Sunday, March 2, 2003

Romania, France, and history.

France and Romania have maintained a close relationship in the modern period-- the exchange of intellectuals, the popularity of the French language in Romanian curriculum, the shared sense of continentalism has given the two countries much by way of shared perception and outlook. It is no coincidence that some of Romania's greatest minds fled to France when the communists took over.

That said, recent events have frustrated Romanian views of a special relationship with France.Cristian Tudor Popescu, a well-known Romanian intellectual, voices his frustration over the recent French criticism of Romania's pro-American foreign policy.

What Chirac pretends not to understand--and I do not know if any European leader thinks about this--is that Romania is neither pro-American, nor anti-French, or anti-German, and even less thirsty to see bloodshed in Iraq. The French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, warned about the risk that the attitudes of the EU candidates might be “sometimes misinterpreted by European public opinion.” But is this really newsworthy? Have the Europeans ever, especially the French, really understood what Romania has lived through under communism?

Romania is desperate. For half a century now, the country has been banished to the outskirts of the world. For half a century it has been one of those subjected by the fate: “pays qui ont connu une long nuit derniere le rideau de fer, des pays qui ont reve de liberte et qui ont reve d’Amerique…” (“Countries that have known a long night behind the Iron Curtain, countries that were dreaming about freedom, that were dreaming about the United States.”)

This witty phrase belongs to de Villepin, the French foreign affairs minister, and I do not need to translate his words. It is difficult to introduce despair into the cold equation of international politics, but has France forgotten this? How “for” or “against” was Paris when the English and the Americans landed in Normandy? At this very moment, Romania sees the United States as the strongest guarantee that it will not be forced back into the swamp. That is why this country clings, with despair and exasperation, onto those situated in the power position that the United States adopts now--sometimes to the detriment of reason and democracy.

A counter argument would be that Romania acts in accordance with its own, local interests, and not according to some political principles. That is right, but who is principled in the Iraqi matter? Is it pacifism, the concern for so many human lives, or the French interest in Iraqi oil that determines Chirac to sing his anti-war tune? Is it just in order to promote democracy that the United States steps on Europe before invading Iraq? I don’t believe in the sick literature, published also in France, which “demonstrates” that the genocide of 11 September was planned by the Americans themselves, with the help of the Jews. Unfortunately, now the United States acts as if 11 September was, in fact, necessary, because they have no other justification for attacking Iraq. The inconsistency of the reasons to go to war caused billions of people to take to the streets, and this time it wasn’t just a bunch of professional McDonald’s window breakers.

[Or] is the fact that Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime is hiding weapons of mass destruction a reason? And is this why they have to “discover” all those old pipes and frying pans in the deserted warehouses of Baghdad? Well, Him Jong II’s regime, another old democrat, does not make any efforts to hide his nuclear weapons. … Applying the same criteria to Iraq, the American army stationed in the Gulf should head towards the Yellow Sea. It’s just that North Korea doesn’t really have any oil. And neither did Romania when we were waiting for the American marines to come and save us from Ceausescu.

Beyond the war of declarations, it is obvious for any lucid mind that the Americans will not land again in Europe. At the end of this political tarantella there will be a compromise, and Chirac is very much aware of this. He is also aware of the fact that us--the Romanians--can not forget that our destiny has been bound to France for more than half a century, and that in 1997, in Madrid, it was Chirac who stood up for Romania, while the United States was categorically against our admission into NATO. He is also aware of the fact that, in a little while, our national currency will be the Euro and not the dollar.

If Chirac does not like Russian movies, I would remind him of a French story. When the police brought back Jean Valjean--together with the stolen candlestick--to the house of his host Monsieur Bienvenu, the priest of Digne changed the destiny of the recently liberated convict with a few words: “But I have also given you as a present the silver cover, my dear, and you forgot to take them. Here they are!”

Popescu continues to be a exemplary figure in postcommunist antipolitics. My admiration for his work exceeds the trite verbosity of a review. On the reasons for Romanian support of the Iraq war, he could not be closer to that grand ideal called truth. I hope that Monsieur Chirac learns the lessons of history more aptly than his Vichy predecessors. The die is tossed.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

This is why education is not improving.


Why is the tragedy about decreased school funding being missiled to us by a depiction of low paint color choices? Since when is drawing a rainbow the most important part of education anyway? As long as there are still pens and paper, there is no excuse for public school students in this country to be as ill-prepared as they are.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Are there any ties that bind?

The New Scientist reveals strides in the attempt to understand loyalty and human kinship networks among animals. Work by researchers in Finland shows that worker ants do preferentially favour their own kin when caring for eggs and larvae. This also means the ants must have some way of recognise how related they are to an individual.

