugs…but what do you want for? When you leave your comfortable job and return home to your happy life where you post about wanting for nothing…why are you against helping others achieve the same thing? You did it on your own? That's awesome (and precious you think that) but when has it ever been wrong to put the blessings you've received back into the world?
I think the idea of "limited government" is. antiquated and ignorant. It's not possible to do. Society's our too large, too global for governments to ever truly shrink down. Conservatives need to focus on creating "efficient government." Conservative ideology is needed to make America what she is. We need that grounding force to make sure when we make a decision, we're making the right one. Friction creates diamonds after all. But the conservatives we have today have no interest in creating diamonds. They're obstructionists. They believe their values are vitally more important than everyone else in America. That the rest of us should abide by their rules.
That's not only not conservative — it's un-American.


Three happy hours every day are one of the attractions at Gardino Fresco, a stylish and casual place to rest and refresh in the Los Gatos Shopping District. The neon signs outside say slush cocktails, and the menu inside features oversized platters designed for sharing. Seafood is the specialty, and both shellfish and steaks dominate the bill of fare.


text:
Jason Brennan
Jason F. Brennan is an American philosopher and business professor. Jason is currently the Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He specialises in politics, philosophy, and economics. He is the editor of Public Affairs Quarterly. He is the author of 13 books including Why Not Capitalism? (Routledge Press, 2014) and Why It's OK to Want to Be Rich (Routledge Press 2020).
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Jason Brennan on iai.tv


In October 2015, Mohawk hosted the InterAct Summit, welcoming close to 300 attendees, delegates and speakers to its Fennell campus. Over the two-day event, strategies promoting growth through immigration were examined, challenged and advanced.
The proceedings from the summit have now been published. You can view the proceedings here or download them here. The document summarizes the key findings and ideas that were discussed at the summit. You are welcome to use it as a guide as you develop plans for your own business or organization.
Summit presentations have also been posted to the InterAct site. You can download the presentations here.


Assange remains a political refugee from the war-making dark state of which Donald Trump is a caricature and Hillary Clinton the embodiment.
A new study reveals that more, and more diverse, US college students voted in 2016. What are the implications for future elections?
An important new study has come out showing that Clinton paid for this arrogance: professors argue that Clinton lost the battleground states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan in last year's presidential election because they had some of the highest casualty rates during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and voters there saw Clinton as the pro-war candidate.
This administration and its allies in Congress are undermining science-based policies, violating the principles of scientific integrity, showing contempt for the role of science in general, and seeking to dismantle the very processes by which science informs public policy.
The battle for control of the House will be fought in large part in Republican-leaning districts like Georgia's Sixth, and a strong Democratic turnout alone probably won't be enough to win a high-turnout election. The Democrats must face the additional challenge of mobilizing young, nonwhite and especially Black voters. The race suggests that Democrats will probably be disappointed if they hope to increase the Black share of the electorate with traditional mobilization.
Why Did Trump Win? More Whites - and Fewer Blacks - Actually Voted..
Black turnout declined dramatically; white turnout increased noticeably; and Latino and Asian American turnout went up even more. In the key swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, those shifts were especially strong. How strong? Without those shifts in turnout from various racial and ethnic groups, these pivotal states might have gone not to Trump but to Clinton — giving Clinton an electoral college victory.


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This Kiddy Bus is packed full of extras, ensuring total flexibility for you, and maximum comfort for the kids. The ultimate in four seater children's strollers.


