Geoff Coupe's Blog

Reflections on life at “De Witte Wand”…

Category: Society

  • How True It Is

    Aginoth revives some common memories – and the kick in the tail is all too true. Je ne regrette rien, though.

  • Unite Against Terror

    uat
     
    The world would be a better place if we could believe in the kindness of strangers. The narcissism, nihilism and fascism of terrorists such as Rudolph, Bouyeri and Bin-Laden have no place in a civilised society.
     
    I’ve signed – how about you?

  • Bad News

    Hard on the heels of the news from Canada comes this story of the hanging of two young gay men in Iran – because they were gay. One step forward, two steps back…

  • Excellent News

    The Canadian Senate has approved a bill legalising same-sex marriages, following a similar decision by the lower house of parliament last month. So Canada becomes the fourth country in the world to do so. Oh well, four down, only another 189 to go before common sense prevails universally. Mind you, I suspect that some countries, such as the Vatican, are likely to resist until Hell freezes over. 

  • Like Two Peas In A Pod

    Eric, meet Mohammed.
     
    I hope they will both be behind bars for a very, very long time. I doubt though whether they will ever flush the poison out of their minds.

  • The Power of Nightmares

    While I’m on the subject of the Internet Archive (see the previous entry), I also must mention that it holds a copy of one of the most riveting political documentaries I’ve seen in recent years: Adam Curtis’ "The Power of Nightmares".
     
    This film (in three parts) explores the origins in the 1940s and 50s of Islamic Fundamentalism in the Middle East, and Neoconservatism in America, the parallels between these movements, and their effect on the world today.
     
    Curtis delivers a powerful polemic, with some arresting images and ideas – I won’t forget that of the Taleban fighters dancing (apparently) to "Baby, it’s cold outside" for a long, long, time.
     
    The film, financed by the BBC, has (I believe) never been shown on the US TV networks. Why am I not surprised?

  • The Price Of Protest

    Jarndyce, over at The Sharpener blog, makes an eloquent point about the G8 and the Price of Protest. Go and read it. Now.  I’ll wait until you get back.
     
    So, I hope it’s made you think. Particularly the closing argument:
    Eight Men in One Room can change the world: the economic structure of it, anyway. But they won’t. These eight men didn’t get where they are by helping the world’s poor, but by pandering to lobbyists and agribusiness, and sending pork home from every international shindig. Ordinary people like us aren’t constrained. Given the choice between some very expensive awareness-raising plus a police baton charge or two, and 6,500 childhoods, I know which one I take. Every time.
    It got me thinking. I donate on a fairly regular basis to AIDS charities, and, like millions of others, was shocked into donating to the Tsunami relief fund. But it’s not enough. Perhaps the answer is, as Jarndyce suggests, to sponsor a child – and contribute to his or her education and healthcare. He suggests World Vision‘s scheme. But the way that it works – in exchange for your money, you get letters and photos from some poor unfortunate child in some far-off land thanking you – always struck me as slightly icky. I much prefer the anonymous benefactor route. I’d personally also prefer to be giving my money through a non-religious agency. So, time for some research into how to do more, and do it more effectively, preferably without religious trappings. Fortunately, I see that the practical Dutch have set up an organisation (the Donateursvereniging) that has already measured the charities and aid organisations missions and effectiveness against a plethora of attributes, to help undecided donors, such as me, make up their minds.
     
    The G8 leaders, as Jarndyce predicts, almost certainly won’t do a damn thing of any practical value. I really don’t know how they square it with their consciences. It’s that thought that spurs me on to take direct action via the aid agencies.

  • Cultural Combinations

    Via Dare Obasanjo’s blog comes this link to an intriguing commercial for Coca-Cola made for the Chinese market. I could understand if this had been made for the Japanese market, because the the mixing of cultural mores and leitmotifs between East and West has been going on for years, but I confess it surprised me to realise the extent to which this must now be happening in China.

  • An Introduction to Peak Oil

    Jim B. over at The Sharpener blog posts a sobering assessment of the Peak Oil phenomenon. Outcome: it’s going to happen, and this will change our world. I don’t think we fully understand yet how much this will impact us. But it ain’t going to be a picnic.

  • Make Prejudice History

    Prejudice is an interesting phenomenon. You assume that you know what the other thinks before he/she opens her mouth. So I thought well,  Elton John – celebrity, showman, clearly not a deep thinker. But then I read this piece in today’s Observer. And I thought – I was wrong. Good on yer, Elton.

  • 8 Women – One Voice

  • The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

    Three data points illustrating religious attitudes towards homosexuals:
     
    Data Point 1 (the good): Methodist leaders vote to bless gay couples. "In stark contrast to the Anglican communion, which is tearing itself apart over its attitude towards homosexuality, the annual Methodist conference voted unanimously to continue its "pilgrimage of faith" towards gay people".
     
    Data Point 2 (the bad): Bromley council to ban gay ceremonies. "Councillors were quoted in local newspapers making comments widely criticised as homophobic. One was reported to have said: ‘Gay marriages are immoral and undermine family values in society’."
     
