Sunday, May 1, 2011
The real big deal.
Osama bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda, was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, a senior U.S. official told CNN. I definitely respect all the victims of the events that 3.519 days ago changed the US and, therefore, the entire world. At the same time I have to be really honest and say that I am completely bewildered by the popular reaction about this fact. Shocking.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Old habits die hard
Today's class discussion was quite interesting to me. Firstly because just yesterday I have posted two movie trailers to show how important is how issues are framed. For example, "Paradise Now" shows and explains how suicide bombers are the ultimate victims of an exacerbated situation, they are "already dead" people and their desperation is used as an instrument of terror by fanatic cowards. It is a quite uncommon way of framing them, but it doesn't mean it is wrong.
The Judeo-Christian cultural link has really interested me as well. It has surely shaped the Western culture and forma mentis, it's part of it, just as some other factors like Greco-Roman's cultural legacy. What edward Said calls "The Other" is a construct that has quite distant and intricate roots, specific historical reasons (for example Greco-Persian wars seen as a striking caesura) have to be combined with so many other ones. History of framing is one of them, and it's just fascinating and I think it would be really important to focus more on it.
I think that the two videos Prof. Webb suggested us to watch are quite significant to understand the importance of framing in social sciences. Check this video out, and guess who's the speaker.
The Judeo-Christian cultural link has really interested me as well. It has surely shaped the Western culture and forma mentis, it's part of it, just as some other factors like Greco-Roman's cultural legacy. What edward Said calls "The Other" is a construct that has quite distant and intricate roots, specific historical reasons (for example Greco-Persian wars seen as a striking caesura) have to be combined with so many other ones. History of framing is one of them, and it's just fascinating and I think it would be really important to focus more on it.
I think that the two videos Prof. Webb suggested us to watch are quite significant to understand the importance of framing in social sciences. Check this video out, and guess who's the speaker.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Lemon Tree + Paradise Now
Movies frame ideas and points of view. I have lately watched these two movies and both are really interesting. Everyday life issues could be really different from the ones we are used to. Check them out and comment!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Spread the Thread
Middle East Debate: Comment on Middle East and N. Africa Media and Pol...: "Middle East and N. Africa Media and Politics: Has the Middle East Gotten It Right All Along?: 'Have we (The US) been wrong in intervening in..."
David: I agree that change needs to come from the inside, and that the US shouldn't force democracy on countries. But when specifically should the US become involved? Isn't it right for us to assist the pro-democracy rebels with military aide? You said "once the protests have succeeded", but what if they aren't going to without military assistance. For example, in Libya should the US intervene militarily on behalf of the rebels, or would that be overstepping it.
CT:It is a controversial issue. The International Community, and the US as part of it, should just act and intervene through the UN because otherwise sovereignty of states like Lybia would be unlawfully unobserved. I don't think that we can name rebels as "pro-democracy", they are fighting against a regime and starting a self-determination process. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are aiming to establish democracy in Lybia. This is just the beginning. I write about democracy because I firmly believe that it is the present fairest form of government, but I also think that it has to be reached at the end of a "natural" process. We, as International Community, should just guarantee that the International Law and Human Rights are observed, promote mediation and, why not, try to discourage the "popular" idea of war as the continuation of politics (Clausewitz). International Relations are a complex field, there are so many contrasting reasons to explain what is going on. Think about the different behaviour that the US and the International Community have with Lybia and Syria. Is it just the different entity of violence? I believe that a lot of people just really want to get rid of a DESTABILIZING individual like Gaddafi. Syria is a completely different thing. In the first days of class we talked about Democracy and Stability, what is most important for the International Relations? I have some clues...REALPOLITIK? Why not.
David: I agree that change needs to come from the inside, and that the US shouldn't force democracy on countries. But when specifically should the US become involved? Isn't it right for us to assist the pro-democracy rebels with military aide? You said "once the protests have succeeded", but what if they aren't going to without military assistance. For example, in Libya should the US intervene militarily on behalf of the rebels, or would that be overstepping it.
