Culture Wars
The CIA, Capitalism in Crisis and Your Well-Being
Morning Comrades! I am excited about today’s email mostly because I get to introduce a couple of new columns in here as well as champion several friends whose existence I value a great deal. I am going to skip today’s selection of hot shots and share them in our telegram group instead, you can join that here.
As some of you know, I started off as a historian before jumping into the lunacy that is philosophy. I still spend a significant amount of time trying to stay up to date in the various fields that interest me ( Antiquity and Cold War History ) and I recently stumbled across a few articles circulating in academic history papers that I wanted to share and talk to you about.
Cold War History is a hugely interesting field of study to me, obviously as it relates to the study and implementation of Marxist/Anarchist theory as the period after WW2 started the most well-funded and radical culture war we have witnessed on this planet. Both the Soviets and the Capitalists fully understood the Gramscian principle of Cultural Hegemony and most of what we think we know is determined by incredibly intelligent, destructive and ideological plays, both from the CIA and the KGB ( at the time ). I have written about the CCF and the revelations from the Parapolitics work in detail before hand.
What prompted this text was a CIA report that was declassified a few years ago that deals with the realities of the Soviet Union shortly after Stalin’s death. It gives a great insight into what the CIA actually knew about the Soviets and the complete opposite of what we then in the West were taught, and to this day still believe. Please pay attention to the first two three lines of this report and you will know what I mean. Just mention the word Stalin anywhere online and you will be bombarded with an avalanche of brainwashed outrage that dominates the narrative to this point. Realistically, we still know incredibly little of the realities in the USSR because large parts of history are still kept secret and the entirety of Western Existence through Narrative was determined by a propaganda exercise by our governments to win the hearts and minds for Capitalism. I have linked the original document from the CIA website for anyone that wants to dive into it, which I recommend. Feel free to drop me a line if this subject is interesting to you.
Your usual weekend visual radicalization is being cut down to one clip from now on to make room for the new columns, however, I am more than certain that you can dip into a youtube k-hole from one clip alone. I enjoyed this one, I am sure you will also.
A dear friend of mine, Kenta Goto, recently launched a new Ready To Drink brand called Cinco Drink Co., and I am very excited about it. Kenta and I go back nearly two decades, he is one the kindest people I know and a brilliant designer, I believe our first encounters were when I interviewed him about his then brand BRKN HOME ( Full Moon Werewolf Gang Forever ) and I have been fortunate enough to call him my friend since then. For the time being, Cinco Drink Co. is only available in British Columbia, Canada but I implore you to keep your eyes on this one. Knowing Kenta, the quality of the product is at the very least as good as the design and intent so far.
Here are a few words from Kenta himself about the project:
It’s been a ‘side project’ for 2 years with one of my good friends, we used to work together at a snowboard eyewear brand owned by the legendary Devun Walsh called Iris Snow. We missed working together as we complemented each other really well and put out some ridiculously fun shit in the past, so we’ve brainstormed a bunch of projects that we could work on like an eco streetwear brand to producing & directing a horror film (which is still on the table). But as we both began to tire from drinking beer and started enjoying tequila cocktails, we also saw an opportunity in the RTD market. Certainly there have been lots of them but no one was really offering one we enjoyed beyond a couple sips and none were focusing on tequila (as it is expensive and a lot of work to import). 2 years of R&D (many mixing of cocktails) and creating a branding package that really represented ‘us’ (the collective like minded professional fun seekers that don’t mind the little extra expense of something real and of quality). Our lived experiences and shared wisdom of trusted friends all poured into one project, Cinco Drink Co was born. It is a tequila beverage brand but we have the intention to build a humble yet wicked platform to work with some of our most favorite humans. You’ll see some fun things as we work with artists, designers, photographers, musicians, film makers, chefs, bartenders, farmers, skaters, snowboarders…..we haven’t even officially launched the brand, yet our network of amazing friends and family have shown us so much love and support, giving us so much confidence and energy to take it out into the world.Â
Starting today I am honoured to introduce two new columns to the Friday newsletter written by two incredibly talented people in their respective fields. First of is Ana Tensta, whom some of you might remember as the co-author or our last Riots Not Diets Anarchist Cook Book. You can follow Ana over on IG here. Her column will focus on vegan / vegetarian recipes to make at home. I honestly am constantly blown away by her cooking skills in addition to the cultural heritage she brings to the table.
Editor’s Note: Lahmacun is a traditional Turkish / Armenian Snack, occasionally referred to as Turkish Pizza and something this big boi likes to live on.
Ingredients
Dough
500g Flour, 180ml Oat Milk, 100ml Water, 100ml Olive Oil, 7g Dry Yeast, 1 Teaspoon of Sugar, 1 Teaspoon of Salt
Filling
500g of Vegan Minced Meat, 70ml Olive Oil, 3 Red Onions, 1 Tin of Minced Tomatoes, 2 Sliced Red Peppers, 1 Sliced Green Pepper, 1 Tablespoon of Paprika Pulp, 1 Tablespoon of Tomato Pulp, 2 Cloves of Garlic, Half a Bind of Parsley, Chili Flakes, Salt and Pepper
Salad
3 Red Onions, 2 Tomatoes, Half a Cucumber, More Parsely, 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, 3 Tablespoons of Pomegranate Syrup, 2 Tablespoons of Sumach, Salt and Pepper
Preparation
Step 1
The basis for Lahmacun is a very thin dough. Mix the yeast and sugar in warm water and oat milk, stir it and let it rest for 15 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients for the dough and knead for 10 min until the dough is smooth. Cover and let rest in a warm spot for 40-60 min.