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Navratri 2022: History, significance, timeline and everything you need to know about this 9-day festival
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 26 (ANI): The 9-day-long festival of Shardiya Navratri festival dedicated to Maa Durga and her nine avatars, has begun today, marking the first day of the festivity (Kalash or Ghatsthapna). The festival is celebrated with much fervor all across the country by Hindus.
It is intended for worshipping Maa Durga and her nine avatars, known as Navdurga. Navratri means 'nine nights' in Sanskrit. Hindus observe a total of four Navratris throughout the year. Only two of them, Chaitra Navaratri and Shardiya Navaratri saw widespread celebrations, as they coincide with the beginnings of the seasons.
From Ashwin Shukla Paksha's Navami until the Pratipada, Shardiya Navratri is observed. While the holiday is celebrated with great fanfare across the nation, distinct traditions are more commonly practised in different states.
This year, Navratri will last nine days, starting on September 26 and concluding on October 5.
The festival of Navratri honours the defeat of the demonic Mahishasura and the triumph of good over evil. Because of Mahishasura's unwavering devotion to him, Lord Brahma bestows the gift of immortality upon him at the beginning of the narrative.
The blessing did, however, come with one stipulation: only a woman would be able to overcome him. The demon began terrorising people on Earth because he didn't think any woman would be strong enough to overcome him. Gods were unable to halt him.
Since Mahishasura was to be demolished, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva pooled their efforts to create the goddess Durga. They gave her a number of weapons. Ten days passed during Maa Durga and Mahishasura's conflict. However, Maa Durga was able to overcome him when he at last transformed into a buffalo.
During the nine-day Navratri festival, devotees worship Maa Durga's nine incarnations in order to obtain her blessings. There is a goddess manifestation linked with each day of Navratri. During these nine days, people maintain ritualistic fasts, recite shlokas dedicated to each goddess, wear new clothing, offer bhog, and clean their homes. In their prayers, they ask the goddess for her favour in order to have prosperous, joyous, and fulfilled lives.
Ramlila is organised extensively during Navratri in North India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. During the Ramlila, the tale of Lord Ram's triumph over Ravana is acted out. The effigies of King Ravana are burned on Dussehra to commemorate the triumph of good over evil.
In fact, on the tenth day of Navratri, also known as Vijayadashami, a large procession is organised during which clay figurines of Maa Durga are ceremoniously submerged in a river, sea, or ocean. Popular places to do this practice include West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and Bihar. The most significant day for Maa Durga's worship is thought to be the day of Durga Visarjan.
Numerous dances, including Garba and Dandiya Raas, are performed during the nine-day festival. While Dandiya Raas involves dancing with dandiya sticks to the beat of the music, Garba is a traditional dance in which participants clap their hands and move in a circle while making rhythmic gestures.
In India, Navratri is celebrated in a wide range of ways. Ramlila, a celebration in which scenes from the Ramayana are performed, is organised in North India, mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. The burning of King Ravana's effigies marks the conclusion of the story on Vijayadashami. (ANI)
26th September 2022, 11:18 GMT+10


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30th District Bar AssociationAttorneys of the 30th Judicial District of North Carolina
Home > Membership
The seven westernmost counties of North Carolina comprise the 30th judicial district. The counties included are: Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon, Swain, Jackson and Haywood. For purposes of district court, these counties act as one unified district with six district court judges who rotate from county to county on a daily basis. For purposes of superior court, the district has been divided into 30A and 30B. Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon and Swain counties comprise 30A and Haywood and Jackson counties comprise 30B.
Membership Eligiblity
All North Carolina licensed attorneys who reside or claim permanent residence in the aforementioned seven counties and who are not otherwise disqualified are eligible to become members of the 30th District Bar Association.
Are Judges and District Attorneys Members of the 30th District Bar Association?
Yes. By virture of their licensure in the State of North Carolina and their residency in the 30th Judicial District, Judges and District Attorneys are eligible for membership.
I am not a lawyer, can I join the 30th District Bar Association?
No. Currently our membership is limited to those licensed to practice law in North Carolina. However, we do invite members of the public to participate in many of our community service and outreach programs. If you are interested please contact us using the contact form on this site.
Does your organization provide information on who is the best attorney for a case?
No. We only provide contact information for the attorneys in our district. Our website may also contain links to individual lawyers or law firm websites, but such information should not be taken as an endorsement or a reccomendation. We do not verify the content of these linked sites. Our association does not rate attorneys, nor does it endorse any particular attorney for any type of case.
How do I add news to the website?
Email any news to 30thDistrictBar@gmail.com or call Kristy Parton at 828-586-4247.
Who are the current officers for the Bar?
President - Zeb Smathers
Vice President - Danya Vanhook
Secretary/Treasurer - Justin Greene


