2007/04/28
Cheney Is Wrong About Me, Wrong About War
Speaks for itself, and for many of us. Cheney Is Wrong About Me, Wrong About War - CommonDreams.org - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
The Rights and Wrongs of Owning Guns
Next to our terrible folly of the occupation of Iraq, this -- the prevalence of guns in private hands -- is the most embarrassing thing to explain for an American abroad. Fortunately there are a few sensible voices coming out of the United States, like that of César Chelala. The Rights and Wrongs of Owning Guns - CommonDreams.org - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
2007/04/23
Bad news, not just for France
Segolène was hardly inspiring, but consider the alternative! Sarkozy is José María Aznar on steroids, even more narcissistic, opportunistic and cruel, and (unfortunately) a lot smarter than his Spanish counterpart, and therefore more dangerous. Doug Ireland: Why Sarkozy is dangerous
2007/04/15
The Growing Toll of Iraqi Civilian Deaths
Be sure to read the reader comments on this important article by our good friend César Chelala. And thanks, César, for stimulating this discussion. The Growing Toll of Iraqi Civilian Deaths - CommonDreams.org - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community
What might be the consequences of a rapid withdrawal of "coalition" (i.e., U.S. and British) troops? Moise Naím has argued persuasively -- it's an easy argument to make -- there's no way that any amount of U.S. assistance will make the Iraqi government prepared to provide security, so the immediate consequence might be an increase in violence -- though how things could get any worse is hard to imagine. I've been impressed by Zbigniew Brzesinski's argument, repeated in several recent articles: the U.S. military presence is an OBSTACLE to peace, because it relieves the governing faction from the need to negotiate with its foes. If the government has to defend itself, all by itself, it will either come to terms with its many and varied attackers or succumb, in which case the victors may form some new government. Or, most likely, we may see a repeat of the Somali experience, where nobody wins and everybody loses -- that is, no one faction or coalition of factions has the force to conquer.
The U.S. invasion has just compounded the massive errors by previous imperialisms. But here we are: we can't go back and undo any of it, we just have to figure out where we can go from here. Peace in Iraq, whether as a single country or divided into three or more (a very bad idea, it seems to me, but possibly inevitable given the depth of hostility among Kurds and Sunni and Shiite Arabs and Turkomans)--how to achieve it? A first step is to get U.S. & U.K. troops out of there. Negotiated peace will take far more diplomatic skill and sensitivity than the U.S. neocons have so far demonstrated. A coalition force of foreign troops may indeed be needed to assist whatever government(s) emerge. But the first requirement would be NO U.S. or U.K. MILITARY PARTICIPATION. We've demonstrated our massive incompetence and united almost all Iraqis against us.
What might be the consequences of a rapid withdrawal of "coalition" (i.e., U.S. and British) troops? Moise Naím has argued persuasively -- it's an easy argument to make -- there's no way that any amount of U.S. assistance will make the Iraqi government prepared to provide security, so the immediate consequence might be an increase in violence -- though how things could get any worse is hard to imagine. I've been impressed by Zbigniew Brzesinski's argument, repeated in several recent articles: the U.S. military presence is an OBSTACLE to peace, because it relieves the governing faction from the need to negotiate with its foes. If the government has to defend itself, all by itself, it will either come to terms with its many and varied attackers or succumb, in which case the victors may form some new government. Or, most likely, we may see a repeat of the Somali experience, where nobody wins and everybody loses -- that is, no one faction or coalition of factions has the force to conquer.
The U.S. invasion has just compounded the massive errors by previous imperialisms. But here we are: we can't go back and undo any of it, we just have to figure out where we can go from here. Peace in Iraq, whether as a single country or divided into three or more (a very bad idea, it seems to me, but possibly inevitable given the depth of hostility among Kurds and Sunni and Shiite Arabs and Turkomans)--how to achieve it? A first step is to get U.S. & U.K. troops out of there. Negotiated peace will take far more diplomatic skill and sensitivity than the U.S. neocons have so far demonstrated. A coalition force of foreign troops may indeed be needed to assist whatever government(s) emerge. But the first requirement would be NO U.S. or U.K. MILITARY PARTICIPATION. We've demonstrated our massive incompetence and united almost all Iraqis against us.
