May. 26th, 2011

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Another backlog of links is being cleared today, everything from speculation about the future course of Canada's new government to the role that queers apparently played in the prediction of apocalypse last Saturday.


  • At Acts of Minor Treason, Andrew Barton reflects on the United Nations, its role in promoting world peace, and the possible explanations for its incomplete success.

  • A BCer in Toronto's Jeff Jedras seems to argue that despite its majority, the Conservative government of Canada is unlikely to shift to a new radicalism.

  • The Dragon's Tales' Will Baird reports that paleontologists suspect the mammalian brain grew so much so it could accommodate an improved sense of smell.

  • Daniel Drezner reflects on the astounding--and deteriorating--male-biased sex ratios of modernizing China and India, and wonders if this proof that modernization does not necessarily lead to Westernization.

  • Eastern approaches argues that Poland is shifting from a strong alliance with the United States to a concentration on regional affairs, especially the European Union and Germany.

  • Far Outliers' quotes from Kapuscinski in his description of the rise of Uganda's Idi Amin and Rwana's Habyarimana.

  • Geocurrents maps the shifting patterns of inequality in South Africa.

  • The Global Sociology argues, drawing from William Robinson, that a 21st century fascism is emerging based on unrestricted economic globalization and massive inequality.

  • The Planetary Society Blog notes that the predicted lightning has not been found on Titan. Without this energy source, the prospects for life on that world are reduced.

  • Gideon Rachman suggests that, despite certain elements of Chinese geopolitical thinking, China is likely to be embarrassed by the Pakistani statement that China will be establishing a naval base on the Pakistani coast.

  • Slap Upside the Head points out that, surprise surprise, the crew who predicted the Rapture's arrival this Saturday past blamed the gays.

  • Finally, Wasatch Economics' Scott Peterson argues that the balanced sex ratio of the United States represents an advantage over China and India, in that human capital is used more efficiently.

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The Houston Chronicle report that Yemen may finally be entering a period of civil war.

Intense battles spread across Yemen's capital Thursday between government forces and opposition militiamen from powerful tribes that warn of civil war unless embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh steps down. At least 28 people were killed as the four-day death toll neared 110.

The fight — led the Yemen's largest tribe — poses the most significant challenge to Saleh's rule after three months of street demonstrations and failed Arab mediation to ease him from office. Yemen's tribes command well-armed militias and can tap into traditional clan-based loyalties to possibly tips the scales against Saleh's 32-year rule.

Under Yemen's ancient codes, tribal leaders can declare that members follow their orders above all others. This potentially gives tribal chiefs the power to order government soldiers from their clans to stand down.

There was no apparent signals of mass defections from Saleh's military. But some key commanders have jumped to the opposition, and the leader of Yemen's largest tribe, Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, warned that Saleh had the option to step down or be held accountable for "dragging the country to a civil war."

The battles broke out Monday after an attempt by government forces to storm al-Ahmar's compound in the heart of the capital Sanaa. By Thursday, the clashes had widened to include areas around Sanaa's airport. At least 109 people have been killed, including at least 28 on Thursday amid differing accounts on the blasts.

Yemen's government said it was an explosion at a weapons storage site. The opposition claimed military forces shelled a building used by tribal fighters loyal to al-Ahmar and other major tribes who have joined him.


The Guardian notes that Yemen, impoverished and profoundly lacking in domestic food production and economic resources generally could face catastrophe if civil war breaks out.

Over the last few days, power shortages have become longer. Much of the capital, Sana'a, has had little or no power and there are long queues for fuel. The fear is that the country's foreign currency reserves are not sufficient to import the oil needed. The worst impact of fuel shortages will be on water supplies, which depend on pumps or truck deliveries. The price of water has shot up by 50% in the last month, and that was before the worsening violence of the last few days.

Fears about the country's foreign reserves will affect the Yemen's continuing ability to import the food it needs.The vast bulk of the country's food is imported and what arable land there is, much of it has been diverted to grow the more profitable qat crops, the herbal drug. Prices for food staples are rising sharply, with wheat up by 66% in the last month.

