Open thread: for the day that’s in it

March 17, 2016 • 1:55 pm

by Grania

Recommend something to read or something to watch

With Jerry presumably in bed (it is late at night in India), it may be several hours before he can check in with us.

In the meantime, here’s my recommendation for something to read or watch.

Nick Cohen writes on the state of universities as places for free exchange of ideas.

nkcn

If you enjoy Cohen’s take on  this problem, you should try to get a copy of his interesting and sometimes eerily prophetic book What’s Left?

Nick Cohen also did a very good interview with Dave Rubin a few months ago. It makes for fascinating discussion, particularly as Cohen’s perspective is European rather than American and examines the phenomenon in comparison to similar trends on the historic Socialist Left.

Seen something interesting? Share it with us.

90 thoughts on “Open thread: for the day that’s in it”

  1. In a similar vein then, I watched this on the RR last month – very interesting indeed…

    Gad Saad.

  2. For those of you with the stomach to watch 3 narcissists of the highest order, here is Julian Assange interviewing Moazzaem Begg and Asim Qureshi of CAGE on RT: a perfect storm of crackpot conspiracists.

    At around 22 minutes, you’ll see AQ outline the divine morality of stoning to death for adultery, MB agree, and JA sit ignorant as his jihadi chums conceal the definition of adultery from the chump.

    1 minute:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_lQzu9J2PM&feature=youtu.be

    And here is Jamie Palmer’s long blog on Moazzem Begg, ex of Guantanamo, and a salutary reminder that he is a thoroughly dangerous piece of work: as well as being a fellow Brummie. The shame. Ooh, btw, Murtaza Hussain replies
    and contradicts himself comically.

    jacobinism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/facts-and-context-be-damned.html

    1. Duly noted – I’ve heard this meeting of minds referenced a few times but I didn’t know there was footage.

      I’d add to that the current piece at Harry’s Place – it describes a cosy little NUS/Begg meeting(linked below, hopefully) in which he was repeatedly asked during the Q&A to clarify his position on stoning women to death for adultery. ‘Course, he didn’t, and his nicely diverse audience of useful idiots and Islamists giggled nervously and gratefully at his every slippery misdirection.

      If I were to ask an eight year old child if they could spot a contradiction between Begg’s support for pelting other human beings to death with rocks on the one hand and his risible public persona as a ‘human-rights activist’ on the other I suspect they would be able to. However, there seems to be an entire sector of the – nominally left-wing – student community whose ethical faculties are not capable of dealing with such a knotty, subtle case.

      The interlocutor in the video’s fantastic by the way –

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro73gmUr3pQ (no idea if that’ll work BTW)

      we need more of that kind of ballsy opposition.

      P.S. off-topic – why does my WEIT username and e-mail still not remember who I am? It’s tiring having this surname, and my e-mail address is frankly idiotic. I can’t be bothered typing both out every time I want to comment.

  3. Seen something interesting? Share it with us

    Greg Lukianoff’s Unlearning Liberty is a few years old now and I’m pretty sure JAC has both read and recommended it on this website. But if you haven’t picked it up and read it, its IMO a ‘must read’ on the subject of school censorship. I’m hoping at some point he does a sequel or significant update.

    Diane Ravitch’s The Language Police is now over a decade old (2003), and focuses more on High School curriculum censorship rather than freedom of expression on college campuses, but it’s also definitely worth a read.

    1. Hmmm…now that I think about it, the 9 year difference in publication dates is really interesting. It means that some of the elementary school programs Ravitch was writing about *produced* the college kids Lukianoff was writing about.

    2. “Diane Ravitch’s The Language Police ”

      I’m reading her “Reign of Error” right now, and it’s very provocative. Her main point is that all the talk these days about school reform is really just code language for allowing the private sector to take over public education. The “failing schools” chant that you hear from all quarters is manufactured panic in order to make people receptive to radical restructuring by free market fanatics.

      1. Its depressing that the right just exploit calls for school education reform or changes and transform them into accelerated privatisation or trying to get rid of publicly funded technical and trade training institutions altogether.

