Facebook U-turn

Yesterday David posted a message on our group board asking us to consider joining the Facebook protest group against Facebook. Well, things move pretty fast in cyberspace.

This last night on the Times;
Facebook prodded into privacy U-turn

A Facebook spokesman said: "Facebook is listening to feedback from its users and committed to evolving Beacon so users have even more control over the actions shared from participating sites with their friends on Facebook.

This morning's New York Times reports;
Facebook Retreats on Online Tracking

Late yesterday the company made an important change, saying that it would not send messages about users’ Internet activities without getting explicit approval each time.

MoveOn.org Civic Action, the political group that set up the online petition, said the move was a positive one.

I'm on the MoveOn.org mailing list so I had received an invitation to join the Facebook protest via MoveOn about a week ago. MoveOn has over 3 million members. I'm not a member, just on the mailing list so I don't know the actual number of people who would have received this petition notification. The activist/political blogosphere was also very active in promoting the cause and condemning Facebook. The mainstream press then picked up the story and it became an international event.

What I find most interesting is not only the speed of which this became an; issue, protest, conflict, then resolution, but also the transnational nature of the activism. I think of this as transnational viral grassroots activism. Furthermore, I think this may be the first significant example of cyber social/political action challenging policies relegated within the cyber sphere.

There are two earlier posts about Facebook worth reading if you haven't already, here and here.

CNN/youtube 2008 Election Debates

"With five weeks to go until the first contest of the 2008 nominating season, the Republican candidates engaged in a free-for-all, trying to differentiate their views on immigration, the Iraq war, abortion, gun control and even whether they believed every word in the Bible was true.
Unlike previous debates in which the candidates focused most of their attacks on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, Wednesday night's attacks were launched at each other."

I think it is both interesting and refreshing to see the Republican candidates comment on each other, rather than on the Democratic candidates. One of the interesting things about this debate, was the incorporation of technology, youtube, and how this enabled voters to interact, at least to a certain extent, with the candidates.

Viewers were able to ask the candidates specific questions on several important topics. Some of the answers given were very revealing. John McCain took a strong stance on torture, while criticising Mitt Romney for not doing so, and Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney had a shown-down on immigration. One viewer asked the candidates if they believed every word of the Bible. My favorite answer is from Mike Huckabee, when he asks Rudy Giuliani if he needs to help him out on this one.

Huckabee to win the Republican nomination

from TPM

"It looks like Mike Huckabee is starting to catch on with a lot of conservative voters. A new poll from Republican firm Insider Advantage shows Huckabee now taking a strong second against Rudy Giuliani Florida. As for the other Southern conservative in the race, Fred Thompson, it's not going so well.

The numbers: Giuliani 26%, Huckabee 17%, McCain 13%, Romney 12%, Thompson 9%. This represents an 11-point surge for Huckabee since Insider Advantage's last Florida poll in early October — and a ten-point plummet for Thompson."

We were discussing US politics over Thanksgiving (of course) and I was asked who my dark horse candidate was on the Republican side.

My reply: Mike Huckabee

With an endorsement by Chuck Norris, he simply can't loose. I predict he'll take Iowa, propelling him into a number 3 spot in a very tight New Hampshire race. If he wins Iowa and stays competitive in NH then anything's possible for the karate lovin' konservative.



UPDATE:
Here is a poll taken after last night's CNN/YouTube debate;
You can watch the debate, with rolling transcript here.
What's interesting may be how these numbers may reflect the mood of self-identified Republican voters. Huckabee was portrayed by the other candidates as the "liberal Republican." There is an undeniable shift to the left across the general population. Whether this translates into more liberal or progressive government is yet to be seen. I've been reading a fascinating book by David Paletz and Robert Entman, "Media, Power, and Politics." Paletz was a an American Fulbright scholar at SDU back when it was Odense University. Their thesis is that "the silent conservative majority" has always been a myth and that the majority of Americans have always been more populist or liberal than political parties and the media portray.

