[u]Song:[/u]
7anin

Posted by: n/a | Jun 8 2006 21:40 utc | 3

n/a – thanks for sharing.

Posted by: beq | Jun 8 2006 23:06 utc | 5

beautiful song, thanks for linking. i recommend

Posted by: annie | Jun 8 2006 23:41 utc | 7

annie
not sure this ‘armando’ thing is important to any degree.
these blogs are special spaces they are not secret spaces
as a side issue – i had a love affair with jurisprudence – thinking of it as one of the occupations where you could bring the war home to the enemy
but generation after generation, year after year, has taught me that as an ideal justice is a noble thing, but that the reality – the reality that is common to most of us wherever we live – is that the institutioons of jurisprudence are completely corrupted, completely bankrupt
the exceptional advocat is exactly that – exceptional – & the hired gun ‘professionalism’ of an armando is by far the more common route – even amongst the most gifted & unfortunately especially amongst the most gifted
tho i am as much a plameaddict as you & conchita – i simply cannot bear all the googoo baabaa talk at firedoglake on ‘the law’ – it is that babytalk we hear so often in the university cafeterias – the law is not neutral – it is not above the actions & questions of human affairs & like its sister journalism it has become completely subsumed by its own internal necessities & ‘values’.
i do not now believe that that law can redeem anything except the most basic & accidental causalities
as i have sd here before – it was what was happening on the streets of america that created real civil rights – at least as they existed
the ‘law’ has become for me an integral element of the ‘institutions of fear’ – this becaem very clear when the west began in an onslaught to criminalise resistance – whether that was irish republicans, whether it was trade unionists, whether it was in silencing public advocates – this criminalisation for example in commonwealth law which led to the deregistering of militant unions & now of sacrificing their exmembers to work practices & conditions that rival anything in the late 19th century
…..
to go back – this whole anonymity question – has always troubled me – we engage the public space using signs but we ourselves participate in the deconstruction of those signs – many of us here leave our email adresses – so it is a sort of publick knowledge – i presume also that a number of us here have public activity outside of what we write here
tho incoherent – i am proud of what i write here & in fact have used the public space of out polyphonic dialogues to open up more of that space
& that is why i would support people writing in different languages here
in brief, this is a precious space but it is also rugged

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 9 2006 0:31 utc | 9

The Armando deal is to me, no big deal, either, aside from trying to figure out where the hell the ethical conflict might be. Just a silly intellectual sideshow. This is one I am willing to talk about later.
I, however, have a pressing real-world problem, RIGHT NOW!
My Uncle Fester died last month and left me his companion pet.
I only have a small house and yard.
Anyone who would like to adopt can contact me thru B.
Here are his papers and a representative picture.
Papers
Picture

Posted by: Groucho | Jun 9 2006 0:59 utc | 11

Groucho – In my yard? Noooooo. See d r i f t g l a s s.
Not into thorny hedges.

Posted by: beq | Jun 9 2006 1:10 utc | 13

uncle
if old willie reich taught me nything he taught me fury was not hysteria – that it was & is a passion for living – even in the darkest times
you have brought so many gifts here with your fury that i am completely convinced we take into our walking days

