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For the last several years, and with no particular purpose other than a desire to meander through reflection, I have taken the period between Christmas and New Years Eve to produce a summary of the slice of the year to which I paid attention through epigrams and aphorisms. It follows an end-of-year tradition I started in 2016 (for those see here), 2017 (for these see here), 2018 (for those see here), 2019 (for those see here); 2020 (for those see here); 2022 (for those see here); and 2023 (for those see here).
2024 was the year of transformation. If 2023 was the year in which belief matured into conflict, 2024 saw that conflict escalate and move decisively toward its end games. At the start of this year I noted, in passing on the Annual Oracle of the Ifa practitioners of Cuba, that this was to be the year of Eleggua/Oya (The Orishas Speak: The 2024 Letter of the Year of the Yoruba Association of Cuba (Letra del Año para el 2024 de la Asociación Yoruba de Cuba) and My Preliminary Interpretation).
The Divination for 2024 appears to speak to authority and disruption, that is to revolving or revolution. The key elements are distilled from the ruling or reigning Orisha: Eleggua and Oya. The reigning Orisha provide the interpretive framework through which the specifics of the Oddu cast, and their supporting text can be interpreted. In semiotics, they serve as the grounding normative basis through which interpretation, perception and meaning that is meaningful, is possible. Ellegua and Oya are a powerful combination--powerful in the sense of the power of combustion. Things are set to explode, things, people, relationships, are coiled tight and ready to spring. There is no suppressing it, and there is no protection from or in its release.
And 2024 did not disappoint. It took the explosions that had erupted in 2023 and augmented them in every conceivable way. There was war, of course; but also the explosive transformation of war where the legal battlefields upended warfare on the ground. There was the transformation of a former American President from the object of multiple actions against him by state organs, and a faction of the political establishment, to President elect. There was a transformation in electoral politics in which the masses could no longer trust the organs of state and their apparatus enough not to lie to pollsters. Explosions everywhere and with them transformations started, in progress, or completed.
And it is in that spirit of explosion, of explosions that reveals, transforms, dissipates--in the spirit of 2024--that the epigrams and aphorisms that follow are offered. Each aphorism links to a essay or news story written during and about the events occurring during the year. This first set focuses on the power of the quality or condition of being a fact (facticity) and its therapeutic and transformative power on social relations and the rationalizing of social relations in 2024. It is in the context of facticity and its manifesting, that the highs, lows, and sideways of 2024 begin to emerge.
Links to the 2024 Year End Ruminations here:
Part 1: The Transformative Power of Facts;
Part 3, The Subjectivity of Combat
1. Though a fact is a thing that is known or proven to be true, its significance is entirely unrelated to itself.
Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, No. 23–124. Argued December 4, 2023—Decided June 27, 2024. And indeed the combinations of law, administration, interpretation, demand and supply provided the suitably toxic environment in which the noxious flowers of excess (both righteous and amoral) could be ingested in the opium den that is the contemporary techno-administrative structure of modern social relations. That said there is an element of impunity here—that if the grandees of the Clinton administration and their decision to ensure a “painless” policy that effectively encouraged or turned a blind eye to the character of the pharma monster they were letting loose on the Nation.
2. Law is a fact applied to law to interpret facts to create law.
"The Irish government says it is "concerned" that a "narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide" leads to a "culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised". Israel has previously rejected similar accusations." (ICJ asked to broaden definition of genocide over 'collective punishment' in Gaza, Sky News 12 December 2024).
"However, its rulings on inferring intent can be read extremely narrowly, in a manner that would potentially preclude a state from having genocidal intent alongside one or more additional motives or goals in relation to the conduct of its military operations. As outlined below, Amnesty International considers this an overly cramped interpretation of international jurisprudence and one that would effectively preclude a finding of genocide in the context of an armed conflict." (Amnesty International, Report: 'You Feel Like You Are Sub-Human': Israel's Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, (London: Amnesty International.,2024), p. 101-102).