CT:It is a controversial issue. The International Community, and the US as part of it, should just act and intervene through the UN because otherwise sovereignty of states like Lybia would be unlawfully unobserved. I don't think that we can name rebels as "pro-democracy", they are fighting against a regime and starting a self-determination process. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are aiming to establish democracy in Lybia. This is just the beginning. I write about democracy because I firmly believe that it is the present fairest form of government, but I also think that it has to be reached at the end of a "natural" process. We, as International Community, should just guarantee that the International Law and Human Rights are observed, promote mediation and, why not, try to discourage the "popular" idea of war as the continuation of politics (Clausewitz). International Relations are a complex field, there are so many contrasting reasons to explain what is going on. Think about the different behaviour that the US and the International Community have with Lybia and Syria. Is it just the different entity of violence? I believe that a lot of people just really want to get rid of a DESTABILIZING individual like Gaddafi. Syria is a completely different thing. In the first days of class we talked about Democracy and Stability, what is most important for the International Relations? I have some clues...REALPOLITIK? Why not.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Comment on Middle East and N. Africa Media and Politics: Has the Middle East Gotten It Right All Along?
Middle East and N. Africa Media and Politics: Has the Middle East Gotten It Right All Along?: "Have we (The US) been wrong in intervening into Middle Countries? Are these protests going to eventually solve the problems in the Middle Ea..."
What makes you doubt the movements that are protesting in most of the MENA countries? The protests are popular and secular, moreover they are demanding for real reforms to solve real problems. I think that there is nothing more genuine and authentic than that.
I understand the fear about democratization processes, they are not occurring automatically. The first and necessary step for a real and settled change is the self-awareness and self-determination of the people, then the process could be really hard and take so long.
I think that this is a great chance for the MENA area to develop and the Western countries HAVE to facilitate this process.
Democracy is not a good you can export. Just think about what happened first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq after the foreign military occupation, CHAOS. Hard power doesn't look to the future, it is just focused on solving very current problems. Authentic change needs to come from the inside, and now it seems to be the right time. Western countries have the resources to facilitate the change and assist the MENA countries during the process. How?
1st. Facilitation. Smart Power. Western huge Soft Power has a great influence on unwilling-to-change actors and it has to be mixed with some forms of Hard Power, if necessary (ex.No fly zones).
2nd. Assistance. Once the protests have succeeded, there would be a real need for international cooperation for the development, assistance for educational resources and knowledge exchanges.
What makes you doubt the movements that are protesting in most of the MENA countries? The protests are popular and secular, moreover they are demanding for real reforms to solve real problems. I think that there is nothing more genuine and authentic than that.
I understand the fear about democratization processes, they are not occurring automatically. The first and necessary step for a real and settled change is the self-awareness and self-determination of the people, then the process could be really hard and take so long.
I think that this is a great chance for the MENA area to develop and the Western countries HAVE to facilitate this process.
Democracy is not a good you can export. Just think about what happened first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq after the foreign military occupation, CHAOS. Hard power doesn't look to the future, it is just focused on solving very current problems. Authentic change needs to come from the inside, and now it seems to be the right time. Western countries have the resources to facilitate the change and assist the MENA countries during the process. How?
1st. Facilitation. Smart Power. Western huge Soft Power has a great influence on unwilling-to-change actors and it has to be mixed with some forms of Hard Power, if necessary (ex.No fly zones).
2nd. Assistance. Once the protests have succeeded, there would be a real need for international cooperation for the development, assistance for educational resources and knowledge exchanges.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
140 characters / enough or not enough?
Twitter is simply ingenious. It's a brilliant challenge. Art of synthesis and efficacy in 140 characters. Who's gonna be retweeted? (132 characters used and 8 left).
If there's one thing that really impresses me about Twitter, It is the micro-blogging feature.
I think that Twitter's main strength is that being concise has never been so hip.
I am personally a big fan of effective sentences and the smart use of words. Brevity is a real gift and, even if we are not really used to it, it has a really important impact on people's minds.