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 9 2006 1:21 utc | 15

thanks r’giap. i like the way your mind works.
as an ideal justice is a noble thing, but that the reality – the reality that is common to most of us wherever we live – is that the institutioons of jurisprudence are completely corrupted, completely bankrupt
justice in reality is noble. i know what you are saying yet at the same time i question ‘ an ideal justice’ as being somehow more of less.
yes, the institutions of jurisprudence are corrupt, justice can not be corrupt. it can be thwarted, escaped, twisted but i do not think it can be corrupt. it wouldn’t be justice if it were corruptable. the institutions of justice, now that is an entirely different ballgame.
i do not now believe that that law can redeem anything except the most basic & accidental causalities
i am not sure if laws seeks to redeem. laws are a structure we can use to seek justice, revenge or redemption. i read the murray waas article today. found out everything we are learning thru the court case today was known back w/ashcroft recused himself (!)
the process that’s going on, because fitz is for the most part silent, the process is letting us catch a glimps of what happened.
if it weren’t for the law, these things wouldn’t be disclosed.
i do not expect redemption necessarily, tho of course i hope for it. but in the court of public opinion it has made a huge difference. before, when hersh’s stovepipe article quotes matlin saying cheney never heard of wilson before it came out in the press. huh. then you can speculate and it becomes a tug of war between who’s telling the truth. or who to believe. now, because of the law, and the process of disclosures, we know this was a lie. the truth as we have always known about the origins of the war are being confirmed. en mass it starts to move thru society. people already know they are liars, it is becoming the accepted meme. 2 years ago if a soldier had refused to go to iraq based on crimes against humanity, it wouldn’t have had the same response.
the election 04. we know what happened. but we can’t prove anything. yet thru a process like the lawsuits in calif and new mexco, slowly the truth comes out. eventually it will be the accepted understanding the election was stolen whereas posters at popular dem sites were ostracized for stipulating after the election. now we have jfkjr etc. conyers pushed thru opposition to hold those hearings after the election and the record is there. the testimony is there. it is a slow train this justice, but it chugs along. the laws allow the process, they are the grease o the wheels.
as for the fdl site, it is neither as rich or as intriguing as moon, so i glance, sometimes read. the lawyerly stuff i largly ignore because it’s boring. but i am glad someones doing it. and the results of fitz’s findings i cherish.
there is more than one way to skin a cat. they may get away w/it but they cannot write all the books. the world is watching the unfolding. while the institutions of justice may be corrupt, justice like truth finds a way of rearing it’s head.
as for armando, i cannot read all 1000 comments so i don’t know the worst of it. i have no need to hide my identity, but i can understand how some people are not in as free a position as i am. for example, someone working as a functionary of the government may not be able to take public sides on issues w/out risking their jobs. sometimes people who we have the most valuable info are the ones’ with the most to hide. certainly in the instance of an iraqi blogger for instance.
say, perhaps we had an ex spy posting!
I wish I could be proud of what I write.
beq, you just got to bite the bullet and say what you mean and mean what you say. no pain no gain and all that. your voice is coming out, slow but sure. y’know i lurked for a year@ WB before i got the courage to open up amoungst all the great thinkers around here. they didn’t attack me straight off, i just got ignored a lot. perhaps you don’t know the value of your own voice. i like everything you write. i’m not proud of what i write either, but that doesn’t stop me.

Posted by: annie | Jun 9 2006 1:40 utc | 17

beq
everyone here is bringing something to the table – i feel that everyone here – gives – in this temporal realm & perhaps in other(s)

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 9 2006 1:49 utc | 19

In Re: The Travails of Armando
On the value of a lawyer:
In 1966, there abouts, Edward Bennett Williams hired Michael
Tigar, tops out of UC Berkeley Law that year, as an associate in his prestigious Washington, DC. law firm.
Haight-Asbury Meets power, I guess.
After Tigar settled in, he began sending out SDS solicitations on Bennett Williams stationary and got caught.
Big brouhaha, partners meeting ensued;BW majority partner; nothing happened. Williams understood the talent he had recruited; and backed him.
Tigar was one of the best Criminal lawyers in the late 20th c. Most recently represented Nichols in Oklahoma City. Now teaches at UT Austin.
Both Tigar and Gerry Spence understood the coersive power of law and government, all too well.

Posted by: Groucho | Jun 9 2006 2:05 utc | 21

Should have added:
I would think Armando could make a deal with his firm.

Posted by: Groucho | Jun 9 2006 2:11 utc | 23

die like a dog

Posted by: slothrop | Jun 9 2006 2:42 utc | 25

Be advised, Slothrop,
If I die like a dog, I leave a will, and you inherit.

Posted by: Groucho | Jun 9 2006 3:53 utc | 27

groucho, about armando making a deal with his firm, it seems the issue is more complex than that. it is about his credibility within the community, his and his firm’s credibility with clients, and from what the many other lawyers who wrote in discussed there are potential future liabilities. it seems very complex indeed. it is also sad. in the end i think it is boiling down to we are not going to let the right wing win this but it is only slightly more than 24 hours since he posted and things are still evolving.
on that note, i am heading to bed. hardly any sleep last night and another early morning tomorrow.

Posted by: conchita | Jun 9 2006 4:01 utc | 29

@Conchita,
That silliness last night over languages kept me up late.
Armando’s dilemma should be the subject for full-blown discussion.
I am right now faxing the Slothop Legacy to Armando, to draft.
Ethical conflicts all around tonight.
Let’s do it tomorrow.

Posted by: Groucho | Jun 9 2006 4:17 utc | 31

@Groucho the Wisconcin energy project.
Burning trees is a fine way to generate electricity if:
– one has the arable land plus the water needed
– the energy (oil for tractors etc) to plant, grow and harvest the trees is minimal
An uncle who has a farm with a lot of trees has build a heating system which uses his “waste” wood. Nice system and he is self sustaining with heat. He should have integrated some electricity generation but that’s only the next step.

