Thinking After Crisis

News and analysis…

Largely overshadowed in the American media by the Eric Massa soap opera, on March 8th there was a tragic massacre in Jos, Nigeria of several hundred people. Coming out of this horrific event are questions about ethno-religious conflict, addressing religious differences in circumstances of tension, root issues of political and economic inequality, and most importantly how to overcome differences to see others as human beings.

Alas! A Blog | I did not know about how deeply my friend’s fear, mistrust, and hatred of the Muslims in Nigeria ran until after our friendship was well-established. She says she feels this way only about Nigerian Muslims, not about people who follow Islam in general, and I believe her, and she tells stories about her own experiences in Nigeria and the experiences of the people she knows to justify herself. The fact that she makes this distinction, of course, suggests that the issues at stake are not really religious, but the fact that they are expressed religiously–in terms of spirituality and morality and the one true path to God–makes it hard, even just between the two of us, to get at what those stakes really are; and then I think about the way our invasion of Iraq and ousting of Saddam Hussein made space for the Sunni and Shia to go at each other’s throats–check out this NPR interview with Deborah Amos about her new book, Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval in the Middle East–and even the Israeli-Palestinian struggle over the status of Jerusalem, which is so often played out in religious terms. And when I think about how may more examples I could list, I cannot help but feel that maybe it’s all, always, political; maybe the god or gods all these people fight over is just a way of not having to take responsibility for their own politics, their own desire for power, their own inability to share, their own fear of everything that makes them vulnerable; maybe the need to make your religion the only true one is nothing more than fear and cowardice, and we all know how thin the line is between the coward who cowers and the coward who becomes a bully.

It has been a very long time, since I was an undergraduate in fact, that I have known personally someone who could place her or himself so easily, so firmly, so absolutely, on one side of this kind of divide and so thoroughly forget that the other side is also inhabited by people; and yet even as I write that, it would be dishonest of me not to own up to the fact that I too once stood with Israel, as a Jew, in strictly religious terms, in a way that denied the humanity of the other side.

That we all have this capacity within us is by now a cliche, but how do you learn to accept that impulse in someone who has become your friend? Because if you cannot accept it–which is not the same thing as approving of it, or allowing it to go unchallenged–then there can no longer be a real friendship. This is the question that I am confronting.

Global Comment |Nigeria is one of the world’s major oil producers and seventh largest exporter, yet many of its citizens live in abject poverty. The Niger Delta region of the country, home to the nation’s oil, is synonymous with violence and the kidnapping trade. Tribal and religious divides continue to claim lives, the most recent being the January Jos riots, where over 300 people died.

Thanks to the Christmas Day “Crotch Bomber,” as Umaru Farouk Abdulmutallah is now popularly known, Nigeria on a terrorism watch list, making life extremely hard for Nigerians as they travel. Lest we forget, Nigeria is internationally perceived as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. We are also known as 419ers, i.e. email scammers.

Following the Abdulmutallah incident, the US was quick to add us to the terrorist watch list, yet there was no president or representative to speak for us. A few members of the senate threatened to sever ties with the US, and that was laughed upon.

Keep in mind that we have a rich cultural heritage, and have made some great contributions to the world of art and culture. From the ‘Benin Bronzes’ to Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ben Okri and, from my generation, Chimananda Ngozi Adichie, we have made our mark. However, when it really counts, what we are really known for is instability.

I have watched the recent political dance in my country of birth with excitement, shame, and a sense of anger. Again and again, 150 million people have been continuously let down. It seems some part of the population have become so used to it, they excuse the bad governance or else get blindly religious about it, saying, ‘God will make things better.’ I am tired of this unending hope and hunger for real change.

Get Religion | The most frustrating element of all of this is that there is no clear way to establish facts in this conflict, a journalistic nightmare in which the integrity of both the regional and national government agencies (and the military) is in question. It is also clear that economic and ethnic factors are crucial. Yet, on the ground, the language and the imagery is primarily religious.

If you doubt me on that, check out this vivid report in the Wall Street Journal. The language is enough to make anyone shudder in a pew:

“At a mass burial Monday in Dogo Nahawa, site of the worst violence, angry residents talked of revenge as they gathered around a large pit and scattered dirt on several dozen charred and bloodied bodies, some brought from neighboring villages. When an infant was lowered into the pit, women broke out in wails.

A village chief chastised area youth for not being ready to fight. “This is a lesson,” the chief said. “Now is the time for everyone to wake up. Elders are calling you youths to come out.”

An elderly woman prayed at the edge of the burial pit, chanting. “By God’s grace we will enter their villages and kill their women and children,” she repeated.”

Horrors. Clearly it is impossible to write about this story — in a nation that is literally divided in half by religion — without dealing with the religious elements.

It is also crucial, whenever possible, to put names on these “rights groups” when they are quoted providing facts about attacks in the past and present. Some of these groups are neutral and some of them are not. We are, literally, dealing with facts and numbers that are leading to bloodshed.

Reuters |Residents of Dogo Nahawa, Zot and Ratsat, about 15 km (9 miles) south of the central city of Jos, buried dozens of bodies including those of women and children in a mass grave on Monday following the attacks, which they blamed on Muslim herders.

The raids were in apparent retaliation for four days of violence around Jos, the capital of Plateau state, in January which killed several hundred people, many of them in an attack on the mostly Muslim settlement of Kuru Karama.

“Better security is clearly vital but it would be a mistake to paint this purely as sectarian or ethnic violence, and to treat it solely as a security issue,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said.

“What is most needed is a concerted effort to tackle the underlying causes of the repeated outbreaks of ethnic and religious violence which Nigeria has witnessed in recent years, namely discrimination, poverty and disputes over land.”

The latest unrest at the heart of Africa’s most populous nation comes at a turbulent time, with Acting President Goodluck Jonathan trying to assert his authority while ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua remains too sick to govern.

NY Breaking News | Issues behind Nigeria Massacre: The latest Nigeria massacre has rattled the whole world.They have been termed “communal clashes,” or “religious conflict” but economic and political issues are the actual cause. Thin lines of differences lie between religious, ethnic, political, and economic divisions in Plateau State, owing to which they reinforce each other. Muslims in the state are from Hausa- or Fulani-speaking nomadic groups, most of who are herdsmen by occupation or do trivial businesses.