Short sentences and tinyurl links make you think ahead. In some ways, reading tweets makes you way more curious and interactive than reading specialist's essays and editorials. This probably happens because tweets make you need to create your OWN ideas by using all the linked facilities provided by Twitter and in general by the social media environment.
Tweets consumption implies production. That doesn't automatically happen with other ideas sources.
140 characters are the need that energizes and stimulates the production of ideas.
If there's one thing that really impresses me about Twitter, It is the micro-blogging feature.
I think that Twitter's main strength is that being concise has never been so hip.
I am personally a big fan of effective sentences and the smart use of words. Brevity is a real gift and, even if we are not really used to it, it has a really important impact on people's minds.
Short sentences and tinyurl links make you think ahead. In some ways, reading tweets makes you way more curious and interactive than reading specialist's essays and editorials. This probably happens because tweets make you need to create your OWN ideas by using all the linked facilities provided by Twitter and in general by the social media environment.
Tweets consumption implies production. That doesn't automatically happen with other ideas sources.
140 characters are the need that energizes and stimulates the production of ideas.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Nuclear Energy
The world is definitely shocked by the tragedy occurred in Japan and is carefully monitoring how the situation in the area is evolving. The Nuclear Energy is just one of the many issues that emerged in the current public debate. I am personally trying to understand more about the topic because I am not well informed about it. I have realized that, as for all the complex issues, the public sphere is strongly divided. Check out these two articles: same topic, totally different points of view.
The first one has been posted on the Harvard Political Review by Alastair Su, a staff writer from Singapore, the second one was originally posted on a web site called Project - Syndicate and then reposted on Al Jazeera English. The latter's author is B. K. Sovacool, a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (Both authors are linked to Singapore, is it a coincidence or is there a specific reason?).
Have a look and create/share your own ideas.
The first one has been posted on the Harvard Political Review by Alastair Su, a staff writer from Singapore, the second one was originally posted on a web site called Project - Syndicate and then reposted on Al Jazeera English. The latter's author is B. K. Sovacool, a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (Both authors are linked to Singapore, is it a coincidence or is there a specific reason?).
Have a look and create/share your own ideas.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Libya / UN + NATO / is a military intervention likely?
In Libya, there is a real civil war going on. The question now is: what should the international community do?
These days the media is reporting the confusion that characterizes this issue. The United Nations is, as usual, stuck in its own structural flaws, based on member's veto powers and the body's regulations about military intervention.
As on many past occasions, the UN is demonstrating its inefficiency in urgent situations like the present North African one. This void has to be filled and corrected, otherwise the international community would never develop into a fair and democratically structured order. As in the Balkans events in the late 90's, NATO is likely to take the UN's place and correct the latter's lack of power (or even political will).
In this specific situation the UN Security Council is probably going to stand still because Russia will want to let the Libyans solve their own problems. American pressure for some kinds of intervention is not going to succeed quickly, if at all. In addition the current Secretary General of NATO, Rasmussen, is expressing an ambiguous point of view about a likely military intervention operated by NATO forces, hoping to make some efficient political pressure. The international community is really divided about the Libyan issue because it is a crucial decision which could potentially have important consequences for the MENA area.
The UN's lack of power could be substituted by NATO, but NATO is not willing to act without an official UN resolution. Moreover there are two other important actors capable to deal with this international scenario: the Arab League and the African Union.
Every international actor is waiting for someome else to make the first move, and the result is really weak pressure that can neither stop Gaddafi and nor the civil war that is occurring in Libya. I think that in the next few hours a significant shift could happen. If the North African dictator is not going to compromise with the rebelling population, the international community is more likely to agree on a common form of intervention. Right now, it seems this is most likely going to be a no fly zone.
The ultimate point is that violence is still going on and international community remains trapped by its own nature. This structural inefficiency should be a starting point for the UN's viscous model renovation, which in my opinion is a necessary step for creating a truly integrated international community; one based on cooperation and capable of overcoming the bilateralism disease.
What should the international community do? Wait for someone else to act? Is Russia right? Should Libya be left to solve its own problems without any international support?
