Totalitarianism Today

TOTALITARIANISM TODAY

Thursday, February 27, 2003

Letting history speak for himself?

Why is the Haggadah still off-limits to the public? The background infro from Transitions Online:

The idea was to display the pieces as public tributes to survival, restoration, and multi-ethnic tolerance. The Haggadah’s journey--which began when Sephardic Jews fled the Inquisition, leaving medieval Spain for Italy and, at some point, crossing the Adriatic Sea to Bosnia--is a vibrant, triumphant tale that continues to fascinate researchers and ordinary people worldwide. The document was rescued yet again during the three-and-a-half-year war in Bosnia that ended seven years ago.

But two months after the opening ceremony, the exhibit, located in an upper corner of the war-scarred museum, remains closed to the general public. The high-tech alarm system malfunctions regularly and the museum has no technician on staff. Nor does it have qualified guards to monitor the room and ensure that no one disturbs the unsecured display cases that house other items. And the administration scrambles to raise enough money or defer enough bills to cover its costs every month.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

The serious academic department of "office culture" studies.

Some scholars, particularly those blessed with very little to do but sit around contemplating essential metaphysics, have been disturbed by the potential effects of globalization on national office cultures. Will globalization homogenize "office cultures"? Keith Porter takes this tricky beast head-on. Ay, the courage. What I am tempted to say at this moment could only be spoken in French. For the sake of linguistic homogeneity, I'll leave it unsaid.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Among Russian men and women, affection or commiseration is expressed by kissing each other.

But it will take much more than a mere kiss to soothe the smarting left by Bush's request for $95 billion in the war on Iraq. Too bad I've sworn off alcohol for the time being, because Russian vodka might beat something as lightweight as a kiss.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Never have I ever...

watched a Reality TV show that I actually enjoyed. This too, however, might change as a result of the war on terrorism. It seems that The Reel Evil series at Duke University will screen movies from six countries to give viewers an insight into rarely seen cultures as the US faces the prospect of war. The "rogue states" of Libya, Cuba and Syria will also be represented. Professor Ariel Dorfman comments:

"I'd urge everyone who believes in cultural dialogue - and particularly those who don't - to come and submerge themselves in these works of art from the very places that some in the United States would like to bomb out of sight and out of existence."

Keep your eyes open for films from the new, expanded version of the Axis of Evil, which now includes Cuba, Syria, and Libya. In a world so absurd that Reality TV seems like bubble-gum conpared to the real lives of many in the Middle East, perhaps the truth is closer to A Time for Drunken Horses than the belly-flopping buffoonery of Bachelorette. Might I advise all the angst bachelorettes out there to stop worrying about men for a little while and start worrying about war?

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Consensus-building exercises on the subject of file-sharing disputes.

Exciting new materials from the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution showing computer negotiation and consensus-building processes for reconciling different opinions on the matter of file-sharing. Like models promise much for the future of arbitration, negotiation, and conflict resolution data collection and methods.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Prisoner's dilemma exercise online tonight.

Tonight, hopefully, I will have the opportunity to participate in a mock prisoner's dilemma for Cyberweek 2003. There may still be spots open for participants, so those interested should see about applying. On Wednesday, February 26th at 7:00PM EST, participants will engage in a mock online divorce negotiation. Participants enrolled as representing either Mr. Smith’s Law Firm or Mrs. Smith’s Law Firm, will meet online to determine various settlement agreements that must be reached in most divorce cases.

Participants will negotiate in their client’s best interest regarding everything from child custody to stock options. The negotiation will be scored on a round by round basis, and scoring will be based on three criteria:

1)“Winning” the round, or obtaining the item of higher dollar value or interest to their client (max 2 points);
2)Reaching a solution that works for both sides, and does not drag out the painful and costly divorce proceedings (max 2 points); and
3)Negotiating in good faith/being willing to compromise (1 point).

There is a maximum of 5 points that can be earned for each round and there will be four rounds.

