We Demand You Care

Israel's suporters just want us to feel their pain. It's not enough to call for a ceasefire, you must acknowledge Hamas as being the cause of ALL the pain and misery. No if and's or buts. Those supporters need that to be the only valid starting point for any and all discussions. Following that acknowledgment you are then allowed to talk about the OTHER victims, though ceasefire still seems to be out of bounds. You will still be viewed as an ally or friend even if you talk about suffering on both sides. Those same liberal left supporters will tell you they also "support a peaceful solution to the conflict". They will condemn the encroaching settlements. They remain the loyal opposition to Netanyahus policies. So they're cool. They just want to establish the priorities.Go ahead and exercise your "free speech right", but if you wish to avoid the anti-semite label, just remember who to condemn first and who to mourn first. It shouldn't be that hard. Follow the rules and you'll do fine.

More Wicked Problems

We read of Israel's dilemma as it ponders an invasion of Gaza. After the ecstacy of revenge and bloodletting, what then? No one knows. Like so many problems humanity currently faces, there are no good outcomes, only bad and worse. The same thing applies to Palestinians. With all the support for the "Palestinian cause", no one can tell you what happens, invasion or no, in terms of outcome. The problem is that we long ago left the realm of rational, viable political solutions worked out between rational states or populations. Everyone on both sides is damaged by trauma, buried deep beneath tons of ideological rubble and suffering from pathological nuerosis. They have nurtured nihilistic cultures of violence. They seethe with hate and rage. And many are religious. Many fanatical zealots. In this situation, the outcome can only be bad or very bad. We don't want to call it tragic because it wasn't fate which brought us to this catastrophic moment. It was consious policy based on relations of power. It was calculated and deliberate, if poorly thought through. israeli's often argue that Palestinians don't acknowledge Israel's "right to exist". But no one, and certainly no nation-state has any such right. Your army gives you the ability to exist. The Palestinians are simply arguing that Israel, as it is currenlly configured on a map, is illegal and unjust. Which it certainly is. They don't wish to recognize those borders as "Israel". Zionists exagerrate the threat of being pushed into the sea but they have nukes.

Antarctic Ice Shelf Tipping

A couple of side by side articles in the Wa Po tell us all we need to know about Climate and Capital. One piece explains the results of a new study published by the journal NatureClimateChange showing “widespread increases in ice-shelf melting, including in regions crucial for ice-sheet stability.” This will continue regardless of human's attempts to limit emissions. All this warming will occur at a pace three times faster than originally forecast. This follows a pattern where newer studies find older ones conservative in their estimates of warming and its effects. You almost never hear them say "Hey, it's not as bad as we thought!" The article next to this one is about Chevron Oil buying Hess Oil, a sign that fossil fuel profits are expected to remain strong. This follows the recent purchase of shale driller Pioneer by Exxon a few days ago. The Big Boys are placing their bets and a few extra feet of sea level rise by 2100 is not their concern. Of course, the melting of the ice shelf and the Thwaites "doomsday" glacier will happen faster and the sea level rise greater if we burn those fossil fuels like mad. Which looks like the plan. “It appears we may have lost control of the West Antarctic ice shelf melting over the 21st century,” Kaitlin Naughten, the study’s lead author and an ocean modeler with the British Antarctic Survey, told reporters in a media briefing. This is a classic case of having pushed polar ice systems past a "tipping point". But if you own Chevron or Exxon stocks you're looking pretty. Use the dividends to buy property inland, on some higher ground.

Abandoned and Forsaken

In a piece in the Times, "progressive" Jews bemoan the fact that what they believed to be their allies on "The Left" have left them hanging by not showing enough sympathy for those killed and captured by Hamas. They wish to enforce a certain hierarchy of grief and outrage: first come those killed by Hamas, followed by the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza. Followed by all Palestinians (those in the West Bank). But the first order is to "condemn the killings". After that you can start in with the nuance, you know, children in Gaza, women and old people, yada yada. Defy the grief order and risk outrage. These Jews say "the Left" is sending the message that Israelis "deserved this terrible fate." But is that what "The Left" is saying? Or is this the perfect opportunity to Jeremy Corbyn "the Left", to crush them for not being on board the Zionist Train? Is pointing out the conditions and history of an apartheid state the same as saying people "deserved" to die? These "progressive" Jews need you to know how much they care, how much they suffer. Their deep concern for the injustice. It's all about them feeling better. According to the authors of the piece, "progressive groups" (left unidentified), skipped mourning and went straight to "justifying" the attacks. But is it justifying or providing context? All of us who lived through 9/11 remember how this works. Any attempt to explain or understand is labled justification. Excusing. Sympathising. Then the "progressive Jews" play the ace. They start referencing the Holocaust. That ends any debate altogether. They say: "We have been warned about how quickly people would turn on us." Much hand wringing. Pogroms are real and Jews have faced unimaginable terror. But there are no signs of pogroms at the moment. The usual level of anti-semitism, sure. Americans hate a lot of people. It's in our DNA. What needs to be examined in this media discourse is the use of the terms Jewish, Israeli and Zionist. It tells you a lot about the workings of propaganda.

