tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103591642011-12-12T21:39:16.438+11:00"Camille Desmoulins had become an editor because a stammer, overcome for a few minutes during the excitement of July 12th, '89, prevented 'Monsieur Hon-Hon' from airing his views in any other way." p.461, "The French Revolution", by J.M.Thompson, Sutton Publishing, U.K.:2001.Douglasnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3901100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-38233221942240442932011-12-12T21:39:00.001+11:002011-12-12T21:39:16.464+11:00

Yves Smith posts a video by Dr. Heiner Flassbeck (in German) about Class War: Low Wages and Beggar Thy Neighbor.The interesting point raised by Dr. Flassbeck is that he blames the current European crisis on class warfare: the clash between workers and Capital.He says that the manisfestation of this is that Germany manipulated the Euro for its own benefit by getting employers to collude with the

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-68898066050298380722011-12-04T00:00:00.001+11:002011-12-04T00:00:51.180+11:00

Mark Thoma refers via Rogoff: Is Modern Capitalism Sustainable? to Is Modern Capitalism Sustainable?, by Ken Rogoff, Commentary, Project Syndicate.Rogoff lists five (5) problems with Capitalism:First, even the leading capitalist economies have failed to price public goods such as clean air and water effectively. … Second, along with great wealth, capitalism has produced extraordinary levels of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-43030332165400430172011-12-03T23:37:00.001+11:002011-12-03T23:49:13.902+11:00

Simon Mann writes that Global business chiefs fear poverty could destroy capitalism.ncome disparity, resource depletion and potentially cataclysmic climate change were recognised by chief executives in a series of conversations conducted by Harvard [University Business School] as among the potential ‘disrupters’ of global prosperity. The financial meltdown of 2008 and, now, the Occupy movement

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-12837643560767922772011-12-01T21:42:00.001+11:002011-12-01T21:43:08.525+11:00

Seth Godin says to stop Preparing for the breakthrough/calamity which never occurs, only that: Products and services succeed one person at a time, as the word slowly spreads. Customers defect one person at a time, as hearts are broken and people are disappointed. Doors open, sure, but not all at once. One at a time. Leon Trotsky writes, in his History of the Russian Revolution, that, during the

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-20409930636180359962011-09-20T15:24:00.001+10:002011-09-20T15:25:13.489+10:00

Mark Thoma refers via Chris Dillow: The Importance of Class to Class, power & ideology, Stumbling and Mumbling:“Nothing makes sense without class” says Owen Jones. He’s right, if we understand “class” in its Marxist sense.An objective definition of class is given:To Marx - though the idea was implicit in other classical economists such as Ricardo - class was not about lifestyle, but about one’s

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-79664757408284149082011-09-20T04:04:00.000+10:002011-09-20T04:04:35.376+10:00

Yves Smith refers to Inside the Trillion-Dollar Underground Economy Keeping Many Americans (Barely) Afloat in Desperate Times by Sarah Jaffe. This part of the US economy is estimated to be growing at 5% p.a..Millions have dropped out of the job hunt and are trying to find other ways to sustain their families.That's where the underground economy comes in.…—in 2009, economics professor Friedrich

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-75719418467429550102011-09-14T13:04:00.000+10:002011-09-14T13:04:31.654+10:00

Mark Thoma argues Why a Working-Class Revolt Might Not Be Unthinkable.His conclusion is that:We need a serious discussion of this issue, followed by changes that shift political power toward the working class. But who will start the conversation? Congress has no interest in doing so; things are quite lucrative as they are. Unions used to have a voice, but they have been all but eliminated as a

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-77272393484067363822011-09-10T11:05:00.000+10:002011-09-10T11:05:52.326+10:00

Via Mark Thoma, Umair Haque asks if Was Marx Right? Haque considers the following areas: Immiseration Crisis Stagnation Alienation Flase consciousness Commodity fetishism Haque concludes that: Marx's critiques seem, today, more resonant than we might have guessed. Now, here's what I'm not suggesting: that Marx's prescriptions (you know the score: overthrow, communalize, high-five, live happily

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-25787779377194860042011-07-03T15:30:00.000+10:002011-07-03T15:30:17.579+10:00

In UnderstandingSociety: Marx an analytical sociologist?, it is argued that Karl Marx built his understanding of society on microfoundations rather than the large scale structures of society.Marx is often thought to be a "structuralist" thinker, highlighting large social processes and entities such as the mode of production, the economic structure, and social class (for example, by Althusser and

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-49299697446207772862011-04-17T15:14:00.000+10:002011-04-17T15:14:03.129+10:00

Terry Eagleton writes In Praise of Marx. The truth is that Marx was no more responsible for the monstrous oppression of the communist world than Jesus was responsible for the Inquisition. For one thing, Marx would have scorned the idea that socialism could take root in desperately impoverished, chronically backward societies like Russia and China. This is not strictly true. My understanding of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-34844730350058481442011-04-10T17:11:00.000+10:002011-04-10T17:11:37.310+10:00

