Speaking of Biden's hidden (though visible) decline...
In Vasily Grossman's book "Everything Flows" there are some exceptional pages dedicated to the moment of the announcement of Stalin's death (March 5, 1953). The population had only recently learned some disturbing data about his problems, although they existed long before.
"The confusion had set in from the moment the radio broadcast the bulletin on Stalin's health: Cheyne Stockes breathing...urine...pulse...blood pressure..." The deified master was unexpectedly revealing his old and helpless body. Stalin died! In this death there was an element of the free unforeseen, completely foreign to the nature of the Stalinist state. (...) Stalin had died unplanned, without directives emanating from the governing bodies. Stalin had died without the personal indication of Comrade Stalin himself. This freedom of death, this caprice of it, dynamite, contradicted the very sacred essence of the state. And confusion gripped the hearts and minds of the people...”
Thank you. I have read it (its translation into Romanian) thanks to the recommendation that a writer and journalist made to us, the listeners, in what he calls the "culture pill" at the beginning of his daily video diary. A masterpiece! I am also grateful to him for discovering Isaac Babel (Red Cavalry Stories/Odessa Stories) - another great writer. I also add some outstanding movies on Dailymotion - Brezhnev, Andrey Rublyov, etc.
"on a balance it’s probably more likely that they are depraved and opportunistic than strategic geniuses who intentionally and with foresight lit this fuse."
I wouldn't say that, the assassination of Hanyieh in Tehran, the pagers operation, etc... definitely seems to speak of strategic, if evil genius, and the almost instantaneous propaganda deluge of "mass rapes", "oven roasted babies", "decapitated babies" etc... tends to confirm to me that at the very least the Israeli gov was aware that the attack was coming and planned to exploit it by allowing it to happen.
In any case, thanks for a year of great articles, written with plenty of vim and great humour. It's truly a weird world where an old-hard-core leftist Marxist analyst of capitalism such as myself mostly agrees with a libertarian conservative such as yourself!
Yeah that is a good point. The pager attack was definitely cartoonishly evil...in the literal sense, it was like some Wile Coyote would do except that it worked.
Anyway, I noticed when I reviewed that book Towards the Abyss in February or so that it was funny the extent to which Ischenko's Marxist material analysis, whether or not you agree with it, is actually a rational view of how humans make decisions etc, whereas what we [more or less incorrectly] call Marxism in common discourse in the modern West is largely just nonsense.
Anyway I am not that much of a libertarian anymore, especially on economic issues, my view is more that it is best that a government use the lightest touch possible when attempting to attain its goals.
Speaking of Biden's hidden (though visible) decline...
In Vasily Grossman's book "Everything Flows" there are some exceptional pages dedicated to the moment of the announcement of Stalin's death (March 5, 1953). The population had only recently learned some disturbing data about his problems, although they existed long before.
"The confusion had set in from the moment the radio broadcast the bulletin on Stalin's health: Cheyne Stockes breathing...urine...pulse...blood pressure..." The deified master was unexpectedly revealing his old and helpless body. Stalin died! In this death there was an element of the free unforeseen, completely foreign to the nature of the Stalinist state. (...) Stalin had died unplanned, without directives emanating from the governing bodies. Stalin had died without the personal indication of Comrade Stalin himself. This freedom of death, this caprice of it, dynamite, contradicted the very sacred essence of the state. And confusion gripped the hearts and minds of the people...”
of course they made the comedy about this some years ago, The Death of Stalin, which people have related to Biden's condition
Grossman could write. If you haven't read it, "Life and Fate"
Thank you. I have read it (its translation into Romanian) thanks to the recommendation that a writer and journalist made to us, the listeners, in what he calls the "culture pill" at the beginning of his daily video diary. A masterpiece! I am also grateful to him for discovering Isaac Babel (Red Cavalry Stories/Odessa Stories) - another great writer. I also add some outstanding movies on Dailymotion - Brezhnev, Andrey Rublyov, etc.
"on a balance it’s probably more likely that they are depraved and opportunistic than strategic geniuses who intentionally and with foresight lit this fuse."
I wouldn't say that, the assassination of Hanyieh in Tehran, the pagers operation, etc... definitely seems to speak of strategic, if evil genius, and the almost instantaneous propaganda deluge of "mass rapes", "oven roasted babies", "decapitated babies" etc... tends to confirm to me that at the very least the Israeli gov was aware that the attack was coming and planned to exploit it by allowing it to happen.
In any case, thanks for a year of great articles, written with plenty of vim and great humour. It's truly a weird world where an old-hard-core leftist Marxist analyst of capitalism such as myself mostly agrees with a libertarian conservative such as yourself!
A Happy Christmas to you and your family.
Yeah that is a good point. The pager attack was definitely cartoonishly evil...in the literal sense, it was like some Wile Coyote would do except that it worked.
Anyway, I noticed when I reviewed that book Towards the Abyss in February or so that it was funny the extent to which Ischenko's Marxist material analysis, whether or not you agree with it, is actually a rational view of how humans make decisions etc, whereas what we [more or less incorrectly] call Marxism in common discourse in the modern West is largely just nonsense.
Anyway I am not that much of a libertarian anymore, especially on economic issues, my view is more that it is best that a government use the lightest touch possible when attempting to attain its goals.