        Re science the response from the right is climate denial or even cutting some primary research, not to mention (in Australia) funding chaplains in schools.
        Re the tertiary sector its just cuts or increased student fees or additional overseas placements (as they are fully paid at very high rates) – especially cuts to humanities. In the humanities they should be encouraging less clearly ideological approaches (left or right) that draw on knowledge from multiple disciples (e.g. John Readers, Africa: Biography of a Continent, Jarred Diamond, Patricia Crone, Andrew Marr,etc), to compete with the status quo. They should incorporate regard for science, archaeological discoveries etc, or (in literature) things with emotional depth, historical and aesthetic merit rather than the latest philosophical theories, or simplistic theories (e.g. reject POMO, Crit Theory or realists who assume States interest in always maximising power is “rational” law of “science”).
        Cross disciplinary stuff is good but govt also needs to back university heads and bodies who give particular encouragement to both respect of freedom of speech and scientific principles – including in relevant parts of the humanities. Science here means situating humanities in biological and physical realities that impinge on human history whilst recognising that human abilities as individuals and societies also have some feedback on this, so not direct relationship with natural world where can make some programmatic deductive assumptions.

  4. I recommend this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UggpykXm-Jc , “Russia’s withdrawal from Syria explained.” The 2016 global predictions also from The Caspian Report, done previously, will also be food for thought. It’s an excellent channel, overall, for world news put into educated perspective. In fact, it’s far above my level, and all the more interesting for being so challenging.

      1. Did you see his two-part predication for 2016? The grasp of global interactions is amazing, whether because I’m an under-educated American or because he is that knowledgeable and talented at presenting vast knowledge in a concise and fascinating way.

  6. Dave Rubin makes a small flub at about 3:40 – “Kennedy said, ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself'”. I think that was actually Roosevelt who said it. Not that it matters much.
    I’ll continue watching.

    1. And that sentiment – that we have nothing to fear but fear itself – is ridiculous.
      Fear (of consequences) is what reminds us to check before we cross the road and reject ‘off’ or contaminated foods. Fear of injury reminds us to take care when handling sharp implements or guns. Fear of loss has us exercising caution before making investments and looking before we leap.

      2. The context was the great depression, so the advice was – don’t panic. While fear can be healthy, too much fear can cause paralysis. I think the idea was the economy could improve if people would have faith in the future and resume spending and investing. Roosevelt wanted to avoid deep pessimism which could lead to even worse economic conditions and drastic actions. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

  7. The Keiser Report explains the appeal of Trump (and Sanders) as a reaction against NAFTA and other Free Trade treaties. Trumpites are indeed racist jerks, but the source of their anger? The reason they feel so threatened by “others” may be due to job losses. This would explain why the rhetoric of the religious right has stopped working for the Republicans:

    2. I’m pretty skeptical; we don’t have a (relatively) high unemployment rate. The current rate is lower than it was in election years 2012, 2008, 1992, 1984, 1980, and 1976. Its about the same as it was in 2004, 1996, and 1988. Its higher than it was in 2000. But you didn’t see candidates like Trump do well in the six Presidential election years when unemployment was higher than it is now.

      I don’t think we need any sort of deeper economic cause to explain Trump’s racist and xenophobic appeal. In the last 10 years the GOP has gerrymandered districts to make them solidly red, so that Representatives didn’t have to ‘swing to the middle’ in the general election to win their seats. As a consequence, we now have more right-wing representatives and less compromise. They’ve tolerated and even encouraged 8 years of basically racist and xenophobic attacks against Obama. They’ve scapegoated muslims – less than 1% of our population – in order to drum up more contributions from the Christian 75% of the population. And now all those chickens are coming home to roost. Or if you prefer a different rural analogy, they planted xenophobic seeds, watered them steadily for the past 8 years, and now they have a xenophobic garden. Quelle surprise.

    3. This is just speculation on my part, but I don’t think specific grievances like job loss account for much of the us/them worldview embraced by right-wingers. Most right-wing stances on a wide range of issues seem to me to be the result of unmitigated human instincts. We are a tribalistic species. The fact that successful right-wingers who don’t need to worry about jobs also display racial bias undercuts the idea that jobs being taken by immigrants leads to xenophobia.

      (The corollary is that, in general, folks on the left have realized that immediate instinct is not necessarily (rarely?) a good long-term guide.)