They are considered strong supporters of the opposition All Nigeria People’s Party. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which is in power both at state and national levels, has the allegiance of Christian Berom, Anaguta, and Afisare groups that traditionally have been farmers. With national elections due next year, the national government finds it tough to check the violence out of a fear that actions may estrange its potential political groups.

Any dispute turns into a religious riot at once in Plateau State. Sometimes hatred of Christian farmers against the Hausa-speaking Muslims’ coming from the North in search of grasslands for their animals takes the shape of a dispute over land. Again, craze for power also falls prey to religious bias. Muslims and Christians live in separate areas even in the state capital Jos.
This Muslim Christian conflict in the state has been because of power craze. Power corridor allows you access to enormous money, and so your community also gets share of it. Around 80% of Nigeria’s GDP runs through the state and local government channels. Therefore, to cling to power, one often takes detour by triggering ethnic or religious hatred or pushing people out of home to stop them voting.

And Nigeria’s classification of citizens between “indigenous” and “settlers” makes the situation severe. In Plateau State, this system creates local divisions as well. The Hausa-speaking Muslims are often referred to as settlers. These “settlers” are barred from taking up certain state positions, which gives rise to hatred among some who find violence the only way out.
 

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Women Flyers Honored 65 Years After WWII Service  | CNN

Some 65 years after their service, a group of former civilian women pilots whose unheralded work was key to helping the U.S. effort in World War II were honored Wednesday with the Congressional Gold Medal.

Fewer than 300 Women Airforce Service Pilots are still alive. About 175 of them, along with thousands of family members, traveled to Washington for the ceremony at the Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted that the event had one of the largest crowds ever gathered inside the Capitol.

Deanie Parrish, a WASP who joined in 1943 at the age of 21, thanked members of Congress, those in attendance and members of the media.

“I believe this is the day that when the people of America no longer hesitate in answering, ‘Do you know who the WASPs are?’” she said to the crowd filled with old and young alike. “It’s because of the media that that will happen.”

Ban the Box: People With Convictions Deserve a Second Chance  |  Alternet

On March 8, Governor Richardson signed legislation making New Mexico the second state in the nation to “ban the box.” This victory lays the groundwork for other states to proactively address the need of people being released from jail and prison to find work and truly rebuild their lives. Employment is a key factor in preventing recidivism and this law offers an innovative solution to not only save precious taxpayer dollars, but also save lives and keep families together.

Senate Bill 254 “bans the box” by removing the question on public job applications asking if a person has a criminal conviction. By eliminating the box, people with convictions can be considered on equal status with other job applicants, instead of being immediately labeled and dismissed as a “criminal” unfit for the job. The law is very clear that public employers still have the right to ask about convictions status, but only during the finalist interview process. Employers can also perform criminal background checks if it is relevant or required for the position.

MySpace, HerSpace: Daughters of Generation Facebook  |  Mona Eltahawy

Mona Eltahawy from paul daugherty on Vimeo.

Still Blaming the Victim…

News and Analysis…

In preparation for the Xenia Institute’s upcoming event on intimate partner violence, I thought it worth while to examine how issues related to domestic abuse (such as rape) are dealt with in the news. Depressingly, aside from the occasional 2 second headline, these issues are still largely ignored by the public… and when addressed it can met by a decidedly negative response. Indeed there are still those who try and blame the victims of abuse alongside their assailants, as demonstrated by a recent, rather controversial survey taken in England.

BBC News | Almost three quarters of the women who believed this said if a victim got into bed with the assailant before an attack they should accept some responsibility.

One-third blamed victims who had dressed provocatively or gone back to the attacker’s house for a drink.

The survey of more than 1,000 people in London marked the 10th anniversary of the Haven service for rape victims

More than half of those of both sexes questioned said there were some circumstances when a rape victim should accept responsibility for an attack….

The survey also found more than one in 10 people were unsure whether they would report being raped to the police, and 2% said they would definitely not do so.

The main reasons were being too embarrassed or ashamed (55%), wanting to forget it had happened (41%) and not wanting to go to court (38%).

StyleCaster | Harrison may be right that women engage in victim-blaming as a way of feeling safe, convincing themselves that only people who act a certain way get raped. It’s possible, too, that a decline in the numbers of young women who identify with feminism have made more young people convinced that a woman who wears a short skirt is “asking for it.”

Shakesville | These results feel sensational, because ZOMG even women blame victims! But the reality is that when people disproportionately targeted by sexual target victim-blame, it is frequently, among women who have not been raped, an attempt to disassociate from the ugly reality that there’s no magic strategy to insulate oneself from all possibility of sexual assault. Or, among victim-blaming survivors, a reflection of guilt and shame—a misplaced feeling of responsibility for one’s own rape.
That doesn’t make the victim-blaming any more justified (or less depressing), but it does provide a context that most media coverage will lack.

New Stateman | But the fact is, if so many people are ready to believe that a woman is culpable in her own violation, jury trials will inevitably be affected: it is a self-perpetuating, vicious circle. While the majority of people in the Havens poll were keen to assign partial blame to the victim, one in five women said that they would not report it to the police if they were raped, saying that they would be ashamed, or would not be believed. This feeling is justified — just last year a freedom of information request showed that some police forces were failing to record more than 40 per cent of reported rape cases — but we have no hope of changing police attitudes if these attitudes continue to proliferate across society.

We urgently need education; a high profile campaign, starting with schools, to educate the public and eradicate the view that rape is sometimes deserved

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Herpes Drug Might Also Slow HIV Progression  | Business Week

New research suggests that people who are infected with both HIV-1, a strain of the AIDS virus, and herpes simplex virus type 2 could benefit in more than one way by taking a herpes drug called acyclovir. In addition to treating herpes, the medication appears to also slow the progression of HIV.

