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1366 [lbo-talk] Bob Dole (was Beslan) -- rank: 1000

Carl Remick > When did you start referring to yourself in the third person, JH? Beware, > that way lies Bob Dole. > > Carl James Heartfield is not like Bob Dole James

Document Size:	4784
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Mon Sep 6 12:06:22 PDT 2004

1367 [lbo-talk] Beslan -- rank: 1000

The WEEK ending 6 September 2004 BESLAN: BLAMING THE TARGET, EXCUSING THE PERPETRATORS Coverage of the Beslan school massacre told us more about the mindset of the West than it did about the violence in the Russian Federation republic of North Ossettia. By any normal standard, the crime was committed against the Russian people. A gang, claiming adherence to independence from the Federation for Chechnya, took 1400 people hostage during a school celebration. Holding them for three days - without w ...

Document Size:	9288
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Mon Sep 6 05:00:18 PDT 2004

1368 [lbo-talk] Arnold' blunder -- rank: 1000

Joseph Wanzala reports this from Arnold Schwarzenegger: "I realized then that this one guy (Humphrey) is closer to Austria and socialism, while this other guy (Nixon) represents the free market, free enterprise and the freedom of getting the government off your back," (The Toronto Star, June 18, 1993) Which, considering the trajectory of the Austrian 'socialist' school of economics, von Mises etc and their ultimate influence on Hayek and Friedman is not so far-fetched. But can we belie ...

Document Size:	5228
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Fri Sep 3 07:50:25 PDT 2004

1369 [lbo-talk] Left and Marxist theory -- rank: 1000

Following the discussion here about the left, this is my contribution on the theoretical weakness of today's marxists, published on spiked-online today: "In the anti-war movement, young protesters reacting against the political leadership offered by Bush, Blair and Berlusconi meet older radicals thrilled to find a new audience for their well-rehearsed polemics against capitalism and imperialism. Theories of a capitalist crisis, giving rise to Great Power rivalries and the exploitation of th ...

Document Size:	5500
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Thu Sep 2 05:00:42 PDT 2004

1370 [lbo-talk] Much Derrided -- rank: 1000

Doug's sleight of hand is to isolate the hostility to Derrida from the lionisation of Derrida, which came first. Few people would have been angry about his work if it had not had such an influence. Derrida could certainly hold onto an idea, but he was not a very good philosopher. His flights of fancy seemed elegant, but were ultimately unproductive - and esoteric, something he made a virtue of. His 'differance' was what Istvan Meszaros, in another context, called an 'abstract particular' (as opp ...

Document Size:	6029
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Tue Oct 26 11:26:57 PDT 2004

1371 [lbo-talk] ESF, Politics of fear -- rank: 1000

The WEEK ending 24 October 2004 THE ESF LOOKS IN THE MIRROR Leftist Hilary Wainwright called the World Social Forum the 'people's UN'. But as the festival of the anti-capitalist movement developed it has fragmented along regional and now national lines, and lost its collegiate style and optimism. Gathering in London, the European Social Forum last weekend drew anti-globalization activists from many countries, but could not disguise the loss of momentum. A demonstration against the occupation of ...

Document Size:	10997
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Mon Oct 25 01:37:20 PDT 2004

1372 [lbo-talk] Mussolini in little Italy -- rank: 1000

Chris Doss asks about the reputation of despots in their own country, amongst whom 'Mussolini in Italy'? I can't speak for Italy, but on a visit to New York in 1980, I remember going to Little Italy, where pictures of Mussolini still hung in delicattessans (sp.?) and barbers' shops.

Document Size:	4882
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Mon Oct 18 06:19:32 PDT 2004

1373 [lbo-talk] Derrida Dead -- rank: 1000

The Cunning of Unreason 'There is little doubt that Derrida was an erudite and learned philosopher, but his erudition was bent towards a destructive aim. In him the unreason of the age found its cunning articulator. The pernicious influence of Derrida's philosophy, underpinned by the confusion of the times, persists after him.' http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CA72C.htm

Document Size:	4872
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Mon Oct 11 09:01:11 PDT 2004

1374 [lbo-talk] Nader and his detractors -- rank: 1000

Doug: replying to my comment >If the Greens are amateurish, does that arise from a political bias, >or just not getting their act together? says "James, you'd hate their platform <http://www.gp.org/platform.html>. I'm surprised to see you defending it." Well, of course, I'm not, I am trying to get to the political difference, as opposed to the 'you're spoiling Kerry's chances' differences. I did say >It would be interesting to see if anyone had any political >criticis ...

Document Size:	6224
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Sat Oct 9 14:32:54 PDT 2004

1375 [lbo-talk] Nader and his detractors -- rank: 1000

Doug: "What do you mean by "national politics"? The presidency? That seems hyperambitious for a party that can barely tie its shoes, and has shown no sign of having grown from a series of presidential runs." My difficulty with the anti-Nader criticisms is that they are all couched in technical rather than political terms. If the Greens are amateurish, does that arise from a political bias, or just not getting their act together? Doug seems to be saying that he would vote for ...

Document Size:	6419
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Sat Oct 9 11:26:49 PDT 2004

1376 [lbo-talk] Vince Lombardi (Out of Iraq) -- rank: 1000

> Nathan Newman wrote: > >>And to be frank, who gives a shit if you get a stronger antiwar "movement" >>under Bush if you get a more pro-war government? > > It's about the movement, not about "winning," which is vulgar. > > Doug Is this irony, Doug. If it is it is misplaced. Persuading people to support John Kerry does not sound like winning anything to me. It sounds like dissolving your critical voice into the pro-war mainstream. Nathan fears an ...

Document Size:	5440
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Tue Oct 5 10:11:59 PDT 2004

1377 [lbo-talk] Warm summers or dark ages/why not.... -- rank: 1000

John Adams: 'I've never seen _The Sopranos_, but I did read an explication of the episode where Soprano takes his daughter off to college which argued that the episode was slanted in such a way as to make Soprano seem like a decent guy. It was a convincing argument and, even if I did have cable, I don't think I'd care to watch the show, even aside from the violence.' It goes out on terrestrial TV here, Channel Four, and the local stuff resonates surprisingly well for me, as for most of my compat ...

Document Size:	5510
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Tue Oct 5 08:41:57 PDT 2004

1378 [lbo-talk] Anti-suburban snobs, was petro-thusians -- rank: 1000

I said that motoring had become more affordable, and that seemed to cause some disagreement - some of it because of the source I cited. This morning the Today programme on Radio Four reported a survey of the Offince of National Statistics which explains that motoring is more affordable. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today5_drivers_20041005.ram -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <../attachments/20041005/0ad8a6a3/attachment.htm> ...

Document Size:	5286
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Tue Oct 5 02:12:09 PDT 2004

1379 [lbo-talk] Why not Nader? -- rank: 1000

The WEEK ending 3 October 2004 WHY NOT NADER? America's left is in a froth over the candidacy of Ralph Nader, the veteran anti-corporate activist, who threatens to cost Democrat John Kerry the election. The vitriol of the anti-Nader campaign is all the more curious since many of those now urging him to stand down are his supporters from the 2000 elections. More strikingly, Nader is the only candidate who supports the left's goal of withdrawing from Iraq. While super-patriot John Kerry has only c ...

Document Size:	7789
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Mon Oct 4 08:55:46 PDT 2004

1380 [lbo-talk] Arafat -- rank: 1000

Arafat's tragedy He helped to found the idea of Palestinian independence, but ended up as a mouthpiece of great power politics. http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CA787.htm

Document Size:	4651
Author:	James Heartfield
Date:	Thu Nov 11 10:42:27 PST 2004