totalitarianism today

Remarkable.

50 Russian classic films on YouTube in HD.

"In praise of dissent".

Mark your calendars. It's Pynchon in Public Day.

"Britain's top 300 intellectuals" in John Naughton's opinion.

 A letter from Joan McClure on May 30, 1969.

"Shirtless Others", a poem by Jason.

John Kerry prepares Pakistan for a tough squeeze.

Karl tries to find a sane position on Libya.

Proving one's point sometimes requires a live chicken vending machine.

 

Something "goodly": A list of links + the American eugenics medal.

Art Histories

David Bate gives a two-page description of the Surrealists and their politics.

David Evans does likewise for Guy Dubord and the Situationists.

Literary Kicks, an online memoir in progress.

"Unusual Imports" by Paul E. Richardson from the brilliant Russian Life (PDF).

An excerpt from Diane P. Koenker's article, "Whose Right to Rest? Contesting the Family Vacation in the Postwar Soviet Union", Comparative Studies in Society and History, April 2009. 

An interview with Jonathan Hoenig, manager of Capitalist Pig Hedge Fund.

Portal 31, Kentucky's first exhibition coal mine.

Zombies, Vamps, and the Undead

"Dracula's Charity Ball" at The Smart Set.

Speak of the devils, Romaniuc reports that the Strigoi (i.e. vampires) are "getting out of their graves" and harassing the humans in Mogoseni-Dambovita. 

"Why Zombies Are Inconcievable", a paper by Professor Eric Marcus of the Auburn Philosophy Department (PDF).

Vultures descend upon Andre Breton's exquisite corpse.

Eugenics in America

The medal to the right, officially known as the "Fitter Family Medal" awarded by the American Eugenics Society, reads I have a goodly heritage. These medals were regularly awarded in the early and mid 1900s at various social events and family fairs, especially in the midwestern states. Is it smug on my part to prefer my good heritage-- my decent, quaint, non-eugenic heritage-- to the possibility of a "goodly" one?

Good news from AEI et. al.

Why annoy people? Why remember that which has passed? Passed? What has passed? How could it have passed--that which we not only have not started to eradicate and heal but are even afraid to call by its name? How could a brutal illness be cured only by our saying that it is gone? And it is not going away and will not and cannot go away until we admit that we are ill. In order to cure an illness one must first admit that one has it. And it is precisely what we are not doing. And not only not doing, but aiming all our efforts at not seeing it, not calling it by its name. And, consequently, it is not going away but only mutating, only penetrating deeper into our flesh, our blood, our bones, our marrow.

Leo Tolstoy "Nikolai Palkin" [Nicholas the Stick], 19061

Leon Aron's paper, "The Politics of Memory", is the best bit to come from AEI since the beginning of the Iraq war. Aron discusses historical memory and the new Russian revamping of its communist past in the history textbooks. He begins his discussion with the Tolstoy quote posted above. Hats off to Mr. Aron for his lively treatment of the topic.

The Socialist Worker celebrates "the comeback of socialism".

The New York Public Library hosts a "must-see exhibit" of French literary life under Nazi occupation.

American socialists can begin celebrating the Bank of America's transition to "the bank owned by America".

The Military-Industrial-Congress Complex allows legislators to bring the spoils of war back to their home states. 

If your envies, social disgraces, and secret socialisms aren't shameful enough, you can purchase the boneless belt which separates your fat into segments and offers another good reason for you to feel thoroughly ashamed. 

The international news lottery: The latest on the 5 randomly-selected countries of Moldova, Turkey, Angola, China, and Greece.

Moldova: Moldovan students fight for more than their rights to party. + Meanwhile, EU High Commissioner Javier Solana expresses concern about the situation in Moldova.

Turkey: Obama assures Turkish leaders that the US is "not at war with Islam". +  The US President wraps up his visit to Turkey after affirming US-Turkey ties.+ Turkey's opposition to the Danish prime minister's bid to become the next NATO chief is bad for Ankara's EU membership aspirations, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said Saturday. +  Fabio Pereira muses about Turkey being on the right path.