Computer Engineer Barbie Had PhD In FUN (And Breaking Down Stereotypes) |  Gizmodo

Barbie’s had 124 careers since 1959, ranging from Stewardess to Paratrooper. Today she gets her 125th: computer engineer. You can tell she’s smart ’cause she’s got glasses, and reads nothing but binary.

Barbie’s latest career move is also significant for being the first decided entirely by online vote. Though maybe it’s not so surprising that the internet community was especially inclined to see a Bluetooth-rocking geektastic Barbie.

Winter Olympic Medals Made From Recycled E-Waste  |  Scientific American

When Olympic champions are crowned at this year’s winter games in Vancouver, these elite athletes will be taking home more than just gold, silver or bronze medals—they will be playing a role in Canada’s efforts toreduce electronic waste. That’s because each medal was made with a tiny bit of the more than 140,000 tons of e-waste that otherwise would have been sent to Canadian landfills.

The Evolution of the Heroine…

In order to defeat a serious case of cabin fever, (having been snowed in over the weekend), I turned to movies to keep me entertained. The genre of choice was action movies ranging from classic James Bond to the new James Bond, with the inclusion of Die Hard, Tomb Raider, and various other flicks. While in the process of numbing my mind to the chilly realities of the outside world, I noticed something quite interesting about all these films, (aside from the spectacular explosions), namely the evolution of the heroine.

The films I watched  were produced over a span of nearly 50 years, (Dr. No was produced in 1962), and it is remarkable to see how they reflect the changing social view of women. Keeping in mind that movies always present idealized characters, I was interested in how the character of the heroine and her relationship with the male lead consistently reflected the idealized gender roles of the time.

Take for instance the character of Ann Darrow in the original 1933 King Kong. She’s is certainly beautiful and spunky, but she is physically helpless, emotional, and really does little more then be carried around screaming. In regards to her relationships with the other characters, she questions those around her but soon submits to the male lead. She is neither a partner nor an assistant, rather is a responsibility who has a mind of her own but is dependent on the hero.

Now fast forward and examine the heroines of  the 1960s and 70’s, such as the various “Bond Girls”, Emma Peel, etc.  Produced at the start of the sexual revolution, these women are clever, capable, and sexual…However they are still often emotionally driven and are swayed by love (or lust at the very least). Still, the heroine is now sidekick to the hero, (rather than waiting around to be rescued), but she is still expected to follow his lead.

In today’s movies, the heroine is tough, gorgeous, intelligent, adventurous, confident, physical (in multiple ways…), and challenges her male counterparts at every turn. Take for example Lara Croft, Sarah Connor, etc. Rather than simply being the love interest or the sidekick, today’s heroine is a partner of the male lead and sometime even the main protagonist.  Sounds just like a good model of a strong woman, right?  Perhaps… What caught my attention about these films was that, while the role of the heroine has certainly expanded over the years, it is rare that the heroine is not defined by the surrounding male characters (and her relationships to them) or a personification of some sexual fantasy. Yes there have been instances of strong independent heroines, such as Ellan Ripley from Aliens, but I would argue that such characters are not the norm.

One can argue that these characters are deliberately targeted towards a “masculine” audience, that they are fictional idealizations, and they don’t reflect everyone’s opinion about what a heroine should be. However it seems to me that that this conceptualization of the heroine extends beyond action films and has been adopted by wider pop culture. Look at books, clothing, music, t.v., etc. Even though you have all these strong female characters they still largely exist within a web of male relationships and expectation of physical appearance. Moreover, it can be argued that strength as portrayed by today’s “strong” heroines is still being thought of in traditionally “masculine” terms. Or is it that these today’s heroines are transforming these ideas of strength and eliminating the masculine bias?

It is an interesting question what the ideal heroine should be like and by whose standards…

It certainly is something to think about…

A New Film Genre: Terror Comedy?

News and Analysis…

The Sundance Film Festival is known for introducing provocative indie films which tend to disregard political correctness in the name of truth, love, beauty…and satire. This is certainly the case for British director Chris Morris’ film “Four Lions”, which is a self-described “terror comedy” about four would-be jihadis in living in Northern England. Like any satire is intended to do, the film has stirred up considerable debate about whether terrorism is an appropriate subject of humor and criticism on how terrorism (particularly when carried out by militant Islamic radicals), is discussed in the West. Here is some of what is being said….

Salon.com | Morris suggests that he is responding to a toxic Western combination of bigotry, ignorance and political correctness that has left us half-paralyzed by the threat of terrorism. If the Osama wannabes in his movie are thoroughly incompetent, the cops and politicians he shows aren’t much better. “I felt like there was an orthodoxy, in America but increasingly also in Britain,” he says, “where we’re drip-fed a party line about these subjects [Islam and terrorism] that everybody knows is nonsensical but nobody can really talk about. It just struck me that we’re not doing a good job, on any level, understanding these phenomena or addressing them. A movie isn’t, you know, a policy paper; I’m not making recommendations. But if it makes people ask themselves questions, then that’s all to the good.”

Among the observations in “Four Lions” is the idea that the police and authorities are mesmerized by the most rigorous and conservative Muslims — the bearded and veiled set — who may strike Westerners as dangerous outsiders but are most often focused on the mosque, the Qu’ran and the many rules of daily prayer and observance. “What we don’t grasp too well is that there may be people who have extremely conservative views about the world, the separation of women, and the West, but who also abhor acts of violence,” Morris says. “We see a connection or a progression from Salafism to Wahhabism to, you know, Osama bin Laden, and while that exists, it’s simply not true that they’re all the same.”

Guardian.co.uk | It takes serious guts to poke fun at terrorists, sheer idiots or not, especially when their intended target is a place like London, where terror has reared its head so often and did so to devastating effect less than five years ago. So for this, Morris must be applauded as he tries to shed some light on an aspect of terror – the farcical cock-ups – that has slipped through the wall-to-wall media coverage of the past decade. But the switching back and forth from jihadi thriller to farce suggests Four Lions doesn’t really know what it wants to be. What emerges most completely though is a buddy movie about confused men who would struggle to organise a barbecue in their own back garden.

