Bulletin N° 779
Subject : OF
CORPORATISM & HUMAN BONDAGE : struggling together within the
structures of late capitalist relationships.
30 December 2017
Grenoble, France
Dear Colleagues and Friends of CEIMSA,
I wish to thank our Anglophone readers, again this
year, for their participation in receiving this weekly bulletin of selected
essays, articles, and videos by journalists, artists, and public intellectuals
who reflect on the important issues of our times. Our virtual community of
interest at CEIMSA is a cultural phenomenon of uncertain proportions – how much
of this material is actually read, and to what degree it is understood remains
necessarily an unknown. I know, however, that I have enjoyed the idea of
sharing this cultural material with you on a regular basis for more than
sixteen years, since 2001, and I
am fully aware of the “uncertainty principle” such a project involves.
Fear, guilt, debt, money, power, and fame – this is
the usual variety of motivations that psychologists attribute to human behavior.
One motivating factor for action is often ignored in these sophisticated
circles, i.e. simply the repulsion of
living in a venal environment where inequality and injustice are accepted as
normal, if not admirable, features of society. The species consciousness of a
bankrupt race explains little and offers even less by way of strategies for
revolutionary change. In these bulletins we have emphasized social class
interests, and the conflicts these interests produce. We have repeatedly
rejected “possessive individualism” as a nefarious ideology of human
alienation, and our emphasis on individual responsibility likewise precludes
corporatism and the false security of “identity politics”.
Our weekly readings have stretched over decades,
and sometimes over centuries, and what we have found is richly varied. The
ruling classes have no interest in enriching the public culturally. In fact,
public ignorance and superstition are assets for the class of capitalists who
must issue directives and enforce them in order to profit from the social
structure that they govern. The common coin in such a society is FEAR.
When we look into the past - both recent and
distant - and learn from the experience of our elders, we can discover wisdom
in people like the British author Somerset Maugham, whose 1915 novel, “Of Human Bondage” was made into a film
in 1934 by American novelist Lester Cohen . . .
“Of Human Bondage”
or like David Harvey, discussing .
. .
The
End of Capitalism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TISwh7jk7uk
or like Edward S. Herman, on capitalist control of the media . . .
(don’t) R.I.P. : “Fight like Hell”
or like Noam Chomsky, on . . .
Neoliberalism & the Global Order (Full Talk - Original Upload)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnc1Ay6X1bg
(at Yale University on February 25, 1997)
or like Howard Zinn, on . . .
On Studying History
https://archive.org/details/ZinnMaster
(at San Diego State University in 1991)
or like the poetry of Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) . . .
“The
Rubaiyat”
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-rubaiyat-of-omar-khayyam/
In the 24 items below we look at
contemporary reports on the human condition under late capitalism to seek signs
of hope that might appear in the ashes of despair. The fierce ‘capital
accumulation by dispossession’ is
increasingly displacing traditional ‘capital accumulation by labor exploitation’ and we live in an
era of growing inequalities with all the burdens that robbery inflicts. Human experience
tells us that the degradation around us is approaching a lethal level and will generate
further genocides if we don’t resist at every opportunity.
Sincerely,
Francis Feeley
Professor emeritus of American
Studies
University Grenoble-Alpes
Director of Research
University of Paris-Nanterre
Center for the Advanced Study of
American Institutions and Social Movements
The University of California-San
Diego
a.
"Sorry Chump. You Didn't Have It In Writing"
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48442.htm
by
Eric Margolis
At
a time when the United States is convulsed by anti-Russian hysteria and
demonization of Vladimir Putin, a trove of recently declassified Cold War
documents reveals the astounding extent of the lies, duplicity and
double-dealing engaged in by the western powers with the collapsing Soviet
Union in 1990.
I was covering Moscow in those days and met some of the key players in this sordid drama. Ever since, I’ve been writing that the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Foreign Minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, were shamelessly lied to and deceived by the United States, Britain, and their appendage, NATO.
All
the western powers promised Gorbachev and Shevardnadze that NATO would not
expand eastward by ‘one inch’ if Moscow would pull the Red Army out of East
Germany and allow it to peacefully reunify with West Germany. This was a
titanic concession by Gorbachev: it led to a failed coup against him in 1991 by
Communist hardliners.
===========
b.
The
Gangster Nature of the State
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48488.htm
2-hour audio recorded on November 22, 1993
by Michael Parenti
Parenti argues
that the state perpetuates the most unspeakable crimes against its own people,
the gangster nature of the state cloaked by a facade of political
representation
===========
c.
The
“Reason” of the most powerful.
