http://globalsociology.com Sociological Spotlight on Current Affairs in the Global Age Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:21:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Click on your own demographics and find out the unemployment rate for people in your category: The Unemployment Rate for People Like You - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com via kwout http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/06/cool-animated-graph-du-jour/ Denis Colombi notes this wonderful gem from former Judo superstar turned right-wing politician (you see where this is going, don't you?): Une heure de peine...: David Douillet est-il Français ? via kwout Let me offer a rough translation of this steaming pile: "To me, a woman doing judo or in another sport, that's ... http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/05/spouting-bs-as-social-privilege/ Via Sociological Images, this VERY interesting video (note the gender differences in reaction... it would have been interesting to see the reactions if it had been a black man shopping instead of a woman): It would also have been nice to have some statistics deconstruction: if you target only a specific ... http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/04/racism-gender-and-stereotyping/ From their latest album, Raditutes, I Want You To: http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/03/music-break-weezer-2/ I take a lot of fitness classes. I work out quite a bit, cardio kickboxing, step aerobics, strength training, pilates, core strength. I have done them all. But of course, it is impossible to switch off the sociologist thing. And of course, in fitness classes like these, gender is the ... http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/03/random-notes-on-gender-and-fitness-classes/ One of the greatest intellectuals and social scientists, ever, irreplaceable: L'ethnologue Claude Lévi-Strauss est mort - LeMonde.fr via kwout http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/03/claude-levi-strauss-1908-2009/ Rich countries feeding on poor countries’ farmland via kwout The Oakland Institute report on land grab can be found here. Of course, one can see that "food insecurity" is defined in unilateral terms "our" (rich countries)  food insecurity is the problem to be solved by using the land in countries ... http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/02/the-uses-of-the-periphery-farmland/ World Economic Forum - Latest Press Releases via kwout So, based on these indicators, what are the rankings? Unsurprisingly, the Scandinavian countries top the list: World Economic Forum - Latest Press Releases via kwout In case you're wondering, the US comes in at number 31. The full report is available in PDF here. http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/02/the-global-gender-gap-report-is-out/ http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/02/gilbert-ryles-category-mistake-illustrated-by-abstruse-goose/ I have never made a secret of my admiration for Zygmunt Bauman. He is one of my favorite contemporary theorists. So, I am glad to see him write for the Social Europe Journal, pushing for more social democracy at the level of global institutions. Taking stock of the fact that, in ... http://globalsociology.com/2009/11/01/zygmunt-bauman-on-global-social-democratic-governance/