The Observer | Philip Roth once said that the extreme nature of contemporary experience had done the novelist’s work. To say that I found Morris’s film disquieting would be an understatement. I wondered whether it was funny, even when I did laugh. I also couldn’t decide whether the effort wasn’t somehow misguided, whether I shouldn’t conclude, reluctantly perhaps, that some subjects like jihadism can’t – and shouldn’t – be turned into jokes.

Clone Movie | It­’s a c­o­m­ed­y­. T­hat­ m­uc­h I k­no­w fo­r­ sur­e. A po­lit­ic­al c­o­m­ed­y­, in a way­, but­ m­o­r­e spec­ific­ally­ I suppo­se, it­’s a t­er­r­o­r­ism­ c­o­m­ed­y­. And­, need­less t­o­ say­ at­ t­his po­int­, it­’s a pit­c­h-blac­k­ sat­ir­e t­he lik­es o­f whic­h we r­ar­ely­ see. I’m­ c­er­t­ainly­ no­t­ m­ak­ing­ t­he c­o­m­par­iso­n, but­ F­o­ur Li­o­n­s has­ the balls­ o­f­ a Net­wo­­rk, a Dr. S­tra­n­gel­o­ve, and­ a M­*A*S*H­. P­ossibl­y­ al­l­ th­re­e­ fil­ms c­ombin­­e­d. Adje­c­tiv­e­s l­ike­ p­rov­oc­ativ­e­, in­­c­e­n­­diary­, au­dac­iou­s, an­­d sh­oc­kin­­g c­ome­ imme­diate­l­y­ to min­­d.

Is­ the­ wo­rl­d (O­K, is­ Am­e­ric­a) re­ady fo­r a bro­ad and withe­ring­l­y tre­nc­hant farc­e­ abo­ut Al­ Qae­da as­p­irants­ who­ s­c­he­m­e­ and bum­bl­e­ the­ir way into­ bl­o­wing­ up­ a L­o­ndo­n “fun run” m­aratho­n? A c­o­m­e­dy that s­atiriz­e­s­ yo­ung­ te­rro­ris­ts­ l­ike­ P­ol­ice Academ­y lampo­o­n­ed stu­pid po­lic­emen­? A slapstic­k f­ar­c­e in­ wh­ic­h­ su­ic­ide bo­mber­s ar­e (f­o­r­ lac­k o­f­ a better­ wo­r­d) th­e h­er­o­es?? I c­an­n­o­t o­f­f­er­ an­ o­pin­io­n­ o­n­ th­at, bu­t I c­an­ say­ th­at I’m gr­atef­u­l to­ atten­d f­ilm f­estivals, wh­ic­h­ is so­metimes th­e o­n­ly­ plac­e to­ f­in­d mo­vies th­is o­u­tr­ageo­u­sly­ “edgy­” … y­et po­wer­f­u­lly­ in­telligen­t.

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California Councilman: “I’m a Proud Racist” |  Alternet.com

Yesterday, The Los Angeles Daily News featured a video of Santa Clarita councilman Bob Kellar informing a group of cheering protesters rallying against immigration that he is a “proud racist” who considers being called a radical a “compliment”:

We have got to wake up America. I know you guys are engaged and you understand. But I’m telling you this is serious. And if I sound like a radical, thank you. I consider that a compliment … The only thing I heard back from a couple people was “Bob you sound like a racist.” I said, “That’s good. If that’s what you think I am because I happen to believe in America. I’m a proud racist. You’re darn right I am.”

The Horror of Teen Motherhood | Broadsheet.

In recent weeks, teenagers in Milwaukee have been inundated with promos for the imaginary film on hip local radio stations, during the commercial break for popular shows like “American Idol” and in big-screen previews. All come complete with a gravelly male voice-over and a creeping orchestral soundtrack. The final trailer features the requisite shots of blood, a screaming woman and a pale, wide-eyed child straight out of “Orphan.” The general premise seems to be that a girl goes to a party alone, has sex with a boy, ends up pregnant, her father goes psycho, she has an excruciating labor, her child is, like, the devil’s spawn or something, he grows up to become some sort of delinquent and she has him arrested.

There is no denying that these campaigns are attention-grabbing — and with the seventh-highest teen birth rate in the country, the city can’t exactly afford to make a soft sell — but I get hung up on the hyperbole in the “2028″ ad blitz. The spots don’t talk contraceptives (although at least the Baby Can Wait site does) and portray sex as an inevitably horrific event….

Obama’s “Ice Cream Is Good” Resolution Fails In Senate |  Open Salon

President Barack Obama, hoping for a legislative victory that might jump-start his stalled domestic agenda, was stunned to learn that the Senate failed to pass his “Ice Cream Is Good,” non-binding resolution.

The final vote was 58 No, 42 Yea, with seventeen Democrats joining all forty-one Republicans in casting “no” votes.

The seemingly slam-dunk legislation ran into an unexpected perfect storm of special interest demands, costly amendments, and aggressive pushback from well-heeled cake and pie lobbyists…

Robertson, Haiti and the Devil

Analysis…

In response to Tuesday’s massive earthquake in Haiti, televangelist Pat Robertson said that Haiti had been “cursed” because of a “pact with the devil.” Robertson’s remarks are being condemned far and wide.  Some bloggers have sought to explain his comments by utilizing the mythic history of Haiti and a story in it about the devil.  Others defend the work of Robertson despite his comments.  After all, isn’t he trying to raise money for disaster relief?  What do you think?  The video of the comments is below.

Global Comment | On MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show, Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. Raymond Joseph responded directly to Robertson’s comments by pointing to the critical contributions made to the United States through Haiti’s slave rebellion. “I would like the whole world to know – America especially – that the independence of Haiti, when the slave rose up against the French and defeated the French army (powerful army) that the U.S. was able to gain the Louisiana Territory for fifteen million dollars,” said Joseph. “That’s three cents an acre. That’s thirteen states west of the Mississippi that the slave revolts in Haiti provided America. Also, the revolt of the rebels in Haiti allowed Latin America to be free… So, what pact have Haitians made with the devil [that] has helped the United States become what it is?”

Get Religion | The general approach being taken by the media seems to be 1) get Robertson’s quotes on air and in print STAT as they are ratings gold and 2) provide no context or explanation.

