Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Many people applauded our youthful idealism (February 2nd)

Peter Albert David Singer the 65 year old Australian philosopher and professor of Bioethics specializing in applied ethics has released an article on Aljazeera applauding the ending of battery cages in Europe for the keeping of fowls. Singer likened the achievement to the Arab Spring, stating “The end of the battery cage in Europe is a less dramatic development than the Arab Spring, but, like that popular uprising, it began with a small group of thoughtful and committed people… In the early 1970s, when the modern animal liberation movement began, no major organisation was campaigning against the battery cage… It took a concerted effort… to stir the RSPCA from its complacency towards the battery cage and other forms of intensive animal rearing… hens kept in cages so small… hens could never walk around freely, or lay eggs in a nest… Many people applauded our youthful idealism, but told us that we had no hope of ever changing a major industry. They were wrong… On the first day of 2012, keeping hens in such cages became illegal.”

Inspired by Peter Singer http://ow.ly/8JkSu image source Joel Travis Sage http://ow.ly/8JkVW

Either very rich, very poor, or in trouble with IRS (February 1st)

Donna Brazile the 52 year old US professor and political analyst published several tweets following the 2012 State of the Union address by President Barak Obama stating “Republicans can’t seem to accomplish anything, yet they are able to prevent virtually everything from happening” and comically following up with “If you pay fewer taxes than Mitt Romney, you are either very rich, very poor, or in a whole lot of trouble with the IRS”. Brazile is renowned for her weekly contributions to CNN tv’s The Situation Room, and contributions to NPR’s Political Corner. Brazile directed the Al Gore presidential campaign in 2000, and briefly served as the interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2011. Brazile developed an interest in politics at the age of nine, helping to elect a City Council candidate who had promised to build a playground; the candidate won and ignited her lifelong passion for political progress.

Inspired by Donna Brazile on Twitter image source Ron Aira http://ow.ly/8JkIr

Jonathan Hafetz the US professor of Law and civil libertarian renowned for his volunteer service assisting Guantanamo captives held by the US Justice department at the Naval base, has published an article on Aljazeera marking the 10^th anniversary of when the first prisoners arrived at the base. Hafetz states, “While its approach to terrorism has evolved, the United States’ failure to close Guantanamo shows how far it still has to go if it wishes to develop a rights-respecting national security policy… The United States’ failure to close Guantanamo is the result of several factors, including lack of leadership by the executive, opposition by Congress, and acquiescence by the courts. Ultimately, all three branches of government bear responsibility, along with the American people themselves, who continue to tolerate Guantanamo’s existence… Not only does the prison remain open, but the United States is further from closing it now than at any time in the past… Guantanamo remains a place where individuals – all citizens of other countries – are given fewer rights and protections against unlawful imprisonment.”

Inspired by Jonathan Hafetz http://ow.ly/8BMDr image source Seton Hall http://ow.ly/8BMJj

Tasked with simply igniting a spark (January 22nd)

Daanish Faruqi a research fellow based in Doha, recently edited a book ‘From Camp David to Cast Lead: Essays on Israel, Palestine, and the Future of the Peace Process’. Farugi in an article released on Aljazeera discusses one of the book’s essays written by Professor Hamid Dabashi. Farugi concludes that “Art’s role … is to imagine the emancipatory politics of our impossibilities… The artists of the Arab Spring are tasked with simply igniting a spark, of reinjecting the radical imagination into Arab society, through envisioning the utopian possibility of hope and a better life undergirded by the basic dignity of the Arab people as non-negotiable and sacrosanct. Their aesthetic impulses must lead our revolutionary politics …  as signposts, not as overt political manifestos. Only under this rubric can the legions of brave Arab artists, painters and sculptors inspired by the Arab Spring truly make sense as purveyors of the region’s renewed collective consciousness…”

Inspired by Daanish Farugi http://ow.ly/8tS9b image source Twitter http://ow.ly/8tSrP

They demand their share in consumption (January 19th)

Arthur P. J. Mol the 51 year old Netherlands Professor of environmental policy speaks of the growing environmental threat the new Chinese middle class pose for our planet earth. In an article released on Aljazeera, Mol states “this new middle class represents China as a consumer society. Its purchasing power brings cars, durable electric and electronic equipment, (inter)national tourism travellings, larger houses and a meat-based diet within reach of the masses… [however with] green electricity, clean cars, a ban on plastic bags, strong punishments in food scandals: China’s consumption is becoming more sustainable, although it has a long way to go. But compared with China’s acceleration, the US seems to stand still. The Chinese middle class will become the environmental vanguard, because it is backed by the state. Don’t underestimate the Chinese middle class: they are coming, they demand their share in consumption – but they also form a state-backed driver of sustainability.”