The purpose of this experiment is to explore how people in an online negotiation make decisions in the face of missing information. The reward structure for each party is dependent on the unknown decision made by the Other. Parties will, however, be allowed more and more cross-communication from round to round.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

TV, foreign policy, and weapons of mass distraction.

Mr. Bill directs us to some Reality TV that might actually be worth watching-- "The George and Saddam Show". In a world no one would want to miss, perhaps George would not have declined Saddam's challenge to a televised debate. The Guardian's Tim Dowling exclusively reveals what could have happened had they met....

The Rittenhouse Review's take on US comic-book foreign policy might make fine required reading for a course in the New World Order Foreign Policy. Please, somebody, hire me to teach this class. I can even show how the concept of a "rogue state" and "Axis of Evil" originated in a highly-stimulating Austin powers film! Do I sound like I am kidding? Forget it guys-- I'm dead serious. Call it my dalliance with the New Realism.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Why radicals and progressives should stop turning a hostile and oft-uninformed shoulder on school voucher plans.

In Colorado, the legislative plan for school vouchers advances significantly. According to the two voucher plans approved on Wednesday, tax dollars will be provided for low-income youngsters to attend private or religious schools. Eligibility is extended to students from low-income families who received failing scores on their most recent state math or reading tests. Funding limits are set at up to $4,200 per student or the private school's tuition, whichever is less. The Senate bill provides a fairly rigorous schedule for schools. For example, participating school districts are required to have at least 11,000 students and two or more schools rated "low" or "unsatisfactory" by the state for the past two years. A list of the school districts which qualify for the Senate plan has already been released to the public.

The Colorado plan adds another example to the variety of state and local voucher programs already in existence-- each of which tends to be fairly experimental and progressive. Indeed, even though support for school vouchers often comes from conservatives, voucher programs, by their very essence, are far too radical and unsettling to be considered merely "conservative" policies.

Some of the more interesting legal challenges to voucher plans lately have come from the home of controversial voucher plans-- yes, Ohio. In a conversation with a prominent Ohio attorney last night, I was informed that requests to both extend and end voucher programs are now being framed by talk of "a right to an efficient (or effective) education". Exciting, ambitious, and slightly utopian-- what more could you ask for in a legal battle over the sorry state of American state-sponsored education?

Also on the voucher front, the Manhattan Institute's Education Research Office released new information today concerning the standardized testing and voucher prgrams in Florida. It seems that admission to a private school with the assistance of corporate financing in the state usually involves the taking of a standardized test of some form or another.

"Although Florida private school students are not required to take the FCAT, the vast majority of the 15,000 students attending private school through the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program do take a standardized test. According to a survey of 426 private schools conducted by Florida Children First, 95.5% of students using the scholarship will take a standardized test this year."

I didn't notice any results-based analyses of this sort of alternative education funding scheme, but if any of you happen to stumble upon some sound stats, please let me know.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Air strategy in Iraq scenario takes a hit from a retired General.

Retired US Airforce General Buster Glosson, who directed the 1991 Gulf War air campaign, denounced the U.S. military strategy for a possible new war with Iraq as "criminal," claiming that it would risk more American and allied lives than necessary.

Glosson expressed alarm about what he described as a U.S. "rush" to conclude an air campaign within a few days and warned that war plans fall short on the critical need to "obliterate" elite Republican Guard units that are key to President Saddam Hussein's survival.

"How do you ethically defend the time we're taking to make a political decision (on using military force against Iraq) and then try to rush a military operation and finish it in a matter of days? Criminal," he told the American Enterprise Institute.

"Don't base a strategy on using air or special forces only for a few days and -- bam! -- the ground forces are going, ready or not, because all you're doing is asking the mothers and fathers of American or coalition allies to lose more sons and daughters," he said.

"Our strategy is wrong. It is risking more lives than necessary," he said, adding: "When you do not permit special forces and the air capability and technology you have to accomplish the maximum before you start heading ground forces in a 'Roman Legion' fashion toward objectives, you're asking for disaster."

