Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Next stop: Iran?
This war economy is THE major problem to fix in the future if indeed we have a future.
In the meantime, I think the best thing to do is publisize the bullshit that is being put about (thanks Mickey) and talk about the things that are not being talked about (i.e. Israel’s nukes and the fact that because of Israel’s and America’s behaviour, countries now see that they need nuclear weapons to maintain their independence).
This Iraq/Iran thing has been a long time coming.
Yeah it’s mostly bullshit as you say Mickey and it has always been thus.
I could go on but I had better stop here.Posted by Jim on from 01/11 at 07:05 AMSomehow, I lost half my post but the short patch up is to go here http://tinyurl.com/9bqbl and read about the making of a war economy.
I’m getting quite expert at this tiny Url thing - Thanks Mudge!
Posted by Jim on from 01/11 at 07:09 AMIts been painful watching the news the last few days (more painful than usual, I should say.) There are these journos and policy wonks, setting up the bombing of yet another country; “Do you think this action is going brings security council action closer?” “Oh yes (smirk), undoubtedly”.
Its all so bloody knowing.The ‘doomsday clock’ is still at 7 “minutes” to midnight. Probably a lot closer for some kids in Iran.
Posted by Mew on from london 01/11 at 07:26 AMCampaign promises have been flying fast and furious here in Canuckistan for about a month now, with another month to go…
A propos stopping the war economy / military industrial complex that seems to run the world these decades: we are poised to hear our current PM promise to put an international motion to permanently ban weapons in space. (it’s been leaked that we should expect to hear it in the next day or so)
If he does make this promise it’s nothing more than pandering to the majority of our populations’s wishes during the campaign, but it would be a nice gesture and a small step in the right direction.
I’d imagine life in Colorado would look very different, for a start, and our up and coming Canadian bunch of war profiteers would be upset at the lack of space weapons. (I’m sure they’ll be the loudest lobbyists yet if this proposed ban comes to pass)
And GOOD MORNING JOS! Really glad to see you were able to drop by here last night.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 01/11 at 09:23 AMGreetings all. Tell Tyler Durden he can kiss my lily white backside. I am going to to be a movie star once I change my son’s dirty diaper and rake the leaves in the front yard! My diaper isn’t dirty yet, so that won’t be a problem.
I’ll join you all at Book Club.
Posted by Cart on from near Warshington DC 01/11 at 09:50 AMJOS, I hope to see you again today!
MZ, the Sisyphus animation made me gurgle my coffee in messy, unpleasant ways. Thanks! I needed a laugh.
I have a date by which I must vacate: 1/20/06. Oof.
On another light note, Frank’s sugar daddy sent me a link to an hilarious body-image cartoon:
http://tinyurl.com/ce22l
I’m “grapes.” No, really! Tell ‘em, MZ! “Grapes!”Jim #1: That TinyURL thing is the bomb (oops, bad phrase choice), no? The links never break, and never expire. LOVE it!
The fear-mongering that builds war fever was ioneered on a mass, multi-country level by...drum roll please...the Catholic Church! The lead-up to the First Crusade in 1095-6 saw itinerant wingnut monks rabble-rousing to a plan created by his holeyness and advisers about how horrid the Paynim were and what foul things they did to Christians (all completely false, of course) and how if you died after taking the cross you’d go straight to Heaven and see God.
Say, is it just me, or does anyone else see the similarity to “suicide” bomber brainwashing here...?
Mew #3: “Its all so bloody knowing.” I know how you feel. They’ve already taken the decision to bomb the crap out of Iran, now they’re just lining up some excuses. Nauseous stuff. Insulting to any even slightly self-aware person.
Empress Amelopsis #4: A fine NUtI morning to you, Empress dear!
“If he does make this promise it’s nothing more than pandering to the majority of our populations’s wishes during the campaign, but it would be a nice gesture and a small step in the right direction.”
