.

And by a prudent flight and cunning save A life which valour could not, from the grave. A better buckler I can soon regain, But who can get another life again? Archilochus

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Zizek on Brexit, 5 July 2016

21 comments:

Trevor Armbuster said...

The EU is wrong and not able to function, but Brexit is worse, because it is motivated by old-fashioned nationalism and racism. Really? The man is just another collectivist moron with a big mouth spouting verbal diarrhea. And he doesn't like Donald Trump. Very disappointing.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

He supports DiEM25 and a European Superstate.

FreeThinke said...

CRIPES, FJ, then Trevor is right!

DIEM25 is in fact anything-BUT "democratic," it is OLIGARCHIC, BUREAUCRATIC and innately DICTATORIAL.

SO why do I still have a lingering fondness for Zlavoj, who somehow reminds me of a lovable old plush Teddy Bear, despite his extreme loquacity, and the turgidity of his written prose?

Maybe it's because of his obvious sincerity –– am extremely rare quality in this perverse, demented world? I don't really know.

Gert said...


DIEM25 is in fact anything-BUT "democratic," it is OLIGARCHIC, BUREAUCRATIC and innately DICTATORIAL.

To call you clueless would almost be a compliment.

On DiEM25:

"Their movement aims to reform the European Union's existing institutions to create a "full-fledged democracy with a sovereign Parliament respecting national self-determination and sharing power with national Parliaments, regional assemblies and municipal councils".[2]
The movement's declared aim is to reinvigorate the idea of Europe as a union of people governed with democratic consent rather than what the movement fears the European Union is heading to: a superstate ruled by technocrats issuing edicts.[2] In support of this argument they mention eight distinct aspects where governance is by compulsion rather than consent. First among these is "hit-squad inspectorates and the Troika they formed together with unelected ‘technocrats’ from other international and European institutions".[2] The organization cites the emerging extremist nationalism of some new political parties as well as the so-called Brexit and Grexit state departure initiatives as evidence of this impending European fracture."


Anyone who still believes in democracy and doesn't vacuously support disintegration of the EU should support DiEM25. Hardly a surprise then that those who don't often support a thug like Trump.

Gert said...

One of the 'founding fathers' of DiEM25 is Yanis Varoufakis, who experienced the wrath of the Eurocrats first hand. He describes that in an interview with the New Statesman, here.

Despite this, Varoufakis continues to militate for a democratic EU. To call this "DICTATORIAL" is either inane or a bad case of spiteful trolling.

FreeThinke said...

A Potential Theme Song for Gert

It's delightful to be bitchy.

To be, an itchy, bitchy, kitschy little witchy.

There is nothing half so merry as

A wicked warlock's life!


And I love to be a nuisance,

Such an irritating darling little nuisance

Cheesing off the Right both day and night,

Is the source of all my jouissance!


~ with apologies to Anna Held

Thersites said...

I agree that an elected federal government would be preferable to what Europe has become... a bureaucracy ruled by financial technocrats in support the wealthy interests. But a confederation of equals could, IMO, work as well. Too much "state-corporate efficiency" is, a;so IMO, the enemy.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Meh. Either they petition for annexation into the United States of America, or fuck 'em.

Speedy G said...

Don't you mean the North American Union (NAU), beamish?

Speedy G said...

...or at least the SPP.

Gert said...

In terms of its institutions, the EU’s biggest problem is the powerlessness of its ‘parliament’. Most effective power exercising comes from mainly unelected bodies like the dreaded European Commission; these things HAVE to change for the project to have a future.

But to take joy in seeing the EU Bloc disintegrate a la Farage (not to mention so many oversees gloaters), while the continent is being squeezed by existing (US) and emerging blocs (China and Russia) is like cutting off your nose to spite your own nose.

Žižek’s ‘it’s an opportunity!’ is a bit lame. It’s a truism at best.

I see the resident troll FT has now managed to get one of his comments scrubbed at Lisa’s. Considering how even references to Bernie and 'the ovens' get a free pass there, that’s quite an achievement, FT! What a sad clown you are...

FreeThinke said...

FYI, Gertie-poo-poo:

I've been making an all out effort for several months to get Lisa to abandon her NO CENSORSHIP HERE policy, and begin to empty her trash and hose away the daily barrage of turds that make her blog the moral equivalent of a Public Toilet.

If any of my calculatedly obnoxious remarks have helped move Lisa in that direction, however minutely, I am only too glad.


I used to believe in total freedom, myself, until I found out –– right here in the blogosphere at David Horowitz's original online version of FrontPageMagazine –– how toxic it can be, and how destructive of the possibility of developing honest discourse.

Freedom and honesty should never mean giving others a license to insult, heckle, badger, make catcalls, defame, misrepresent, and otherwise abuse fellow bloggers -- as YOU DO here to ME ALL the TIME.

I've already told you what I think of you in no uncertain terms. It isn't worth wasting any more of my valuable time to tell you again.

As far as I'm concerned, you can go piss up a rope.

How my friend Farmer chooses to run his blog, is HIS business. Needless to say, you would never be welcome to comment at my place, even if you suddenly decided to act polite or even contrite.

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

I've been known to burn an f.i.g. or two in my day, FT. But I've found that the biggest problem from "editing blog comments" doesn't come from censoring your foes, it comes from censoring your friends, as they are MUCH more likely to step over the line and much more likely to take offense.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Nope. The United States of Earth. It's offensive to me that the President of France has a larger voice in Washington than my local dogcatcher.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

If they aren't Americans, they don't matter.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

I on the other hand have the 10th Amendment right to usurp foreign governments ;)

-FJ the Dangerous and Extreme MAGA Jew said...

Long live the Imperium!

FreeThinke said...

"I've found that the biggest problem from "editing blog comments" doesn't come from censoring your foes, it comes from censoring your friends, as they are MUCH more likely to step over the line and much more likely to take offense."

I have not found that to be the case FJ, but then I have few friends and many foes. For some reason I like it that way, probably because I have a generally low opinion of most of humanity –– especially those who imagine themselves "educated," and thus "superior" to the rest of us.

For instance I cannot permit my blog, to be overrun with the tse tse flies, scorpions, poisonous serpents, sewer rats, dung beetles and bedbugs who infest Who's Your Daddy?

Lisa's a very nice woman. I believe her heart's in the right place, but both she –– and David Horowitz –– proved conclusively that "Total Freedom" leads to hideously destructive anarchy.

Of, it was fun for a while to put on my little burlesque Shows over there to show my contempt for the bastards by overriding them with liberal doses of High Culture, Satire and Happy Horseshoe, but the atmosphere there it's so hopelessly inane, so foul, –– and so NASTY ––, there's no point in even looking in on the place anymore.

If you achieved the popularity you, apparently do not seek, I believe you too would find it imperative to start exercising a bit of authoritarian control.

I love my animals, but I do not permit them to do their business all over my carpets and upholstery. Just as infants must be toilet-gtrainede, so must pets be housebroken –– unless you and the prospect of living in a byre appealing. (:-o

Anonymous said...

"I have a generally low opinion of most of humanity –– especially those who imagine themselves "educated," and thus "superior" to the rest of us."

Do you consider yourself educated? What strata of society would you say that you occupy?

Anonymous said...

(or "stratum", if you prefer the Latinate form)

Thersites said...

I'm top 10% myself. I have a BS in engineering and an MS in management. I work in the private aerospace sector consulting to "government officials" so am not "unfamiliar" with its' functioning. I like to think of my job as providing "welfare" to "scientists".

I can't speak for FT. :)