So much for Iraqi Freedom...

hmmm.

Off now to my last UOC meeting ever. It's been a chaotic, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes terrifying two years, and while the jury's still out on whtehr i ever should have set foot on this campus, I would not trade my participation in this movement for anything. More blogging on this ex post facto.

The marines are leaving most of their positions in Fallujah. Replacing them? An Iraqi former Hussein gov't official-led army. No, Iraq isn't Vietnam, but someone forgot to tell that to Donald Rumsfeld. Welcom to "Iraqization," folks - and all the neocolonialism that implies...



Meanwhile, the death toll grows.

Reagan University, huh?



Yo, hook me up with that Oliver North school of Foreign Relations. Or the Efrain Rios Montt Institute for International Geno-- err, Development. Maybe they could get a Kagan to be the president. Doesn't matter which one, really. (Although Shelly would be funny.) "Creme de la creme." They could make Jeanne Kirkpatrick their "authoritarian" (but not totalitarian) union-buster ('cause these days, aparently, every intsitution of higher learning needs a union buster. But if those damn grad students get out of hand, well, just call Provost Negroponte, no questions asked.



(this post has been corrected.)

NYT: SUPPORT FOR WAR ERODING



This is the lead story at nytimes.com at the moment:



Support for the war in Iraq has eroded substantially over the past several months, and Americans are increasingly critical of the way President Bush is handling the conflict, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.



After initially expressing robust backing for the war, the public is now evenly divided over whether the United States military should stay for as long as it takes to stabilize Iraq or pull out as soon as possible, the poll showed.



Asked whether the United States had done the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, 47 percent of respondents said it had, down from 58 percent a month earlier and 63 percent in December, just after American forces captured Saddam Hussein. Forty-six percent said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, up from 37 percent last month and 31 percent in December.

South African racists and their fruit metaphors in the search for that mythical lost pristine wholeness. Of course the fruit nmetaphor itself is rancid - assumes biological difference and a lack of history in the construction of difference, power being entirely nonexistent. This is a stark articulation of that constellation of racial difference Balibar and Wallerstein suggest we've left for newer models.



Meanwhile, from this week's Village Voice, The Downfall of Rawkus Records (but Mos Def's verse on "Respiration" is still one of the most brilliant pieces of hip hop music ever produced, and Soundbombing 2 was the shit) and Anya Kamenetz on Grad School as a road to poverty







I’m wrestlin with words and ideas

My ears is picky, seekin what will transmit

The scribes can apply to transcript, yo

This ain’t no time where the usual is suitable

Tonight alive, let’s describe the inscrutable

The indisputable, we new york the narcotic

Strength in metal and fiber optics

Where mercenaries is paid to trade hot stock tips

For profits, thirsty criminals take pockets

Hard knuckles on the second hands of workin class watches

Skyscrapers is collosus, the cost of living

Is preposterous, stay alive, you play or die, no options

No batman and robin, can’t tell between

The cops and the robbers, they both partners, they all heartless

With no conscience, back streets stay darkened

Where unbeliever hearts stay hardened

My eagle talons stay sharpened, like city lights stay throbbin

You either make a way or stay sobbin, the shiny apple

Is bruised but sweet and if you choose to eat

You could lose your teeth, many crews retreat

Nightly news repeat, who got shot down and locked down

Spotlight to savages, nasdaq averages

My narrative, rose to explain this existance

Amidst the harbor lights which remain in the distance

HOPE DOTH INDEED SPRING ETERNAL



YaleInsider is back



...And a quick link to Peter Linebaugh's "Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of May Day."

A year and a half ago, in between arrogant responses to student questions, and just after calling the hundreds who came to confront him over Yale's exploitation of its workers, union busting, military research, etc. not "representative students," (inspiring Amelia Frank-Vitale's brilliant button), Yale President Rick Levin, fielding a softball question from a mildly insufferable drug-addled attention-grabber, proclaimed the music of today devoid of significance. His precise words were, i believe, that the music wasn't saying anything. Pursuant to my missing post about 3rd Eye Blind (worst band ever) and sonic colonialism, (a la Panama '89) as well as the point of this blog more broadly, it think music says a lot.



At the time, I wanted to (but didn't) send Levin the lyrics to the Coup's "Lazy Muthafucka."



