online archive
12:00PM
SEP 10 2007
Philosophy, anthropology and academia
From Essays in Philosophy, Steven Schroeder (Shenzhen): All Things New: On Civil Disobedience Now; Hourya Bentouhami (Paris VII): Civil Disobedience from Thoreau to Transnational Mobilizations: The Global Challenge; and Piero Moraro (Stirling): Violent Civil Disobedience and Willingness to Accept Punishment; a review of Beyond Justification: Dimensions of Epistemic Evaluation by William P. Alston; a review of The Continental Ethics Reader; a review of Rights from Wrongs by Alan Dershowitz; a review of Philosophy of History: A Guide for Students by M.C. Lemon; a review of On Education by Harry Brighouse; a review of Ethics: Twelve Lectures on the Philosophy of Morality by David Wiggins; and a review of Heidegger and the Politics of Poetry by Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe.
From GeoTimes, Controversy in the Cradle of Humankind: In Kenya, the so-called cradle of humankind where some of the most famous fossils of early humans have been found, a battle has been brewing over what has been a more characteristically American controversy: evolution versus creationism, and science versus religion. Do we need the original Lucy fossil? There are casts of it all over the world. The Toba volcanic eruption 74,000 years ago may have drastically altered Earth’s climate. New research suggests humans were flexible enough to survive these changes. Who Built Stonehenge? Human remains more than 4,000 years old have helped scientists discover the identity of its architects. Anti-authoritarian Cities: Archaeologists have discovered that Brak, a Syrian city and one of the oldest urban areas in the world, was built in a way that completely defies conventional wisdom about how cities grow.
From Governing, Higher Purpose: America produces the world’s best universities, but not enough graduates. Can states fix higher ed? Welcome to Fleece U: Our mission is to take feckless teenagers like you and turn them into full-fledged debtors. Who Gets In — and Why: A review of Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites by Mitchell Stevens. A review of Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson (and more, and an op-ed by Taylor and Johnson). From Campus Progress, an article on the racial politics of college newspapers: Why college newsrooms are often neither diverse nor racially sensitive. From Inside Higher Ed, in a major expansion of higher ed role, The New York Times will help some colleges offer online, non-credit courses, while providing content and social networking for others.
12:00PM
SEP 10 2007
War and ideology, economic class and the environment
From Dissent, a review of The Enemy at Home The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11 by Dinesh D’Souza. No, it's the dog that wags the tail: A review of The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt (and an interview). Hooked on War: Norman Solomon on the secret addiction of Thomas Friedman. From Counterpunch, an article on intellectuals and the "War on Terror": An Occident waiting to happen. From New Left Review, Alexander Cockburn investigates the disappearance of the anti-war movement: co-opted by the Democrats, captive to the logic of the War on Terror. Can we handle the truth? America's selective memory and massacres long since forgotten: An excerpt from Howard Zinn's A Power Governments Cannot Suppress. Noam Chomsky has peered into the abyss of the future with the eye of a true skeptic, and a review of Interventions.
From New Statesman, John Pilger on how class allows us to connect the present with the past and to understand the malignancies of a modern economic system based on inequity and fear. Role models aren't only middle-class: The instinct of any caste or class is to reproduce itself, and so it is with the black and urban middle classes. An excerpt from The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America. Sweet charity? When a government fails its poor, giving can become a radical act. Big Gifts, Tax Breaks and a Debate on Charity: Though the rich are giving more than ever, some ask whether the public benefits of philanthropy are commensurate with the tax breaks that givers receive. A review of Are the Rich Necessary? Great Economic Arguments and How They Reflect Our Personal Values by Hunter Lewis. A review of Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas. Hey, Big Spenders: Will the rich save the economy?
From NYRB, Michael Tomasky reviews The Assault on Reason by Al Gore. Neutrality is cowardice: Journalists who provide a platform for climate change sceptics should summon up the courage needed to help defend the planet. A review of The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock. Arctic Land Grabs Could Cause Eco-Disaster: After nations carve up the fast-melting region, will there be anything left? From Orion, an article on Lessons from the New World: Success is beginning to look a lot like failure. Consider Using the N-Word Less: Voluntary actions didn't get us civil rights, and they won't fix the climate. Eco-capitalists save Mother Nature by charging for her services: The eco-capitalists are coming, and they aren't wielding Thoreauvian platitudes about the sanctity of nature. 4 robots that are saving the world: Smart machines help fix humanity's ecological screwups. A review of The World Without Us by Alan Weisman.