      1. There could be a general sense of things being harder than they were a while back and no clear sense of why. For example, the fact that real wages have stagnated for decades for most. Someone offering a “reason” and a “way out” will be listened to, even if the reason isn’t much beyond noise and the actual statements are wildly false (e.g., taxes going to support “illegal immigrants etc.)

    4. If the push to Trump is simply because of trade agreements and the result of same, NAFTA and others has causes their (low wage) anger, I just don’t see it. The inability to keep up with the cost of living, is the major problem and this has been going on for years.

      The manufacturing jobs were going away long before NAFTA. The steel mills closed, the rust belt as they say did close. But lots of manufacturing jobs are here today. The foreign car manufacturers built lots of plants right here. But the wages are nothing like they use to be. Today, unemployment in the U.S. is pretty low but the wages have not kept up and that is due to republican and democrat policy. The unions hardly exist so the worker has no leverage.

      Wages fell behind badly in the 70s when the oil problems started and inflation was up. They never recovered after that. Trump has not addressed any of this and frankly to throw out the idea that it’s a trade deal problem is just BS. He loves the low education people because they, like him, do not have a clue.

      When they ask Trump, who will you go to for help with foreign policy he says he will talk to himself. He is his best adviser. Does this sound like someone who might just be insane?

      1. maybe better Trump himself than all the CFR apparatchiks and Trilaterals who have been running US foreign policy for decades and making a total shambles of it under the auspices of every president since F.D. Roosevelt.

    5. I think hardcore Trump voters are afraid of losing “their culture” more generally — having first dibs on a good-paying job because you’re white being a component thereof.

      Trump’s success with a wide swath of evangelicals exposes as rank hypocrisy their usual blather about wanting to vote for “godly” candidates.

      1. Unless one calculates in the “prosperity gospel.” I sense it’s somewhat akin to playing the lottery: A believer throws money away — err, I mean, into the church’s tithing thingy — and waits to suddenly find himself or herself deservedly rich, rich, rich! Donald Trump rich! Hanging on The Donald’s coat tails, donating to his campaign, seems a more tangible lottery to these gullible, under-educated, emotionally out of control actors.

        1. Except that the Donald (as he’s wont to brag) doesn’t accept campaign contributions because he’s self-funding … except that he’s not. His website solicits contributions, and he’s racked up over $7 mil without really trying.

          Plus, all but a couple hundred k of what he’s fronted his campaign is in the form of “loans,” which he obviously intends to repay to himself after the GOP convention, when gets down to the serious bidness of shaking campaign cash out of his fellow fat-cats.

  8. In line with the thread of a previous post of today, a film on dvd available at very many public libraries and, as likely, on interlibrary loan through public or university libraries is thus which chronicles three .l i t t l e. girls (sisters and a cousin / aboriginal / absconded from their mamas’ arms to be ‘assimilated properly’ into Christian white homes via, first, religious institution – inculcation).

    Occurred AS LATE AS the .early. 1930s: “the Rabbit – Proof Fence” = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rabbitproof_fence and of http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252444/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1.

    Wee that the three were at the time, they all ran away back home — twice — helped by way of their following along to it what the eldest not quite yet even a teenager had noticed when she was initially grabbed: the 1,500+ – MILE – long rabbit – proof fence.

    Directed by Phillip Noyce. With Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Kenneth Branagh, Laura Monaghan.

    At the film’s end (as was with the conclusion within Schindler’s List), all three actual women are pictured. I am thinking that one of these three women still lives.

    Blue

    1. I second that recommendation…

      Just to add on some more details,

      The film is based on a book by Doris Pilkington Garimara, “Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence”.

      Review of the Rabbit Proof Fence, by Roger Ebert (2002)

      One of the most memorable aspect of the film, (was to my mind) the acting of the three children, of which none had any previous experience if I remember correctly, especially Everlyn Sampi, playing Molly, The oldest of the Girls.

      The real life story of Everlyn, is (to say the least) both deeply tragic and amazing as well. This from an article published in the Guardian in 2013, Everlyn Sampi: pain, pride and the trail of the Rabbit-Proof Fence

  9. In line with the Cohen (love Nick Cohen) snippet, I would recommend Ian Baruma’s Occidentalism, a quick read that tries to identify the strands of anti-Westernism, starting in the West. In my opinion the regressive left is anti-Western.