Check out what do some libyans think about international intervention:
These days the media is reporting the confusion that characterizes this issue. The United Nations is, as usual, stuck in its own structural flaws, based on member's veto powers and the body's regulations about military intervention.
As on many past occasions, the UN is demonstrating its inefficiency in urgent situations like the present North African one. This void has to be filled and corrected, otherwise the international community would never develop into a fair and democratically structured order. As in the Balkans events in the late 90's, NATO is likely to take the UN's place and correct the latter's lack of power (or even political will).
In this specific situation the UN Security Council is probably going to stand still because Russia will want to let the Libyans solve their own problems. American pressure for some kinds of intervention is not going to succeed quickly, if at all. In addition the current Secretary General of NATO, Rasmussen, is expressing an ambiguous point of view about a likely military intervention operated by NATO forces, hoping to make some efficient political pressure. The international community is really divided about the Libyan issue because it is a crucial decision which could potentially have important consequences for the MENA area.
The UN's lack of power could be substituted by NATO, but NATO is not willing to act without an official UN resolution. Moreover there are two other important actors capable to deal with this international scenario: the Arab League and the African Union.
Every international actor is waiting for someome else to make the first move, and the result is really weak pressure that can neither stop Gaddafi and nor the civil war that is occurring in Libya. I think that in the next few hours a significant shift could happen. If the North African dictator is not going to compromise with the rebelling population, the international community is more likely to agree on a common form of intervention. Right now, it seems this is most likely going to be a no fly zone.
The ultimate point is that violence is still going on and international community remains trapped by its own nature. This structural inefficiency should be a starting point for the UN's viscous model renovation, which in my opinion is a necessary step for creating a truly integrated international community; one based on cooperation and capable of overcoming the bilateralism disease.
What should the international community do? Wait for someone else to act? Is Russia right? Should Libya be left to solve its own problems without any international support?
Check out what do some libyans think about international intervention:
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Intresting post about US healthcare
Check Afghan Lord out! A really interesting and useful debate about US healthcare is going on and creating knowledge. Let's interact and create culture!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Democracy is no panacea / Democracy doesn't necessarily mean stability
This is a really interesting opinion posted on Al Jazeera English about democracy and stability by Lev Grinberg, who is a professor of Political Economy and Sociology at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
Overthrowing dictators is a necessary step for starting democratization processes, but after that the road to democracy is still really difficult and challenging.
Check it out!
Democracy is no panacea - Opinion - Al Jazeera English
Overthrowing dictators is a necessary step for starting democratization processes, but after that the road to democracy is still really difficult and challenging.
Check it out!
Democracy is no panacea - Opinion - Al Jazeera English
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Comment on Steinboz Media 260: Bill Ayers and Activism
Steinboz Media 260: Bill Ayers and Activism: "Yesterday Bill Ayers came and spoke at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. His main point was that people should open their eyes and not igno..."
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend Bill Ayers speech yesterday, but I have read a lot about him. Your question about how to apply non-violent direct action to face tanks is really interesting. I think that his main point is that the awareness of what is going on in the world is the starting point for being socially active. I agree that the only way to respond to injustice is non-violent direct action and activism, because it is the best way to build something really stable and based on true consensus.
I also think that we should distinguish among completely different circumstances: activism and non-violent direct actions are the voicing "tools" in democracies during normality periods. In Libya nothing seems to run normally, therefore I think that those "tools" should be adapted to the particular current circumstance.
Comment on Terri #media260: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Model
Terri #media260: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Model: "I have been thinking about this for a few years now and after watching the 'Control Room' in class today I was inspired to write about it - ..."
I do agree that there is not a clear answer to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict. Complex problems never have simple solutions. I firmly believe that "simplification" is the hardest need that media and politicians have to deal with. The media and politicians have to simplify their discourse in order to be clear and to reach the non-expert public's attention. What is the result of simplification? People start thinking that Operation Iraqi freedom can be compared to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict, that Palestinian nationalism is moved by religion, and that Iran and Iraq are almost the same country. These simplifications are dangerous because they over-emphasize the distance among factions, possibly creating nonexistent groups and conflicts. Just think about the myth of a conflict between two artificial and erroneous constructs, the "West" and the "Arab/Muslim" world (ex. of a typical simplification: two different entities wrongly associated one to another).