Liselotte Sundström at the University of Helsinki remarks, "Whether or not nepotism occurs has been a much debated issue. It requires a very precise ability to recognise your own kin."

Andrew Bourke, an expert on social insects at the Zoological Society of London's Institute of Zoology, believes that "This is a very nice demonstration of a phenomenon which people have been looking for for a long time without success. It underscores the importance of kin selection and social selection according to one's relatedness."

Saturday, March 1, 2003

The pledge in Utah.

A sound analysis of Utah's "Domination Clause" by A Good Oman. According to USA Today, a federal appeals court Friday refused to reconsider its ruling that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional because of the words "under God." Thanks to Howard J. Bashman for the link to Senator Orrin Hatch's response to the 9th Circuit's decision not to review the "outrageous" ban on the pledge of allegiance. Ever the patriot, Hatch calls for Supreme Court review of the 9th's decision.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Casual asides across the Atlantic.

Tony Blair declared that, in the political conflict over the Iraq war, "history will be my judge." I'd like to remind Blair that history is perhaps the most reckless and harsh judge of all.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Bucuresti, Romania.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Blank Joy by Rainer Maria Rilke.

She who did not come, wasn't she determined
nonetheless to organize and decorate my heart?
If we had to exist to become the one we love,
what would the heart have to create?


Lovely joy left blank, perhaps you are
the center of all my labors and my loves.
If I've wept for you so much, it's because
I preferred you among so many outlined joys.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Caveat for a clash.

Marooq believes Huntington was wrong about the clash of civilizations. Instead, he thinks we are headed towards a US v. Europe clash. Perhaps it is more than Marooq allows. I, for one, believe the clashes to come are not among civilizations but within them-- between the militaristic, conservative impulse and the progressive, liberal one.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

The unthinkable.

Some ideas are better off dead.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

The difference between the erotic and the pornographic.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Social norms in American pornography.

What does the consumption of pornography have to say about individual American men? What does it have to say about the changing assumptions of masuclinity in the land of the free as a whole? Robert Jensen lays bare Jensen takes the example of a rental video, "Blow Bang #4", which he describes as:

Eight different scenes in which a woman kneels in the middle of a group of three to eight men and performs oral sex on them. At the end of each scene, each of the men ejaculates onto the woman's face or into her mouth. To borrow from the description on the video box, the video consists of: "Dirty little bitches surrounded by hard throbbing cocks - and they like it."

For Jensen, this is significant as one browses through vast collections of pornography, only to realize that the social norm to which each is adapted

...represents a single pornographic mindset, in which male pleasure defines sex and female pleasure is a derivate of male pleasure. In pornography, women just happen to love exactly what men love to do to them, and what men love to do in pornography is to control and use, which allows the men who watch pornography to control and use as well.

Jensen's point-- namely, that porn pushes one sex's freedom at the expense of the other's-- is not a light one. While I take issue with his sexual essentialism and over-generalization, it is true that porn provides a proper example of deeper problems in the current social and sexual milieu.

For many of the women who feel so defeated by knowing, the most distressing part doesn't seem to be simply learning what is in the videos but knowing that men gain pleasure from what is in the videos. They ask me, over and over, "Why do men like this? What do you guys get from this?" They want to know why the mostly male consumers spend an estimated $10 billion a year on pornography in the United States and $56 billion around the world.

It is an important question with, no doubt, complex answers. What does is say about our society when men will take home a tape like "Blow Bang #4" and watch it, and masturbate to it. What does it say about our society's conception of sexuality and masculinity that large numbers of men can find pleasure in watching a young woman gag while a penis is pushed into her throat followed by six men ejaculating on her face and in her mouth? Or that other men, who might find that scene too extreme, prefer to watch one man have sex with a woman that begins with tender words and ends with "Do you want me to fuck you in the ass?" and ejaculation on her breasts? What does it say that such a video, made for men to masturbate to, is considered classy and upscale?

Women have become complicit in the tendency to degrade and humiliate themselves. What do I mean by this? Well, the fact that having your breasts sliced open to be filled with a disgusting substance called silicon is considered a privelege-- or an activity worthy of several paychecks-- is disturbing. Yes, women work hard for the money to have themselves mutilated, fixed, nipped, tucked, and "perfected". And this goes under the name of "freedom" or "choice". Why don't we call this bluff once and for all? The easy answer to this question lies in the extent to which popular magazine culture and ideals of "the perfect female" permeate our every social interaction.

