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POPSDurga Puja is coming up. Swami Sivananda says: do not sacrifice animals for Devi Commentary from Swami Sivananda, founder of the Divine Life society, on the observance of Durga Puja. Traditionally, animal sacrifice has often been a part of the ritual, but Sivananda declares this a violation of the principle of ahimsa, which is binding on all Hindus no matter what caste, jati, or situation they belong to. An interesting example of second-order discourse in contemporary non-Western religion.
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POPS"Why I threw the shoe," by Muntazer al-Zaidi From the piece: "When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal, George Bush, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies, his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people. My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my country, and destroying its infrastructure. And casting out its sons into a diaspora."
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POPSChicago's "CeaseFire" program uses social interventions to lessen gun violence The program sends "reformed" shooters into the community to defuse violent situations and accustom potential shooters to other ways of resolving conflict, while simultaneously working with trusted, local opnion leaders (e.g., clergy) to spread the message that violent actions are unacceptable -- not just wrong, but also foolish ("uncool"). Described as employing an approach drawn from epidemiology, but I don't really see the connection.
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POPSA "celebration of guns" at a Kentucky church Some impressively paranoid quotations can be found in the article, suggesting (it seems to me) that the "parishioners" in this church expect that they will have to use their weapons against the government at some point in the not-too-distant future.
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POPSHamid Dabashi on Iran: this isn't class or sectarian conflict -- it's something new Hamid Dabashi is a Columbia University professor. He views the current situation in Iran as something fundamentally non-ideological. He compares it to the U.S. civil rights movement and predicts that a nonviolent resistance will continue for some time. I like the final line: "We need to sit back, hope for the best and let this inspirational movement of a whole new generation of hope teach us courage and humility."
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POPS"Jesus Didn't Tap Out": stepping into the octagon at SOSChurch.tv A new kind of Easter observance -- "Jesus as Ultimate Fighter." The point is "relevance" and bringing young men back into the fold. Check out the awesome video at the source (complete with youthful pastor sporting shaved head and soul patch and his hottie wife, Darla). The church website is SOSChurch.tv.
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POPSChristianity Today on torture David Gushee for the evangelical Christian magazine Christianity Today on five theological grounds for the unequivocal and universal condemnation of torture by Christians, and why, from a Christian perspective, no exceptional circumstances can ever justify the use of torture. From February 2006.
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POPSContinuing coverage of the Georgian situation from Eurasianet Some reportage on the bombing of Tbilisi airport. I can't foresee this ending well. From the story: "In a conference call with reporters, Lomaia outlined what he believed to be the remaining options for Georgia in its struggle against Russia: a deployment of military equipment 'not to fight, but to deter them'; and, the arrival of 'a very, very high representative of a foreign government for a few days' to demonstrate international support for Georgia. 'Frankly speaking, we do not see any other way of stopping these people,' he said."
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POPSTorah Borntrager on "how I escaped the Amish" A young woman who was raised Amish, but who left the community at age 15, tells her story. This is an interview by Tim Ferris (the time-management guru) -- not what I expected to see at his blog at all, but I assume it's genuine.
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POPSFood allergies as a weapon for school bullies A very disturbing story -- some school bullies have been using peanut butter as a weapon to terrorize peanut-allergic kids. Consequences are potentially fatal. Archived: http://www.webcitation.org/5Z2UxH0lU . Story also uses the word "consequating," new on me.
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POPSKeep a handgun at home to defend the family? Not smart Here are some numbers. Despite the recent SCOTUS decision and Scalia's assertions about the value of a handgun in the home, studies suggest that the gun in your house is twelve times more likely to be used on a resident of the house than on an intruder. In home invasions, the bad guy gets to the gun first in two out of three cases.
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POPSReflections on James Dobson, child-rearing, and U.S. political discourse For some time, Dr. Dobson has been known for his insistence that a key component of parents' responsibility is the inflicting of controlled violence on their children in order to make them obedient, virtuous, and "God-fearing." Here a blogger considers links between Dobson's typical language of war, as pertinent to child-rearing, marriage and homosexuality, and foreign policy.
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POPSZiauddin Sardar on the Quilliam Foundation for ex-jihadis Sardar, whose writing I am only a little bit familiar with, is highly critical of any "lionizing" of former members of Islamic extremist groups, since it implicitly devalues the commitment to peace and pluralism exhibited by most "ordinary" Muslims.
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POPSThoughts on Nangarhar from an ex-Marine An interesting and nuanced perspective, combining an appreciation for the culture of the Marines (and its flaws), an awareness of the high strategic stakes involved in any civilian killings by U.S. troops, and a much-needed reminder that U.S. forces have generally respected the law much more rigorously than any previous occupying or counterinsurgency force in history.
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POPSGay 14-year-old shot to death by classmate Interesting that this happens while there's also a debate going on over whether it should be OK to include positive portrayals of same-sex couples in educational materials aimed at this age group. I suppose there are those who'd say that a 14-year-old boy who wears mascara to school deserves whatever he gets, but personally I have some trouble with that position. I suppose there are also those who'd say that there's nothing wrong with allowing 14-year-olds access to firearms, either.
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POPSSlavoj Žižek on the Matrix, #2 Another Žižek essay, "Welcome to the Desert of the Real," from 2001. Also on my reading list. Looks more closely at the images of violence and devastation and their role in the popular, post-9/11 imagination.
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POPS"24": Life imitates art (sort of) According to author Judith Warner, a new book of essays on the TV series "24" shows how policymakers and military officials have been taking cues from Hollywood on how to do their jobs. Not only chilling, but surreal to boot.
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