Seth Godin points to the merging of the manager and maker roles in Why makers should think a little bit more like managers (and vice versa): Managers need to act more like makers, because making is more important than ever before. Even the most Outlook-driven manager can benefit from finding the isolation to do truly challenging work.Makers need to be disciplined enough to interact like managers,

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-35099477585413568442011-04-10T16:59:00.000+10:002011-04-10T16:59:09.696+10:00

Prof Juan Cole makes some bitting comments about Americans while the Arabs are on the move in Hundreds of Thousands of Arabs Protest their Governments: On Friday, the US Congress endeavored to decide whether American democracy has irretrievably broken down because the representatives of the Billionaires refused to compromise with the representatives of the People (“cutting spending” while “

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-28046081694032217702011-04-06T19:34:00.000+10:002011-04-06T19:34:58.378+10:00

Yves Smith refers to Daniel Pennell: Thoughts on American Homeownership. This downturn is leading to more fundamental rethinking of what used to be a mainstay of personal security but increasingly became a consumption item, namely, owning a home. The percentage of Americans who think of homeownership as a good investment has fallen by about 20 points in the last three years, from four fifths to

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-78586641526740333092011-04-01T18:54:00.000+11:002011-04-01T18:54:51.762+11:00

Blogs posts noted on 1 April 2011 Seth Godin ponders Compared to perfect: the price/value mismatch in content: Price is often a signalling mechanism, and perhaps nowhere more than in the area of content. Free enables your idea to spread, price, on the other hand, signals individuals and often ends up putting your idea in the right place. Mass shouldn't always be the goal. Impact may matter more

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-22822314935168381662011-03-31T19:00:00.000+11:002011-03-31T19:00:27.369+11:00

Blog posts noted on 31 March 2011. Most are comments on John Taylor's post highlighted by Greg Mankiw which was noted yesterday. Pincus re-presented ponders how:Pincus marshalls his evidence to tell a significantly different story from the received one. And as an academic work, it is highly readable and logical. But it is from beginning to end a complex canvas, and it is difficult for a

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-20481011077455562732011-03-30T20:34:00.003+11:002011-03-31T18:59:26.582+11:00

Blog posts noted on 30 March 2011 Mark Thoma reposts an interesting graph from Greg Mankiw: A Striking Scatterplot at Striking Scatterplot: Unemployment and Investment.As we move into an economy dominated by Department I, this correlation will continue to strengthen. The countervailing trend of a decrease in importance of Department II means that corporate profit rates must continue to

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-46503048210863713852011-03-17T20:12:00.000+11:002011-03-17T20:12:14.866+11:00

The basic theory behind Noahpinion: Libertarianism is a "low-end" strategy of state formation ignores the social surplus production of differing societies.The article assumes that societies have a choice in the amount of surplus production that they surrender to the state. This choice is presented as a difference between “low-end” of minimal surplus to “high-end” of a centralised bureaucracy.My

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-25282136255093034302011-03-15T21:31:00.002+11:002011-03-15T21:31:59.691+11:00

Mark Thoma reposts Basic institutions and democratic equality, by Dan Little at Market Democracies and Inequality.The conclusion seems to be:…market and electoral institutions both create and reproduce social inequalities even when they are working correctly; inequality is built into them at a very basic level. The institutions are tilted in favor of privileged groups, and it is no surprise when

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-76113008915751683082011-03-13T18:25:00.000+11:002011-03-13T18:25:30.326+11:00

Blog posts noted on 13 March 2011 Mark Thoma reposts on The End of the 'Washington Consensus' part of The end of the 'Washington consensus', by Kevin Gallagher. A premature celebration, perhaps, as the iron fist of the US military is not alluded to at all. These things are not mentioned in polite company.The bigger point here is that, even if Colombia gets the sorry trade deal it wants and

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-13483283345816021452011-03-13T10:58:00.000+11:002011-03-13T10:58:33.787+11:00

From GLW issue 871, How socialism can be won. First of all, where are we headed?To win socialism — a society democratically owned and run by and for the majority of people — we have to get rid of the capitalist system that stands in our way.Who is going to do it?It's those who are exploited and oppressed by the system that have an interest in changing it. How are we going to get there?Because

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-91792136082590442682011-03-13T10:35:00.000+11:002011-03-13T10:35:00.039+11:00

Mark Thoma comments on Social Justice and Political Stability (the original paper is Social justice and democratic stability, by Dan Little).One thing I find interesting about the sustained demonstrations and protests in Madison, Wisconsin is the fact that people on the streets do not seem to be chiefly motivated by personal material interests. Rather, the passion and the sustainability of the

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-4351504575044345492011-03-12T21:22:00.000+11:002011-03-30T20:30:50.664+11:00

Ecological Headstand: The Luddite Question: Rhythm, Rebounds and Elastic...: "Paul Krugman, Brad DeLong, Chris Bertram at Crooked Timber and Frances Woolley at Worthwhile Canadian Initiative have all chimed in recently..." Marx is quoted from Capital, and the conclusion is:In this account of business cycles, the alternating expansion and contraction has become endogenous, regardless of whatever "

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-28726943941081226312011-03-12T21:13:00.000+11:002011-03-12T21:13:01.310+11:00

Seth Godin wants to redefine Unskilled labor.Unskilled now means not-specially skilled.What Godin emphasises again and again is that workers have to take control of our future. We can no longer rely on Capitalists to tell us what to do.