Angola: Angolan prisoner Herman Wallace has been moved to another prison. Human rights groups have long followed Wallace's case. + Cooperation between Brazil and Angola is set to reach a new level. + Heavy rains killed more than 20 people and have increased fears of food shortages. + The Pope is greeted by the largest crowds of his African tour on a visit to Angola this past Sunday. + Angolan female "hawkers" face life with dignity, courage, and beauty.

China: The heart of Kashgar, a place where Uighur people have lived and worked for centuries. is being destroyed or transformed into a tourist theme-park, and its people resettled. Of course, the Chinese government did not bother to ask the Uighurs how they felt about this development. + The Chinese government cuddles up to the Russian government to oppose the West's call for a robust response to the North Korean launches. + China also asserted North Korea's "right to peaceful use of space".

Greece: Chances are that your fanciest fur coat comes from one of two small towns in Greece, where the fur trade flourishes. + Macedonia election winner promises better ties with Greece and an end to the dispute over the Macedonian name. + A Greek blogger wonders why Turkey is strengthening her position via the US while the Greek government languishes.

Sunday reading.

Are public schools laying the behavioral groundwork for a totalitarian-friendly youth? 'Tis far from impossible.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Jews around the world will climb to high vantage points and wait for the sun as they recite a prayer said only once every 28 years. According to Jewish tradition, this prayer, the "Birkat Hachama", marks the sun's return to its starting point at the moment the universe was created, after completing a 28-year cycle known as the "machzor gadol," or "large cycle." 

The White House reveals its official take on the NATO summit and Afghanistan. What did the Obama administration gain?

We're leaving Strasbourg and Kehl with concrete commitments on NATO support. Our allies and partners have already agreed to provide approximately 5,000 troops and trainers to advance our new strategy, as well as increased civilian assistance. To support critical elections for August 20th, NATO will fully resource our election support force to maximize security. And our allies have committed additional funds to an Afghan elections trust fund that will provide the necessary resources for free and fair elections.
 

To accelerate and enhance our training of Afghan security forces, a new NATO mission, a new NATO training mission, will focus on high-level support for Afghan army, and training and mentoring for the Afghan police. And many of our allies and partners have also pledged support for a new trust fund to sustain Afghan national armies going forward.

 

And to strengthen Afghan institutions and advance opportunity for the Afghan people, we are working with our NATO allies and partners to achieve substantial increases in non-military assistance and to provide the kind of doctors, engineers, educators and agricultural specialists that are needed to make a difference on the ground.

Is porn the new tobacco? Mary Eberstadt examines "another curious reveral in moralizing".

Everyone loves Niebuhr, but no one really should. Niebuhr brought out the worst in Protestantism. His negative influence is only exceeded by the likes of ATM-Christians like Joel Olsteen.

Daniel Lee is trying to make robots more like us.

Danish cartoonist emerges from the underground wearing his favorite anarchist colors, red and black.

Saturday visual meanderings.

• Photos from Liberia.
• Old signs and retro markings in New York.
• Domnul Petru.
• Erin McGuire's deities.
• Bucharest in May, 1990.
• Justine Lai paints herself having sex with each US president.
• Antique maps and atlases.
• Children's haiku garden.
• Contemporary drawing fair in Paris.
• Google grids.
• Sexes, hairdos, and jeans in Iran.
• Doug Cushman's Romania slideshow.
• The illustrations of Ward Jenkins.
• International garden photographer of the year.

Reasons for raised eyebrows, some good, some better.

1. Correlation is still not causation.
2. Moldova might be moving away from communism.
3. Danny Brothers blogs about his time in the IDF.
4. An Obama-Kristol foreign policy alliance.
5. The promise of cloud computing.
6. Does the internet really spread democracy?
7. Keith Haldermann on fascism in our future.
8. Monotheism v. polytheism with a dash of totalitarianism.
9. European Parliament condemns crimes of communism and totalitarianism.
10. The cul-de-sac commune project.
11. Is religion to blame for political totalitarianism and tyranny?
12. The American Dream not so dreamy anymore.
13. Track federal spending on Google maps.
14. Rambling man on the difference between totalitiarianism, socialism, capitalism, and fascism.
15. Poliblog is skeptical.
16. Albania agrees to compensate victims of communism.
17. Alphabeta exemplorum.

Links for my lover.