Now when I go to bed it's almost time to wake up

Tryin' not to go to jail, tryin' not to cake up

And even when I serve soda it would be cold as fuck

Chillin' in my sock, servin' ice for ten bucks

And you'd be in the house, all warm and shit

In your Ascott sweater with the fire lit

And whatever you want you ain't gotta lift a finger

If you wanna a glass of water hit the maid on the ringer

Got a job for you under this hot ass sun

Tellin' me to hurry up and get some more shit done

I be so tired when I spit all my word slur together

Got so many calluses my hands are like leather

Watchin' MTV in your big ass chair

Tryin' out slang words while you comb your hair

Your productivity is wack bring that box here fo-sheezy

Go get some coffee, playa, punch out before you leave me

Got your feet up on the desk noddin' off to sleep

While I lift, push, pull, dig, sweat, and sweep

I could work hard all my life and in the end still suffer

Cause the world is controlled by you lazy motherfuckers



but in retrospect, perhaps a better action would have been to organize large numbers of undergrads to email the president the lyrics to "we can work it out."



Life is very short and there's no time

for fussing and fighting, my friend

I have always thought that it's a crime

So I will ask you once again



Try to see it my way

Only time will tell of I am right or I am wrong

While you see it your

There's a chance we might fall apart before too long

We can work it out

We can work it out



Hell. We could have even blasted it outside his window or something. Oh well. Judging by the continuing commitment on the part of the university to busting organizing drives and doing everything possible to avoid cooperating with its unions, maybe there will be future opportunities for such psy-ops for those who carry on the fight..



Like humming the imperial death march whenever Mike Morand walks into a room.

Well, I feel bad. Le-- uh, i mean NuSonRise and Budgetbooth Productions were amazing, but when he stared me in the face, i kinda coudn't help crackin' up, and this picture is me trying not to do that. (Thomas is much less sucessful.)



It takes some serious chutzpah to call yourself Fitzgeezus.

Yesterday, i wrote a brilliant entry about Yale's Spring Fling, Third Eye Blind, and the sonic colonialism of new haven. It had kickass phrases like "the lilting mockery of exclusion." It was one of the best blog entries i've written since i took down Storm Woodbridge. Then Yale's server crashed, and i lost the whole thing. Fuck.



Anyway, thanks to Jacob for the link. I content that i am neither particularly lovable, nor detatched, though i may well inhabit the space of lunacy.

The Register and the YDN on yesterday's federation action.



The professional school students rock, and so does Rebecca Livengood.



"There's one common theme for today's gathering and that is Yale needs to listen," Local 35 President Bob Proto, whose union local represents Yale's service and maintenance employees, said of the second rally, which more than 350 people attended. "We're prepared to keep the fight going because it's worth making Yale a better place."

Sleater-Kinney were amazing. I am constantly amazed at Carrie Brownstein's guitar prowess and deft skill at composing interesting and compelling riffs. I gained new appreciation for Janet Weiss's drumming - the woman rocks - and, of course, Corin Tucker, one of the most powerful vocalists (and lyricists) in rock music. While I wish i were going back for the second show tonight, at which one would hope they play "Dig Me Out" and "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" and "#1 Must Have," which were glaringly absent last night, and while i think the first time i saw them (at the 2002 Village Voice Siren Music Festival) remains the best show I've ever seen, yesterday's set list had some unexpected stuff (lots of material from Call The Doctor and The Hot Rock) and the show was simply incredible. Live performances of "One Beat," "Sympathy," "oh," and "All Hands On The Bad One" were well worth the schlep and (extremely reasonable) ticket price.

Off to see Sleater-Kinney!!!

I just handed two unbound copies of my senior essay into the Office of New Haven and State Affairs in order to be judged for the "New Haven Prize."



Having thus placed my work in the colonial tradition of Robert Dahl, R. Wolfinger, and Douglas Rae, i feel profoundly dirty. My essay will not win the New Haven prize, not simply because of my own doubts about its quality, nor solely because it is intended as an attack on everything the office stands for, but also because Rae is one of the judges, and i take several potshots at his recent self-important account of New Haven's decline. While some have advised that i take a perverse solace in the fact that Rae et al. will wade through all 80 pages of me writing about how New Haven beat them, I'm somewhat afraid that they'll somehow try to use it against the federation -- not that there's anything in there they couldn't find on their own in manuscripts and archives or SML microfilm, but it still almost feels like a betrayal.



