Another majestic oak tree fell at Swans HQ. We went down and found no money on its branches. Money, evidently, does not grow on trees. So, we've used the chainsaw to clear the mess, looking for unexistent green. Perhaps the Lotto will do, with odds of 100,000 million or more to one. C'est la vie. Please help us.
This weekend's G-8 summit showed a shift in thinking, finally, from regressive austerity measures to government investment in infrastructure. Nothing like the threat of more (leadership) job loss to inspire creative thinking among the G-7 leaders sitting at the round tale with Monsieur Hollande instead of Sarkozy... But don't shed a tear for the fallen, as Gilles d'Aymery assures. Whether a former president -- American or French, a disgraced (lying) Yahoo CEO, or the love child of an estranged magnate and supermodel couple, they're doing just fine compared to the other 99% of us. Why we keep supporting the 1% can be attributed in part to the capitalist practice of astroturfing and the desublimation of social movements, as Edmund Berger explains. The Koch Brothers may have refined such practices, but they had a strong foundation from which to learn. Michael Barker interviews Professor Inderjeet Parmar on his latest book, Foundations of the American Century: The Ford, Carnegie and Rockefeller in the Rise of American Power.
There's nothing like a nice walk to clear the mind of all this elite nonsense, so we accompany Jonah Raskin through the streets of New York City as he recalls his youth and his grandfather who walked away from Russia to this fine city. A good book will certainly lift the spirits, and Fabio De Propris reflects on Turkish writers Orhan Pamuk and Yasar Kemal and the art of the novel as both a writer and a reader. Culture can be therapeutic, even for the incarcerated, as Peter Byrne illustrates in his essay on Italian theater, Neorealism, the Taviani brothers, and the use of theater in prisoner rehabilitation. For Raju Paddada, true beauty comes in the form of Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, which he celebrates in Part III of his series on this classic work of fiction. In the poetry corner, Glenn Reed transports us on his 1987 trip to Sarajevo, and Guido Monte describes our mechanized society-civilization as a suffering labyrinth. We close with your letters, in which Peter Byrne defends the European Union from Arizonian fascists, but the attacks continue, along with a defense of NASCAR.
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Gilles d'Aymery: Blips #125
A few selected issues that landed on the Editors desk, from the 1999 obscene alimony settlement between Ronald Perelman and Patricia Duff, to the more expensive, per day, settlement fight between Linda Evangelista and Monsieur Pinault; Yahoo's fradulent CEO and his reward for lying; to real-life struggles, Sarkozy's comfortable pension, and the sad passing of Carlos Fuentes. More...
Edmund Berger: Harnessing People Power Continued: The 99% Spring and the "Professional Left"
On astroturfing and the desublimation of social movements that is a naturally occurring component of the capitalist system. More...
Michael Barker: Foundations For Empire: An Interview With Inderjeet Parmar
Interview with Inderjeet Parmar, the author of Foundations of the American Century: The Ford, Carnegie, and Rockefeller in the Rise of American Power (Columbia University Press, 2012). More...
Jonah Raskin: Walking New York
Jonah Raskin shares the pleasure of walking the streets of New York City in the spring, and the memories of his grandfather who immigrated there from Russia. More...
Fabio De Propris: Between Tradition and Postmodernism On The Bosphorus
An essay on Turkish writers Orhan Pamuk and Yasar Kemal, with reflections on the art of the novel as both a writer and a reader. More...
Peter Byrne: Society's Dead Look Into A Killing
A look at Italian theater, Neorealism, the Taviani brothers, and the use of theater in prisoner rehabilitation. More...
Raju Peddada: The Magic Mountain: Thomas Mann's gift of beauty (Part III)
Part III of a series on Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. More...
Glenn Reed: Sarajevo Market, 1987
This poem relates to a trip the author took in 1987 to Sarajevo, in the former Yugoslavia. More...
Guido Monte: Labyrinth
Guido Monte describes our mechanized society-civilization as a suffering labyrinth. More...
Peter Byrne defends the European Union from Arizonian fascists, but the attacks continue, along with a defense of NASCAR. More...
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