Does Belonging To A Club Make Sense In The 21st Century? Why, then, are they proliferating? And with free membership, already! Will the clubbish mentality, like the poor, always be with us? Is it still birds of a feather or just "anything goes"; an excuse; a lame post-modern irony taken far too far? Is "exclusive" still acceptable? Does it, in fact, still exist? Come to think of it, is MetaFilter a club of sorts?
posted by MiguelCardoso on Aug 6, 2003 - 34 comments

Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence. If this 1975 article from the The Bulletin of The Atomic Sciences were written today, the "Body Pleasure" bit would have probably been left out. But that doesn't mean this article isn't worth the time to read. Also see this cite of James W. Prescott's work in Carl Sagan's bestselling book and PBS series in chapter 13: Who Speaks for Earth?
posted by crasspastor on Mar 2, 2003 - 12 comments

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning The AC130 video thread yesterday got me interested in this book. The author - a veteran New York Times war correspondent - argues that, to many people, war provides a purpose for living; allowing individuals to rise above regular life and participate in a noble cause. He discusses nationalism, the wartime silencing of intellectuals and artists, the ways in which even a supposedly skeptical press glorifies the battlefield and other universal features of war, arguing not for pacifism but for responsibility and humility on the part of those who wage war.
posted by Zombie on Dec 18, 2002 - 17 comments

Don't Confuse Me With The Facts
Post 9/11- fewer folks are taking vows and more are splitting up, Armed Forces Enlistment figures haven't budged, people not going to church more, Washington, D.C., the murder rate spiked 47 percent after Sept. 11; in Denver, shoplifting went up by 12 percent.
Never one to be confused with any type of facts, Government Folks say different.
I guess I'll continue to believe only that which reinforces my preconceived notions.
posted by Blake on Jan 16, 2002 - 10 comments

Make love not war. Amoung humans closest relatives, these monkeys solve conflict by makeing love. A lot. Female dominate society they have no homicide and tensions in the group are non existent.
posted by stbalbach on Jul 1, 2001 - 17 comments

The Rise and Fall of the Geeks - Three years ago, they had the power to change the world, make a more than decent living and bask on highbrow success - perhaps a justified retribution after many years of world disdain and incomprehension to the geek community. It didn't last... and the article sheds some lights on the probable reasons.
posted by betobeto on Jun 25, 2001 - 34 comments

The young men and women of America's future elite work their laptops to the bone, rarely question authority, and happily accept their positions at the top of the heap as part of the natural order of life. What's your experince?
posted by semmi on Apr 22, 2001 - 44 comments

Just your average conspiracy theory. Yale University's infamous Skull and Bones secret society. George W. Bush is a member, sworn to secrecy like the rest. (via The History Channel)
posted by oh posey on Feb 12, 2001 - 3 comments

One Year After Seattle -- "A year has passed since the World Trade Organization's "Millennium Round" collapsed under clouds of tear gas in Seattle," writes Mark Weisbrot, in this useful overview of what was -- and is -- at stake. "The debate over globalization has been altered, perhaps permanently, to include some of the concerns of civil society: poverty and inequality, economic instability, and the environmental costs of globalization...."
posted by johnb on Nov 30, 2000 - 30 comments