Do you think that media and politicians should also have the duty to somehow educate the public sphere? is "Objectivity" a mirage?
I do agree that there is not a clear answer to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict. Complex problems never have simple solutions. I firmly believe that "simplification" is the hardest need that media and politicians have to deal with. The media and politicians have to simplify their discourse in order to be clear and to reach the non-expert public's attention. What is the result of simplification? People start thinking that Operation Iraqi freedom can be compared to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict, that Palestinian nationalism is moved by religion, and that Iran and Iraq are almost the same country. These simplifications are dangerous because they over-emphasize the distance among factions, possibly creating nonexistent groups and conflicts. Just think about the myth of a conflict between two artificial and erroneous constructs, the "West" and the "Arab/Muslim" world (ex. of a typical simplification: two different entities wrongly associated one to another).
Do you think that media and politicians should also have the duty to somehow educate the public sphere? is "Objectivity" a mirage?
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Comment on Middle East and N. Africa Media and Politics: Is Egypt Responsible for Bahrain?
Middle East and N. Africa Media and Politics: Is Egypt Responsible for Bahrain?: "Protesters stormed the streets of Manama, Bahrain yesterday, proving that the political rebellion in Egypt might only be the beginning of a..."
Tunisia was the first Middle Eastern country that started the snowball effect of protests. Even if is likely that some governmental powers of middle east area were about to collapse because of internal pressions, I agree that successful protests in other countries give trust and courage to all the dissatisfied populations of the area.
Question: Why were you thinking that Egypt could be in the process of becoming a terror-influenced society?
I think that chaos is the perfect environment where terror can rise and manipulate the lack of social justice to justify hate and violence. I personally didn't see chaos in Tunisia and Egypt events, on the contrary I have seen the rising awareness of populations about their civil rights. VOICE.
Tunisia was the first Middle Eastern country that started the snowball effect of protests. Even if is likely that some governmental powers of middle east area were about to collapse because of internal pressions, I agree that successful protests in other countries give trust and courage to all the dissatisfied populations of the area.
Question: Why were you thinking that Egypt could be in the process of becoming a terror-influenced society?
I think that chaos is the perfect environment where terror can rise and manipulate the lack of social justice to justify hate and violence. I personally didn't see chaos in Tunisia and Egypt events, on the contrary I have seen the rising awareness of populations about their civil rights. VOICE.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Turkish identities + media = Music in Istanbul
Turkish identities and media? There are many identities and many ways of expression, performance, reproduction and contestation. I think that a really interesting way of voicing is art, pure expression of life. Although my favourite art expression is cooking and linking food to ideas, I am also fascinated by music as social phenomenon, as affirmation of an identity and a culture.
Fatih Akin is a german film director of turkish origin. He directed a lot of films about Turks in Germany and in 2005 he filmed a documentary about the sound of Istanbul called "Crossing the bridge". It is really interesting to see how so many different identities are expressed by music and how intense is the final result. Check it out!
Fatih Akin is a german film director of turkish origin. He directed a lot of films about Turks in Germany and in 2005 he filmed a documentary about the sound of Istanbul called "Crossing the bridge". It is really interesting to see how so many different identities are expressed by music and how intense is the final result. Check it out!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Creation of Identities. Let's start from Nationalism.
As Wikipedia states, Nationalism involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms. I think that the identification of a group of individuals could also be with religion, ideology and even football teams, but the point is always the same. Every kind of identification presupposes the exitance of something "other", something that permits a comparison and which could be fearful or just unknown. The "other" is the first necessary element for the creation of an identity. Once there is something to counteract, a bond among individuals can be created.
Nationalism doesn't differ from other kinds of identity creation: it was born with the idea of modern state or nation state after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. As the world started being organized in entities called states or nation states, nationalism had the basis to rise and to develop his course.