I wish we lived in a world where we had neither natural disasters nor Pat Robertson’s verbal disasters, but the media really like to cover him and he certainly represents a slice of religious thinking that should be covered. Even if I feel dirty writing about it.

Think Progress | If you were a white, Catholic French person or Haitian plantation owner, I can see why you would characterize this as a prayer offered “to the devil.” The black Haitians are postulating the existence of two Gods, one for the whites and one for the blacks. The whites regard the God they pray to as the one true God. So if the blacks are praying to some second god, and doing it with a Vodou ceremony, it stands to reason that they’re engaged in a satanic ritual of some sort.

But there’s no reason for 21st century Americans to accept this interpretation of the story. From the Haitian perspective, I think you’d say they were just praying to God for his assistance and asserting the justice of their cause. This is what pretty much everyone does before heading into battle.

Daily Intel | Of course, a large number of people are offended by this, for a variety of reasons that are pretty self-explanatory. But Joe Scarborough, the even-keeled right-winger of MSNBC, took to his Twitter to defend Robertson this afternoon. Not his words, mind you, but the man himself. “MSM will now obsess over Pat Robertson’s ‘devil’ comment but will pay no attention to his organization’s remarkable relief work worldwide,” he wrote, citing the quick response of Robertson’s groups to previous natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina (which he blamed on abortion). “Before you condemn Pat Robertson’s existence for silly comments, you should put his work on behalf of the world’s poor into the equation.” Does Scarborough have a point?

Alas, A Blog | So, you want to help? Great. Here’s a list of charities. However if you feel the need to sound anything like Pat Robertson I’m going to need you to go sit down somewhere and be silent. The last thing anyone needs after a crisis is the bigots swooping in with lies to bolster their racism. And after all the things that have been done to Haiti over the years in the name of U.S. Foreign Policy the last thing they need is white American missionaries handing out condemnation and vilification in the guise of help. Aside from the major logical flaws in these arguments; what makes anyone think offering a helping hand in a crisis is dependent on approving of someone’s religious or social status?

Huffington Post | At a time when racialized language is under deep scrutiny (just call Harry Reid), we have to realize that the meme of the “curse” has its own racial baggage in this context. It’s a phantasmagorical way of dis-engaging Western history from the literal rubble of Haiti. Just as individual enslaved people in America worked day to day to buy their freedom, the Haitian people collectively worked themselves to the bone to buy theirs. But freedom without resource is a shaky freedom indeed.

On the Web…

That Weekend Rest Isn’t Helping | Truthdig

Our culture tends to reward multitasking, sleep-deprived go-getters, but a new study confirms that catching up on sleep over the weekend just doesn’t work. After weeks of less than seven to nine hours a night, “banking” a long stretch on your days off isn’t going to repair your memory, immune system or ability to drive a car.

What You Should Know About Yemen | Brookings

Yemen is a failing state. That term is used so often to describe places like Somalia and Afghanistan that it makes one’s eyes glaze over, but it stands for an important idea. President Bush and his administration ignored the consequences of state failure, and this blind spot has cost us dearly.

Consider Yemen’s predicament. There is steep population growth. The country, located in the Arabian Desert, is running out of water (the groundwater source that supplies the capital of Sana and its 2 million inhabitants will be exhausted within 20 years). Ninety percent of the wheat and rice Yemen consumes is imported. Oil revenues finance the cost, but production is dwindling. Food shortages are dire, and climate change is sure to accelerate the water and food crises. Lastly, Yemen has one of the highest poverty rates in the world and 35 percent unemployment.

Don’t Fall for Pepsi’s “Vintage” Soft Drinks | Change.org

This may seem like an attempt at corporate responsibility (snicker), but it’s really an economic response to market flucuations.  Many soft drink companies began using HFCS in the first place because it was a cheap alternative to using real sugar.  However, the price gap between the two products has almost disappeared, driving many companies once again to use natural sugar to sweeten their beverages.

I urge all you conscious consumers out there to take Michael Pollan’s advice and not be fooled by this marketing ploy, especially considering that each can of this “vintage” soda still contains eight teaspoons of sugar.  Soda is soda and sugar is sugar, no matter what form it’s in.

The Fox and the Has-Been

Analysis…

Fresh off the success of her Going Rogue book tour, Sarah Palin is back in the spotlight as she signed a deal to be a regular contributor to Fox News. The governor will not have her own show.  Rather, she will appear as a guest and offer commentary to existing shows.  Many had predicted that Palin would team up with Fox News as several of her fellow Republicans (Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Mike Huckabee, etc.) have done so.  Palin’s move to Fox is being interpreted by some as indication that she will not seek the White House in 2012.  Others read the tea leaves the opposite way, saying she is setting herself up for a run.  Who knows?  Only dead fish go with the flow.  Is Sarah Palin a politically dead fish?

Daily Intel | After talking about President Obama (he sucks!), O’Reilly hit Palin with some tough questions on Nancy Pelosi (“Do you think that she’s a kook?”) and Harry Reid (“Do you think it was racist?”). If you were expecting Palin to be any more ridiculous than usual, you’ll be disappointed. But if you were expecting Palin to be Palin and O’Reilly to call New York a “left wing magazine,” then you’ll be thrilled.

Huffington Post | This trend should be deeply worrisome to anyone who believes in the importance of a free press to a functioning democracy. After all, the press’ key democratic function is to serve as a check on our leaders: to ask them hard questions, expose their scandals, and keep the public informed on their successes and failures. The media’s ability to perform these tasks becomes seriously constrained when actual or prospective politicians join its ranks. Indeed, it becomes impossible to know whether a story is being run on The Ed Show because it is newsworthy, or because it is useful to Ed Schultz’s political prospects. Similarly, it will be hard to know whether Sarah Palin’s Fox News commentary represents her actual political insights, or whether she has tempered those insights so as to undermine potential challengers or curry favor with supporters.

The Caucus | Ms. Palin used the new forum to rebut revelations from a new book about the 2008 campaign, that, for instance, she did not know the difference between North and South Korea, and that she believed that Saddam Hussein had attacked the United States on 9/11.

