Judaism, Zionism, Israel

Margarite Susman on the Zionist nation-state: "But with this warlike defense, as with the state which requires it, the people has absorbed a piece of the chaos alien to it, and thus endangered its internal existence more seriously than its external. By pursuing this way of life, it is participating in the bloody confusions and distortions of the world of nations so deeply anathema to it; it is participating in the curse of nationalism, in the growing petrification of life, in the apocalyptic cooling of hearts that is cooling the life of humanity. Can the messianic legacy still be managed in such a reality? Is it still possible—and this is the same question—to bring the simply human to fruition?" Susman wrote this many years ago, at the birth of Zionism, but what the nation-state of Israel is now engaged in, while plenty "bloody", can not be called "defense". Yet we know many Israelis, in their collective psychosis, would insist it is exactly that. As they abandon that "messianic legacy" for property acquisition through genocide, they destroy themselves as A People. The "mad bull" on a rampage is now attacking Syria, taking advantage of their new government and the geopolitics of the U.S. turning a blind eye, or wink and nod. The Zionists are attacking Lebanon, striking the heart of Beirut and of course re-occupying Gaza and soon the West Bank in an all-out campaign of ethnic cleansing and settlement by rabid reactionaries. From socialist exiles to militant expansionists in a matter of a few capitalist decades. Here in the U.S. the power of Zionist ideology can be seen in the attacks on critics and activists, on universities and lawyers willing to defend free speech rights. In true Orwellian form, to support the right of Palestinians to self-determination and a state is to support Hamas, terrorism and anti-semitism. The Israelis believe they can build an "iron dome" that will protect them from reality, from history, from justice and truth. This AIPAC fantasy is what comes with wealth and power and the corrupt relations they breed. But as much blame falls on moderate Jews who thought they could just put their head in the sand and ignore the injustice taking place for decades. But of course for Zionism to ally with MAGA Americanism is insanely short-sighted and will only lead to more tragedy and "common ruin". An ethno-nationalist project that depends on, thrives on, celebrates violent oppression can only lead to "the apocalyptic cooling of hearts" which is anathema to all that progressive Judaism stands for. As stated in rabbinical ethical teachings: “Be cautious with governments, for they bring a person close to them only for their own needs. They appear as friends when it benefits them, but they do not stand by a person in his time of difficulty.” Fundamentalists ( going back to my last post) lack the ability to hold two incongruent thoughts in their tiny minds, no matter which type of monotheist they happen to be ( including Islamists). The Christian Zionist fundamentalists can't wait for the Messiah to return, a wonderful Armageddon, forcing all the Jews to choose Christ or roast for eternity. Personally, I prefer the Easter bunny but the Jews need to be careful about which "friends" they choose. Or maybe it's too late for that.

Back to Fundamentals

In a world-historical sense, a dominant trend we are seeing globally can be described as fundamentalism. Whether in religious terms, such as the rise of Islamist, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian nationalist chauvinism or strictly cultural reaction, such as historical revisionism or support for "traditional" values, it is a turn away from complexity and pluralism towards simplicity and dogma. The rise of religious fundamentalism is truly terrifying if you are not a straight cis-gendered male. From Israel to Pakistan to Afghanistan to Bangladesh to America to India to Myanmar to North Africa doctrinal authority and the religious leaders who interpret various scriptures is on the rise. They are done with nuanced, secular, liberal rights that require balancing different interests or creating a social compact. They prefer tribes with strict, easy to follow rules. This is an obvious reaction to feminism in particular, where male power is challenged and threatened. Take the anti-LGBTQ backlash. In some places, like Russia or parts of Africa, it can mean death. “People were looking for explanations, and InfoWars offered simple, if outlandish, answers to complex problems.” According to the new tech-masters of the universe: "democracy is outdated “legacy code” that can’t keep up with modern complexity. The future, he and others argue, will belong to those who design and implement a superior system—one that runs more like a corporation." Simple hierarchies for simple minds.

