The Western view of the world and "Americanism" in particular have come to Vietnam or so it would seem. In this view the epitome of human existence is extravagant consumption. (After all the economic system of Capitalism demands people willingly, even passionately, put all their energy, money and time into consumption. That is when they are not working to produce wealth; most of which is expropriated by the peoples' Capitalist masters and a small fraction given back to the worker by way of a wage. But obviously the "production" side of the equation was not part of this young woman's problem.)
Apparently the young woman here has found some way to "beat the system" and get more than the normal, paltry share given the working class; after all she is a "princess" of some sort.
Many philosophers have found the West's peoples' obsession with material wealth, consumption and the quotidian empirical offensive to the point of repugnance.
I am slightly familiar with the philosophy of the Russian "Easterner" novelist, Fydor Dostoevsky who considered the decadence brought to his Russian nation from the West to be anathema and he predicted it would become destructive to his beloved Eastern Russia.
To the limited extent I understand Dostoevsky he felt that the West's exclusive focus on material consumption would act as a poison on humanity. Western man would forsake doing good for the world and for others and seek only to fulfill his (or her) sensual desires.
And perhaps growing weary of that seeking of fulfillment in the unsatisfactory he would as has, for example Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin, sought to bring the world to the brink of nuclear war.
After all, the U.S. ownership class can't let China, Russia and their BRIC economic allies overtake the 75 year old Bretton Woods-United States domination of the world. Because the U.S. ownership class won't give up the extravagant $500 dinners, metaphorically speaking, they have been indulging in for decades now.
"The Chickens have come home to roost", as the saying goes. What the U.S. bequeathed to itself it then bequeathed to the world. A world of which Sigmund Fraud characterized as being in the thrall of "Thanatos", the love of death. So be it.
Let the insignificant people splurge $500 on what can be had by the frugal for $5. They are, like circus performers, only doing what they have been trained to do.
They might add "Ferrocar noche" to that pretentious wine list; otherwise know to certain winos as "Night train."
Anthony Blinken, otherwise known as T-Blink, part time Secretary of State and full time bluesman, rocked Kiev in his favorite blue jeans and "work" shirt recently. If nuclear war is what it takes to "Keep On Rockin In the Free World", T-Blink is here to provide the soundtrack. The Banality of Evil tour.
P.S. I might also add: It is the overweening passion for consumption and acquiring material things by his customers that has made Jeff Bezos among the richest people in the world. I understand he calls his warehouses "Fulfillment Centers" as if his customers were nothing more (and maybe they aren't?) than big babies sucking on an endless bottle in their bassinet.
The warehouses of yon and yore became "distribution centers" followed by the "fulfillment centers" which you refer to. I remember seeing sex toys and children's books occupy bins in the same aisle as I "fulfilled" a shift. In Amazon's defense, they did provide a nice holiday meal.
Decades ago I worked in an electronics factory. Perhaps as dehumanizing as Bezos' warehouses? I don't know for sure.
But from what I've heard Amazon really "sweats" its warehouse employees. Perhaps this is what William Blake was referring to when he called such places of human exploitation, "Satanic mills"?
Great video; it's tough when the elite have to come across as everyday guys just like us working class folk. It's a tough act to put on but someone's got to do it. It used to be Clinton playing the sax; now it's Blinkin playing guitar. Not to mention Bush Jr. with the Texas twang.
I don't think Mr. Blinkin knows he is singing a slightly obscene song from the Mississippi Delta African-American tradition?
I'd never heard of Blake's "Satanic Mills". The textile mills and heavy industry of that era must have been horrific places to labor. I worked at a PVC/Polyurethane mill once that gave me nightmares. A buddy got his hand caught in one of the machines and was permanently disabled. The emergency stops didn't work and he got a paltry settlement. The bread factory down the street was another rough gig. For me, the Amazon warehouse was like getting to play laser tag compared to factory work. I remember clocking in and out on the portable scanners we used for everything. If you're familiar with Dmitry Orlov and John Michael Greer, the idea that Amazon represents the pinnacle of "complexity" makes sense. How long can it last?
As for T-Blink, I wonder if he ever hung out with Epstein, the Hoochie Coochie Man to the stars.
The article you provided a link to is greatly appreciated, Mr. Skaggs. Several decades ago I read one of the classic books on how early Capitalism started. That book was "The Great Transformation" by Karl Polyani written circa 1945.
But the article you provide a link to is really greatly edifying. It reveals how peasants were essentially both physically and mentally beaten into submission and acquiescing to the conformity and regimentation of Capitalist production. It is a GREAT article.
I don't want to overburden you but if you could forward that article to Dr. Richard D. Wolff (America's leading Marxist economist) and perhaps Noam Chomsky (who is perhaps becoming moribund as he approaches 100 years in age.) I believe that article would teach these men something, as eminent as they are.