"The Supreme Court on Monday raised the bar for prosecuting Donald Trump, ruling that he has immunity for some of his conduct as president in his federal election interference case but maybe not for other actions, adding another obstacle for special counsel Jack Smith’s taking the case to trial.In a novel and potentially consequential case about the limits of presidential power, the justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines to reject Trump’s broad claim of immunity, meaning the charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results will not be dismissed, but they said some actions closely related to his core duties as president are off-limits to prosecutors." (Supreme Court gives win to Trump, ruling he has immunity for some acts in election interference indictment)
3. Dementia and decline is a state of mind and sometimes a state of politics.
Presidents always have gatekeepers. But in Biden’s case, the walls around him were higher and the controls greater, according to Democratic lawmakers, donors and aides who worked for Biden and other administrations. There were limits over who Biden spoke with, limits on what they said to him and limits around the sources of information he consumed. Throughout his presidency, a small group of aides stuck close to Biden to assist him, especially when traveling or speaking to the public. “They body him to such a high degree,” a person who witnessed it said, adding that the “hand holding” is unlike anything other recent presidents have had.The White House operated this way even as the president and his aides pressed forward with his re-election bid—which unraveled spectacularly after his halting performance in a June debate with Donald Trump made his mental acuity an insurmountable issue. (How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge: Aides kept meetings short and controlled access, top advisers acted as go-betweens and public interactions became more scripted. The administration denied Biden has declined, Wall Street Journal)
Pix Credit here "Joe Biden was always the doddering, mumbling, stumbling, forgetful, and barely-functional-for-a-few hours geriatric that I and a lot of other Americans said he was, from the moment he reemerged on the public stage in the 2020 presidential primary. For pointing out what we could see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears, and for paying attention to the president’s schedule, we were called liars, conspiracy theorists, and purveyors of the “gross, lowest-common-denominator politics that drive people away from public life. Between this and the lab-leak theory, I feel like I’m on Mugatu’s medications.” (Anan Kumar, 'What’s going on in Joe Biden’s brain?: A geriatric psychiatrist has one idea' (STAT 20 August 2024).
4. Moral responsibility is a fact, the signification of which is found in the objects from which expectation and obligation are drawn--but whose?
Wrapping up their own investigation on the Jan. 6 2021 Capitol attack, House Republicans have concluded it's former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney who should be prosecuted for probing what happened when then-President Donald Trump sent his mob of supporters as Congress was certifying the 2020 election. The findings issued Tuesday show the Republican Party working to reinforce Trump's desire to punish his perceived enemies including Cheney and members of the Jan. 6 committee that the president-elect has said should be in jail. House Administration Committee Chairman Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., wrote, “Until we hold accountable those responsible, and reform our institutions, we will not fully regain trust.” The panel Republicans' 128-page interim report arrives as Trump is preparing his return to the White House and working to staff his administration with officials at the highest levels, including Kash Patel as FBI Director, who appear like-minded in his efforts at retribution. Trump also vows to pardon people who were convicted for roles in the riot at the Capitol. It revisits long-running Republican arguments that Trump is not to blame for the attack on the Capitol. The Department of Justice has prosecuted some 1,500 people including the leaders of the militant Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, and indicted Trump on four criminal charges, including conspiracy to overturn the election. Special counsel Jack Smith has since abandoned the case against Trump ahead of the inauguration in adherence to Justice Department guidelines that sitting presidents cannot be charged. (Lisa Mascaro, 'After investigating Jan. 6, House GOP sides with Trump and goes after Liz Cheney,' ABC News 17 December 2024)
5. Old age reveals the reality of human interaction that youth and beauty hide; facts masking facts produce the illusion from which facts are .
He and Trump both seemed pretty agile, though, during one exchange in which they took off the gloves and went bare-knuckle. “You have the morals of an alley cat,” Biden said, staring down his foe while listing a few of Trump’s many transgressions. “I didn’t have sex with a porn star,” Trump insisted, and if there’s a political campaign button with that claim on it, I’d like to buy a bushel of them. The candidates took turns accusing each other of being criminals, which made me think back on another low point in American politics, when Richard Nixon insisted, as his presidency was in flames, “I am not a crook.” . . . They ended the debate arguing about who had the better golf handicap. Lord help us." (Steve Lopez, 'Column: How’d the grandpa debaters do? Three experts on aging size up Biden, Trump,' Los Angeles Times 28 August 2024).
