THIS BOOK WILL TEACH YOU NOTHING
BY ZARTOSHT KUIPERS
(2013)
Our suspicions are first aroused when we see that the self-declared apostles of ethics and of the ‘right to difference’ are clearly horrified by any vigorously sustained difference. For them, African customs are barbaric, Muslims are dreadful, the Chinese are totalitarian, and so on. As a matter of fact, this celebrated ‘other’ is acceptable only if he is a good other – which is to say what, exactly, if not the same as us? Respect for differences, of course! But on condition that the different be parliamentary-democratic, pro free-market economics, in favour of freedom of opinion, feminism, the environment… That is to say: I respect differences, but only, of course, in so far as that which differs also respects, just as I do, the said differences. Just as there can be ‘no freedom for the enemies of freedom’, so there can be no respect for those whose difference consists precisely in not respecting differences. To prove the point, just consider the obsessive resentment expressed by the partisans of ethics regarding anything that resembles an Islamic ‘fundamentalist’.
The problem is that the ‘respect for differences’ and the ethics of human rights do seem to define an identity! And that as a result, the respect for differences applies only to those differences that are reasonably consistent with this identity (which, after all is nothing other than the identity of a wealthy – albeit visibly declining – ‘West’). Even immigrants in this country [France], as seen by the partisans of ethics, are acceptably different only when they are ‘integrated’, only if they seek integration (which seems to mean, if you think about it: only if they want to suppress their difference). It might well be that ethical ideology, detached from the religious teachings which at least conferred upon it the fullness of a ‘revealed’ identity, is simply the final imperative of a conquering civilization: ‘Become like me and I will respect your difference.’
Ethics An Essay on the Understanding of Evil, Alain Badiou p24
(1993, trans. 2001)
Philisophy does not begin in an experience of wonder, as ancient tradition contends, but rather, I think, with the indeterminate but palpable sense that something desired has not been fulfilled, that a fantastic effort has failed.
Infinitely Demanding –…
Philisophy does not begin in an experience of wonder, as ancient tradition contends, but rather, I think, with the indeterminate but palpable sense that something desired has not been fulfilled, that a fantastic effort has failed.
Infinitely Demanding –…
Philisophy does not begin in an experience of wonder, as ancient tradition contends, but rather, I think, with the indeterminate but palpable sense that something desired has not been fulfilled, that a fantastic effort has failed.
Infinitely Demanding – Ethics of Commitment, Politics of Resistance, Simon Critchley (2007)
“Remember me to all my friends and relations – I wish you and others of the family as many as can write to write to me often and tell me about every thing and any thing,” Henry Watson begged his father, “about every body and thing I care any thing about.”
“Remember me to all my friends and relations – I wish you and others of the family as many as can write to write to me often and tell me about every thing and any thing,” Henry Watson begged his father, “about every body and thing I care any thing about.”
“Remember me to all my friends and relations – I wish you and others of the family as many as can write to me often and tell me about every thing and any thing,” Henry Watson begged his father, “about every body and thing I care any thing about.”
Ebony & Ivory – Race, Slavery and the Troubled History of America’s Universities, Craig Steven Wilder (2013)
Plane’s due to take off in a few minutes.
Brother West – Living and Loving Out Loud – A Memoir, Cornell West with David Ritz (2009)
Plane’s due to take off in a few minutes.
Brother West – Living and Loving Out Loud – A Memoir, Cornell West with David Ritz (2009)
Plane’s due to take off in a few minutes.
Brother West – Living and Loving Out Loud – A Memoir, Cornell West with David Ritz (2009)
We are a nation living with two sets of laws, one public law as guided by the Constitution and a second, invisible text that exists between the lines of that document.
American Coup – How A Terrified Government Is Destroying The Constitution, William M.…
We are a nation living with two sets of laws, one public law as guided by the Constitution and a second, invisible text that exists between the lines of that document.
American Coup – How A Terrified Government Is Destroying The Constitution, William M.…
We are a nation living with two sets of laws, one public law as guided by the Constitution and a second, invisible text that exists between the lines of that document.
American Coup – How A Terrified Government Is Destroying The Constitution, William M. Arkin (2013)
In his magisterial work A Study of History, British historian Arnold J. Toynbee tells the story of how civilizations rise and fall through the dynamics of challenge and response.
Who Stole The American Dream?, Hedrick Smith (2013)
In his magisterial work A Study of History, British historian Arnold J. Toynbee tells the story of how civilizations rise and fall through the dynamics of challenge and response.
Who Stole The American Dream?, Hedrick Smith (2013)
In his magisterial work A Study of History, British historian Arnold J. Toynbee tells the story of how civilizations rise and fall through the dynamics of challenge and response.
