Zizek on Barrack

Zizek had been known as the "Elvis of Cultural Theory" and here's an excerpt of his interview with Goodman of "Democracy Now!" It's a not-so-long interview and now we come to the end of Part I when he was asked about Obama's chances.

SLAVOJ ZIZEK: I think there would have been like left of Barack, if I may put it this way, no? It would have been probably not. But going seriously, no, of course, I am—my god, it’s stupid to say—for Barack and so on. But I see a tragedy here, because like let’s say he wins. What will he do? The tragedy of today’s left is what? It’s always the same story. Lula in Brazil, Mandela even. The good guy wins, we are enthusiastic, then you have around two years usually of period of grace, and then you have really to decide—do you play with global capitalism, or do you want to mess with it?

With this, I am not saying it doesn’t matter. Barack Obama can do things. There are many important gestures, like Guantanamo, stop with these waterboarding jokes, open relations with Cuba, recognize this would be incredibly important, recognize the Hague international tribunal. I will tell you from my European perspective, this was perceived in Europe as the worst, let’s say, ethical, political catastrophe of the United States. First they push for international court, then they sabotage it. People ask today, why are such crazy nationalists in Serbia? I’ll tell you. I spoke with them. They told me, first, United States push—they are still—sorry, I will be very brief—putting pressure on us, deliver Milosevic, Karadzic, all the criminals to Hague. Then, the same people, time and—

AMY GOODMAN: Ten seconds.

SLAVOJ ZIZEK: Yeah. And sign the non-extradition treaty. So you are digging your own grave.

Breakable: Manny Pacquiao

Figures for Manny Pacquiao to think about:

$8.5 MILLION: est. money Manny will get from his March fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas. That comes out to about P350 MILLION

P2.4 MILLION: money raked in by "Anak ng Kumander," the movie starring Manny Pacquiao shown during the Metro Manila Film Festival last December when all theaters in Manila and many places elsewhere were required to show only entries from the festival. BTW that money was the total take from all theaters in the country.

The point, Manny, is, since you also endorse MagicSing, we now sing: I love you just the way you are. We want you bloodied and dizzy in the ring and nowhere else. Don't go tryin' some new fashion. Don't change the color of your hair. Who-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo

Karma

Kanthoughts

Carmelita Garcia, blogging from China, provided us about another possible etymology of "kanthought."

"There was a cartoon that appeared on one of the very first issues of Jingle Magazine (yes, I’m that ancient) which featured this nugget of wisdom: ‘Canned Thoughts are better than Banned Thoughts," she wrote.

So, our kanthought has a slightly Martial Law ring to it. Hmmmm

Kanthoughts

Fellow Baguio blogger Nashman (ngem adda London) is starting a campaign to include the famous Filipino word "kanthought" in the OED. Not as dirty as you think, it comes from Immanuel Kant and thought. It was the great Kant who thought that we process perceptions otherwise all the things we sense just flow past us like water. Now, I'm lost in my Kantian thoughts because there was this woman who passed by. Hmm nice. What was I saying? Kant thoughts. Hmmm. Sex. Kant is a very unsexy person (he thinks that masturbation is worse that suicide) but it was him who thought that the test of morality for any form of conduct is whether it could be universalized. We seem to philosophize about our thoughts of sex all the time. That's universal. So kanthoughts should be in the OED.

CIDG

I Googled for "CIDG" and instead was brought to "Cardiac Inherited Disease Group" and "Civilian Irregular Defense Group." I thought the second one was a joke on our CIDG which is Civilian Intelligence and Detection Group, but then CIDG is a real thing. The CIA created CIDG or Sidgee in Vietnam in 1961 as a low-level intensity conflict. The Green Beret has their ADC or the Area Development Centers mostly among the Montagnards or the IPs of the area. This is so eerily similar to the Philippine situation then and now it got me into a praning mode early Monday morning. And then along Session Road, there was a rally of placards denouncing the NPAs.