Friday, December 03, 2021

PETA's 'human' leather campaign is horrifying. But is it effective?
Jenna Ryu, USA TODAY - 8h ago

© PETAAccording to Urban Outraged, the "Avery Jacket" is "crafted from the most luxurious skin" and features human mouths and eyes.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is making headlines once again with its latest jaw-dropping, gruesome campaign.

The nonprofit organization, known for its controversial avenues to raise animal rights awareness, launched a fake, satirical clothing store called Urban Outraged — an apparent jab at Urban Outfitters. The faux shop features a collection of clothes made from "human" leather, including bloodied jackets with human faces and boots with human teeth. Each item is also named after the "slaughtered" human whose skin was used.

“People are rightfully horrified by the idea of wearing human skin and the thought of it should make everyone’s stomach turn just as much as wearing the skin of a cow, goat, sheep, or any other animal," PETA said in a statement to USA TODAY.

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PETA intentionally causes controversy with its campaigns. In 2013, its anti-poaching ad featured images of mutilated animals, and other ads have compared naked female bodies to animal meat. The shock-factor aims to bring attention to its animal-friendly mission.

But do these scare tactics actually help the animal rights movement?

More: PETA responds to Tiffany Haddish's vow to wear fur till 'police stop killing black people'
'Fear sells': Why organizations like PETA use scare tactics for social causes

Shock campaigns have been used for an array of social agendas. For instance, drug prevention campaigns have shown frightening images of mock car crashes or people before and after addiction to elicit fear.

James Jasper, a retired professor of sociology and author of "The Art of Moral Protest," says these tactics successfully raise awareness because they relies on moral shock, or appealing to the public's guilt and empathy.

"Moral shocks bring attention to an issue. Look at all the publicity this PETA campaign is getting," Jasper says. "In the end, some people will be turned off, but others will notice the issue perhaps for the first time. And still, some will have their commitment to the cause strengthened."

The controversial approach has proven successful for PETA over the years: The group has garnered over 6.5 million members worldwide and had major successes, like convincing more than 200 cosmetics companies to permanently abandon animal tests.


© PETAThe outsoles of Urban Outaged's "Meg Boots" are made from "human teeth."

PETA controversy: PETA ridiculed, criticized for comparing 'speciesism' with racism, homophobia and ableism

But Barry Glassner, a sociologist and author of “The Culture of Fear," cautions while fear-mongering is effective, it's dangerous.

"These organizations work off of our inborn fight or flight responses when we're confronted with something scary. And of course they want us to fight this horrible situation and join the organization," he warns.

"It's an unfortunate reality, but fear sells. It's the quickest way to grab someone's attention and have them listen… and any organization whose mission is to heal the world shouldn't sully it with fear campaigns."

'Embrace the 'arm barn'': PETA calls for MLB to change term 'bullpen' to the 'arm barn' to be sensitive to cows
Graphic imagery can harm the animal rights agenda

Vegan social media influencer Nzinga Young was especially turned off by gory images of slaughtered animals, which she called "traumatizing." She aims to share upbeat content with her 100,000 followers.

Corey Wrenn, a lecturer in sociology at the University of Kent, said that may be a better strategy. Although graphic images and videos grab attention, these tactics may not actually encourage people to take action, she explains.

"There are some indications that audiences will be repelled if the campaigns are too disturbing," Wrenn says. "Without a philosophical or ethical context framing these campaigns, some folks will simply find them ridiculous or offensive and ignore them."

Glassner agrees fear alone may not lead to long term behavioral changes, like changing shopping habits or becoming vegan, and some may dismiss such extreme campaigns as "silly."


© Richard Vogel, APIn this Sept. 18, 2018, protesters with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) hold signs to ban fur in Los Angeles.

Want to go vegan?: If you're ready to trade in your burger for a vegan tofu sandwich, start slow

Instead, effective protest movements should rely on negative and positive emotions, like "anger over current practices as well as hope for the future," Jasper suggests.

Young, for her part, tries "to focus on people who want to change, as opposed to trying to change people."

"I educate them by being personable and sharing my truth and my story in hopes that people will humanize me and say, 'Oh, she can do it. Maybe I can do it too' … It's important to have diversity in how we communicate the benefits of veganism."

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1 of 9 Photos in Gallery©Photo by Mike Kline (notkalvin), Getty Images
What are the most vegan-friendly cities (https://headlines.peta.org/vegan-friendly-cities-2019-top-ten/) in the U.S.? PETA has the answer for you. The nonprofit organization determined the list by gathering feedback from supporters and staffers. They analzed the availability of vegan options in every state as well as vegan culture's influence on each city. Scroll through the gallery to see which cities made the cut.


