Many thanks to Roger Baker for his second generous financial contribution this year. Please, friendly readers, companions, comrades, brothers and sisters, do not wait until the fall to help us.
Is nuclear energy the answer? Should we kill people to save lives? Is it moral to spend more on cruise missiles and less on teachers and social services? Have we become the United States of Austerity? Gilles d'Aymery asks those questions and researches the answers with his typical Martian clarity, though the answer to the nuclear conundrum -- is it safe and is it cost-effective -- is not so clear. Paddy Apling lends his scientific analysis to the discussion and suggests we should stop exaggerating the dangers, and Joel Hirschhorn concludes that when it comes to nuclear power, one should plan for no less than the worst-case scenario. The nuclear option waged on Wisconsin unions has exceeded its news-cycle half-life, but those still interested in the plight of labor are advised to read Michael Barker's shocking article on the role the AFL-CIO has played in promoting labor movement imperialism, including in Egypt where its Solidarity Center acts as a well-established arm of the US government seeking to undermine the vitality of labor movements worldwide. And back to an earlier question of trading teachers for Tomahawks, Michael DeLang's political allegory demonstrates the "socialism" fear tactics used to block government funding for the benefit of the people.
Turning from tough societal questions to life's simple pleasures, our cultural corner is energized by a Peter Byrne short story on boyhood experience with racism; Raju Peddada's celebration of Stendhal; Maxwell Clark's strange accounting of how certain philosophers have acted in formulating the ideas that have ordered revolutions; Bo Keeley's account of an introspective year spent in Garage Nirvana mastering the art and science of self-control, proving just as recent studies have shown that people with full bladders make better decisions; and Charles Marowitz's adulation for the beautiful and iconic Elizabeth Taylor. In the French Corner, we enjoy les bons mots of Marie Rennard, who considers the IQ tests that assess where between chimpanzee and genius we stand; Christian Cottard's short story of hope; Francesca Saieva's thoughts on Italian writer Italo Calvino; and the ethereal poetry of Simone Alié-Daram. Last but certainly not least, we close with the poetry of Guido Monte and a treasure trove of letters in which author and former Harper's editor Roger Hodge and author Paul Street respond to Louis Proyect's review of their books on Barack Obama, and more.
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Gilles d'Aymery: Blips #107
A few selected issues that landed on the Editor's desk, from the increasing demand for electricity, the pie in the sky reliable renewable energy and the cost and risk of nuclear power; the "humanitarian" attack on Libya and what the money spent on those cruise missiles could fund in the United States of Austerity; to Bob Herbert's departure from The New York Times, and more. More...
Edward ("Paddy") Apling: Energy And The Tsunami
Consideration of the Japanese tsunami, its nuclear problems, and the future of power supplies. More...
Joel S. Hirschhorn: The Unspoken Lesson From The Japan Disaster
The 2011 Japan earthquake and nuclear disaster demonstrate how low probability nightmare realities can only be anticipated when technological optimism and financial cost-benefit analyses are not allowed to dictate major decisions about complex projects. More...
Michael Barker: Reporting On Egyptian Workers: Solidarity in the Name of Capitalism
Critical review of the Joel Beinin's report on Egypt for the Solidarity Center. More...
Michael DeLang: Socialism In America
Fred and Barney appear in the author's political allegory that demonstrates the "socialism" fear tactics used to block government funding for the benefit of the people. More...
Peter Byrne: The Culvert
Short story on boyhood experience with racism. More...
Raju Peddada: A Repository of Magnificence: Stendhal's The Red and The Black
The author describes the impact and lingering effect of reading Stendhal's The Red and The Black with its aphoristic pillar of realism. More...
Maxwell Clark: The Murderous Care Of Our Philosopher-Kings
A strange accounting of how certain philosophers have acted in formulating the ideas that have ordered revolutions. More...
Bo Keeley: Bladder Cross-Training In A Michigan Garage
The author recounts an introspective year, 1978, spent in Garage Nirvana mastering the art and science of self-control, proving just as recent studies have shown that people with full bladders make better decisions. More...
Charles Marowitz: Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)
A short tribute to the life and beauty of Elizabeth Taylor. More...
Marie Rennard: Intelligence
La mesure de l'intelligence et la partialité des tests. More...
Christian Cottard: Le malheur, le vrai
Nouvelle : Tant qu'il y a de la vie, il y a de l'espoir. More...
Francesca Saieva: Italo Calvino: la légèreté du monde et l'engagement civil
Francesca Saieva nous livre la première partie d'une série d'articles sur Italo Calvino. More...
Simone Alié-Daram: Penseur des rues
Poème sur une vieillesse tranquille. More...
Guido Monte: One Day, Any Day
Guido Monte describes an "usual" tragedy of Italian urban life in Palermo, on a migrant worker, one of the infinite migrant workers of the world. More...
Author and former Harper's editor Roger Hodge and author Paul Street respond to Louis Proyect's review of their books on Barack Obama; US military propaganda and a name-the-next-operation contest; the underlying economics of revolutions; and a defense of Gaddafi. More...
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