2007/04/11
Media lesson from 15th c. Europe
This is fun, a reminder that the idea of "protected knowledge" or copyright is not exactly new. Terry Heaton’s PoMo Blog » Blog Archive » It’s all about empowered people
2007/03/28
Apocalypse now - April 6 Sneak Attack On Iran By Bush
Be forewarned. If the Russkies have got this right, we're all in big, big trouble. Operation Bite - April 6 Sneak Attack On Iran By Bush The Novosti (Russian News & Information Agency) article cited is available in French but not (apparently) in the English-language version of the website. RIA Novosti - International - Le Pentagone va attaquer des cibles militaires iraniennes (expert russe)
2007/03/26
Coming up for air
Sorry not to have had much to say here lately, but I really was busy. I´ve been working on a book for W. W. Norton on the history of architecture and urbanism in Latin America, which I'm writing with Susana Torre. And just on Saturday I finally finished the draft of a chapter that had given me a lot of trouble, which is why I finally feel free to think about other things and return to this blog.
The chapter is the one on several thousand years of development in the Andes, right up to the eve of the Spanish invasion. Research was complicated, the sources are contradictory, and the selection of cases to present a coherent story was also more difficult than in any previous book I've written.
In fiction, I have a novel I want to revise before sending it around again. Also, I've begun writing for publication in Spanish. I've created an alter ego, Baltasar Lotroyo ("el otro yo"), who signs all my stuff in Spanish. Baltasar also has his own web page. He has a short story (and Susana has an essay) in an anthology coming out soon, of writings about or from this little town, Carboneras.
And I (not Baltasar, this time) have also been recruited by our Spanish friends in the local library's reading club (a very active crowd) to direct the theater group they've long been wanting to create. We have our first meeting this next Wednesday; I'll have to come up with some good theater exercises for them.
The chapter is the one on several thousand years of development in the Andes, right up to the eve of the Spanish invasion. Research was complicated, the sources are contradictory, and the selection of cases to present a coherent story was also more difficult than in any previous book I've written.
In fiction, I have a novel I want to revise before sending it around again. Also, I've begun writing for publication in Spanish. I've created an alter ego, Baltasar Lotroyo ("el otro yo"), who signs all my stuff in Spanish. Baltasar also has his own web page. He has a short story (and Susana has an essay) in an anthology coming out soon, of writings about or from this little town, Carboneras.
And I (not Baltasar, this time) have also been recruited by our Spanish friends in the local library's reading club (a very active crowd) to direct the theater group they've long been wanting to create. We have our first meeting this next Wednesday; I'll have to come up with some good theater exercises for them.
2007/03/22
"The sleeping giant of Christian Zionism...
has awoken!" thunders pastor John Hagee. And where is St. George the Dragon Slayer when we need him? This dreadful giant is made of mass hysteria, defending the indefensible. A few good pricks from a sharp lance should let all the venomous steam out, but so far no brave knight appears. Inside America's powerful Israel lobby | Salon News
2007/03/16
Israel's right to be racist
Sadly, this summary of Israel's arguments through the years appears to be exact. And yet Israel's defenders express outrage whenever anyone points out that "Zionism is racism" -- so we'll have to ask them what they mean by "racism." We already know what they mean by "Zionism," and it sure looks like racism to me. Al-Ahram Weekly | Opinion | Israel's right to be racist
2007/03/08
Wind, wind, wind
Right now (a little before 9 a.m.), I'm watching the powerful effects of the windstorm from the west, sending the waves rushing over one another in direction of the Baleares (Mallorca & Menorca), whipping the palm branches and raising the sand of the beach. This is the strongest wind I've seen here. It's been much worse in the northern parts of the peninsula -- I was just looking at these photos from A Coruña (in Galicia, the northeasternmost region), Madrid and elsewhere: 20minutos.es. When it calms down a bit, I plan to walk over to our construction project, to make sure that the crane is still standing and see what else has happened.
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