Who Want's To Be Speaker?

Apparently some of the "moderate" Republicans who were holding out against Jim Jordan recieved death threats. The media is calling that tactic "extreme", as if the poor snowflakes can't just buy some weapons (there are plenty available at any store) and defend themselves. What good is the right to bear arms if people won't exercise it? Sure, threatening someone who won't vote for your guy with death used to be a little out of bounds, but we live in new times. If they really want results, they should follow the ISIS playbook and start be-heading a few Congressmen. That's how you get people's attention. Do it on U Tube. I guess it's possible these politicians didn't realize what they were getting into, that it was a bloodsport with real consequences. Well welcome to the real world folks. A bit late to be crying foul. Real patriots understand sacrifice. Duty. That freedom isn't free. I'd recommemd the Glock.

End Game ?

In trying to get into the mind of Hamas strategists, I don't seem to get very far. As they were doing the calculations on the attack on Israel, did they have some sort of end game in mind? Did they have a vision of the aftermath? Did they in fact achieve their goals? It would be unwise to assume the actors are rational. They are, after all, religious. Could they have assumed Allahs help would allow them to achieve victory in a war against Israel? Soldiers are commonly assured that God is on their side. Might they have assumed Israel would just fold and cede control, ok, you win. You can have your state. That wasn't likely to happen so what other calculation might Hamas have made. Were they counting on the backlash to broaden sympathy for their plight? Did they, like the Jan 1 insurrectionists, believe they would inspire a mass uprising, a spontaneous revolution sweeping away the old order? Arab unity perhaps? Or were they simply interested in being martyred, going to Paradise with all its delights? I suspect they had simply reached a point where it didn't matter. They were sick of life in prison and decided to go out with a bang. As for all the marches and demonstrations calling for restraint and humanitarian aid, how can people still believe in marches? Believing a march will change anything is like believing Hamas can win a war against Israel.Totally delusional. Who knows what kind of deals Anthony Blinken is making right now. Oil. Weapons. But whatever they are, people marching are not part of the calculation.

More Groundhogs

It's all so exhausing. This sudden concern for "innocent civilians". This retaliation for the retaliation for the retaliation into infinity. This condemnation of a heartless left. At what point do you stop hearing yourself repeat these endless mantras? When does the performance just cause the eyes to glaze over? Nicholas Kristof sighs: "We are fated to inhabit a world wiht more problems than solutions." Sorry folks, the brilliant commentariat has no answers, it's all fate and destiny, there's no alternative. Nothing can be changed. Just bury your dead and wait for the next attack. Those who tried to understand the attack of 9/11 were called sympathizers. Those who tried to look for cause were accused of justifying. Because nuance is dead. All must be dumbed down to the binary good/evil. With us or against us. Love it or leave it. With Israel, Zionism and Jewishness involved, rational analysis becomes even more fraught. References to the Holocaust and pogroms are inevitable and accusations of anti-semitism a perfect silencing device. Which is not to say it doesn't exist. But what if you were to put events in an historical context? What if you tried to expand the analysis to include geopolitical factors, regional power dynamics, etc? To understand, not condone. The hardest thing to stomach is liberals who are outraged and go on to claim they just want peace. Those self-righteous true believers in "democratic" capitalism that cringe when you use the term apartheid state or show outrage at boycott and divestment. After all the sad laments there is really only one question that matters: what would you like to see done differently so we don't repeat?

Trouble Comin Everyday

As old Frank Zappa put it, there's no way to delay that trouble comin everyday. Poor Ukraine has been knocked down to page 4, under the fold. Solidarity with Zionism is being demanded from all loyal Americans. Earthquakes, floods and fires are creating millions of new refugees, heading our way. And now The City on the Hill is suffering what liberals call a "crisis of governance". Here's how David Firestone puts it in today's Times, calling for politicians to: "demonstrate that the United States still has a functional government, one that can play a significant role in supporting democratic allies around the globe." This because of: "the world’s desperate need for a morally persuasive American leadership". The world needs us and what do we do? Scratch our balls and order something from Amazon! Stare at our phones and rip open another bag of chips! C'mon America! Where's that old Can Do spirit? With both the stock and bond markets teetering, Chinese real estate in the tank and gas prices about to skyrocket, things could get tough for old Joe Brandon. He could order a tactical nuclear strike on Gaza, which might shore up some support in the Midwest. He's already tried sending people checks. How do people call for American moral leadership with a straight face? It's baffling.