    Data Point 3 (the ugly): Stabbings at Jerusalem Gay March. A religious protester stabbed three people taking part in a gay pride parade in Jerusalem. 
     

  • Another Reason To Celebrate Today

    The Spanish parliament has voted in favour of allowing gay couples to marry and adopt children. When the law comes into effect in a month’s time, Spain will become the third European country after the Netherlands and Belgium to legalise same-sex marriage.
     
    Excellent news! And if Martin and I decide to move to sunnier climes when we’re getting old and doddery, then now at least we know that our marriage will continue to be recognised in Spain…
     
    Update: Extracts from Prime Minister Zapatero’s speech are here, translated by Rex Wockner. An amazing speech.

  • Oh Dearie Me…

     
    The driver who a) has a truck this size and b) invests in a set of these is clearly beyond the pale. Equivalent to carrying a large sign saying "I am a stupid prick".
     
    Avoid at all cost.

  • Happy Coincidences

    Data Point 1: This week marks the 36th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York – generally considered as a spark for the gay rights movement that gathered pace in the 1970s, both in the US and elsewhere.
     
    Data Point 2: The Canadian parliament yesterday approved the bill to legalise same-sex marriage. Canada therefore joins The Netherlands and Belgium as the third country to do so, with Spain expected later this year.

  • What Is It About North America?

    Following on from the recent survey of Americans that demonstrated the triumph of Faith over Reason, we now appear to have a similar phenomenon emerging in Canada.

    A recent survey reveals that 32% of Canadians who have read the Da Vinci code believe that the theories outlined in the novel are true – particularly that a holy bloodline exists and that this secret has been protected through the ages by a dedicated secret society.

    Perhaps it’s time to put on the tin foil hat – there are obviously aliens beaming this stuff down to the western world and softening our brains…

    P.S. I’m proud to note that I still haven’t succumbed to reading the Da Vinci code… 

  • Conscious Torment

    Ophelia, over at the ButterfliesAndWheels blog, confesses that she doesn’t understand why people willingly sign up to elements contained in the statement of faith published by Patrick Henry College, a Christian university in the US. It’s probably because they don’t even think about what is being said.

    Actually, the web page of the university setting out its mission and values makes fairly scary reading as a whole. I love the flip-flop when it comes to studying biology at PHC:

    Creation. Any biology, Bible or other courses at PHC dealing with creation will teach creation from the understanding of Scripture that God’s creative work, as described in Genesis 1:1-31, was completed in six twenty-four hour days. All faculty for such courses will be chosen on the basis of their personal adherence to this view. PHC expects its faculty in these courses, as in all courses, to expose students to alternate theories and the data, if any, which support those theories. In this context, PHC in particular expects its biology faculty to provide a full exposition of the claims of the theory of Darwinian evolution, intelligent design and other major theories while, in the end, teach creation as both biblically true and as the best fit to observed data.

    And then there’s:

    Government systems such as communism and socialism, which give the government primary control over property, are a violation of God’s creation order.

    And finally, we have:

    Equality. We hold this truth to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. All human beings are created in God’s image, and all are precious and equal in His sight. Bigotry is a sin against God and man.

    Perhaps the authors could ponder the extent of their own bigotry while reading Matthew 7:3. Clearly, some men are created more equal than others.

    Oh well, for light relief, perhaps we should attend the PHC’s drama club’s production of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband.

  • Videoletters in The Balkans

    An entry over at the WorldChanging blog draws my attention to the work of two Dutch documentary makers: Eric van den Broek and Katarina Rejger. They have used the medium of videoletters to put people driven apart by the war in former Yugoslavia back in touch with each other. The results are heartrending to watch.

  • The Semiotics of Coathangers

    Something interesting happened today in my brain when I read a blog entry over at Feministe. The entry was about Poise Pro-choice Messenger bags. Now the first thing I saw was the photograph in the blog entry, with its arresting symbol – a coathanger framed in the universal "prohibited" symbol (a red circle bisected with a single red line – see below).

    When I saw that, I immediately thought it was a reference to Mommie Dearest – "No…wire…hangers!". Oops, wrong – slap wrist – stop being camp. It is in fact a symbol for the pro-choice movement. So then I had a moment of being deliciously confused over whether to laugh or be serious. That’s the trouble with semiotics – most of the time we bring our own cultural baggage that gets in the way of the pure reading of the word.

    By the way, this is a remarkable meeting. I think that that particular three-year old is going to turn out just fine.

  • The Ecological Footprint

    The Global Footprint Network and World Wildlife Foundation has published a report: "Europe 2005: The Ecological Footprint".

    The report shows that the European Union uses 20 per cent of what the world’s ecosystems provide in terms of fibres, food, energy, and waste absorption. Yet Europe is home to only 7 per cent of the world population. Europe’s demand on the planet has risen by almost 70 per cent since 1961.

    But of course, our American cousins do it so much bigger and better, so indubitably they will be proud of the fact that they are fucking up the planet so much faster than old Europe…