I intended to post something I was writing about an interesting non-fiction book I read recently, but as I had a lot to say about the book, I haven't had time to finish my commentary on it yet. Instead, here are links to some interesting articles on various topics, interspersed with occasional commentary.
Much of the news from Burma/Myanmar recently has been somewhat disturbing, such as this article about the connection between militant Buddhist monks and attacks on Muslims. Along with anti-Tamil and anti-Hindu rhetoric from some Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka, this is further evidence that Buddhism is not immune to violent religious chauvinism. On the plus side, at least Aung San Suu Kyi did address the issue, though despite what she says about her limited power to fix things, I would like to see her say and do more, including challenging anti-Rohingya prejudice. Elsewhere in the Southeast Asian region, China continues its aggressive imperialism in the South China Sea region, and activists are doing their best to see that big Western companies accept their share of the responsibility for the criminal disaster in Bangladesh (though I would also love to see the local owners and managers go to jail, especially the ones who ordered workers to go to work in an obviously unsafe building or lose a month's pay).
Climate change and the environment are of course issues that won't go away anytime soon (in fact, they'll be a matter for concern as long as human civilization exists). Here's an interesting recent commentary on climate change, specifically rising sea levels and another one on environmental problems faced by China. In addition, here are two articles by George Monbiot from last year about the Rio Earth Summit 2012, one on why we should be talking about sustainability, not "sustained growth", and another basically despairing of further multilateral government efforts to protect the world's environment.
I mentioned briefly in my last post that the new Pope Francis, while saying some good things, looks like he may still be a disappointment on some issues, such as the Vatican's ridiculous effort to make US nuns conform to conservative Catholic positions rather than focusing on social issues, despite some initial hopes otherwise. (For an extreme example of the ridiculous hardline the Catholic church takes on issues such as abortion, one need look no further than the case of the nun Margaret McBride who was excommunicated for involvement in an abortion to save a woman's life. Even given that she was later reinstated, she never should have been excommunicated in the first place, especially when we consider that countless priests who were found to be guilty of sexual abuse of minors were merely transferred, and not excommunicated). Despite this, some still hold out hope that Francis may prove flexible on issues such as priestly celibacy and liberation theology.
Debate continues on NASA's plans to send humans to an asteroid, with some asserting it might be more difficult than going to Mars, and Congress questioning the plan. While Mars would be my first choice, I think the asteroid mission sounds interesting, and if it's true, as NASA chief Charles Bolden implies, that it is cheaper than going back to the Moon or to Mars, than I'd certainly rather see them do that than nothing. Of course I'd even more like to see NASA's budget get tripled so they can do all three things, but that is not likely to happen. However, at a minimum, it should be increased enough to restore the budget for planetary science to the level of previous years.
In other US news, the Republicans have been trying to claim Obama deliberately caused recent flight delays in the US by having the FAA furlough air traffic controllers, when in truth the sequester left the FAA with no choice. But then as a Republican and a Democrat in a panel discussion at Columbia University agreed, US politics is broken. It's worth noting that the Republican (former Congressman Joe Scarborough) criticized his own party's failure to vote for failing to vote for expanded background checks on guns ("Who can be against that?") and said he'd be willing to support a stimulus plan that focused on rebuilding infrastructure and on science (both good ideas), though he claimed Obama's stimulus was ineffective (it wasn't, though it could have been much better).
Finally, a bit of political comedy. This Bloom County comic from the 1980s is a reminder that, unfortunately, the gun issue has been with us for a long time now. And the other day on the Daily Show Jon Stewart did an excellent bit on how right wing commentators on Fox seem to have little regard for the Constitution's Bill of Rights – except for the Second Amendment. Among numerous absurd comments, one that stood out was Ann Coulter's assertion that the Boston bomber's wife should go to jail just for wearing a hijab. Why do Americans give people like that a platform to spout their rhetoric on national TV?
Monday, April 29, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Topical Music: Songs about Current Issues
Since this post touches on both music and current affairs, I'm cross-posting it both here and in my other blog.
While many – perhaps even most – rock and pop songs deal with topics like personal relationships, there are also quite a few that are about issues relating to politics and society. Several recent news topics reminded me of a few of these songs.
The recent death of Margaret Thatcher inevitably made me and many other people think of the Elvis Costello song “Tramp the Dirt Down”. In this song, Costello declared that he looked forward to Thatcher's death so that he could stand on her grave and as the title says, tramp the dirt down. A pretty vicious song, but considering Thatcher’s friendship with the murderous Chilean dictator Auguste Pinochet, her opposition to putting pressure on South Africa to end apartheid, and many of her policies in Britain, it’s easy to understand Costello’s attitude. I just wonder if he’ll follow through.