Richard Perle, an AEI senior fellow who is an influential Republican adviser to the Pentagon, said he was also worried that "the pressure for rapidly concluding a military engagement is always a danger."

For some interesting (though mainly pro-Bush voices) from the other side, interview transcripts with a wide variety of Iraqi dissidents, as compiled by the State Department, are now avaliable.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

In brief.

Travel guru Arthur Frommer explains keeps bringing him back to Motel 6's. Saddam gets suicidal a little too late for sympathy. The Justice Department has focused resources on the prosecution of sex traffickers, more than doubling prosecution and conviction of offenders.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

The latest from Nick Cave.

So far, reviews of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds' new album, Nocturama, have been fairly subdued. Ian Simmons' review mentions the last song, "I'm on Fire", favorably. Yet we are left to wonder if perhaps the Nick Cave who stared his fires in the face is a postpubscent relic of shifty love and sodden sheets.

Alas, loving music requires the ability to relegate as well as delegate the latest and greatest. Download the CD-- don't buy it. Find your old "The Birthday Party" Nick Cave and change your mind. I got my devil's boots today, courtesy of a great store in Columbus. I worry about the angel part, though... Another thing those angelic little blondes have over us brunettes.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Judicial gag rules and the abortion debate: A possible solution?

Walter Berns argued in favor of a selectively-applied gag rule, which would silence legislators without silencing federally-funded doctors and nurses. Why silence legislators while leaving those who actually encounter pregnant women free to speak on the matter? Given the increase in Medicare and Medicaid recipients, combined with the continuous pressures for a national health insurance scheme, the medical profession finds itself more and more vulnerable to bureaucratic dicta from DC. The spheres of health and government are no longer separate. On this view, a state-centric approach to medical rules about abortion and government cost coverage appears more reasonable.

However, this is easier said than done. In Passions and Constraints, NYU law professor Stephen Holmes demonstrates the problems with applying a gag rule to legislatures while allowing the judiciary to effectively legislate in the arena of abortion rights. Following the tone of Justice White's majoritarian position on the legal question of abortion, Holmes agrees with White's following statement:

"Abortion is a hotly contested moral and political issue. Such issues, in our society, are to be resolved by the will of the people."

In other words, the Court should yield its grip on the abortion question and consign it to majority rule in the states. This runs counter to the purpose of Roe v. Wade, which removed the abortion issue from legislative hands on the basis of a fundamental right to privacy. Unfortunately, abortion is not a private issue-- with medical records and insurance data avaiable on the internet, an abortion is as private as a sex video. The majoritarian position, described by Holmes as "antijudicial" and "deferential to local majorities", also happens to be more consistent with a federalist system.

Rather than continuing to bark up this extremely controversial tree, I'll close with a quote from Holmes:

"The Court should gag itself because, by constitutionalizing such an explosive issue, it not only has thrown the legitimacy of judicial review into question but has also polarized the national community more radically than if it had allowed the problem to be solved on a decentralized basis by ordinary processes of pluralistic bargaining. Far from dampening conflict, Roe exacerbated a diffuse and latent antagonism, drawing it onto the national scene."

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Another reason to love blogland.

What is one of the most popular ways to challenge the status quo version or interpretation of events as covered by the media? Why, blogging, of course. So it should come as no surprise that many Muslims have taken to blogging as a means of exchanging knowledge about friends, family, politics, society, and culture. Let me add that Think Halal is one of the most terrific blogs out there right now!

In fact, blogging has even caught the attention of The Weekly Standard, who asks if blogging will free the Middle East from current regimes, like the Iranian one, which lack widepread popular support. Short answer-- not if the US government has anything to do with it. Clearly, the history of US foreign policy in that region shows that US officials prefer to replace regimes themselves.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

In between a letter and a conversation with Ryan Stevens by Parker Hannah.