I’m horrified this is even a QUESTION. Until Ronald Reagan’s disastrous reign, space was simply UNDERSTOOD to be weapon-free. All the talk about platforms in space and possible missile danggers and get to the moon before the Soviets set up their missile bases there was completely empty chatter and both sides knew it. No plans were even entertained for such nonsese. Ray-gun is the one who approved Star Wars as a developmental deal. Now, as with the rest of his legacy, we deal with the huge social and planetary costs of right-wing stupidity and greed.Some days a Drano cocktail sounds good. “Ready?”
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 01/11 at 10:04 AMHi Cart! I haven’t given up on the millionaire thing, either. We’ll show ‘em, huh? Durden Schmurden.
I finished the book at about 1:30am. For the second time. I re-read about 3/4 of it. Palahniuk’s talent, in this book at least, is very much on display. I borrowed Diary from a friend of mine, and it’s not as good as Fight Club by any measure. Still a vast improvement over the Iowa Writer’s Workshop blandness that’s become “serious” (non-romance) fiction...but what could follow up a masterwork?
oops, better get out of the “pool” so I don’t pee in the waters of opinion.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 01/11 at 10:13 AMMy captcha word is “reading” so that’s a good sign, I’d say. Glad you’re joining us, Cart..hope JOS can do so eventually, too. Suzanne, you in? And where’s Joe?
I think it’s 15-16 fight clubbers at this point.
Greetings to Jim, Mew, and to our Expendable Empress.
Mudge (grapes, yes, grapes), here’s something I posted about Chuck’s other books: http://tinyurl.com/dpm4j
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/11 at 10:20 AMMZ good morning to you… it’s off topic for today, but I’m curious to know what you think of my Farley Mowatt suggestion and if you’ve already read “A Whale for the Killing” or any of his other books?
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 01/11 at 10:33 AMMickey that press action link brings me to a login screen.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 01/11 at 10:40 AMSorry, Amelopsis. The link is fixed now. As for your book suggestion, I had never heard of it...but after doing a bit of quick Googling, I’d second your motion. Thanks…
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/11 at 10:44 AMSorry Mudge - I scrolled right past your comment! This proliferation of space weapons has been a real zinger for Canadians. Occupied Canada (aka Alaska) serves some purpose for the US agenda, but the rest of our sovereign northern lands would play a massive part in their programme. It’s been a really hot discussion when it’s brought up but it’s quite a dance our politicians perform: keep the Canadian public happy (who tend to lean left on this topic) while not awaking our southern elephant neighbour to our desire to say “#### no!” to the notion of planting ground operations under US control onto Canadian soil.
Our neoconservative party is scaring me. Harper is making a good impression during the campaign and its disconcerting to say the least. It’s comforting to still hear man on the street interviews who’s respondants say that while they’re undecided (about the vote) they just can’t consider voting Conservative despite Harpers nicer hair and make-up (he usually looks like he’d be more at home in a dark dank swamp)
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 01/11 at 10:49 AMMan, what a day… here’s this about the whole trumped-up military threat thing:
http://tinyurl.com/apd3xThat site can get addictive, creepy. Farley Mowatt looks intriguing, and I was just telling Mudge of my interest in ‘Three Men in a Boat’; has anyone else read that?
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 01/11 at 11:00 AMMornin, My Friends -
Mickey, great front page, this morning. And, thanks for the cool-Calvin, yesterday. Heck, he’s still too cool, today… he is, in fact, Stupendous, man! Yesterday looked like a rough one, at times. Sorry about all the weirdness, my friend.Suzanne got us a copy of “Fight Club,” yesterday. On page 42, right now. I’m enjoying it very much, thusfar. I believe she’s going to read it, as well.
JOS - very, very good to see you, my friend. Yeah, Chicago is a rough town, eh? And cold. But a great place, as well. I used to think of it as “Blue Collar New York.” Keep at it, James. As Mickey said, so beautifully, so perfectly, a while back: “… this is your time, now. I know it!”
