Pete Hegseth

 

Pete Hegseth just referred to "the new, so-called, not-so- supreme leader." So...the new Supreme Leader, then.

What a fucking idiot.

The World of Children

 

"...the world of children...so easily opens itself towards something other than that which exists, and which is so full of hope."

Winter by Karl Ove Knausgård 

Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone

I know, I know. I've got thousands of books...and and I've only read about half of them. And I probably only have a decade or so (at best) left on this planet. And the library has tons of books I want to read, including this one.

But in my defense, (1) I have intended to read some Wilkie Collins ever since my Dickens binge, when I found out that they were buds and even wrote stuff together, (2) it was only $4, and (3) who could resist that pulpy cover? Not me. And since I'm struggling a bit...a BIG bit...with Zombie Capitalism (my current DDR)...I thought it might be fun to make this my side hustle. (Well...ONE of my side hustles.) 

So let the games begin.

News as it happens.

Oh, by the way, I went online to see how much other people were selling this book for and was astonished at how many different covers there were. This book has been published many, many times. Check THIS out.

And oh oh...there's also a movie. And the LFPL's got it. (Soon I will, too.)

Breaking News 

I've been taking it slow (as I am also reading Zombie Capitalism, Black Ice, Winter, and five books--four of them religious--with my daughter every day), but I'm enjoying this book quite a bit...and looking forward to watching the movie (which I just picked up from the library today). There have been a few moments whuch brought me up short, though. Such as when the narrator refers to two young, buxom girls as "the Bouncers.) 😶 Or, even more inappropriately, when a group of Indians (dot, not arrow),obviously innocent (can't tell you of what as that would be a spoiler), are kept in jail for a week, Just In Case, and the narrator's only comment on this travesty of justice is, "Every human institution, Justice included, will stretch a little, if you only pull it the right way." Yowza. That's some ice cold shit, man.

And how's this for some real haha?  "The cook looked as if she could grill Mr. Superintendent alive on a furnace, and the other women looked as if they could eat him when he was done." (69) That is really 😁. 

"

DDR: Zombie Capitalism: Global Crisis and the Relevance of Marx by Chris Harman

424 pages on the evils of Capitalism. What's not to like? I bought this book years ago after reading a reference to it in something or other, and lately it's been on my mind, so time to get out of my dreams and into my car. Do I have the stamina to read a 424 page book on economics? I kind of doubt it, but let's see.

Day 1 (DDRD 3,043) March 2, 2026)

Read to page 30.

It only took a few pages before a reference to Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations came up. Which is not a surprise, but it did remind me that I've long intended to attempt to read that book.  It probably would make a good follow-up to Zombie Capitalism, eh?

A pretty tough read for me, as I am ignorant of event the most basic concepts of economic theory, but I think I can stick with this. As always,  🕰 will tell...and so will 👁.

Day 2 (DDRD 3,044) March 3, 2026)

Read to  60. But it took me until 8:30 pm to get there. Math is hard. 

Day 3 (DDRD 3,045) March 4, 2026)

Read to page 90.

I'm swimming against the current here as my brain tries to grasp the nuances of economic theory, but I'm determined to keep at it. The major point thus far seems to be that the crises which occur in the capitalist system are not abberations, but are built into the system. Or, more eloquently, "Capitalism does live by crises and booms, just as a human being lives by inhaling and exhaling." (68) That's Leon Trotsky, folks. Let's give him a big hand. 👏👏👏👏👏

"The drive to accumulate leads inevitably to crises. And the greater the scale of past accumulation, the deeper the crises will be." (72) 

Or...

Senses never gratified

Only swelling like a tide

That could drown me in the

Material world

(George Harrison)

Day 4 (DDRD 3,046) March 5, 2026)

Read to page 100. Yeah. 😫 I'll go back for more, but right now it just feels like trying to swim through dough. (Though I did read 40 pages of The Moonstone with no strain.

Sigh.

Later...made it to 104. That's it for today.

Day 5 (DDRD 3,047) March 6, 2026)

Read to page 125.

I was thinking pretty seriously about quitting this book, but then I read this line: "The relationship between states and capitals are relationships between people, between those engaged in exploiting the mass of the population and those who control bodies of armed men." (109) That's a big gulp. Enough to keep me going for another page or two, anyway. (But no promises.)

Day 6 (DDRD 3,048) March 7, 2026)

Read to page 155.

Finished Part One: Understanding the System: Marx and Beyond and started Part Two: Capitalism in the 20th Century, and felt like somebody clicked the treadmill down from 30 degrees of incline to flat. I think it's the difference between political theory and history. For the first time I thought, "Maybe I will finish this book."

Labor = the "capacity to be productively exploited" (133)

Gotta give the Commies that one.

In discussing causes of The Great Depression, Harman says that we still cannot explain why it happened today. He then goes on to list several possibilities, one of which caught my eye: "...the raising of US tariffs by the Smoot-Hawley Act in the summer of 1930 unleashed a wave of protectionism preventing a recovery that would otherwise have occurred if free trade had been allowed untrammeled sway. " (145)

Uh-oh.

Day 7 (DDRD 3,049) March 8, 2026)

Read to page 185.

According to this text, "78 percent of Palestine " (185) was seized to create Israel. Must check Israel, The Hijack State by John Rose asap.*

* Which, fortunately,  is available HERE..because the only copy I found for sale was $125! **

** Here are the last two paragraphs of the Introduction:

After discussing the vision of Israel as the beleaguered fiction of terrorism, Mr. Rose says,

"However, the history of Israel suggests the opposite interpretation. The state of Israel was founded upon just those principles of terror: for at its foundation Israel expelled three-quarters of a million Palestinians through assassination and murderous destruction. The “terrorists” that Israel and the US want put to death are often the sons and daughters of those same dispossessed Palestinians.

"Israel’s evolution has seen the increasing use of state terror on a monumental scale. This, combined with American backing for the militarisation of its economy, has turned Israel into a ruthless outpost for Western domination of the Middle East. The pious noises about “terrorism”, from Israel, America and indeed Britain, conceal this deeper motivation."

Wow.

Day 8 (DDRD 3,050) March 9, 2026)

Read to page 215.

Day 9 (DDRD 3,051) March 10, 2026)

Read to page 245.

Day 10 (DDRD 3,052) March 11, 2026)

Read to page 263.

Day 11 (DDRD 3,053) March 12, 2026)

Read to page 285.

Referring to the Project for a New American Century, Harman says, "The Republican electoral victory of 2000 and then the national panic caused by the 9/11 destruction of the world trade center gave them a chance to implement their policy." (271) Well...that's one way of looking at it.

Can this possibly be true? "[Only] 1 or 2 percent of the fiber optic cable buried under Europe and North America has even been turned on." (286) That's what Financial Times 6 September 2001 says. So I guess we're ready for the future... unless, of course, something new comes along that makes fiber optic cable completely obsolete.

Day 12 (DDRD 3,055) March 13, 2026)

Read to page "315."

"US households must spend more than their incomes. If they fail to do so, the economy will plunge into recession unless something changes elsewhere...." (288, quoting Martin Wolf)

Sometimes I wonder: where DO we end?