Culture

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Donald Trump stunned the world yesterday when he defended the actions of the white supremacist hate groups that engaged in violent protests and deadly acts of terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.

Most public figures have condemned the president’s words, but shockingly, several say they’re still in his corner.

We think it’s safe to say Jimmy Kimmel is squarely in the former camp.

After joking that he would rather have Game of Thrones despot Cersei Lannister in charge of the country, Kimmel informed the crowd that what was supposed to be a press conference about infrastructure quickly turned into Trump offering “an impassioned defense of white supremacy.”

“It would be like if your book club meeting turned into a cockfight,” Kimmel told his audience.

Kimmel remains a comedian first and foremost, but he’s clearly concerned by Trump’s latest actions, and he addressed them in a more serious tone than we’re accustomed to seeing from the late night host.

“The president is completely unhinged,” Kimmel said.

“The wheels are off the wagon and hurtling toward the moon right now.”

Kimmel made an attempt to understand the mindset of Trump voters, saying:

“You didn’t want business as usual — nothing ever seems to get done, it’s always the same, these candidates make a lot of promises that go nowhere. It happens over and over again… and you’re sick of it.”

He added:

“And then this guy shows up riding down a golden escalator — he’s not a part of the political establishment; in fact, he’s the opposite of that… Let’s roll the dice. Let him get in there and run the country like a business.”

The host then rattled off a list of Trump’s most egregious policies and errors (the Muslim ban, “playing chicken with Kim Jong Un,” etc.) before informing the president’s supporters that they chose “the wrong guy.”

Kimmel’s not the first late night host to bash Trump this week, but his take-down is a doozy,

Check out below:

…read more

Source:: The Hollywood Gossip

In 2015, scientists confirmed what all but the most serious wine drinkers have long suspected: That bottle of vino will taste better if you think it costs more. Now, in a new study published in Scientific Reports, researchers say they’ve pinpointed the exact mechanism by which this marketing placebo effect happens.

Researchers at the business school INSEAD and the University of Bonn in Germany asked 30 people to taste samples of three different wines while lying in an MRI scanner. Each person received 108 tiny samples—1.25 milliliters each, less than one glass of wine in total—over 90 minutes.

Before each taste test, everyone was told how much each wine supposedly cost: either 3, 6 or 18 euros per bottle. In reality, each of the three wines were identical and came from a bottle of red that retailed for 12 euros, or about $14.

People tended to rate the samples they were told were more expensive as better tasting. That was true regardless of whether they had to “pay” for the samples or not. (During some taste tests, people had a fraction of the wine’s stated price deducted from a monetary credit they received at the start of the study. During others, they were told the samples were free.)

This marketing placebo effect has its limits, however. To most people, a very low-quality but high-priced wine still won’t taste as good as a high-quality, low-priced one. Researchers have also shown that people with more volume in areas of the brain that control sensory perception are less likely to rate something higher just because it costs more—presumably because they are more adept at tasting for themselves whether something is “good” or not.

But the 2015 study also showed that people with greater volume in brain regions associated with reward-seeking behavior were more susceptible to the placebo effect of higher prices. In the new research, MRI scans revealed exactly which brain regions became more active when people were told samples cost more.

One region, the anterior prefrontal cortex, is known for integrating new information from the environment with long-term memories, which could translate into making price comparisons and forming expectations, researchers say. This brain region has also been shown to play a role in the brain’s response to placebo medications for pain and anxiety.

MORE: Here’s What Happens When You Drink Red Wine Every Night

“Participants might recruit this brain region when reflecting on the external information …read more

Source:: Time – Health

Over the weekend, white nationalist demonstrations in Charlottesville, VA were a stark reminder that racist ideology is still alive in America. And for white people who don’t fully understand what “white nationalism” means or want to be a better ally to people of color, it’s important to educate yourself.

While it may seem daunting to read up on a complicated issue, you shouldn’t rely on your friends of color to educate you on racism — it’s not their job to take on that additional labor.

There are plenty of tools out there to walk you through America’s racist past (and present) and explain what led up to this weekend’s events in Charlottesville. To start, check out these articles, books, podcasts, and films.

Articles:

“A New Generation of White Supremacists Emerges in Charlottesville,” ProPublica

“The Alt-Right Can’t Disown Charlottesville, ” WIRED

“Charlottesville and the Effort to Downplay Racism in America,” The New Yorker

“Inside the Lives of White Supremacist Women,” Marie Claire

“His Kampf,” The Atlantic

“12 Ways to Be a White Ally to Black People,” The Root

“So You Call Yourself an Ally: 10 Things All ‘Allies’ Need to Know,” Everyday

Feminism

Books:

The History of White People, by Nell Irvin Painter

Making Whiteness: The Culture of Segregation in the South, 1890-1940, by Grace

Elizabeth Hale

The Strange Career of Jim Crow, by Comer Vann Woodward

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle

Alexander

The Condemnation of Blackness, by Khalil Gibran Muhammad

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,

by Ibram X. Kendi

Podcasts:

It’s Been A Minute, “Charlottesville and White People,” NPR

Race Matters, NPR

The Daily, “A Turning Point in Charlottesville,” The New York Times

Videos:

” Charlottesville: Race and Terror, ” VICE

13th, on Netflix

This is by no means a complete or all-encompassing list, but it’s a good place to start if you want to educate yourself on racism and white nationalism in America.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Violence Adds Momentum To Removal Of Confederate Statues

Roy Moore & Luther Strange Will Face Off In Alabama GOP Senate Primary

Asian-American Doctor Explains How She Deals With White Nationalists In The ER

…read more

Source:: Refinery29