Watched “The Constant Gardener,” for the second time, last night. It’s out on DVD, now. I can not recommend it highly enough… an intense, powerful, unforgettable piece of work. It’s about Africa, Big Pharma, politics, incredible social controls, murder, and love…
Mudge, Empress, Jim, James - good to see you all. Amelopsis, there have been some pretty interesting articles at GlobalResearch, a Canadian place, where Chussudovsky writes. He says that Canada has already signed on to packages that all but annex Canada to the US… One such agreement is “NorthCom,” if memory serves. Methinks you SHOULD be spooked…
About Iran:
I’ve been thinking of the stories about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, post nuke…
Perhaps, right this minute, there’s someone walking about in Iran, someone living, wondering, dreaming - who is about to be turned into a shadow on the ever shifting, ancient Persian sands…
In our name, with our money.My son is in 11th grade. Sometimes, he says, a teacher will ask one of the kids in the class to read a paragraph from some handout. All too often, the kid will respond: “I… I can’t do it, man. I read like some little kid… Get someone else to do it, OK?”
They can’t afford to hire tutors or extra help for such kids. Most of the locals blame the average residents of the county for rejecting additional school taxes.Posted by joe on from Oregon 01/11 at 11:20 AMRead Three Men in a Boat aaaaaaaages ago, vaguely remember enjoying it.
My house is 2 miles crow-flight from a ‘military intelligence’ base; up til 1990 or so it was a USAF SIGINT base, complete with vast sensor array affectionately known as The Elephant Cage.(Twee story alert - my 4-yr old self asked why it was called the elephant cage, and was told the lights that went around the ring-like structure were elephants dancing with torches in their trunks, like something out of the Jungle Book. Ah, the lies we’re told as kiddies.)
My dad took far too much pleasure in telling me that, in the event of nuclear war, we “wouldn’t feel a thing.”
Posted by Mew on from london 01/11 at 11:27 AMMew, here’s a “nicer” elephant cage story: http://tinyurl.com/b577l.
Tanks for the link, James. I haven’t read the book you mention.
Joe: Welcome back. Glad you’re digging Fight Club and I’m hoping Suzanne will join us. Also, I plan to (finally) hook up the DVD player and its necessary adaptor to my old TV set this coming weekend. At that point, we can begin to catch up on your excellent rental suggestions. Michael had a few, too.
Be back soon…
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/11 at 11:34 AMMZ #8: Ahhh. I see. Overuse = burnout, I’m guessing...I wonder what fuels Joyce Carol Oates to produce so much, of consistent quality (I don’t like her stuff, but I recognize the variability in effort is small)? It’s a mystery to me, like prostitutes who really enjoy sex after a significant career. (Met one the other day, he really, really likes his work...been at it since he was 19, is 28 now, and has no plans to retire until “I’m too ugly to ####.” He’s funny as hell, too.)
Empress #12: “Occupied Canada!” ROFL Shouldn’t that be “Occupied Nuniavut?”
“It’s comforting to still hear man on the street interviews who’s respondants say that while they’re undecided (about the vote) they just can’t consider voting Conservative despite Harpers nicer hair and make-up (he usually looks like he’d be more at home in a dark dank swamp)”
I had no idea Louisiana politicos had made it so far north! Seriously, I’m glad to hear the Body Politic of Canada might be coming to its senses. There’s at least a glimmer of hope, anyway, whereas the mean MFs who make up the American body politic aren’t weanable from their viciousness and moral bankruptcy any time soon.
Farley Mowat’s book An Owl in the Family was a beloved read of mine in 1969. I thought “Wol” was such a clever name for an owl! It led me to Ring of Bright Water, which was the first book that made me cry inconsolable tears (scared my mother silly!). I’m game to read this one.
James #13: Ahoy.