Go East Young Man

One obstacle to making America great again is the general ignorance of the work force. A piece in the NY Times highlights all the companies moving to India so they can hire educated workers: "American companies are assembling their work forces in India mainly because it has become difficult to find the right kind of workers in the United States. Studies find that a third of all new engineering jobs go unfilled, while nearly 1.2 million Indians graduate with engineering degrees every year." MAGAs are upset with offshoring and wish they had their shit jobs back, assembling widgets on an assembly line. But they also want 35 dollars an hour plus benefits for doing mindless tasks. The trouble is, any of that soul-crushing labor that isn't done by robots is being done by people living on ten dollars a day. And those companies looking for skilled workers are going to places other than the U.S. " We’ve got an inexorable trend right now, where enterprises understand that you can globalize the work,” Ms. Kops said. She has tried setting up global centers within the United States but says that “we just don’t have the education engine” to staff them." American kids want to be influencers or play professional sports. In the meantime they are happy posting in their parent's basement. American employers are asking: “Can you get 5,000 folks who know how to do this kind of work? You can’t,” she said. “But you can do it in India, and you can do it in other places in the world.” Fortunately for American dummies there is always the military. This is what a teacher wrote today: "I teach college students, and many are unable to focus for a sustained period, read a 20-page article or write coherently." Boys are sucked into the Jordan Peterson Manosphere. It turns out artificial intelligence won't actually have to be all that intelligent in order to replace American workers. Of course those students who go to Christian schools will know a lot about Jericho and Cannan and Egypt. I'm not mourning the dismantling of the Education Department because they really weren't helping. Not sure who will be going to U.S. schools to learn about American exceptionalism except patriots.

More Ted Pilled

Interesting piece in the Times today about the resilient popularity of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto of 1995 (The Strange Post Partisan Popularity of the Unabomber by Charles Homans) Ted's own take on Jacques Ellul's theory that "civilization had aquired a mind of its own" resonates today in so many ways it's scary. I'm thinking here of Nate Hagan's notion of the "superorganism" or in a Marxist sense, of the "greedy and self-enjoying,a-subjective system of which no one is realy or fully in control", that is the self-reproducing force called Capital. The Deep Green Resistance folks point to "industrial civilization", which falls in line with Ted's thinking as well. Or in the historical sense we could just say modernity, with its tight bond to technology. The Unabomber's cabin was moved from Lincoln Mt to FBI headquarters in Washington DC. The only remaining reason to visit Lincoln is the Sculpture Park located east of town. Then there is Artificial General Intelligence, the possibility of which which Ted hinted at as well. Definitely a "mind of its own" in a reductive yet still terrifying sense. Remember, Ted is prophesizing all this pre-internet, a time fewer and fewer of us even remember. People like him and Marshal Mc Luhan, Joseph Conrad, Allen Ginsberg and Hunter S Thompson - they had an often tortured gift for seeing where trends might lead. Few could have imagined a time when these new Tech Masters of the Universe would decide it is their perogative to control the state! And the direction Progress is willed to take our species. The pushback exists, but it is still on the fringes; the website Tech Won't save Us, Richard King's book Here Be Monsters are a couple of examples. Mostly we see acquiescence, the resigned acceptance of that which the technocrats tell us will be good for us. We are told it will lead to trillions in new wealth, to a better life for all. There are reasons to be skeptical. At least with medical research such as gene therapy and cloning and such there are people considering bioethics. With AI there is too much profit at stake. Like the sorcerer's apprentice, we are doomed to learn the hard way.

Unscientific Random Sample

Overheard at the gym locker room: "Did you see what those sick fucks are doing to those Teslas? Dude, I'm tempted to go buy a Tesla and sit in the bushes waiting with my rifle. I would so love to have them come try to mess with it." Pause. "So what truck did you bring today, the Chevy or the Ford?" "Chevy." Young working class dudes itching for some action, lot of tough talk about antifa, etc..but who knows? They might pull the trigger.The irony is Andreas Malm's call for sabotage against SUV's ( not "eco-friendly EVs") but these are the times we live in, the "morbid sysmptoms" as Gramsci called them. It can't properly be called a backlash to Trumps "greenlash" ie.. dismantling EPA, drill baby drill, etc...Just more post-post-modern incoherence and ideological rubble. I agree with Danny Bessner, co-host of American Prestige (along with Derek Davison) and Hingepoints (with Matt Christman), that we are looking at what Marx called "the common ruin of the competing classes". No one is getting out of this unscathed. I would be curious to know how many underground militias are operating here in the American Readout (Montana and Idaho). I watch these young guys working out in front of the big mirrors, admiring their musculature, their beefiness. Dreams of protecting virgin maidens swirling through their tiny brains. Like in the good old Clint Eastwood Bruce Willis days of angry manhood. I mentioned the anxious foreign policy establishment in the last post but some of the fossil Fuel Majors are nervous as well. They had a whole public relations campaign going on about how they were responsible partners in conservation and research and innovation yada yada while they raked in record profits. Now they have to kiss the MAGA ring, go back to Chinese hoax, not a good look. They loved the Obama/Biden "all of the above" strategy with its hydrogen hubs and battery plants and Direct Air Capture subsidies. All investments de-risked by the U.S. taxpayer and lots of profit on the back end. Now all of that is too "woke".

