Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with resistance

What did the Nazis call the French Resistance?

bagadonuts — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:47:35 -0800

What did the Nazis call the French Resistance? I know they called the individual resisters "terrorists," but what word did they use to describe the resistance as a whole? (Insurgency, resistance, uprising, rebellion, etc.) This is research for a screenplay - I'm not looking for a discussion about modern parallels, or of what the morally correct word is in various situations. Also, if someone could give me the word in German that would be great! Please no guessing.

If I can't change my environment I must change myself.

dino terror — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:16:06 -0800

If you were once susceptible to mold and other air quality issues but have since strengthened your immunity how did you do it? I take allergy shots which are noted to be not that great for mold, I take antihistamines when I feel like I am really being hit hard but they seem to have little effect, and apparently nasal corticosteroids are another one that can help which I have started taking recently anyway for a separate matter.
I noticed that I started working out a few years back and I stopped catching colds on a bi-yearly basis. I directly attribute the exercise to strengthening my immune system against virus catching. Anything for allergen resistance?

Oh yeah? Well, wishcraft THIS!

droplet — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:23:07 -0800

Why is the thought of making and writing down long-term personal goals *so* upsetting? My therapist suggested I take a Careers-type adult class, and I thought that wasn't a bad idea, so I did. All was going swimmingly until the session where the instructor talked about goals: making them, writing them down and getting to work on them. Suddenly I was livid. Not mildly upset, but livid at the prospect of having to do these things. I've never written down any goals in my entire life. I know I need to do so, break them down into small steps to achieve them, etc. I'd more likely than not be much better off in every conceivable area in my life than I am right now if I had some written goals and was committed and actually doing something each day towards achieving them. Then I read Wishcraft as assigned and I was in angry tears for a whole 45 minutes after reading one of the chapters. I know that I'll lead the same life I've led thus far if I don't do something to help myself, and part of that is creating and writing down some goals.

And yet some part of me doesn't want to do that. At all. The resistance is so strong, that when a discussion of written goal setting with target dates and calendars, making commitments, following through and getting down to taking my life seriously came up in my most recent therapy session, I threw a temper tantrum. I was shocked at how I was so angry, I wanted to break things (but didn't; I beat my fists into the pillow on the sofa). I don't like the way my life is going and I don't believe that the world owes me anything, either, so I don't get why I'm so resistant and why I feel such raw vehemence at having to make any effort at taking positive actions for myself.

How do I help myself here? A therapist can only do or say so much.

Who is working for war and who is against it?

history is a weapon — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:22:26 -0800

We're working on a project and are looking for two sets of data: pro-war Democrat politicians and grassroots resistance to war. Where can we find a lists of the former and examples of the latter? So, we're looking for a list of major Democrats who consistently vote for war. There have been several votes in congress for funding and also to "recommit" (i.e., say that we all support the troops and are not going to stop the war anytime soon). We've been going through Thomas and trying to look up congresspeople and senator's voting records one by one, but this research must have been done already and it is treacherously slow. Where can we find already compiled lists?

Second, what are examples, the more recent the better, of resistance to the war? We're thinking along the lines of what is happening out in the Port of Olympia, successful counter recruitment campaigns, and IVAW stuff. What else is happening around the country to organize against the war and resist?
Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. Please, we're not looking for an ideological retort or trolls flaming. We're putting something together which we can share with people at the end, but we're looking for constructive help, not corrective arguments.

How can I keep my track lighting from catching fire?

ook — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:46:28 -0800

You are an electrician. But you are not my electrician. Question about low-voltage track lighting system inside. So we've got this track lighting. It's divided in four sections, each on their own circuit; three of them have always worked fine, one of them keeps burning out. As in, literally, the connector that attaches the power-source wire to the rail itself heats up to the point where it visibly damages the rail, then the lights go out.

(There's a split wire that comes out of the ceiling; that goes into a fancy little two-sided metal clamp which then screws onto the light rail. The burning happens between the clamp and the rail.)

On the theory that the connector wasn't making solid contact with the rail, or was maybe shorting across, I did a little science experiment and ran some scrap copper wire from each side of the rail to each side of the connector. Result: light, and heat -- within a few seconds the point where the wire touched the rail was noticeably hot to the touch. I haven't yet tried replacing the clamp itself, since that would require, well among other things going out and buying a new one.

So (finally) the question(s): what could be causing it to heat up like that at the connection point? Is it likely to be a problem with the clamp itself, since that's where the heating is happening? Or am I looking in the wrong place entirely? If it is the connector that's the problem, would it be incredibly stupid to, as a stopgap, just remove it from the circuit entirely, and run the wire directly to the rail? (as in: do those connectors serve any purpose other than being cosmetic?)

