Hope is deeply utopian, not in the colloquial or naïve sense of idealism, nor as mere "wishful thinking." Hope is a political and imaginative praxis. It is rooted in the capacity and willingness to envision a radically different "there and then," and to work toward it, even when the "here and now"...

The #Taksim protests in #Turkey should IMHO be read as part of #Occupy, not as analogous to the #Arab_Spring. The same is true of the protests in Brazil: Occupy not Spring.

What was more dazzling, my view of the Bosphorus with the Aghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque or the conversation? In Istanbul last month I rediscovered what I treasure whenever I go abroad: the well-roundedness and cosmopolitanism of intellectuals in comparison with whom we here appear narrow and specialized.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. That still sums up the way we view culture today. We undervalue its place in the world, always elevating the importance of the economy as a factor in social change. Culture, to change the metaphor, still plays second fiddle, following the lead of the economic conductor.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Today is my favorite of all holidays. If you ignore the whole set of associations with native American genocide it is, quite literally just an occasion to say thanks -- a kind of non-denominational, all-inclusive moment of grace.