Posted by: b | Jun 9 2006 4:39 utc | 33

@conchita… and hell, everyone else, really…
You didn’t misquote me; you just couldn’t remember a particular word that nobody besides myself really even ever uses (and there was at least one occasion when I was lambasted for using “obscure vocabulary”). I wouldn’t ever use it myself if there were something better to describe it. But just this morning (yeah, it’s morning here) on another thread someone remarked that “We are becoming what we most despise” and I thought to myself “Gee, I wish there were a way to describe when that happens so that we could see it coming and not keep falling into that trap.”
And Unca was following up on a snarky suggestion that I had made about the NSA surveillance. I’m not mentioning this to grab credit or attention (who wants attention from the NSA?), but it dovetails with your ruminations about courage, purity and all of those other ideals where we consistently fall short. The fact that this site, like all sites, is monitored (get used to the idea, I’m not talking through tinfoil) is something that is always in the back of my mind. I had a very real fear that something I would post here would offend some security functionary and, at the very least, land me on a “No-Fly” list (something that would be more than a mere inconvenience, believe me). And, knowing that speaking plainly and calling things as I saw them in these forums had the potential to bring about catastrophic consequences on the one hand and almost no reward on the other, I did (and do) it anyway.
Does that make me courageous or pure? Not a bit. It makes me pretty damned foolish, really, if my personal survival were my only concern. I don’t know the gang at Kos and I don’t know the specifics about the situation with Armando. But if he or she is anything like me, then he or she knew that there are very real potential consequences for speaking out in the current climate. And he or she, just like me, did it anyway.
It’s pointless to wonder about whether that represents courage or foolishness; it is simply who we are. I can not live like a Cindy Sheehan; I don’t have the resources to feed myself for long periods on a public protest and would not generate any sympathy or support for my cause if I did. I can not live like a Winston Smith; I am too angry to quietly and fearfully tow a party line I don’t believe in. Nor can I live like an Ayn Rand; I lack the intellectual prowess to convince myself through contorted rationales that I’m a good person by being a bad person. I am simply myself and if the hammer were to fall on me for posting my outrage, as it could on any of us, I would not be able to say that I would have done anything differently.
There are those amongst us here who complain about the “purity” of others. So Armando shilled for Wal-Mart. How does that undo whatever else Armando might have said or done? Former President Carter failed to provide reparations to the Vietnamese. How does that undo his observations that President Bush’s administration is destroying the world? Many on the Left (including many contributors here) voluntarily starve themselves so that they can spurn the leftover tidbits available as being unsatisfactory and impure(eta kuram na smech), but I have learned that that is just who they are and they could not do otherwise, no matter the righteous philosophy they wrap themselves in. At the end of the day, we’re all just folk and we all just do what we must… both good and bad.
I don’t believe in heroes and I’m not looking for one. I can’t honestly say, as cynical and disheartened as I can get sometimes, that I even believe in “pure” and “evil” anymore. There’s productive and counterproductive if we need some set of paired opposites to wrap our heads around, and I will continue to try to promote the productive as best I am able. I can’t do otherwise.

Posted by: Monolycus | Jun 9 2006 5:04 utc | 35

Groucho:
Sadly that Whole-Tree Energy (WTETM) Biomass Power Plant is just that, a vision. A tax-break scam like CAFO Pyrolysis to BioFuel malarkey, turning turkey guts into thimblefuls of oil, just enough to keep running the (illegal) offal incineration process for Tyson Foods.
There have been biomass power plants before, with much higher tax credits and even cogen supply of drying steam. They went bankrupt.
It doesn’t pencil out, just like ethanol.
There exists a biomass-and-garbage distillation process with an operating plant in Mexico, but that equipment company is leery of approaching the US because of DoE’s ties to China, still a communist dictatorship which doesn’t respect IPR’s and is reverse-engineering everything DoE gets its hands on, through China’s US domestic spy program, the same as they got our Bombs.
Big Oil would crush the distillation technology, and it would never find a retail outlet, except maybe Willie Nelson’s (Canadian) Bio-Diesel.
Keep driving those Escalades and Yukon Denali’s!