If a physically beautiful woman is unhappy, she is considered insane-- "How can you be unhappy when you could have anything you wanted?" Few acknowledge the burdens imposed by physical perfection-- burdens which draw females away from the important questions of character and integrity for the sake of "maintenance" and "pleasure". The problem of envy taints so many sexual relations nowadays. It takes alot for a man to admit that he is "envious" of his sexual partner's achievement or physical presence. Unfortunately, even such admissals do little to rememdy the deeper problem-- that male-female relations have become so sabotaged by envy that trust turns to fiction and competition for sexual attention becomes the norm.

Do I think that criminalizing the porn industry might lead us back to days of yore? Hell no-- the best days alight before us; in sexual identity politics, there are no "days of yore". What must change is the conceptions underlying lust and desire. Do I want to see men as tormented as women, saving up cash for penile implants? Absolutely not! Two equally self-denying sexes would improve the situation none whatsoever.

I am sorry to say that things can never change until women cease arming themselves with makeup, manicures, and silicon, instead, demanding to be acknowledged as partners rather than instruments to a man's pleasure. In the end, ladies, the onus is on us to forsake the temptation to exists as bubble-gummed sexpots, later expressing surprise that men potty-trained to seek such things go on to start seeking them again at the age of 45 or 50, when our own bubbles are no longer so sweet. If a man demands that you change to accomodate his ego or insecurities, then the choice is clear-- he does not "love" you. Insofar as you defy your role as stage-prop or assenting minority, you have become useless. Would that all situations were so clear-cut. Bottom line-- save your paychecks for vacations, and save your tears for men who are worthy of such affection. "Discrimination", in our day, carries negative undertones, while, in fact, to be discriminating about the men you date or relate to is the first step to true freedom. Thanks to the market, you don't even have to bother with the tact. Give unwanted gents "your" number: 212-479-7990, which will immediately connect them to The Rejection Line.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Ideals must be tempered by thoughtful analysis.

Post-WWII Japan has been heralded as an example of succesful regime-change and democratization by those in the current administration who wish to oversee the "liberation" of Iraq. The tendency to assume away the particulars of context has long bedeviled social scientists who wish to advocate idealistic ends without getting mired in the overwhelming problems of means. In a timely piece for The Boston Review, historian John W. Dower warns readers not to expect democracy in the post-war Iraq setting. Dower notes that both populace and occupation government in the Japanese case shared the desire for demilitarization. To this day, Germany and Japan remain the most pacifistically-inclined states with a pretension to power.

When I say that “everyone” embraced this vision of a demilitarized, democratized Japan, I have in mind not merely the victorious Allied nations but also the Asian peoples who had been so grievously victimized by the Japanese war machine—many of whom remained at war’s end colonial subjects of the British, French, Dutch, and Americans. I also have in mind the great majority of the Japanese, who found themselves not only bereaved but also living in a country utterly devastated by a miserable, losing war. Even people who are familiar with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that preceded Japan’s surrender in August 1945 often are unaware that the U.S. terror-bombing raids that came before them—aimed primarily at destroying civilian morale—had pulverized large portions of 64 other major cities. Tokyo, for example, had been mostly reduced to rubble.

It is important to keep all this in mind when we begin to talk about drawing lessons from Japan that might be applicable to Iraq after any projected U.S. hostilities. The postwar occupation of Japan possessed a great intangible quality that simply will not be present in the event of a U.S. war against Iraq. It enjoyed virtually unquestioned legitimacy—moral as well as legal— in the eyes of not merely the victors but all of Japan’s Asian neighbors and most Japanese themselves. Japan had been at war for almost fifteen years. It had declared war on the Allied powers in 1941. It had accepted the somewhat vague terms of surrender “unconditionally” less than four years later. Quite the opposite can be anticipated if the United States attacks and then occupies Iraq. The United States will find the legitimacy of its actions widely challenged—within Iraq, throughout the Middle East and much of the rest of the world, and even among many of its erstwhile supporters and allies.

To this day, Germany and Japan remain the most pacifistically-inclined states with a pretension to power. Rather than quote this entire essay, I encourage each of you to read it. Thanks to Dr. Scott O'Bryan for drawing it to my oft-divided attention.

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Romanian news sent from a friend via email.

A Romanian man plans to complain to consumer authorities about the poor quality of a rope he used in a failed attempt to hang himself, Romanian papers reported Thursday. "You can't even die in this country," 45-year-old Victor Dodoi was quoted as saying in the daily Adevarul. The newspaper said Dodoi's relatives found him hanging from a tree in his garden and managed to cut the rope with a knife. He was taken by horse-drawn cart and then by ambulance to a hospital in the northern town of Botosani. Dodoi said he would file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Authority about the quality of the rope, which was easily cut, as soon as he is released.

