The Global Sociology Blog

I just like the quote above. But the discipline of sociology lost a prominent member today, with the death of Charles Tilly (1929-2008). He wrote a lot on social movements, social change, state formation and contentious politics. When asked what got him started, he answered the quote I used as title for this post.
Referring to [...]

Considering my previous post, this is both sexist, stupid and enraging:

“A Chilean mayor is to hand out free potency pills to older people in his municipality near the capital Santiago. Mayor Gonzalo Navarette Munoz says he wants to improve their quality of life by giving them free access to Viagra. He will give men aged [...]

This story is, of course, all over the news and the Internet, and by now, the facts are pretty well known, as summarized by the BBC,

“A 73-year-old Austrian man has confessed to imprisoning his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children, police have said. Police said Josef Fritzl also admitted [...]

Via Liberation, the Encyclopedia Britannica still has prestige but it has lost a lot of users for its online version since the rise of Wikipedia. In order to regain traffic and links, Encyclopedia Britannica has decided to offer one year free subscription to bloggers and other writers for the Web via WebShare.
Complete the short form [...]

Do not miss this BBC series “Diary: Sierra Leone Slum Medic”

“Medical staff at a clinic in the coastal slum of Kroo Bay, in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, have been keeping a diary of their working lives for the BBC News website.”

The diaries and the accompanying photos are incredible. A must-read and bookmark.

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[Updated below] The Independent calls it what it is: barbaric.

“At first glance Shawbo Ali Rauf appears to be slumbering on the grass, her pale brown curls framing her face, her summer skirt spread about her. But the awkward position of her limbs and the splattered blood reveal the true horror of the scene.

The 19-year-old Iraqi [...]

Via the Guardian,

“It has become the most dangerous strip of sea in the world with weekly attacks on European ships. Off the Somalian coast brutal pirates are hijacking luxury yachts, vast cruise liners and even food aid ships and demanding – and getting – huge ransoms.”

With 31 attacks last year, and 23 so far this [...]

From Der Spiegel,

“Nightfall brings welcome cooler temperatures to the foothills of the Chimanimani Mountains in western Mozambique. But it also brings the malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquito from the nearby swamps. The mosquitoes come in thick swarms. The young men in the mining camps use fire in a vain attempt to protect themselves against the deadly insects. [...]

Muse – “Starlight”, from Black Holes and Revelations

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Note: developments on Al Qaeda network structure can be found here. This post will also be listed as conceptual sheet.
Defining Terrorism
Any discussion of terrorism always starts with the difficulties in providing a clear and universally-accepted definition of this phenomenon. Why is it that a phenomenon so obvious is so hard to grasp? Terrorism is [...]

That’s a no-brainer.

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Two from Le Monde, one from the Guardian. The first one:
Selon l’ONU, près de 300 000 personnes seraient mortes au Darfour
LEMONDE.FR | 22.04.08
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You read that right, the UN estimates that 300,000 have died in Darfur (as opposed to the already horrific previous estimate of 200,000). For its part, the Sudanese government has updated its [...]

April 25th 2008 is World Malaria Day. So, to mark the occasion, we have this little gem from the Independent:

“The treasures hidden deep in the jungles of Sierra Leone are powerful. Potions cooked up from bits of bark in bubbling vats genuinely have healing properties. But they can also kill, and this is why medical [...]

Anomie tore this guy a new one (and deservedly so), so, just go read. It is a good example of how to pick stupid arguments apart and how to spot sexist subtexts.

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First via the German Spiegel,

“A new study has found that the practice of forced marriage among immigrants in Britain is much more common than previously assumed. Thousands of young girls — and boys — have gone missing, many of whom might have been abducted by their own parents.”

This study was conducted by sociologist Nazia Khanum. [...]