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-31369488508506669642011-03-09T20:56:00.000+11:002011-03-09T20:56:41.890+11:00

Blog posts noted on 10 March 2011Tomgram: James Carroll, Where Did All the Fatwas Go? recounts the failure of the discourse that all Arabs are bad.Perhaps the two biggest surprises of all here: out of a culture that has notoriously disempowered women has sprung a protest movement rife with female leadership, while a religion regarded as inherently incompatible with democratic ideals has been the

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-58141833026120481802011-03-08T19:02:00.000+11:002011-04-10T16:47:59.028+10:00

A few posts I found interestingSeth Godin has another approach to the commons in A flip side: the asymmetrical giftThe internet makes it easy to give gifts to large numbers of people at very very low cost. Juan Cole has Kusha: Iran vs. Egypt: Qualitative Differences in Capabilities: Revolutionary governments are more resilient. Naked Capitalism has Guest Post: Head of World’s Largest Asset

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-82752584712994401292011-03-08T18:40:00.000+11:002011-03-08T18:40:48.486+11:00

Paul Krugman notices class solidarity among the rich in Corporate Solidarity. Matt Yglesias has a post about the remarkable solidarity of corporate executives, who seem to support their class interests even when their individual firms would benefit from the policies they oppose.The ruling class always knows what is at stake. The working class has to be kept divided through racism, sexism,

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-29611052425434952722011-02-23T18:57:00.000+11:002011-02-23T18:57:35.848+11:00

Mark Thoma discusses “The Problem of the Commons: Still Unsettled After 100 Years”.Thoma quotes Robert Stavins as saying that:Conventional regulatory policies, which have not accounted for economic responses, have been excessively costly, ineffective, or even counter-productive. The problems behind what Garrett Hardin (1968) characterized as the “tragedy of the commons” might better be described

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-76899389532354936742011-02-23T18:17:00.000+11:002011-02-23T18:17:11.513+11:00

Ted Rall asks about Hope and Change? Not for Americans.He argues that:Democracy—real democracy, the kind people are fighting for in Bahrain and Madison, is incompatible with free-market capitalism.What Rall leaves unsaid is that, in a real democracy, people elect everyone who has any authority over them: managers; supervisors; councillers; etc.. And people vote for what things are done and on how

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-14257620132498940072011-02-22T19:55:00.000+11:002011-02-22T19:55:15.439+11:00

Pouya Alimagham asks What Egypt & Tunisia Tell us About Iran.His main conclusion is that:Although it remains uncertain which direction they will eventually take, simply by virtue of having emerged within a secular and nationalist framework, the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions’ current states of triumph provide an alternative to the Iranian government’s theory of revolution. By doing so, they

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-8642319116227106472011-02-22T19:42:00.000+11:002011-02-22T19:42:41.126+11:00

Jeyakumar Devaraj (Socialist Party of Malaysia) discusses The economic crisis -- What are the main causes? He traces the trajectory as follows: The collapse of the USSR allowed increased exploitation and increased profits through capital investment in the third world (second globalization); The reduction in the manufacturing workforce in the first world lead to a sluggish demand for consumer

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-60153113392101207872011-02-21T20:30:00.000+11:002011-02-21T20:32:02.488+11:00

Paul Krugman says "Thank You, Boeing" for proving the superiority of central planning in certain situations. In Boeing’s case, they outsourced far too much, only to find that they were getting parts that didn’t do what they were supposed to — and also to find that the subcontractors were seizing a lot of the rents. They discovered, in effect, that there are times when it’s better to rely on

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-793703304601502842011-02-20T17:15:00.000+11:002011-02-20T17:15:43.124+11:00

I have a personal wiki at https://sites.google.com/site/vieuxcordelier/. I am currently reading Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution and putting my reading notes into the Wiki.

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-85412816841428093952011-02-13T21:01:00.000+11:002011-02-13T21:01:29.816+11:00

James Kwak asks if Is Happiness Conservative?. Kwak looks at some happiness research which is seen as a surrogate for economic utility. The unsurprising thing is that of satiation. Once basic needs are met, there is not much marginal benefit to material things. Kwak calls this adaption: But you can also draw some conservative implications from the research. For one thing, a central principle of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-66073104864772555252011-01-24T19:59:00.002+11:002011-01-24T19:59:53.012+11:00

Tom Peters publishes a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson" in Getting It Wrong. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblins of little minds. Speak what you think today in words as hard as cannonballs, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today. This idea is also expressed as Strong Opinions, Weakly Held by Bob Sutton. This is really good

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-46780038730614682202011-01-22T21:31:00.000+11:002011-01-22T21:31:33.620+11:00

Dan Pink has one of his talks about his book, Drive: The surprising truth about what drives us, animated by RSA Animate. The three key motivators once we have enough money are: Autonomy Mastery Purpose He does comment that this all sounds like Socialism. Yet, the scientific studies that he quotes all sustain the notion that we can drive ourselves. We do not need management or Capitalists.