Who Stole The American Dream?, Hedrick Smith (2013)
Yesterday morning as I was about to enter the lecture hall, I was stopped by a Christian student who asked me in a voice eager with malice, “Have you heard about the Emperor Theodosius?”
Julian, Gore Vidal (1964)
Yesterday morning as I was about to enter the lecture hall, I was stopped by a Christian student who asked me in a voice eager with malice, “Have you heard about the Emperor Theodosius?”
Julian, Gore Vidal (1964)
Yesterday morning as I was about to enter the lecture hall, I was stopped by a Christian student who asked me in a voice eager with malice, “Have you heard about the Emperor Theodosius?”
Julian, Gore Vidal (1964)
Never in the Americas has an event of such extraordinary character, with such deep roots and such far-reaching consequences for the destiny of the continent’s progressive movements taken place as our revolutionary war.
Cuba: Exceptional Case or Vanguard…
Never in the Americas has an event of such extraordinary character, with such deep roots and such far-reaching consequences for the destiny of the continent’s progressive movements taken place as our revolutionary war.
Cuba: Exceptional Case or Vanguard…
Never in the Americas has an event of such extraordinary character, with such deep roots and such far-reaching consequences for the destiny of the continent’s progressive movements taken place as our revolutionary war.
Cuba: Exceptional Case or Vanguard in the Struggle Against Colonialism, Che Guevara, (1961)
On January 30, 1835, as Andrew Jackson exited a congressman’s funeral, an assassin drew a weapon and pointed it at the president.
The United States of Paranoia, Jesse Walker (2013)
On January 30, 1835, as Andrew Jackson exited a congressman’s funeral, an assassin drew a weapon and pointed it at the president.
The United States of Paranoia, Jesse Walker (2013)
On January 30, 1835, as Andrew Jackson exited a congressman’s funeral, an assassin drew a weapon and pointed it at the president.
The United States of Paranoia, Jesse Walker (2013)
When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home in Omaha, Nebraska, one night.
The Autobiography of Malcom X As Told To Alex Haley, (1964)
When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home in Omaha, Nebraska, one night.
The Autobiography of Malcom X As Told To Alex Haley, (1964)
When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home in Omaha, Nebraska, one night.
The Autobiography of Malcom X As Told To Alex Haley, (1964)
‘”If you want to keep something a secret, publish it.” Once in print, information is often filed, forgotten, or dismissed. Publishing a secret takes away its cachet and causes it to be overlooked.’
Hiding the Elephant – How Magicians Invented the…
‘”If you want to keep something a secret, publish it.” Once in print, information is often filed, forgotten, or dismissed. Publishing a secret takes away its cachet and causes it to be overlooked.’
Hiding the Elephant – How Magicians Invented the…
‘”If you want to keep something a secret, publish it.” Once in print, information is often filed, forgotten, or dismissed. Publishing a secret takes away its cachet and causes it to be overlooked.’
Hiding the Elephant – How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learnt to Disappear, Jim Steinmeyer (2003)
Many views on Edward Snowden and what he has done are smeared all across the internet. As a small, but I think relevant aside, I’m reading a book about the history of magic. The above quote seems rather apt given the fact that a book called The Puzzle Palace, written in 1982, detailed the then overreach of the NSA. What little did Mr. Bamford know about how much further their grasp would extend. Give it some time and I’m sure Mr. Snowden and his revelations will be forgotten too as we move onto the more pressing concerns of The Voice and chaturbate.com. Magicians and Illusionists know a thing or two about human nature, I think. It is how they make their daily bread.
Functionally Literate – Fake Books
THIS BOOK WILL TEACH YOU NOTHING
BY ZARTOSHT KUIPERS (2013)
Functionally Literate – Fake Books
THIS BOOK WILL TEACH YOU NOTHING
BY ZARTOSHT KUIPERS (2013)
As the Exxon Valdez churned through chalky turquoise port waters toward the Gulf of Alaska, Captain Joseph Hazelwood descended to his quarters.
Private Empire – ExxonMobil and American Power, Steve Coll (2012)
As the Exxon Valdez churned through chalky turquoise port waters toward the Gulf of Alaska, Captain Joseph Hazelwood descended to his quarters.
Private Empire – ExxonMobil and American Power, Steve Coll (2012)
As the Exxon Valdez churned through chalky turquoise port waters toward the Gulf of Alaska, Captain Joseph Hazelwood descended to his quarters.
Private Empire – ExxonMobil and American Power, Steve Coll (2012)
Functionally Literate – Fakes Books.
GIANT ROBOTS, FLYING CITIES AND WIZARDS RIDING DINOSAURS
BY ZARTOSHT KUIPERS
Functionally Literate – Fakes Books.
