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Buckley vs. Ali

Fantastisk replik fra William F. Buckley Jr.s interview med Muhammed Ali:

Ali: “You can’t think of any meetings of white people where black people can’t go?”
Buckley: “No I can’t. Can you?”
Ali: “You should be ashamed of yourself. Klan meetings!”
Buckley: “Well, how could they tell?”

Interviewet er fra 1968, fra Buckelys eget tv-program “Firing Line”. Det er mest Ali, der taler i klippet. Han fortæller om sine politiske og religiøse holdninger som sort muslim, og er selvfølgelig ret rap i replikken. Det er Buckley så heldigvis også.

Muhammad Ali i samtale med William F. Buckley (1968)

Frihed før og efter Muren

Den amerikanske organisation Freedom House lancerer i dag en ny feature, Freedom Before and After the Wall – der gennemgår udviklingen i Østlandene før og efter Murens fald. Der er rigtig meget spændende læsning, oversigtskort og meget mere. I det store og hele er der med begivenhederne fra 1989-1991 tale om en fantastisk fremgang for frihed i verden, og det dokumenterer Freedom House’s oversigt til fulde.

Alt det bedste fra Italien

Er netop kommet hjem fra to uger på agriturismo i Lazio-provinsen. Sidder på altanen og drikker Lavazza Qualita Rossa fra den nyindkøbte Bialetti caffittiera. Det var de gode ting, der kunne tages med hjem. Men pastaen blev i Italien. Suk. Sikken en livskvalitet. Sikken en nydelse. Jeg kan aldrig spise ravioli igen, med mindre den er fra Sofias køkken…

Bortset fra himlen

Min gode ven Eske Troelstrup udgiver i dag sin debutroman Bortset fra himlen på forlaget Athene, der er en del af Lindhart & Ringhoff. Romanen har fået en god modtagelse i Weekendavisen, der kalder den en “generationsroman classic“. Det er en af den slags eviggyldige fortællinger, hvor unge mænd i København drikker, drømmer og forelsker sig i de forkerte, men bogen griber efter sigende genren gennemført og har masser af energi. Jeg glæder mig selv til at læse bogen, når jeg køber den senere i dag eller i morgen.

Jeg har kendt Eske i mange år og vi har sideløbende delt vores forfatterdrømme, men Eske har nok været mere determineret og målrettet end jeg på romanformen. Det er specielt flot, fordi han har skrevet bogen uden legatstøtte eller andet hurmulhej, samtidig med at han har fået et lille barn og passet sit job som filmredaktør og senere chefredaktør på bladet Citadel. Det er faktisk meget inspirerende, at det kan lade sig gøre at skrive en vellykket roman, mens man også har alle mulige andre gøremål. Så det er bare med at komme i gang, som min kæreste sagde. Hermed taget til efterretning.

Wow som dannelsesroman?

Min dwarf paladin er nu på lvl 53 (!) og jeg er godt på vej imod Burning Crusade, den store udvidelse til World of Warcraft. Endnu en fortsættelse, hvor man kan komme fra lvl 70 til 80, er dog for længst annonceret: Wrath of the Lich King. Dette interview antyder, at udvidelsen vil inkludere nogle meget interessante forsøg på at stille moralske dilemmaer op for spilleren, som vil medvirke til at udvikle karakteren.

Man vil kort sagt blive stillet overfor de samme problemstillinger som Prince Arthas, og spørgsmålet er, om man bliver lige så korrumperet.

The idea’s certainly an enticing one. And as quick as Metzen is to point out that “this ain’t Shakespeare,” there’s definitely something literate here: a narrative nod to the fact that in MMOs, the designers really are pulling the strings. “We want to add some layers of psychology that put you in strange moral situations of how you fight the good fight that mimic some of Arthas’ own experiences…. By the time you reach level 80 [the expansion’s new level cap], by the time you stand toe-to-toe with this bastard, do you still have your pretty principles and highfalutin morality, or is it a mirror reflection? Arthas is after that as much as global domination. It’s a hook that makes it personal that Burning Crusade didn’t have.”