Suggestions for readings on Radical Thought

beelzbubba — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:21:16 -0800

I'll be teaching a first-year composition class at university. What I teach, I hope, is critical thinking, invention and arrangement of writing. The topic for the semester is American radical thought. I am looking for suggestions for essays, visual pieces (art, film, video), songs (audio & lyrics) that cover a wide range of radical response & resistance. I loathe assigning edited collections, so I am assembling readily available essays, articles, video clips, song lyrics so that students have access to a range of radical writing (fiction and non). this won't be a survey course, but I do plan on taking the readings from the Iroquois Confederation through hacktivism. I'm looking for pdf's, film clips, journal articles, and the like. I have access to most e-resources, so just the author/performer names & title of pieces is all I need, but will also appreciate links, pdfs, YouTube suggestions and so on. What are your favorite examples of radical expression?

Resistance training enough to lose fat and build muscle?

Malad — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 05:54:58 -0800

Can you lose fat and build muscle with resistance training alone? I'm with a trainer who claims that building muslce through resistance training and reasonable eating is enough to destroy fat. He claims there's little need for specific cardio sessions -- that there's enough cardio in his resistance sessions and in daily life. Wrong? My trainer says if I want to do a specific cardio session, 1x/week is plenty.

I'm trying to lose the extra 20-25 pounds I have packed on and get down to a lean, muscular figure. Will a good resistance training program be enough?

Books and movies about resistance movements

Soda-Da — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:26:45 -0800

Bookfilter / Moviefilter - Need book and movie recommendations about resistance fighters in wars. Particularly interested in the European theatre of World War II but open to other times, settings, and points of view whether fictional or non-fictional. I am about to finish reading Mary Doria Russell's novel 'A Thread of Grace' and my interest in resistance campaigns in wars has been heightened.

'A Thread of Grace' is historical fiction based on the true story of the vast underground effort of the Italian citizens who saved the lives of 43,000 Jews during the final years of WWII. It's a fantastic book that describes the intrigue and danger awaiting every character.

For example, one character changes his identity depending on the situation. At times he takes on the identity of a disabled priest. At other times he becomes a dashing German merchant who befriends the leader of the Nazi occupiers. Sometimes his identity is compromised so he has to destroy his fake documentation and start over.

Another character is a nun who leaves coded notes under a vase in the church. There is a massive orchestrated effort to keep thousands of people safe and much of it takes place in view of the enemy. The term they use is "hiding in plain sight." It's all very thrilling and interesting and I want to read more books like this.

I've read 'The Diary of Anne Frank' and I've seen 'Charlotte Grey' but that about covers my exposure to wartime resistance efforts. Please recommend novels, biographies, non-fiction books, and/or movies about resistance fighters in any war in history.

Boston-area circuit/military-style training?

galaksit — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:28:27 -0800

Is there a regular pay-as-you-go circuit training or military-style exercise class in Boston / Cambridge, USA? (Hello. This is my first MetaFilter question, so I hope I'm doing it right.)

I'm looking for a group session of bodyweight resistance training, with someone leading the activity, doing sit-ups, press-ups, squats, and so on. I don't mind being shouted at.

I've seen one site which seems to be a bit like what I want, but it is clearly a business: you're being asked to pay hundreds of dollars in advance for classes. I'm used to this kind of thing being available on a pay-as-you-go basis. Is there such a thing, or will I have to keep doing it on my own? I prefer a group context as it's more motivating.

Thanks for any information!

What power rating do I need for my potentiometer?

cloeburner — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 13:54:39 -0800

What kind of potentiometer do I need? Electronics and electrical math confuse the hell out of me, so I'm just going to lay it all out. I want to vary the speed of a 6 volt motor from full forward to full reverse using a potentiometer. If the pot is turned all the way to the left, the motor runs full forward, as it moves to the right it slows to a stop (at the middle of the pot), then starts up again in reverse, getting up to full speed when the pot is fully to the right.

I've got it working close to the way I want using a dual 1K slide pot that's supposed to be used for stereo audio applications. I cut the resistance track down the middle, and have normal and reverse polarity connections on either side, with a connection to the motor being variably resisted. The problem with the pot I'm using now is (a) I have no idea if it's rated correctly to handle the voltage and I don't want it to break down or blow up and (b) the speed of the motor cuts way too fast, and the motor is dead for probably the middle 80% of the pot.

It seems to me the kind of pot I need is one that will do a linear taper of 6 volts from 100% to 0% at the halfway point. Maybe this is the same as a pot that handles 12 volts along the full length? What power rating should the pot I get have? Are there any other specifications I need to consider?

How do find the ohm rating on a speaker cabinent?

drezdn — Thu, 29 Jan 2004 19:40:17 -0800

Is there a way, without a meter to find out the ohm rating on a speaker cabinet? Is as easy as just putting the leads up to the input if you use a meter?