Posted by: Karl Marx | Jun 9 2006 5:10 utc | 37

@mono
I adore your wonderful wordsmithin…
I wouldn’t ever use it myself if there were something better to describe it.
I would, HENCE a liminocentric chain of cause and effect, like a recursive set of Chinese boxes where the innermost box paradoxically contains the outermost.The term,”liminocentric”, was coined by John Fudjack and Pat Dinkelaker in 1995 in a manuscript entitled, Limincentric Forms of Social Organization. Liminocentric structures.
The great bifurcation of both Ideological tautology and coercion at home and abroad. Kicking and screaming the masses will be brought along. As I have sd before, “Gil Scott Heron was wrong, the revolution has been televised.” Only not the one we were hoping for. The new “revolutionaries” have won.
It seems one must look (read: see) with the eyes of an MC Escher; an impossible chessboard. A POLARISATION method of the grand shellgame. “Suicidally beautiful.”
It seems, matter in motion gets rid of will objective morality.
Welcome, weclome my friencds to American Enantiodromia.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 9 2006 6:08 utc | 39

It may be summer here but in actuality Winter in America.
Dig?

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 9 2006 6:19 utc | 41

I for one welcome our new information overlords.
Well, jonku thats a plus then because, right on cue, here they are.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 9 2006 8:57 utc | 43

conchita, I can only tell you my policy.
Support what is the least bad, of what you agree with, as far as issues or actions etc. go. Ignore the other characteristics of the actor(s) (person, group, political party) – their personalities, past, other actions, etc.
This is of course more common and therefore easier to do in the EU than the US, as the culture is different. I’m often amazed at what people take into account in the US – e.g. pols having children or not, people having been arrested in the past, a lawyer having worked for the ‘wrong’ side, etc. etc.
Why? Strategically, it it the only thing most of us can do. Second, it does help. Chipping away consistently does have an effect. If fact, there should be much much more of it. Third, it keeps you sane and in touch with people, even if some of the issues are very small. Fourth, even small sucesses are heady and can snowball and motivate others, etc. Fifth, this approach may serve to get people out of their camp or ‘sect’ – open their eyes.
Obviously, on occasion one will deal with people who are insincere, devious or have mixed motives etc. These can be used, instrumentalised. I have no pity for them.

Posted by: Noisette | Jun 9 2006 10:16 utc | 45

That reminds me…Anybody seen DM?

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 9 2006 13:06 utc | 47

@Noisette:
That is probably the best way to approach things.
Here is the story of one lawyer’s dilemma. It is also an interesting story of growing up poor in the West in the 30s:
LINK
Also, I liked the movie The Verdict.

Posted by: Groucho | Jun 9 2006 14:03 utc | 49

Okay. I’m sorry but it is Friday (here):
Which Way To The Apocalypse?
When all the fanatical Christians disappear, will traffic finally improve?

And where’s the real Jesus? Why, the true Christ is back on Earth, once and for all and finally, teaching everyone an incredible new dance, preparing the open minded and the nondogmatic for cosmic leapfrog. Turns out that only when the fanatics and the zealots and the demagogues were finally airlifted to the great padded Romper Room in the sky that the real Great Work could finally continue. Isn’t that ironic? Isn’t that fabulous? Isn’t that exactly what you suspected all along?
What a fanciful dream. Indeed, you may think this talk of the Second Coming is just silly. You may think talk of Armageddon is just best left to plasticky televangelists and anti-everything fanatics like James Dobson and people who organize their gun collections by phallicentricity. And you would be very much mostly correct.
But be reminded: As reported here previously, the “Left Behind” series of Apocalypse-porn books has sold upward of 65 million copies worldwide. Many, many in high positions of power in the U.S. government (Hi, Senator Santorum!) see the accelerated deterioration of the Earth as a very good thing indeed, as there is no deed more worthy, no abuse more justified than that which helps hasten the Second Coming. SUVs? War? Oil gluttony? Ozone depletion? Condi Rice? All good, baby. All quickening the imminent Apocalypse.

Posted by: beq | Jun 9 2006 15:52 utc | 51

c span 2 @ present is covering plamegate w/murray waas, dan froomkin and the fdl crowd @ yearlykos if anyone is interested.