You claim that you are "fond" of me;
should I thus swoon and drop my tea?
I, too, am "fond" of many things--
black cats, old books, and evaded bee stings.

Fondness alone, dear, does not promise much
to fix the loss in translation betwixt kiss, smile, and touch.
There must be more to glue the three
than fancy, tact, and some thought of me.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

The daily cornucopia.

Radley's comments on the great real-estate market in Iraq provoke more thoughts than I planned to have on this snowy, sunny Ohio morning. The Radical, who often seems more realistic than radical, reveals how Belgian unions have taken it too far.

Writing for The Village Voice, Duncan Osborne examines the safety of oral sex according to HIV experts and researchers. Now, for the real meat, find out how and why NYC Republican Mayor Bloomberg banned the peace march, setting precedents for police action in municipal law. Yes, this is the same freedom-loving Bloomberg who plans to making smoking illegal in the city of lights.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Feb. 24th a big day for Romanian transition.

According to a recent RFE/RL Newsline, yesterday was a significant day in US-Romanian relations. Romanian Radio reported that President Bush spoke to Ion Iliescu by telephone thanking him for the support rendered by Romania in the Iraq crisis and the struggle against international terrorism. Iliescu assured Bush that Romania will respect all obligations it has assumed, and he emphasized the importance of the two countries' strategic partnership. Bush then informed Iliescu of the United States' decision to submit a new draft resolution on Iraq to the UN Security Council. To sugar the deal, Bush informed Iliescu that U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Donald Evans will soon visit Bucharest to examine with Romanian officials ways to expand bilateral commercial relations.

Romanian Radio also reported, on this same day, that Romania will participate in rebuilding Iraq after a possible war with that country is over. Iliescu said his country's allies accept this participation and are aware of the fact that Romanian experts have considerable experience participating in the development of Iraq's infrastructure, as well as in its oil sector. He said the allies are also aware of Iraq's longstanding debt to Romania and intend to help Bucharest recoup those funds. The debt is estimated at $1.7 billion, according to Romanian sources.

Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana said on 24 February that Romanian military bases will not be used for the purpose of "offensive operations against Iraq," Mediafax reported. Geoana said the Mihail Kogalniceanu airfield near Constanta is being used by the U.S. military as an air bridge for transporting troops and military equipment, but that its use of the base is "temporary," as U.S. troops will eventually be deployed in Turkey and in the Persian Gulf. Defense Minister Ioan Mircea Pascu made a similar statement the same day. Geoana said the issue of Bulgaria asking for security guarantees from NATO is "a matter of internal Bulgarian politics." He stressed that Romania has received "informal, but very clear, total, real, and perpetual guarantees" from the United States and NATO. He added that to request additional guarantees in the absence of an immediate security threat would be to question the existing guarantees.

The private Antena 1 television channel said on 24 February that the Black Sea port of Constanta might soon be used by U.S. military ships and that four large U.S. naval vessels are expected to arrive at the port "in the coming days." The station also reported that 10 U.S. Hercules C-130 transport planes and six helicopters have recently landed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu base.

My eyebrows remain raised.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

A brief quote from Laurel Van Allen.

Unfortunately, the Wall Street Journal holds the copyright to this quote, but the topic was a hot-button issue during the Koch Summer Fellowship program a few years ago. Laurel is right to make the distinction between libertines, hedonists, moral relativists, and libertarians. Granted, while a libertine, a hedonist, or a moral relativist might subscribe to libertarian political views, he cannot get there by mere moral relativism alone. There is more to this position than meets the eye.

Libertarianism does not promote (moral) relativism. Quite the contrary, it is based upon a firm universal absolute: the state's role is to protect individuals from violations of their property rights. From this foundation, the question "what is moral?" is separated from "what should be legal?" For instance, just because libertarians endorse legalization of drugs and prostitution doesn't mean they believe these activities are moral. Nor does it mean that they don't take firm moral stances on behavior.