GIANT ROBOTS, FLYING CITIES AND WIZARDS RIDING DINOSAURS
BY ZARTOSHT KUIPERS
As the bus entered the prefectural capital of Takamatsu, garden suburbs transformed into city streets of multicolored neon, headlights of oncoming cars, and checkered lights of office buildings.
As the bus entered the prefectural capital of Takamatsu, garden suburbs transformed into city streets of multicolored neon, headlights of oncoming cars, and checkered lights of office buildings.
I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan.
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)
I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan.
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)
I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan.
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)
The most surprising aspects of the imposition of colonialism on Africa were its suddenness and its unpredictability.
African Perspectives on Colonialism, A. Adu Boahen (1987)
The most surprising aspects of the imposition of colonialism on Africa were its suddenness and its unpredictability.
African Perspectives on Colonialism, A. Adu Boahen (1987)
The most surprising aspects of the imposition of colonialism on Africa were its suddenness and its unpredictability.
African Perspectives on Colonialism, A. Adu Boahen (1987)
In eight short years Horatio Nelson, already a rear admiral and a national hero, turned himself into a major international figure and a deathless icon.
Nelson – The Sword of Albion, John Sugden (2013)
In eight short years Horatio Nelson, already a rear admiral and a national hero, turned himself into a major international figure and a deathless icon.
Nelson – The Sword of Albion, John Sugden (2013)
In eight short years Horatio Nelson, already a rear admiral and a national hero, turned himself into a major international figure and a deathless icon.
Nelson – The Sword of Albion, John Sugden (2013)
When this unpleasant remark is made about you, stand up, making sure your flies are closed and announce in a firm voice.
‘To hell with that shit.’
The Unexpurgated Code – A Complete Manual of Survival and Manners, J. P. Donleavy (1975)
When this unpleasant remark is made about you, stand up, making sure your flies are closed and announce in a firm voice.
‘To hell with that shit.’
The Unexpurgated Code – A Complete Manual of Survival and Manners, J. P. Donleavy (1975)
When this unpleasant remark is made about you, stand up, making sure your flies are closed and announce in a firm voice.
‘To hell with that shit.’
The Unexpurgated Code – A Complete Manual of Survival and Manners, J. P. Donleavy (1975)
Who are you?
A Paradise Built in Hell – The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster, Rebecca Solnit (2009)
Who are you?
A Paradise Built in Hell – The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster, Rebecca Solnit (2009)
Who are you?
A Paradise Built in Hell – The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster, Rebecca Solnit (2009)
Good old Thucydides, writing in the fifth century BC, knew a thing or two about human nature. Here he is talking a little about The Revolution in Corcyra:
Words had to change their ordinary meaning and to take that which was now given them. Reckless…
Good old Thucydides, writing in the fifth century BC, knew a thing or two about human nature. Here he is talking a little about The Revolution in Corcyra:
Words had to change their ordinary meaning and to take that which was now given them. Reckless…
Good old Thucydides, writing in the fifth century BC, knew a thing or two about human nature. Here he is talking a little about The Revolution in Corcyra:
Words had to change their ordinary meaning and to take that which was now given them. Reckless audacity came to be considered the courage of a loyal ally; prudent hesitation, specious cowardice; moderation was held to be a cloak for unmanliness; ability to see all sides of a question, inaptness to act on any. Frantic violence became the attribute of manliness; cautious plotting, a justifiable means of self-defence. The advocate of extreme measures was always trustworthy, his opponent a man to be suspected. To succeed in a plot was to have a shrewd head, to divine a plot a still shrewder.
Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, Chapter X (5th Cent. BC)
Now I know that we are not going through a revolution of the kind that the Corcyraeans experienced but we probably could be doing a little better right now. I have, as you can see, shorn this quote from the context in which it is placed in the book but I think it can be seen as a cry for tolerance and clear thinking in extreme times. Extreme times may be closing upon us. Perhaps we can learn from this ancient knowledge. Perhaps, given a brief glance at history between then and now this is an unlikely hope. Either way I offer it up as something to chew on as we enter what may well be a fraught summer. I realise that I am beginning to sound a little like Glenn Beck. I wish I did not sound like Glenn Beck, but there you go. Good Evening.
I usually share the opening lines of books but I was reading The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Tolstoy and I read this sentence:
The good cannot seize power, nor retain it, to do this men must love power. And love of power is inconsistent with goodness;…
I usually share the opening lines of books but I was reading The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Tolstoy and I read this sentence:
The good cannot seize power, nor retain it, to do this men must love power. And love of power is inconsistent with goodness;…
I usually share the opening lines of books but I was reading The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Tolstoy and I read this sentence:
The good cannot seize power, nor retain it, to do this men must love power. And love of power is inconsistent with goodness; but quite consistent with the very opposite qualities – pride, cunning, cruelty.