A major news topic from the United States is the debate over gun control. While I’ve covered this issue in more detail elsewhere (both seriously and ironically), there are several songs which to a certain degree express some of my own thinking on guns. One is Queen’s “Put Out the Fire”, from their 1981 album Hot Space. One of my favorite parts is the verse where Brian May, the writer of the song, turns an old pro-gun cliché on its head: “You know a gun never killed nobody/You can ask anyone/People get shot by people/People with guns”. Tracy Chapman talks about inner city youth with guns in her excellent song “Bang Bang Bang”. And of course there’s the Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Saturday Night Special”, about the gun of the same name that “Ain't no good for nothin' / But put a man six feet in a hole”. Somewhat more indirectly related to the debate is Sting’s song “I Hung My Head” (also covered by Johnny Cash), about a man who accidentally shoots someone – something that happens with appalling frequency in the US – and is hung for it. Incidentally, it has occurred to me that the main reason George Harrison survived his encounter with a homicidally insane "fan" and John Lennon did not is George lived in the UK, where it isn't nearly as easy to get a gun.
The environment is always an issue, and there are numerous songs about it as well. One that came to mind recently was Joni Mitchell’s classic “Big Yellow Taxi” (“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot”). It seemed particularly applicable to a controversy at a local school in Taiwan, over the opposition of environmental groups and many students and faculty, the administration pushed through a ridiculous plan to cut down a bunch of old-growth trees in order to build a swimming pool and, you guessed it, a parking lot, or rather a parking garage (not to serve the students – this is a junior high school – or even the faculty, but to make money for the school…because, after all, the main purpose of a public school is to bring in money, right?). I also heard an interesting song dealing with climate change called “Disappearing”. It’s by a musician from Vancouver named Simon Collins (who just happens to be the son of a certain famous British drummer and singer).
Then there was the election of a new Pope, one who despite displaying a refreshing approach still looks like he may be disappointing on some issues. If there’s one song I think of when I think of the Catholic Church, it’s “The Vatican Rag” by the inimitable Tom Lehrer. It may be almost 50 years old, but like so many of Lehrer’s songs, it’s timeless. It was even covered by the great Marty Feldman, best known for his role in Young Frankenstein.
While many – perhaps even most – rock and pop songs deal with topics like personal relationships, there are also quite a few that are about issues relating to politics and society. Several recent news topics reminded me of a few of these songs.
The recent death of Margaret Thatcher inevitably made me and many other people think of the Elvis Costello song “Tramp the Dirt Down”. In this song, Costello declared that he looked forward to Thatcher's death so that he could stand on her grave and as the title says, tramp the dirt down. A pretty vicious song, but considering Thatcher’s friendship with the murderous Chilean dictator Auguste Pinochet, her opposition to putting pressure on South Africa to end apartheid, and many of her policies in Britain, it’s easy to understand Costello’s attitude. I just wonder if he’ll follow through.
A major news topic from the United States is the debate over gun control. While I’ve covered this issue in more detail elsewhere (both seriously and ironically), there are several songs which to a certain degree express some of my own thinking on guns. One is Queen’s “Put Out the Fire”, from their 1981 album Hot Space. One of my favorite parts is the verse where Brian May, the writer of the song, turns an old pro-gun cliché on its head: “You know a gun never killed nobody/You can ask anyone/People get shot by people/People with guns”. Tracy Chapman talks about inner city youth with guns in her excellent song “Bang Bang Bang”. And of course there’s the Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Saturday Night Special”, about the gun of the same name that “Ain't no good for nothin' / But put a man six feet in a hole”. Somewhat more indirectly related to the debate is Sting’s song “I Hung My Head” (also covered by Johnny Cash), about a man who accidentally shoots someone – something that happens with appalling frequency in the US – and is hung for it. Incidentally, it has occurred to me that the main reason George Harrison survived his encounter with a homicidally insane "fan" and John Lennon did not is George lived in the UK, where it isn't nearly as easy to get a gun.
The environment is always an issue, and there are numerous songs about it as well. One that came to mind recently was Joni Mitchell’s classic “Big Yellow Taxi” (“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot”). It seemed particularly applicable to a controversy at a local school in Taiwan, over the opposition of environmental groups and many students and faculty, the administration pushed through a ridiculous plan to cut down a bunch of old-growth trees in order to build a swimming pool and, you guessed it, a parking lot, or rather a parking garage (not to serve the students – this is a junior high school – or even the faculty, but to make money for the school…because, after all, the main purpose of a public school is to bring in money, right?). I also heard an interesting song dealing with climate change called “Disappearing”. It’s by a musician from Vancouver named Simon Collins (who just happens to be the son of a certain famous British drummer and singer).
Then there was the election of a new Pope, one who despite displaying a refreshing approach still looks like he may be disappointing on some issues. If there’s one song I think of when I think of the Catholic Church, it’s “The Vatican Rag” by the inimitable Tom Lehrer. It may be almost 50 years old, but like so many of Lehrer’s songs, it’s timeless. It was even covered by the great Marty Feldman, best known for his role in Young Frankenstein.
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