Recording Surface

There’s an interesting geopolitical situation developing in South America, between Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Military hero Hugo Chavez is even raising the specter of war, though it seems unlikely to come to that. (more…)

From The New York Times, August 28, 2006 (via): (more…)

MR Zine has an informative article by Susan Spronk on the electoral aspirations of Bolivia’s MAS and its relationship with the country’s social movements and with the international left. Spronk criticizes MAS’s past capitulations and “increasing electoralism,” but she’s still entangled in familiar ways of thinking about movements, parties, and state politics—namely, that for Bolivia “the only way to achieve a more just society in the long term is to build strong mass movements from the bottom up that are willing to take state power” and that despite MAS’s problems, “it deserves the support of the international left” because it “is an anti-imperialist party fighting for economic independence.” (more…)

For health reasons, I rarely read the Big Liberal Blogs. But this morning I trolled them to test a hypothesis, which, much to my delight, was largely validated. I find it very comforting to not have to do the messy work of reevaluating my assumptions.

After reading yesterday that in 12 Iraqi provinces 90% of ballots cast were for the constitution, I guessed that liberals would have their smirks set on stun: The Busheviks are experts at ballot-box fraud! Of course they fixed the vote! That would be so like them! Alas, the hectoring but ultimately pliable wing of the Democratic Party did not disappoint me. Predictably, I found references to Katherine Harris, evocations of Clermont County, mocking allusions, complete with scare quotes, to Bush’s love of democracy and constitutions. There was petty irony, grim sarcasm, and great glee at the inevitability of the result. In short, the bloggers summoned all the thematic and tonal hallmarks of liberal outrage to show that the big bad Bush administration is “truly in charge in Iraq.” (more…)