Posted by: annie | Jun 9 2006 17:00 utc | 53

Palestinians killed on Gaza beach

Seven people, including three children, have been killed by Israeli shells which hit a beach in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials say.
At least 30 people were wounded in the shelling, they say.
The Israeli military says it has halted all shelling of Gaza and has launched an inquiry into whether ground-based artillery could have been involved.
In a statement, the military wing of Hamas threatened to resume attacks on Israel in the wake of “massacres”.
The group has been observing a self-imposed ceasefire for more than a year.
“What the Israeli occupation forces are doing in the Gaza Strip constitutes a war of extermination and bloody massacres against our people,” Mr Abbas said in a statement carried by the Palestinian official Wafa news agency.
UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said London was “deeply concerned by reports of the deaths from Israeli shelling of civilians, including children, on a Gaza beach”.
Palestinian officials say the seven people killed on the Gaza Strip beach included two women as well as the three children.
The first television pictures revealed a terrible scene, the BBC’s Alan Johnston says.
At least four figures lay unconscious on the ground, possibly dead, our correspondent says.
A little further away, a man was lying on a sand dune, perhaps fatally injured, while a child stood looking on in utter horror, our correspondent says.
He says around the casualties were tables and chairs, and it looks very much as if this was a family enjoying their Friday afternoon off on the beach when disaster struck.

Posted by: annie | Jun 9 2006 19:09 utc | 55

slothrop, fyi –
Build the Left, Fight the Right
Socialism 2006
June 22–25, 2006
Columbia University, New York City
FEATURING: (and see workshops for the antiwar movement below)
Voices of a Peoples’ History of the United States — dramatic readings from Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove’s book featuring leading actors from Hollywood and Broadway, including Lili Taylor, Wallace Shawn, Christina Kirk, Josh Hamilton, John Sayles, Laura Flanders, and many others; introduced by Anthony Arnove * Friendly Fire: A conversation between Giuliana Sgrena and Amy Goodman — in which the Italian journalist who was kidnapped in Iraq, then almost killed when fired upon by U.S. forces, speaks in the U.S. for the first time * Build the Left, Fight the Right — with Lynne Stewart, two weeks before her sentencing in an unjust conviction for “terrorism” meant to silence activists and human rights lawyers; Ahmed Shawki, editor of the International Socialist Review; Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association; and Shujaa Graham, exonerated death row prisoner and former Black Panther * Soldiers Speak Out Against the War — featuring Kelly Doughtery, Camilo Mejia, and Pablo Paredes * The New Immigrant Rights Movement — led by Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association, and Justin Akers Chacon, co-author with Mike Davis of No One Is Illegal! * Impeaching Bush: Justice at Last or Democratic Diversion? — A debate between Jeffrey St Clair and Dave Lindorff * Sports and Resistance — with sportswriter Dave Zirin, Washington Wizards forward Etan Thoman, and basketball player and activist Toni Smith * 30 Years is Enough: We Can Stop the Death Penalty — with exonerated death-row prisoner Shujaa Graham, exonerated Central Park 5 member Yusef Salaam, and Alice Kim of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty * Red, Black, Blue Green: Electoral Challenges to the Democrats — with Green Party leaders Peter Camejo, Todd Chretien, Aaron Dixon, and Howie Hawkins, currently running against Arnold Schwartzenegger, Dianne Feinstein, Maria Cantwell, and Hillary Clinton respectively
… and nearly 100 more workshops led by Jeremy Scahill, Josh Frank, Sharon Smith, Robert Robideau, Mike Marqusee, Alan Maass, Ron Jacobs, Paul D’Amato, Sam Farber, Sherry Wolf, Luciana Genro; activists from around the U.S., the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe; and many others.
Workshops for the antiwar movement include:
Kelly Dougherty, Camilo Mejia and Pablo Paredes on Soldiers speak out against the war * Jeremy Scahill on The myth of humanitarian intervention * Anthony Arnove on The coming war with Iran? * Charles Peterson, Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, and Charlie Jenks on Under Attack, Fighting Back: Free speech and the movement against military recruitment * Annie Zirin on Iraq: Graveyard of U.S. imperialism? * Michael Schwartz on The resistance in Iraq * Avery Wear on Should socialists support intervention in Darfur? * Danny Katch and Ron Jacobs on The rise and fall of SDS in the 1960s * Deepa Kumar on Myth and Reality of Islam * Tikva Honig-Parnass on Israel: A colonial-settler state * Toufic Haddad on Hamas and the future of Palestine * Hadas Thier on Iran: Islam and revolution, 1979 * Elizabeth Terzakis on Lenin and the right of nations to self-determination * Ashley Smith on The classical Marxist theory of imperialism * Martin Smith on Socialism and War: Are all wars bad? * Sherry Wolf on Outside Agitators? Socialists and movements
See http://www.socialismconference.org for the full conference details

