By the end of the 18th century, thanks to scurrilous legends of nymphomaniac nuns and priapic clergy, the medieval history of the whip was established as a stock trope of European pornography: the Marquis de Sade was only the most thorough in this regard.

At the same time, the English had managed to acquire a reputation as Europe's most energetic algolagniacs, a celebrity too easily explained by the misty-red memory of public-school thrashings.

In a bravura reading of the rod-loving writings of Swinburne, Largier argues that the muscular whacking the poet received regularly from a pair of prostitutes (to the point where it almost ruined him financially) was less a reminder of delicious schoolboy agonies and more an image of the rigours and rewards of literature itself.

What is a whipping, asks Largier, if not precisely a rhythm, a particularly heightened experience of time?   more »

The people in this country have no freedom, no security, no economic or social justice, and peaceful public demonstrations by the people are opposed with heavily armed force.

I’m wondering where the flag-wavers get the idea that either the government or its military represents their interests - or how they can fail to notice that both are inimical to their interests.

The flag wavers really come out once we start bombing someone. This is what you call negative conditioning. See the flag, see something evil happening. You associate one event with the other [like Pavlov's dogs].

For too long we have considered the most patriotic thing a person can do is to cross the oceans and kill people on the orders of our leaders. We must put a stop to that perverse concept of patriotism.   more »

Whenever you use the word "left" in American politics, you feel almost compelled to add quotation marks.

Today's left is not talking about socializing industry, abolishing capitalism or destroying the rich. What passes for "left" in American politics is quite moderate by historical standards.

Still, clichés die hard, so you hear such 20-year-old questions as: "Are Democrats moving too far to the left?" or "Will Democrats abandon the center?"

This approach is about abstractions, not concrete political problems, and it misses the dynamic in American public life, which is the move away from the right and a discrediting of the conservative era.   more »

For all the attention and hysteria the latest events in Gaza have generated since the Hamas “takeover,” for Israel they represent nothing but a minor blip in its inexorable drive towards its own unilateral “solution:” apartheid.

Israel’s end-game, explicit and unruffled by the recent turmoil on the ground, is clear. It is laid out in detail in the "Convergence Plan” Olmert presented to a joint session of the American Congress in May, 2006, based on Sharon’s plan of “cantonization.”

With minor adjustments, it constitutes the plan, Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is quietly advancing with the help of Condoleezza Rice, and it is accepted in its entirety by Ehud Barak, the newly-elected leader of the Labor Party, who played a key role in its formulation. The Israeli plan for apartheid is as follows:   more »

Even as one of the principal architects of the Iraq war washes his hands of the whole bloody mess, there is still only a vague understanding of the real reason behind the invasion, but evidence of the intense interest of the international oil companies continues to build.

Only last week, ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson said in London: "We look forward to the day when we can partner with Iraq to develop that resource potential."

Despite their interest and influence, however, the decision to attack was not taken in the boardroom. Iraq was indeed all about oil, but in a sense that transcends the interests of individual corporations, however large.

The elephant in the drawing room was the fact that global oil production is likely to peak within about a decade.   more »