Adorno and Flat Daddy

No, its not an Adorno riff on Jazz.

Read this Times Article on the 'replacement' daddies that are being handed out by the military and then tell me that Adorno is wrong. Just in case you wonder what a flat daddy is:
"Flat Daddies have been used by military families since at least 2003, when Cindy Sorenson of Bismarck, N.D., ordered a life-size photo of her former husband, Capt. Dave Bruschwein, on a piece of foam board when he was stationed in Iraq with the North Dakota National Guard."

Adorno's reflections on saying good-bye today:

To be lastingly apart and to hold love fast has become unthinkable. ?O parting, fountain of all words,? but it has run dry, and nothing comes out except bye, bye or ta-ta. Airmail and courier delivery substitute logistical problems for the anxious wait for the letter, even where the absent partner has not jettisoned anything not palpably to hand as ballast. Airline directors can hold jubilee speeches on how much uncertainty and sorrow people are thereby spared. But the liquidation of parting is a matter of life and death to the traditional notion of humanity. Who could still love if the moment is excluded when the other, corporeal being is perceived as an image compressing the whole continuity of life as into a heavy fruit? What would hope be without distance? Humanity was the awareness of the presence of that not present, which evaporates in a condition which accords all things not present the palpable semblance of presence and immediacy, and hence has only scorn for what finds no enjoyment in such simulation. Yet to insist on parting?s inner possibility in face of its pragmatic impossibility would be a lie, for the inward does not unfold within itself but only in relation to the objective, and to make ?inward? a collapsed outwardness does violence to the inward itself, which is left to sustain itself as if on its own flame. The restoration of gestures would follow the example of the professor of German literature who, on Christmas Eve, held his sleeping children for a moment before the shining tree to cause a déjà vu and steep them in myth. A humanity come of age will have to transcend its own concept of the emphatically human, positively. Otherwise its absolute negation, the inhuman, will carry off victory.

CNN.com - Military official: Iranian millions funding insurgency - Sep 28, 2006

here we go again...another front in the propoganda war...

CNN.com - Military official: Iranian millions funding insurgency - Sep 28, 2006: "A Shiite Muslim militia involved in the warfare between Sunni and Shiites in Iraq has received 'millions of dollars' and an assortment of weaponry from Iran, a senior U.S. military official says.

The official said Iran -- which is overwhelmingly Shiite and largely Persian -- tries to spread its largess to other militants as well, but can wield only so much influence throughout Iraq -- which, while predominantly Shiite, is largely Arab.

He said Iran is not trying to fuel civil war in Iraq, but rather is trying to make sure it retains some influence with whichever group comes out on top in Iraq.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, briefed reporters Wednesday about the conflict in Iraq. A transcript of that briefing was issued Thursday. (Watch why the U.S. strategy may fail in Iraq -- 1:45)"

Bye-Bye Habeas Rights

Senate Narrowly Rejects Detainee Bill Amendment

By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 28, 2006; 12:42 PM

The Senate today narrowly rejected a measure that would have allowed suspected terrorists to challenge their detention in federal court, as the body moved closer to passing a White House-backed bill to authorize special military tribunals for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.

The article goes on to say that the full measure, which the House already passed toady, will likely be passed by the senate later today.

Something for them to take home to voters, I guess. "Well folks, I voted for the bill that lets us torture terrorists and detain them forever without any possibility of them ever seeing a judge." Build a fence around America, authorize torture, suspend habeas corpus, all in a day's work for the 109th Congress.

The Blog | Steve Clemons: BIG NEWS: John Bolton Confirmation Battle Really, Really Dead | The Huffington Post

The Blog | Steve Clemons: BIG NEWS: John Bolton Confirmation Battle Really, Really Dead | The Huffington Post: "The last pre-election loophole through which John Bolton's confirmation might have snuck through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was at 2:15 this afternoon at a previously called 'business meeting' of the Committee.

That meeting has been cancelled -- and with it even the dimmest chance of John Bolton being confirmed as US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Some have said that another effort could be mounted during a lame duck session of Congress, but there are several Republicans who will not feel bound by the White House in that circumstance; Dems as well -- who will vote against cloture on the floor of the Senate were it to get out of Committee then.

So, it's over. Wow.

