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From User: Rattle

Current Topic: Society

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Media | Bushwhacked
Topic: Society 10:49 pm EST, Jan 14, 2003

] To some extent, journalists have felt obliged to tone
] down criticisms because of the sense of shared national
] purpose after September 11. Even that cannot explain how
] the papers cravenly ignored the Trent Lott story. Lott,
] the veteran senator from Mississippi, made his pro-
] segregation statement on a Thursday, in full earshot of
] the Washington press corps. The Times and Post both
] failed to mention it. Indeed, it was almost totally
] ignored until the following Tuesday, kept alive until
] then only by a handful of bloggers. If there is a
] Watergate scandal lurking in this administration, it is
] unlikely to be Woodward or his colleagues who will tell
] us about it. If it emerges, it will probably come out on
] the web. That is a devastating indictment of the state of
] American newspapers.

While the Guardian is certainly not to be known as a bastion of objectivity, this screed on the state of American journalism feels honest and sensible. The implications segway directly into some of the commentary I've offered here about the relationship between weblogs and the press.

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Media | Bushwhacked


Preferential Attachment and the Rising Meme
Topic: Society 2:03 pm EST, Jan  4, 2003

] In other words, e-marketplaces are media as much for
] social interactions as they are for financial
] transactions. That is, who you are and what you're doing
] are as important as what you want to buy or what you want
] to sell. It's no accident that eBay is still around and
] making money for both itself and its, ahem, community of
] auctioneers. Your reputation on eBay can--and often
] does--matter far more than what you are attempting to
] either buy or sell.
]
] "Reputation marks the spot where technology and
] cooperation converge," Rheingold writes. "The most
] long-lasting social effects of technology always go
] beyond the quantitative efficiency of doing old things
] more quickly or more cheaply. The most profoundly
] transformative potential of connecting human social
] proclivities to the efficiency of information
] technologies is the chance to do new things together, the
] potential for cooperating on scales and in ways never
] before possible."

Preferential Attachment and the Rising Meme


Should the US annex Canada?
Topic: Society 10:40 pm EDT, Oct 17, 2002

"I doubt if the average American knows enough about Canada to make a reasoned assessment, what the pros and cons might be," said Waller. "There's really an abysmal level of ignorance about Canada in the United States so I don't know what conclusions you can reach."

From a historical perspective, there hasn't been a real push by Americans for annexation since the 19th century, he added. "

The recommendation of this article is obvious troll bait, but I'll respond anyway.

Most Americans view their country as being better then other countries. Canada in particular is viewed as being silly because, other then being "better then" Canadians, Americans don't really see themselves as being otherwise different, so whats the point?

Thats actually a good question. The fact is that Canada is really two countries: 1. British North America. 2. French North America.

Either identity in and of itself would be a lot more interesting then what Canada has got. Being British means something significant culturally which Americans try very hard not to be. (Ever wonder WHY Americans spell colour wrong?? It was intentional and deliberate.) Being French is even more so obviously not being American.

But, in order to maintain national cohesion, Canada, in the last 40 years, and tried very hard to eliminate these cultural identities. If not for this effort, Canada would not exist, and the economic implications of that would be bad for everyone concerned. The new national identity that replaces the old two is one which is scarcely 30 years old. It simply doesn't have enough history or uniqueness to present a real solid creed that people can identify as being "not American."

Of course, most people OUTSIDE the United States hold the two countries in a very different light. Mostly this is because, again, Americans tend to view themselves as being better then other cultures. Other cultures respond to this with resentment. So, liking Canadians is a way to identify with what you like about American culture without having to sacrifice your resentment.

On the other hand, what this professor is afraid to say is that the 38% of Americans who support "annexing Canada" are simply being bumptious. The fact is that if the U.S. "annexed" Canada the Repubicans would never win another election and the U.S. would loose a powerful associate in international relations, with no real economic benefit for either side as the border is fluid anyway.

--

In rereading this I should add that this view of Canada is quite Euro-centric. Immigration policies in the last 20 years have had a dramatic impact on the country's cultural makeup, and the Native Americans in Canada are increasingly politically savvy and culturally significant. Canada is, in fact, at the very start of a melting pot phase which could make the traditional french/english dichotomy insignificant. Its also possible that these people are simply using Canada as a generational stepping stone toward moving into the US. It will take several generations for this to play out and it will be interesting to see what differences (if any) emerge between the two countries over that time. I think that the amount of diversity that currently exists in Canada has the potential to produce some very interesting results verses the slowed diversification of the US, where the dominant English culture strongly resists threats. Unfortunately, the results of this are measured in generations and may not be apparent in my life-time.

Should the US annex Canada?


US planning to recruit one in 24 Americans as citizen spies - smh.com.au
Topic: Society 1:31 pm EDT, Jul 15, 2002

The Bush Administration aims to recruit millions of United States citizens as domestic informants in a program likely to alarm civil liberties groups.

The Terrorism Information and Prevention System, or TIPS, means the US will have a higher percentage of citizen informants than the former East Germany through the infamous Stasi secret police. The program would use a minimum of 4 per cent of Americans to report "suspicious activity".

Read the background of the author at the bottom... The thing is that this really isn't new. In the 80's American school children were told to inform the police if they discovered that their parents were using drugs. This sort of program becomes a problem when the people at large decide that they trust the government more then their neighbors. How far are we from that?

US planning to recruit one in 24 Americans as citizen spies - smh.com.au


Bomb Suspect Traced by Cell Phone
Topic: Society 11:49 pm EDT, May  8, 2002

Mailbox bomb suspect Luke Helder made a crucial mistake while on the run: He turned on his cell phone.

As soon as he activated it, FBI agents quickly triangulated his position between two rural towns and had him in handcuffs within an hour Tuesday, according to Nevada authorities.

Bomb Suspect Traced by Cell Phone


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