Weekending
The Contentious Centrist on Claude Lanzmann, the Holocaust, Israeli self-defence, diaspora Jews and Hannah Arendt. And on the calculus of condemnation in which the Uighur and Gujarati Muslims don't count as much as Palestinians.
Iran: Ganselmi on Zizek. Also on Zizek, if you didn't read Kellie's comment here, do. Here's Kellie on Iranian cartoonists and other brave people. And from Terry: The uprising changes everything part III; We will not give up; Progressive solidarity against the reactionary left.
The fascist-Islamist nexus: Modernity on Lady Michelle Renouf and Press TV.
Euro-fascism and Euro-nationalism: Adam Holland on Jobbik.
Social class: Last week I linked to Left Luggage on what's wrong with a middle-class left, which led to some criticism in my inbox for my endorsement of that kind of class analysis. This week. However, it was in my mind when I read two posts at Modernity. The first was on Ben White's antisemitism:
Democracy promotion: I radically disagree with the TNC's analysis of Honduras, but the first half of this post is an excellent history and defence of the internationalist politics associated with neoconservatism. On the Obama doctrine, the Brockleyite jury is still out.
Liberal Israel-haters: Eric Lee with War on Want.
The golden age of comics: Arthur Szyk. [H/t Kellie here.]
The elephant in the room: Mod guests at HP, on the Taliban and the failure of the anti-war movement.
And in other news: I found the official UK citizenship test at Jim's and only got 42% - a poor fail. More from Leftoutside. While you're at Jim's watch the fantastic Mitchell and Webb homeopathy A&E sketch. Finally, Kevin sez wot Libertarianism iz.
YouTubery: The real Mehdi Hassan. An antidote to the other one, to Lady Renouf, to Ahmadinejad, to Jobbik and to all the other bad things in the world.
Apologies for the overdose. I've got too much to do, so I'm displacing.
Iran: Ganselmi on Zizek. Also on Zizek, if you didn't read Kellie's comment here, do. Here's Kellie on Iranian cartoonists and other brave people. And from Terry: The uprising changes everything part III; We will not give up; Progressive solidarity against the reactionary left.
The fascist-Islamist nexus: Modernity on Lady Michelle Renouf and Press TV.
Euro-fascism and Euro-nationalism: Adam Holland on Jobbik.
Social class: Last week I linked to Left Luggage on what's wrong with a middle-class left, which led to some criticism in my inbox for my endorsement of that kind of class analysis. This week. However, it was in my mind when I read two posts at Modernity. The first was on Ben White's antisemitism:
The second was on Tony Benn: "coming from the political aristocracy Benn doesn’t do humility very well, and his anti-Europeanism smacks too much of the little Englander syndrome for my tastes." And talking of privileged wankers, here's Boris. Oh, and here's another reason why a class analysis remains completely relevant.Books demonising Israel are two a penny, attacking Israelis is a pet hobby of many ex-public school boys and the British intelligentsia. It is a very contemptible practice but as many historians have argued the middle classes are more susceptible to Judenhass.
Sadly, the 21st century is turning out to be so similar to the 20th.
Democracy promotion: I radically disagree with the TNC's analysis of Honduras, but the first half of this post is an excellent history and defence of the internationalist politics associated with neoconservatism. On the Obama doctrine, the Brockleyite jury is still out.
Liberal Israel-haters: Eric Lee with War on Want.
The golden age of comics: Arthur Szyk. [H/t Kellie here.]
The elephant in the room: Mod guests at HP, on the Taliban and the failure of the anti-war movement.
And in other news: I found the official UK citizenship test at Jim's and only got 42% - a poor fail. More from Leftoutside. While you're at Jim's watch the fantastic Mitchell and Webb homeopathy A&E sketch. Finally, Kevin sez wot Libertarianism iz.
YouTubery: The real Mehdi Hassan. An antidote to the other one, to Lady Renouf, to Ahmadinejad, to Jobbik and to all the other bad things in the world.
Apologies for the overdose. I've got too much to do, so I'm displacing.
Comments
I probably tone it down when blogging :)
Of course, I have nothing against the snotty middle classes, some of my best friends are.....
(ok that last excuse is a bit weak, but...)
Thanks for the links, I'll try harder next time.
If you think I am harsh on Benn don't get me talking about Tony Blair!
My post (and Muravchik's article) was less a defense of neoconservative democracy promotion than a critique of Obama's abandonment of a policy that has been fairly consistent for three decades. In essence, the Obama Doctrine is not only a break from the Bush Doctrine but a break from thirty years of U.S. foreign policy that started with president Carter and continued with Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton.
As to your comments re: Honduras, I responded to them in the comment section on my blog.
I have commented on the post to clarify, and I have commented to about Honduras at this post: http://newcentrist.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/friday-misc-roundup/
I forgot to say that I think HW Bush is misplaced in your list. I don't see him as a promoter of democracy, but as a maintainer of the status quo, a defender of corporate interests, a "realist". ("Realist", in my book, is the swearword that pairs with the good meaning of neo-con.)