http://globalsociology.net Sociological Spotlight on Current Affairs in the Global Age Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:31:26 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Well... It should not rocket science for the administration or Congress to figure it out. So, the only conclusion is that this is how they want thing to be. The closing act of the shock doctrine. The triumph of neoliberalism. http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/28/the-visual-du-jour-why-everyone-hates-corporate-america-right-now/ Two items seem to me to be related. First, on Le Monde's financial blog, Demystifier La Finance, George Ugeux reviews the compensation of American CEOs over the past ten years and notes the absence of correlation between compensation (astronomical) and performance (variable, from very profitable in the case of Steve Jobs, ... http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/28/labor-over-and-under-compensated-unrelated-to-performance/ Without mentioning it: "Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? Do they merely express thoughts, or do the structures in languages (without our knowledge or consent) shape the very thoughts we wish to express?" And no Wittgenstein mentioned either, or all the work done by a lot ... http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/27/in-which-the-wsj-discovers-the-sapir-whorf-thesis/ One of the things I tend to emphasize in my patriarchy posts is the idea that patriarchy is about control of women's bodies at different levels of society and culture. There are multiple dimensions of patriarchal control at work on a global basis. Despite the cultural differences, it is a ... http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/27/the-dimensions-of-patriarchal-control-explained-in-three-steps/ On things he appreciates and/or loves: "Structure. Agency is for psychologists, economists, and suckers. Give me structure any day." A-freakin'-men! http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/26/quote-of-the-day-peter-levine/ In totally unsurprising news... "Britons are not getting the broadband services they are being sold, suggests a government report. Ofcom's analysis of broadband speeds in the UK shows that, for some services, 97% of consumers do not get the advertised speed. It also shows a growing gap between the claims ... http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/26/the-f-you-conception-of-control-broadband-edition/ I confess to knowing next to nothing about Americans' favorite sports, football, basketball and baseball but I had heard of Dave Zirin thanks to the Grumpy Sociologist. I had read a few columns from him and enjoyed his writing. So, I decided to read Bad Sports - How Owners Are ... http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/25/book-review-bad-sports/ I am not done going through this but it is a must-read: the leaked Afghan War Logs, leaked to the Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel by Wikileaks. Beyond a detailed account of how war is waged in Afghanistan, they perfectly illustrate the logics of new wars. In the ... http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/25/new-wars-uncovered-the-afghan-war-logs/ (Via Atheist Media Blog) And yes, it is patriarchal practice even when i involves only women. It is part of all these cultural practices one finds in many parts of the world where bodily modification and mutilations are used to "protect" (i.e. control) women from sex and pregnancy. This is ... http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/24/the-patriarchy-continuum-breast-ironing-in-cameroon/ This is a pattern I had not noticed but now, I see it in A LOT of movies (even Up) but isn't it mostly an American phenomenon? "10 years ago, comic writer Gail Simone coined the phrase "women in refrigerators" to draw attention to the number of wives and girlfriends ... http://globalsociology.net/2010/07/24/women-in-refrigerators/