Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Monday, July 31, 2006
Poorgasm
Unn… just got home from this marathon job, so yeah, I got thoughts of poverty and financial hardship in mind, though no I’m not as bad off as the kid on the pictuered on the main post. But man, temping suck suck sucks.
Anyway, I think I have the current mideast carnage figured out, at least in recent context, if not further historical context. The US and Israel will never agree to a ceasefire with Lebanaon/Hezzbolah until Hezzbolah disarms. Hezzbolah-- who appears to be a an odd sort of group which both has ties to the Lebanese gov’t, and yet is not accountable to that official gov’t, and who justifies it’s irresponsible acts, like the kidnapping of those 2 Israeli soldiers, by funding charities and things around Lebanon. Funds which come from who knows where exactly? Anyway, Hezz will never willingly disarm, right? And the US knows this, so that’s what the man was talking bout when he wrote about Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace, right? Or is that the other way around?
Right? Okay good night.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 07/31 at 05:07 AMHellos to everyone....Looks like a lot will be going on here today.
About last night’s comments on conspiracy theories. I agree that that topic is a diversion from more important issues but I can’t think of a better way to excite the public so that they will think about the policies of the rulers. How many usa’ers really seem concerned about the starving and/or slaughtered children? I guess that I stand alone here on that issue.
That is a good article you have in the Metro, Mickey. It reminded me of a time when I was teaching school. I was NOT allowed to wear jeans or slacks anywhere in town, even on week ends when I was not working. That was in New Jersey and it was not in ancient times. It was in the 60’s.
About Joe Bageant...I have been rereading a lot of his work recently. He is one of my favorites. He and I grew up in similar cultures but I have been thinking about some of his views that I am having a little problem with. He seems to excuse ignorance and misinformation too easily. That is a common view held by those who excuse the troops “because they needed a job”.
James...I hope that you are sound asleep now and having happy dreams of a peaceful world. I notice that you use the word “kidnapping” when referring to the 2 Israeli soldiers. The MSM does that too. When Hezbollah does it it is “kidnapping”. When the other side does it it is “capturing”, a subtle difference intended to prejudice the people.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 07/31 at 07:06 AMYesterday in Burlington, Vermont Murray Bookchin died. Below are some of his quotes.
“Capitalism is a social cancer. It has always been a social cancer. It is the disease of society. It is the malignancy of society.”
“If we do not do the impossible, we shall be faced with the unthinkable.”
“The assumption that what currently exists must necessarily exist is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking.”Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 07/31 at 07:20 AM“What is the question to which my life is the answer.” Fantastic line of thought. Good post today Mickey. That globalissues.org site will be useful.
RMJ people get excited about their own self-interests because they still think they can get a piece of the pie. The pie disappeared a long time ago. I don’t know how useful it is to encourage the disengaged on the basis of thrill rather than moral obligation.
I like what you say about the subtlety of language though. I believe the two Israeli soldiers were “taken prisoner” on foreign (i.e. Lebanese) soil. I tried to go through some of the more sinister double standards in a new post at my place this morning---sums up a lot I hope.
Posted by Keir on from The Hague 07/31 at 08:21 AM“Free nature, in my view, can only begin to emerge when we live in a fully participatory society literally free of privilege and domination. Only then will we be able to rid ourselves of the idea of dominating nature and fulfill our promise for acting as a moral, rational, and creative force in natural as well social evolution.”
from ‘The Ecology of Freedom’Posted by RT on from The Buyou City 07/31 at 08:25 AMHello Expendables. The temperature is rising in NYC. Tripe digits on the way.
Many years ago, I read something Murray Bookchin said about post-World War II American society...and it stuck with me:
“Our lives prior to that war were, to a great extent, pre-industrial. We still had the extended family,communities, neighborhoods, and small retail stores, usually of the Mom & Pop variety. We were not thoroughly absorbed into capitalism in our daily lives...so you had a capitalist economy but not a capitalist society. This was undone by the war as capitalism permeated into every aspect of our daily lives. The family, the culture, the neighborhood have been integrated into the market. People have become atomized and our very language has been corrupted.”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 07/31 at 09:43 AMRT...nice quote.
Keir, you say that people act in their own self interest. That is my point. I like what you say about a moral obligation. I now refuse to participate in any activity that is based on the idea that the war should end because too many of “ours” are dying while ignoring the fact that “theirs” are dying too. I am just not as optimistic as you are when it comes to expecting people to act out of a moral committment. If we have to appeal to self-interest rather than morals in order to stop the killing, that is a trade off I am willing to make. “By any means necessary, By whatever it takes”, just so the killing will stop.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 07/31 at 09:44 AMBottom of the morn to MZ, Keir, RMJ, and James.