At least it was all rained on when i handed it in. And now i'm emailing it to some union people to restore karmic balance. Or at least, I would be, if Yale's email server wasn't conspiring against me...

Two american soldiers, Brandon Hughey and Jeffrey Hinzman, are seeking sanctuary in Canada because they oppose and are refusing to participate in the occupation of iraq

The Bush Administration: Control over women's bodies is an anti-terrorist "occupation"



"I think that after September 11, the American people are valuing life more and we need policies to value the dignity and worth of every life," she said. "President Bush has worked to say, let's be reasonable, let's work to value life, let's reduce the number of abortions, let's increase adoptions. And I think those are the kinds of policies the American people can support, particularly at a time when we're facing an enemy and, really, the fundamental issue between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life."

Today, between at least 500,000 and 800,000 (by one article's count) people rallied on the Washington Mall to defend reproductive rights from the Bush Administration's legislative assault on women's bodies. Seditious Libel has a post about how those of us who couldn't make it down to DC can stay active in this fight. Their list is useful for its breadth. However i think direct involvement is far more powerful than donating a couple bucks, and that a donation is no replacement whatsoever for an organizing commitment.

So i've been having a great weekend. This has been a rarity for the last couple months, and even though i didn't really get much sleep last night, and the weather's kind of dismal out, I'm happy. I might go to Guatemala this summer. I might be able to find a job here, and heaven knows, I'm not miserable yet. But i haven't eaten anything since a handful of pretzels and a few starbursts last night, so despite not having eaten breakfast or lunch today, since it's already 4:00 PM, i think maybe i'll just hunt down an early dinner.



More substantive blogging later, i guess.

Andy Stern, the president of the Service Employees International Union, writes



Wal-Mart is to the 21st century what the Dutch East India Company was to the 17th century. Global enterprises who salute no flag, but their own corporate logo. Traders who travel the world in search of profit. For these global corporations, workers are simply an input, and countries are obstacles or vehicles to promote their company's bottom line.



Yes. In addition to being "China's fifth-largest export market -- ahead of Germany and Great Britain," Wal-Mart is also the largest employer in Mexico and the United States. The "Walmartization" of the service sector carries dire portents for a globalized working class, as Stern points out. Yet will the solution that Stern and American unions pose in response simply be to ressurect the rotting corpse of the welfare state as an insufficient insulation against capital's ravages - is such a gesture even possible? Or will American unions join global social movements in envisioning self-active, global transformative actions "more transnational" than wal-mart could ever hope to be?

From yesterday's Yale Daily News - Ana Munoz challenges one columnist's imperialist aesthetics



I don't doubt that the "warm breeze," "shadows of palms," "temperate glow on volcanoes in the distance," "dirt paths and dense vegetation" made this American Eli feel like he was "returning to the basics." I just think that reaction creates a more problematic dynamic than merely acting as an impetus for Broussard and his colleagues to seek positive change for Nicaragua. Just as the developing world should not serve as a strip mine of natural resources and temporary labor for the United States, it is also inappropriate to see the bulk of our hemisphere as a kind of spiritual getaway, a place for stressed Americans to rediscover their souls when momentarily faced with staggering indigence and social injustice.

So there is a saying that love means never having to say you're sorry. This is, in fact, complete bullshit. I find myslef apologizing to loved ones all the time. The only social relationship within which one never apologizes is one of privilege, of exploitation. I would like to run a campaign along the lines of "white/male privilege means never having to say you're sorry." This has been spurred by an ongoing meditation on the ways in which, particularly over the last four years, i have experienced, benefitted from, internalized, and attempted to contest white privilege and patriarchy. I doubt i'm making any sense.

PHOEBE ON FINANCIAL AID



(Weapon of Class Instruction.)

A pop up ad on my internet terminal in CCL asks "should the US pull out of Iraq" like some faulty form of birth control against the burdens of imperial power? If we're carrying this gendered metaphor to its absurd conclusion, perhaps it's too late, and the seeds have already been planted. (I can't believe i just wrote that either.)



Dietary workers at Yale New-Haven Hospital, after two strikes and two years without a new contract, have signed a substandard one.