Inspired by http://ow.ly/8tQKz image source Springer http://ow.ly/8tR1u

Hermeneutics, the philosophy of interpretation (January 10th)

Santiago Zabala the 36 year old Professor at the Spanish University of Barcelona discusses the similarities of the Occupy Movement and the Barcelona protests in terms of “Karl Marx’s words of 1845: “Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it”. How can these words still be valid today? Is there a philosophy for these protesters?” Zabala states there is, “In the midst of our global economic crisis, which sees financial centres such as Wall Street occupied by protesters who call for change, Marx’s statement points out that we are still framed within the thought system that sustains the crisis, but it also demands a change in thought, that is, a philosophy for these same protesters. This philosophy is available and is called hermeneutics, the philosophy of interpretation… one of the few philosophies that reflects the pluralism of our postmodern societies because, like truly democratic procedures, it includes and allows structural changes to take place every time citizens demand them.”

Inspired by Santiago Zabala http://ow.ly/7OAqS image source Amazon http://ow.ly/7OAlG

OWS created a space where people could gather (December 13th)

Mark LeVine a US history professor in an article published by Aljazeera, laments the loss of the OWS Movement’s ‘People’s Library’ at Zuccotti Park NYC during a recent police raid on the encampment. LeVine recounts a discussion with his old friend Alan Minsky the producer of the ‘Axis of Justice’ radio show. “By permanently occupying Zuccottii and other parks, the OWS movement created a space where people could gather, create libraries, share books and ideas, and even meals. Where they could plan for another world, that isn’t merely possible anymore, but the only hope for the survival of humanity as a civilization … The library … reflected the uniqueness and power of the still young 99 per cent movement. From the very beginning, the OWS encampments were not just gestures of protest … but were efforts to build community where people were knowledgeable and participated in informed dialogue.”

Inspired by Mark LeVine http://ow.ly/7Vn39 image source meaning.org http://ow.ly/7Vnh6

Children of a backlash against globalization (December 10th)

Dani Rodrik the 54 year old Turkish economist and US Harvard University professor has lamented Europe’s potential next nightmare, a step toward the extreme right in the event of a chaotic eurozone breakup. Rodrik states in an article published on Aljazeera, “Today, the question is no longer whether politics will become more populist and less internationalist; it is whether the consequences of that shift can be managed without turning ugly … The nightmare scenario would also be a 1930s-style victory for political extremism. Fascism, Nazism, and communism were children of a backlash against globalization … feeding on the anxieties of groups that felt disenfranchised and threatened by expanding market forces and cosmopolitan elites … The challenge is to develop a new political narrative emphasizing national interests and values without overtones of nativism and xenophobia. If centrist elites do not prove themselves up to the task, those of the far right will gladly fill the vacuum, minus the moderation.

Inspired by Dani Rodrik http://ow.ly/7G8us image source twitter http://ow.ly/7G8yf

Most important development of our lifetime (November 16th)

Michael J. Sandel the 58 year old US political philosopher and Harvard University professor of political philosophy has referred to the grass root uprisings initiated during the ‘Arab Spring’ in an Aljazeera interview as “one of the most important political developments of our lifetimes. I think we will look back decades from now and see it as such. We don’t know how these revolutions will play out, one country to the next, but what we do know is that this is a historical moment… I think it should be an inspiration to those of us in established democracies to try to embody more fully the ideals of dignity and justice and above all of citizenship… The future is unpredictable, but I think that what will be remembered historically, whatever false starts there may be – and there may be many false starts…”

Inspired by Aljazerra http://ow.ly/7keHV image source roycecarlton http://ow.ly/7keLs

John Hoyland the 76 year old UK abstract painter whose Color Field paintings defined as lyrical abstraction that were closely aligned with Post-Painterly Abstraction, has died. Hoyland was influenced by the American abstract painters Mark Rothko and Barnet Newman following a visit to New York. His resulting works in the 1960s was characterized by simple shapes, bright colours and a flat picture surface. During the 1970s his paintings evolved to become more textured in their surface appearance. He had a long career as a highly influential teacher with many Art Colleges while still maintain a prolific schedule of exhibitions. Hoyland was appointed Professor of the Royal Academy Schools in 1999, exhibited at the London Waddington Galleries, and his works are held in many public and private collections including the Tate.

Inspired by the artnewspaper.com http://ow.ly/5Xz9J image source Nick Smith http://ow.ly/5Xz8J