Iowa

Huckabee: 32%
Romney: 16%
Giuliani: 12%
McCain: 10%
Thompson: 7%
Paul: 6%
Tancredo: 2%
Hunter: 0%
Rest: undecided

Florida

Huckabee: 44%
Giulani: 18%
Romney: 13%
McCain: 10%
Thompson: 5%
Paul: 4%
Hunter: 1%
Tancredo: 1%
Rest: undecided

The Disintermediated Progressive Party

As many of you know, my current areas of research have dealt with contemporary political movements with an emphasis on progressive and populist activism. I've been exploring the online political left and its challenge to neo-liberalism within the Democratic party. "Progressive" has become the preferred label of the New New Left as it both references back to the early progressive movement and is not hampered by the negative right wing images of liberalism. I love this new ad, (there are actually several ads) which were created by the Center for American Progress and Moveon.org. There is an online vote, hosted by Moveon, which includes a citizen donation drive to get these ads on the air. The vote is being promote through blogads on various high profile political web journals around the virtual public sphere. This is a powerful example of how the new Progressive Left is using new technologies to create and disseminate messaging by bypassing the traditional channels of funding and communication. This ad is incredibly effective as it rebutts right-wing talking points and redefines patriotism within popular American leftist and progressive traditions.

No Caption Necessary

click for larger image


UPDATE:
I just came across this new ad for Hummer. see below
HOPE: HUMMER OWNERS PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES

I think this ad is what makes the above caption so ironic. Back in Texas, virtually every Hummer had/has one of those ubiquitous "W" bumper stickers on the back. The SUV has become a socio-political signifier. For (most) people on the political Left, Hummer represents an ideology of blatant arrogance in the face of global warming created by over consumption of petrochemicals that is enhanced by SUV’s; Hummers being literally the largest offender.

This ad could well be any contemporary right-wing political ad, combining fear with the notion of unitary action. The America of post 9-11 is alone in a dangerous and threatening world. On some levels, this ad is seen as justification for the theory of the unitary executive and unilateral military aggression. There's also a not so subtle reference to the image of the Firefighters of 9/11 rushing into the burning World Trade Center. As the narrative states, "After disaster strikes, most people run from point A to point B. Then there are a qualified few, who run from point B to point A." The final view of a tranquil blue planet Earth from space goes far beyond irony.

Another reading of this ad may be;
HUMMER - Helping you survive the disasters we create…

Seminar, Copenhagen University: "What is an American in the twenty-first century?"

Reading from their work and discussing the question

“What is an American in the twenty-first century?”

Thursday 6 December, 13-16, 22.0.11

JUNOT DÌAZ was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to New Jersey at the age of six. He published his debut collection of short stories, Drown, in 1997; the volume became a bestseller and won the PEN/Malamud Award. His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The Best American Short Stories. His first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, was published to widespread acclaim in 2007.

RICK MOODY was born in New York. His debut novel, Garden State, was published in 1992, and was followed by The Ice Storm (1994; a well received film adaptation appeared in 1997). Moody has maintained a prolific rate of publication: his other books include the novels Purple America (1998) and The Diviners (2007); the short story collection Demonology (2001); and the memoir The Black Veil (2002).

EMMY PÉREZ is from Santa Ana, California. Her first collection of poems, Solstice, appeared in 2003. She has published her poetry and short stories in Prairie Schooner, New York Quarterly, Story, Indiana Review, and North American Review. She teaches creative writing and English at the University of Texas, Pan American.

for more info email: bone@hum.ku.dk

Thanksgiving 2007: Rantings and Reflections from an Expatriate

This year I'll be celebrating my first ever Thanksgiving outside the US. I think I've been outside the US on this date at least 6 or 7 times.

Many students and faculty will be meeting on campus Thursday for our 1st (hopefully annual) Thanksgiving potluck dinner. On Sunday, my wife and I, with another Danish/American mixed (or mixed up) family will have a Turkey dinner here in Nyborg.

I've honestly been a bit cynical these last years over anything remotely consumeristic or overtly corporate sponsored. Yet many of these traditions I grew up with, and when I'm honest with myself I miss them, well some of them anyways. I can do without the Macy's Day Parade, but I doubt I'd deprive my son of it. Its a major spectacle, (3 million in attendance and 50 million TV viewers) which marks the beginning of most "ordinary folks" Thanksgiving morning. The women would start early with prepping of food, the men and boys would go outside and throw the football around, and kids would sit in front of the TV, watching that damned parade. As a young boy I fondly remember going nuts over the Snoopy float. Snoopy was by far my favorite cartoon character. Snoopy was just cool. I didn't realize I was being predisposed to purchase Met Life Insurance.