When Sanity Fails – The Mindset of the
“Ideological Drone”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48486.htm
by The Saker
My
recent analysis of the potential consequences of a US attack on the DPRK has
elicited a wide range of reactions.
There
is one type of reaction which I find particularly interesting and most
important
and I would like to focus on it today:
the ones which entirely dismissed my whole argument.
The
following is a selection of some of the most telling reactions of this kind:
===========
d.
Ibrahim Abu Thuraya
(1991 – 2017)
His life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fpRgdIMXAg
Ibrahim
Abu Thuraya is a 26 year old young man who lives in a
very crowded refugee camp in Gaza. Dealing with everyday life can be harsh, the
lack of electricity, or petrol or food. All of this makes life difficult for
Ibrahim, who is tasked with the responsibility of providing for the 11 member
family, two of whom are attemtping to go to college.
The whole family depends on Ibrahim to survive, you see, Ibrahim's father is
not well and disabled. Albiet this would be a
difficult enough task for any of us here in Ireland, but for Ibrahim it is even
more difficult because he lives in Gaza. Ibrahim was once a proud Gazan fisherman. Everyday he took
to the sea in his small boat and fished the waters near his home. Being a
fisherman is never easy, and can at times be dangerous, even in Ireland we know
this to be so. Yet in Gaza fishermen face another danger that we dont have here in Ireland. Gazan
fishermen must face the israeli
navy on a daily basis as israel continues to tighten
the seige by restricting the fishing areas and
enforcing these illegal self made restrictions by firing at the small fishing
boats as they cast their nets in hope of receiving a days
worth of food. Sometimes setting the small boats on fire and sinking them,
sometimes killing the fishermen on board. Ibrahim has been injured four times
by Israeli attacks since the age of 12. But his life changed forever in 2008
when Israel attacked Gaza, 1400 people were slaughtered in 22 days, many more
were left severely wounded and injured. It was during this time that Ibrahim
was struck by an israeli artillary shell. He lost both his legs and one of his eyes.
Today Ibrahim is no longer a proud Gazan fisherman.
Today Ibrahim is forced to try his best to make ends meet for himself and his
family by washing cars in Gaza. Everyday he takes to
the streets in his old wheelchair in search of cars to wash. But, Ibrahim has a
Dream...............
His death:
https://www.facebook.com/ifamericansknew/
Palestinian
deaths are largely ignored by US media. We want people to learn about these
human beings. Ibrahim Abu Thuraya was killed December
15th, 2017; attached is a 2-minute video about him:
(All Palestinians and Israelis who have died due to actions committed by the
other side are listed at iakn.us/2i9VONR)
« Nous sommes tou-te-s
Ibrahim Abu Thuraya »
+
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: at 84, where does she get her PEP
(Progressive Except
Palestine)?
===========
e.
Team Trump Adds
Insult to Injury for the Palestinians
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/12/20/team-trump-adds-insult-to-injury-for-the-palestinians/
===========
f.
Trump Claims Credit For
The Russian/Syrian Defeat Of ISIS
Trump’s
National Security Speech
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48461.htm
by
Paul Craig Roberts
What
do we make of Trump’s national security
speech? First of all, it is the military/security complex’s
speech, and it is inconsistent with Trump’s intention of normalizing relations
with Russia. The military/security complex, using Trump’s position as
President, has defined Russia and China as “revisionist powers,” Washington’s
rivals who seek to put their own national interests ahead of Washington’s
unilateralism. Russia and China are “revisionist powers” because their
assertion of their national interests limits Washington’s hegemony. In other
words, Washington does not accept the validity of other countries’ interests if
those interests are contrary to Washington’s interests. So, how does Trump
expect to work with Russia and China when he reads a speech that Russia and
China seek to “shape a world antithetical to our interests and values.”
===========
g.
Noam Chomsky - Best Speech In 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrE5EZr5ZVY
===========
h.
Decline of the
American empire with Alfred McCoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QgwwBAj8Ow
===========
i.
Allan Nairn: United States Tries—But Fails—to
Stop Hondurans
from Protesting Election Fraud
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/26/incumbent_honduras_president_declares_victory_in
===========
j.
We Are Sleepwalking Toward War With
North Korea
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48445.htm
by Zack Beauchamp
The reality of war with North Korea is almost too terrifying
to imagine.
Experts say the North’s artillery
could kill tens of thousands of civilians in Seoul, South Korea’s densely
populated capital, within the first hours of a conflict. A
protracted fight would lead to destruction on the Korean Peninsula on a scale
unheard of since the Korean War in the 1950s, with millions of deaths on both sides.