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6. Population displacement is a fact joined in common meaning, its political signification is another matter altogether; that is a fact that takes many forms in accordance with the beliefs and desires of those for whom facts are the stuff of the conformation of such beliefs and desires.
The civil war that began in Sudan in April 2023 continued unabated in 2024. The fighting pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. The two men jointly seized power in a coup in October 2021, but eventually had a falling out. The RSF, which grew out of the infamous Janjaweed that were responsible for the Darfur genocide two decades ago, seized control of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, as well as much of Darfur. In late September, the SAF launched a major offensive to retake Khartoum. They retook parts of the city but failed to dislodge RSF forces entirely. As the fighting has ground on, the Sudanese people suffered. The exact death toll is unknown. Some estimates put the number at 20,000 killed, with the number rising to more than 60,000 or even higher when war-related disease and starvation are included. War crimes are appallingly common, and a famine has been declared in Darfur. Not surprisingly, the Sudanese who can move have done just that. The conflict has displaced some eleven million people out of a total population of nearly fifty million. Mediation efforts like last week’s UN Security Council meeting on Sudan have produced fine speeches but little on action. Not only do the SAF and RSF each believe they will prevail, they also both have powerful external backers enabling them to keep fighting. (James Lindsay, 'Ten Most Significant World Events in 2024,' Council on Foreign Relations 23 December 2024 )
7. Facts are objects locked in time which exist in themselves, whether or not other objects (living or inanimate) take notice; notice creates connection, and connection between fact object and those who take notice, together with others, displaces the fact object with the cognition of connection; meaning, then, is the essential fact and fact objects are merely consumables in the production of meaning.
Lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs by music producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones is unraveling some disturbing things. The music artists’ LA and Miami homes were raided recently, and now the s*x trafficking lawsuit document shows a connection to British royalty Prince Harry. Meanwhile, 50 Cent once again takes advantage of this opportunity and takes a dig at Jay Z. A lot has been going on, and it might seem a little confusing and too much for you all. But we are here with everything we know about it.(Esita Mallik, 'Sean Diddy Combs Scandal: From Jay Z To Justin Bieber, Prince Harry; Celebrity Names & Rumors Coming Up In Diddy’s $30 Million Lawsuit Drama – Here’s All We Know About It,' KoiMoi 27 March 2024)
Pix Credit Vanity Fair Magazine
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William S. Walker, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced that SEAN COMBS, a/k/a “Puff Daddy,” a/k/a “P. Diddy,” a/k/a “PD,” a/k/a “Love,” was arrested last night and charged in a three count Indictment with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. The Indictment unsealed today alleges that between 2008 and the present, COMBS abused, threatened, and coerced women and others, and led a racketeering conspiracy that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice, among other crimes. COMBS is expected to be presented in Manhattan federal court this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky. HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker said: “Today, we shatter any false notion of impunity as we uncover the defendant's alleged pattern of manipulation, exploitation, and outright abuse. Make no mistake: we are here today only because of the unwavering strength of victims and witnesses who have already endured unspeakable hardships. (Sean Combs Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Sex Trafficking And Other Federal Offenses, 17 September 2024)
Jay-Z, the rapper whose real name is Shawn Carter, was accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, allegedly along with Sean "Diddy" Combs, in 2000, according to a civil lawsuit filed in federal court on Sunday. The anonymous plaintiff, identified as "Jane Doe," said the assault took place at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party. According to the accuser, an unidentified female celebrity stood by and watched Combs and Carter take turns raping the minor, and no one at the party attempted to stop the assault. NBC News was the first to report the accusations against Carter. The lawsuit was initially filed in October in the District Court of the Southern District of New York, with Combs named as a defendant. It was refiled on Sunday to include Carter. (Emma Bowman, 'Lawsuit accuses Jay-Z of raping a 13-year-old with Sean 'Diddy' Combs in 2000' NPR 8 December 2024)
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