Doomloop

To take your mind off your shrinking 401K and worthless Trump meme coin you could go on a Trump Tour! Climb Mount Mc Kinley, go sailing in the Gulf of America. A way for American farmers to spend their government-provided cash payments (otherwise known as welfare) for the crops they won't be planting thanks to the tariffs. Enbridge Pipeline Company is now sponsoring Native Network One, the radio station that broadcasts news for Indian country. These Hamas supporting students at Columbia should be thankful they are only being deported. Usually the U.S. drone-strikes terrorists when they are walking down the street. Remember, we are on a war footing. Ocasio-Cortez is learning a hard lesson in electoralism. The "left-wing progressive" who defended Joe Biden till the last second is now the leader of the Democrat Reistance, claiming a thirty day extension would have given them time to "negotiate" with Repubs. Except they don't have any "cards", as Trump explained to Zelinsky. Like Gazans have no "cards". Or Haitians or Syrians or Sudanese or billions of others. Threatening to shut down the government is so exhausted I expect Newt Gingrich to return for an encore. On the economy front, Doomberg believes the Trump strategy is to initiate massive "creative destruction". Get it over with now with a sharp recession that clears out all the dead wood ie.. losers, unproductive capital, those not maximizing utility, etc. There's still plenty of room out by the freeway for people to pitch their tents. Three billion humans on our planet use less electricity per capita than one American refrigerator. This is what Marxists call "combined and uneven development". This backlash against DEI can be traced back to the 1619 Project, a multi-media research project by Nicole Hannah-Jones that placed slavery and its consequences at the heart of the American experience. That and the genocide of the Native inhabitants runs right up against the myth making of the Right so now that they are in power they will just re-write history, get rid of inconvenient facts and bully academia into submission. Make examples of a few folks, ban some books, shouldn't be long before they start showing John Wayne movies in schools. Not that schools taught real history to start with. I guess it's a good thing we have courts but it seems like a pathetic substitute for actual politics.

Jitters

I find it interesting that there are four separate articles on the Foreign Affairs website that deal with climate change. They only give you one free one to read so I chose The Troubled Enery Transition, where they explain in great deal how and why capitalism has failed to curb emissions before insisting capitalism must do so. Somehow. Despite all the contradictions. Basically they fall back on "clean" natural gas and nuclear. They then go on to say today's "trouble" "makes clear that the process will unfold over a long period." One problem I see. We don't actually have "a long period" in which to make radical changes. You don't want to wait till you are in the middle of a mass extinction event, at or near cascading "tipping points" tp begin some gradual process. Perhaps had this "transition" begun say forty years ago, when it first became obvious, we could have had a more "pragmatic", less disruptive and slower "unfolding". But that didn't happen. Oops. A few other gems. They say we should cooperate with Asia and help finance adaptation and mitigation in the global South. Yeah sure. When pigs fly. The point is- the adults in the room have the jitters. Their carefully crafted consensus around liberal "democratic" capitalism has been hijacked by a bunch of anarchist hyper-capitalists led by a charismatic grifter. You can easily imagine these policy elites hoping for another Obama to pop up to save them from chaos, at least temporarily. EPA head Lee Zeldin will not let America fall for the "Green New Scam", or, as he calls it, "the climate change religion". Woke pagan hippies will not get in the way of economic growth, if he has anything to say. He proposed "the greatest rollback of environmental regulations in history", because putting a little Trumpian flourish on pronouncements is now de rigueur. All that government overeach cuts into profits and most folks have forgotten the image of rivers on fire. It's not the content of the policy change so much as the notion that in 2025 it is popular with a large segment of the population. Another scary tipping point. Sorry environmentalists, conservationists, etc.. try to be good "green capitalists" and this is what you get for all your years of advocacy and voting and donating to green NGOs. Time to sic the lawyers on em.