The annual Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game is another over-hyped, over-produced, celebration of consumption. It's also some pretty good football (not soccer). If the Boyz win this game they'll be 10-1! Unfortunately, no Danish channel will be broadcasting the game. I'll also miss the famous coach and sportscaster John Madden present the official NFL Thanksgiving Turducken. A Turducken is "a partially de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed with a small de-boned chicken."


Another longstanding tradition is the Presidential pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey. The photo to the right is President Truman giving the "first ever presidential pardon of a Turkey." This photo is taken from the official White House web site, which also provides a gallery of photos from past administrations titled, The Annual Pardoning of the Thanksgiving Turkey. Never mind that the Truman Presidential Library claims that they have no record of Truman ever granting a Thanksgiving pardon, or that this photo is of a Christmas turkey presented on December 15, 1947. Apparently George Bush didn't personally start this falsehood. The White House is merely repeating a media produced national myth as it were fact.

The Library's staff has found no documents, speeches, newspaper clippings, photographs, or other contemporary records in our holdings which refer to Truman pardoning a turkey that he received as a gift in 1947, or at any other time during his Presidency. Truman sometimes indicated to reporters that the turkeys he received were destined for the family dinner table. In any event, the Library has been unable to determine when the tradition of pardoning the turkey actually began.

National Geographic has a 2001 piece (if you really want to waste your time), Where Do Turkeys Go After Being Pardoned by the President? I generally enjoy National Geographic but this spectacle is just too much.

There are actually two turkeys that receive the pardon. An alternate is always chosen in case the first one dies before it's been pardoned. In 2001, they were named Liberty and Freedom. This year the selected names are; May and Flower, you know, after the Mayflower ship which brought the early puritan settlers to Plymouth Rock. May and Flower, not very original. But it's interesting to note that even the Turkeys were co-opted into the "War on Terror" message campaign in those few months after 9/11. If we read turkeys as tea leaves what does this years naming suggest?

I guess my biggest gripe about Thanksgiving is the day after, known as "Black Friday." It's one of the busiest shopping days of the year, with many stores opening as early as 5am. I especially hated the "holiday" shopping season as I worked retail all through college. I witnessed first hand a truly "National Hysteria." Instead of looking in from the outside like I do now, I felt more like a trapped goldfish looking from the inside out, out into the wide world of consumption chaos. It was in those years that I came to appreciate "our postmodern condition" and began to understand what Baudrillard meant by "the desert of the real." I can't see how the experience is in any conceivable way gratifying for the shopping masses either. The traffic everywhere is horrendous and the crowds are down right frightening to borderline violent at times. Most shopping malls hire off-duty police officers to police the parking garages and mall corridors. This means there probably isn't a cop in the land at home on Friday. It's like coordinated chaos. The Department of Homeland Security could learn a thing or two from municipal government management of holiday shopping logistics. This year, just about everyone will give thanks to consumption. Even the national turkeys are joining the consumer celebration as they won't be retiring to a little farm in Virginia this year but traveling to Disney World instead.

Tomorrow I'll be on campus, at the Center for American Studies, enjoying a bit of camaraderie with mostly Danish scholars of American society. I won't be the only American however, and many of the Danes have lived and worked in the States so there is an appreciation for what this thing is all about. I'm also looking forward to Sunday. We just got news that our host friends are expecting another child. So there is much more to celebrate. You see, above it all, beyond commercialization and consumption, after the historical revisionism and media spectacles, past the silliness of hokey traditions I was raised to believe that Thanksgiving was a day to give thanks. I don't doubt that most Americans still believe that. Millions volunteer their time and money every year providing Thanksgiving meals to the poor and homeless. More families in America come together for Thanksgiving than any other holiday, including Christmas. I do have much to give thanks for. My life is fairly decent and I've been blessed with a wonderful wife and beautiful baby boy.

I'm quite content here in Denmark but I do miss home from time to time, especially this time of year, spectacle and all. My two brothers will be driving their families down from Austin to Corpus Christi to see our mother. The weather will be warm and humid. They'll eat Turkey and Tamales, (a South Texas Thanksgiving tradition) until they nearly pass out. The kids will watch the Parade on TV and the boys will watch football. Mom will brave the streets on Friday and find her way to the "biggest sales of the year." I'll be here, thinking of them all.