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-68754940580402832152011-01-06T22:47:00.001+11:002011-01-07T10:10:13.878+11:00

Mickey Z pointed to a video called “Psychiatry—Labelling Kids with Bogus ‘Mental Disorders’” in 2011: Coming Attractions?". Any society that relies on oppression has to label those who do not fit in as suffering from mental disorders. Anne Applebaum said, in Gulag: A History, that: In the aftermarth of the Thaw, the authorities began once again to use psychiatric hospitals to incarcerate

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-65936288810111211042010-09-11T18:16:00.000+10:002010-09-11T18:16:25.619+10:00

In Linchpins, Seth Godin makes a very revolutionary statement:Understanding that your job is to make something happen changes what you do all day. If you can only cajole, not force, if you can only lead, not push, then you make different choices. (p. 221)Italics in originalI am beginning to think that Godin is a crypto-communist despite his avowals of faithful capitalist thought. What amazed me

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-43679902272808219232010-05-09T18:51:00.000+10:002010-09-11T18:17:25.062+10:00

I was interested in the book, The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life, because I thought it might have some interesting ideas for a Communist society. Overall, I found the book to be an essentially American book with its emphasis on worship of military service and acquisition of the trappings of success. All five (5) teachers in this fable thank the

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-3268050908885072362010-05-09T15:30:00.001+10:002010-05-09T16:30:45.205+10:00

Mickey Z gives the astounding news that Mike Tyson is now a vegan!If anyone thinks vegans are whimps, they can tell Mr. Tyson face to face. The good news is that he will not bite their ears off.

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-40602017668542712612010-05-08T17:57:00.000+10:002010-05-08T17:57:39.205+10:00

Joerg Friedrichs posits that the Cuban model of surviving the collapse of oil supplies is the best model for surviving peak oil in Possible Responses to Peak Oil: Some Lessons from the Past.Countries with a strong community ethos may embark on Cuban-style socioeconomic adaptation,relying on their people to mitigate the effects of peak oil.This is a polite way of saying that countries that are not

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-55587034544485941482010-02-27T21:42:00.000+11:002010-02-27T21:43:06.563+11:00

Seth Godin ponders why It's easier to teach compliance than initiative while noting:...The economy has rewritten the rules, and smart organizations seek out intelligent problem solvers. Everything is different now. Except the part about how much easier it is to teach compliance.The rules of the economy have not been rewritten. This is still a Capitalist economy. What has changed is the

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-27167536641770761592010-02-27T20:02:00.000+11:002010-02-27T20:11:46.048+11:00

Mel Gibson's latest movie, Edge of Darkness examines the link between activism and terrorism. The movie also covers the link between the economic base of a society and the resulting offical terrorism even against the state. The movie fails to follow through on its logic about the collusion between economic and political forces.Jedburgh, who is the fixer for national security, explains to Thomas

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-71529769951507147212009-08-16T09:46:00.000+10:002009-08-16T09:47:07.161+10:00

Seth Godin analyses the screaming in Willfully ignorant vs. aggressively skeptical when the status quo is challenged: But there are two ways to do it, and one of them is ineffective, short-sighted and threatens the fabric of the tribe. The other seems to work. It may appear that demonstrations are just a lot of screaming people with simple slogans. The slogans are the agitation. They are

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-54827621489866107652009-08-16T09:24:00.000+10:002009-08-16T09:25:15.442+10:00

From Crikey, I found the following article about Atticus Finch: a fictional portrayal of real life racist failings at The New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell. His conclusion is that: ...Atticus Finch is faced with jurors who have one set of standards for white people like the Ewells and another set for black folk like Tom Robinson. His response is to adopt one set of standards for respectable whites

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-68209649527247315412009-08-15T17:54:00.000+10:002009-08-15T17:56:06.907+10:00

Maria Trigona reports that the workers of an Argentine Factory Wins Legal Battle: FASINPAT Zanon Belongs to the People:: The workers at Argentina's occupied ceramics factory FASINPAT won a major victory this week, the factory now definitively belongs to the people in legal terms. The provincial legislature voted in favor of expropriating the ceramics factory and handing it over to the workers

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-45799089140240334502009-08-09T20:56:00.000+10:002009-08-09T20:57:08.232+10:00

Mark Thoma posts an summary of an article about Machine-Sourcing: As the world develops in the long, long run, and as countries move from "developing" to "developed," I still see a chance that the growth in the demand for the services that the unskilled provide will outstrip the growth in the supply. That doesn't mean that the wealth gap won't continue to increase, and that there won't be any

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-16104002254469705202009-04-13T17:53:00.000+10:002009-04-13T17:55:04.652+10:00

Jonathan Schwarz celebrated Rachel Corrie's Birthday on 10 April.As weird old Mr. Lincoln said: "It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us."And allows Nell Lancaster to remember Rachel Corrie: Unfinished WorkRachel Corrie's

