Once again, Žižek said it first

In his remarks during the FRONTLINE CLUB SPECIAL (July 2, 2011 4:00 PM), Žižek suggested that Bradley Manning should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The podcast is available at:

http://www.frontlineclub.com/events/2011/07/announcing-frontline-club-exclusive-julian-assange-in-conversation-with-slavoj-zizek.html

Also see the article by D.J. Pangburn at:

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/145977/bradley-manning-and-julian-assange-both-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize/#1

Here are some brief excerpts from the article:

The Nobel Peace Prize nominees for 2011 recognize a number of activists, among them Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Wael Ghonim, Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni, and Egyptian Israa Abdel Fattah together with the April 6 Youth Movement.

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Manning allegedly leaked diplomatic cables and video (of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack) to WikiLeaks. Manning had access to SIPRNet and the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System from his workstation in Iraq. His reason for leaking the documents? Manning wrote to former hacker Adrian Lamo, “I want people to see the truth… regardless of who they are … because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.”

[....]

If it had not been for WikiLeaks publishing the leaked diplomatic cables, the Arab Spring might not have been possible. The leaks were the catalyst, as Amnesty International stated, supplying the momentum in Tunisia and Egypt, for example. Even Retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel Ann Wright, in a recent Stars & Stripes editorial, has called Wikileaks “a critically important tool for those who seek to uphold basic human-rights standards and the professional conduct of U.S. military forces.”

[....]

COMMUNISM, A NEW BEGINNING? Alain Badiou and Slavoj Žižek with Verso Books at Cooper Union, New York, October 14th-16th 2011

By Rowan Wilson / 19 September 2011

A new conference with leading thinkers to discuss the continued relevance of the communist idea.

'The long night of the left is coming to a close' wrote Slavoj Žižek and Costas Douzinas in their introduction to The Idea of Communism. The continuing economic crisis, the shift away from a unipolar world defined by American hegemony, and the ecological crisis mean that growing numbers of people are keen to explore an alternative, and to re-discover the idea of communism. With the advent of the Arab Awakening millions have sought new ways to overcome corruption and dictatorship.

Responding to Alain Badiou's proposition of the 'communist hypothesis,' the leading thinkers of the Left convened in London in 2009 to discuss the perpetual, persistent notion that, in a truly emancipated society, all things should be owned in common.

Now Slavoj Žižek and Alain Badiou are returning to the discussion—this time in New York.

Organised with Verso Books, eight leading thinkers will be discussing 'Communism, A New Beginning? at Cooper Union on the weekend of October 14th-16th.

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http://www.versobooks.com/blogs/706-communism-a-new-beginning-alain-badiou-and-slavoj-zizek-with-verso-books-at-cooper-union-new-york-october-14th-16th-2011

FIVE CORPORATIONS

Moves so slowly

Grows so smoothly

Takes so neatly

It's as if they belong and they've been here all along

Grows so smoothly

Moves so slowly

Takes completely

It's as if they belong and they've been here all along

This one's ours let's take another

Check the math here check in ten years

Clusterfuck theory buy them up and shut them down

Then repeat in every town

Every town will be the same

This one's ours let's take another

Five corporations there is a pattern

Politics joke

A little boy goes to his father and asks, "What is Politics?" Dad says, "Well, son let me try to explain it this way. I'm the bread winner of the family so let's call me Capitalism. Your mom, she's the administrator of the money so we'll call her the Government. We're here to take care of your needs so we'll call you the People. The nanny, we'll call her the Working Class and your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now think about that and see if it makes sense."

Later that night the little boy hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents room, but finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake his mother, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks through the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. So the little boy gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning the little boy says to his father, "Dad, I think I understand the concept of Politics now." The father says, "Good job son, tell me in your own words what you think Politics is all about." The little boy replies, "Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored, and the Future is in deep shit."

The Logic of Envy