Search LBO-Talk Archives

7951 [lbo-talk] Noam on Porn -- rank: 1000

On Jul 28, 2008, at 12:08 AM, Dennis Perrin wrote: > Somewhat right, mostly wrong, in my view. > > <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNlRoaFTHuE> > > Wonder what porn Noam's watched to arrive at his position. If he'd never heard of Hustler (which he oddly calls "The Hustler"), probably not much. Porn is like child abuse or being locked into a sweatshop that burns down? Has he ever talked to anyone in the biz? Silly of me even to ask the question. Doug

Document Size:	5007
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Mon Jul 28 05:32:52 PDT 2008

7952 [lbo-talk] The Obama vision -- rank: 1000

On Jul 27, 2008, at 12:46 PM, Seth Ackerman wrote: > http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/25/obama.interview/index.html?eref=rss_politics > >> "If we have more NATO troops in Afghanistan, then that's >> potentially fewer American troops over the long term," he said, >> "which means we're spending fewer billions of dollars, which means >> we can invest those billions of dollars in making sure we're >> providing tax cuts to middle-class families wh ...

Document Size:	5386
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sun Jul 27 18:17:58 PDT 2008

7953 [lbo-talk] Dustup - final installment -- rank: 1000

On Jul 27, 2008, at 1:42 PM, Carrol Cox wrote: > All I know is that you reject categorically the ONLY KNOWN METHOD by > which substantial social change has ever occurred or ever will occur. > You practice a politics of quietism; when I said that there is no use > challenging such a politics "in the absence of full-scale clearly > defined class-war" I had you specifically in mind. When/if a new > growing > left movement emerges then _then_ and only then will you be ...

Document Size:	5849
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sun Jul 27 17:25:34 PDT 2008

7954 [lbo-talk] Brit politix -- rank: 1000

On Jul 26, 2008, at 5:37 PM, Steve Palmer wrote: > At the 1992 and 2005 elections, the vote split like this: > > 1992 2005 > Middle class > Labour 9% 17% > Non-labour 32% 40% > > Working class > Labour 26% 19% > Non-labour 33% 24% Wow. I keep forgetting how small pluralities can turn into big parliamentary majorities. Labour got 36% of the vote in 2005? Doug

Document Size:	4941
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 15:26:02 PDT 2008

7955 [lbo-talk] prophesy -- rank: 1000

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article4392846.ece > Times (London) - July 25, 2008 He ventured forth to bring light to the world The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers Gerard Baker And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, ...

Document Size:	10628
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 11:36:03 PDT 2008

7956 [lbo-talk] Iran petition -- rank: 1000

On Jul 26, 2008, at 12:54 PM, Marvin Gandall wrote: > Short of bringing a million people to Denver, which you know is not a > realistic possibility at this time, a petition campaign, however > unpromising, is at least better than nothing. If I were as > dismissive of the > petition as you are, I would have politely declined to sign it but > wished > it's organizers well - rather than doing the opposite. Your about- > face, > sorry to say, seems to be a case of trying t ...

Document Size:	5667
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 10:07:00 PDT 2008

7957 [lbo-talk] Dustup - final installment -- rank: 1000

On Jul 26, 2008, at 11:42 AM, Julio Huato wrote: > Actually, I should have said that such a view is antithetical with > being on the left. Any suitable definition of the left (as a > political force, however organized or fragmented it may be at a given > time) must include the premise that we, as individuals, can > consciously change our social conditions. Political action is > precisely the mediation But foundational structures, like the "responsible individual" th ...

Document Size:	5342
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 08:50:24 PDT 2008

7958 [lbo-talk] Dustup - final installment -- rank: 1000

On Jul 25, 2008, at 11:57 PM, Miles Jackson wrote: > I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The simplistic rhetoric > of the "responsible individual" is an ideological lynchpin of > American capitalism. I have a hard time imagining how capitalism in > our society would survive without the individualist rhetoric > exemplified above. Yup. And it's so foundational that I can imagine how to shake it. Doug

Document Size:	5029
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 08:47:30 PDT 2008

7959 [lbo-talk] JungleWorld -- rank: 1000

On Jul 26, 2008, at 2:25 AM, Michael Pollak wrote: > Politically, Jungle World is located somewhere between radical left > and unorthodox left, although some of the radical left, especially > the anti-imperialist fraction, often view it with suspicion and > disapproval. The paper calls itself an undogmatic left weekly. > Jungle World considers much of the German anti-imperialist left to > be unreflective and nationalist The person who interviewed me seemed thoughtful and approp ...

Document Size:	5108
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 08:46:39 PDT 2008

7960 [lbo-talk] Iran petition -- rank: 1000

On Jul 26, 2008, at 11:26 AM, Marvin Gandall wrote: >> I signed because it said "don't attack Iran!" It took about 30 >> seconds. >> It's an essentially meaningless gesture... > ====================================== > Why apologize? Meaningless as compared to what? A large-scale organizing campaign. With a few keystrokes and mouseclicks, anyone can sign a petition, and no doubt an "open letter" of this sort is received, if it's noticed at all, with ...

Document Size:	5313
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 08:43:08 PDT 2008

7961 [lbo-talk] Yurp -- rank: 1000

<http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/55_rate_obama_s_berlin_speech_good_or_excellent_46_think_europe_should_be_more_like_u_s > or <http://tinyurl.com/6kouxq> 55% Rate Obama s Berlin Speech Good or Excellent; 46% Think Europe Should Be More Like U.S. Friday, July 25, 2008 Over half of Americans (55%) rate Barack Obama's historic speech in Berlin yesterday good or excellent, and the Democratic presidential candidate is ex ...

Document Size:	6764
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 08:10:31 PDT 2008

7962 [lbo-talk] Iran petition -- rank: 1000

On Jul 26, 2008, at 10:46 AM, Michael Smith wrote: > But so much is given away -- gladly, joyfully given away -- in > how the argument is constructed that I wonder whether this thing > doesn't pass the tipping point from futility to downright harm. > > It doesn't actually say "don't attack Iran" -- it says "tell > Bush that *he's* not allowed to attack Iran." And the > "public" has a "democratic... right to decide" to attack Iran? > ...

Document Size:	5650
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 08:04:43 PDT 2008

7963 [lbo-talk] Brit politix -- rank: 1000

So could someone explain the current configuration of British politics to me? What's the social base of the Tories vs. Labour (both popular and elite)? Where do the City's sympathies lie? The City can't like Cameron's euro-skepticism, can it? But it looks like Labour's washed up. Is that old alliance of the City and the rural gentry to support the Conservatives coming back to life? Doug

Document Size:	4821
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 07:47:01 PDT 2008

7964 [lbo-talk] Iran petition -- rank: 1000

Michael Smith writes: <http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/> > Rich stuff. We were all "encouraged" by some no-name Illinois > legislator's ambiguous murmurings in... 2002? We want... a "public > statement"? War would be... "inappropriate"? > The thrust here seems to be that Bush no longer has the mandate of > Heaven and that war with Iran should wait until a duly-elected > Democrat can wage it. > > This "open letter" was signed ...

Document Size:	5652
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Sat Jul 26 06:31:14 PDT 2008

7965 [lbo-talk] JungleWorld -- rank: 1000

So you Germans/Germanophiles here - what's the political leaning of JungleWorld? Their Doris Akrap interviewed me this afternoon for next week's paper. She seemed pretty cool to me. Doug

Document Size:	4624
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Fri Jul 25 20:39:32 PDT 2008