Joe #14: “...a teacher will ask one of the kids in the class to read a paragraph from some handout. All too often, the kid will respond: ‘I… I can’t do it, man. I read like some little kid… Get someone else to do it, OK?’”
Tutors and special help won’t help much. Where were Mama and Pops when this kid was a tyke? Why weren’t they, or someone, reading to him, having him read to them, spending the time it takes to RAISE THEIR OWN DAMN KID?!
Oh, silly me! I forgot! The war on families the right wing’s been waging for years now has succeeded! No one can afford to raise their own children because they have to have two incomes to support themselves! Gosh...how could I be so forgetful?
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 01/11 at 11:50 AMJoe I haven’t read Three Men in a Boat, but it’s apparently available for online reading: http://tinyurl.com/6jug9
I’m guessing by the general responses about Mowat indicate that he’s much less popular outside Canada than I’d thought.
I cannot recommend him highly enough. He’s walked the talk and writes from experience, shines a “light” where darkness prevailed.Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 01/11 at 12:05 PMSorry James, I’m getting everybody all hustle bustled together in my hasty reading/typing!
Mudge I’m not yet holding my breath as far as common sense in Canadian politics goes. Right now I’m still too worried that we could end up with a conservative gov’t (albeit a minority govt) at the worst possible time in history. If he’d been running the show a few years back, we’d have had a much bigger part in the destruction of Iraq than we do presently.
Global Research...I’ve looked in on them a few times, they do present insightful analysis of very pressing issues overlooked by the mainstream.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 01/11 at 12:22 PMThe name Farley Mowat kept sounding more and more familiar and I just remembered that Michele once read The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float (she’s a sailing aficionado) and it may still be around here somewhere.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/11 at 12:38 PMThanks for the invite, Mickey—I’m in for Fight Club. Joe and I saw the movie, so I’m familiar with the story. I’m looking forward to the read, though; I almost always find the books better than the flicks. As “per” Mudge’s glowing reviews, it sounds like this book is no exception.
Hey JOS, it was very, VERY good to see you back in the house! We’re all thinking about you, and wishing you all the best.
Posted by suzanne on from 01/11 at 12:43 PMMudge - I imagine that many of those kids have parents who also read at 2nd grade levels, and perhaps their parents, too, and their parents, and so on… The education of the proles has never really been a priority, eh? School, really, is an institution in which we are to learn our relative worthlessness, powerlessness, meanness. In school, we learn about the Original Sin, “living-ness,” and about redemption -
a lifetime of blind, robotic servitude.Hi Mew & Cart - sorry I missed you guys. Good to see you.
Mickey - It’s a relatively quick, fascinating read, eh? Thanks for suggesting it.
Oh, and about “Constant Gardener” -
I hope everyone will see it. It’s one of the best films of the past few years…BTW -
I have NO Captcha Word!
I’ve gotta paste this to a word doc., and hit the refresh button.
No captcha word.
I suspect there’s some meaning in this, but I’ll try not to think about “ “...Posted by joe on from Oregon 01/11 at 01:24 PMblair is at re iran in the last few hours…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4602516.stm
Posted by michael on from scotland 01/11 at 02:06 PMRe education - I encountered a horrible phrase in my teacher training year - brace yourselves - “bookless households.” Yeesh! Sets my teeth on edge. And yes, Joe, you’re right - many of the parents read at a level comparable to (or even lower than!) their kids.
Occasionally, though, I get to teach a real bookworm, and it’s such a delight.
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 01/11 at 02:19 PMMost excellent post, Mickey! I heart Mr Herman especially but I also heart you, all those great posts on your blogspot and, last but not least, all you MZ’ers/expendables.
I have got a job interview in about 4 1/2 hours - there were literally hundreds of applications (the economy is supposedly booming down under) - am not holding my breath but anyway ..
A pleasant day coming up again - we expect around 75F and sunshine today, Thursday Jan 12.