Mr. O’Reilly told her that Fox would be her place for rebuttal. “Anytime you want to set the record straight, we’re here,” he said. “Oh,” Ms. Palin replied, “we’ll be doing a lot of that.”

Politico |Palin appeared for the first time as a paid contributor on the network, smiling and eagerly answering each of O’Reilly’s questions. “I’m grinning today and I’m so appreciative to be here with you today and the team at Fox News for the fair and balanced news that voters of America deserve,” she said.

On the Web…

Guess Who is Blacker than Barack Obama: Rod Blagojevich | Womanist Musings

“I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived,” Blagojevich said. “I saw it all growing up.”

Did you catch all of that?  He observed the poverty of some members of the Black community and he himself grew up poor and this makes him a defacto person of colour.  Today I have given a new name to racial cluelessness – Rod Blagojevich.

Gordon Brown Wants to Give UK’s Poor Free Laptops and Internet | Truthdig

The British PM has announced a plan to spend the equivalent of nearly half a billion dollars providing free laptops and broadbrand Internet access to 270,000 low-income families. The program will need parliament’s blessing.

We can think of loads of great things to do with a laptop and a broadband connection—Truthdig, Netflix and “World of Warcraft” come to mind—but the Brits are after something much duller. The giveaway is part of a larger plan to guarantee parents the ability to monitor their children’s progress at school.

4-Year-Old Boy Suspended From School For Months Because His Hair is “Too Long” | Alternet

First the facts. This kid is 4-years old. Four! He’s in pre-kindergarten. His name is Taylor Pugh but he prefers the nickname Tater Tot. Do you not love him already?! All he wants to do is go back to the classroom and be with his friends. But he has been suspended since November because his hair is considered too long by his public school (which is Floyd Elementary School in suburban Dallas). His hair, by the way, barely touches his shoulders. From what I can tell, it’s also clean and brushed.

Not 21 yet?  No More Credit Card for You Starting Feb. 22 | Huffington Post

My college-aged son had no idea, so you might not either: on February 22, 2010, you can’t get a credit card if you’re under 21 unless an adult co-signs on your card or you show proof that you can pay off the debt.

This is a provision of the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which you can read more about here

It’s unfair. At age 18, you can vote for president, go to jail as an adult and join the army. But beginning Feb. 22, you can’t get a credit card. Why? Because some banking executives got greedy and Congress passed new restrictions.

Responding to Britt Hume’s Responders

I’ll be the first to admit that as a person of faith and a leader in a faith community, I’m disturbed by Britt Hume’s comments concerning Tiger Woods on Fox News Sunday.  If you haven’t caught Hume’s comments, you can find the 35 second blurb on Thursday’s news and analysis segment, “Tiger Woods’ Come to Jesus.”  I want to tip my cap to Caitlin’s work at finding such a breadth of responses to this little faux pas, because it revealed to me some problems in our understanding of religion and faith traditions that make not only Hume’s thoughts problematic, but those of some of his defenders as well.  If we put aside the obvious softball pitchers like Bill O’Reilly, there are some intriguing defenders out there, even if their defenses aren’t nearly so intriguing.

Stuart Roy’s comments at The Hill really miss the point on this issue.  He begins with a long apologetic for Christianity based on the statistical “fact” that it’s still the recognized majority religion in the United States.  I feel like I would be repeating myself this week if I went into the problems of the moral tyranny of the majority, so I want to move on to his comments on Christianity vis-à-vis Buddhism:

Secondly, although there is a lot of discussion about this point, Buddhism isn’t a religion in the sense of belief in a higher being from whom to seek forgiveness. Instead, Buddhism says you get this from within. I’m no religious scholar, but that would put Hume’s analysis pretty much on point. In Christianity, you do seek forgiveness and redemption from a higher being, something not offered in Buddhism. You may disagree with whether or not it is necessary — if you aren’t a Christian — but his analysis was correct.

Roy is correct – he’s no religious scholar.  The assumption that forgiveness can only be granted by or through some higher power is the failing point of both Hume’s original slap at Buddhism and Roy’s misguided attempt at a defense.  If he were a religious scholar, he might realize that one of the greatest failures of Christian theology is its tendency to lock forgiveness into the relationship between an individual human being and some higher power.  When a person may somehow feel absolved of failing in their relationship to another human being (or group of them for that matter), there is no reason to seek the forgiveness of the wronged party and to engage in a process of dialogue and reconciliation.  Christianity has plagued the western landscape with this attitude that “Because I’ve made things right with God, I don’t have to worry about making things right with my neighbor.” I’m pretty sure that’s inconsistent with the red-lettered words in Mr. Roy’s unread Bible.  To make matters worse, as Christian doctrine continues to blind some of its most faithful adherents from engaging in just and caring relationships with other human beings, the sayings of the Dalai Lama strike me as highly ethical and relational.  Perhaps it’s time to take a step back and re-evaluate.

My second point of contention is more one of disappointment.  Rabbi Brad Hirschfield’s defense of religion in general as a response to Hume’s comments is well intentioned, but shortsighted.  His attack on the liberal media and blogosphere failed to recognize that some of us self-proclaimed “liberals” are also religious.

Let’s face it, many people fear faith and even more genuinely resent it being discussed in public. While there is no question about the damage which religious faith can do, there should also be no question as to the good things it accomplishes in terms of both creating personal meaning and also motivating humanitarian action. So it should be a wash. Instead though, because Hume suggested Jesus instead of rehab, both he and those who support him are attacked as Jesus Freaks and fanatics. That’s not right.

While there may have been a loud outcry from the non-religious, it wasn’t the only cry.  There are those of us within the religious community, and more specifically the Christian community, who treasure the diversity of our global religious pluralism and respect the voices of our neighbors and peers in the Buddhist faith.  Since Hirschfield seems to share this value with me, I’m having a difficult time understanding why he went out of his way to defend someone like Britt Hume who obviously does not.  He goes on to conclude his article:

I welcome Mr. Hume’s remarks even if I think his analyses of Buddhism is shallow, and his claim that it is only through Jesus that Tiger will find a better life, bordering on ridiculous. So why welcome his comments? Because I know that he meant well and because faith matters to people and it should not be banished from public conversation. Not if we are as committed to openness in the way so many of us claim to be. Now we will find out if we really are.