John Bolton might agree to serve as the uncompensated Ambassador to the UN in a second recess appointment, or might agree to serve as a recess appointed political deputy at the UN and made 'acting Ambassador and Chief of Mission' at a pay cut.

Either way, Ambassador Bolton will fill his term as the only unconfirmed Ambassador at the United Nations in American history."

Chavez's Book Club?

After Chavez told everyone to read Chomsky's book, Hegemony or Survival, it lept to #1 on Amazon's best seller list. It was at around 20,000.

I heard this on the BBC this morning, but couldn't find a link to the story.

Diff between social and political philosophy

At times when I wonder what the real difference is between these, I think of Wolin's distinction below. So how do you sort out the answer to the question of difference here between social and political (and politics for that matter, e.g. do political philosophers necessarily do social philosophy?) ? This is from "Fugitive Democracy" in Benhabib's book "Democracy and Difference":

I shall take the political to be an expression of the idea that a free society composed of diversities can nonetheless enjoy moments of commonality when, through public deliberationsk collective power is used to promote or protect the well-being of the collectivity. Politics refers to the legitimized and public contestation, primarily by organized and unequal social powers, over access to the resources available to the public authorities of the collectivity. Politics is continuous, ceaseless, and endless. In contrast, the political is episodic, rare. (31)

English Russia » Soviet Propaganda Against USA (posters)

English Russia » Soviet Propaganda Against USA (posters)

Some very interesting historical pieces dealing with Vietnam and Chile too.
Russian below reads: Road to Peace

Washington Post: Innocent Canadian Tortured

washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com:

"TORONTO, Sept. 18 - Canadian intelligence officials passed false warnings and bad information to American agents about a Muslim Canadian citizen, after which U.S. authorities secretly whisked him to Syria, where he was tortured, a judicial report found Monday."

The geist of Phil Ochs

Here's to the State of Dick Cheney:

"In a solo acoustic remake of folk singer Phil Ochs? 'Here?s to the State of Mississippi,' Eddie Vedder takes on Chief Justice John Roberts, Dick Cheney, Jerry Falwell, Alberto Gonzalez and, of course, President Bush."

Hard to make out all the new lyrics (co-authored with Tim Robbins), but if you watch the whole video you learn that Phil planted secret messages to later generations in the techniques required to play him.

Setting up a Frak Party

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: In a replay of Iraq, a battle is brewing over intelligence on Iran

I understand that Rumsfeld has set up a new office in the Pentagon that has the same personnel and same task as the pre-Iraq invasion's "Office of Special Projects". And this time they also have some "old friends" on the inside to allow them their "Some people say". Why fix it if it ain't broke?

The Seattle Times:

"Some officials at the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department said they're concerned that the offices of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney may be receiving a stream of questionable information that originates with Iranian exiles, including a discredited arms dealer, Manucher Ghorbanifar, who played a role in the 1980s Iran-contra scandal.

Officials at all three agencies said they suspect that the dubious information may include claims that Iran directed Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, to kidnap two Israeli soldiers in July; that Iran's nuclear program is moving faster than generally believed; and that the Iranian people are eager to join foreign efforts to overthrow their theocratic rulers.

The officials said there is no reliable intelligence to support any of those assertions and some that contradicts all three."

Thai Prime Minister Declares State of Emergency - New York Times

Thai Prime Minister Declares State of Emergency:

"The sudden, well-orchestrated coup -- the first in 15 years and a throwback to an unsettled era in Thailand -- was likely to spark both enthusiasm and criticism at home and abroad. The military said it would soon return power to a democratic government but did not say when.

Striking when Thaksin was in New York at the U.N. General Assembly, army commander Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin sent tanks and troops into the drizzly, nighttime streets of Bangkok. The military ringed Thaksin's offices, seized control of television stations and declared a provisional authority loyal to the king."

U.N. Inspectors Dispute Iran Report By House Panel - washingtonpost.com

U.N. Inspectors Dispute Iran Report By House Panel - washingtonpost.com: "U.N. inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman yesterday about a recent House committee report on Iran's capabilities, calling parts of the document 'outrageous and dishonest' and offering evidence to refute its central claims."