Take care all of you,
Helga from A.Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 01/11 at 02:35 PMAnd Jim, you are making such a good point re Israel’s nuclear weapons, a fact that is rarely if ever mentioned in reporting. Here’s what a ‘journalist’ said on our public broadcaster last night: the US invaded Iraq because of ‘concerns about its nuclear program’ - or words along those lines. It took my breath away ..
And the war economy IS indeed the major problem!Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 01/11 at 02:41 PMAll the best for the job, Helga. Here’s hoping you get it!
Posted by Chris Wood on from Manchester, England 01/11 at 02:42 PMHello Chris…
We’re rooting for you, Helga.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/11 at 02:44 PMJoe, re the reading levels of parents being comparable to those of their kids - spot-on! I remember reading a survey which was done in Germany about 30 years ago (must be getting old) where about 2/3 of parents wanted their kids to read more but .. only 1/3 of parents did actual substantial reading themselves!
Captcha: ‘evidence’. Indeedy!Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 01/11 at 02:50 PMThanks, Chris, and thanks, Mickey!
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 01/11 at 02:51 PMBest of luck to you Helga!
As a small child I rarely got into trouble at home (saved it all up for later years), but on occasion I’d get caught sneaking the reading light back when I was supposed to be sleeping.
I just can’t imagine a bookless home!NUtImperial proclamation #1:
No home shall be bookless!Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 01/11 at 03:15 PMGood luck Helga! Jobs are fun (I have like 5 of them).
Hey, someone tell me what you think of this pickle we’re in: we all know that any issues with Iran will be solved diplomatically if, and only if, Iran is thought to have nuclear weapons and the ability to deliver them. Iran is run by a bunch of maniacs who make our own Anglo-American maniacs look like, well, other maniacs. But still, a short term catastrophe in Iran seems to be avoidable only by making the inevitiable long term catastrophe yet more inevitable.
Posted by Keir on from The Hague 01/11 at 03:37 PMEmpress #19: Well, dear one, the Canuckistani establlishment is closer to sanity than the Repulsivecan one. Courage, ma amie.
#31: “NUtImperial proclamation #1:
No home shall be bookless!”Be it so enacted.
Joe #22: It’s a depressing fact that children do what they see modeled. I read. My sibs read. My kid reads. (I disliked her mother, but she was a reader.) My nieces and nephews, for the most part, read. Reading is work to people who can barely decode the alphabet, and there are more of them than literacy measures would have us believe. I volunteered at Literacy Austin for a while, before being worn down by pain. It’s very disheartening to see the flow of ex-cons coming in, scared of how hard it’s going to be to get any handle on this reading crap. They gave up quickly, their horribly mangled pride unable to support the blow of Not Knowing on top of everything else.
Hi Michael!
Chris #24: The dream students, I suppose...the ones one keeps teaching the lumps in hopes of finding. I suspect your classes are the first time some of the lumps have been turned over, so you might not know for many years how many you’ve put in position to germinate.
Helga #25: Mojo-ing the bejabbers out of your interview! That booming economy myth is virulent, huh? One economist on some Sunday punditry program, when asked about the disconnect between reports of economic health and people’s perceptions, said “People need to see the broader picture, not simply their narrow concerns.”
Smug bastard. If I could have done it without anyone knowing, I’d’ve mojoed his lily-white one straight to his own hell: homelessness and unemployability.
Keir #32: Catastrophe Now, or Apocalypse Later. Cancer, or AIDS? Diabetes, or Ebola?
The world we live in.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 01/11 at 04:30 PMRe Iran and the ‘war economy’: here’s what an Australia journalist said yesterday - and this is our PUBLIC BROADCASTER, mind you:
“The two toughest responses would be sanctions on Iranian oil or some kind of military attack. But with oil prices so high and the US and Britain tied up in Iraq, neither response seems viable right now.”