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Bohemia by Dorothy Parker.

Authors and actors and artists and such
Never know nothing, and never know much.
Sculptors and singers and those of their kidney
Tell their affairs from Seattle to Sydney.
Playwrights and poets and such horses' necks
Start off from anywhere, end up at sex.
Diarists, critics, and similar roe
Never say nothing, and never say no.
People Who Do Things exceed my endurance;
God, for a man that solicits insurance!

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

For those who still need missionaries.

There's nothing quite as un-arousing as listening to academics talk about sex. The aptly-learned "history of the vibrator", though elective, can only be a personal one.

Monday, February 24, 2003

The sweetest taboo.

Jonathan Rauch is at his witty best in this essay teaching you "how to care for your introvert". First, however, we must dispel the common notion that introverts are "shy people". Actually, some of the most sociable people in the world are introverts. Rauch's explanation:

Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

How many people are introverts? I performed exhaustive research on this question, in the form of a quick Google search. The answer: About 25 percent. Or: Just under half. Or—my favorite—"a minority in the regular population but a majority in the gifted population."

When my friends call me on a Friday night to invite me out for an evening at the bars, sometimes I prefer to stay home, watch a movie, read a book, or just talk and laugh with someone close to my heart/mind. My friends feign shock-- "But Alina, aren't you bored? I mean, we are going to have so much fun tonight! You HAVE to come! We'll cheer you up!"

What to say? "I know you guys are going to have so much fun. And I know you'll call me tommorow to fill me in about it. I really don't need to be cheered up.. I just got these great books for Valentine's Day and I'd like to sit and simmer with them." As you can imagine, my friends remain mystified and come to visit the next day, concerned about my "mental health". Outnumbered, I usually flash a sheepish smile and hunker down to hear of their latest sexual exploits. Meanwhile, the words, "I've been tired", flash like neon lights across my forehead. The deterrent effect? Nada.

With their endless appetite for talk and attention, extroverts also dominate social life, so they tend to set expectations. In our extrovertist society, being outgoing is considered normal and therefore desirable, a mark of happiness, confidence, leadership. Extroverts are seen as bighearted, vibrant, warm, empathic. "People person" is a compliment. Introverts are described with words like "guarded," "loner," "reserved," "taciturn," "self-contained," "private"—narrow, ungenerous words, words that suggest emotional parsimony and smallness of personality. Female introverts, I suspect, must suffer especially. In certain circles, particularly in the Midwest, a man can still sometimes get away with being what they used to call a strong and silent type; introverted women, lacking that alternative, are even more likely than men to be perceived as timid, withdrawn, haughty.

Must thank Rauch for this observation. I've dated extroverts and introverts. In my experience, dating extroverts proved difficult, as they often tended to be very socially-insecure characters, who spent more time worrying about social milieu and a sense of group belonging than appreciating themselves and others as individuals. It's hard to have fun (at least for me) with someone who doesn't have fun with themselves. Granted, this is my idiosyncrasy, and thankfully, there are many women out there who prefer men that are very socially-obssessed. Yet love as lived by the social calendar seems an ill-inhabited lie. I'll take my happy-go-lucky loner-types over their suaver versions anyday.

Monday, February 24, 2003

Guilty as charged.

In our current confessional culture, sometimes our self-absorption becomes so profound that it borders on the neurotic. Writing for The New York Times, Lauren Slater encourages us to dyke the incessant imperative for self-expression and practice a little unselfish repression at times. Maybe what feels good isn't always what is good.

Monday, February 24, 2003

A requiem.

Monday, February 24, 2003

Spending for your country.

Does being an American necessarily invoke a dedication to mass consumerism and consumptionist ethics? Lizbeth Cohen thinks so, as she observes that, in the decades following World War II, the pursuit of prosperity became integral to American citizenship. Cohen, who is Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies at Harvard University, tries to tie in her critique of consumer-oriented ethics to new class and race divisions in America.

"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