1. We hereby disavow the "Old Chaos Marxism"'s interest in "meme magic" for the following reasons: 1. The fascists got there first and did it better (or at least did it as successfully as possible). 2. We should have predicted they should do that, because as Walter Benjamin identified in the 1930s, fascism is precisely turning politics into aesthetics. 3. Meme politics are stupid politics. We announce *Gresham's Law of Memetics*: *boomer memes drive out dank memes*. Memes which appeal to the dumbest, grossest part of the lizard ... more »
*INTRODUCTION:* Hamilton is in crisis. It may seem alarmist to use that word, but when we review the events of the past year, it is impossible to come to any other conclusion. I believe I can speak for all of us at ARC Collective when I say that we are deeply troubled by the lack of support HPS has shown anti-racists so far, while government officials appear to mishandle the situation. There have been a few positive steps, including the beginnings of an independent review of police conduct at Hamilton Pride, but these steps are barely a start and do not go nearly far enough. When d... more »
*INTRODUCTION:* Hamilton Ontario is in crisis. It may feel alarmist to use that word, but when the entirety of the year's events are reviewed, it's impossible to come to any other conclusion. I believe I can speak for all of us at ARC Collective that we are deeply distressed that, despite recent assault charges against Rebecca Long, those who have been victimized by white supremacists and Yellow Vesters remain largely unsupported by HPS despite ample evidence of assaults and harassment. When reviewing media articles and press releases, it became clear the media, government and po... more »
I have been watching the later stages of the still-ongoing House Judiciary Comm hearing on impeaching Trump. I have seen Republicans repeatedly ranting on about how this is an effort to undo the "popular election" of Trump, the will of the "63 million" who voted for Trump. Really, how dumb are these people? Hillary had three million more than Trump, 66 million. He was not the popular winner. What a joke. Of course impeachment is explicitly an undoing of an election result. The person elected, even ones who actually won the popular vote such as Nixon and Clinton, is charged with... more »
Since just before voting day in November 2016, Washington has adopted the narrative that the Russians are to blame for pretty much everything in the world that is wrong. While this narrative existed after the so-called annexation of Crimea after the uprising in Ukraine, it really took root when the contents of Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server were released to the public, a reality that pretty much torched her chances of residing in the Oval Office. Recent moves by the United States Senate show that the anti-Russia mantra is alive and well and actually growing by the day. Wh... more »
How gullible is Reuters? China will likely hit $50 billion in purchases of U.S. agricultural products, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday after earlier announcing that he would roll back scheduled tariffs on Chinese imports as Washington and Beijing finalized an initial trade deal. That was their opening paragraph. Fortune had a different take: The Markets Have Spoken: Phase One Trade Deal Between the U.S. and China Is “No Victory” - From Shanghai to London, stocks rallied on Friday morning as a “Phase One trade deal” was reached between China and the Trump Administration... more »
I remember the Oka "Crisis" of 1990. Many of us Indian folk would not be in Quebec for the attacks by the Military on Mohawks over Land. The Town of Oka wanted to build a golf course on Mohawk land. The treatment of the Indians by the Military and by the public was and is shameful. One of the things which is forever etched in my mind, my memory is the photos of white men, white women throwing rocks at Indian Women, Indian Elders and Indian kids as they drove across a bridge. There was a whole town of folk throwing rocks at Indian people. The cops stood by and watched. I can still s... more »
The irony of the times is that what is happening to us in America, is not new. Like the spooky refrain in the Battleship Galactica reboot, “It has happened before” The only real difference is that some of us understand what is happening to us. Hypatia and the Barbarians within In the movie Agora, Hypatia, then, like now: “is a 2009 Spanish English-language historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in late 4th-century Roman Egypt, who investigates... more »
The Washington Post has over the last 7 days published a detailed account based on many secret documents they have spent years obtaining to provide an accurate account of what has happened during what is now the longest war the US has been engaged in. It is an impressive account, which I have tried to follow, although with finishing a semester I did not read every word ot it. But it is a serious and important serious series, just reaching its conclusion today, along with lots of commentary in the WaPo Sunda Outlook section. One extremely serious bottom line on both of them was lyin... more »
Thanks to a little movie called *Clash of the Titans*, my childhood included a rather odd obsession with the story of Perseus and Medusa. Considering just how great that myth is, it's almost strange to realize just how few films play around with the stony possibilities of gorgons. *Quick Plot:* A young artist named Bruno is painting his muse only to discover she's pregnant with his child. Eager to prove himself worthy in her father's eyes, he flees to ask for her hand in marriage. Unfortunately, before he can hear the word "no," his girlfriend is mysteriously turned to stone. The... more »
At the recent plenary session of the 11th VTB Russia Calling! Investment Forum, Vladimir Putin weighed in on the relationship between Washington and Russia and how Russia plans to repair the relationship between the two nations and how the sanctions environment has impacted Russia's economy. Let's look at some background trade data. Here is a graphic showing Russia's top ten trade partnerships: Here is a table showing Russia's top ten exported and imported goods: Now, let's focus on Russia's trade with the United States. According to the United States Census Bureau database, her... more »