[. . .]

The problem is that the crisis is exacerbating a long-term humanitarian problem of food insecurity. A third of the country is "undernourished" while 2.7 million people are "severely food insecure". In terms of the stunting of child development, Yemen is second only to Afghanistan as the worst in the world; it is third worst in terms of malnutrition. Half of all under five-year-olds are seriously malnourished. The paradox is that it has levels of hunger more often associated with Africa and yet it is an Arab country with some of the richest countries in the world for neighbours.

[. . . N]o one quite knows what economic collapse in the Yemeni context could mean. Unlike African countries that have experienced comparable levels of food insecurity, there is no subsistence agriculture to provide rural communities with some resilience. If Yemen doesn't have the money to buy oil and food, millions of people could tip over a very precarious boundary from food insecure to starving.


This all makes the prospect of Yemen's accession to the Gulf Cooperation Council, suggested as a way to stabilized Yemen and described by the United Arab Emirates' The National, profoundly unlikely.

For a long time, the arguments against Yemen joining the GCC were weak but convincing, focused on financial assistance and the free movement of people. With a far greater population than most GCC countries and fewer natural resources, Yemen would require a significant inflow of financial assistance. At the same time, the free movement of nationals within an expanded GCC would lead to many Yemenis seeking work in the Gulf, straining those nations.

[. . .]

The rather minor point - which was hardly a minor point before, since it offered the geographical rationale for the GCC - namely that the Gulf Cooperation Council must have some link to the Arabian Gulf, appears to have been long forgotten. No part of Jordan touches the Arabian Gulf. Morocco doesn't even share the same continent.

Another argument against Yemen's inclusion has been its political system. As a republic with local and national elections - and enfranchisement of women - its system of government is different from that of the GCC countries, and from those of Jordan and Morocco, all of which are monarchies. Yet Jordan and Morocco have parliaments, like Yemen, and many GCC countries boast national assemblies.

In itself, differing systems of government should not be an obstacle. So much of the work of the GCC is not focused on political issues, but economic and security co-operation. The GCC should be an institution to foster closer union, not a club of kings.

The argument for expansion to Yemen has always been fairly strong. Cultural, religious and linguistic ties are extremely strong, with many families and clans in the Gulf tracing their heritage to Yemen and many current ties of marriage. The number of expatriate Yemenis across the region further entrenches the connectivity among the countries.

For Yemen, the GCC would bring not only its significant economic resources, but also the experience of building stable institutions. Yemen urgently needs strong institutions that will be able to cope with the upheaval that will be generated by moving to a post-oil future, and reformatting the economy to accommodate a growing population.
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I wrote about Shakespears Sister, "a British based BRIT Award and Ivor Novello Award-winning synth-pop-rock band", and the duo's signature 1992 hit "Stay", back in 2005. I noted then that the song was a fairly inventive love song, a dialogue between characters played by high-pitched ex-Bananarama singer Siobhan Fahey and the throatier soprano of Marcella Detroit fighting over a man, Fahey's love, who was slipping away.

Sharing the inventive Sophie Muller-directed video is necessary.



Says Wikipedia, "[t]he video starts with a view of a calm night sky. A shooting star passes over a full moon and the song begins. The camera pans back into a large dark room. [Fahey]playing the lover is seen caretaking her man - played by Dave Evans - who is comatose and near death. Detroit sings her verse of the song. At the climax of the song, Fahey, playing a vampish angel of death, appears at the top of a staircase, wearing a sparkling catsuit. She sings her verse of the song and dances around in front a bright light. Detroit tries her best to get the man to wake up, while Death slowly makes her way down the stairs to claim the man's soul. The two women begin fighting over the man, making it literally and figuratively a fight between life (Detroit) and death (Fahey). During their struggle, the man suddenly wakes up. Detroit embraces him. Death - disgusted by this - having failed to do seduce him into her realm, walks back up the staircase to the light, presumably being the stairway to Heaven."

"Stay" is a love song, a well-composed and lyrically inventive song--co-written by Fahey's then-husband, ex-Eurythmic Dave Stewart--that's a pleasure to listen to.