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← Previous diff Revision as of 23:55, 4 December 2009 (edit)
*'''[[Argument: Affirm action justly asks whites to sacrifice for common good| Affirm action justly asks whites to sacrifice for common good]]:''' It is common in democracy for different citizens to take up unequal burdens to achieve certain social goods. Progressive taxes are a good example of this. Affirmative Action adopts the same notion of assigning certain unequal burdens to some currently privileged groups in order to achieve a greater level of equality. *'''[[Argument: Affirm action justly asks whites to sacrifice for common good| Affirm action justly asks whites to sacrifice for common good]]:''' It is common in democracy for different citizens to take up unequal burdens to achieve certain social goods. Progressive taxes are a good example of this. Affirmative Action adopts the same notion of assigning certain unequal burdens to some currently privileged groups in order to achieve a greater level of equality.
+ *'''[[Argument: Affirmative action only deprives whites of unearned opportunities| Affirmative action only deprives whites of unearned opportunities]].''' Michel Rosenfeld. "Affirmative Action and Justice: A Philosophical Inquiry." New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University Press. (1991): "Although affirmative action treats innocent white males unequally, it need not deprive them of any genuine equal opportunity rights. Provided an affirmative action plan is precisely tailored to redress the losses in prospects of success [by blacks and women] attributable to racism and sexism, it only deprives innocent white males of the corresponding undeserved increases in their prospects of success…. [R]emedial affirmative action does not take away from innocent white males anything that they have rightfully earned or that they should be entitled to keep."
In the United States, affirmative action had its origin with president John F Kennedy's Executive Order 10925, which stated mandated, "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." Various changes to US law such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Revised Philadelphia plan have given minorities and women more opportunities than other races. Several Supreme Court cases (Griggs v. Duke Power Comp., Regents of the University of California v. Bakke) since then have also shown that affirmative action exists and has ruled against institutions which did not give preference when they were supposed to. And yet, other have interpreted things differently, as the text of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 advocates a "race-blind" approach in which "[n]o person…shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." While it makes a couple of exceptions for employer preferences on the basis of gender, religion, and national origin, it makes no exception for race in regard to the law being "color-blind". The debate that has followed in the United States and around the world has fallen along the lines of the subquestions listed below.
Affirmative action justly compensates groups for past wrongs. It is important for injustices to be redressed. Slavery and institutionalized racism have not been redressed yet in America. In order for justice to be served, it is necessary for the main losers of racism in America (blacks) to be compensated for their loses. It is also appropriate that whites assume some burdens in enabling the redress of blacks, as they were the main perpetrators of the crime of slavery. Affirmative action achieves this all, sufficiently compensating blacks for past wrongs, achieving redress, and restoring justice.
Affirmative action only deprives whites of unearned opportunities. Michel Rosenfeld. "Affirmative Action and Justice: A Philosophical Inquiry." New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University Press. (1991): "Although affirmative action treats innocent white males unequally, it need not deprive them of any genuine equal opportunity rights. Provided an affirmative action plan is precisely tailored to redress the losses in prospects of success [by blacks and women] attributable to racism and sexism, it only deprives innocent white males of the corresponding undeserved increases in their prospects of success…. [R]emedial affirmative action does not take away from innocent white males anything that they have rightfully earned or that they should be entitled to keep."
Affirmative action wrongly takes from one group to give to another. Punishing one group in order to compensate another is inherently wrong, particularly when the wrongs are generations in the past. The rights of one group should not be sacrificed to benefit the rights of another groups.
Anomaly of "poor white Appalachian" less important than broad racism. Opponents of Affirmative Action argue that it is unfair to the "poor white male from Appalachia" to give the wealthy black neurosurgeon's son an advantage in school admittance. Yet, the problem with this idea is that ignores the fact that there are for more poor blacks as a result of institutional racism. This relative disadvantage of blacks is what drives the need for affirmative action. As Charles R. Lawrence III and Mari J. Matsuda write in their 1997 book "We Won't Go Back: Making the Case for Affirmative Action": "All the talk about class, the endless citings of the 'poor white male from Appalachia,' cannot avoid the reality of race and gender privilege."
Affirmative action is descrimination by another name. Affirmative action descriminates against non-minorities in order to compensate non-minorities. This is institutional discrimination.
Affirm action lowers value of degrees earned by minorities: Affirmative action creates an impression or a concern that black individuals that earn a particular degree, do so with the help of affirmative action, rather than by their own merits. This diminishes the value that job-seekers and society place on these degrees, relative to ones earned by non-minorities who did not have the help of Affirmative Action.
Affirm action counters systemic exclusion, allows best to rise Affirmative Action actually ensures that, on average, the best candidate is selected precisely because affirmative action systematically includes individuals from groups that are otherwise systematically excluded.
Affirmative action promotes mediocrity by undermining meritocracy. Racial profiling promotes mediocrity by violating the fundamental rule espoused by Dr. Martin Luther King Junior----That people be judged on the basis of their character and not the color of their skin. In societal terms, a person's character is measured by how moral they are and how valuable your skills are to providing goods and services to your fellow countrymen. Departure from emphasis on character is a much larger and more fundamental concern than racist policies promulgated by a racist southern democrat which were done to get and retain votes at the expense of stifling the rising tide of black entrepreneurship in 1960s which was the real source of leverage in the Civil Rights campaign.
Diversity improves group decision-making. Stephen Cranston. "The argument for diversity." Financial Mail. December 4, 2009: "in the US, experiments by Scott Page of the University of Michigan found that a diverse group was better at solving complex problems than experts. The reason is that people with similar qualifications or professional training often think alike. Adding people with different skills, backgrounds and life experiences tended to improve the group's performance. And there is no doubt that the monocultural management at Anglo and Barlows was no longer appropriate in the 1990s and beyond."
Affirmative Action is racism"