Great article. Again thanks so much. That is the most edifying thing I've read in months.
Some people ( I won't say exactly who) will go in to a nice vegetarian place like that, such person perhaps reeking heavily of alcohol, and demand a plate of lechon. "And make it snappy! "
Thereby putting a damper on everyone's evening and making a fool of himself. (I wouldn't know anything about this from personal experience...?)
"Lapis Luna" is that "Blue Moon" beer? A pretentious American brew that uses advertising to con Americans into spending several extra dollars on a six pack of beer.
Lapis Luna would be Moon Stone, also a Wilkie Collins early detective novel
Next time at the local pretentious bar (no more dive bars allowed), I'll order a Blue Moon, the most popular summer beer and think of poor old Tom who others insist on addressing as Thomas.
Why am I obsessed with Spaghetti Westerns? " The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Something about the lawless western U. S. territories seen through the eyes of an Italian (or Eye-talian as one sees fit?) film director Sergio Leone.
U.S. "westerns" as hooky as they are, lend some insight into a society without law enforcement.
I'm all for anarchism. To an extent (am I contradicting myself? Probably.) But do we really want a lawless society? With self-deputized "lawmen" walking around shooting people?
Who knows? If she has a big enough following on line, there are actually restaurants that would take the hit just to get some "free" publicity. Hopefully, those in Vietnam (at least) are smarter than that.
Reagan, scum bag that he was, was right, sometimes. Ketchup and other cooked tomato products, is a good source of lycopine. An antioxidant which promotes eye health.
(I'm recalling when Reagan called ketchup a vegetable and the liberals sneered at him.)
The Western view of the world and "Americanism" in particular have come to Vietnam or so it would seem. In this view the epitome of human existence is extravagant consumption. (After all the economic system of Capitalism demands people willingly, even passionately, put all their energy, money and time into consumption. That is when they are not working to produce wealth; most of which is expropriated by the peoples' Capitalist masters and a small fraction given back to the worker by way of a wage. But obviously the "production" side of the equation was not part of this young woman's problem.)
Apparently the young woman here has found some way to "beat the system" and get more than the normal, paltry share given the working class; after all she is a "princess" of some sort.
Many philosophers have found the West's peoples' obsession with material wealth, consumption and the quotidian empirical offensive to the point of repugnance.
I am slightly familiar with the philosophy of the Russian "Easterner" novelist, Fydor Dostoevsky who considered the decadence brought to his Russian nation from the West to be anathema and he predicted it would become destructive to his beloved Eastern Russia.
To the limited extent I understand Dostoevsky he felt that the West's exclusive focus on material consumption would act as a poison on humanity. Western man would forsake doing good for the world and for others and seek only to fulfill his (or her) sensual desires.
And perhaps growing weary of that seeking of fulfillment in the unsatisfactory he would as has, for example Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin, sought to bring the world to the brink of nuclear war.
After all, the U.S. ownership class can't let China, Russia and their BRIC economic allies overtake the 75 year old Bretton Woods-United States domination of the world. Because the U.S. ownership class won't give up the extravagant $500 dinners, metaphorically speaking, they have been indulging in for decades now.
"The Chickens have come home to roost", as the saying goes. What the U.S. bequeathed to itself it then bequeathed to the world. A world of which Sigmund Fraud characterized as being in the thrall of "Thanatos", the love of death. So be it.
Let the insignificant people splurge $500 on what can be had by the frugal for $5. They are, like circus performers, only doing what they have been trained to do.
They might add "Ferrocar noche" to that pretentious wine list; otherwise know to certain winos as "Night train."
Anthony Blinken, otherwise known as T-Blink, part time Secretary of State and full time bluesman, rocked Kiev in his favorite blue jeans and "work" shirt recently. If nuclear war is what it takes to "Keep On Rockin In the Free World", T-Blink is here to provide the soundtrack. The Banality of Evil tour.
The Banality of Evil, indeed.
P.S. I might also add: It is the overweening passion for consumption and acquiring material things by his customers that has made Jeff Bezos among the richest people in the world. I understand he calls his warehouses "Fulfillment Centers" as if his customers were nothing more (and maybe they aren't?) than big babies sucking on an endless bottle in their bassinet.
Hi Thomas,
I never associated the blues with mass murder until I saw T-Blink take the stage.
https://youtu.be/CM333RSlc1Y?si=D9Lq7BBtUE6zEse0
The warehouses of yon and yore became "distribution centers" followed by the "fulfillment centers" which you refer to. I remember seeing sex toys and children's books occupy bins in the same aisle as I "fulfilled" a shift. In Amazon's defense, they did provide a nice holiday meal.
Decades ago I worked in an electronics factory. Perhaps as dehumanizing as Bezos' warehouses? I don't know for sure.
But from what I've heard Amazon really "sweats" its warehouse employees. Perhaps this is what William Blake was referring to when he called such places of human exploitation, "Satanic mills"?