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-23897218653475499282009-03-29T08:52:00.000+11:002009-03-29T08:53:34.493+11:00

Nate Hagens posts and comments on Peak Oil and Peak Capitalism - Professor Richard Wolff as well as pointing to a video lecture called Capitalism Hits the Fan also by Professor Richard Wolff. Prof. Wolff concludes: Might we consider a mutually beneficial alliance between critics of abusing our energy resources and critics of abusing our productive capabilities? How about an alliance focused on a

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-47428359965602500112009-03-15T16:18:00.000+11:002009-03-15T16:20:19.027+11:00

WORLD AT A CROSSROADS Fighting for Socialism in the 21st Sentury Easter weekend, April 10-12, SYDNEY Guests include Michael Lebowitz (Centro International Miranda Caracas, Venezuela) Salim Vally, (Palestine Solidarity Committee, South Africa) Ian Angus (Ecosocialist International Network) Kavita Krishnan (All-India Progressive Women's Association) Luis Bilbao (author Venezuela, the rebirth of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-23614181744542878452009-03-12T19:54:00.001+11:002009-03-12T19:58:23.317+11:00

Seth Godin explains The difference between PR and publicity: In my experience, a few people have a publicity problem, but almost everyone has a PR problem. You need to solve that one first. And you probably won't accomplish that if you hire a publicity firm and don't even give them the freedom and access they need to work with you on your story. In the Communist Parties, we have the same problem

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-80861701157189377672009-02-27T20:04:00.003+11:002009-02-28T05:04:26.978+11:00

William Lind lambasts the US military for The Price of Bad Tactics, and asks why the US keeps killing civilians with airstrikes? The answer is, because American infantry tactics are bad. They amount to little more than bumping into the enemy and calling for fire. The easiest way to provide the overwhelming firepower our bad infantry tactics depend on is with airstrikes. So to win tactically,

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-70118895021061969392009-02-27T19:58:00.000+11:002009-02-27T20:00:12.856+11:00

The end-times are truly upon us!. Paul Kedrosky writes some Repurposed Prose on the End of Times With respect to some of the more apocalyptic views out there, certainly anything is possible. That said, organizing my life around a return to barter and barbarism represents a financial variant of Pascal’s wager that I'm not currently willing to take -- in part because I can be financially and

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-6011169911625796842009-02-26T21:11:00.000+11:002009-02-26T21:12:46.225+11:00

Gonzalo Vizcardo reports that Food Not Bombs Battles City Government - and Wins (subscription required) aftre the West Palm Beach City Commission (Florida, USA) decided to repeal the ordinance that banned the giving of free food to homeless people in front of the Central Library on Wednesday nights (by a Christain group) and Saturday afternoons (by the Anarchists). A similar ordinance was

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-84804303497305423152009-02-26T10:18:00.000+11:002009-02-26T10:19:04.619+11:00

Barry Ritholtz wonders what all the fuss is about with The New N Word: Nationalization: No matter. We now have a new N word today, and its Nationalization. Why the word is so fearful and loaded is beyond my comprehension. As Bloomberg’s David Reilly writes, “The nationalization debate is a smoke screen. We’ve already nationalized the big banks. Let’s just accept it and move on” — and I could not

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-75281483646336323482009-02-26T09:59:00.000+11:002009-02-26T10:00:51.346+11:00

Miranda Devine rails againsts the Socialist take-over of the Catholic Church, and says that If you don't like the rules, start your own church: The Socialist Alliance posters outside St Mary's Catholic Church in Brisbane said it all. "Dump Intolerance, not Father Kennedy." "Who would Jesus sack?" The father in question is Peter Kennedy, the 70-year-old Catholic priest who is being forced out of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-26945474390886725452009-02-23T20:04:00.001+11:002009-02-26T09:07:40.409+11:00

RogerK wants the The Anti-Economy: How the Pursuit of Private Fortunes is Destroying Community Wealth without being called a Communist.... Personally I think that we need to develop a system of public or community investment, the purpose of which is to insure that economic outputs vital to the community continue to be produced as needed, rather than trying to increase the purchasing power of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-29881394458435593892009-02-23T19:48:00.000+11:002009-02-23T19:49:39.430+11:00

Anonymous posted two references to the shift in rhetoric about the long war.Sen. John Kerry says Pakistan aid bill to be passed shortly , and that:He opposed the use of term war on terror."What we are doing is conducting global counterinsurgency. And a counterinsurgency by definition needs to win hearts and minds of people it has to bring people on your side not push them away. So , I think we

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-54782162361657369832009-02-22T19:35:00.001+11:002009-02-22T19:35:56.959+11:00

Roper (2009:106) concludes that a change in the lexicon is an important weapon in the War on Terror:The United States needs to refocus its efforts and resources to more effectively deal with the current global threat. Clear thinking supported by clear language will assist in this endeavor. American policy should focus more on denying support for those organizations with political goals inimical

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-4014205897463891982009-02-19T20:23:00.000+11:002009-03-02T03:34:06.731+11:00