text:
Metaphysical Sociology
On the Work of John Carroll
Published May 11, 2018 by Routledge
Metaphysical Sociology: On the Work of John Carroll
This volume critically engages with the work of the acclaimed Australian sociologist John Carroll. It makes the argument for a metaphysical sociology, which Carroll has proposed should focus on the questions of fundamental existence that confront all humans: 'Where do I come from?', 'What should I do with my life?' and 'What happens to me when I die?'. These questions of meaning, in the secular modern West, have become difficult to answer. As contemporary individuals increasingly draw on their inner resources, or 'ontological qualities', to pursue quests for meaning, the key challenge for a metaphysical sociology concerns the cultural resources available to people and the manner in which they are cultivated. Through wide-ranging discussions which include, film, romantic love, terrorism and video games, Metaphysical Sociology takes up this challenge. The contributors include emerging and established sociologists, a philosopher, a renowned actor and a musician. As such, this collection will appeal to scholars of social theory and sociology, and to the general reader with interests in morality, art, culture and the fundamental questions of human existence.
Editor's Introduction (Sara James)
1. What is Metaphysical Sociology? (John Carroll)
2. The Existential Jesus: Transcript of an interview with Stephen Crittenden and John Carroll
3. John Carroll's Jesus (Roger Scruton)
4. John Carroll: Towards a Definition of Culture (John Dickson)
5. The Passion in Port Talbot (Michael Sheen)
6. A Neo-Calvinist Sociology: John Carroll's Metaphysical Modernity (Peter Murphy)
7. The Eclipse of Metaphysics (Keith Tester)
8. Digital Western Dreaming (Marcus Maloney)
9. The Benefit of an Anarcho-Psychological Perspective of Terrorism (Wayne Bradshaw)
10. Mortality, Time and Embodied Finitude (Margaret Gibson)
11. Modern Metaphysical Romance (Sara James)
12. Response (John Carroll)
Sara James is Lecturer in the Department of Social Inquiry at La Trobe University, Australia. She is the author of Making a Living, Making a Life: Work, Meaning and Self-Identity (Routledge 2017), a major study of the significance of work in contemporary lives. Sara is co-author of Sociology in Today's World (3rd edition), an introductory sociology text for first-year students, and in 2016 she co-edited a special issue of M/C Journal on authenticity.
Morality, Society and Culture
Sociology & Social Policy
Social Theory


