Today’s links of interest:
- Google seeks to defuse row over copyright
In which one company is doing its best to ignite a public discussion on copyright. Of course the public isn’t getting into the debate as of yet. - Al Gore wins Quill book prize
Oh wow, we missed the Quill awards? Seriously, we need an assistant to keep track of our life! - US free speech row grows as author says Jewish complaints stopped launch party
If true, we really need to ask ourselves if this is the kind of nation we want to live it. Debate, people, debate. There’s far too much polarization, far too little discussion. Last time we checked, it’s not a black and white world. - Turning DRM into a Dirty Word
Yes, you are going to be forced to read about DRM every day. Now that spinach is problematic, you need something else that is good for you. - Web browsing beats page-turning
Now they’ve lost the Europeans. - Late jump in Booker bets reported
Maybe US-based readers should turn to the gambling industry to jumpstart interest in literary prizes. Hey, we have ideas, you have ideas.
3 responses so far ↓
Joan Kelly // Oct 11, 2006 at 3:18 pm
I don’t know if you quite meant “debate” here, but I felt like posting about the whole censorship/pro-Israel thing. I don’t get how the KKK gets protected speech, but even bringing up what’s sorrowful about the situation in Israel is shouted down. I don’t blame people – Jewish or not – for being on guard about what gets said on the topic. Any foot in the door for Anti-Semitism can feel like a first step towards real life kicks in the teeth. I just don’t see how denial about the oppression in Israel makes the world, or Jews, any safer. It’s creepy, frankly, when that subject is not allowed to be examined.
judy // Oct 11, 2006 at 10:32 pm
I have heard it said that for any conflict to persist and not be resolved by communication, there must be a third party keeping the conflict going. This has got to be the case in Israel/Palestine because it has been going on for so long despite much hard work to achieve some workable resolution. If so, it would behoove us to wonder who might be benefitting from such a long and unresolved conflict. And could those promoting the conflict be at least connected to this effort to suppress free speech about the subject?
I agree with Joan that denial about the oppression there is not a healthy thing for anyone concerned. But speaking up about oppression has always been dangerous in this world. I talk to my Jewish friends about Israel all the time. None of them have reacted negatively to my questions or my views. Many of them are puzzled and longing for a satisfactory and lasting settlement of hostilities because they have hopes and dreams about Israel but the current reality does not match those hopes and dreams.
It may be difficult to speak publicly but it is always possible to communicate with people you know. Also it is still possible to publish one’s views, as we do on blogs and many do in books. I have just read Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury, where he tells the story from the Palestinian viewpoint. I am also (gradually) reading Tony Judt’s book Postwar. It is very well done.
Booksquare // Oct 11, 2006 at 11:55 pm
Probably bringing the debate here isn’t going to reach the right audience, but what the heck?, why not try to open discussions wherever they need to be opened. We need to be more open to diverse opinions. And we need to be vigilant in stopping false history — that is not the same thing as expressing an opinion. The Holocaust happened. Fact. The Jewish/Palestenian issue and how it’s played out over the years is fair game for discussion. It’s not working on either side.