Another scary article on what it's like to be a non-white in Russia. Of course, with the social chaos that is gripping much of the country, it's probably somewhat scary to be a human being there, no matter the color. I would like to add that a friend of mine who visits Israel frequently (he has dual citizenship) says that the "Russians" (this being mostly Russian Jews) have reputation for being racist there as well.
This is not to smear Russians as a whole, my parents encounter recent Russian immigrants every day in the Seattle area, and they are good decent folk. But, this is perhaps a testament to the havoc that Communism can wreak on a culture. We know that Communism was a failure economically, but perhaps more attention needs to be focused on what it does to cultural traditions, slicing away thousands of years of continuity, leaving an amoral vacuum that allows society to regress torwards its most atavistic and atomistic manifestations. I believe in a fashion that the same process has destroyed Chinese culture. The traditions of Confucianism, for all their problems, no longer exist in a robust nuanced fashion to buffer the nation against the more militaristic jingoistic tendencies at the aggregate level, and the single-minded focus on glitzy material acqusition on the individual scale[1].
fn1. I don't think consumerism is bad, but when it becomes the end, I think something is wrong. I would also like to note that traditional Confucian scholars were against the rise of racialism in China in the early 20th century, rather, it was "progressive" leaders and intellectuals who pushed forward the conflation of is and ought.
Posted by razib at 02:44 PM | | TrackBack A Pox on Your House
As the nation is diverging into two distinct political camps with less room for a moderate middle, the Pox on Your House – Take No Prisoners style of politics is increasing in vigor.
Preceding this schism has been the Washington revolving door, where our politicians take a lucrative hiatus in the private sector. Of course the benefits of the revolving door would have to flow in both directions for a beneficial arrangement to take place. The companies usually sought preferred access to lucrative government contracts.
Of course the revolving door has been cited by critics as a threat to the integrity of government.
Perhaps the Pox On Your House tactics will actually serve to restore integrity back to government service by disincentivizing the revolving door through the intense scrutiny directed at companies that hire former politicians and bureaucrats.
Consider the case of Halliburton, the firm Vice-President Cheney used to head during his hiatus from government. They now list their association with the Vice-President as a Risk Factor in their S.E.C. 8-K Filing of January 23, 2004.
Since his nomination as Vice President, Halliburton has been and continues to be the focus of allegations, some of which appear to be made for political reasons by political adversaries of the Vice President and the current Bush administration. We expect that this focus and these allegations will continue and possibly intensify as the 2004 elections draw nearer. These allegations have recently centered on our government contracts work, especially in Iraq and the Middle East. In part because of the heightened level of scrutiny under which we operate, audit issues between us and government auditors like the DCAA or the inspector general of the Department of Defense are more likely to arise, are more likely to become public and may be more difficult to resolve. As a result, we could lose future government contracts business or renewals of current government contracts business in the Middle East or elsewhere. We could also be asked to reimburse material payments made to or through us or be asked to accept lesser compensation than provided in our contracts. In certain circumstances, we could be subject to fines and penalties under the U.S. False Claims Act, under which treble damages could be sought. In addition, we may be required to expend a significant amount of resources explaining and/or defending actions we have taken under our government contracts. There can be no assurance that these and any additional allegations made under our government contracts would not have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Posted by TangoMan at 07:49 AM | | TrackBack I Hear Voices
Crooked Timber links to this article in the Guardian about faking your way into a mental hospital.
The art of psychiartic diagnosis absent physical data on the brain structure of the patients has many similarities to what we see with IQ studies.
Further the enmity directed at the perpetrator is striking similar to that affored to E.O. Wilson, Arthus Jenson, Charles Murray and Richard Hernstein, et al. Here is an exchange between Dr. Spitzer, the defender of the faith, and the journalist about the welfare of the hoax perpetrator.
Spitzer pauses. “So how is David Rosenhan?” he finally asks.
“Actually, not so good,” I say. “He’s lost his wife to cancer, his daughter Nina in a car crash. He’s had several strokes and is now suffering from a disease they can’t quite diagnose. He’s paralysed.”
That Spitzer doesn’t say, or much sound, sorry when he hears this reveals the depths to which Rosenhan’s study is still hated in the field, even after 30 years. “That’s what you get,” he says, “for conducting such an inquiry.”
Deserved retribution from on high for challenging authority. Hmmm.
The sanctity of the authority though seems to have been misapplied for the professionals were clearly oblivious to that which was clearly obvious to the patients.
The strange thing was, the other patients seemed to know that Rosenhan was normal, even while the doctors did not. One young man, coming up to Rosenhan in the dayroom, said “You’re not crazy. You’re a journalist or a professor.” Another said, “You’re checking up on the hospital.” Posted by TangoMan at 03:13 AM | | TrackBack