An Idiotarian Without Imagination
Jan 25, 2010 philosophy, politics
Little Green Footballs named Glenn Beck their Idiotarian-of-the-Year for 2009, which is a fitting, if obvious, selection. It made me wonder about the Idiotarian-of-the-Decade. My nemesis, G. Walker Bush, is perhaps a too-easy candidate. I’ve ultimately decided that such a ignominious award should go to Francis Fukuyama. Fukuyama is best known for “The End of [...]
Tags: anarchism, Bush, capitalism, communism, consumerism, contingency, corporatism, dialectics, economics, fascism, Fukuyama, Glenn Beck, Hegel, history, ideology, imperialism, Leo Tolstoy, metanarratives, neo-conservatism, progress, socialism, violence, war
World Film Festival of Bangkok
Nov 13, 2009 movies
The 7th annual World Film Festival of Bangkok kicked off a week ago, but for a variety of reasons I’ve only managed to see three movies so far, including two today. The three films have also delivered three odd coincidences, which I’ll detail as we go along. As usual, I’ll use (perhaps with slight editing) [...]
Tags: anarchism, Bangkok, film, France, Henri Lefebvre, Marxism, May 1968, Paragon, Switzerland, Walter Benjamin
The Least of These: Buenos Aires (Pt. 1)
Sep 12, 2009 Argentina, politics, theology
It won’t take long visiting Buenos Aires to discover that not everyone’s living large in this “Paris of the South,” even if you’re comfortably sequestered in a posh condo in Palermo or a swanky hotel in Puerto Madero. Argentina’s unemployment rate is currently lower than that of the United States, but this country’s own painful [...]
Tags: activism, anarchism, beggars, capitalism, cartoneros, communism, consumerism, favelas, homeless, IMF, Orwell, poverty, public space, recycling, slums, urbanization, villas
Anarcho-Bokononism
Jul 3, 2009 politics
Ok, there’s no such thing as anarcho-Bokononism. But Bokononism, the fictional true religion created by Kurt Vonnegut in Cat’s Cradle, does have some interesting similarities with Christian anarchism. Perhaps the most obvious is the Bokononist repudiation of granfalloons, or false communities. A “textbook example” of a granfalloon (or false karass) is the association of Hoosiers, [...]
Tags: anarchism, Bokononism, Caesar, Cat's Cradle, Christianity, government, Vonnegut
Terrorism & Justice
Jun 12, 2009 politics, television, videos
If just one caucasian Christian kills others because of radical ideology, it’s called “murder.” If just one caucasian anti-Semite kills others because of radical ideology, it’s called “murder.” If just one black Muslim kills others because of radical ideology, it’s called “terrorism.” But if many Muslims kill others because of radical ideology, it’s called “an [...]
Tags: 9/11, anarchism, environmentalism, Fox News, Islam, Paul Krugman, Paul Watson, primitivism, right-wing, Sea Shepherd, Steve Irwin, terrorism, Whale Wars, whaling
The Patriot’s Bible
May 30, 2009 politics, theology
Greg Boyd apparently has an actual copy; if you’re not familiar with Boyd, his review makes even more sense in light of his article “The Bible, Government, and Christian Anarchy.” Though I actually wrote Rev. Boyd many months ago and he said he now prefers the term “Christarchy” to describe his view. But you don’t [...]
Tags: Americanism, anarchism, Bible, Christianity, Eugene Cho, Greg Boyd, patriotism
Books Read in 2008
Jan 1, 2009 philosophy, politics, reading, theology
I tried to read a book/week again, which seems very reasonable, but fell short once again. I’m about halfway through a dozen other books, which I’ll probably just finish & count for ’09. Under each category, they’re listed in the order I read them. Incidentally, the first book I read in 2008 was The Audacity [...]
Tags: 2008, anarchism, Bush, Camus, capitalism, Christianity, consumerism, existentialism, hitchhiking, liberalism, Obama, Vonnegut
An Open Letter to Christian Troops
Sep 18, 2008 politics, theology
An Open Letter to Christian US Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan: Who and Whose are you? An ex-Army elite powerfully describes why our culture of violence and revenge is diametrically opposed to the radical message of Jesus. Loving the enemy neutralizes the category of enemy.Unfortunately, even with phalanxes of chaplains ready to distort and press [...]
Wait, so who am I supposed to vote for?
Sep 11, 2008 philosophy, politics
Via http://www.politicalcompass.org
Tags: anarchism, communism, Edwards, fascism, Gandhi, Hitler, Huckabee, libertarianism, McCain, Obama, Ron Paul, Stalin
Creature Fear
Aug 24, 2008 philosophy, politics
Here’s what some of our spiritual forefathers believed: We do not acknowledge allegiance to any human government. We recognize but one King and Lawgiver, one Judge and Ruler of mankind. Our country is the world, our countrymen are all mankind. We love the land of our nativity only as we love all other lands. The [...]
Tags: 9/11, anarchism, patriotism