Jeg synes, det lyder rigtig interessant, for MMORPG-spillene mangler efter min mening personlighed i den forstand, at man kan udvikle karakterer på alle mulige forskellige måder, bortset fra i deres moralske indstilling til verden. Lad os se, om forsøget kan lykkes, for det moralske aspekt kan være svært at kombinere med multi-player elementet, der hurtig opfordrer til karaktermæssig forfladigelse.

P. S. Når jeg skriver, at man ikke kan udvikle karakterernes moralske indstilling (det man i gammel rollespilsjargon ville kalde alignment) er det selvfølgelig ikke rigtigt. Man kan sagtens rollespille en karakter alt det man har lyst til, men selve rollespillet bliver ikke understøttet af spillets funktioner. Det gør fx ikke nogen forskel, om man slår uskyldige dyr ihjel eller ej, hjælper andre spillere eller ej, osv. Karakteren har som sådan ikke nogen historie, der skaber rollens fremtid.

Reagan’s Speech and the way to meet Manhattan

Danish Libertarian Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard in a warm portrait of his first encounter with The Land of the Free which coincided almost magically with Regan’s famous speech at Brandenburger Tor in 1987. It’s in Danish but the whole speech is there and it’s still very moving and powerful. Reagan continues to grow on me, I must admit. Truly a visionary and brave politician, even with all his faults.

I still remember my own first meeting with New York in the fall of 1999, when I was in a very special and transformative phase of my life. It was Indian Summer in November and I absolutely fell in love with the majestic city. I was there with a good friend and we were simply in extasy over the sounds and views and smells of the dirty and bustling and beautiful Big Apple. I remember that the Twin Towers made a particularly memorable impression (which I documented in a lot of photos) and I actually felt so at home that people soon started asking me for directions.

It’s not the same now when I go back, as I have a few times. The city is different, and I’m different, and the Towers are no longer there, which fills me with sadness every time. New York is still in my opinion an unsurpassed metropolis, but politics, terrorism and war have taken their toll. However, people still ask me for directions, which why I’ll always come back.

The Chavez/Lindvig scandal continues

The Danish Internet-daily 180grader is now pursuing Danish journalist Niels Lindvig (at government owned DR) for promoting Hugo Chavez’ closure of the private venezuelian television station RCTV.

Lindvig essentially said that it was about time to close the television station since it had been broadcasting lies and in 2002 had supported the coup to oust Chavez. Lindvig even dares to accuse the NGO Reporters Without Borders, which has heavily critized Chavez for his crack-down on free speech, for being financed by “Americans” (namely the allegedly neo-conservative American Enterprises Institute) and therefore being an instrument of the Bush-administration. However, on RWB’s homepage one can see the accounting chart, which lists a variety of private and public donors. The AEI is nowhere to be found, but perhaps they are hiding behind some covert CIA-facade led by Dick Cheney?

Of course, Lindvig is entitled to his ridiculous opinions. The real shameful thing is that all Danes are forced to pay for his left-wing propaganda on public radio.

Meanwhile in Caracas students are protesting Chavez ever-growing dictatorial tendencies – and getting beaten up and shot in return. As Daniel from Venezuela News and Views writes:

There was only one thing missing in Chavez fascist list of accomplishments: shooting peaceful student protests. Yesterday events at Plaza Brion of Chacaito, a central district of Caracas, were another milestone in Chavez descent into petty tyrant status towards open fascism. We even had serious injuries when a group of hooded thugs attacked the pacific rally at University of Carabobo (we must always observe the “courage” of these chavista supporters attacking marches with bandannas or masks on their faces, preferably on fast motorbikes so they can escape, XXI century socialism S.A.).

To have Chavez running Venezuela is a disaster. But to have a Danish journalist on national, public-paid radio support him is simply an outrage. But then again, Lindvig would probably prefer if Denmark went back to the situation before Denmarks Radio had their monopoly broken – which is the same direction Venezuela is heading: Only one station, only one truth.