Risen Again - 4/5 Recap & Rants

It was Easter this past Sunday and it was a good time to indulge in the east European traditions, some of which seemed a little more cruel than unusual.  Particularly when it involves whipping women.  There were lovely eggs to make up for it, though.  Though Europe had it tough because snow, not flowers, came to greet them on the symbolic holiday of rebirth.  It's like winter reborn.

The cat's out of the bag. Orbán is the most sought after television personality in Hungary.  No, I'm kidding, he's stealing all the airtime available.  I want graphs on the Politburo air times for comparison, just for kicks.

April Fool's!  I thought this was a pretty USA-centric holiday, but it turns out that Odessa is the OG of pranks.  The best part was that Humorina started during the Soviet rule. That's one way to let off steam about the endless droning of ideology!

The Art of the Impossible

I have unrestrained admiration for Václav Havel.  When I married my husband, I began a campaign to name one of our future sons Havel in his honor (he's tentatively committed - yes!).  That is not a joke.  Why do I admire him so much?  Is it because he was a famous Czech dissident? a playwright? a playwright who then became the first democratically elected president of Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic)? Or was it because his words have inspired me and given me a new way of thinking? Ding ding ding ding.  

Monday Book Review - Stasi

I find the DDR/GDR one of the more fascinating Soviet satellites because of its divided nature.  It's what is sometimes called "a natural experiment", though that falsely implies it was by accident that it happened, and gives real insight into what happens when a nation is split in two and given two different regimes.  Reunification has been a difficult and wrenching process precisely because each former country's history has confronted each other's assumptions and world views.  Granted, the western hegemony is winning hands down, but there are uncomfortable truths about capitalism.  The most pernicious and vicious aspect of DDR/GDR history is the infamous Stasi.

Topical Tuesday: NPD aka Neo-nazis

I had found this data visualization from Der Spiegel on one of my favorite blogs, Global Sociology.  There isn't much explanation on the article about the rise of NPD's popularity, particularly in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.  There is actually a pretty simple explanation of the phenomenon and it goes like this: NPD is the successor of the overly-familiar Nazi party of yore and has the same legacy of xenophobia and extremist nationalism.  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the most economically depressed region of Germany and I have often heard Germans remark on the rural character and insularity of that region; some have said that it was like it's own land that they can't understand.  When people are economically depressed, they turn to more extreme politics (like in 1920s Germany? 2010s Greece? Anyone?).  It's surprisingly a pretty straightforward connection and though it sounds overly simplistic, it's the truth. People are angry they don't have economic security and they turn to the "other" to scapegoat and place blame on economic forces that do not have a face.  It's not satisfying to blame an immaterial thing, like fate or the global market at large.

PBS After the Wall Special

Last night I watched the PBS special "After the Wall: A World United" on television. I didn't realize until my research this morning that there was a previous hour long special called "The Wall: A World Divided". I do give them credit for mirroring titles, though I think they couldn't stray too far from the formula and still attract viewers. I was understandably excited for the special because it involved Communism and the transition thereafter.