Laura Smith:



"This isn't the contract these workers deserved, nor is it the one the hospital could have well afforded to give them," Smith said.



In order for all of the workers at the hospital to receive better wages and health insurance, she said, there needs to be more unionized employees at the hospital, a goal she said Yale's unions would continue to work to achieve.



The unions will also continue to fight for parity for workers doing the same job at the University and the hospital, Local 35 President Bob Proto said.



GESO's fight continues, while the Yale corporation discusses visa issues and pats itself on the back for gratuitous layoffs. Meanwhile, the YDN reports on the Responsible Endowments Coalition (funny picture of Naas and Josh from last week's rally not online.



Some students at Columbia walked out of classes in solidarity with GSEU's continuing strike. More power to them. Article also mentions Stanley Aronowitz, who dated my aunt and hosted the Marxist seder at which my parents met.

An excellent piece on Sexual Assault, Take Back the night, and Yale.



French actors unions are threatening to disrupt Cannes



Even the announcement of the Cannes lineup on Wednesday was slightly delayed by protests in the morning. The festival's board then issued a statement saying it hoped the dispute would be resolved before the event begins on May 12. If not, the board authorized the festival's president, Gilles Jacob, and director general, Véronique Cayla, to find a way to let the protesters express their views peacefully. The protesters want to revoke an agreement, reached in June by three unions and the national employers' association in France, that reduces unemployment benefits for about 100,000 self-employed artists and technicians. The employers said that an earlier agreement was being widely abused and cost them $1 billion a year. Two leftist unions, which refused to sign the deal, have been leading the protests. Before the June agreement, if employees worked 507 hours during a 12-month period they were guaranteed 12 months of unemployment benefits. Now they must work 507 hours in 11 months to earn 8 months of unemployment benefits.



And as i walk around on this beautiful summery afternoon, I wonder what "Earth Day" means in the context of colonial warfare and corporate power

Today marks the third anniversary of the mobilization against the Free Trade Agreement of The Americas in Quebec City (ZLEA en francais, ALCA en espanol.) These have been three tumultuous years. The most recent mobilization against the FTAA - the protests against the Novemeber negotiations in Miami, met with uncredible and unprecedented (in this country) Police repression and violence. Yet the multitude aganst empire formed on February 15, 2003 has not simply vanished and grown quiescent. Today's victory by adjunct faculty at New York University, the ongoing strike by Graduate Student Teachers at Columbia University, and the efforts of the New Haven Student Fair Share coalition suggest three linked trajectories in the struggle to shape the global university and its involvement in the project of the neoliberal restructuring of the work that universities do and of the geograhy of the cities in which they locate themselves. Universities, as epicenters of "service sector" production with diffusely invested endowments and ideological projects which are often linked to the imperial agenda of global capital and its warriors, (who more often than not serve as trustees, administrators, gurus, and even faculty) play a central role in these struggles. But as i get ready to leave this particularly egregious university, i want to turn my attention towards questions of work, culture, and empire outside of the confines of ivy walls.

Welcome to The Problem Of Leisure. This site takes its name from the song "Natural's Not In It," from the seminal 1979 Gang of Four album Entertainment.



The problem of leisure

What to do for pleasure

Ideal love a new purchase

A market of the senses

Dream of the perfect life

Economic circumstances

The body is good business

Sell out maintain the interest

Remember Lot's wife

Renounce all sin and vice

Dream of the perfect life

This heaven gives me migraines

This heaven gives me migraines

This heaven gives me migraines



To obscure and omit the dramatic shifts in the spatial and social terrain of the capitalist ordering of difference between its present configuration and the moment when Jon King, Andy Gill et al. wrote these lyrics for their post-situationist post-punk band's masterpiece would be to ignore the seismic disruptions and dislocations of these decades. Yet the relationship between the body and the commodity in cultural production, of reified love and familiality, economic circumstances and heavens which give migraines remain relevant to the project of deconstructing cultural production and tracing the contours of the better world which emerging social movements against empire and for a new imagination of global connectedness are building this minute. This site looks at the contradictory possibilities which emerge in cultural and academic production and at struggles to constitute global justice. If "Guerilla War Struggle is a new entertainment," as Gang Of Four contend in "5:45," a critique against the spectacular representation of postmodern neocolonial warfare, "entertainment" (and knowledge) are themselves guerilla war struggles.