The Economist, in Two billion more bourgeois, admits that Karl Marx was right:... But Marx thought “the bourgeoisie…has played a most revolutionary part” in history. And although The Economist rarely sees eye to eye with the father of communism, on this Marx was right.The definition of the middle class in this article is that it ...consists of people with about a third of their income left for

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-57015855949035876032009-02-18T20:05:00.001+11:002009-03-02T03:34:42.352+11:00

Ruth Smith ponders whether An Engaged Workforce is ... an unrealistic ideal in the current business climate?... Polling 23,600 directors, managers, and employees, they found that employee engagement is seen as one of the top three factors that drive an organisation's success (it ranks higher than strategy) and 75% of board members believe that it improves bottom-line performance. In these times,

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-11969740794632534852009-02-18T19:42:00.000+11:002011-03-30T20:27:08.515+11:00

Cactus says' why don't we try a bit of captalism in these times'? Catcus gives an example in which certain companies make the wrong technological decisions.And if these companies go bankrupt, its not the end of the aerospace industry. The parts of these companies that are functional would be scooped up by other companies, provided they were deemed to serve some useful function going

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-2736234859781915802009-02-18T19:24:00.000+11:002009-02-18T19:25:26.803+11:00

Steve Johnson asks, "What’s the Cross-Functional Team, and Why should I have one?"First of all, the definition is given as:The cross-functional team is a group of people who collectively represent the entire organization's interests in a specific product or product family. This team provides benefits for the individuals on the team, the product and its customers, and the organization at

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-41582825631490205872009-02-17T20:27:00.000+11:002009-03-02T03:35:35.151+11:00

The Economist posits What people can learn from how social animals make collective decisions in Decisions, decisions.DICTATORS and authoritarians will disagree, but democracies work better. It has long been held that decisions made collectively by large groups of people are more likely to turn out to be accurate than decisions made by individuals. The idea goes back to the “jury theorem” of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-48710594706856750922009-02-17T19:52:00.000+11:002009-02-17T19:53:02.653+11:00

Mark Thoma posts an excerpt about "Cognitive Hierarchy Theory" from Making a game of economic theory, EurekAlert which quotes Prof. Colin Camerer that instead of:... "Almost all the analysis, however, assumes people plan ahead and carefully figure out what others will do, which often results in mathematical claims that are highly unrealistic cognitively."In reality, Camerer says, a key part of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-50975379986686222972009-02-15T18:20:00.000+11:002009-02-15T18:22:03.193+11:00

Paul Kedrosky opines about Bank Nationalization and the Otto Problem: For all sorts of reasons, some knee-jerk, some nonsensical, and some entirely rational, the word "nationalization" has roughly the same effect on the average American as does the word "stupid" on Otto in the movie A Fish Called Wanda. The typical American could be dangling by a finger from a hot-air balloon and yet at the sound

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-83983537905735681132009-02-15T09:35:00.001+11:002009-02-17T20:30:11.289+11:00

Mark Thoma points to a new, improved version of Capitalism: "Capitalism 3.0":Dani Rodrik says capitalism must be reinvented to build "a better balance between markets and their supporting institutions at the global level"This is just an old version of Capitalism with some tweaks to the trimings. The fundamental problem of Capitalism is not addressed nor mentioned.Dani Rodrik crows that:Those who

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-62537402514422328442009-02-04T19:28:00.002+11:002009-02-15T09:41:52.511+11:00

Peter Hartcher watches as Rudd races off the Marx to jump hurdles of capitalism as the vultures circle:"MARX was right," crowed the banner unfurled outside Parliament House yesterday by a group called Socialist Alternative. "Capitalism doesn't work."Hartcher disagrees with this assessment, and concludes that being a temporary Socialist is a good thing:A distinguishing characteristic of the

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-64419167308388601602008-11-16T07:35:00.001+11:002010-09-11T18:25:13.907+10:00

Jonathan Strauss reviews Gone for a Song: A Death in Custody on Palm Island by Chris Waters in Still sings loudly. The book is available at these Australian libraries.Waters discusses the circumstances of Mulrunji’s death and the two coronial inquests into it. But he also expands from this to concise accounts of the record of race relations in Queensland, the history of Palm Island as a state

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-1797673744317376032008-11-15T14:11:00.001+11:002009-01-26T19:42:31.560+11:00

Stormy at Angry Bear asks as Paulson Reverses Course :Whom are we bailing out? Who is getting the cash? Are they going to play the old "me first" games? Not that I want to, but I am going to suggest a radical alternative. This ship is going down, fast. Financial capitalism is broken. (Note the adjective, please.) Nationalize the banks and all lending facilities. Just do it. Set a reasonable rate

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-41055203781728028112008-11-15T10:44:00.000+11:002008-11-15T14:13:12.804+11:00

William S Lind proposes that Obama's First Test:...in the national security arena is likely to come not from al Qaeda or Iran or the Taliban but from within his own Democratic Party. Powerful constituencies in that party, the Feminists and the gays, will demand that he open the ground combat arms to women and allow acknowledged homosexuals to serve in the U.S. armed forces. If he agrees to either