Step 2
In the meantime you can prepare the filling: Chop all vegetable, mix with all the spices and vegan minced meat and let rest for 15 minutes.
Step 3
Separate the dough into 10 equal parts, roll into little balls and cover them again. Roll out each individual ball with a rolling pun to make them look like a thin tortilla. Cover each one lightly with the filling paste and put into a pre-heated at 200C oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove afterwards.
Step 4
Top the warm Lahmacun with your salad, roll the whole thing into a burrito shape snack and off you go. I recommend a yoghurt based dip but that is entirely optional.
The second new column is from my friend Tatjana in Copenhagen and it serves to make your drinking experience worthwhile. You know me, I enjoy a drink and I give a lot of damn’s about what I drink so having Tatjana agree to offer us recipes on a weekly basis is an incredible resource for us all, as she is one the best bartenders I have met in my life. Without further ado, in her own words:
First and foremost: Hello!
The first weekly installment of this fuckery known as bartending is going be a somewhat longer than the coming ones will be. I should probably start by introducing myself a little. As Steven already said on Wednesday, my name's Tatjana and I'm a bartender from Copenhagen. I work with alcohol and flavours for a living – which also kind of describes how I see alcohol: as a flavour and as a medium for flavour.
Alcohol is a funny thing.. it's a social lubricant for sure, but it's function is also as a conveyor of ideas to me. I enjoy making complicated stuff, but when I'm off something clean and simple is what I enjoy drinking. I guess most things work that way. I have a soft spot for Mezcal and Raicilla, Japanese whiskey, Vermouth and anything fermented. I like drinks that consists of alcohol with more alcohol and natural wine; the more it smells like stables, goat ass, cheese and dirty socks the better. And beer. After all I am Danish.
The bar I work at is called Balderdash, which is a small bar located in central Copenhagen. We try to think about flavours and combinations of them as a chef would, only our medium is purely liquid -which honestly is a pain in the ass sometimes. I'm lucky enough I get to meet and work with a ton of interesting people – from chefs, bartenders and bar owners, distillers and wine makers to journalists and educators/researchers. We do a lot of pop-up's -or at least did before this shit show of a pandemic -and weird projects. I run the R&D with a good friend and colleague, where we have great freedom to explore all sorts. We basically just like to fuck with flavours. Nothing is really 'off limits' to us. And we have a lot of fun with it!
A cocktail essentially consists of 5 things: alcohol, sugar, acidity, bitterness, water.
There's of course variations to this, but the end goal is to make something balanced.
Since this is our first one, I'm going to start of simple and ease us into it. There's no need to run and buy a ton of bartending tools. Eventually we'll get to the more complicated stuff, where a proper shaker and the likes will be needed. I will recommend buying a jigger first thing though. It will make your drinking habits easier, when being your own bartender.
I'll list all tools and ingredients needed weekly. I might fuck around with the format or order of everything a little until I find what works best. The recipes are going to be how I make it and/or prefer it – and hopefully you'll like it too. There'll be some classics, twists on them and maybe some originals. I'll try and make it easy to follow. Every Friday I'll bring a new drink for you to make and enjoy in you underwear at home alone listening to records.
Do yourself a favour and read through the entire recipe before starting – and do so every fucking time. Ice melts quickly and making drinks is a race between just enough dilution, temperature and you.
This week the menu is a SBAGLIATO.
Sbagliato means 'mistake', but for the drink itself it's commonly translated as 'incorrect negroni'. The story goes a bartender was making a negroni, but grabbed the prosecco instead of the gin. Whoops. It's basically a lighter negroni perfect for weather hits the temperature of satans asshole – or if the classic option is just a little too heavy for your mood.
WHAT YOU NEED:
- Sweet vermouth
- Campari
- An orange and a peeler
- Sparkling wine of some sort (champagne, cava, prosecco, petnat) - Normal ice cubes (or a big square one if you feel fancy)
- Rocks glass (or several depending on your ambition)
- Bar spoon (a normal spoon can do in a pinch for this drink)
- Jigger/whatever you have in the kitchen that can precisely measure anything under 10 cl
HOW YOU DO IT:
1) Pour 3 cl of sweet vermouth and 3 cl of Campari into your rocks glass.
2) Put ice in and give it a light stir (3-5 times around), so it can mix.
3) Put some more ice and gently pour the bubbles over it, so you get a nice float.
4) Grab your orange, make a peel and use it to spray the oils from it onto the glass. Hold it like 6-9 cm away from the glass to you get both side and edge. Maybe rub a little onto the side of the glass too.
5) Put the orange peel into the drink.
6) Drink!
ON A PERSONAL SIDENOTE:
I like a thicker, well rounded vermouth with caramel/vanilla note for a sbagliato – like Antica Formula. For the bubbles you can go with whatever type you like, but it should be dry and crisp. Personally I really like a using a petnat or a dry apple cider for it. It is delicious with either one.
A petnat is a natural wine that has gone through a 2nd fermentation in the bottle and thus created bubbles. If you do go with this option, make sure it's a white or orange one that is not too crazy or has too deep flavours. Ideally you want something light, crisp and dry with a some floral notes.
I think that's it really. Next week it will be way shorter now that you know a little about me, how I think and just how bad I am at being brief. For me personally it boils down to something very simple: if I have to drink, I want to drink something I will enjoy. You might as well too.
Kenta is super good people.