Posted by: conchita | Jun 9 2006 20:08 utc | 57

Meanwhile whilst the rest ot the World is watching football or chatting about the Zarqawi victory:
Israeli artillery shells struck a group of civilians during a family picnic at a Gaza beach, killing nine people, including three children, and wounding more than 25 others, Palestinian medical officials said today.
The artillery shells were fired by Israeli gunboats stationed just off the Mediterranean coast.
The barrage scattered body parts along the beach. A tent was destroyed, and bloody sheets were scattered about. A crowd quickly flocked to the are, screaming and running around in confusion. One tearful man held the limp body of what appeared to be a girl or young woman. “Muslims, look at this,” he shouted.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/ …tory262683.html

Posted by: Cloned Poster | Jun 9 2006 21:39 utc | 59

thanks, conchita : socialism conference

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 9 2006 21:50 utc | 61

conchita
conference details so interesting – am tempted to ask comrade slothrop – to fly me illegally into america from mexico
however, you know i am forever forbidden to step foot in your country so will never be able to attend such conferences of the left in the belly of the beast
however this weekend i am participating in a festival/colloque of regional community initiatives – it is so good to see how massive the left is here & in very practical ways
i was meditating to myself – in a sort of insulin induced stupor – re dkos & slothrops arguments – of how much the left – has returned to a form of reformism – as if the bloody world we live in did not exist
it is a criticism & not – i would prefer the people doing something but is so clear that the revolutionary left of which i was borne into has left very little legacy & only some book contracts(bill ayers)
it would seem that the only purpose we serve is to be used by the horwitz/pipes propaganda machines everywhere to scare & demonise any form of opposition – no matter how reformist & peaceful
tho there is also some good news here of exiled italian writer cesare battisti who is in hiding here has just had his book published, ‘cavale’ which is itself a meditation on ‘extremism’
the irony being that our extremism(because my experience is not dissimilar to his) was borne at a time when imperialism was ugly but not as ugly & violent & reckless as it is today
that irony coupled with the fact that a good number of conservative intellectuals in those united states seem monthly to go further left than the noam chomsky(s) – a thought unimaginable in the middle of the agression against vietnam
i am the original hothead but you cannot imagine how those united states & its so called political elite – look like from here – today ralph steadman would be considered a social realist & the good doctor hunter s – just a cool commentator
there are not enough circles of hell to accomodate the vermin that lead america

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 9 2006 22:07 utc | 63

Meanwhile whilst the rest ot the World is watching football or chatting about the Zarqawi victory:
CP, check posts 55,56

Posted by: annie | Jun 9 2006 22:51 utc | 65

the fools who run the empire do not understand one simple but elemental truth
you cannot kill the resistance
history has taught us again & again & again that that factor is decisive
from the beginning i have argued with slothrop, with theodor & with others – over the fact that the resistance in iraq constituted a national liberation movement
& while there has been a salvador option operating & it is clear that it has been operating – nothing, absolutely nothing is clear about what constitutes intercinine factors within that resistance – no matter what juan cole says
i certainly do not respect or even read the commentaries of so called experts who know nothing of the real & tragic war the peopl of iraq are fighting
& people are right here to objectively observe – the base hatred of the arab people that helps us to forget, to forget, to not even note the daily slaughter of the palestinian people
& it is a slaughter whatever language you speak – it is not war – it is murder – it is the continuum of the stern gang & a dishonouring of the jewish people & of the memory of that people who have historically been on the side of the oppressed – have fought most valiantly for the wretched of the earth
the current state of israel practices what the rest of the world accepts as cold fact – that the arab people are worth nothing – even in france – where much work has been done – the ignorance in relation to the arab world – actual & ancient – is appalling
it is more than appalling – it is unforgiveable
the war of iraq has been a war fought by the people of iraq. those cruel puppets who weave their words from baghdad – from within the protectorate of the occupation power are a disgrace – not just to arab humanity but to humanity in general. their service for assassin like negroponte – a man swathed in the blood of others – a man so proud of his exploits can rank humself with the worst of the tyrants & torturers – who imagine themselves leaders
while the arab people are being slaughtered the rest of the world have been made into fools or sheep
they cry over this or that institution but they will not accept the rotteness at the core of the system itself
they all bleat about liberties, about freedoms, about destinies but when you are amongst the wretched these words do not have a meaning – they are yet more words to destroy – the soul. as the great w e dubois once sd
dignity does not arrive for some pumped up prosecutor nor for some jaded journalist – dignity is one of the natural, the organic && necessary elements in the lives of the oppressed
they live dignity 24/24 7/7
they do not need to cry on national television to give eveyone their emotional fix before they turn their backs on the questions that are as real as our skins, our eyes our hearts
when these criminals speak of al zaqarwi it is murdereres speaking amongst murderers of murder yet again –
worse than being thugs – they are slobs
physically, intellectually, spiritually
they haven’t met an idea that couldn’t be expressed in ten words or less by bill o reilly, tucker carlson or anderson cooper
on a hot night in this ancient world my wretched body pulsates fury & yes hate at these monsters of men & women
& their accomplices