This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: PETA's 'human' leather campaign is horrifying. But is it effective?


  1. https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/dwh.aspx

    The Dreams in the Witch House By H. P. Lovecraft: Whether the dreams brought on the fever or the fever brought on the dreams Walter Gilman did not know. Behind everything crouched the brooding, festering horror of the ancient town, and of the mouldy, unhallowed garret gable where he wrote and studied and wrestled with figures and formulae when .....


Man Reckons He Found a 'Mummy' Inside a Tree in L.A.'s Oldest Graveyard

Rebecca Flood 


A man reckons he found a "mummy" at L.A.'s oldest graveyard, after finding a mysterious box wrapped up inside a tree.

The man, known as Tarpit, was walking in the Evergreen Memorial Park and Cemetery, which was established in 1877.

The artist shared a clip to his TikTok page as he came across a tree, which had been cut down.

He said: "Look what I found, okay so they felled this tree in the graveyard. I'm here picking up sticks and woodchips to burn in my kiln. This is the oldest graveyard in L.A."

He zooms in on the ground and films what appears to be a wooden box, tied with what could be string, with one side loose after years of decay.

"What is this?" he continues, as he films with one hand and uses the other to unwrap the box.

Tarpit continues: "No part two we're opening this right now. I can see something in there but it looks kind of gross. It's all wrapped up, is that a mummy?"

Inside the box is a small, figurine-type object, which appears to have been tightly bound with string or thread.

He says: "Okay I have seen what I needed to see. It's something tiny all wrapped up in string. And we're going to put it back to rest, don't you think?"

Tarpit put everything back where he found it and covered it up with some wood.

The clip, shared last week, amassed more than 200,000 views, and can be seen here.

Underlining what he thought he found, he added the on-screen caption "mummy," while also adding the hashtags #mummy #graveyard #scary and #cursed.

The clip drew numerous comments, as some people claimed what he found may have been a fetus.

Christina Breen said: "People used to do that with babies that were miscarried. They would bind them and stick them in trees. Pretty sure that is what you found."

Lil Walt agreed, saying: "Maybe a fetus."

Shelby Lynn Gruhn commented: "When you go to walk the dog and bring home a fetus spirit."

Adreena thought: "I think it's baby."

"Small pet or miscarried fetus, most likely the latter," Dayan Marquina said.

In response, Tarpit added in the comments: "It never crossed my mind it could be human remains. Letting it get mulched with the stump seemed fitting and fine.

"It seems more proportioned for a doll or a bird imo [in my opinion]. But I can totally go back and we can rebury somewhere it won't get disturbed."

Others had similar opinions, or thought he'd unleashed some bad energy, with Mark W. Caponigro reckoning: "Someone's pet buried by the tree decades ago?"

Jonathan Bessey wrote: "General rule of thumb. If you find a weird box or a bottle filled with odd stuff that was buried; no touchy."

Joshaperans joked: "Great... can't wait to see what curse you unleashed for 2022."

MatImmortal asked: "Why would you open anything in a graveyard."

WhilemSarah Bartell added: "My friend. Do you want a haunted house? Cuz this is how you get a haunted house."

According to travel website and book, Atlas Obscura, the cemetery has graves dating back to the 1830s, as families relocated their loved ones there after it opened.

It said: "Tucked away in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East L.A., this 67-acre park is the final resting place for many of Los Angeles' past mayors, prominent citizens, and pioneers."

The graveyard, which has more than 300,000 people buried there, has areas dedicated to Armenians, Serbs, Chinese-Americans, and hundreds of carnival workers.

A monument in the center pays tribute to soldiers of Japanese descent who fought in the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Unit in WWII.

Newsweek reached out to Tarpit for comment.

Brian Cox debunks Big Bang theory after 'strongly suspecting' universe 'existed before'

BRIAN COX said he "strongly suspected" that the universe "existed before" the Big Bang, throwing the theory of our origins on its head.


The physicist presented the last instalment of his groundbreaking new BBC series last night, 'Universe: Where everything begins and ends'. He explored the vital question behind our existence, attempting to find out how the universe came to be. Looking at the various cutting-edge space missions that have brought us closer to the answer, he touched on how discoveries of far away galaxies have helped us to understand how we came to be, and also the technology used along the way.

Opening the documentary, he said: “Our universe is an enigma, an endless inexhaustible paradox.