Snapshot of US public opinion, September 11 2006

Gotta love Doxastic Polling:

Rasmussen typically trends as a Republican polling outfit, for what it is worth...Many seem to be revising significant beliefs and adopting new self-understandings.

"Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many Americans have believed that the events of that horrible day changed the United States forever."

"In the immediate aftermath, 57% thought the nation had changed for the better. That number actually grew to 61% by January 2002. Now, half a decade later, just 21% of American adults hold that optimistic view. Fifty-four percent (54%) say the changes have been for the worse.

Three years ago, 67% of all Americans believed the world would be a better place if other countries were more like our own. Today, that number has fallen to 51%.

Early in 2002, 61% thought the country was safer than it was before 9/11 (about the same as believed that a year ago). Today, that number has fallen to 36%."

Today, 41% of Americans believe that the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. Two years ago, more than 50% held that view.

[snip]

"The increasing pessimism has caused Americans to revise their assessment of the way that President Bush responded to the terrorist attacks. Today, just 42% rate his performance as good or excellent. That?s down from 51% a year ago and 56% two years ago."

"Almost a third, 32%, now say the President?s response was poor."

A1 Washington Post, September 11 2006

Situation Called Dire in West Iraq:

"The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for securing that country's western Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there, said several military officers and intelligence officials familiar with its contents.

The officials described Col. Pete Devlin's classified assessment of the dire state of Anbar as the first time that a senior U.S. military officer has filed so negative a report from Iraq."

Christian Science Monitor: Conservative declared winner in Mexico. Revolution?

At last, a victor in Mexico
[snip]
Unlike Al Gore in 2000, Mexico's runner-up Andrés Manuel López Obrador (aka AMLO) has refused to concede defeat. The populist leader - who has slept in a tent with his followers in the middle of Mexico City for more than a month - has vowed to set up a "parallel" government and says that Mexico needs a "revolution."

[snip] But, never underestimate the power of working together to stop 'unruliness':

"Both parties have pragmatic reasons to work together to counterbalance the unruly behavior of the PRD," says David Shirk, director of the Trans-border Institute at the University of San Diego. "It's actually a good thing, in terms of coalition-building, made possible by the PRI's weakness, the PAN's slight gains, and the fact that those two parties can identify a common adversary in the PRD."
[snip]
But, any sort of rebellion seems to depend on whether Obrador can get people to sit out in the middle of the capital until sept. 16:

On Mexico's Independence Day, Sept. 16, the day Obrador has called for the national convention and the day the military usually marches down streets that are now blocked by protesters, confrontations are expected. "It would not be hard to imagine that he gets the demonstrators to stay in place. This produces a clash with military. That will have reverberations that we can't anticipate," says Mr. de la Garza.

AlterNet: War on Iraq: The 10 Most Brazen War Profiteers

AlterNet: War on Iraq: The 10 Most Brazen War Profiteers: "Halliburton has become synonymous with war profiteering, but there are lots of other greedy fingers in the pie. We name names on 10 of the worst."

Mexico protesters silence president

Mexico protesters silence president: "In a move that should awaken Americans from their slumber, leftist leaders denied President Fox access to parliament to give his farewell speech. This in the face of a growing disagreement over voter fraud, the same which had occurred in the United States where the Conservative party denied Blacks the right to vote in key districts and used rigged voting machines to give Bush an advantage. With growing dissent in Mexico, the leader of the opposition, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that a government in exile will be establish if a vote by vote recount is not ordered."

British Police Arrest 14 Men in Anti-Terror Raids - New York Times

uh-oh, thought police held psychic surveillance for months and raid halal restaurant:

British Police Arrest 14 Men in Anti-Terror Raids - New York Times: "
?All I can say is that our knowledge is increasing and certainly in terms of broad description, the numbers of people who we have to be interested in are into the thousands. That includes a whole range of people, not just terrorists, not just attackers, but the people who might be tempted to support or encourage or to assist,? he said."

Interesting Elitist Look at how the other 85% lives

From the Nyt: At 2-Year Colleges, Students Eager but Unready

Peak Oil

In case you guys didn't know, we're fucked. Even Bloomberg News has a report on it.

I think this site is fairly good at explaining it and dealing with counter args. Well, have a nice day.

PS where's my translation reward?