Great video; it's tough when the elite have to come across as everyday guys just like us working class folk. It's a tough act to put on but someone's got to do it. It used to be Clinton playing the sax; now it's Blinkin playing guitar. Not to mention Bush Jr. with the Texas twang.
I don't think Mr. Blinkin knows he is singing a slightly obscene song from the Mississippi Delta African-American tradition?
Perhaps a couple of better songs for Mr. B. would have been Ma Rainey's "Shave 'Em Dry" or Blind Willie Johnson's "Nobody's Fault But Mine".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJfw4mBdm64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_o4omd8T5c
Hi Thomas,
Your comment made me think of this article.
https://www.filmsforaction.org/news/recovered-economic-history-everyone-but-an-idiot-knows-that-the-lower-classes-must-be-kept-poor-or-they-will-never-be-industrious/
I'd never heard of Blake's "Satanic Mills". The textile mills and heavy industry of that era must have been horrific places to labor. I worked at a PVC/Polyurethane mill once that gave me nightmares. A buddy got his hand caught in one of the machines and was permanently disabled. The emergency stops didn't work and he got a paltry settlement. The bread factory down the street was another rough gig. For me, the Amazon warehouse was like getting to play laser tag compared to factory work. I remember clocking in and out on the portable scanners we used for everything. If you're familiar with Dmitry Orlov and John Michael Greer, the idea that Amazon represents the pinnacle of "complexity" makes sense. How long can it last?
As for T-Blink, I wonder if he ever hung out with Epstein, the Hoochie Coochie Man to the stars.
T-Blank (for low IQ)
LOL for "the Hoochie Coochie Man to the stars."
The article you provided a link to is greatly appreciated, Mr. Skaggs. Several decades ago I read one of the classic books on how early Capitalism started. That book was "The Great Transformation" by Karl Polyani written circa 1945.
But the article you provide a link to is really greatly edifying. It reveals how peasants were essentially both physically and mentally beaten into submission and acquiescing to the conformity and regimentation of Capitalist production. It is a GREAT article.
I don't want to overburden you but if you could forward that article to Dr. Richard D. Wolff (America's leading Marxist economist) and perhaps Noam Chomsky (who is perhaps becoming moribund as he approaches 100 years in age.) I believe that article would teach these men something, as eminent as they are.
Great article. Again thanks so much. That is the most edifying thing I've read in months.
Thank you for the links, Mr. Skaggs. Much to think about. It is appreciated.
$500 dinners? That's soooo 1970's.
Not $5000?
Oz!? Holy crab!
I guess the next time Princess shows up at that restaurant, they won't serve her.
Hi Elaine,
Now that she's famous across Vietnam, princess will only be served at the $2.16 vegetarian buffet in Vung Tau! You must pay before entering.
Linh
Some people ( I won't say exactly who) will go in to a nice vegetarian place like that, such person perhaps reeking heavily of alcohol, and demand a plate of lechon. "And make it snappy! "
Thereby putting a damper on everyone's evening and making a fool of himself. (I wouldn't know anything about this from personal experience...?)
"Lapis Luna" is that "Blue Moon" beer? A pretentious American brew that uses advertising to con Americans into spending several extra dollars on a six pack of beer.
Filipino suckling pig http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Feob6R7hqM/UeuyK0BpLvI/AAAAAAAANlo/-E0Wo3Xhh_0/s1600/DSC_0036.JPG
Lapis Luna would be Moon Stone, also a Wilkie Collins early detective novel
Next time at the local pretentious bar (no more dive bars allowed), I'll order a Blue Moon, the most popular summer beer and think of poor old Tom who others insist on addressing as Thomas.
Gracias, amigo.
Why am I obsessed with Spaghetti Westerns? " The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Something about the lawless western U. S. territories seen through the eyes of an Italian (or Eye-talian as one sees fit?) film director Sergio Leone.
U.S. "westerns" as hooky as they are, lend some insight into a society without law enforcement.
I'm all for anarchism. To an extent (am I contradicting myself? Probably.) But do we really want a lawless society? With self-deputized "lawmen" walking around shooting people?
As usual, I don't know what I'm talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enuOArEfqGo&list=PLysPxrQwj2YdDTZusQ77kLaprOpWQh-Bg&index=6
Who knows? If she has a big enough following on line, there are actually restaurants that would take the hit just to get some "free" publicity. Hopefully, those in Vietnam (at least) are smarter than that.
All good things must come to an end.
She, for sure, wouldn't want to eat at a vegetarian buffet, unless she had no other choice.
Reagan, scum bag that he was, was right, sometimes. Ketchup and other cooked tomato products, is a good source of lycopine. An antioxidant which promotes eye health.
(I'm recalling when Reagan called ketchup a vegetable and the liberals sneered at him.)