--- Michael Perelman <michael at ecst.csuchico.edu>
wrote:
> Ashcraft's suicide.
>
> On Tue, Dec 10, 2002 at 01:39:31AM -0500, H. Curtiss
> Leung wrote:
> > Michael:
> >
> > I don't know that story, but I think I'd like it
> too. The denouement is
> > akin to Dashiell Hammett's story "The Golden
> Horseshoe." The plot is
> > more than I can recall, but at the end, Hammett's
> nameless detective
> > narrator works out a way to punish a killer with
> an airtight alibi:
> >
> > "I can't put you up for the murders you
> engineered in San Francisco;
> > but I can sock you with the one you _didn't_ do
> in Seattle--so justice
> > won't be cheated. You're going to Seattle, Ed,
> to hang for Ashcraft's
> > suicide."
> >
> > And he did.
> > --
> > Curtiss
> >
> > >
> > > Question: 30 years ago I read a detective story
> (or was it a movie?) where
> > > a guy came into an office and found someone he
> hated more than anyone in
> > > the world lying on the floor, shot dead by his
> own hand, the gun lying on
> > > the table. Overcome with jubilation, he picked
> up the gun and shot the
> > > corpse three more times. Standing there deep in
> thought, he went over his
> > > entire history with the dead man (which
> comprised the bulk of the story).
> > > At the end of his reverie he put the gun down on
> the desk, walked toward
> > > the door -- and in burst the police, saying
> they'd caught him red-handed,
> > > and Look Sarge, the gun's still warm!
> > >
> > > Does anyone recognize this story? I feel like
> reading it again.
> > >
> > > Michael
> > >
> > > ------------------------------
> > >
> > > Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 18:23:09 -0500
> > > From: Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1 at osu.edu>
> > > Subject: Re: Body Count
> > >
> > > >On Mon, 9 Dec 2002, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
> > > >> >For such a neo-colonial empire, you don't
> need Colonel Massus.
> > > >> >Local colonels do just fine.
> > > >>
> > > >> Not if the salaries of local colonels have
> to be paid for by the
> > > >> empire, rather than by taxes on the
> colonized natives.
> > > >
> > > >That argument has even more force when turned
> against colonialism: if you
> > > >are spending than you are taking in, it's not
> worth it. And since
> > > >colonialism costs more, this is an argument for
> preferring WTO-style
> > > >neocolonialism. (And for preferring stability
> to tumult.)
> > > >
> > > >This is not to say you can't have an
> imperialism that's capitalistically
> > > >irrational. But then by definition it isn't
> following capitalistic laws.
> > > >It's following some other kind of logic.
> > > >
> > > >Michael
> > >
> > > (1) Remember, capitalism socializes production
> and its
> > > "externalities" while profits remain privatized.
> A few capitalists
> > > manage to benefit from the whole fucking mess
> out there in the Stan.
> > > They don't mind paying for Karzais and sepoys,
> because they are
> > > paying them with "other people's money": taxes
> paid by Americans
> > > whose unions are getting busted and whose social
> programs are being
> > > cut; and tributes from vassals of the empire,
> like Japan, who will
> > > also be made to pay for higher fossil fuel costs
> due to the
> > > Anglo-American war on Iraq. Imperialism pays
> for some capitalists,
> > > but, for everyone else, it's a losing
> proposition, as it has always
> > > been the case.
> > >
> > > (2) More importantly than (1), while the logic
> of an individual
> > > capitalist may be quarterly cost-benefit
> calculations, the logic of
> > > the capitalist mode of production (whose
> guardians imperialists are)
> > > isn't. Conrad put the logic of imperialism in
> this way: "Those
> > > Englishmen live on illusions which somehow or
> other help them to get
> > > a firm hold of the substance" (_Nostromo_, Part
> 2 "The Isabels,"
> > > Chapter 7). Ironically, what is a firm hold at
> one point may later
> > > become a quicksand, for imperialists don't have
> all the cards
> > > necessary to win once and for all. When
> threatened, imperialists may
> > > very well prefer an assertion of class power to
> profit. In
> > > _Nostromo_, rather than allowing the populist
> rebels to take over the
> > > silver mine that he inherited from his father,
> Charles Gould would
> > > prefer to blow up the mine and half the country
> with it: "'I have
> > > enough dynamite stored up at the mountain to
> send it down crashing
> > > into the valley' -- his [Charles's] voice rose a
> little -- 'to send
> > > half Sulaco into the air if I liked.'...'Why,
> yes,' Charles
> > > pronounced, slowly. 'The Gould Concession has
> struck such deep roots
> > > in this country, in this province, in that gorge
> of the mountains,
> > > that nothing but dynamite shall be allowed to
> dislodge it from there.
> > > It's my choice. It's my last card to play'"
> (_Nostromo_, Part 2 "The
> > > Isabels," Chapter 5).
> > > - --
> > > Yoshie
> > >
> > > * Calendar of Events in Columbus:
> > > <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>
> > > * Anti-War Activist Resources:
> <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html>
> > > * Student International Forum:
> <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/>
> > > * Committee for Justice in Palestine:
> <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>
> > >
> > > ------------------------------
> > >
> > > End of lbo-talk-digest V1 #7097
> > > *******************************
> > >
> >
>
> --
> Michael Perelman
> Economics Department
> California State University
> Chico, CA 95929
>
> Tel. 530-898-5321
> E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
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