AtticusInk » Article

Death of a Nation-State

atticusink — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:53:30 +0000

Originally published on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

Balkanization: a chic geopolitical term derived from the repeated breakup of the Balkans, that convergent point between Turkic, Greek and Slavic identities, Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic religiosities, and a dozen sets and subsets of each of these. But Balkanization is used to describe a worldwide phenomenon. Kosovo isn’t the exception, but the rule of the future. What we’re seeing is the Balkanization of the nation-state system, period.

Edwin Black

atticusink — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:20:14 +0000

This article was originally published on the European Journalism Center’s Magazine section, and was republished on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

Did you know that the IBM Corporation helped to organize the Holocaust? Did you know that the Nuremberg Laws were based on guidelines drafted by a eugenics organization in the United States, and that the idea of a blond-haired, blue-eyed master race was an American one? Did you know that corporate and governmental power in America conspired to dismantle mass-transit systems and addict Americans to internal combustion engine vehicles?

1934 Plot by American Industrialists to Seize the White House Foiled by Marine General

atticusink — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:27:46 +0000

This article was originally published on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

USMC General Smedley Butler, the most decorated Marine of his time, made allegations in 1934 that he had been approached by Wall Street financier Gerald MacGuire, representing some of the wealthiest businessmen in America, who wanted him to lead a 500,000 man force in a march on the White House to unseat then President Roosevelt.

What Duties Have Journalists

atticusink — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 01:46:55 +0000

This article was originally published on the European Journalism Center’s Magazine section, and was republished on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

In a major world religions class in college, the teacher used the opening scenes of the secular film Jerry Maguire to introduce us to the concept of epiphany. For those who haven’t seen it, the protagonist, Maguire, begins as a rich and successful sports agent, aggressively pursuing clients, all smiles and pretence and talk. After he tries to convince the son of a client that the kid’s father should keep playing sports despite four concussions, he asks himself, “Who had I become? Just another shark in suit?” He breaks down in a hotel room and writes a mission statement for his company that proscribes less clients, less money, and more attention to the people his firm represents – in essence, ethical business. The epiphanic moment – and the reason our teacher showed us the clip – was when Maguire finishes his mission statement and realizes, “Suddenly, I was my father’s son again.”

Media Democratization on the Battlefield II

atticusink — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:39:23 +0000

This article was originally published on the European Journalism Center’s Magazine section, and was republished on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

It was with no small level of gratification that I noticed, last week, that the prestigious Poynter Institute published an E-Media Tidbit about Milblogging, and that milblogging was featured prominently in Salon’s We are the Thought Police. With such good company it seems only reasonable to keep up my own commentary.

Don’t Take Chocolate From the Right-Wing Media

atticusink — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:21:48 +0000

This article was originally published on the European Journalism Center’s Magazine section, and was republished on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

I stumbled across a blog this week called MedienKritik: Politically Incorrect Observations in the German Media by David Kaspar and Ray Drake. It is a blog that intends to act as “…a watchdog site dedicated to the documentation of anti-Americanism in German media and the negative influence it has on Germans’ perceptions of the United States.” Hey, I’m American. Why not?

Media democratization on the battlefield

atticusink — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 09:17:18 +0000

This article was originally published on the European Journalism Center’s Magazine section, and was republished on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

Increasingly, US military personnel and people in war zones are talking about war from the inside. These testimonies, which would have been very difficult if not impossible before the information age, often offer a stark contrast to the message presented by government and corporate media. There are literally hundreds of blogs about war and conflict. Check out Yahoo’s Iraq War Blogs and Diaries and at Hereinreality.com’s Iraq Blogs and especially Milblogging.com.

Trust me. I’m objective!

atticusink — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:02:39 +0000

This article was originally published on the European Journalism Center’s Magazine section, and was republished on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

That’s right. I’m objective. My capacity to sit down and write means that I have no biases, preconceptions, prejudices, politics or agendas. I arrived, fresh from Mars, to view the media landscape with complete and unhindered truthiness. So sit back, read and relax in the confidence that what you’re seeing represents reality as it is.

Helping to revolutionize journalism

atticusink — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:04:48 +0000

This article was originally published on the European Journalism Center’s Magazine section, and was republished on Atticus Mullikin’s Newsvine column.

As I write this, I’m helping to revolutionize journalism. No, really! I am. I can take this article, paste it, link it and tag it on dozens of websites in view of millions of people. I can establish hundreds of threads between my words and the world, and I can do it at no cost, every day, as much as I want. Usually, I’ll even do it for free.

Of anthems and European identity…

atticusink — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:23:11 +0000

This article was originally published on here on AttiCusInk, but has been edited and migrated to my Newsvine column.

It continues to amaze me how many Europeans do not realize the incredible position they’re in, or the things of which they are capable. The United States is in decline. My nation is being ripped apart for the sake of a few, super-rich people whose ideologies, in the end, are not so different than the kings, emperors and dictators who defrauded Europe, and the Star-Spangled Banner gives them a coloured flag and a martial theme to hide behind.