7 October 2010 Mearsheimer interview etc
John Mearsheimer on the State of the Israel Lobby [Fall, 2010]
Cléa Thouin, assistant editor for the Journal of Palestine Studies[yt link], interviews John Mearsheimer [via Mondoweiss]
Helena Cobban , "When is an act of war not an act of war?"
Cobban suggests that the difference between "war" and "air strikes" in polling re military action against Iran makes an enormous difference, which reminds me of my suspicion of establishment polling in general and also makes me wonder if large numbers of Americans are stupider than a can of paint.
Ismael Hossein-zadeh and Karla Hansen, Asia Times, Why the US doesn't talk to Iran:
BDR:
The repeated refusal of Iranian offers of dialogue by successive United States administrations suggests that US foreign policy in the Middle East has been driven not by national interest but by the military-industrial complex's need for a constant, external threat to justify its huge share of the treasury. Whether it is the perceived pursuit of nuclear weapons or support for terrorism, there has always been a convenient reason to target a nation.
"Republicans are shitty, and no amount of Democratic shittiness changes that essential truth."
Maria Bustillos,The Awl, "How the For-Profit College Can Destroy Your Life"
via Susie Madrak
by Nancy Solomon, NPR:"Schools Urged To Teach Youth Digital Citizenship"
Freshman Tyler Clementi jumped off a bridge a few days after his sexual encounter with another man was broadcast online. Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, and Ravi's friend Molly Wei were arrested on invasion of privacy charges. They haven't said why they allegedly broadcast the video, but by all accounts, they were good students who had no history of cruel behavior.But what if they were from a trailer park, instead of the kind of kids whose parents fit nicely into public radio's demographics? I hardly ever visit NPR's website, but here in one of the first things I come across, is just the sort of thing for which their detractors take them to task. But I guess it also dovetails nicely with the case of a good government that can do terrible things, so it's all good.
"I think it's a case where good kids can do terrible things," says John Palfrey of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and author of Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives.
Louisville Courier-Journal, Yoga can be dangerous to Christians' faith, says Louisville's Southern Baptist Seminary President
Actually, Albert Mohler has said scores of crazy things over the years, including a backhanded endorsement of torture.
posted by Jonathan Versen @ 9:46 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
"...and also makes me wonder if large numbers of Americans are stupider than a can of paint."
What is worse is that the stupidity is purposeful and self inflicted. The death and slaughter is in the news if they care to read it but mostly they ignore it.
I agree. My point was primarily the idea that if they're "just air strikes" a significant number of people suddenly think they're a good idea, and that a no-muss, no-fuss remote air war is easily achieved with no adverse consequences. Maybe the same people who are against war with Iran but "OK" with airstrikes are the people who never question the official shtick about how they hate us for our freedoms.
Polls show the Afghan War is unpopular, the Iraq War -- it no longer exists because Obama said so. Likely people are thinking that air strikes are better than a full blown war though the problem with that is that air strikes would be an act of war. However that all may be what it all ignores is that murdering people is not a moral act but then people are quite amoral and not just Americans.
The "digital citizenship" part strikes me as interesting. Aren't the "digital natives" the type who don't distinguish between their online and non-online lives? If that is the case, then don't we just need to teach one form of "citizenship"?
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