12:00PM
SEP 10 2007
Terrorism, Islam and the US
From Le Monde diplomatique, an article on Bin Laden as a Fantasy Figure: Riches beyond belief. A review of The Faces of Terrorism: Social and Psychological Dimensions by Neil Smelser (and the first chapter) and The Lesser Jihad: Recruits and the Al-Qaida Network by Elena Mastors and Alyssa Deffenbaugh. The introduction to What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism by Alan B. Krueger (and a review). A review of The Islamist: Why I joined radical Islam in Britain, what I saw inside and why I left by Ed Husain and Inside the Global Jihad by Omar Nasiri and Gordon Corera. The Convert's Zeal: Radical Islamism has become a magnet for some of the world's angriest people. A review of Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamic Turn by Asef Bayat.
Constructing conflict: In many Western cities, plans to erect mosques often stir more passion than any other local issue—and politicians are leaping into the fray. Brothers in Arms: The United States and the Muslim Brotherhood have more in common than they think. But if the Brotherhood is to win over American skeptics, its actions will have to match its words. Islam, the American way: Why the United States is fairer to Muslims than “Eurabia” is. The world left the US behind: If you look at the issues being debated in the wider world, the US is not at the forefront of global debate on any of them — except terror and security. Todd Gitlin reviews What They Think of Us: International Perceptions of the United States Since 9/11. America is obsessed with the prospect of bad news: A review of The Culture of Calamity: Disaster and the Making of Modern America by Kevin Rozario.
From Telos, an essay on degrees of enmity and the "War on Terrorism". Susan Faludi on America’s Guardian Myths: Our original “war on terrorism” bequeathed us a heritage that haunts our reaction to crises like the one that struck on that clear morning in the late summer of 2001. A review of Stuart Croft's Culture, Crisis and America's War on Terror. David Cole and Jules Lobel on Why We're Losing the War on Terror: Going on the offensive has only made us more vulnerable. From Commentary, a review of The Power of the Vote: Electing Presidents, Overthrowing Dictators, and Promoting Democracy Around the World by Douglas E. Schoen. After the neocons: people will still vote for democracy. His Toughness Problem—and Ours: Ian Buruma reviews World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism by Norman Podhoretz.
12:00PM
SEP 10 2007
Film, media and technology
From Prospect, Eroticising Edinburgh: Edinburgh has hardly been neglected by writers and filmmakers. But a new film is the first to put sex into the city. From nth position, a review of Black and White and Blue: Adult Cinema from the Victorian Age to the VCR by Dave Thompson. Stranger Than Fact: The recent DVD release of 300 raises the following question: What is it about fiction that makes otherwise sensible people celebrate fascism. Out of this world: Why is fantasy taking over our TV screens? Natalie Haynes unravels a mystery. Too much to bare: Nicole Kidman is an award-winning actor. So too is Maggie Gyllenhaal. So why do they still have to expose their bodies in order to get into the public eye? Once Hollywood's enfant terrible, Spike Lee is now directing blockbusters and TV shows. But he is still fighting for black cinema.
From Editor & Publisher, a special report: Who said print is dead? Weeklies duke it out everywhere. From The New York Observer, a look at how The Guardian is trying to reclaim America; Rocking Deck at Daily News: The roof of the Daily News remains intact. But, according to several News staffers, if it’s not the roof, it’s the floorboards; and a look at MSNBC’s Dan Abrams’ War of Faith against CNN. A review of Katie: The Real Story by Ed Klein. Katie Couric at One Year: The First Solo Female Anchor should probably be the First Solo Female Anchor to Quit. After all, she doesn't like it, right? Bogus Trend Story of the Week: The Boston Globe's story about girl-on-girl attacks. Guilt Trip: There's no question that ad revenues are migrating from old media to new, but we as Web consumers need not feel remorse about it.
From Open Letters Monthly, Wikipedia is destroying our culture; so are YouTube, MySpace, and Google; and all your damn blogs, too—or so says Andrew Keen. Greg Waldmann exposes Cult of the Amateur, and the amateur authorship behind the screed. The Colonial Roots of Political Blogging: An interview with Aaron Barlow, author of The Rise of the Blogosphere. You Are Who You Know: " If I want reading recommendations, Amazon, I’ll turn to people who really do know me. They’re called friends". Numberpedia is aspiring to be the Wikipedia of Numbers. A review of Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe. Squashing Worms: Defeating computer worms that mutate will take some smart defense strategies. Sick of spam? Brace yourself for bacn: A term has been coined to describe the growing flood of emails we seem to want – just not right now.