Talk about the 101st Keyboard Brigade .. And some call it journalism!
captcha: ‘take’ - I think I can’t take this sort of journalism much longer!!Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 01/11 at 04:48 PMAnd Keir, Amelopsis and Mudge: thanks for your good wishes. I’ll try my best to ‘mojo the bejabbers out of my interview’! Will keep you posted.
Re the booming economy, here is an excellent piece from Pierre Tristam which really says it all:
http://www.news-journalonline.com/scripts/printme.aspPosted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 01/11 at 04:56 PMOops - link doesn’t work - here’s another URL for the Tristam piece:
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Columnists/Essays/colESSAY011006.htmPosted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 01/11 at 04:58 PMHello everyone. Keir, I agree: It’s pick yer poison time.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/11 at 04:58 PMOn the literacy tip, Dave Eggers, the guy behind the excellent print and internet literary journal McSweeney’s created what appears to be a wonderful initiative, 826, which tutors creative writing for young people in NYC, Chicago, SF, Seattle, and Ann Arbor. Come to think of it, Eggers probably deserves to be on our reading list at some point, just for being so responsible with his success.
Posted by Keir on from The Hague 01/11 at 05:01 PM...that and the fact he’s a great writer!
Posted by Keir on from The Hague 01/11 at 05:02 PM-
Hi All, I’ve reposted the link I finally got round to posting last night. It’s about the history of the Govt agenda re education. Still topical today I see and its good background to how we got to where we are today with the War Economy.
According to Brian Bogart, a very conscious decision was taken by the Truman administration to promote a war economy rather than a social one. Aparently, every electorate in the US has a part of the war machine to prop it up economically and so make it dependent.
Keir’s point about about the Catch 22 situation with Iran being nuclear is a good one.
I found myself thinking last night that it might be better if Iran had nukes. Then thought , “My God, I never thought I’d be considering something like that!”Posted by Jim on from 01/11 at 05:21 PM http://tinyurl.com/9bqbl
Try this! If this doesnt work then the address is http://www.strikeforpeace.org/
It’s a bit of a round about process for me as i run Linux so it doesn’t go straight into the clipboard like a good little link.Posted by Jim on from 01/11 at 05:30 PMHi All
Mudge, in #33 you forgot to mention Mad Cow Disease.
Chris, in #24 you talk about bookless households. Yes, that is sad. My story is the opposite. I sent my daughter to kindergarten already knowing how to read. She was excited to go to school because I had told her that there would be a lot of books there. On the first day of school, she asked the teacher when they would be allowed to read something. The teacher answered that it was illegal for children in kindergarten to read. That’s what happened on Christine’s first day of school. Things never got any better. She spent that school year and much of the next couple coloring, cutting, and pasting. That is all the children were allowed to do in school.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 01/11 at 06:17 PMHello again, all...welcome, RMJ.
I just found a sound clip from Fight Club and added it to the main post. I’ll also post it again on Friday for those who miss it. And, yeah, why not not post it here? http://tinyurl.com/d77yn
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/11 at 08:06 PMi’m in for fight club but i will most probably just be a lurker…
lurker louise..(aka mrs. z)
Posted by michele on from kitchen table 01/11 at 09:29 PMLurker Louise #44: Welcome! Come back often!
RMJ #42: “ILLEGAL” for kids in kindergarten to read?! Christine should, by all rights and reasons, be a Unabombeuse by now. That’s sickening.
I’ve had a lot of sugary foods at my friend Andrew’s wedding reception, so I’m gonna be off like a prom dress to sleep off the sugar nasties. Half a piece of wedding cake, and I’m queasy as all get out. (It was pretty nasty, though, chocolate with raspbeery ooze frosted in cream cheese goop.)
Ciao for now, at 9:05pm CST.
Posted by Mudge on from Dear, dead Austin 01/11 at 10:05 PMG’night, all...from a rainy, rainy Astoria.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/11 at 10:17 PM
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