Good article MZ, and thanks for the facts in today’s post. However, I think most people look at them as such, and not as the problems they really are. And that’s another problem, of course…
More relevant facts in an article today by Russel Mokhiber over at ZNet: http://tinyurl.com/qalc8
Posted by RT on from The Buyou City 07/31 at 10:11 AMI really liked that Metro article, Mick. There haven’t been too many songs with the power of Strange Fruit. I wonder who the original poem went?
This part of your quote above really hit me: “We were not thoroughly absorbed into capitalism in our daily lives...so you had a capitalist economy but not a capitalist society.”
It is interesting to think back even to the 70’s and notice the difference between society then and now...we are a full fledged capitalist society today. Everything we see around us has a price tag and/or is urging us to buy.
This might be interesting to watch (grabbed it from Kurt Nimmo’s sight):
A grand slam — a surprise fourth broadcast of the landmark Alex Jones Los Angeles 9/11 panel will take place on Tuesday, August 1 at 6:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time (Washington-New York time).
This telecast can be seen worldwide over the internet as a video stream over the internet at
http://www.c-span.org/homepage.asp
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 07/31 at 10:13 AMI wonder HOW the original poem went?
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 07/31 at 10:15 AMOh, no, no I really wasn’t getting taken in by the linguistic propanda calling it a kidnapping as opposed to a capture; I’d heard all bout the distinction and I agree with it, I was just typing out as it came off my mind quickly out of exhaustion and that’s how I’ve heard it phrased most often. And I referred to Hezz. as irresponsible having in mind that I think that Chomsky called them that in the video shown here last week. But I’m right, aren’t I? About the hopelessness, I’m afaid to say? It’s permanent impasse, right? One side wants the other to willingly disarm, and they never will, and so on and on. It just seems more like simple logic even than pessimism.
But there’s the latter too of course.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 07/31 at 10:55 AMGood morning gang, some great quotes. I always recognize the truth again, that it isn’t them, it’s me that is the problem.
Hey Mickey, I thought that Jackson Pollock’s career had been tainted as a CIA plant via The Paris Review (although the art speaks well enough for itself)?
Of course, Abel Meeropol was the man who took in the children of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Thus their son, Robert Meeropol who now has this lovely non-profit that is worth a look.
Posted by Peter (the other) on from California 07/31 at 11:34 AMHello again, all.
Peter: I’m not well-versed in the particulars of Pollock’s alleged CIA connection but regardless, as you say, there’s no denying the power and influence of his work.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 07/31 at 11:45 AMAnyone see the movie Pollock?
Ed Harris did a great job of portraying Pollock on the silver screen…
I also thought the documentury (that he hated making), showing his technique through glass was great.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 07/31 at 11:56 AMI agree, JOS.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 07/31 at 11:59 AMHi everyone.
I dont know how many of you follow Robert Fisk’s reports from Lebanon, but Amy Goodman was speaking to him again today on Democracy Now
I may have been living in some sort of fantasy land (I fear) but I am pretty sure our Beeb used to be better than this.
FISK:"I saw the BBC reporting what the Israelis had said, but without questioning the morality that if someone fires a missile near your home, therefore it is perfectly okay for you to die”
Jonathan Cook (in N Israel) has been chronicalling the British press in particular during the recent crisis, well what he can get past the army inspectors .... and of course there is medialens
By the way m’colleague is on her way to NY this week, be sure to look after her.
Not much more to say, but always watching....
Posted by Uncle Joe on from englands green and pleasant land 07/31 at 12:05 PMHuh? Just got woken up again by a phone call about another job interview. Just thought I’d mention and gloat that I get to read Mickey’s essay in print on the subway later. Ah ha, all you non-locals.
I was also woken up by the sound of horse hooves outside on tenth Avenue. No I wasn’t hallucinating-- they need to ban those inhumane carriages, altogether, from Central Park and outside of my apartment. Seriously.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 07/31 at 12:09 PMUncle Joe: Your colleague picked a bad week to come to NYC. Record high temps. Tell him, CatLady.
Where’s Mudge?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 07/31 at 12:16 PMWe’ve just had record high temps here, so I guess she is taking them with her. Is it true you’ve got that thing called “air conditioning” over there? If you’ve got power, that is.
Posted by Uncle Joe on from englands green and pleasant land 07/31 at 12:20 PMConditioned air...what a concept.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 07/31 at 12:41 PMOh god please don’t make me leave the house today!
Mudge who? (I’m playing hard to get this time)
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 07/31 at 12:48 PMThanks Uncle Joe for sharing the piece on Robert Fisk. I caught the show this morning as well. Particularly noteworthy is this:
“John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has consistently opposed any kind of ceasefire, because he believes, as Mr. Bush does and as our own dear prime minister, Lord Blair, as I call him, does, that the Israelis can accomplish these hopeless political military aims. Well, the Israelis believe that they can actually destroy one of the most disciplined and most ruthless guerrilla armies in the world. They can’t, anymore than the Americans could destroy the Vietcong or the North Vietnamese or British could destroy the IRA. And, believe me, the Hezbollah are not as weak and cowardly as the IRA was… All the United Nations is doing by postponing a ceasefire is condemning more Lebanese to death.”
