Last Saturday, Javi & I went to the Baltimore Comicon. We hoped on Light Rail & rode down to Inner Harbor. It wasn’t nearly as large as I had imagined, but it was still a lot of fun. And Javi was a good sport.

In my American Foreign Policy class, I’ve been trying to impress on the students the impermanent (and historically recent) nature of US global hegemony. That’s why rather than starting the course w/ the postwar period (when the US emerged as a superpower), we started w/ the 1898 Spanish American War (arguably when the US emerged as one of the “great powers”). That starting point allows me to challenge the conventional wisdom many undergraduates have about the US & its role in world affairs.

Today’s Washington Post story about Sadato Ogata & the Japan International Cooperation Agency is particularly appropriate. As of today, JICA is the world’s largest bilateral aid organization. After acquiring a government bank, it is now 2½ larger that USAID.

The proposed bailout plan failed today. Good! Wall Street got angry about that, and stocks took a tumble. Not good, but I still don’t care. I have only one question for Washington: Where’s my $2,300!?

I also find it amusing that left wing Democrats & right wing Republicans were able to find common ground. And no amount of arm wrangling by the White House is going to do the trick, I don’t think. Join my Facebook petition and ask: Where’s my $2,300!?

Voters in Ecuador approved a new constitution (by almost two thirds), according to preliminary vote counts. This gives Correa an important victory.

Ecuador is holding a referendum on a new constitution today. The measure includes a number of “radical” social, economic, and political measures: a stronger role for the government over strategic industries (oil, telecoms), writing off some (but not all) international debts, an attack on large landholdings & land redistribution measures, allowing the president to have two consecutive terms (but not “indefinite” reelection), health care for senior citizens, and recognition of same-sex civil marriages.

Bolivian negotiations have broken down after the government refused to negotiate the language in the draft constitution (it had earlier agreed to open the draft up for revision). Now Evo announced that he’ll approve the draft constitution, peacefully or not (“De buenas o de malas”). The statement was made at a MAS gathering in Cochabamba; he also announced a march on La Paz to force the National Congress to pass a bill for a referendum on the draft constitution.

It was perhaps too predictable, but the Bush administration is rescinding Bolivia’s preferential trade access to the US. The move, based on the previous White House declaration that Bolivia failed to meet up to its drug war obligations, is clearly a further response to the recent expulsion of the US ambassador from Bolivia. For its part, Bolivian government has declared the move an “attack on democracy.”

Putin met w/ Chavez to announce that Russia will loan Venezuela $1 billion dollars to purchase arms (Venezuela has already spent $4bn on Russian arms recently).

I guess we’re on the verge of bailing out investment companies & essentially nationalizing the banking industry. The total cost is going to be $700 billion dollars (at least). I’m not an economist or an MBA, so I’m not sure how that’s supposed to solve the crisis. But I wonder whether that will make my life “better” in the short, medium, or long term.

It looks like things are calming down in Bolivia. The fear of pro-government & opposition forces clashing in Santa Cruz didn’t materialize after MAS supporters lifted their blockades & agreed to stand down. The issue is being thrown back into the legislature’s lap, which is where it belonged all along. And it’s good that the government is opening up the entire draft constitution for debate (though not in the legislature, but in round table discussions between Evo & the prefects).

From an email from my parents (who live in Santa Cruz):

Evo announced an alleged a coup plot between Goldberg (the US ambassador expelled a few days ago), Costas (the Santa Cruz prefect), and a number of high-ranking military officers. Meanwhile, reports from Pando suggest that five of the bodies were Venezuelan soldiers, who are being repatriated. Costas has also asked Evo to call of the MAS protests who are still marching towards the city of Santa Cruz; he’s also called for a suspension of labor & a public assembly in the main plaza for a cabildo (a “popular assembly”) to decide what to do. (FYI: The last Santa Cruz cabildo proclaimed Costas “governor” & demanded regional autonomy.) Also, as of now, the 24 de Septiembre celebrations are cancelled—the first time that has happened in more than 50 years. This doesn’t look good at all.

My good friend Dan Kastner was just featured in a Wired article (“High Gas Prices Pedal-Start Another Moped Revolution”). About eight years ago, I joined the small but growing Moped Army in Kalamazoo (the founding “Decepticon” branch). After getting married, moving, and having a son, I’ve had to let mopeds go—for the time being. But it’s inspiring to see Dan continue his dream. Now based in San Francisco, his 1977 Mopeds is designing a new 21st century design for production. I can’t wait to see it.

Because K8’s an anthropologist, I’m privy to some interesting disciplinary debates (yes, I often peek at Anthropology News). A Wired article posted today (“Army Anthropologist’s Controversial Culture Clash”) addresses one of those debates: Should anthropology (as a discipline) participate in studies that could be of use to the military?

On a lighter note, I’ll be attending my first Comic Con this weekend. One of the perks of living in Baltimore is that it hosts a number of interesting conventions. So Javi & I will be attending the Baltimore Comicon on Saturday. A special thanks to J. Edmund, who scored me an special pass.