title, what title?

I've been interested in Nina Simone's music lately after reading this article about this interesting artist: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/03/10/fierce-courage-nina-simone/ Trained to be a classical pianist, she was refused entry to conservatory in the segregated USA. When she was making money singing the blues, she interspersed Bach and Beethoven in popular tunes. What she was really good at was being really honest about the rotten state of the country. Take this part from her song Missisipi Goddamn: Oh but this whole country is full of lies You're all gonna die and die like flies I don't trust you any more ... ... You don't have to live next to me Just give me my equality Everybody knows about Mississippi Everybody knows about Alabama Everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam Still rings true... My interest her gotten a new level after listening to her Dylan covers, which she takes to a whole different level...

Here are some of the most interesting readings from last week: How does learning Turkish feel to a German writer? Our reluctance to use the word no seems to be a big problem:   http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/10/20/how-to-say-no-in-turkish/ A Syrian Law student's precarious journey over 10 borders from Syria to Sweeden. A must-read before any discussion on refugees:  http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/26/ten-borders Early detection could make living with Schizophrenia possible:  http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/stop-the-madness/ U.S is a terrorist state, which used human Guinea Pigs and advanced psyhcology to develop torture methods beyond the imagination of Mengele. When it was found out that one of the torture victim was innocent, the official reaction was: "One can only be sure of the suspects innocence after the suspect fails to give any information after such horrendous torture." This is beyond outrageous:  https://medium.com...

Democracy is the mother of all buzzwords. From totalitarian regimes calling themselves the real democrats (German Democratic Republic, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) to the so called advanced democracies such as US, where the wealthy are simply rewriting rules for themselves (1), or Germany, where the state recklessly lets the police attack peaceful protesters who are protesting the construction in their own city(2), the word democracy is used to whitewash practices that are directly contrary to what the democracy supposed to mean. Add to this the dangerous Western (mostly American) international relations rhetoric, that democracy is a panacea that would magically cure all the worlds problems. Although it is not logical, and perhaps not ethical, to choose any other form of government over democracy, it is certainly not realistic to believe democracy is a solution to any problem. In my humble opinion, it is only a tool, or a mere set of practices, that lets people solve probl...

Dylan is a child of the north. He was born in the northernmost end of the Highway 61, Duluth Minnesota. Raised in Hibing, Minesota, he attended University of Minnesota for a few semesters. He went to join the Village in the Big City, and the rest is history. Yet, he has a thing for the American South(West). Romance In Durango, Senor, Stuck in Mobile with Memphis Blues, and If You Ever Go to Houston from his most recent album all carry a certain feeling of a hot and moist mystery with them. But in all of his Southern songs, Brownsville Girl is the most perplexing and addictive. It is a 11 minute southern saga, a real jewel out of what some call the worst album in Dylan's discography. It is a mix of three different stories: a Gregory Peck western, the story of the narrator's old love affair with a modern day Bonnie, a.k.a the Brownsville Girl, and the road story of the narrator and his current love. The stories mix seamlessly in this lovely song, in which characters of the ...

Meet captain Miracle, Chesley Sullenberger: If The Economist was right in 2006, he is the first pilot to land a commercial airliner on water without causalities. This is definitely a miracle of human scientific achievement, technology, and skills. (*)Today I did make a quick search in air crash databases, and could not find a non-fatal water landing.

This is hilarious -and very informative on the travesty of Proposition 8-: "Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... by Jack Black

... about the United States? Maybe I should re-consider: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view/20081214-177945/US-immigrant-beaten-in-attack-dies

My dedication to America's sweet heart, and perhaps her next president, Mrs. Palin: Stephanie says that she wants to know, Why she's given half her life, to people she hates now? Stephanie says when answering the phone, What country shall I say is calling from across the world? But shes not afraid to die, the people all call her Alaska, Between worlds so the people ask her cause its all in her mind Its all in her mind. She asks you is it good or bad Its such an icy feeling its so cold in Alaska, Its so cold in alaska, its so cold in Alaska

Here is my model suggestion to GM, if they are bailed out. The Trabant, cheap, efficient, and fair to everyone.

Daniella, a friend of mine who is a PHD student on democracy promotion, had told me about the work of 20th century Italian philosopher and political scientist Gramsci . His reading of the modern history, lead him to formulate the concept of Cultural Hegemony, in which a ruling class maintains control over the ruled class, simply by hijacking the ruling class' self understanding. That is when the ruled class believes that the norms of the ruling class are the correct norms, they live their lives accordingly, which ossifies the hegemony. I was puzzled to see my friends on Facebook, from different countries, dedicate their personal messages to Obama. This is making a political statement, and thus a result of self understanding. Taken to an international level this is an example of cultural hegemony. Apart from that I am relieved that Mc Cain did not win, which would give a crazy religious woman who believes that Jesus will return after Armageddon in her lifetime a realistic chance of ...

Thinking on the current state of affairs in the international politics, I came to the conclusion that there are fundamentally two approaches one can take in making a case. First approach is to concede that the states are not bound to the ethical obligations of the individuals, and must follow their interests, how ever they are defined inside the state, no matter what the moral results are. Those who favor this view however, loose their right to criticize the actions of other states, as any action can be matched to these state interests. Furthermore, they are obliged -in my opinion- to present a model, in which this type of behavior of individual states can sustain a world in which the dignity of individuals are not hurt by the immoral relations between the states. Second approach assumes that the states by definition composed of ethical individuals, and being so subject to such obligations by definition. Of course there will be cheaters. I think the more people take the second approach...

It is unbelievable and disappointing at the same time to witness, that the farce of a scientific hypothesis called Intelligent Design will be taught in Biology classes as supplementary material in one of the states of the greatest democracy in the world. In this great article Gary Marcus brings to attention the falsehood of the conception of an intelligent design, by listing some of the biases in our mind as well as design flaws in our body. This discussion reminded me the answer of Sir David Attenborough, the legendary nature documentary producer, to questions regarding creationism: My response is that when Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance hummingbirds, or orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things. But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that's going to make him blind. And [I ask them], 'Are you telling me...

Among the anti-Americanism in todays world, fueled by the false foreign policy decisions and executions, 4th of July still gives me a moment to celebrate the revolutionary and humanist aspects of the American Revolution: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." as well as reflect on how slavery and and its aftermath, segregation, lasted only until the Civil Rights movement of the 60s, how it is still accepted to use torture in interrogations, and how it is still possible to detain equally created men without any charge for years under constant psychological stress, in a land whose Deceleration of Independence contained the sentence above.

Idiomag is the best thing I found on the net after Google and Last.fm . If you are not familiar with Last.fm, it is a service that tracks the mp3s that you listen on your computer -and ipod, my new mp3 player doesn’t unfortunately support it- and gives you recommendations on music, events you might like, and lets you meet people of the same music taste. Idiomag basically gets this information and prepares you a daily online journal from news about your favorite music artists. I admit this kills the inherent treasure hunt feeling associated with listening to music, but it is a very helpful service. I came across this song that Bright Eyes did 3 years ago when George W. Bush was the most “evil” person in the media, which is one of the sharpest protest songs that I listened to so far. It coincided with The Economist’s briefing this week on the possible -or impossible- changes in US foreign policy. Summarized, don’t expect the winds to change direction, America has a tradition of bi-part...