    1. Is that Buruma or Baruma? I recognise the former from his rather unfair criticism of Ayaan Hirsi-Ali so it’s a little surprising to think he wrote a book on that subject. I might have to scan the web for a copy.

  10. Nick Cohen says something that startled me toward the end of this interview about how the regressive left tends to say its our (the Wests’) fault when the Islamists do something terrible in the name of their religion. He said that the lefts’ tendency to effectively blame the West is a kind of narcissism. That struck me as having a ring of truth, and I had not heard it put that way before.

      1. Yes, but by ‘rending their garments’ in grief and contrition over the evils of the West they are putting on a fine, dramatic display about how virtuous they are.

    1. Wow. But, hey, I accept at face value his unceasing assurances that he’ll be phenomenal, amazing, the best ever at all tasks presidential — don’t you?

      Every four years, the out-party makes like premillennialists — raving about how we are in a unique age, in a crumbling society, on the cusp of a great accounting and vast change.

      How would these people have handled the 1860s, when the nation withstood a civil war, the assassination of a president, and the impeachment of his successor?

  12. All these behaviors of the authoritarian left remind me of the song “Eye of the Beholder” by Metallica. Except Metallica wrote this song in the 80s decrying the authoritarian right:

    “Do you see what I see?
    Truth is an offence
    Your silence for your confidence

    Do you hear what I hear?
    Doors are slamming shut
    Limit your imagination, keep you where they must

    Do you feel what I feel?
    Bittering distress
    Who decides what you express?

    Do you take what I take?
    Endurance is the word
    Moving back instead of forward seems to me absurd

    Doesn’t matter what you see
    Or into it what you read
    You can do it your own way
    If it’s done just how I say

    Independence limited
    Freedom of choice
    Choice is made for you, my friend
    Freedom of speech
    Speech is words that they will bend
    Freedom with their exception”

    1. Excellent song from a great album. On another note, Dave mustaine went full Rush Limbaugh on the new Megadeth album. Musically it’s quite good but the politics spoil it for me. Glad they kicked him out of metallica.

      1. The problem, in the front of my mind, is not that John Oliver is very good at what he does, but, that so many reporters and journalists in leading media in the US (and around the World), appear to be (for whatever reason) so terribly bad at it…

        1. Oh, absolutely agreed. One of my (many) beefs with newsreaders is that it seems obligatory for them to make some trivial comment on any piece of news they’ve just read. Once, and done rarely, it used to be a sign they were human. Now it’s just predictable and annoying.

          cr

      2. And Oliver does it week-in-and-week-out (while network analysts offer trenchant observations like “Well, Anderson, Secretary Clinton must be really pleased with her big victory tonight …”)

    3. That was a good piece by Oliver on the case. It drove me deeper into my ambivalence over the matter — which I think is the appropriate place to be.

    5. From what I’ve seen I like John Oliver. I just have this entirely irrational dislike of his voice and accent. There are a number of incredibly unfunny, irritating British comedians who have either the same Birmingham accent or the same ‘Radio 4 Now Show’ way of talking – in particular a guy called David Quantick who has been professionally unfunny on various media for at least the last twenty years. It’s not fair I know!
      I think the only thing for it is to do what CBT psychiatrists do with anxiety sufferers, and force myself into repeated contact with the source. I welcome suggestions for good clips.

      1. Oy, watch it Saul, oi’ve godda Brummoy accent: as a madder uv act, this Oliver charicktah was born where I wuz brought up, loike.

        As fer Quantick, arrr, a career untroubled by any evidence of talent: the Terry and June of indie pop criticism. Comedy generously described as ‘light’.

        Tara-a-bit. x

        1. I didn’t understand a word of that Dermot. Can’t you locals at least make an effort?

          Seriously, it’s not the Brummie accent, it’s the associations with appalling comedians. I like Birmingham, and all the Brummies I’ve met have been lovely. Loover-loi.

          Re. Quantick – I’m glad I’m not the only one. As well as writing reviews I think he used to contribute to the NME’s microscopically amusing ‘satire’ section(Biz! or Scoop! or Spaff! – something like that). This is where I first encountered him. He was always writing in the comedy section even though there were far funnier writers at the NME.

          As an aside: it’s very sad to think that they’re handing the NME out for free these days. I didn’t miss a single copy from ’97 through to ’04. I’m sure there’s a pretty sordid, depressing story to be told about the mismanagement that accompanied its decline.