The North’s nuclear missiles could easily reach Tokyo; most
major American cities are also within their range. Imagine a nuclear strike on
New York City — hundreds of thousands of Americans dead or irradiated in a
catastrophe that would dwarf 9/11 by multiple orders of magnitude — and you
start to understand what’s at risk here.
But here’s the genuinely scary thing. Numerous conversations
with US policymakers, former US government officials, and experts all point to
one disturbing conclusion: Far from being unthinkable, a war with North Korea
is becoming more likely by the day.
===========
k.
US
War on ISIS Is the Biggest Lie Since the 2003 Iraq Invasion:
Here’s
the Proof
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48468.htm
by Darius Shahtahmasebi
On
November 13, 2017, the BBC dropped a bombshell report that
exposed how the U.S. cut a secret deal with “hundreds” of ISIS fighters and
their families to leave the Syrian city of Raqqa
under the “gaze of the U.S. and British-led coalition and Kurdish-led forces
who control the city.” The convoys reportedly included some of ISIS’ “most
notorious” members, as well as its foreign fighters and tonnes
of weapons and ammunition.
Almost
a month later, Reuters reported that
a high-level defector from Kurdish-led forces in Syria had revealed that the
number of ISIS fighters given safe passage by the U.S.-led coalition was
actually in the thousands, not hundreds. This account was seconded by a
security official in Turkey despite the fact that Turkey and the Kurdish
militia do not typically see eye to eye).
“Agreement
was reached for the terrorists to leave, about 4,000 people, them and their
families,” the defector said, as quoted by Reuters,
adding that all but about 500 were fighters.
The
defector also noted that the fighters were headed toward Deir
ez-Zor, Syria’s most oil-rich region. The U.S. had
been eager to bomb Deir ez-Zor for some time prior
to the deal, and allowing ISIS safe passage to get there would merely give them
the pretext to do so. In June of this year, regional outlet Al-Masdar released
a video that appeared to show convoys of ISIS fighters leaving Raqqa, as well, though the media paid very little attention
to this.
All
of this begs the question: If the U.S. allowed 4,000 ISIS fighters to leave Raqqa, who on earth were they bombing during their brutal
siege? Donald Trump’s illegal
air campaign killed well over 1,800 civilians and brought the
city to ruin — to the point that Russia accused the U.S. of wiping Raqqa “off the face of the earth.” The U.S. government knew
ISIS was leaving the city safely but kept on bombing it into devastation,
anyway.
===========
l.
US Plans Slash and Burn of Middle East to “Minimize” Iranian
Influence
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48448.htm
by
Tony Cartalucci
The
US is attempting to sell to the public the next phase of its continued
occupation and military operations across the Middle East. Predicated on claims
of “rebuilding” Iraq and “fighting terrorists” in Syria, it is in actuality a
plan to perpetuate for as long as possible the upheaval currently consuming the
region in hopes of overextending and exhausting Iran – and by extension –
Russia.
Iranian
Roadblock to Western Hegemony
The
United States in its pursuit of global hegemony has placed particular focus on
encircling, containing, undermining, and if possible, overthrowing the
socioeconomic and political order of Iran as a means to secure for itself
primacy over the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Since
the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the British followed by the Americans have
pursued a multi-generational policy of divide and conquer across MENA.
===========
m.
The United States of Inequality
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48450.htm
by
Andre Damon
Last
week, as Congress rushed to pass a tax bill that will transfer trillions of
dollars to the financial oligarchy, two separate teams of experts published
damning reports documenting the growth of social inequality in the United
States.
On
Thursday, a group of leading inequality researchers, including Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and
Gabriel Zucman, published its 2018 World Inequality
Report, which shows that the United States is far more unequal than the
advanced economies of Western Europe, as well as much of the rest of the world.
===========
n.
2017 in Review: Allan Nairn
on Trump’s “Rightist Revolution”
& the Social Movements Pushing Back
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/26/2017_in_review_allan_nairn_on
===========
o.
Congress in Search of
a Bordello
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48489.htm
by James Petras
In
accordance with the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) the Office
of Compliance (OC) compiled and published shocking statistics listing (1) the
number of settlements paid to its employees and interns after allegations of
abuse by legislators; (2) the total amount of dollars paid by US Treasury to
the victims of Congressional workplace abuse.
The US taxpayers were
made to pay millions of dollars in financial settlements for hundreds of
incidents of Congressperson abuse,
including gross sexual harassment, against
interns, staff and office employees, of both sexes.
