Stuart Noble

Facebook U-turn

Yesterday David posted a message on our group board asking us to consider joining the Facebook protest group against Facebook. Well, things move pretty fast in cyberspace.

This last night on the Times;
Facebook prodded into privacy U-turn

A Facebook spokesman said: “Facebook is listening to feedback from its users and committed to evolving Beacon so users have even more control over the actions shared from participating sites with their friends on Facebook.

This morning’s New York Times reports;
Facebook Retreats on Online Tracking

Late yesterday the company made an important change, saying that it would not send messages about users’ Internet activities without getting explicit approval each time.

MoveOn.org Civic Action, the political group that set up the online petition, said the move was a positive one.

I’m on the MoveOn.org mailing list so I had received an invitation to join the Facebook protest via MoveOn about a week ago. MoveOn has over 3 million members. I’m not a member, just on the mailing list so I don’t know the actual number of people who would have received this petition notification. The activist/political blogosphere was also very active in promoting the cause and condemning Facebook. The mainstream press then picked up the story and it became an international event.

What I find most interesting is not only the speed of which this became an; issue, protest, conflict, then resolution, but also the transnational nature of the activism. I think of this as transnational viral grassroots activism. Furthermore, I think this may be the first significant example of cyber social/political action challenging policies relegated within the cyber sphere.

There are two earlier posts about Facebook worth reading if you haven’t already, here and here.

CNN/youtube 2008 Election Debates

“With five weeks to go until the first contest of the 2008 nominating season, the Republican candidates engaged in a free-for-all, trying to differentiate their views on immigration, the Iraq war, abortion, gun control and even whether they believed every word in the Bible was true.
Unlike previous debates in which the candidates focused most of their attacks on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, Wednesday night’s attacks were launched at each other.”

I think it is both interesting and refreshing to see the Republican candidates comment on each other, rather than on the Democratic candidates. One of the interesting things about this debate, was the incorporation of technology, youtube, and how this enabled voters to interact, at least to a certain extent, with the candidates.

Viewers were able to ask the candidates specific questions on several important topics. Some of the answers given were very revealing. John McCain took a strong stance on torture, while criticising Mitt Romney for not doing so, and Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney had a shown-down on immigration. One viewer asked the candidates if they believed every word of the Bible. My favorite answer is from Mike Huckabee, when he asks Rudy Giuliani if he needs to help him out on this one.

Huckabee to win the Republican nomination

from TPM

“It looks like Mike Huckabee is starting to catch on with a lot of conservative voters. A new poll from Republican firm Insider Advantage shows Huckabee now taking a strong second against Rudy Giuliani Florida. As for the other Southern conservative in the race, Fred Thompson, it’s not going so well.

The numbers: Giuliani 26%, Huckabee 17%, McCain 13%, Romney 12%, Thompson 9%. This represents an 11-point surge for Huckabee since Insider Advantage’s last Florida poll in early October — and a ten-point plummet for Thompson.”

We were discussing US politics over Thanksgiving (of course) and I was asked who my dark horse candidate was on the Republican side.

My reply: Mike Huckabee

With an endorsement by Chuck Norris, he simply can’t loose. I predict he’ll take Iowa, propelling him into a number 3 spot in a very tight New Hampshire race. If he wins Iowa and stays competitive in NH then anything’s possible for the karate lovin’ konservative.

UPDATE:
Here is a poll taken after last night’s CNN/YouTube debate;
You can watch the debate, with rolling transcript here.
What’s interesting may be how these numbers may reflect the mood of self-identified Republican voters. Huckabee was portrayed by the other candidates as the “liberal Republican.” There is an undeniable shift to the left across the general population. Whether this translates into more liberal or progressive government is yet to be seen. I’ve been reading a fascinating book by David Paletz and Robert Entman, “Media, Power, and Politics.” Paletz was a an American Fulbright scholar at SDU back when it was Odense University. Their thesis is that “the silent conservative majority” has always been a myth and that the majority of Americans have always been more populist or liberal than political parties and the media portray.

Iowa

Huckabee: 32%
Romney: 16%
Giuliani: 12%
McCain: 10%
Thompson: 7%
Paul: 6%
Tancredo: 2%
Hunter: 0%
Rest: undecided

Florida

Huckabee: 44%
Giulani: 18%
Romney: 13%
McCain: 10%
Thompson: 5%
Paul: 4%
Hunter: 1%
Tancredo: 1%
Rest: undecided

The Disintermediated Progressive Party

As many of you know, my current areas of research have dealt with contemporary political movements with an emphasis on progressive and populist activism. I’ve been exploring the online political left and its challenge to neo-liberalism within the Democratic party. “Progressive” has become the preferred label of the New New Left as it both references back to the early progressive movement and is not hampered by the negative right wing images of liberalism. I love this new ad, (there are actually several ads) which were created by the Center for American Progress and Moveon.org. There is an online vote, hosted by Moveon, which includes a citizen donation drive to get these ads on the air. The vote is being promote through blogads on various high profile political web journals around the virtual public sphere. This is a powerful example of how the new Progressive Left is using new technologies to create and disseminate messaging by bypassing the traditional channels of funding and communication. This ad is incredibly effective as it rebutts right-wing talking points and redefines patriotism within popular American leftist and progressive traditions.

No Caption Necessary

click for larger image


UPDATE:
I just came across this new ad for Hummer. see below
HOPE: HUMMER OWNERS PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES

I think this ad is what makes the above caption so ironic. Back in Texas, virtually every Hummer had/has one of those ubiquitous “W” bumper stickers on the back. The SUV has become a socio-political signifier. For (most) people on the political Left, Hummer represents an ideology of blatant arrogance in the face of global warming created by over consumption of petrochemicals that is enhanced by SUV’s; Hummers being literally the largest offender.

This ad could well be any contemporary right-wing political ad, combining fear with the notion of unitary action. The America of post 9-11 is alone in a dangerous and threatening world. On some levels, this ad is seen as justification for the theory of the unitary executive and unilateral military aggression. There’s also a not so subtle reference to the image of the Firefighters of 9/11 rushing into the burning World Trade Center. As the narrative states, “After disaster strikes, most people run from point A to point B. Then there are a qualified few, who run from point B to point A.” The final view of a tranquil blue planet Earth from space goes far beyond irony.

Another reading of this ad may be;
HUMMER – Helping you survive the disasters we create…

Seminar, Copenhagen University: "What is an American in the twenty-first century?"

Reading from their work and discussing the question

“What is an American in the twenty-first century?”

Thursday 6 December, 13-16, 22.0.11

JUNOT DÌAZ was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to New Jersey at the age of six. He published his debut collection of short stories, Drown, in 1997; the volume became a bestseller and won the PEN/Malamud Award. His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The Best American Short Stories. His first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, was published to widespread acclaim in 2007.

RICK MOODY was born in New York. His debut novel, Garden State, was published in 1992, and was followed by The Ice Storm (1994; a well received film adaptation appeared in 1997). Moody has maintained a prolific rate of publication: his other books include the novels Purple America (1998) and The Diviners (2007); the short story collection Demonology (2001); and the memoir The Black Veil (2002).

EMMY PÉREZ is from Santa Ana, California. Her first collection of poems, Solstice, appeared in 2003. She has published her poetry and short stories in Prairie Schooner, New York Quarterly, Story, Indiana Review, and North American Review. She teaches creative writing and English at the University of Texas, Pan American.

for more info email: bone@hum.ku.dk