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Jun 9 2006 23:53 utc | 67

I’ll be so bold as to input where not asked, as far as a summery of the c-span broadcast.
A few sentences review,
We are fucked.
Amid the comforts of empire, the citizens blithely bumble along like sheep who never look up, while the wolves feast
and some brave dogs growl.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 10 2006 0:54 utc | 69

stupid girl question: what does marcy wheeler aka empty wheel look like?

Posted by: conchita | Jun 10 2006 1:18 utc | 71

@Annie,
Don’t editorialize, journalize or write dime novels.
Just present the evidence.
I’ll take it from there.
Less costly and time-consuming that way.

Posted by: Judge Isaac Parker | Jun 10 2006 1:41 utc | 73

Baliff!

Posted by: Judge Isaac Parker | Jun 10 2006 1:55 utc | 75

as often happens in the process of understanding something in a new way, one experiences everywhere a chain of serendipitous discoveries of that same idea, or new word, or irritating jockitch. the theme of “political progressivism,” no doubt breathed life into by the kos and moveon conventions seems everywhere, even as its meaning seems nowhere. Booman’s why I’m a progressive is an interesting justification for what is offered by him as a “left” politics. though I couldn’t endure a read of all the comments there, the gist of “progressivism” appears to be some kind of seminal affliction of feeling in the person’s history inspiring “progressivism.” compelling the young person’s detour into “liberal” politics is the same kind of experience one has when one discovers on some happy summer picnic in the bavarian mountains the color blue, the monkees, strawberry jam, oral sex, and the feeling of mud between toes, are, like, the greatest most beautiful things in all the universe.
this narrative is the aestheticization of politics pure & simple. that is, politics is no more than the monadic and expedient consideration of what works and feels good for the person at such and such a time and place, a politics confined to the indeterminate desires of the subject, a politics presented as the instrument of means to personal happiness and confort–vulgar phronesis, false consciousness, subjective and instrumental reason.
this nonsense is far worse than the sort of “humanistic” sensitivities of the young marx condemned by later marxists. “progressivism” is not offered by booman as a rational response to the catatrophe of capitalism and imperialism, but is instead written up like a hallmark card for expectant mothers. “progressivm” tastes good, like a vente white chocolate mocha w/ whip and caramel from starbucks. the sahape of such a politics could soon mean anything, including the endless war on terrorism, torture, totalitarianism. whatever makes you wet.

Posted by: slothrop | Jun 10 2006 2:13 utc | 77

slothrop, for some political perspective comes not just from the head but also the heart and soul.

Posted by: conchita | Jun 10 2006 2:32 utc | 79

loved the pere ubu, but i must respectfully disagree.
read the booman post and a good number of the comments. seemed like a lot of people were influenced by parents or educators. one might have been one of your students:
Time, security and finiteness of life!
When I think about why I am a progressive, I keep finding myself reflecting on the finiteness of life, the irreversible changes of life, and the security or lack thereof this can foster! Capitalism unchecked and unregulated is a cruel system in that it does not take into account these life changes. The young can recover somewhat from some adversity, but the old and frail cannot. Still pure capitalism makes no concessions for this. Might makes right and mistakes are absolute. As the conservatives are fond of saying, well all personal problems are the fault of the individual so screw em! Let them die early or suffer greatly for economic mistakes in life or from being taken advantage of by superior intellect, power,greed.
Giving everyone some security to survive and especially with increasing frailty due to the passage of time is a social function, and progressive thought realize that!
by NG on Thu Jun 8th, 2006 at 05:04:05 PM EST
for me the solidarity that builds between people is what will make a difference. yes, to be educated about and have the historical perspective to be able to analyze our world situation is a great thing, but not necessary to realizing that something is seriously wrong and wanting to do something about it. the impetus can come from many sources.

Posted by: conchita | Jun 10 2006 2:59 utc | 81

in any case, booman’s little fable was depressing.

