There has been a recent uproar, if a scant news cycle can be labeled thus, over Scotland's compassionate release of convicted Pan Am Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi who is suffering from end-stage prostate cancer. Except it turns out that this "humanitarian" gesture allegedly had more to do with securing BP's $900 million oil exploration contract with Libya than showing empathy for a dying man -- an interesting backdrop for Gilles d'Aymery's Blips in which all politics is local, diverting our efforts toward saving community health centers instead of stopping the obscene military spending on ventures designed to preserve our (i.e., the elites') way of life. Or as Michael Barker notes in his research on modern-day slavery, capitalism has replaced the tangible slave shackles with less visible means of social control, and humanitarian groups appear more concerned with sustaining the capitalist elites than saving human life. Charles Marowitz whittles it down to a less subtle conjecture on the fundamental division between the Stupid and the Smart, the former believing that social reform equals dictatorship, while the latter take advantage of the dumbing-down to further their agenda. As Femi Akomolafe puts it in his dialogue on Nigeria's corruption, American wealth was built by robber barons and other scalawags who make Nigerian politicians look angelic... Tiziano Terzani's series of Letters Against the War continues to resonate with Martin Murie, who concurs that a defense of diversity among nations, instead of mindless uniformity built by market ideologies and the realities they forge, is fundamental for a shift away from the rule of Empire.
Under the circumstances, the time has come for us to get some smarts, despite all those cuts in education funds. We'll begin our curriculum with Peter Byrne, who on this Labor Day reviews Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle's brilliantly conceived graphic tribute to the legendary Studs Terkel, after which the ever-colorful Art Shay gives a rave review of Inglourious Basterds, a make-believe account of a band of Jews' revenge against the Nazis. Concermaster Isidor Saslav reports on Bard College's annual Summerscape Festival, in which two operatic gems of converted Judaic culture are revived in the context of this year's featured composer, the anti-Semitic Richard Wagner. The poetry corner is edified by the primordial linguistic blending of maestro Guido Monte and a dreamy offering by Jeffery Klaehn. Finally, we learn from Raju Peddada's experiments in navigating the brazen world of auto repairs. We close with your letters, in which Peter Byrne answers the Saul Bellow debate, an uninsured reader responds to Jan Baughman's socialism sardonicism, and Charles Marowitz bids good riddance to Texas.
As always, please form your OWN opinion, and let your friends (and foes) know about Swans. It's your voice that makes ours grow.
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Gilles d'Aymery: Blips #89
A few selected issues that landed on the Editor's desk, from fee hikes, service cuts, and California's bankruptcy; the economic consequences for rural health centers and entire communities; to aristocracy, military spending, US hypocrisy, and how it's indeed mostly about energy. More...
Michael Barker: Combating [Some] Slavery
In this history of the elite manipulation of the antislavery movement the author demonstrates that while capitalism has replaced the tangible shackles of slavery with less visible means of social control, the humanitarians fighting to abolish modern-day slavery appear more concerned with sustaining the capitalist elites than saving human life. More...
Charles Marowitz: Smart Or Stupid?
The Stupid appear to have an advantage over the Smart when it comes to social reform in America, by smartly enlisting fear-mongering techniques and defining reform as government dictatorship. More...
Femi Akomolafe: The Logic Of Corruption
The author considers a dialogue on the corruption in Nigeria that is detrimental to any economic progress. More...
Martin Murie: Hei Ram (Oh God!)
Martin Murie reviews Tiziano Terzani's Letter Against the War from India, concurring that a defense of diversity among nations, instead of mindless uniformity built by market ideologies and the realities they forge, is fundamental for a shift away from the rule of Empire. More...
Peter Byrne: Studs Reloaded
A review of Studs Terkel's Working, A Graphic Adaptation, which through sixteen artists speaks the truth to the plight of working men and women in the 1960s. More...
Art Shay: Sick Glourious Basterds
Art Shay gives a rave review to Inglorious Basterds, a make-believe account of a band of Jews' revenge against the Nazis that even his violently anti-violent wife loved. More...
Isidor Saslav: The Great Meyerbeer-Mendelssohn Mystery
As part of Bard College's 2009 Summerscape Festival, Leon Botstein revives two operatic gems of converted Judaic culture -- Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, and Mendelssohn's St. Paul -- in the context of the anti-Semitic Richard Wagner. More...
Guido Monte: Chaos
Feelings from the primordial and the present world, in the linguistic blending of the author. More...
Jeffery Klaehn: All My Life I've Dream(p)t Of You
A poem within a poem -- but is it real love, or a powerful dream? More...
Raju Peddada: All Our Rough Rides
Navigating the less-than-honest auto-repair industry takes patience, persistence, and finding the right family-owned business with reliable mechanics. More...
Peter Byrne tries to set the misunderstood record straight on Louis Proyect's Saul Bellow in Retrospect; comments from one of the 47 million uninsured on Jan Baughman's Death By Socialism; Charles Marowitz bids adieu to Texas; and more from the Bureau of Public Secrets. More...
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