two v interesting articles in yesterday's guardian media review.

** "Only 0.5% of today's believers believe they are destined for the fiery pit; 64% "know" they are heaven-bound. And, as they alight from the celestial stretch limo, it won't be Allah or Jehovah who greets them, but all-American Almighty - wearing a Laker's vest, sneakers and a reversed baseball cap. Hallelujah!

[...]

Christian self-confidence distorts American foreign policy. Domestically the separation of church and state is crumbling. America is slipping inexorably towards theocracy. Resistance to this trend has traditionally come from two quarters: the press and the universities. Neither functions effectively any more. Newspapers won't offend what their market research tells them is an inflexibly "faith-based" readership. Universities are similarly neutered. They don't burn flags; they wear them, neatly enamelled, on their lapels as tokens of American pride.

[...]

One citadel of resistance remains [...] Hollywood, if it wants to make a political difference, should stick to what it does best, which it has done with the hilariously subversive film, Bad Santa. The anti-hero of the title is a department-store Father Christmas (in fact a career thief) played by Billy Bob Thornton. BS is foul-mouthed and filthy. His main recreation (in brief intervals of sobriety) is anal intercourse, in full Santa fig, with "heavy" ladies. Rudolph's haunches may not be safe from violation, one fears, when big babes are scarce."

now that sounds like a good movie!

Can Bad Santa save Americans? - analysis of current post-modern u.s. theology - shows how optimism derived from moral relativism and "chosen people" nonsense enables neo-fascist empire. in fact i would (and have) argue/d that "chosen people" kills j.c. "love + forgive" socialism -> fascism when combined with nation-state ideology- cf israel.. useful material for countering "remnants of christianity harmless and positive in effect if there is any" arguments. consider baptist "jesus + death penalty" style forgiveness! not to forget commercial exploitation of residual sentiment re mythology during "the season" [oct-jan?]. mandatory reading.


** The notorious Rwanda radio station RTLM began to broadcast racism in 1991, and by 1994 was airing instructions to "kill and exterminate" the Tutsi minority. In the same year, a national newspaper, Kangura, printed a large cover picture of a machete with the slogan "What Weapons Shall We Use To Conquer The Inyenzi Once And For All?

[...]

For the first time since the Nuremberg Trials, international criminal justice last week turned to the role of the media. In the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, three journalists were found guilty of direct incitement to cause genocide, and now face life sentences.

[...]

While such international justice will be welcomed with a shiver of relief by many, it may worry those who aim to protect freedom of expression in developing countries. According to Helen Darbishire of the Open Society Institute: "We generally fear that advocating application of hate speech regulations will create an impetus to act without ensuring that any steps taken are in conformity with international standards." We might expect that sufficient safeguards are in place if it is the UN tribunal that judges on hate speech, but a more general clampdown on hate speech could constitute an unacceptable curtailment of freedom of expression.

She continues:"In Rwanda, in 1995, the Ministry of Information, failing to distinguish between criticism and incitement - and perhaps erring on the side of caution - launched an attack on the entire media sector and impounded several papers.

[...]

Thinktanks close to the US president and international organisations have also launched projects on hate speech this year and clearly in a more transparent, more media-focused world, the monitoring of incitement is more than a passing fad. "We have high hopes for hate speech monitoring, but it is crucial that at an early stage we isolate the key principles that are really at stake," says Westcott. "

Hate alert- "role of the media in inciting hatred" [guardian]. i say of interest a) re: possibilities of technological leverage to further primitive ingroup ideology with some thoroughly adverse effects on outgroup- essentially a case study with some very real dirty consequences. b) the limitations of human rights language in identifying underlying relations of interest. such discourse is limited and open to abuse (nb above- the gringo gov have gotten hold of it already!)