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-22139152822663635772008-11-10T09:42:00.002+11:002008-11-11T21:52:24.043+11:00

Financial Armageddon is Getting Ready for (Economic) Winter by examining how A Snowblower Maker Braces for Slump's Blizzard of Woe.I was intrigued how the owner was getting productivity improvements:Every two weeks, small groups of workers are assembled and assigned to tackle a new set of problems. One group, for instance, was recently assigned to figure out how to reduce the number of steps

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-79273756454609036932008-11-10T09:29:00.004+11:002010-09-11T18:25:13.910+10:00

In another chapter of the saga started in The Tall Man, Peter Robson & Paul Benedek write that:Palm Island Aboriginal man Lex Wotton was sentenced to six years’ jail for “riot with destruction” on November 7 — just four days after 22 police officers received “bravery awards” for their role in the 2004 Palm Island protests.This juxtaposition of sentencing a protestor and awarding the police is a

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-15098623878744249742008-11-09T21:32:00.000+11:002008-11-15T14:14:59.677+11:00

J.Boone Bartholomees advances his Theory of Victory (Parameters, Summer 2008, pp. 25-36) by distinguishing between winning and victory. He is of the opinion that one can win without achieving viotory.He equates victory with the collapse of your opponent's will to continue the struggle. If one achieves one's objectives without breaking your opponent's will, then one has won without victory.On p

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-92200777164474913082008-11-03T20:44:00.004+11:002008-11-09T10:20:34.503+11:00

Steve Randy Waldman opines that If we only had a financial system, then Capitalism would really work.The elephant that is not in the room is a financial system. By a financial system, I don't mean the tottering cartel of banks and insurers loudly sucking newly printed cash into "collateral postings" and "deleveragings" and other meaningless nonactivities. That is no financial system at all. It is

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-63276116024262841282008-10-30T04:30:00.003+11:002008-11-09T10:43:20.263+11:00

aeldric discusses The Failure of Networked Systems: The Repercussions of Systematic Risk. He describes how an efficient system is more susceptible to systemic failure than an inefficient one. The pursuit of cost efficiency drives all components to operate at near-criticality. This impetus towards maximal cost efficiency has been well known since before Marx's analysis of Capitalism. It is an

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-55342377282659867532008-10-14T01:28:00.002+11:002008-11-15T14:18:39.108+11:00

Mark Thoma posts an extract about Informational Cascades and the Financial Crisis from Wall Street's Lemmings, by Cass R. Sunstein, TNR.To get a sense of how cascades work, imagine that a group of people is deciding whether to invest in real estate or instead the stock market. Assume that group members are announcing their views in sequence. From his own knowledge and experience, each member has

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-61086502482147147962008-10-12T13:21:00.002+11:002008-11-15T14:17:43.646+11:00

The Economist wants to implement item #5 of the Communist Manifesto in Saving the SystemCentralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.(Marx 1959, 342)The magazine diagnoses the problem as:... Today’s failure of confidence is based on three related issues: the solvency of banks, their ability to fund themselves in

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-69312707833114678522008-10-12T12:31:00.000+11:002008-10-12T12:32:25.345+11:00

Heather Ridout, chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, says that the System not immune to shocks and urges a more socialist approach to the crisis.The Federal Government has a vital role to play. Economic management has got a lot tougher and the Government should be ready to take up the slack in the economy as business investment and consumer spending retreats. It should prepare to

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-7804290885422152672008-07-14T12:41:00.000+10:002008-11-15T14:17:43.651+11:00

The Economist is impressed by the success of the Dabbawala (also see Wikipedia article) in The cult of the dabbawala as a new management trend.As usual, the capitalist press fails to realise that the free association of independent worker-owners is greatly superior to an organisation divided between owners and workers.AS THE warrior king who defeated the Mughals and founded the Maratha empire of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-79114092927706532562008-07-13T21:01:00.000+10:002010-09-11T18:25:13.913+10:00

I have finished reading Chloe Hooper's latest book, The Tall Man.I had posted my reactions to a radio interview with Chloe Hooper: The Tall ManHooper leaves out one word from her story: occupation. The State of Queensland is engaged in an occupation of Aboriginal lands in North Queensland for the benefit of white settlers.The Wild Time was the invasion of whites into this area, and the Stolen

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-21303248586200392412008-07-13T11:58:00.001+10:002008-08-01T13:43:58.318+10:00

Picked up The Only Diet for a Peacemaker Is a Vegetarian Diet from DrumBeat: July 12, 2008 at the The Oil Drum.John Dear argues that:But for me being vegetarian boils down to peacemaking. If you want to be a peacemaker, Bruce said, reflecting the sentiments of Leo Tolstoy, you will want to eat as peaceful a diet as possible. "Vegetarianism," Tolstoy wrote, "is the taproot of humanitarianism."

