I grew up hearing a lot about the Israeli-Palestian conflict, and it was always the same story: the Palestinians were the aggressors, Israel barely holding its own and hoping to eventually settle conflicts that had been there for thousands of years. But Israel was for Jews, that much was clear. Because the Babylonians took their land,Continue reading “Christian Zionism and Judas Iscariot”
Category Archives: Politics
Bangkok protests escalate, then relinquish streets
The Bangkok protests escalated this past week, and subsequently switched gears. I reported on the protests for the Spokesman-Review, and here are a few photos showing how mundane they looked most of the time. Near Lumpini Park, only a day after a gunman had shot at protestors and wounded one in the leg, people nappedContinue reading “Bangkok protests escalate, then relinquish streets”
Localization, Thailand and the global market
Sometimes I stop and think for awhile about my job, and about the long chain of assumptions that lead out into its final goal, which nine times out of ten is that people will purchase (or remain loyal to) a product that did not originate in their own culture. Localization is primarily about making theContinue reading “Localization, Thailand and the global market”
Alone Yet Not Alone in a sea of dominionism
Apparently, I am one of the few people in America who had heard of Alone Yet Not Alone before today, when the internet exploded with a collective “WTF?” over the movie’s Oscar nomination. I’d heard of it because I am loosely connected to the independent Christian movie scene, or more specifically, the quiverfull, dominion-mandate ChristianContinue reading “Alone Yet Not Alone in a sea of dominionism”
Testing Lake Pend Oreille
Kelsey asked if I wanted to be her water-testing buddy today for Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper, and I said sure. So we took a boat out to Bottle Bay, where she tested the murkiness of the water and took samples from the depth at which her line disappeared (6.4 meters today, averaged out overContinue reading “Testing Lake Pend Oreille”
In honor of my Grandfather
My Grandfather, John Norman Botkin, died 11 years ago, on September 21, 2001. I was in France — I had moved in with a French woman only two weeks prior after studying French for all of four months, and was dazed from the constant barrage of this largely-unknown language, from the sudden uncertainty of 9/11,Continue reading “In honor of my Grandfather”
So, am I to understand that…
Given the premise that having someone else pay for your contraception or chosen method of family planning makes you a prostitute To avoid having one party in any relationship reduced to prostitution, it is necessary for them to equally divide the cost of contraception, perhaps calculating it out per encounter and leaving the money onContinue reading “So, am I to understand that…”
Legal theories and medical crises
The American medical system is suffering from two epistemological errors: the idea that to get any medical treatment you must get a certified doctor’s sign-off, and the idea that if you don’t, you can sue somebody for millions. You can talk all you want about evil insurance companies, but the cost of medical care inContinue reading “Legal theories and medical crises”
Right Subtlety
I have had several debates in the past few weeks about subtlety, in various forms. Generally speaking, I am a fan of subtlety. I think for the most part this has to do with my aversion to hypocrisy, which is usually associated with the more violent rhetoric, say, of Rush Limbaugh. Rush doesn’t leave aContinue reading “Right Subtlety”
Ethics and the golden rule
I have a new theory: even those out to destroy have good reasons for doing what they do, precisely because “good” is often a matter of opinion, and situational ethics thrive best in complex situations. Lying, for example. People justify it all sorts of ways: if they tell the truth, someone else gets hurt. IfContinue reading “Ethics and the golden rule”
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