Two members of Korn turn to God and then write memoirs about it.

Peter Augustine Lawler on nations, liberalism, and science. I've always thought Dr. Lawler might be the kind of man who would change his name to include "Augustine"...

Where will marching young evangelicals take the Christian Right?

Rick Warren might as well be crowned "king of publicity", but there's something in the Bible that suggests fame and fortune, especially the sort involving crowns, does not pave the path to heaven. Of course, with all the new hip-hop versions of the Bible at your local Lifeway, I'm sure you could find one that explains why Mr. Warren should strive for all the power and the glory he can get his hands on.

Confused firefighters fail to rescue a child wearing a firefighter costume. The implications are tremendous.

Walker Percy talks about a deranged world.

Misery (and a little too much lead) inspired Handel's Messiah.

Michael Novak's charity is limited by the organ heuristic.

136 drugs that cause cognitive impairment. Because you never know what you could have known.

Applications to work for the CIA rise dramatically. You can always count on government to fork out the dollars and do lots of hiring during economic down-times.

Virginia Tech is requiring "loyalty oaths to ideological diversity" from faculty. Next year, students will have to dedicate at least 79 hours per semester working for the good of the international proletariat.

The photo was taken by Marius Filipoiu.

Around the web in 20 minutes.

A map of mottos from Strange Maps.

Gold and other commodities retreat as the all-powerful, all-printable dollar rolls off the press. Meanwhile, Russia backs a return to the gold standard to ease the financial crisis.

Eric Heinze explains why Aristotle is compatible with Islam.

Harold James wonders if the current economic crisis will do for China what the Great Depression did for the United States, namely, pass the sceptre.

Bucharest surveys the benefits of handing out anti-social behavior orders, while citizens and bloggers find it difficult to hide their disgust.

Tariq Amin-Khan analyzes political Islam in a critique of traditional historical materialist style. It is always amusing when the revolutions become traditional.

Steve Chapman takes on the myth that Democrats lower defense spending.

The Anglo-American alliance extends to torture? Claims that secret agents working for MI5 and MI6 watched and encouraged the torture of a second British resident held by the Americans will be investigated by British police.

Is the US government adopting a stronger stance in the international drug war? In the case of Bolivia, it seems so. What happened to Obama's liberalism once he assumed office?

Russia is planning to create an Artic military force to guard its interests in the oil-rich and disputed Artic region.The strategy, approved by President Medvedev, declares the Arctic to be Russia's most important arena for “international and military security” in its relations with other countries. Maybe it will provide those suffering Russian oligarchs with a new project.

The US is still the pageant queen in military spending.

I like William Grigg.

Around the world in 20 minutes.

 Economic Policy Journal offers some lessons on the rise of totalitarianism.

Yossi Melman writes about alleged corruption in a massive Indian-Israeli arms deal, while Dalia Karpel wonders if look-alikes could ease the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The anti-"jihadists" at First Things get excited by Obama's recent warmongering and overtures to religious Crusades. How much more anti-life could an administration get? Let's all have tons of abortions and then go kill Muslims in the name of the Lord. Happy Sunday. God bless.

Rami Khouri presents a small problem for the anti-jihadists as he distinguishes six forms of Islam. Of course, this shouldn't be a problem at all for those who appreciate the art of equivocation.

Cut-and-paste reporting on Russian televison plus a great way to soak dishes and feet simultaneously.

David Brooks thinks Afghanistan is "the winnable war"; it holds potential for elevating bobo self-esteem.

CBS has a short and sweet detailed list of issues weighing on US-Russia relations at the momentum, while the Council on Foreign Relations has a timeline of the Iraq war with photos.

Peter Eisner reads between the lines of Iran's response to Obama.

Ann Jordan dissects the abolitionist fallacy in sex-trafficking policy.

A student and professor co-write an interesting paper (PDF) entitled "Sweatshop Labor is Wrong Unless the Jeans Are Cute: Motivated Moral Disengagement". I am a big fan of the "persuade the consumer to make moral decisions" approach over the problematic tendency to legislate such "moral" decisions. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, is a master in the art of persuading consumers to make moral choices without violating their dignity or freedom as choice-making individuals.

[The illustration is by Danica Novgorodoff.]