The sad fact is that there are a lot of people who mean well, but rather thoughtlessly and carelessly bring about more harm than good.  I’ll resist the temptation to expound a list of “well meaning” politicians who have caused egregious harm, including pointless death and destruction.  However, I will not stop short of saying that Hume’s thinking, well being though it may be, is provincial and narrow.  If he were truly interested in offering his support to Tiger Woods, Hume would be extending the invitation to dialogue, rather than wagging his finger and admonishing Woods to come to Jesus.

To make matters worse, Fox News appears to have circled the wagons around one of their own.  Not only do they fail to recognize that “fair and balanced” means you can’t casually cast aside a major world religion in an offhanded remark, but in refusing to acknowledge that Hume’s critics might have a point, they make it quite clear that the discourse is only “fair” when they are allowed to determine what is “balanced.”  While I’ve quietly thought the media circus around Tiger Woods is more scandalous than the “scandal” itself, the failure of discourse that has followed in the aftermath is perhaps the greater scandal we fail to even recognize.

Tiger Woods’ Come To Jesus

Analysis…

Up to this point, news surrounding Tiger Woods has not made it into the realm of Xenia.  So many media outlets ran an all-Tiger-all-the-time broadcast that I doubt you missed the story.  What happened or did not happen between Tiger and his wife or any other women remains outside our purview.  However, these remarks made by Brit Hume on Fox News concerning Woods’ religion are cause for dialogue and therefore worthy of a place on our site. Watch below.

Responses to Hume have been fascinatingly diverse, which is why so many are quoted here.  They range from condoning Hume’s assessment of Buddhism, to surprise at the media’s overwhelming response to this story, to criticism of Christians’ track record regarding sex scandals.

Politico | The former Fox anchor takes his Christian faith very seriously, and told me last year that upon leaving the anchor desk on “Special Report,” he’d hope to spend more time in Bible study. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I don’t think criticism was leveled at Hume over the past 24 hours or so simply for being a Christian, but more for what seemed like a jab at Buddhism. But apparently, Hume doesn’t see pushing his own religion on air, while dismissing another, as proselytizing.

Think Progress | Many Buddhists quickly criticized Hume’s dismissal of their faith. “I don’t like to point out other’s faults, but given the record, I would think Christians would show a little more humility about offering advice to the sexually wayward,” wrote Barbara O’Brien on her Buddhism blog. Yesterday, Hume went on The O’Reilly Factor and complained about all the negative feedback he has received, saying that it amounted to religious persecution of him for being Christian.

The Hill | Secondly, although there is a lot of discussion about this point, Buddhism isn’t a religion in the sense of belief in a higher being from whom to seek forgiveness. Instead, Buddhism says you get this from within. I’m no religious scholar, but that would put Hume’s analysis pretty much on point. In Christianity, you do seek forgiveness and redemption from a higher being, something not offered in Buddhism. You may disagree with whether or not it is necessary — if you aren’t a Christian — but his analysis was correct.

Daily Intel | O’Reilly, as you can see, avoids discussing the qualitative comparisons between Buddhism and Christianity that these statements obviously imply. Instead he asks sympathetically why Hume thinks he got so much negative feedback from people who didn’t believe as Hume did, because, hey, it’s more fun to attack people for criticizing your own religion than it is to defend slights you made against another, right?

Windows and Doors | I fear that the response to Mr. Hume reminds us that when it comes to faith, there is anger, fear and suspicion on all sides, from the most conservative to the most liberal. Based on the shrill objections to Hume’s comments, one can say that the only thing as profound as the contempt which some Christians have for all other belief systems, is the contempt which many others have for Christians and their willingness to speak their faith.

Get Religion | In a society that is deeply uncomfortable with any substantive discussion of religious differences, that Hume favorably compared Christianity to Buddhism is downright shocking. Now, I’m sure that there are readers here who think Hume admirably showed concern for Woods’ soul and readers who think he’s an anti-Buddhist bigot (and many other views). But I think the whole brouhaha is most interesting for the media freak out over response to his words.

Huffington Post | That would certainly be ironic, since evangelical Christians within Hume’s own GOP have been caught up in a number of recent sex scandals. For them, embracing Christian faith hardly led to moral redemption. Perhaps, by seeking to forcefully discipline their minds and repressing thoughts, Republicans became even more neurotic about sex.

On the Web…

A Woman is Sterilized Against Her Will | Womanist Musings

It seems that despite the rhetoric of valuing children that is often parroted when women want to abort, mothers who are not gainfully employed are still seen as leeches intent on sucking the life blood out of the economy with their sexual antics.  If we truly believe that all women should have control over their bodies, we would not have a history of forced sterilization.  This incident follows the pattern of so many before it.  It is always the poor women or women of color who have been treated in such a manner.  It is because they lack institutional power to demand that their bodies be valued that they are so easily attacked.

Fetishize Asian Women | Stuff White People Do

What would you do if you were sitting, say, in a subway or a classroom, and a man next to you started blowing (feverishly, as it were) into his iPhone, and it turned out that he’s trying to blow aside the skirt of a tiny, simulated Japanese woman?

As for me, I would move away, fast, but not before telling the hyperventilator that he’s acting like a racist weirdo. Sadly enough, there actually is such an app — it’s called “Puff!” — and it’s one of many that invite iPhone users to ogle, caress, drool over, and yes, even blow on, images of Asian women.

Two-Ton Al Gore Ice Sculpture Stirs Controversy | TreeHugger

The second giant ice sculpture of Al Gore to be erected in Fairbanks, Alaska in as many years is stirring up another controversy. The first “frozen Gore” statue debuted this time last year, and received generous coverage from conservative media outlets like Fox and the Drudge Report. This one, created with the purpose of mocking Al Gore’s work in spreading awareness of climate change, seeks to do the same–and more. The scultpure was commissioned by two Alaskan climate skeptics and businessmen who hope to lure Gore to a debate in Alaska by mocking him.

