Longform Links - Preachers, Anti-Semitism, Global Food Crisis
The Unapologetic Mexican - Three Gods, An Ocean of Blood, and a Sodden Press
In Jeremiah Wright’s story, the entire point—given you sussed out the arc and weren’t just hearing a couple sentences—was that in this world where so many things are impermanent and will turn and harm you when you thought they would not, there is but one constant, and that constant is God. So don’t rely on these impermanent and sometimes disastrous structures. He tells of the history of blacks, and how they have hung on and weathered the many tribulations visited upon their kind, and again, his point is that through all this, you are going to be all right if you put your faith in God. Putting it anywhere else—even in something as mighty as America—is not the answer.
Wright’s God is one who is benevolent and consistent; a refuge and a sanctuary through all time passing, even in horror-filled years.
Measure this against Falwell’s and Hagee’s contexts: They tell a tale of a God who is judgmental and sociopathic, who sees people “sinning” (I’m sure we are all not in agreement that being gay and proud of it or being a Feminist is “sinning’) and visits death, pain, sorrow and huge loss upon them. Theirs is a vicious God who sees Feminism, Abortion, Secularists, and Gays—and brings destruction and mass-murder upon them. And calls it just.
In the wake of great disaster, Wright tells his followers that times are dangerous but to hold on, to remember the Constant, to take solace in a God who will not abandon them.
In the wake of great disaster, Falwell smugly gloats over the deaths of those who his God would rather see dead than live a life not in line with Falwell’s beliefs.
In the wake of great disaster, Hagee smugly gloats over the piles of bodies and rot that lay in the sun and exposed our national inequities and priority of care, and he calls it payback.
And in this modern day when we have access to computers, books, YouTube, and many forms of media that we might access and investigate the entire context and beliefs of figures like these, the pundits ignore these obvious differences and deem Wright the scary and dangerous one.
New York Times - Simmering Anti-Semitism Mars a Culturally Vibrant Hungary
A young woman (who knows whether she was just intending to make trouble) walked into a ticket office in the traditionally Jewish 13th District in this Hungarian capital several weeks ago and asked about Hungarica, an obscure extremist far-right band.
The woman said the ticket agents called her a fascist and threw her out. The agents said that she spouted anti-Semitic abuse when told the office didn’t handle that event. A little later somebody tossed a Molotov cocktail outside the office. Then a blogger, Tamas Polgar, with the screen name Tomcat urged neo-Nazis to rally at the ticket office, and about 30 turned up on April 7 along with 300 counterdemonstrators. Tomcat called for a second rally, four days later, and about 1,000 more extremists were met that time, across police barricades, by 3,000 antifascists, including the beleaguered Hungarian prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, and the former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
It’s hard to know whether to feel disheartened by the large showing of neo-Nazis or encouraged by the larger opposition to it. It turns out that aside from the well-documented rise of the far right, Jewish culture has also been conspicuously on the rise here.
That said, anti-Semitism can thrive even in the absence of a single Jew. History has proved that repeatedly.
NY Times - Indians Find U.S. at Fault in Food Cost
Instead of blaming India and other developing nations for the rise in food prices, Americans should rethink their energy policy — and go on a diet.
The purchases and disposal of food by typical American shoppers have tongues wagging bitterly at Indian research institutes.
That has been the response, basically, of a growing number of politicians, economists and academics in this country, who are angry at statements by top United States officials that India’s rising prosperity is to blame for food inflation.
The debate has sometimes devolved into what sounded like petty playground taunts over who are the real gluttons devouring the world’s resources.
For instance, Pradeep S. Mehta, secretary general of the center for international trade, economics and the environment of CUTS International, an independent research institute based here, said that if Americans slimmed down to the weight of middle-class Indians, “many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates.”
He added, archly, that the money spent in the United States on liposuction to get rid of fat from excess consumption could be funneled to feed famine victims.
Mr. Mehta’s comments may sound like the macroeconomic equivalent of “so’s your old man,” but they reflect genuine outrage — and ballooning criticism — toward the United States in particular, over recent remarks by President Bush.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Kali wrote:
In a speech on May 2nd Bush blamed improving nutrition in India , where milliions are still starving, for the world food crisis.
The leader of the free world also said this:“Worldwide, there is an increasing demand. There turns out to be prosperity in the developing world, which is good. It’s going to be good for you because you’ll be selling products in the countries, you know, big countries perhaps and it’s hard to sell products into countries that aren’t prosperous. In other words, the more prosperous the world is, the more opportunity there is.”
During her address at the ’Peace Corps 2008 Worldwide Country Director’ conference, Condoleeza Rice held both India and China responsible for the global food crisis.
Is it any wonder that the rest of the world has ever increasing fear and conempt for the US and its government.