More today on Bookchin: http://tinyurl.com/fsyan
Posted by RT on from The Buyou City 07/31 at 01:06 PMHello All!
Maybe this is where those Israeli girls got the idea of writing notes on the Israeli missles launched into Lebanon. http://tinyurl.com/z3qn7 Do people’s brains even process the connection between the missles they celebrate with the pictures of dead and mutilated bodies. Before there is a picture shown of the dead killed in war it is usually prefaced with a Warning: Disturbing Images Ahead yes the images of the dead and mutilated are disturbing but so are the images of people celebrating killing. The rows of neatly placed bombs is what leads to the images of the dead prefaced with a warning.
IDF says it may not be responsible for Qana deaths http://tinyurl.com/jsxs2
Emir Kusturica does have a good point. Today’s movies do possess a high level of crap. Corporate sponsorship of films certainly play a roll. (an unintentional pun, that fits) How can a director say anything for example about killing of union workers in Colombia if the hero is drinking a Coca-Cola (make sure to hold that label towards the camera) or is the director even aware of the killing of union workers in Colombia at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia? Is it a concern of the director?
there is a good three part discussion between John Steppling and David Walsh in Swans called The Art and Politics of Film:
http://tinyurl.com/ztewg
http://tinyurl.com/hfya2
http://tinyurl.com/fulrgOn that CBS Sunday morning news show they featured Robert Fisk’s Pity the Nation among a stack of books on the Middle East it was a don’t blink or you’ll miss it type of thing. and this might be the last time Fisk is featured in the mainstream U.S. press.
Posted by TM on from 07/31 at 01:53 PMHi RT, Uncle Joe, Mickey, and Peter
James...I think you are right about the hopelessness. The only way out that I can see would be for the usa to stop sending all of the weapons over there. That won’t happen because there is too much money to be made. I think that the rest of the world also sees it that way and is holding the usa responsible....On the brighter side, it sounds like they are beating a path to your door. Must feel good to be in such high demand.
JOS… I saw the program twice and will watch it again on Tuesday. It is encouraging to see such enthusiastic criticism of the Rulers.
It is reported today that GWB said that the usa has 5% of the world’s population so that means that the other 95% are potential customers. Too bad he does not think of them as just human beings.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 07/31 at 01:58 PMTM...we were symultyping. I also think that images of those who celebrate the killing are very disturbing. Images like that really show the dark side of humans.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 07/31 at 02:07 PMHey RMJ...how about this documentury on Iraq?:
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/elich190706.html
I had never heard of it...definitely want to see it.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 07/31 at 02:14 PMHello Mickey and Expendables,
I like the article Mickey, and it is a busy day here today.
I don’t really know what to add to the discussion since my abhorance of the Israeli agenda enabled by Canada, UK, and the US (at least I don’t think Canada is selling missiles to them yet)has no words that quite seem to do it justice.
The MSM reporting is deplorable (as always). Watching live coverage of the Security Council meeting yesterday would’ve been laughable if the situation weren’t so very dire. To hear the Israeli ambassador(a “cold” man, to be sure) speaking after the Lebanese ambassador and correcting him in that Hesbollah is really responsible for the deaths in Qana since they alledgedly fired rockets from behind a residence is truly insulting to anyone with a reasoned logic.I suppose the next time there’s a hostage taking anywhere here (the bank robbery domestic variety of hostage taking) it will be perfectly acceptable to go in with an uzi and kill everyone in sight, so long as you remember to claim that you were aiming at the hostage taker, and you advised all the innocents to get out of the way before you unleash hell upon them.
Who needs snipers when you can just wipe the place completely?Speaking of Conditioned Air...the Canadian Jewish Association is raising ANOTHER $20million to send in aid to Northern Israel. One of the ways they plan to spend the cash is on A/C units for their bomb shelters.
No doubt the Lebanese would happily do without the a/c if they had bomb shelters to go to.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 07/31 at 02:27 PMWow - that is quite a post, Mickey! Thanks for all the information. I have been away from the computer for 2 days but now I am back - and this blog is my first stop.
‘Hi’ on a not too cold Tuesday morning to James, Rosemary, Keir,RT, JOS, Peter (the other), Uncle Joe, TM and Amelopsis. And where IS Mudge?
‘No doubt the Lebanese would happily do without the a/c if they had bomb shelters to go to.’Too right, Amelopsis. And has not one member of the IDF said it might have been Hezbollah explosives which caused the death of dozens of civilians the day before yesterday?