I had the feeling that you would enjoy this.
Tolstoy, you are brilliant.
I was born in 16 April 1889, at eight o’clock at night, in East Lane, Walworth.
My Autobiography, Charles Chaplin (1964)
I was born in 16 April 1889, at eight o’clock at night, in East Lane, Walworth.
My Autobiography, Charles Chaplin (1964)
Before Westminster Bridge was open, Kennington Road was only a bridle path.
My Autobiography, Charles Chaplin (1964)
When I started this research eight years ago there wasn’t much interest in ordinary people’s views on the unfairness of the economy.
The Moral Underground – How Ordinary Americans Subvert An Unfair Economy, Lisa Dodson (2009)
When I started this research eight years ago there wasn’t much interest in ordinary people’s views on the unfairness of the economy.
The Moral Underground – How Ordinary Americans Subvert An Unfair Economy, Lisa Dodson (2009)
When I started this research eight years ago there wasn’t much interest in ordinary people’s views on the unfairness of the economy.
The Moral Underground – How Ordinary Americans Subvert An Unfair Economy, Lisa Dodson (2009)
The action takes place in a large commercial town of the East.
Scenario of the Ballet – The Struggle of The Magicians, G. I. Gurdjieff, (2008)
The action takes place in a large commercial town of the East.
Scenario of the Ballet – The Struggle of The Magicians, G. I. Gurdjieff, (2008)
The action takes place in a large commercial town of the East.
Scenario of the Ballet – The Struggle of The Magicians, G. I. Gurdjieff, (2008)
About a mile beyond the main square in the village of Józefów, in Eastern Poland, several dozen wooden stakes poke out among the weeds and bushes on a patch of forest strewn with pinecones and covered in velvety green moss.
Beautiful Souls – Saying No,…
About a mile beyond the main square in the village of Józefów, in Eastern Poland, several dozen wooden stakes poke out among the weeds and bushes on a patch of forest strewn with pinecones and covered in velvety green moss.
Beautiful Souls – Saying No,…
About a mile beyond the main square in the village of Józefów, in Eastern Poland, several dozen wooden stakes poke out among the weeds and bushes on a patch of forest strewn with pinecones and covered in velvety green moss.
Beautiful Souls – Saying No, Breaking Ranks, And Heeding The Voice of Conscience in Dark Times, Eyal Press (2012)
Functionally Literate – Opening Sentence
Mariam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami.
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini (2007)
Functionally Literate – Opening Sentence
Mariam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami.
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini (2007)
Mariam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami.
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini (2007)
On the day of the big rescue, Wil Brierson took a walk on the beach.
Marooned in Realtime, Vernor Vinge (1986)
The late Sadiq Neihoum, Libya’s preeminent political philosopher of the 1970s and 1980s, and a onetime advisor to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, wrote the fable from which the above passage is taken in the late 1970s.
Exit the Colonel – The Hidden History of The Libyan Revolution, Ethan Chorin (2013)
Here was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid.
The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real, Margery Williams (1922)
On the bright and breezy Sunday morning of April 15, 2012, my colleagues and I left NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul to meet with Afghan journalists, government officials, and civil society leaders to discuss the security and political situation in Afghanistan and the transition to a much reduced international presence after 2014.
Aspiration and Ambivalence – Strategies and Realities of Counterinsurgency and State Building in Afghanistan, Vanda Felbab-Brown (2013)
It’s July 19, 2012, and it’s as hot as the hobs of hell here.
The Anatomy of Violence – The Biological Roots of Crime, Adrian Raine (2013)
On the third floor of the Richelieu Wing of the Louvre in Paris is a gallery devoted to “Holland, First Half of the 17th Century.”
The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter – A Portrait of Descartes, Steven Nadler (2013)
In December, 2009, patrons of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, experienced a mild jolt of biological future shock when their pre-performance and intermission drinks – their beers, wines, and sodas – were served to them in a new type of clear plastic cup.
Regenesis – How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves, George Church and Ed Regis (2012)
I was inspired to write this book because I found something missing in the popular literature on sexuality.
Soulful Sex – Opening Your Heart, Body & Spirit To Lifelong Passion, Dr. Victoria Lee (1996)
Among my earliest memories are those of being down at the railroad depot with my grandfather, watching the trains come in.
Rival Rails – The Race to Build America’s Greatest Transcontinental Railroad, Walter R. Borneman (2010)
Wall Street has always been a dangerous place.
Money and Power – How Goldman Sachs Came To Rule The World, William D. Cohen (2011)