This
‘slush and shush’ fund was hidden from the American people. Many abused
victims were paid-off and intimidated into silently watching
the elected officials parade
themselves as paragons of virtue and champions of their voters.
===========
p.
Divide and Rule, a neo-liberal Tactic.
How the baby
boomers — not millennials — screwed America
https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2017/12/20/16772670/baby-boomers-millennials-congress-debt
“The
boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted
it."
===========
q.
Maintaining
American Supremacy in the Twenty-First Century
by Alfred McCoy
It could be a
joke of the “a penguin, a rabbi, and a priest walked into a bar” variety, but
this one would start, “five Chinese naval vessels operating in the Bering Sea
sailed into U.S. territorial waters, coming within 12 miles of the U.S.
coast...” And the punch line would be yours to come up with.
Certainly, that “event,” which did indeed occur recently (without notification
to U.S. authorities), caused a small news flap here, in
part because President Obama was then visiting Alaska. Not since German
U-boats prowled off the East Coast of the U.S. during World War II
had such a thing happened and though American officials reported that the
Chinese had done nothing illegal or that failed to comply with international
law, it still had a certain shock effect in a country that’s used to its own
navy traveling the world’s waters at will.
===========
r.
ACLU
Investigation Reveals Texas Troopers Are Turning Traffic Stops of Immigrants
into Deportations
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/21/no_drivers_license_texas_state_troopers
===========
s.
The
New Yorker
The Republican Grovelling at the White House Was an Alarm Call for 2018
by John Cassidy
For
more, see: Information Clearing House
===========
t.
The “Managerial Revolution » »
Japanese woman 'dies from overwork' after
logging 159 hours of overtime in a month
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/05/japanese-woman-dies-overwork-159-hours-overtime
Fate
of media worker Miwa Sado, 31, piles pressure on
authorities to address large number of deaths linked to labour
practices
===========
u.
From: "Team Grayson" <alangrayson@graysonforcongress.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 27 December, 2017
Subject: Poverty is fatal.
|
Dear Francis, I created something of a stir,
eight years ago, when I reported on the Floor of the House about a Harvard
study that showed that 43,000 Americans were dying
each year because they had no health insurance. Last year, I publicized a study by
the Brookings Institution that found that rich
Americans are living 14 years longer than poor Americans. And last month, we found out
why: a medical study in South Africa found that people with “significant financial stress” were 13 times
more likely to have a heart attack. Not 13 percent more likely.
Not even 130 percent more likely. No – 13 TIMES more likely. “patients
were graded with no financial stress if they were coping financially; mild
financial stress if they were coping financially but needed added support;
moderate financial stress if they had an income but were in financial
distress; and significant financial stress if they had no income and at times
struggled to meet basic needs.” Based on that grading system, they
found that: “Both work stress and financial
stress were associated with a higher risk of acute myocardial infarction [a
heart attack]. The odds of myocardial infarction was
5.6 times higher in patients with moderate or severe work stress compared to
those with minimal or no stress. Patients with significant financial stress
had a 13-fold higher odds of having a myocardial
infarction.” Good news for South Africans,
though: South Africa has national health insurance. The United States,
which is ten times as wealthy, does not. Let’s get this straight.
Having no income – being poor – makes you 13 times more likely to have a
heart attack. But having no income – being poor – means that you can’t
afford health coverage. So in our system, the people who are most
likely to need healthcare are the ones who don’t get it. And the result? The result
is that poverty is fatal. Poverty kills. |
===========
v.
Chris Hedges, Julie Bindel
on the Movement to Legalize Prostitution
https://www.truthdig.com/videos/chris-hedges-julie-bindel-movement-legalize-prostitution-video/
In
this week's episode of "On Contact," host and Truthdig
columnist Chris Hedges sits down with activist Julie Bindel.
The
two discuss the international movement to legalize prostitution, which Bindel calls
an "unmitigated disaster"
in countries such as the Netherlands.
===========
w.
From: "World Beyond War via
ActionNetwork.org" <info@worldbeyondwar.org>
Sent: Wednesday, 27 December, 2017
Subject: How It Could Finally Be Possible to Prosecute War as a Crime
|
===========
x.
From: "mkroopkin"
Sent: Friday, 29 December, 2017
Subject: An hour with Chomsky
Dear friends and family,
Well worth an hour to view the
interview. Sanity is so rare on TV.
(Many cities have the Democracy Now!
program carried on the PBS station.)
Printed transcript and video
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/12/25/noam_chomsky_in_conversation_with_amy
Yours,
Monty
p.s. -- Chomsky is a member of my
union, IWW