Blog
Adam Curtis on The Rise and Fall of the TV Journalist
I’ve often written about the works of the BBC’s Adam Curtis, one of the most fascinating documentarians of our age. He came out with this diddy on journalism not too long ago. His thesis is that TV journalists originally set out to create a narrative of the world, but in the midst of chaos, they’ve basically reverted to…
Who Is A ‘Liberal’?
If there is one thing which seems outdated in current political systems, it is the arcane use of political labels. One would assume these long-held classifications would be universal across different cultures, but it turns out they’re just as petty and random as the individual lines alternatively called “borders” by those who aim to control…
The Entire Chomsky/ Foucault Debate, Finally Online After 42 Years
It has taken over 40 years, but a complete video copy of the debate between Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault has at last appeared online. The debate took place in the Netherlands in 1971 and has been uploaded in parts over the years. The video is a complete 1 hour 11 minutes video recording of…
The News Cycle Power Play and Bob Woodward the Spook
By accommodating to Central European Time, I’ve been lucky enough to place myself well ahead of the news cycle in the New World. I say lucky because it means I can be more productive while amalgamating into the European context with the help of Viennese smiles and kisses abound, all while avoiding the ludicrous news events…
Marshal McLuhan and the Medium is the Message
I first read Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man during my days in Canadian upper education. The best way to understand McLuhan is as the ultimate meta scientist. His writings and observations influenced advertisers, educators, and television producers in all kinds of elite circles. If I can try my hand at summarizing his vast…
Leben und Lieben in Wien, Part Zwei
What began as a curious trip to discover my philosophical and paternal roots has now cemented my life passions and pursuits. In early 2011, I arrived in Vienna, Austria to finish my last semester of undergraduate education. I expected to make a lot of friends, touch up on Austrian economics at the home university of…
The State Deems Me a ‘Criminal’ For Totaling My Car
In order to move to a new country and start a new life, one needs permission from governments. It’s a sad fact of our immigrant-rich societies in the West, especially since we once celebrated the arrival of different cultures and peoples and enjoyed so much growth, ingenuity, and diversity in successive generations because of open…
Manufacturing Dissent: The truth about the Syrian Civil War
Great documentary about the Western imperialistic push for civil war and unrest in Syria. What lies at the heart of the manufactured war? EN FRANÇAIS:
‘Homeland’ and Lessons of Blowback
For the casual audience tuning into Showtime on Sunday evenings, it’s not likely they’re searching for artful deconstructions of a nation in the midst of clandestine war, illegal surveillance, and retaliatory attacks on civilian populations. But for the award-winning Homeland, still laced with plenty of suspense, sex, and smut, this is precisely what is offered. Using character studies, thematic elements,…