Friday, February 28, 2003

Bulgarian prostitutes mobilize for war.

Grant Stoddard reports the latest events in the Balkans.

Right now, thousands of highly trained personnel are moving across godforsaken lands to spring into action and make the world a better place. No, we're not talking about the allied bully-boys poised to unleash some whoop-ass on Iraq, but rather the armies of prostitutes that wily Bulgarian pimps are deploying to cash in on the arrival of U.S. troops. In the north Bulgarian town of Rousse, more than four busloads of women have already set out for the southeastern city of Bourgas, where U.S. troops may be based in the event of an attack on Iraq. Consider the war room: Pink fedora-wearing Slavs pushing chips representing battalions of hookers across a 20-by-30-foot relief map of the region. One pimp was reported as saying that the soldiers would receive "a worthy welcome." He then clarified: "By which I mean that they will be freaked wild until the break of dawn."

To see prostitutes in political action, rent Love and Anarchy, described in my favorite film column.

Friday, February 28, 2003

Odds and ends.

Love this link from Radley. In the UK, asylum applications hit an all-time high.

The Zionist Organization of America is annoyed by Bush's promise to end "terrorist states", while, at the same time, touting the importance of a state for the Palestinians. It's okay to laugh sometimes; laughing lightens the absurd. I'm not sure what else I should say about this.

Last but not least, L.A.'s Koreatown is synonymous with quick, easy, casual sex. Pros and cons? Individual discretion and tastes are advised.

Friday, February 28, 2003

Back in the Balkans.

An Albanian court acquits a group charged with terrorism in the country’s first-ever case against organized crime. Meanwhile, back at the Hague, prosecutors express frustration when a crucial witness gives useless testimony. Experts believe the court is showing its weaknesses.

While the West has long held that the war in Bosnia was resolved by swift, focused NATO intervention, a the brutal murder of a Croatian family suggests that, for some, the war in Bosnia is not yet finished.

In the reqiuem for a dream of a multiethnic Yugoslavia, there have been conceptual as well as human casualties. What will happen to the .yu domain?

Friday, February 28, 2003

A few resources to assist in evaluation of the DEA's Operations Headhunter and Pipe Dream.

The Supreme Court's ruling in the 2001 US v. Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative gave the federal government discretion over state referendum results and policies which conflict with the intended ends and means of the US federal war against drugs. Building on the USC's Oakland decision, US Attorney General John Ashcroft released a memo from the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide which read, in part, as follows:

"The Supreme Court reaffirmed last term that the application of federal law regulating controlled substances is uniform throughout the United States and may not be nullified by the legislative decisions of individual States. See United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Coop., 532 U.S. 483 (2001). In light of this decision, questions have been raised about the validity of an Attorney General letter dated June 5, 1998, which overruled an earlier Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) determination that narcotics and other dangerous drugs controlled by federal law may not be dispensed consistently with the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 801-971 (1994 & Supp. II 1996) (CSA), to assist suicide in the United States. Upon review of the Oakland Cannabis decision and other relevant authorities, I have concluded that the DEA’s original reading of the CSA—that controlled substances may not be dispensed to assist suicide—was correct. I therefore advise you that the original DEA determination is reinstated and should be implemented as set forth in greater detail..."

The Ashcroft Directive significantly influenced the role of states and civil society in the battle over euthanasia. I am tempted to call the Oakland decision this milennium's version of the Commerce Clause. On this note, Justice Thomas, who delivered the opinion of the Court, reneged on his ideological commitment to states' rights in favor of big government.

The Drug Policy Alliance provides a page laden with information for medical marijuana litigators. The background legal battle, based on the Ninth Circuit Court's order to District Court Judge Charles Breyers with respect to the Oakland Cooperative helps orient readers in the evolution of the legal argument in the Oakland case.

Friday, February 28, 2003

Armchair voting for the war-worried.

Erik Baard plugs a new site which aims to let grassroots peaceniks place their bets in the ultimate "dead pool", where they can lay down five dollar wagers on when—to the minute—the new Iraq War will start. The winner walks away with 20 percent of the kitty in the form of prepaid gasoline cards, while the rest will go to humanitarian aid in the war's aftermath.

Friday, February 28, 2003

Taking the Kurds seriously.

James Badcock's thoughtful essay on the future of Kurds in Turkey warrants special attention as the war on Iraq takes shape. Badcock also penned a sharp analysis of the conceptual conflicts between Turkey, its Kurds, and the EU. Kurds have long agitated for rights of representation in Turkey.