Ciao expendables ..
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 07/31 at 02:40 PMHi Amelopsis and Helga...it’s hot up here but I’d rather heat than snow. You don’t have to shovel heat. Tomorrow the heat index up here is predicted to be well over 100*F. No air conditioning up here but I have good cross ventilation and a couple of fans. I lived in Florida during the summer time with NO air conditioning. That was hot !
Mickey...I just heard on the Albany news that the check is in the mail for all of the people in Queens who were without power.
JOS...that looks like a really important documentary. I went to the sites to see how to order it I but don’t want to install the Japanese language pack into my computer. If you find out how to order it, please let me know. I can have it played on our local TV station. Probably everyone else can also do that in their location. That won’t provide as big an audience as MSM, but something is better than nothing.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 07/31 at 05:09 PMhttp://tinyurl.com/z8tly
the above is the link you didn’t quite reach, RMJ. Thanks JOS for pointing out this doc. it certainly seems to be insightful work.
Now to check it further myself.Posted by Amelopsis on from Canadia 07/31 at 05:58 PMHoly crap! A real anchor actually asking pertinent questions!
Watch and be amazed: http://tinyurl.com/pegwm
I only hope the woman still has a job after that fantastic raking!
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canadia 07/31 at 06:00 PMThanks RMJ, though it’s more like they’e faintly tapping on my door than beating a path to it. But even that’s better than it’s sometimes been. Wait and see. It was fun to read the Metro essay on the subway earlier, and in print, you get treated to a photo of the author, hurray! That was taken frome the Barnes and Noble outing, right?
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 07/31 at 06:09 PMHello Expendables (too many to name). Excellent, lively day here. Yes,CatLady, that photo was rom B&N and Empress, that CNN footage is indeed a rarity. It’s a small taste of what life could be like if the media weren’t corporate owned.
Captcha sez: “wall” (as in “just another brick in the...")
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 07/31 at 07:08 PMGreetings, all. Powerful post today.
One quick question: Which insane asylum did Henry Kissinger escape from?
“The legacy of the hostage crisis, the decades of isolation and the messianic aspect of the Iranian regime represent huge obstacles to such a diplomacy. If Tehran insists on combining the Persian imperial tradition with contemporary Islamic fervor, then a collision with America—and, indeed, with its negotiating partners of the Six—is unavoidable. Iran simply cannot be permitted to fulfill a dream of imperial rule in a region of such importance to the rest of the world." Huh?
Apparently no western powers influenced Iran’s political situation before the “hostage crisis” suddenly appeared. “Persian imperial tradition”? “Islamic fervor”?
A grade school history class might take issue with this ignorant, racist rambling.
Amelopsis #31: I want to bear that CNN anchors children! (If medical science and my wife allow, of course)
Posted by Cart on from near Warshington DC 07/31 at 07:19 PMAh Cart, I was writing a book on Henry but C. Hitchens beat me to it. What a story. A little here:
http://web.mit.edu/hemisphere/events/kissinger-chile.shtmlPosted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 07/31 at 07:30 PMAmeplopsis # 30...Thanks. I just e-mailed them and asked for info about getting a copy to broadcast.
Hi Cart.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 07/31 at 07:33 PMAmelopsis and JOS...just want you to know that I have already heard back from the producer in Japan. THANKS for your help.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 07/31 at 08:15 PMBill Blum has this to say today:
“There are times when I think that this tired old world has gone on a few years too long. What’s happening in the Middle East is so depressing. Most discussions of the eternal Israel-Palestine conflict are variations on the child’s eternal defense for misbehavior—“He started it!” Within a few minutes of discussing/arguing the latest manifestation of the conflict the participants are back to 1967, then 1948, then biblical times. I don’t wish to get entangled in who started the current mess. I would like instead to first express what I see as two essential underlying facts of life which remain from one conflict to the next:
Full story here: http://tinyurl.com/h46jv
Posted by RT on from The Buyou City 07/31 at 08:20 PM-
MR.fish always finds the humour in hell.
Posted by Youngfox on from Canaduh 07/31 at 09:10 PM Stephanie McMillan has a cartoon about how people on a runaway bus at http://tinyurl.com/gskqj (This is somewhat relevant to MZ’s original post.) Not quite United 93 (see http://tinyurl.com/ehrnb )
A capitalist economy cannot be easily seized by simply owerpowering the bus driver (or retaking the cockpit).
I do not have the solution; you do not have the solution; they do not have the solution. Rather it is we who have the solution. We need to rediscover the power of unified action.
To paraphase Aristole’s argument of why democrary is stronger than tyranny, a strong man may be able to defeat individuals but weak people acting together can overpower the strong man.
Posted by Douglas on from Sydney, Oz 08/01 at 04:47 AM
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