Anyhow, here is a lecture by Chomsky you really should give a listen to. It's a longish talk, but Chomsky has a pleasant voice, and what he says has significance for world politics and your backyard, in which atomic weapons could be dropping shortly if we insist on this path. Chomsky is not a sensationalist. He is an analytical mind who has chosen to put his ample mental capacity towards clarifying the state of the planet.
In this lecture Chomsky paints the whole picture. In the end he admits to seeing some reasons for optimism; especially in the developments in Latin-America. But it's mostly a talk of warnings: about nuclear weapons, Iraqy, Iran, Israël, de demolishion of the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, and about capitalism, multinationals, the US's rampant imperialism, and of course the consequences of all this, clearly, irrational behaviour.
It goes all to well with the nasty weather outside.
Be that as it may, my resentment of the crooks that currently inhabit the White House is undiminished. So when I come across a comment on the unsavoury state of affairs, I still wont keep it from you. Especially not if it happens to be an analysis of the language used in shaping our mindsets.
This why I link you to an artikel by Answaar Hussain with the title Terra, Terra, Terra.
Here and here you'll find reprints, in case you are having trouble accessing the original.
It does offer an interesting peek into the history of depictions of Mohammed.
Which by the way is only prohibited according to some sects and interpretations islam, and by no means all of islam. Hence, I guess, the small scale of the demonstrations around the world, which do not number more than a few hundred people on each occassion.
12 October 2005 - Quick glance at the war barometer... More
bad weather coming our way, say the experts.
You will probably have to be quick to do something about it!
There was no such attack (yet). This could be very educational.
My conclusion: al Qaeda lacks the recources to pull a such a stunt. If Al Zawahiri and Bin Laden and there followers ignore an opportunity like this, it is not because they wouldn't like to, but because they can't. (What would be there to stop them? Pity?) Al Qaeda is no able to act on a moments notice and exploit a situation such as this - it is that simple.
Columnist Matthew Parris - the seasoned BBC viewer will recognize him as a presenter, politician and pundit - reveals the forces behind al Qaeda. (Here's a longer version; and here is more on the documentary Parris mentions: the Power of Nightmares.)
Nothing strikes terror in the hearts of the powers that be, like political analyses by linguist and politial activist Noam Chomsky. His disections of modern politics are as sharp as his work on language and grammar back in the sixties. According to Chomsky, history shows that nasty things are bound to happen when politicians start deploying fear as an insturment of government.
Never before did the concept of terrorism of the islamic persuasion have such a nice compact little handle, such a ruthlessly efficient hook by which to infiltrate our brains! It is hard to believe that the people who coined the al Qaeda brand, did not forsee it could have the same potential to spread as Coca Cola, Nike or Von Dutch.
In the days of the internet merely releasing a concept like al Qaeda will lead to adolescents DIY'ing bombs (as happened in the Netherlands recently).
Suicide also is a dangerous concept. In the years directly following the publication of Goethe's Das Leiden des jungen Werther (1774), for instance, suicide was all the rage amongst young people all over Europe. And suicide has shown itself to be a frighteningly contagious concept on more than one occassion since - specially if 'marketed' properly. Like a virus, a concept does not care how it's hosts fare; as long as it gets a chance to replicate and spread, it will.
If suicide is contagious by itself, blowing yourself up for the good cause can easily become a fad, attach a catchy label and - god help us - a cool logo and you have the makings of a full blown hype. Just like young Werther's suffering was for 18th and 19th century European romantics, the concept of an al Qaeda martyrs death threatens to become an inspirational force for 21st century muslim youths - wherever they live.
Efforts to root out this dangerous social virus can and will result in an evolutionary arms race. A proces of mutation and adaption will be set in motion that could easily result in ever more resistent variations of the virus.
We already know what happens if we over- or misuse antibiotics; it would be good to bear in mind the the same risks apply when using antimemetics!
17 June 2005 - Here's an update on the puma situation: the police
have called of the hunt. Public outcry has led to something positive in
the Netherlands. Which is nice, for a change.
The Pantera
Foundation, who did a great deal of the lobbying in this matter, are
gonna whip out the old tranquilizer gun 'n' darts and go catch the animal.
Whether it will work, isn't clear though. Pantera says this might be the
same animal they were after a couple of times before. If so it has been
roaming our desginated green zones for years - as far as we can tell without
ever eating anybody.
Still, if one of these days you happen to find yourself in a wooded area
in the Netherlands and you hear something suspicious in the undergrowth,
you might wanna remember something I picked up in the Panamanian jungles:
puma's are frightened by things coming toward them, anything that flees
before them is concidered eadable until proven otherwise.
In case you thought the Dutch are an animal friendly people, think again. And next time you see a Dutch person proudly pointing to the lion on his orange-clad chest, ask him about that puma on the Veluwe...
The Netherlands simply can't stay behind in the greater scheme of things! And, after all, that constitution really isn't as bad as some people would like you to believe.
So: up with Europe, down with negativity! I will vote 'yes'!
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- Germans not victims, but eager followers of feelgood Führer. Here's a game: try not thinking about the analogies with current day USA while reading the article.
- Fall out of an Iranian oil-euro. Hands up who saw this one coming?
- If it wasn't so horrific... Well, yes, it would probably not be as hilarious: new slogans for a new America!
(Note added November 19th: this is not the much publicised murder in the mosque.)
Don't be supprised if the emerging Lonsdale generation has it's revenge on someone somehow.