"There are trillions of planets and one of them nurtured beings capable of contemplating this cosmic drama, miraculously improbable, brief candles flickering against the eternal night."

The question of where it all began has preoccupied humans for thousands of years.

For most of history, the answer has been found in religion.

But, with advances in science and the growth of a secular world, things like physics have stepped in to fill the void.

Brian Cox: The physicist said there was a time before the Big Bang in which the universe existed (Image: BBC/GETTY)

Science: Cox presented the final instalment of his 'Universe' series

Science: Cox presented the final instalment of his 'Universe' series (Image: GETTY)

Ironically, the prevailing cosmological model explaining the existence of the observable universe from the earliest known periods through to today was first suggested by a Belgian priest named Georges Lemaître in the 1920s.

He theorised that the universe began from a single primordial atom.

This has been built on by scientists through the years, and is widely accepted to be the event behind our origins.

But, according to Prof Cox, there was a time before this; a time before the Big Bang in which the universe did exist.

He made the case for this line of argument during 'Universe', and explained: "We know that 13.8 billion years ago, this space that I'm standing in now, and the space you're standing in now, and all the space out to the edge of the observable universe, containing two trillion galaxies, was very hot and veer dense and has been expanding ever since.

"Now, that implies that way back, everything was closer together.

"Everything was contained in a very small speck.

JUST IN: Brian Cox doomsday scenario: 'Civilisation approaching destruction'

Big Bang: It is the prevailing explanation as to our origins

Big Bang: It is the prevailing explanation as to our origins (Image: GETTY)

"But, how small was that speck? And how did it come to be?

"We used to think that the universe emerged in that state, very hot and very dense, at the beginning of time.

"And we used to call that the Big Bang.

"But now, we strongly suspect that the universe existed before that.

"And in that sense, it's possible to speak of a time before the Big Bang."

Before the Big Bang, there was no matter, and all that existed was space-time and an ocean of energy — almost still, but gently rippling.

Prof Cox says we should "picture it as a near-still ocean of energy, filling the void".

While this place contained no structures, the energy did have an effect on space, causing it to stretch.

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Universe: Cox talked about a time that preceded the Big Bang

Universe: Cox talked about a time that preceded the Big Bang (Image: BBC)

A time before time: The space before the Big Bang was relatively still but gently rippling

A time before time: The space before the Big Bang was relatively still but gently rippling (Image: BBC)

This would not have been the gentle expansion we see today, "but an unimaginably violent expansion".

That expansion is known as inflation.

Last year, Sir Roger Penrose made a similar case as he received the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Having won the award for his seminal work proving that black holes exist, he said he had found six "warm" points in the sky, which he called "Hawking Points" after the late physicist Stephen Hawking, who theorised that black holes ‘leak’ radiation and eventually evaporate away entirely.

These points were around eight times the diameter of the Moon.

The timescale for the complete evaporation of a black hole is huge — possibly longer than the age of our current universe, making them impossible to detect.

Hubble telescope: The camera has allowed us to look deep into the past

Hubble telescope: The camera has allowed us to look deep into the past (Image: Express Newspapers)

But, Sir Roger believes that "dead" black holes from earlier universes or "aeons" are observable now.

If true, it would prove Prof Hawking's theories right.

Sir Roger said: "I claim that there is observation of Hawking radiation.

“The Big Bang was not the beginning.

"There was something before the Big Bang and that something is what we will have in our future.

“We have a universe that expands and expands, and all mass decays away, and in this crazy theory of mine, that remote future becomes the Big Bang of another aeon.

Cosmic Microwave Background: The oldest photograph of the universe

Cosmic Microwave Background: The oldest photograph of the universe (Image: BBC)
Letters to the Editor: My AI sex robot, my choice

To the editor:

 As both a constitutional and criminal defense lawyer for people charged with prostitution-related offenses, I applaud Professor Rob Brooks' support for future purchasers of artificially intelligent sex robots. He properly criticizes the religious right and the anti-porn left for their opposition to these soon-to-be mechanized intimate companions.

Brooks refers to society's "typical censoriousness about sex." All ideological extremes want to prohibit people from living differently from that belief system's dictates. If our neighbors are not objectively harming us, we have no right to forcibly restrict their personal choices in order to compel obedience to what is ultimately our own subjective code of conduct.

If someone chooses to privately interact with a robot that provides sexual gratification, any ideology underlying an attempt to deprive anyone of the legal right to seek such pleasure is a totalitarian threat to our freedoms.

Edward Tabash, Los Angeles


To the editor:


 What was most unsettling about Brooks' op-ed article on the coming culture war over advanced sex robots and intimacy in virtual reality was how distantly cool and rational it was.