          1. Not at all, Saul: it was comedy faux identity narcissism outrage.

            I suspect that the Metroization of the NME is in large part due to the collapse of the market for left-field pop: there’s no money in it for bands. My PRS royalties are flat-lining and have convinced me of the reality of near-death experiences. I’m reliably informed that Hot Chip of all people barely break even and that some members have part-time jobs.

            In that environment, it must be even harder for journos to make money off reviewing the stuff.

      2. “I welcome suggestions for good clips.”

        Just google ‘Youtube John Oliver’ and you’ll get a string of them.

        cr

    1. I saw those when they first came out, but I have to admit I can’t remember anything about them. I forgot all about them until you mentioned them. I now have something on my borrow-from-the-library-because-I’m-too-cheap-for-netflix list

  17. Citizen X. A wonderful HBO movie from the 90s.

    Cutter’s Way, a forgotten flick of the 80s.

    The Lady Eve. A perfect movie from 1941.

    1. “Cutter’s Way” is one of my personal “lost classics.” Great performances by John Heard and Jeff Bridges.

  19. I read that Coyne will be in Bangalore. I have lived in Bangalore for 65 years.
    1. Will he be giving a lecture in B’lore?
    2. If he requires, he can contact me at 97401 92548.
    regards,
    S Krishna

  20. I read that Coyne will be in Bangalore. I am in Bangalore from 60 years.
    1. Will he be giving a lecture in Bangalore?
    2. I will be glad to be of any assistance he requires. He can contact me on my mobile, 97401 92548.
    regards,
    S Krishna

  22. Here’s an excellent read and readily available. Over on the Richard Dawkins website under the topic: Originals. How Childhood Trauma Created Christian Myth-And Why it Matters to Atheists. Excellent sociological-historical account of the early rise of Christianity in the ancient Roman Empire and the influence of Roman culture regarding the subjugation of “sons” to the absolute rule of their fathers and that contribution to the rise of Christianity. Enlightening.

  24. Speaking of free speech this is the latest travesty going on yesterday in our Universities … University of Exeter

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro73gmUr3pQ

    The Feminist*@? and Socialist societies of Essex universities invited Moazzam Begg and CAGE people to speak against the UK govts Prevent legislation (Quilliam had some degree of input). Begg has been filmed on BBC and then with Julian Assange refusing to condemn Stoning of adulterers or those deemed to have fornicated – usually women. When challenged about this in the Exeter forum Begg obsfucated and the audience repeatedly laughed en masse at the questioner.

    1. Quilliam was consulted and appears to have had some degree of influence in the UK governments Prevent strategy not to CAGE or Beggs speech!

    2. I wrote about this travesty earlier in the thread. Deeply depressing and entirely unsurprising.

      Thanks for the link.

  25. As usual,I am rather late to the party.I find many useful links etc. in these open threads (and elsewhere on this site);especial thanks today for the reminder about Ian Buruma’s “Occidentalism”. For those interested in the kind of approach adopted by Jared Diamond I recommend:”Why The West Rules-For Now” and “War-What Is It Good For?” by Ian Morris, and the series of Big History lectures by David Christian (University of San Diego) available on iTunes.

  26. Good recent movies viewed:

    All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). Amazingly great movie for 1930 (the SFX are actually very good).) Powerful story (just reread the book).

    Spotlight, not to be missed story of uncovering the RCC child abuse scandal in Boston, MA.

    Sicario Benicio del Toro as a hitman. Story with great twists. (I am a big del Toro fan and a big fan of Emily Blount)

    The Martian Ridley Scott’s excellent adaptation of the novel. Great book too.

    Bridge of Spies Spielberg tells the story of spy exchange during the cold war. Really well done.

    The Hundred-Foot Journey I am a big Lasse Hallström fan

    The Intouchables (Intouchables) Charming true story of two unlikely friends. Highest recommendation.

  29. I just finished reading “Cry, The Beloved Country” by Alan Paton. It is instantly an all time favorite, as lyrically beautiful as anything I have ever read, and deeply moving. I highly recommend it. If you haven’t read it yet, do yourself a favor and read it now. It is truly a masterpiece of literature.

    “Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fears…”

Comments are closed.