AMT Mortgage Insurance Limited (AMIL) is proposing to transfer all of its UK insurance business to AmTrust Europe Limited (AEL) (the Transfer). Both AMIL and AEL are part of the AmTrust group (the AmTrust Group), with AMIL being a wholly-owned subsidiary of AEL.
The Transfer will have no effect on the terms and conditions of policyholders' existing cover. AEL will administer the transferring policies in line with the AmTrust Group's current systems, policies and procedures and therefore in the same manner to the administration currently undertaken by AMIL.
The Transfer shall be carried out by means of an insurance business transfer under Part VII of UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Transfer will require the approval from the High Court of England and Wales (the Court). The legal process is explained further in the documentation listed below.
The proposed Transfer is expected to take effect on 30 June 2019 if approved by the Court.
A Summary of the Scheme and a Summary of the Independent Expert Report.
If you have concerns regarding the Transfer and how it may affect you, you have the right to make a written representation to the Court or be heard at the Court hearing (in person or by legal representation). The Court hearing is scheduled to take place on 11 June 2019 at the High Court of Justice, 7 Rolls Building, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL, UK.
You may also raise these concerns with us in writing or over the telephone and we will make a record of your concerns and communicate these to the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Independent Expert and the Court. Information on how you can contact us is provided below.
Pedigree Livestock Insurance Limited (PLIL) is proposing to transfer all of its insurance business to AmTrust Europe Limited (AEL) (the Transfer). Both PLIL and AEL are part of the AmTrust group (the AmTrust Group).
The Transfer will have no effect on the terms and conditions of policyholders' existing cover. AEL intends that policyholders within the transferring business will experience no difference in the administration and servicing of their policies and claims.
AmTrust International is a branding style of AmTrust International Underwriters Designated Activity Company, AMT Mortgage Insurance Limited, Pedigree Livestock Insurance Limited and AmTrust Europe Limited. AmTrust International Underwriters Designated Activity Company Registered in Ireland. Company No. 169384. Authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Registered office: 6-8 College Green, Dublin 2, D02 VP48. AMT Mortgage Insurance Limited is registered in England and Wales with Company No. 2624121 and has its registered office at Exchequer Court, 33 St Mary Axe, London EC3A 8AA. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority with Firm Reference Number 202893. Pedigree Livestock Insurance Limited is registered in England and Wales with Company No. 00746184 and has its registered office at Market Square House, St James's Street, Nottingham, NG1 6FG. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority with Firm Reference Number 202295. AmTrust Europe Limited is registered in England and Wales with Company No. 1229676 and has its registered office at Market Square House, St James's Street, Nottingham, NG1 6FG. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority with Firm Reference Number 202189.


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NewsWorldClimate strike but no cake for Greta Thunberg as she turns 17
Climate strike but no cake for Greta Thunberg as she turns 17
"I'm not the kind of person who celebrates birthdays," Greta Thunberg said as she turned 17 on Friday, marking the occasion in inimitable style – with a seven-hour hour protest outside the Swedish parliament.
The climate activist braved winter conditions in her native Stockholm to continue the weekly Friday School Strike for the Climate campaign that helped catapult her to international fame.
"I stand here striking from 8am until 3pm as usual … then I'll go home," Thunberg, Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019, told Reuters.
"I won't have a birthday cake but we'll have a dinner."
It's been a busy 12 months for Thunberg, who crisscrossed the globe by car, train and boat – but not plane – to demand action on climate change.
"It has been a strange and busy year, but also a great one because I have found something I want to do with my life and what I am doing is having an impact," she said.
When she was 15, Thunberg began skipping school on Fridays to demonstrate outside the Swedish parliament to push her government to curb carbon emissions. Her campaign gave rise to a grassroots movement that has gone global, inspiring millions of people to take action.
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