Investment Strategy

This from Jeff Somers, the NYTimes money guru: " Solar Edge, which calls itself “a visionary leader in smart energy technology, committed to harnessing the power of the sun to create a sustainable future,” lost 51.9 percent, the worst quarterly performance in the S&P 500. Profiting from higher fossil fuel prices is less than ideal if you are worried about climate change. Yet the economy still depends on fossil fuels. And even if alternative energy comes to dominate the future, oil and gas are generating riches now." Damn right it is! I know where I'm puttin my money! Americans watching their retirement funds implode will vote against the "Biden economy" and instead elect a "successfull business man". Jeff Somers advises "just hang in there!"; you can add sawdust to the casserole, cut back on heating your house, or better yet, lose the house and get a tent! Also from Letters To the Editor one brave soul dared to mention the conditions Gazans have been living under for the last thirty years. I hope they used a fake name. In an editorial, the Board writes : "to the world's horror they (Hamas militants/ terrorists) attacked civilians..." Then they mention the bombs Israel is dropping on Gaza cities. But don't civilians live in cities? Women and children and old people? Isn't the world horrified by that? Not one bit. Modern war is all about killing civilians, has been since we nuked Nagasaki and Hiroshima. What do you think the Ukranians and Russians are doing every day? Israelis, however, will get a different treatment in the press and if saying that is anti-semitic, so be it.

Unravelling

Africa pleads for debt relief in todays Times: "With its young population, vast renewable energy and mineral resources and large tracts of uncultivated arable land, the continent is more important to future global prosperity than ever before." Of course Africa has never heard these rosy promises before. Just let us tear out your minerals and cultivate your land and you'll all get rich, no, really. A rising tide lifts all boats! All it requires is outside investment (at low interest!) and a willingness to see your landscapes denuded. One can expect development banks, governments and private equity to be a bit leery about lending Africa more money since it always ends up in the pockets of dictators, warlords, elected officials, etc.. Not that corruption is unique to post-colonial Africa. The post-Soviet countries are all kleptocracies run by Mafia elites. On closer inspection you see that every so-called capitalist "democracy" is riddled with corruption, some more sophisticated than others. And so the disintegration of liberal order accelerates daily, with increasing failed states, ethnic conflict, land grabs, etc. Latin America has been out of the news thanks to Ukraine and now Israel, but many countries there are facing default and we don't even bother thinking about the Carribean; Haiti being the best example. US liberals continue to prattle on about electric vehicles and green hydrogen as societies implode. They worry about "our polarizing politics". The age of oblivious.

Capitalist Realism

I belive I'm beginning to understand what Mark Fisher meant by the term capitalist realism; where I had assumed it referred to the liberal tendency to accept capitalism as hegemonic, I now think it describes the wholesale acceptance of capitalism by the Left, such as it is. The only projects being put forth by socialists are ones that aim to make capitalism a bit kinder and gentler. The new utopian vision includes everyone having a mortgage, a car payment, a credit card and a job to pay all the bills. They can then vote for a "socialist party" which supports a robust welfare state. In other words, capitalist realism sees Finland as the ultimate expression of socialism. Capitalist realism. Each issue being tackled; homelessness, climate change, unionization, health care, etc..proposes solutions within the capitalist structure. Rent control and tenants unions. Green capitalism. Better wages and benefits. Medicare for all. This is capitalist realism. The debate over "de-growth" within ecosocialism is a perfect example. Those opposed say that, given capitalism, the working class will never support recession and austerity. Therefore it is a losing proposition. Given capitalism. Capitalist realism is the reason prison abolition and de-fund the police falls flat. Given capitalism, with its inherent violence and lack of safety, why would anyone want to abolish the carceral state? Given capitalism. The bottom line here is that there is no such thing as "non-reformist reforms". There can be no "socialist party within capitalist "democracy", which is anything but. You're either on the bus or off, sorry. It makes no sense to make capitalism nicer. It must be replaced.

Some Kind of Metric

From the NY Times "In the Obama administration, White House economists calculated the social cost of carbon at $42 a ton. The Trump administration lowered it to less than $5 a ton. Under Mr. Biden, the cost was adjusted for inflation and set at $51. Officials are now working on an update that is expected to jump to around $190 a ton." 190 is a nice number but as is made obvious by the wide variation, it is random, a political calculation, and has little to do with any scientifically determined "social cost". And of course it will be derided as another "woke" tax on the working class, another attempt to "pick winners and losers" which is heresy according to capitalist doctrine. In an interview on conceptelemental.com environmental economist Jay Hatfield says the tax could be raised to 1000 dollars a ton and the market would adjust as the planet is saved. I suspect such a tax would be a bit more disruptive, which is why it doesn't exist.