The picture below shows two Iranian Kurdish children in the village of Mohabed. Iran's Kurds, many of which live in refugee camps along the Iranian-Iraqi border, have not recieved much attention from the media. Such oversights might come back to haunt.

Friday, February 28, 2003

Important questions requiring immediate answers.

Can dogs be racist?
Under current international law, do stateless peoples have the right of self-defense? Specifically, what might such a right entail for the Palestinians?
Is Angelina Jolie the only tomb-raider? What is the significance of this practice for Cambodians?
Who will play the role of General MacArthur for Iraq?

Friday, February 28, 2003

War resignations.

Veteran US diplomat J. Brady Kiesling, who served as political officer at the Athens embassy, sent his letter of resignation to Colin Powell as a protest against President Bush's "fervent pursuit of war with Iraq."

"Our fervent pursuit of war with Iraq is driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America's most potent weapon of both offense and defense since the days of Woodrow Wilson," Kiesling wrote, according to The New York Times.

Now the question remains: why hasn't Powell resigned yet? Sometimes good statesmanship requires the ability to acknowledge when the good you can do in office is dwarfed by the acceptance or complaisance that remaining in political office demands. I advise American diplomats to cut their losses.

Friday, February 28, 2003

The US trade deficit.

America's trade deficit in goods and services grew to a record $44.2 billion in December, making to the total for 2002 a nice, chubby $435 billion. In January 2003, producer prices rose by 1.6% in what The Economist has called "the biggest monthly increase for 13 years". So far, the blame has fallen on the jump in energy prices.

Friday, February 28, 2003

Ashcroft puts freedom in his pipe and smokes it.

The DEA's ongoing Operations Pipedream and Headhunter have begun serious instrides in the legal arena of federal drug and internet law.

Attorney General John Ashcroft and Acting DEA Administrator John B. Brown, III today announced the indictment of 50 individuals on charges of trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia. The charges are the culmination of two nationwide investigations code-named Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter and include indictments against national distributors of drug paraphernalia and businesses nationwide. DEA offices in Boise, Idaho; Des Moines, Iowa; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Dallas and Tyler, Texas were involved in these investigations.

"With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has exploded," Ashcroft said. "The drug paraphernalia business is now accessible in anyone's home with a computer and Internet access. And in homes across America we know that children and young adults are the fastest growing Internet users. Quite simply, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families across the country without their knowledge. This illegal billion-dollar industry will no longer be ignored by law enforcement. Today, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, under the leadership of Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson and Associate Deputy Attorney General Karen Tandy, has taken decisive steps to dismantle the illegal drug paraphernalia industry by attacking their physical, financial and Internet infrastructures."

The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to sell and offering to sell various types of drug paraphernalia, in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sections 846, 853 and 863. Federal law defines drug paraphernalia as those products that are primarily intended or designed to be used in ingesting, inhaling or otherwise using controlled substances, and include user-friendly and dealer-friendly devices. Items such as miniature scales, substances for "cutting" or diluting raw narcotics, bongs, marijuana pipes, roach clips, miniature spoons and cocaine freebase kits, among other things, are all considered drug paraphernalia.

All the defendants knowingly, intentionally and unlawfully sold the items for use with illegal narcotics. Many of the items were disguised as common objects such as hi-liters and lipsticks to elude detection as drug paraphernalia and were marketed using code names and symbols.

People selling drug paraphernalia are in essence no different than drug dealers," said Acting Administrator Brown. "They are as much a part of drug trafficking as silencers are a part of criminal homicide. These criminals operate a multimillion dollar enterprise, selling their paraphernalia in headshops, distributing out of huge warehouses, and using the worldwide web as a worldwide paraphernalia market. With Operations Pipe Dreams and Headhunter, these criminals are out of business and 11 illicit dot.coms are dot.gone."

How this will pan out at the state level in terms of head shops and similar businesses remains to be seen. One thing is sure, however-- more is "gone" than just the "illicit" dot.coms.

Thailand makes a good model for the US war on drugs.

According to The Economist, nearly 600 suspected drug dealers have been killed in the first three weeks of Thailand's new "war on drugs". The figures come from government estimates. Ashcroft should make a small notation on the dint that due process creates for quick victory in the drug war. Truly, Thailand stands as an example of how to to put the fear of God in drug-users.

"GIVE BACK MY BOOK AND TAKE MY KISS INSTEAD.
WAS IT MY ENEMY OR MY FRIEND I HEARD,
"WHAT A BIG BOOK FOR SUCH A LITTLE HEAD!"
-Edna Saint Vincent Millay

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