Posted by: slothrop | Jun 10 2006 3:09 utc | 83

To put a short point on it:
1.Some experience it in life.
2.Some feel in their hearts.
3.Some think it.
And infinite combinations thereof.
And one is more “pure”, “reality-based”, or “heart-felt” than the other?
God must have a special place reserved for Bernhard in heaven, that he pays to subsidize this infantile debate.

Posted by: Thomas Aquinas Latte Lateran | Jun 10 2006 3:24 utc | 85

well, my wise friend, you go out there among those who are feted as “the progressives” and find something else nother than the “politics” riding the crest of the postmodern wave into nowhere.
idealism is idealism. that’s the way it is. and if the “progressives” want to chacha their way through history to the shoegazing hits of their “feelings,” they’ll get their asses kicked again and again. apropos.

Posted by: slothrop | Jun 10 2006 3:32 utc | 87

If you need to fight your way through those “mean streets”
I’ll rent you a pack of bad-assed chihuahuas.

Posted by: Thomas Aquinas Latte Lateran | Jun 10 2006 3:50 utc | 89

@Judge…
Well, that did make me giggle.
I’m from the James Joyce school of thought. In that there are no bad people, perhaps, it is that some need more understanding than others…
But what do I know; besides he’s dead.
piffff…

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 10 2006 4:22 utc | 91

we are a very serious group here.
yes we are,absolutely and let’s not forget it.
conchita 71 stupid girl question, she looks like a schoolmarm
God must have a special place reserved for Bernhard in heaven, that he pays to subsidize this infantile debate.
yes she does.
Don’t editorialize, journalize or write dime novels.
BAWAAAA how dare you address me in such manner!(i’m shocked)i can’t believe anyone could be so cruel and insensitive. i am considering slashing my wrists but need to do a few errands first as i only have very dull blades on my steak knives and am out of razors.
fyi murray waas is rad
she ask me, i was merely doing a service judge. if you can’t take the heat get out of the fire and just skip my posts altogether!
if only artist made art what kind of world would we live in ??(she states w/massive indignation). your comment was horrifying.
uncle, thank you so much for coming to my rescue, i am still pondering physics and
gravity and thier implications on justice the process that is. you are good to the bone.
😉

Posted by: annie | Jun 10 2006 6:12 utc | 93

I, Larry Ann Curly, cannot take credit for the fabu posts listed by the others in which I am included.
In fact, I am fauxreal, even if “she” isn’t. I, I’ll use I, to avoid the pernicious royal we or the contrived third person singular, since I can’t be that avant le deluge, just had to use this current moniker because I happen to think the Three Stooges are a metaphor. The three stooges are the opiate of the people.
nyat, nyat, nyat *boink*
(say that with only a trace of a southern accent, speeded up through a tape recorder.)
🙂
I’ll also confess to the link to spanking bettie, to punish Bettie Page RN, but only b/c she’s my patron saint.
St. Bettie of the cheesy 1950s apartment shoot. So politically uncorrect she is transcendent.
I was having some cases of mistaken identity. glen or glenda?
Annie- smooooooches. thank you for your voice in this forum. and your pottery. thank you for giving us non-artists the permission to make art. Your exclamation points are art.
the juxtaposition of Lauren Bacall’s voice using multiple exclamation points and smiley faces is pure glory.
I have no idea what’s really going on here (what’s new) but had to procrastinate one last time before I have to go further on down the road.
be warned tho- I’ll be back — (eeeeiiiiiiaaaaaaaahhhh)

Posted by: Larry Ann Curly | Jun 10 2006 16:33 utc | 95

oh, that smooch landed on my tear stained cheek faux.
in case anyone has been on the edge of their seats since my condemnation from the hanging judge and my subsequent threats of (cowardly version) sepuku, w/relief i can assure you the process has been halted.
this morning i recieved(inbox) a formal apology by way of the judges clerk which i have generously accepted. reconciliation is preferred under the circumstances.
(spoken w/my (secrets out) lauren becall voice)

Posted by: annie | Jun 10 2006 19:49 utc | 97

slothrop, howard dean had a bit of advice courtesy of yearlykos for folks like us:
The people in this room have the responsibility for leading this revolution. But the perspective I want to leave you with is this: there will be things within the tent that we disagree with. We’re not a healthy movement if we don’t have those disagreements. But healthy movements managed to maintain their effectiveness in spite of disagreements; the unhealthy ones succumbed to personal disagreements and backbiting.
Good thing we haven’t gotten to the backbiting stage (yet – still working on your front).

Posted by: conchita | Jun 10 2006 20:52 utc | 99