A big part of intimacy to me is working through things I may not agree on with my partner. Equally it has to do with my partner and I standing beside each other through heartache, pain and loss. From this springs trust, affection and desire.

What electronic formula could possibly contrive the infinite complexity of feeling devastated by losing a loved one? What satisfaction would there be in a relationship devoid of the possibility that eventually, it might not all work out, but for your faith and effort?

The very fragile tenuousness of relationships is part of what makes relationships precious and sacred. No AI creation will ever substitute for this.

Eric Searcy, Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
December political cartoon gallery from the USA TODAY Network
Mike Thompson, USA TODAY









TECHNO MYTH
Finally, a Fusion Reaction Has Generated More Energy Than Absorbed by The Fuel

A major milestone has been breached in the quest for fusion energy.


© LLNL/Damien JemisonPreamplifiers that boost laser beams at the National Ignition Facility.

Michelle Starr - Yesterday 

For the first time, a fusion reaction has achieved a record 1.3 megajoule energy output – and for the first time, exceeding energy absorbed by the fuel used to trigger it.

Although there's still some way to go, the result represents a significant improvement on previous yields: eight times greater than experiments conducted just a few months prior, and 25 times greater than experiments conducted in 2018. It's a huge achievement.

Physicists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will be submitting a paper for peer review.

"This result is a historic step forward for inertial confinement fusion research, opening a fundamentally new regime for exploration and the advancement of our critical national security missions. It is also a testament to the innovation, ingenuity, commitment and grit of this team and the many researchers in this field over the decades who have steadfastly pursued this goal," said Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

"For me, it demonstrates one of the most important roles of the national labs – our relentless commitment to tackling the biggest and most important scientific grand challenges and finding solutions where others might be dissuaded by the obstacles."

Inertial confinement fusion involves creating something like a tiny star. It starts with a capsule of fuel, consisting of deuterium and tritium – heavier isotopes of hydrogen. This fuel capsule is placed in a hollow gold chamber about the size of a pencil eraser called a hohlraum.

Then, 192 high-powered laser beams are blasted at the hohlraum, where they are converted into X-rays. These X-rays implode the fuel capsule, heating and compressing it to conditions comparable to those in the center of a star – temperatures in excess of 100 million degrees Celsius (180 million Fahrenheit) and pressures greater than 100 billion Earth atmospheres – turning the fuel capsule into a tiny blob of plasma.

And, just as hydrogen fuses into heavier elements in the heart of a main-sequence star, so too does the deuterium and tritium in the fuel capsule. The whole process takes place in just a few billionths of a second. The goal is to achieve ignition – a point at which the energy generated by the fusion process exceeds the total energy input.

The experiment, conducted on 8 August, fell just short of that mark; the input from the lasers was 1.9 megajoules. But it's still tremendously exciting, because according to the team's measurements, the fuel capsule absorbed over five times less energy than it generated in the fusion process.

This, the team said, is the result of painstaking work refining the experiment, including the design of the hohlraum and capsule, improved laser precision, new diagnostic tools, and design changes to increase the speed of the implosion of the capsule, which transfers more energy to the plasma hotspot in which fusion takes place.

"Gaining experimental access to thermonuclear burn in the laboratory is the culmination of decades of scientific and technological work stretching across nearly 50 years," said Thomas Mason, director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

"This enables experiments that will check theory and simulation in the high energy density regime more rigorously than ever possible before and will enable fundamental achievements in applied science and engineering."

The team plans to conduct follow-up experiments to see if they can replicate their result, and to study the process in greater detail. The result also opens up new avenues for experimental research.

The physicists also hope to work out how to further increase energy efficiency. A lot of energy is lost when the laser light is converted into X-rays inside the hohlraum; a large proportion of the laser light instead goes into heating the hohlraum walls. Solving this problem will take us another significant step closer to fusion energy.

In the meantime, though, the researchers are tremendously excited.

"Achieving ignition in a laboratory remains one of the scientific grand challenges of this era and this result is a momentous step forward towards achieving that goal," said physicist Johan Frenje of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

"It also enables the exploration of a fundamentally new regime that is extremely difficult to access experimentally, furthering our understanding of the processes of fusion ignition and burn, which is critical for validating and enhancing our simulation tools in support of the stockpile stewardship.

"In addition, the result is historic as it represents the culmination of many decades of hard work, innovation and ingenuity, team work on a large scale, and relentless focus on the ultimate goal."

The team presented their results at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics.