Archiving

I've adjusted the settings so that only my last 15 posts appear on the main page, but the rest can can still be accessed in the archives, at least until Blogger or I somehow screw up and delete them.

posted by Michael Curry at 2:27 PM

"I pledge allegiance...."

From the Q&A section of the Sunday (June 30, 2002) Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Q: Do other countries have pledges to their flags, or is this a uniquely American custom?

--- Fred Gates, Norcross

A: "Pledges of allegiance are marks of totalitarian states, not democracies," says David Kertzer, a Brown University anthropologist who specializes in political rituals. "I can't think of a single democracy except the United States that has a pledge of allegiance."

When Hitler ruled in Germany and Mussolini in Italy, their regimes demanded that "true patriots" publicly vow their allegiance to their respective fatherlands. Postwar democratic governments of the two countries made a conscious effort to minimize such shows of national pride.

posted by Michael Curry at 2:19 PM

The downside of intellectual property

From that bastion of Marxist thought [yes, that's sarcasm], The Christian Science Monitor:

"Centuries ago the concept of property emerged as a means of liberation. It helped to break the shackles of royal power, and served as a bulwark against the impositions of the state. But as Jefferson intuited, taken too far, property becomes another version of what it once opposed – a touchstone of self-justification, an excuse for self-seeking and greed."

Read the article here.

posted by Michael Curry at 2:12 PM

Who really needs to be removed from office?

In this excellent article, "Arafat Calls for Democratic Elections in the United States -- World Reaction is Mixed," Bush's recent demand for the removal of the freely elected President of the Palestinian Authority is turned on its head. It is an entertaining and thought-provoking read.

posted by Michael Curry at 1:56 PM

Summary of this year's G8 summit

Here's the rather long IMC (Independent Media Center) news blast about the recent G8 summit, which includes a long list of articles, perspectives and resources.

posted by Michael Curry at 1:43 PM

Adding insult to injury

"More than 30 international aid agencies working in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have accused Israel of obstructing their operations to the point that they can no longer fulfill their mandates."

Read the full BBC News story here.

posted by Michael Curry at 1:35 PM

Happy Independence Day

To celebrate the holiday, here's a link to today's Boondocks comic.

posted by Michael Curry at 1:16 PM

A quote

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." -- Justice Louis Brandeis (1856-1941), US Supreme Court

posted by Michael Curry at 9:21 PM

News from the G-8 summit: Africa's poor screwed again

Last week the G-8 summit took place near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with a ridiculous amount of security. Read more about the results (or lack of them) here and here, and read about the protests in Calgary and Ottawa here and here.

posted by Michael Curry at 9:16 PM

Religious zealots

Check out this great comic, from Tom Tomorrow's always excellent This Modern World, and check out his great blog here. It's one of the ones I read every day.

posted by Michael Curry at 9:06 PM

Strikers = Terrorists?

"At the rate things are going, it won't be long before labor organizers are being thrown into military prisons, held without warrant as 'enemy combatants'. Tom Ridge, director of the Office of homeland Security has been phoning Jim Spinosa, head of the West Coast's Longshoremen's Union, saying that a strike would be bad for the national interest."

Read the whole article here.

posted by Michael Curry at 9:01 PM