It's also a very complex song, with multiple meanings. One thing that I realized about the song last week, though, is that "Stay" is also a song about suicide. Its album Hormonally Yours does explore the theme of suicide, perhaps most clearly with the song "The Trouble With André".

Inside the dresser by the table
Something he keeps beside the bed
Living with Andre can't be easy
Some things are better left unsaid

He remembers a time before
The waters got so deep
When he found it easier to sleep


Compare the opening lines of "Stay".

If this world is wearing thin
And you're thinking of escape
I'll go anywhere with you
Just wrap me up in chains
But if you try to go alone
Don't think I'll understand


And the song's video, crucially, features a man who is on the verge of death, who is caught between life and love and the seductions of death.

I love the lyrical density of "Stay". Shakespears Sister was an inventive duo, Fahey and Detroit recording two brilliant albums together before their split. The world of popular music is all the worse for the duo's fracture.
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This afternoon--this afternoon in Toronto, at least--over at Demography Matters I made a links post, covering everything from increasing male longevity in the United States to questions of gender and sex ratios in India.

Go, read.
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The news that newlyweds William and Kate may visit Prince Edward Island, inspired by Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, may do spectacular things for Prince Edward Island tourism. If it happens, of course.

Tourism promoters in Prince Edward Island are abuzz over reports that Anne of Green Gables may have inspired the upcoming trip by Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, to the province this summer.

The Daily Mail in the U.K., quoting an unidentified source, recently reported that the Duchess, the former Kate Middleton, wanted to make a stop in the province during the royal visit in July because she was a fan as a child of the book written by Lucy Maud

“We do hope that Kate is a big Anne fan, that there is some truth to that,” said Brenda Gallant, marketing director for the PEI Department of Tourism. “It would be exciting to have her here to experience the beauty of the island as Lucy Maud Montgomery saw it.”

Ms. Montgomery's fictional story about a redheaded orphan girl adopted by an elderly brother and sister is set on a farm in PEI.

Since it was written in 1908, it has sold more than 50 million copies, and in some countries, like Japan, was even placed on school reading lists.

Ms. Gallant said details of the visit are still being finalized. It is Kate’s first visit to Canada.

Ms. Gallant said a report about the Duchess of Cambridge's fascination with Anne, even if unverified, presents an excellent marketing opportunity for the province.

She said it wouldn't be difficult to put together an Anne itinerary of sorts for the newest member of the royal family.

“We have so many Anne products here on the Island — Green Gables House, the Homestead,” she said.

“You could meet descendants of Lucy Maud Montgomery or attend the Anne of Green Gables production.”
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Via Charlie Stross I found this remarkable story from China. The conscription of prisoners to earn points in online games for foreign computer gamers is as much a symbol of globalization as anything else.

As a prisoner at the Jixi labour camp, Liu Dali would slog through tough days breaking rocks and digging trenches in the open cast coalmines of north-east China. By night, he would slay demons, battle goblins and cast spells.

Liu says he was one of scores of prisoners forced to play online games to build up credits that prison guards would then trade for real money. The 54-year-old, a former prison guard who was jailed for three years in 2004 for "illegally petitioning" the central government about corruption in his hometown, reckons the operation was even more lucrative than the physical labour that prisoners were also forced to do.

"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour," Liu told the Guardian. "There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off."

Memories from his detention at Jixi re-education-through-labour camp in Heilongjiang province from 2004 still haunt Liu. As well as backbreaking mining toil, he carved chopsticks and toothpicks out of planks of wood until his hands were raw and assembled car seat covers that the prison exported to South Korea and Japan. He was also made to memorise communist literature to pay off his debt to society.

But it was the forced online gaming that was the most surreal part of his imprisonment. The hard slog may have been virtual, but the punishment for falling behind was real.

"If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things," he said.

It is known as "gold farming", the practice of building up credits and online value through the monotonous repetition of basic tasks in online games such as World of Warcraft. The trade in virtual assets is very real, and outside the control of the games' makers. Millions of gamers around the world are prepared to pay real money for such online credits, which they can use to progress in the online games.
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