Karzai’s “Win”

Analysis…

Hamid Karzai has been declared the elected president of Afghanistan after the sole challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the race.  The re-election was to take place Saturday due to the fraudulence of the first election in August.  Many are now questioning the future of the United States’ relationship with the country and how Pres. Obama will assess the current conflict.

The Daily Dish |  And if this isn’t a golden opportunity to drastically scale back our commitment, what would be? A clear reversal of course by Obama would be a sign that he can make a decision that the Beltway establishment does not have the strength to make; that he really is a change agent; that preventing Iraq from imploding again is now a more serious worry than propping up an unpopular, corrupt regime in Kabul … and losing more decisively to the Taliban in the end.

Afghan UN Official Peter Galbraith @The Washington Independent |  The run off was certain to be more fraudulent than the Aug 20 vote with more ghost poling centers and the same corrupt officials in charge. We are now stuck with the same corrupt and inefficient [incumbent President Hamid] Karzai that we had for the last seven years but now he is also rightly seen as illegitimate by a large segment of the Afghan population and by public opinion in the troop contributing countries. No amount of spin can obscure the fact that we spent upwards of $200 miilion on an election that has been a total fiasco.

PoliBlog |  Given that the other candidate in the race, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out out, this is hardly a surprise.   However, since the first round was tainted by massive fraud and Abdullah pulled out stating that he did not believe sufficient measures had been taken to ensure a free and fair second round, the entire process has damaged the legitimacy of the Karzai government.
The situation further complicates the Obama administration’s decision-making going forward in regards to Afghanistan.  How much will the US and its NATO allies be willing to prop up the Karzai government if it is viewed as severely tainted, if not illegitimate?

Taylor Marsh |  And as much as I don’t like Karzai, it’s clear Abdullah Abdullah wasn’t the man for Afghanistan. If he isn’t willing to fight for his country at a critical point, it’s hard to argue that he’d be a better choice.
That said, the general consensus from experts I’ve talked to was that the whole runoff was a “charade” anyway, with some suggesting no work had even begun for the elections.
The outcome or lack thereof in Afghanistan is all bad news. For the women in that country it is a disaster. For U.S. policy it’s almost as bad.

News…

A reproductive rights week has been planned to oppose new Okla. legislation  |  The Oklahoma Daily

House Bill 1595 is a new provision on Oklahoma abortion laws requiring an official record and reporting system for all abortions occurring within the state. This information would be made public and includes demographic information on the women.
In response to a new Oklahoma legislation, some students at OU have planned a reproductive rights week beginning today that will culminate in a statewide protest on the state capitol Friday.

Lawsuit accuses psychologist of ignoring Guantanamo torture  |  Truthout

The state board responsible for licensing – and disciplining – psychologists in Louisiana is “fighting awfully hard to turn a blind eye to serious allegations of abuse” brought against one of its members, who is being accused of complicity in beatings, religious and sexual humiliation, rape threats and painful body positions during his service as a senior adviser on interrogations for the US military in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

Depression link to processed food  |  BBC

Eating a diet high in processed food increases the risk of depression, research suggests.
What is more, people who ate plenty of vegetables, fruit and fish actually had a lower risk of depression, the University College London team found.

War of Words

Analysis…

White House communications director Anita Dunn openly expressed the disdain the White House feels toward Fox News this weekend, stating, “Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party.” Dunn went on to state, “As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave.”

While many believe Fox News maintains right-wing ideology, it is perhaps unjust to create this “War of Words,” as Fox News is calling it. One might compare this incident to Nixon’s lash-out toward the New York Times during the publication of the Pentagon Papers. While Fox News represents a different ideological standpoint in comparison to Obama’s, the administration cannot simply shutout the opposition. Below, bloggers and critics discuss the situation.

The Notion | While rank and file Democrats view Fox News as an obviously hostile force, elected Democrats have long struggled over whether to engage or fight the channel. In fact, the Democratic establishment even agreed to empower Fox as an official host and moderator of a debate during the presidential primaries — but that bit of self-handicapping was scuttled after a coalition of progressive bloggers and activists objected. By the homestretch of the presidential campaign, Obama’s campaign dialed up the heat, aggressively confronting Fox with pointed barbs from senior staff, surrogates and sometimes the candidate.

Midwest Voices | The White House complained Sunday that Fox News is a lap dog for the GOP. It’s a pretty accurate charge.
But let’s be fair. Check out MSNBC TV, and you will often see a similar kind of blind support for liberal positions and Democrats.
Back to back to back, MSNBC features “Hardball” with Chris Matthews, “Countdown” with Keith Olbermann and “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
The MSNBC hosts are generally as liberal as Fox opinion makers are conservative: Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly.
Fact is, both networks attract viewers who pretty much know what they are getting when they tune in:
Attacks on Democrats on Fox News and attacks on Republicans on MSNBC.

Taylor Marsh | The President is being particularly aggressive ratcheting up his criticism of the one network whose got anchors that never stop the barrage, even claiming a few political scalps. The big difference now is that Fox has Glenn Beck, one cable barker who is even more outrageous than the normal fare.
But will Obama go back on Fox? Of course, said Elizabeth Dunn, he’ll just consider it debating the opposition.

Ben Smith @Politico | One of the remarkable things about the Fox News Channel is that while the standard response from most news outlets — right and left — to government attacks is simply to stand by a story and stress objectivity, Fox’s reflex is always a campaign-style attack, in [Monday's] case more or less vindicating the White House decision to cast them explicitly as a political foe.

News…

• Senators voted by 14 votes to nine to pass the bill, with one Republican joining Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee in voting in favor.
  Announcing her decision to break with her party on Tuesday, Senator Snowe said: “When history calls, history calls.” (Read more)
• Russia resists U.S. position on sanctions for Iran (Read more).
• It’s a Fork, It’s a Spoon, It’s a … Weapon? (Read more)
• The Senate Finance Committee approved an $829 billion plan to overhaul U.S. health care, clearing the way for a full Senate debate over the broadest expansion of the government’s role in the medical system since the creation of Medicare in 1965 (Read more).

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