Salem Witch Hunts and Mooninites

http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2007/02/litebrite_noseb.html
Being savaged by a sociology professor might seem about as scary as having your ankles viciously drooled over by an elderly terrier, but Boston's recent (over)reaction to a viral marketing campaign is given the once-over here by Dion Dennis:
"Not surprisingly, there's been a steady outflow of educated Millennials from the Bay State to points South and West, where a younger, educated demographic is welcomed and treated with greater public courtesy. [7] The Bay State response to a benign set of LED graphics, when compared to how these crudely drawn Mooninites were viewed in other venues across the U.S., makes the point unusually clear."

Via Bruce Sterling.

Guardian: Tortured Canadian wins battle for truth

http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1885684,00.html
Wow.

The Mounties shed their fluffy image, and turn out to be complete bastards.

(For those who aren't going to read the story, the guy wasn't actually tortured by the Mounties - they just lied about him to the Americans, who arrested him and turned him over to the Syrians who beat the crap out of him for 10 months. The RCMP have now apologized.)

via

Rant: My internationality (we're back to Islam again, sorry)

Let me start by stating that I am very, very English. I drink tea. When I'm not drinking tea, I drink gin and tonic. I am strongly in favour of free trade. I believe that laws are there for the benefit of all and should be respected (except silly ones involving foxes). I think professionalism has ruined sport. In the face of angry confrontation, I may raise an eyebrow (just the one, mind). My response to a crisis is to put the kettle on. I have been known to fix my car using my shoelace.

But one thing I am not is patriotic. In fact, I would say I was a better European than I am a Britisher. The problems of my generation - global warming, the hole in the ozone layer, and now terrorism - are global problems, and it seems to me that nations and their interests get in the way as often as they help and protect (did I mention I'm strongly in favour of free trade?). So I find myself sympathizing with international bodies far more than with my own government.

So how can I be surprised by the attraction of the idea of international brotherhood, which Islam has so successfully promoted? Why should I be surprised if it is more attractive than the uncertain benefits of patriotism towards a poky little nation which even its most eloquent natives have difficulty in describing?

I also think there is something deeply English about living with uncertainty. We are, after all, one of the most agnostic nations in the world (not necessarily secular; just agnostic). We have a long history of scientific and technological advancement, and what is more fundamental to science than uncertainty? Even our parliamentary system enshrines enormous powers to a government which may have only won by the tiniest of margins (in other words, we may not trust them but we'll let them get on with it). And let's not get on to talking about the weather.

So how can I be surprised when young Muslims, seeking to make sense of their lives - seeking to create their own narratives, in the style of the narratives that they know, which are from Hollywood and Bollywood and are simple and black-and-white, turn away from being English?

And finally, if we're talking about narratives - who'd want to pin their colours to the mast of a country which seems to export villainy, in all its forms - movie baddies, imperialist history, or military equipment?