The most recent issue of The New Yorker has a story about Russian intelligence's rising deployment of "single use agents" to carry out minor acts of disruption and sabotage around Europe. Specifically this entails finding disaffected people -- often underemployed, undereducated stateless young men -- to do this kind of stuff for $500, $1000, $2000. A napalm bomb at an IKEA in Vilnius. Something left on some railroad tracks in Germany. Etc. The idea is to create low-level anxiety and dread and a sense that things are out of control. Russia's security organs keep themselves separated from the single-use agents by using secure messaging apps and contracting out through multiple layers, with ultimate handlers being organized crime.
The population from which they recruit the agents has a lot in common with the population from which Trump's ICE hails: guys who feel like they don't have a chance in society and have been wronged. Guys who have been long-since been severed from any set of traditional democratic ideals like rule of law, separation of powers, justice, etc. That all must sound like science fiction to this population.
My mind races back quickly to the loss of authority that figures like Walter Cronkite used to have in the time of three major networks and a couple of wire services. That was all shattered first in the era of 57 channels and nothing on, followed by the internet and the ossification of aging Boomers into Fox News or CNN/MSNBC people. Followed by Joe Rogan, YouTube, Mr Beast... we all know the story, having lived it. An era in which each gets to pick "my personal morality" and few even have the discipline to do that consciously is fertile soil for both recruiting both single use agents and ICE thugs.
3 comments:
Now that I'm older, let me say how much I miss respectability and hypocrisy. Tens of millions of people may have been "imitating decency" but it sure beats whatever they are imitating today.
Manifesto of the Proud Dumpster Winemakers of Durham, NC
Because greatness sometimes ferments in unexpected places
I. We Reject the Stale Air of Bureaucracy
A sea of undulating waves of flatulence — that’s how critics describe the policy climate surrounding urban agriculture. And honestly, if you’ve ever opened a long‑forgotten Durham dumpster in July, you know that’s saying something.
But we, the brave pioneers of Dumpster Viticulture, refuse to let our dreams be smothered by regulatory fumes. If grapes can grow on cliffs in Italy, they can grow in a Food Lion dumpster behind Roxboro Street.
II. The Grapes Demand Freedom
Critics argue that current policy frameworks don’t exactly encourage “repurposing municipal waste containers as artisanal micro‑vineyards.”
To which we say: why not.
Dumpsters are:
Sun‑exposed
Structurally robust
Already shaped like giant planters
Available in colors that pair beautifully with a rosé
Yet the zoning codes treat them like… well, dumpsters.
We demand a world where a dumpster is not judged by its past, but by its potential.
III. Transportation Policy: Our Grapes Need a Ride
According to detractors, transportation planning hasn’t caught up with the needs of Durham’s emerging dumpster‑wine sector. How are we supposed to move our grapes from alleyway to winery when the bus system won’t let us roll a 600‑pound metal bin onto the 700 route.
We demand:
A dedicated “Grape Lane” on major roads
A municipal forklift‑sharing program
At least one GoDurham bus with a hitch
IV. Housing and Land Use: Let Dumpsters Live Their Truth
Durham’s rising rents have pushed residents to rethink space. Critics say current policy doesn’t support adaptive reuse of urban waste infrastructure. But if tiny homes are allowed, why not tiny vineyards.
We envision:
Dumpster Vineyards™ lining downtown alleys
Rooftop dumpsters for high‑altitude varietals
A “Bring Your Own Dumpster” community garden
V. Budgeting for the Future of Fermentation
Critics argue that federal spending hasn’t embraced the promise of micro‑scale, container‑based viticulture. Grants evaporate. Pilot programs never ferment. Meanwhile, our grapes sit there, yearning for a line item.
We demand:
A “Dumpster Agriculture Innovation Fund”
Tax credits for repurposed waste receptacles
A federal designation for “Upcycled Terroir”
VI. Our Pledge
We, the Dumpster Winemakers of Durham, solemnly declare:
No grape shall be left unfermented
No dumpster shall be left unrepurposed
No policy shall remain un‑side‑eyed
And no one shall tell us that a dumpster cabernet can’t be full‑bodied and emotionally complex
The sea of undulating waves of flatulence ends here.
A new breeze — slightly fruity, faintly metallic — begins.
I hereby raise a glass to the glorious PDWD!
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