Culture in the Blender

As always, pretty funny and to the point. I especially appreciate this:
“To judge the root problem here, let us first determine how the cartoons became an international incident. Last September, these comics ran beside a story about the hurdles encountered by a Danish author in finding someone - anyone - to illustrate her children’s book […]

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The more I think and read about the cartoons, the more strongly I feel that there can be no case made for that the cartoons should not have been published. The same points are made over and over again in commentaries, and regardless of circumstances basic cornerstones of liberal democracy cannot be sacrificed by Denmark. […]

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I wanted to see the cartoons for myself, and although I haven’t found them yet, I did find some other interesting things…
“Earlier this week, imam Abu Bashir appeared on BBC World showing a caricature of Mohammed with a pig’s snout and ears to representatives of the Arabic League. Bashir falsely claimed that the caricature was […]

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Yesterday, I was reading opinions on the Danish cartoons on BBC, and had some opinions that I wanted to write in my LJ. I sign on today, open BBC - and am greeted by this:
“Embassies burn in cartoon protest
Syrians have set fire to the Norwegian and Danish embassies in Damascus to protest at the publication […]

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After writing that last post, I realize what exactly feels so incomplete about people with strong convictions about what the world is like - cynics, activists and optimists alike - that don’t have a global focus. How can you claim to understand the world when all you’ve ever bothered trying to understand is a small […]

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Knowledge is not power in itself, but it is the root of power.
If you don’t know what’s going on, you can never be anything but a pawn at best. Controlling a situation requires understanding what’s going and why it’s going on as best as you can. Including when the situation you’re trying to control is […]

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America and the consequence of her foreign policy is an insitution of things to talk about, even when something else is the main point.
Ultra Bra - Kahdeksanvuotiaana
Kahdeksanvuotiaana tiesin
että maailma tuhoutuu
kaksintaistelussa suurvaltojen
kahdeksanvuotiaana tiesin
että ihminen murskautuu
silmänräpäyksessä
historiaan
Kävikin niin, että sodat ovat
monimutkaisia kansallisia konflikteja
joissa ammutaan
ja joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
joissa kuolee
aina vähän ihmisiä kerrallaan
Kahdeksanvuotiaana tiesin
että maailma tuhoutuu
kaksintaistelussa suurvaltojen
kahdeksanvuotiaana etsin
kartalta […]

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Opinion voiced at panel discussion on global fundamentalisms: Europe isn’t seeing a rise in religious fundamentalism in part because Europe doesn’t feel as threatened by globalization. One piece of support for my null hypothesis.
One of the things I have the most difficulty understanding and sympathising with in the US is the excessive religiosity and especially […]

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I can’t help but acknowledge that part of the identity shift I mentioned yesterday is due to the fact that it is becoming difficult for me to see myself as fully American in the current political situation. Part of it is due to the foreign policy and the propaganda circulating to support it, which I […]

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My current book is The New Imperialism by David Harvey, and it seems very interesting and well-written (in an academic tone, even!) but above all question raising. A number of things have caught my attention already.
In the course of examining hegemony and how hegemony is exercised, Harvey naturally examines the particular case of the United […]

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