the return of ethnic yogurt

a few years ago, i read an article somewhere about how yogurt went from being a viewed as a bizarro ethnic food in the u.s. to being just another dairy product sometime around the 1950s or 60s. (i wish i could find the article. it probably was from the new yorker)

but these days bizarro ethnic foods are popular, at least in some niches. so i've noticed that marketers are upping the ethnic character of yogurt all of a sudden. the dairy aisles now boast greek yogurt, mediterranean yogurt (which may just be greek yogurt), icelandic yogurt, and probably others i haven't noticed yet.

um, that's it. that's my whole point. (at this time everyone just nod and say "i see...")

KONY 2012: the backlash

oh and as for the invisible children backlash, this kind of argument really annoys me:

But the damage of Kony 2012 is probably already done, and that damage is real. First, it's likely to actually decrease the amount of help that goes into Central Africa. The video is a joy to watch and spread because it tells Americans that by simply watching a video, and at most maybe buying a $30 "action kit" of wristbands and stickers, they have done all that's necessary; they are absolved of responsibility. How much money has Invisible Children soaked up that could have gone to actually effective campaigns or more experienced NGOs? How many people might have put their energy, which after all is finite, toward something more constructive? As Amanda Taub and Kate Cronin-Furman write, "Campaigns that focus on bracelets and social media absorb resources that could go toward more effective advocacy, and take up rhetorical space that could be used to develop more effective advocacy."

does anyone actually believe that the people buying bracelets would have otherwise donated thirty bucks to alleviate central africa's problems in some more economically constructive way? it seems obvious to me that when something like KONY 2012 goes viral and the people who jump on board are not the folks who were otherwise looking around for a charity to donate to. instead they saw a video about a tragedy (oversimplified or not, a real tragedy) and then felt moved to throw some cash that they otherwise would have kept in their pocket. even if we assume that some obscene percentage of that money gets eaten up by bloated administrative costs or marketing, the cause still ends up getting money that it wouldn't have otherwise gotten. and by publicizing the crimes of the LRA, it increases the fundraising abilities of other charities who are on the same beat.

i agree that "awareness building" campaigns have their limits and can eventually become truly wasteful when awareness building seems to become an end-in-itself and diverts money that could be used for the actual cause. (e.g. susan g. komen for the cure. i mean, who doesn't already know about breast cancer? in that case, every "awareness building" dollar really is a dollar that isn't going to research) but joseph kony and the lord's resistance army really is an issue that needs awareness raising because most people outside of central and east africa haven't heard about it.

(i won't get into the "neo-colonialism" argument right now, except to say that the only alternative ever presented is to go back to treating african concerns as unimportant, which strikes me as just as much neo-colonial attitude)

talking down

i'm so old i remember when "talking down the economy" was a nefarious tactic employed by disgruntled democrats.

watching kony before kony watching was cool

so joseph kony (or as he's know known, #KONY) is suddenly getting all this attention. frankly the fact that the popular video doesn't get into all the details doesn't bother me. it's a good thing to draw more attention to the lord's resistance army. people who see the KONY 2012 and want to find out more will be able to get the real facts. there is a lot of information out there about kony and the LRA that's easy to find by anyone who is looking.

as my longtime readers know (yes, both of you), i've been fascinated by the LRA and their weird brand of christian fundamentalism for years. okay, actually my main fascination is how the LRA's christian fundamentalism is always downplayed or not mentioned at all whenever the group comes up in the news. that seems to be continuing even as the group is gaining greater notoriety now.

i understand that people who identify themselves as christian don't want to be associated with that kony maniac. just because kony and his movement call themselves "christian" and claim to be following the literal precepts of the bible, it isn't fair to assume that others who call themselves "christian" endorse anything that the LRA does. but it is really hard to imagine a child abusing war-crimes committing group that called itself "muslim" without having the group's religious identification be a central part of the news coverage.

oddly enough, the only major media figure who seems to get it is rush limbaugh. although that leads him to an unorthodox position on the group.

yeah but "must" to do what?

certainly not to win the nomination. it might be news to newt but winning his home state of georgia, south carolina, alabama, mississippi, and nothing else does not count as much progress towards a presidential nomination. unless he's talking about the nomination to be president of the CSA. and maybe he is.

"all options"

the president:

"My policy here is not going to be one of containment," Mr. Obama said before the meeting on Monday, "My policy is prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons." He added, "When I say all options are on the table, I mean it."

if he means it, then why isn't containment an option?

i'm not necessarily advocating containment here, i'm just trying to point out that "all options" doesn't ever mean what it sounds like it should mean. what it seems to mean is: we haven't ruled out killing people and blowing stuff up.

done deal

is there anyone who has been paying close attention to the GOP presidential race who thinks that there is any chance for anyone other than mitt romney to be the republican presidential nominee? i just can't believe that santorum and gingrich still have any staffers left.

killing our way to freedom

i'm pretty sympathetic to the syrian rebels, but i don't see any plausible scenario in which US led air strikes would make things better rather than worse.

mccain is just one of those people whose only answer to any problem is always blowing shit up. just think, this dude had a chance to be president. we certainly dodged a bullet (almost literally) with that one.

st. andrew

as a longtime observer of the wingnutosphere, i think the cult of andrew breitbart is pretty awesome. if they ever come out with a WWABD? bracelet, i want one.

minnesota death star

travel day

as the kool kidz say

(p.s. if anyone is unable to access the comments, drop me an email using the "harass me" link on the right)

like an "asshole" only moreso

it's remarkable to see an analysis of the use of the word "douch" as an insult that completely misses my understanding of what that term is usually intended to mean.

the only surprising thing is that this hasn't happened more often already

damn you autocorrect!

this is sure to counter his flip-flop image

romney likes both prohibition and the repeal of prohibition!

director's commentary