Two old friends, both in their eighties. Avi Shlaim served in the IDF. Ghada Karmi fled the Nakba. Two exiles, one history. This video was recorded in September 2023, just weeks BEFORE the current phase of the conflict . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUjdDYoTZG0

What was that all about? * * * * Americans, in their upbringing and in their education, are not given a sense of how popular socialism was for over a hundred years. Socialist agitation snowballed in Europe during the latter half of the 19th century. Socialists were being elected to…

In chapter 793 we name the Culprits (being … the development prometheans): . they invented industrial machinery and soon the whole world was awash with widgets . they invented cars and soon the whole world was awash with cars and covered with macadam . they invented airplanes and soon the atmosphere was filled with greenhouse gas emissions . they invented media and soon the whole culture was mediatized

In chapter 792 we quote the great Edward Goldsmith recognizing the noxiousness of modernity: [from his essay: “My Answer” (2003)] Economic development has always involved, above all, the usurpation by corporations and/or the State of functions that were previously fulfilled by the family and the community for free — that…

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/voting-president-not-personal-expression “Voting for President Is Not an Exercise in Personal Expression. Whatever flaws you may see in Joe Biden, he is the only actual alternative to Trump’s reign.” or: “it’s objectively too important to treat the situation subjectively” I’m not an absolutist. Yes, I think the Republican and Democratic parties…

left to right to left to right and back again https://jacobin.com/2023/11/javier-milei-libertarian-authoritarian-argentina-peronism-inflation-presidential-election “the current moment is part of a backlash against the leftist Kirchnerist project … Its failure seems to have reinforced the only other alternative on hand, which is the idea that there is nothing but individual interest and every man for themselves.”

. . . there are interesting debates going on. The population issue is contentious. “Further development and higher stages” vs. degrowth and downscaling. Socialism as the overarching ideology vs. bioregionalism. Red vs. Green. In regard to the latter: There is likely to be a long period of “Red and Green.”…

Since the rise of remote, impersonal institutions people have felt some degree of alienation from them. Because they have authority and participation yields perks, some people participate … to varying extents. Some people feel unable or unwilling to participate. There is always a vast area of alternative commerce (or mere-survival…

We’re not supposed to say “go back.” It’s unappealing. It sounds fringy. Greens can’t run for office and go around saying: “Let’s deconstruct all of this and go back to 1491.” We’re supposed to sound reasonable. Yes, one can phrase it: “We need to go forward toward a very different…