Swans Commentary
http://www.swans.com/
December 1, 2008
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*Mayday, Mayday, Mayday!* Put it this way: Over 700,000 people voted for
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Note from the Editors: It used to be, here in the west, that when one
thought about stampedes it was in the form of a herd of cattle gone astray in
a Gene Autry movie, or more recently, some crazed Latin football fans
storming the field when their team let them down. In today's climate the
stampede takes on a sickening twist, with turkey-stuffed American shoppers
breaking down the doors of Wal*Mart and trampling to death the poor employee
that stands between them and the flat-screen TV of their dreams. Did they
return home with their bounty, turn it on, and witness the tragedy in Mumbai
where apparent Westerners and the wealthy were singled out for kidnap and
slaughter inside India's icon of luxury? Patterns which connect, anyone? Jan
Baughman examines American society's moral hazard, where 37 million people
live in poverty and 32 people live with $573 billion; where Wall Street is
bailed out while millions of autoworkers are frozen in limbo. Money is not
the only source of schism in this country, as Charles Marowitz maintains, and
so long as there is no revolution in sensibility there can be no tangible
improvements in the divided American body politic. Or perhaps division is our
natural order... Will Barack Obama lead us into a new political and social
era? Gilles d'Aymery has kept silent on this election's significance, which
he breaks to explain why he's left the analysis to those who understand it
much better than he ever can, and certainly better than all the dim-witted
self-declared progressive sophists out there! Another must-read commentary
sure to touch a nerve is Michael Barker's latest exposé, which reveals the
influence of liberal philanthropy (i.e., indirect corporate power) on
intellectual freedom in academia. Martin Murie brings nature into perspective
on all the above, calling for a big dose of humility and a shift of gut and
mind toward the ecosystem that controls us, not vice versa.
Turning to the culture arena, Peter Byrne reviews Chris Abani's "Song For
Night," a beautiful novella on the plight of child soldiers in Africa that is
not meant for the complacent. And before rushing out to the latest James Bond
film, "Quantum of Solace," read the barbed critic Charles Marowitz's take on
an obstreperous effort that represents the depth to which the classic Ian
Fleming franchise has sunk (how'd you really like the film, Charles?!?).
Guido Monte lures us into "La vie mystérieuse" as seen through his eyes and
words with Orff, Euripides, Handke, and Dostoevskij; Marie Rennard's poetry
measures the weight of life and the mad on the roof; and Michael Eddins
shares a poem on the soul-crushing loss of a loved one. Finally, we close
with R. Scott Porter's thoughts on population and the planet and your
letters, with perspectives from Europe on the election of Barack Obama, and
more. But before you begin, please take a moment and Donate Now!
http://www.swans.com/about/donate.html
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http://www.swans.com/library/art14/jeb201.html
Society's Moral Hazard - Jan Baughman
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/cmarow123.html
E Pluribus Unum - Charles Marowitz
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/ga261.html
Remaining Silent About Obama - Gilles d'Aymery
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/barker09.html
Progressive Social Change In The "Ivory Tower"? - Michael Barker
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/murie60.html
Nature - Martin Murie
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/pbyrne87.html
Death Singing - Book Review by Peter Byrne
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/cmarow122.html
"Quantum Of Solace" - Film Review by Charles Marowitz
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/gmonte56.html
Vie Mystérieuse - Poem by Guido Monte
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/marier23.html
The Mad Is Standing On The Roof... - Poem by Marie Rennard
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/eddins03.html
Without You - Poem by Michael Eddins
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/porter10.html
Population Control - R. Scott Porter
http://www.swans.com/library/art14/letter153.html
Letters to the Editor
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PLEASE do not forget: Donate Now!
http://www.swans.com/about/donate.html
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Gilles d'Aymery
--
Swans
"Hungry man, reach for the book: It is a weapon." B. Brecht
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