Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” was the official theme song of President Rafael Correa of Ecuador’s recent election campaign. Ecuador is South America’s second largest exporter of crude oil and it hosts the only U.S. military base on the continent, from which we organize our drug war. Here is a much more recent … More Rafael Correa
Where has my language gone? The poet searches for words to wrap around these times Make them sense Make them pretty Make them useful Words from the past haunt our conversations Empire and Crusade Plans and Centuries All these words cleared understanding before Fall heavy now And weightless into this abyss of bad news I … More Beyond Words
Via the Unapologetic Mexican. Axé.
The following is a comment from this thread. It makes several important points so I am reposting it. I don’t understand the American context as I am not there. I do think it is a shame that teaching cannot take place. There is a kind of global infection of self-indulgence nowadays, based on the philosophy … More On Education
My appointment is split between two departments and I would be delighted to have formal affiliations with two others. None of these departments speak French but I now see I have been affiliated with one which does. In a parallel event I was elected to Academic Senate, although I did not run. I am not … More Les Frères Jacques
From nine to five my student worker and I updated the websites for both my departments. This involved checking facts, rethinking information architecture, writing prose, deciphering handwriting in several languages, resizing pictures and finally sweeping code, much of it by hand. While doing this we listened to old time work songs. We decided Leadbelly might … More Pick a Bale a Day
It is the weekend, so we will sing! Convicts rest Like lizards on rocks. Same period, same region: In the Pines. Listen closely. Axé.
I Who Arms the Torturers? See also this. Women See also this. And from the abstract one cannot tell how great Lawrence Wright’s article The Kingdom of Silence is, but it is great. II 70% of Saudi Arabian students, according to Wright, are depressed. One of the young journalists he worked with went to a … More Amnesty International Saudi Arabia
This is an October 26, 2007 NYT Op-Ed piece by David Brooks. One has every reason to dislike the author, but I do like this piece. The gurus seek bliss amidst mountaintop solitude and serenity in the meditative trance, but I, grasshopper, have achieved the oneness with the universe that is known as pure externalization. … More The Outsourced Brain
I am reading this book on the recommendation of Liz. It is smart. If I had not investigated its subject matter quite thoroughly before reading it, I might find it yet more epoch-making. On the other hand, I might not understand it so well. It has given me another insight on Reeducation. I have had … More Stalking the Soul
coldhearted scientist وداد 