Virilio in [Obama’s] America

More musings on the economic state of things–this time from the perspective of Virilio.  In a sort of (maybe) interesting article –with the inexplicable title “City of Transformation: Virilio in Obama’s America”– Arthur and Marilouise Kroker ask if “we are beyond Speed and Politics:”

Economists are quoted as saying the financial crisis effects “everyone on earth.” Is this Virilio’s “global accident?” Quite certainly it is panic finance: that moment when the credit mechanisms necessary for capitalist liquidity slam shut, a time made to measure for Virilio’s brilliant theory of bunker archeology, with each bank its own toxic bunker of junk assets, each banker a born again socialist. For example, always vigilant automatic circuit breakers working in the darkness of night recently prevented a global plunge of the futures market. Allan Greenspan throws up his hands, exclaiming “I’m in shocked disbelief.”

Put It On The Credit Card, America Russia!

The word “irony” is so poor and lacking when it comes to this story that I have first seen on the Russian news sites and, I will admit it, did not trust – Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported: 

 

UNITED NATIONS, October 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s permanent mission to the UN has received a letter from U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking for financial support of his election campaign, the mission said in a statement on Monday.

“We have received a letter from Senator John McCain with a request for a financial donation to his presidential election campaign. In this respect we have to reiterate that neither Russia’s permanent mission to the UN nor the Russian government or its officials finance political activities in foreign countries,” the statement said.

According to Ruslan Bakhtin, press secretary of the Russian mission, the letter dated September 29 and signed by McCain, was addressed to Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s envoy to the UN, and arrived on October 16.

Strange? You ask. Why would McCain, the same guy who supported Georgia in the recent confrontation against Russia without any reservations concerning who was responsible for what, ask the hated KGB-run evil empire for money? 

Politico’s Ben Smith now confirms the story:

McCain Is Old, Might Die: NYT States The Obvious.

Long piece from today’s NYT states the obvious with style – McCain is old and sickly:

Mr. McCain has released more details about his health than the other three nominees, though he has done so in a phased way and has apparently not agreed to any extensive interviews about his health. A handful of reporters were allowed to view his records during his bid for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination. Another group of reporters were permitted to see newer records last May. By not allowing reporters to interview him or his doctors extensively about his entire medical history, he has made it impossible to get a complete picture of his diagnoses and treatment.

Read the rest here.

McCain: No, I Broke Up With Him.

In a move known to the majority of dumped boyfriends/girlfriends McCain who found himself down in the polls and heart-broken goes for a classic “bitter ex” defense: “No, I broke up with him“:

Politico: “The national media has written us off.,” McCain says in excerpts released by the campaign. “Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq. But they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we’ve got them just where we want them.”

Allies are calling this “hitting the ‘reset’ button” on the campaign, with McCain reemerging after a long Sunday strategy session with a feisty tack that uses candor and humor, at a time when his rallies have become known for raucous rage and clumsy attacks.

But it’s more like hitting the panic button.

I think it’s more like hitting the delusion button – if we pretend that we are going to win eventually, then we will win eventually – yes, it appears as if we are losing, but, my friends, it was actually our plan all along: screw up the economy, let Obama ride his economic expertise to the large lead in the polls, and then strike back! So no worries, my friends, it was all part of the original McCain strategy – sit back and enjoy the show!

McCain Losing The Racist Vote.

UPDATE: Apparently McCain manages to still hold on to that important evil mastermind vote – not everything is lost then…

If you thought it couldn’t get any worse for McCain, it sort of did – McCain is apparently losing that important racist vote: it’s not really a story here, since I don’t see any statistics, but for all it’s worth:

Ben Smith: An Obama supporter, who canvassed for the candidate in the working-class, white Philadelphia neighborhood of Fishtown recently, sends over an account that, in various forms, I’ve heard a lot in recent weeks.

“What’s crazy is this,” he writes. “I was blown away by the outright racism, but these folks are f***ing undecided. They would call him a n—-r and mention how they don’t know what to do because of the economy.”

Seriously, what is happening here? If you can’t even count on the racists not to vote for the black candidate, then there is no certainty whatsoever! What’s next? Jews in Florida voting for Pat Buchanan?

In related news, are you an elitist?

Sarah Palin: Hilarity Ensues.

So here’s the deal: James Dobson of Focus on the Family (yes, yes, your family) announced that he will now support McCain because of the wise decision to select the über-conservative Sarah Palin:

Earlier this year Dr. Jim Dobson, President of Focus on the Family made news when he announced on “The Dennis Prager Show” that he “cannot and will not vote for Senator John McCain.” Today, on The Dennis Prager Show, the conservative leader changed course and announced his enthusiastic support on the heels of the announcement by Senator McCain of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

Excellent! Why would Dobson support Palin, I thought, if she was not the perfect model for his constituency: conservative Christian, pro-life, sort-of-anti-gay, gun-loving, creationism-approving, and more. What a great example for all the future mothers and heterosexual young families. Ok, there was this nasty rumor that she wasn’t really pregnant and that she was covering up her daughter’s pregnancy and all, but, c’mmon, let’s get serious here:

Obama Is Not In Memphis.

Outrageous! How dare he! Every self-respecting politician is in Memphis and is trying to say something smart and edgy about MLK and the civil rights movement: just saw Hillary Clinton’s “speech” on TV, ok, she did not sound very enthusiastic, in fact, she sounded exactly like someone who was paying some good old-fashioned lip service, but she was there! Even McCain, who voted against the MLK day back in 1983 (even Dick Cheney voted for the holiday on that vote), is there trying to explain that it was his first year in Congress and he didn’t really know many black people back then, so of course he voted against the holiday… But where is Obama?

He is Indiana and other places – does he not know that when it comes to all things civil rights, it is essential to insist that you always supported the struggle, you liked the band before it was cool, you think MKL said the wisest words of all American leaders, you will do the best to follow his legacy (whatever you think that legacy is, clearly not all of it is “relevant,” right?)…

Take, for example, McCain’s speech:

“Even in this most idealistic of nations, we do not always take kindly to being reminded of what more we can do, or how much better we can be, or who else can be included in the promise of America,” Mr. McCain said. “We can be slow as well to give greatness its due, a mistake I made myself long ago when I voted against a federal holiday in memory of Dr. King. I was wrong and eventually realized that, in time to give full support for a state holiday in Arizona.”

So McCain was almost 50 when he mad voted against the holiday and it took him some time to realize the error. Now at 72 (that’s pretty old, isn’t it? what is with the old people trying to get/keep political power? drink some warm milk and take a nap time) he realized he made a mistake – how slow is this guy?

And Hillary did a great job as well:

At times Mrs. Clinton’s voice broke, as when she recalled learning of Dr. King’s death as a student at Wellesley College. “It’s hard to believe it has been 40 years,” she said. “And it is also heartbreaking to know that Dr. King has been gone from this earth longer than he was here.”

She recalled her often-described meeting with Dr. King when she was a 14-year-old girl “from an all-white school and an all-white church and an all-white suburb.”

Wow, how touching! how awesome! a privileged white teenager meets the great civil right leader and decides to dedicate her life to his struggle – I did wish she would cry a little, but broken voice is good to, although it is not clear whether she was sad over the fact that MLK was assassinated or over the fact that she no longer a naive 14-year-old white girl…

And what about? Obama said: “It was a struggle for economic justice, for the opportunity that should be available to people of all races and all walks of life,” he said. “Because Dr. King understood that the struggle for economic justice and the struggle for racial justice were really one, that each was part of a larger struggle for freedom, for dignity, and for humanity.” What is all this communist stuff?

And speaking of things such as racism 40 years later, check this out!