And are the Democrats with Obama at the helm really going to be that much different in their worldview.
And when the Indians and the Chinese are the new Super Powers in half a century - will they behave any differently towards the rest of humanity?
Posted 15 May 2008 at 9:09 am ¶
BORED KIDZ!!!! wrote:
Bush so needs to STFU.
The rise of Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe is so frightening.
@ Kali: Would India and China behave any differently once they’ve reached the pinacle of the Super Powers in the 21st century?
My answer: I don’t know. But you cannot compare China and India- India is a secular Democracy and China isn’t. So they both may have different policies and attitudes.
Posted 15 May 2008 at 10:44 am ¶
Kali wrote:
@BK’\
I work in the biological sciences (and I am WoC from one of those two countries): There is only one human race, despite ‘apparent’ (especially visual) differences. I have the pessimistic view that power/affluence corrupts all human beings - and so I am not hopeful that we will eradicate poverty, hunger and oppression under the IndoChinese either.
However I hope that KIDZ like you will work to prove me wrong!
Posted 15 May 2008 at 10:56 am ¶
BORED KIDZ!!!! wrote:
@ Kali:
Honestly, I am afraid what will happen between China and India. Pakistan gave a chunk of Kashmir to China as an act of “friendship.” China and India have disputed areas up in the northeast (Assam and other states, I can’t remember which ones at the moment) and I am afraid the hostility might escalate due to these areas.
India is afraid to stand up to China over the Tibet issue. India has been “careful” not to piss off China, and has limited pro-Tibet, anti-China protests during the Olympic Torch ceremony in Delhi and other Indian cities.
India is also a major nuclear power and might try to compete with China in this regard. If there is anything else in the India vs China issues that I am missing, let me know.
Maybe India will just focus on being hostile to Pakistan and ignore China, I don’t know. We’ll see what will happen in 5, 10 years, huh?
Posted 15 May 2008 at 11:12 am ¶
Abu Sinan wrote:
Hagee has apologised for his anti Catholic statements? How about this anti-Islam statements? he has made some comments about Islam that almost make his anti Catholic ones seem tame.
Posted 15 May 2008 at 11:20 am ¶
BORED KIDZ!!!! wrote:
@ Abu Sinan:
because it’s more “socially acceptable” for Americans to make racist, hateful, bigoted statements about Muslims and Islam. There was NO outroar over Sally Kern’s hateful comments about Islam, but people were upset about her homophobic remarks. WTF, right?
Posted 15 May 2008 at 11:42 am ¶
Abu Sinan wrote:
Well, I am letting you all know now that the Republican Party and the right wing in this country are going to attack Obama in a manner that makes the attacks on Kerry look tame.
Leading the charge will those who claim he is a Muslim. They will try to use Islam as a weapon to deny him the White House.
It has already started, people claiming he is really a Muslim, is friendly with Hamas.
Posted 15 May 2008 at 1:36 pm ¶
Kali wrote:
@BK
You are absolutely right about the India/Pakistan/China tensions - which most in the West do not understand. It IS all about territory and vulnerable frontiers and not about religion.
I think there will be democracy in Pakistan and in China sooner or later - and there will be a rapprochement in India-Pakistan hostility. China remains an unknown quantity and India has been to war with China in my lifetime.
Posted 15 May 2008 at 3:23 pm ¶
Whitney wrote:
Why can’t Bush just be a man and take some responsibility for just once? The food crisis is because of the United States and ethanol.
Abu–”Leading the charge will those who claim he is a Muslim. They will try to use Islam as a weapon to deny him the White House.
It has already started, people claiming he is really a Muslim, is friendly with Hamas.”
*headdesk*
That really angers me. I honestly fail to see why people can’t get over the fact that Obama isn’t Muslim, and the fact that they treat it like it’s dirty or something. Even if he was a Muslim, I don’t see the big deal. People are focusing too much on the fact that he’s biracial and less on his policies. If Obama were a Muslim, I would still vote for him. I vote for candidates based on their policies, not their religion.
BOREDKIDZ–I heard the audio about her attacking gays, do you have an audio clip about her attacking Islam? I’d like to hear it. Anyways, what I think is messed up about the Sally Kern situation, is that people supported her after her hate speech. That just shows how intolerant many Americans are of anyone that is remotely different. We went from the land of opportunity (well, sort of, since pretty much all immigrants for the last 200 years were discriminated against by the people born here), to a land were hateful, bigoted people are supported. I just don’t understand.
Posted 16 May 2008 at 1:36 am ¶
jvansteppes wrote:
KIDZ you are so right on about the Sally Kern uproar. I saw the story on several high traffic GLB sites and none of them brought her Islamophobia up. So much for solidarity…
Posted 16 May 2008 at 3:04 am ¶