Anti-intellectualism must be at its peak. Nerdy glasses are in fashion; I hope they promise a recovery of intellectual values in the post-Bush years. Regarding the thinking of anti-intellectuals… They think: If they can’t understand it, it’s ivory tower stuff that excludes the everyday person; it’s elitist, exclusive, and probably BS. Intellectuals are irrelevant. If … Read more Brief observation about anti-intellectualism
I am going to take another stab at outlining my views on “library and non-library issues.” Last time I did it I was sloppy in the way that I stated my views, and I surprised and disappointed some people who I think would not have been so surprised and disappointed if I had been clearer … Read more Library and non-library issues
The Progressive Librarians Guild endorsed a petition to impeach President Bush and to have Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Gonzales tried for war crimes by an international tribunal. The petition, written by Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois Law School and Joan Russow of the Global Compliance Research Project, is carefully framed within the … Read more Progressive Librarians Guild calls for Bush’s impeachment and trial for war crimes
The founder of Craigslist went to an internet media conference where most of the discussion was about “monetizing pageviews,” and made people scratch their heads because his super-successful website has never been about making money and he has no plans to move it in that direction. These wall street types had trouble grasping the concept … Read more Craigslist meets the capitalists
Today is Human Rights Day. Two sites I will recommend: OHCHR Human Rights Day page Human Rights Education Association Human Rights Day page Also note Toni Samek’s upcoming book: Librarianship and Human Rights, coming out very soon on from Chandos Publishing. Also… Kathleen de la Peña McCook and Kathryn Phenix are working on a book … Read more Human Rights Day
Bank of America execs exchange their souls for money in front of a camera. Not specifically library related except inasmuch as it paints a good picture of what we’re up against, and gives us a reason to feel good about our chosen career.
According to the Brussells Tribunal, an international group of artists, intellectuals and activists opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the intellectual and academic community of Iraq is being destroyed: A little known aspect of the tragedy engulfing Iraq is the systematic liquidation of the country’s academics. Even according to conservative estimates, over 250 educators … Read more Liquidation of Iraqi academics
This has been available online for a while, but I just recently found it: Language: A Key Mechanism of Control: Newt Gingrich’s 1996 GOPAC memo. In retrospect it is clear how the GOP’s rhetorical strategy and their discipline in using it was a major part of their surge of power and control through the last … Read more Newt Gingrich’s 1996 GOPAC memo
In literature and film, we are drawn into a story and care about it because we believe, at some level, in the truth of the narrative. This requires what’s called a “suspension of disbelief.” Of course, we also know about what is actually going on in the world through media that present us with narratives. … Read more Torture
Today the Reuters news service is reporting on the message of Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims, delivered to a group of journalists in New Delhi. His message? That today’s world conflict is not a clash between Muslim and Western civilizations, but a conflict of ignorance, to which … Read more Aga Khan: Not a clash of civilizations, but a conflict of ignorance…
Today is the International Day of Peace, as declared in United Nations General Assembly Resolution UN/A/RES/36/67 in 1981. It is meant to be a global day of ceasefire as well as a day for considering and promoting the ideals of peace…
Fiction and Fact about the “Independent Librarians” of Cuba: ONCE AGAIN Prepared by Ann Sparanese, MLS ALA Councilor August 6, 2006 THE ISSUE: A version of this paper was prepared for the June 2006 ALA Annual conference. At that time the ALA Council was being pressured by a group of anti-Cuba activists, led by Robert … Read more Fiction and Fact about the “Independent Librarians” of Cuba: ONCE AGAIN
Very impressive piece of work by Mother Jones Magazine – a continually growing database/timeline documenting the lies that led up to the current war in Iraq. The creators of this database cast a wide net, including not only George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, whose lies were gross and direct, but also Hans Blix and … Read more Lie by Lie – the Bush War Timeline
I’ve got a t-shirt that says “Peace” in Arabic. If I attempt to board a flight while wearing it, at least a JetBlue flight, apparently I will not be allowed on the plane. Raed Jarrar showed up for his JetBlue flight with a t-shirt that said, in Arabic and English, “We will not be silent,” … Read more Arabic writing on your t-shirt? Good luck getting on a plane.
A new FAIR Action Alert reports that FEMA security guards are blocking journalists from talking to Katrina victims in FEMA trailer parks. FAIR cites the original story from the Baton Rouge Advocate. The report says that FEMA guards told reporters that Katrina victims are “not allowed” to talk to the media, that they “do not … Read more Katrina victims muzzled
Hymne ?ɬ† l’?ɬ©galit?ɬ© par Marie-Joseph CH?É‚Ä?NIER (1764-1811) ?É‚Ä?galit?ɬ© douce et touchante, Sur qui reposent nos destins, C’est aujourd’hui que l’on te chante, Parmi les jeux et les festins. Ce jour est saint pour la patrie ; Il est fameux par tes bienfaits C’est le jour o?ɬ? ta voix ch?ɬ©rie Vint rapprocher tous les Fran?ɬßais Tu … Read more Hymne ?ɬ† l’?ɬ©galit?ɬ©
Librarian Karen Coyle (who has so often been excellent on tech and privacy issues) has an article online, with lots of good pictures, titled, Proud to Swim Home: NOLA after Katrina. Link from Jessamyn West’s collection of post-conference links.
Here is an article in Salon by novelist Susan Straight, reflecting on the situation in New Orleans after her appearance at the conference. I think most of us who were there for the conference share her feelings and made some of the same observations. “Louisiana is still devastated, and its people — black and white, … Read more Flooded and Forgotten
On this day we celebrate the Barnette decision. West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on flag day, 1943, overturning a law which made it compulsory for students to salute the flag and recite the pledge of allegiance. (The law made parents and guardians … Read more Happy Flag Day
“Why Kent State is important today,” an editorial by journalism student Michael Corcoran in today’s Boston Globe.