Global Palestine: Contemporary Collisions

John Collins (@djleftover), author of Global Palestine (Hurst, 2011/Columbia UP, 2012), explores the global politics of violence and the representation of violence, paying particular attention to the microcosmic and prophetic location of Palestine in relation to these processes. (Image: Diego Lopez Calvin)

Nov 30 2008	India violence: the aftermath
The world's news media continue to cover the aftermath of the horrifying terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India during the past week. As is often the case when the world is faced with this kind of violence, the theories (including the conspiracy theories) are flying thick and fast. It will be interesting to see how the story "settles" in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, I thought I would run through a few of the responses I have been reading.

Nov 30 2008

India violence: the aftermath

The world's news media continue to cover the aftermath of the horrifying terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India during the past week. As is often the case when the world is faced with this kind of violence, the theories (including the conspiracy theories) are flying thick and fast. It will be interesting to see how the story "settles" in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, I thought I would run through a few of the responses I have been reading.

Nov 05 2008	The Inner Dialogue: Between Euphoria and the Hard Road Ahead
As I wake up this morning to hear the sound of the phrase "President-Elect Barack Obama" all around me, it is difficult to know how to process the range of emotions I am feeling. Many parts of me - the leftist, the internationalist, the skeptic, the critic of creeping militarization - are struggling to begin a dialogue with the other parts of me that are thrilled beyond measure at the historic result of last night's election and its profound significance for so many people both inside and outside the United States.

Nov 05 2008

The Inner Dialogue: Between Euphoria and the Hard Road Ahead

As I wake up this morning to hear the sound of the phrase "President-Elect Barack Obama" all around me, it is difficult to know how to process the range of emotions I am feeling. Many parts of me - the leftist, the internationalist, the skeptic, the critic of creeping militarization - are struggling to begin a dialogue with the other parts of me that are thrilled beyond measure at the historic result of last night's election and its profound significance for so many people both inside and outside the United States.

Nov 01 2008	Free Gaza: War on Fishermen?
After successfully breaking the Israeli siege of Gaza back in August, the Free Gaza movement is making good on its promise to continue calling attention to Israel's policy of punishing all Gazans for the actions of a few. Sailing in a boat called the SS Dignity, activists recently landed in Gaza again and then went on a mission to witness the harassment of Palestinian fishermen by the Israeli navy.

Nov 01 2008

Free Gaza: War on Fishermen?

After successfully breaking the Israeli siege of Gaza back in August, the Free Gaza movement is making good on its promise to continue calling attention to Israel's policy of punishing all Gazans for the actions of a few. Sailing in a boat called the SS Dignity, activists recently landed in Gaza again and then went on a mission to witness the harassment of Palestinian fishermen by the Israeli navy.

Oct 23 2008	Settler colonialism 101
In my teaching I regularly address the topic of settler colonialism, a specific type of colonization in which settlers seek to create a new society in a foreign territory through the displacement, subjugation, or elimination of the territory's indigenous population. The United States is a settler-colonial society; so are Australia, New Zealand, and Israel, to name several prominent examples. Yet you will rarely see the phrase "settler colonialism" in any major news report about any of these countries.

Oct 23 2008

Settler colonialism 101

In my teaching I regularly address the topic of settler colonialism, a specific type of colonization in which settlers seek to create a new society in a foreign territory through the displacement, subjugation, or elimination of the territory's indigenous population. The United States is a settler-colonial society; so are Australia, New Zealand, and Israel, to name several prominent examples. Yet you will rarely see the phrase "settler colonialism" in any major news report about any of these countries.

Oct 21 2008	A question that answers itself!
I just saw this headline in the Guardian: Poll: Are there too many US election polls? Insert punchline here...

Oct 21 2008

A question that answers itself!

I just saw this headline in the Guardian:

Poll: Are there too many US election polls?

Insert punchline here...

Oct 06 2008	A scary snapshot
Top ten "most viewed" articles on the website of The Independent (a major UK newspaper) this morning:

Oct 04 2008	Under the Radar Again: More Electoral Dirty Tricks?
Here we go again, mesmerized by the magic show while the real work of stealing elections goes on behind the scenes. Remember Florida in 2000? Remember Ohio in 2004? Remember those sketchy voting machines and disenfranchised voters, most of them poor and African-American? Do we really remember? Or are we about to get fleeced again?

Oct 02 2008	Bill McKibben answers the Big Questions
Writer and environmental activist Bill McKibben recently visited St. Lawrence University as part of its Contemporary Issues Forum. While on campus, McKibben sat down with the Weave for a short interview. McKibben's responses to our five Big Questions are now available for viewing on our YouTube site and here on the Weave.

Sep 24 2008	Thinking Like a State III: Dennis Ross and 'behavior' modification
Having briefly addressed the rhetoric of "problems" and the issue of defining hypothetical "threats," I want to highlight one addition aspect of the "conceptual practices of power" associated with the U.S. state. In his lecture, Ambassador Dennis Ross invoked the language of behavior modification several times when referring to other nations and cultures. What is the significance of this way of framing the world?

Sep 24 2008

Thinking Like a State III: Dennis Ross and 'behavior' modification

Having briefly addressed the rhetoric of "problems" and the issue of defining hypothetical "threats," I want to highlight one addition aspect of the "conceptual practices of power" associated with the U.S. state. In his lecture, Ambassador Dennis Ross invoked the language of behavior modification several times when referring to other nations and cultures. What is the significance of this way of framing the world?

Sep 20 2008	Thinking Like a State II: threats and hypotheticals
In my previous post, I examined how the language of "problems" (as in "the Pakistan problem") shaped the discourse of Geoffrey Kemp and Dennis Ross in their recent joint lecture. What else did I learn about the "conceptual practices of power" (Dorothy Smith) associated with the U.S. state? I learned that the U.S. state is more interested in speculating about possible threats than in being honest about its own actions.

Sep 20 2008

Thinking Like a State II: threats and hypotheticals

In my previous post, I examined how the language of "problems" (as in "the Pakistan problem") shaped the discourse of Geoffrey Kemp and Dennis Ross in their recent joint lecture. What else did I learn about the "conceptual practices of power" (Dorothy Smith) associated with the U.S. state? I learned that the U.S. state is more interested in speculating about possible threats than in being honest about its own actions.