Mimesis, Tariq Ali/Iraq, Celtic Rats, SF Fandom and Internet Explorer

[tcpip]

Hey, writers, editors, readers and other bookish people ... This is a great opportunity for you:

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Inaugural Meeting for Mimesis Publishing Cooperative

This meeting is to establishing a Publishing Cooperative dedicated to scholarly works for discerning readers.

It is recommended that we adopt the government guaranteed model rules for a non-trading cooperative.

July 3, 3pm at Borderlands (Augustine Centre, 2 Minona Street Hawthorn - 5 minutes walk from Auburn Station)

The meeting is estimated to take less than 1 hour.

Please attend to indicate your interest in this project.

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Last night I attended the Tariq Ali public meeting at the Melbourne Town Hall, which was filled to capacity. Ali's main points were as follows. (1) The so-called new soverign government is merely a puppet government for the occupying forces. (2) The intelligence of the Iraqi resistance and the speed at which it has been organized is unexpected and extraordinary. (3) The war requires massive support in the media of occupying countries (which, it should be added, hasn't been received). (4) The resistance will grow, the puppet government will become more repressive and the occupying forces will become more reliant. (5) The United Nations has become servile to the United States (see Security Council resolution 1546). (6) Noone who has experienced colonial oppression has been surprised by the torture photos or the results of the occupation. (7) The war is a demonstration of US imperial power - thus some other imperialist nations opposed it. And most importantly (8)The result of the war will determine international politics for the 21st century. After the meeting I managed to get Ali's signature on 1968 Marching in the Streets, a great dairy/photo journal of the international protests of that very eventful year.

Saturday evening was spent with a small cadre of science fiction fans for Tim Richards' fourtieth birthday gathering at the ScuBar, who provided food as only a science fiction fan can provide. There is one of the worst photos of me ever taken at the birthday pics site.

Saturday day was spent in Beveridge with smilesnspiders, and a small cadre of others including cold_echo, baralier, littlecountess, kerberos_3 and vampiiria. There were a dozen of us all told, and the afternoon was spent at the Kilmore Celtic festival which had bagpipes, young lasses dancing, various Celtic prints and other kitsch. I noted the typical lack of Breton influence among the anglophone Celts. Hmmph. Anyone would think that this - the largest collection of Celts in the world - didn't actually exist.

Apart from the Celtic festival we spent quite some time at smailesnspiders. caseopaya and I had to leave at very early in the morning - one train at 0700 and the next wasn't until 1330 - and were duly informed that our rats weren't supposed to be on the V/Line as they were considered livestock! Anyway, the conductor turned a blind eye on the dear beasties, and attended the rat weigh in - Monte at 490 grams, Mouse (yes, a rat called 'Mouse') at 565 grams and the fattest rat of them all, Harley at 570 grams - and he's lost weight!.

Sunday's presentation at Church was not a particularly good presentation on the current situation in Cuba (it had more to do with the history than the current situation). However, they managed to contribute to my march towards becoming Rev. Dr. tcpip continues. On August 1st I'm giving a presentation at the Melbourne Unitarian Church on "The Future of the Human Species" (artificial intelligence, genetic engineering etc) and on August 8th I'm conducting the service.

Brain breaker of the week is work-related and it's not funny. From reddragdiva. Stop using Internet Explorer. No, really. This is serious. And as part of a running history of IE security flaws it really is time you changed your brower.

Comments

[splodgenoodles.livejournal.com]

What time on Sundays are the church meetings?

I just know they are going to be in the mornings....*groan*

[caseopaya.livejournal.com]

There is one of the worst photos of me ever taken

It's not that great a one of me either - so you aren't alone!!!

had to leave at very early in the morning

Nothing like a bit of sleep deprivation to make the weekend complete. ;P

[p-cat.livejournal.com]

*wrings hands*

Why is this meeting the day after the one Abyss that I plan to attend this year?

Is there any further information available about this project? My interest is piqued.

[frou-frou.livejournal.com]

are you still in touch with my dad? he's involved in organising a workshop in Perth for Tariq and some local activists. It's on today. I would have liked to go to the (Melb) meeting but post-operative....no can do. glad you made it: sounds very interesting.

[erudito.livejournal.com]

(1) The so-called new soverign government is merely a puppet government for the occupying forces.

Exactly what the Stalinists said about West Germany.

(2) The intelligence of the Iraqi resistance and the speed at which it has been organized is unexpected and extraordinary.

According to the opinion polls, they are doing worse at hearts and minds than the Coalition and much worse that the new (admittedly untested) government.

Since much of the resistance isn't Iraqi but deployment of external jihadis already on a warfooting, not so surprising.

Given the disbanding of previous army and police, even less so.

(3) The war requires massive support in the media of occupying countries (which, it should be added, hasn't been received)

Which sould suggest it doesn't, then, wouldn't it?

(4) The resistance will grow, the puppet government will become more repressive and the occupying forces will become more reliant.

What limited domestic support will collapse further, since there is indisputably an Iraqi government and the foreign nature of the jihadis will become more stark.

(5) The United Nations has become servile to the United States (see Security Council resolution 1546).

As during the debate over the intervention in the first place?

(6) Noone who has experienced colonial oppression has been surprised by the torture photos or the results of the occupation.

There was nothing particularly colonial about the prison photoes. In fact, it was much worse under Saddam. As for the results of the occupation, the people with genuine colonial experience -- the British in Basra, have done much better.

(7) The war is a demonstration of US imperial power - thus some other imperialist nations opposed it.

The Franco-Germans would be awfully miffed at this description, particularly the Germans. As it happens, I think that the EU global governance agenda is indeed weltpolitik mark II.

At some level, it is an American imperium. At another, it is far and the way the least imperial of all imperial powers.

And most importantly (8)The result of the war will determine international politics for the 21st century.

Or some proportion thereof. Yes, of course. The notion that a US defeat will lead to a good situation is naive in the extreme, a flagrant failure to grasp the patterns of history.

Apart from more general patterns, consider the major Cold War conflicts from the Western alliance perspective: Korea was a draw (very good for the people of South Korea, very bad for the people of North Korea), Vietnam was a loss (very bad for the people of Indochina), Malaya and Nicaragua were wins (good for both populaces), Afghanistan was a win (bad for the Afghans, due to far too much being subcontracted out to the Pakistanis and the Arabs paying two-thirds of the cost: it was actually an Islamic win with American assistance).

Publishing

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

Its a long way to go for the meeting, so I don't think I can make it, but would be interested to hear about the result.

Though I already have one publishing company, and even my own Borderlands, so my interest is more to compare rather than with a view to getting directly involved in another publishing venture.

[reddragdiva]

Off-topic: do you have a handy writeup on how to become an apostate of the Catholic Church? One you could put up as a FAQ - "how I done it." I ask because the question has come up on alt.gothic - subject "Goths in Christ - I want your opinion, here's mine", message-ID: slrncege7v.6ls.JennieKermode@laocoon.triffid.demon.co.uk . Google link (soon I think): here.