The rise of Nationalism as a phenomenon of mass identification and mobilization has really precise historical causes, as, for example, also the current organization of the world has. The present political world atlas is an historical/political product, that means that there are also many reason for the dominant eurocentric view of history, geography and so on.
For these reasons I think that we should always look at things from a critic point of view and nothing should be taken for granted, even if of course we need some kind of assumptions as starting points to begin an understanding process.
Question. Since history/ geography are strongly correlated with politics, is it likely to use them to "create" some kinds of identities? Definitely, yes.
Nationalism doesn't differ from other kinds of identity creation: it was born with the idea of modern state or nation state after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. As the world started being organized in entities called states or nation states, nationalism had the basis to rise and to develop his course.
The rise of Nationalism as a phenomenon of mass identification and mobilization has really precise historical causes, as, for example, also the current organization of the world has. The present political world atlas is an historical/political product, that means that there are also many reason for the dominant eurocentric view of history, geography and so on.
For these reasons I think that we should always look at things from a critic point of view and nothing should be taken for granted, even if of course we need some kind of assumptions as starting points to begin an understanding process.
Question. Since history/ geography are strongly correlated with politics, is it likely to use them to "create" some kinds of identities? Definitely, yes.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Consumption. Identity. Politics.
I am what I consume. I consume what I like and what I like is on the Internet. Television, radio and newspapers can be found on the web and their digital forms offer multiple opportunities of non-traditional interaction. I can leave comments, chat instantly with a DJ, and check or suggest related links. This direct interaction with the media is part of a generative process, I am part of the media and I create something new every time I get involved in the process.
I think that my media habits reflect somehow my identity and my point of view about politics. I believe in transparency and participation, which are the two main characteristics of the Internet revolution. I also firmly believe that discussing and sharing ideas are core points of generative interaction, no matter if among people, citizens or web users.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
What is a blog?
I think that a blog is the highest level of social interaction in the current media environment. Blogs allow a high grade of interaction among web users, more than any other social media. The blogger doesn't have number of characters restrictions and can post either full articles or just single "disconnected" ideas, every post can be related to others and demand for comments and feedbacks. The free stream of thoughts and ideas creates a proper window on the blogger idea of information, thought as a selection of elements provided to the users.
To leave comments and to refer to primary source documents is the step that makes it a real interaction experience, it is not just a showcase, it becomes a creative process that produces culture.
I think this is the most important aspect about blogs, high level of interaction mixed with no limits to potential access to information (ex. links to primary source documents / related articles / lists of similar blogs) create culture and more awareness of the new ways of socialization.
To leave comments and to refer to primary source documents is the step that makes it a real interaction experience, it is not just a showcase, it becomes a creative process that produces culture.
I think this is the most important aspect about blogs, high level of interaction mixed with no limits to potential access to information (ex. links to primary source documents / related articles / lists of similar blogs) create culture and more awareness of the new ways of socialization.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Al jazeera vs Egyptian government
Egypt government is doing its best to shut down the freedom of reporting. Al Jazeera's licence to broadcast from Egypt has been revoked, its bureau office in Cairo has been closed and the coverage of the events could be seriously compromised.
Al Jazeera said it would use any legal measures available to defend its right to report and to fight censorship.
This attack to democracy gave the network from based in Qatar the chance to start a new participatory experiment: bloggers, activists and citizen journalists can send their images and stories about Egypt question to Al Jazeera and become part of the reporting process which has been outraged.
Al Jazeera said it would use any legal measures available to defend its right to report and to fight censorship.
This attack to democracy gave the network from based in Qatar the chance to start a new participatory experiment: bloggers, activists and citizen journalists can send their images and stories about Egypt question to Al Jazeera and become part of the reporting process which has been outraged.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Who's next?
Tunisia / Lebanon / Egypt / Yemen / Jordan. Arab world is being shaked by a massive protest wave. What about our beloved Italy? Is italian popoulation ready to protest too? Same need for reforms and same loss of democracy.
Friday, January 28, 2011
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