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-39456297009117195812008-07-12T23:28:00.001+10:002009-02-17T20:30:33.724+11:00

Mark Thoma posts an extract about the Revolution of urban rebels in recognition of the US Independence Day.The conclusion from Edward Glaesar is:Across countries today, there is a robust correlation between urbanization and democracy. This correlation reflects many things, such as the tendency of more urban places to be richer and better educated, but it also surely reflects the role that cities

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-79042744947387726632008-07-04T13:32:00.001+10:002008-07-04T13:32:59.600+10:00

In the movie, Mongol, the rise to power of Temudjin revolves his love for Borte and his religious devotion.Temudjin is presented as a combination of Moses, Joseph, and Joshua.Sandra Hall reviews Mongol as well and finds:Naturally enough, they're also out to humanise their hero, a job made easier by the decision to deal only with the story of his early life, when he was yet to become acquainted

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-6863817530676888832008-07-02T23:15:00.000+10:002008-07-02T23:17:01.879+10:00

In the June 2008 edition of Annals Australasia, Robert Tilley discusses Art, Marx, and Bill Henson (p.27)A Catholic conservative agrees with Karl Marx!In a famous sentence Marx wrote, "All that is solid melts into the air, all that is holy is profaned..." Marx was talking about the effect of capitalism on traditional social mores and manners. Critics were saying that the Communists were set on

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-21591671728498910202008-07-02T22:36:00.000+10:002008-07-02T22:37:15.896+10:00

John Riddell describes the development of Communist theory From Marx to Morales: Indigenous socialism and the Latin Americanisation of Marxism.Riddell contends that the retardation of Capitalist development in Latin America means that the peasants (along with the indigenous population) form the backbone of the revolutions there. This is akin to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917.The development of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-38702133555543873462008-07-02T21:53:00.001+10:002010-09-11T18:25:13.917+10:00

In this week's edition of Big Issue, the cover story is about Chloe Hooper's latest book, The Tall Man.There was also an interview on ABC Classic FM today with her and Margaret Throsby. (Has not been uploaded at time of posting.)As reported by Sarah Stephens in Palm Island: Police terror follows death in custody:At 11.20am on November 19, a 36-year-old Aboriginal man, Cameron Doomadgee, died in

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-7813595996815783432008-07-02T20:50:00.000+10:002008-07-02T20:51:35.643+10:00

According to Rick Shenkman, American Stupidity may well threaten the existence of the USA.How much ignorance can a country stand? There have to be terrible consequences when it reaches a certain level. But what level? And with what consequences, exactly? The answers to these questions are unknowable. But can we doubt that if we persist on the path we are on that we shall, one day, perhaps not too

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-37053726332109199192008-07-02T20:20:00.001+10:002008-07-02T20:22:15.519+10:00

If you Annoy a pilgrim, face a fine: police.The Catholic Church in Australia is now full of wusses!New South Wales Police are defending the introduction of new regulations that will allow people to be arrested and fined for causing annoyance during World Youth Day. Under the laws, police can direct people to stop engaging in conduct that causes annoyance or inconvenience to the pilgrims. The

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-83834282811252249442008-06-23T22:30:00.002+10:002008-06-23T22:40:40.850+10:00

On 23 June 1789, King Louis XVI decided to show who was the boss. The National Assembly disagreed.J.M.Thompson's opinion is:It soon appeared that the king's stand had come too late, and could only be maintained by arms. A display of force was, indeed, made: when the deputies arrived at the Parliament-house on June 23rd, they found it surrounded by troops. But this threat of violence, and the

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-59922827538032794822008-06-22T23:18:00.000+10:002011-04-10T16:47:59.030+10:00

Remember 15 February 2003 when 10 million people said, "No Blood for Oil!".Well, five years later, we got plenty of blood and we are running out of oil!Yves Smith asks "Did the Iraq War Cause High Oil Prices?"An oil economics specialist, Mamdouh Salameh, who advises the World Bank and the UN Industrial Development Organisation, contends that oil prices would be at less than 1/3 of their current

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-42134492732690411762008-06-22T16:08:00.000+10:002008-06-22T16:09:56.219+10:00

Bill Taylor explains Why the Celtics Won—From Auerbach to "Unbuntu". (The Celtics are an American Basketball team). The key elements were pride and community.The legendary coach, Red Auerbach, was interviewed in 1987:“How do you motivate the players?” Alan asked, expecting, I imagine, a complicated, multi-faceted answer. “Pride, that’s all,” Red answered. “Pride of excellence. Pride of winning.

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-41119305490805338842008-06-22T16:07:00.000+10:002008-06-22T16:08:19.124+10:00

For those who are not on the GreenLeft Weekly e-group, links to photographs taken from the NDA are below:1st anniversary protest against NT intervention by Peter BoyleHobart protest pics by Rose MatthewsSBS News slideshow & news video of protestsPhotos from Sydney rally against the NT intervention by Alex Bainbridge

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-3532033345975776232008-06-19T22:45:00.001+10:002008-06-19T22:46:27.002+10:00

Saturday June 21 National Day of Action Against the Racist Intervention into Northern Territory Indigenous Communities. The Sydney rally is atSydney: 11am, The Block, Redfern contact Monique Wiseman 0415410558 or Paddy Gibson 0415800586View Larger MapSam Watson says End the racist NT intervention now!“You don’t deal with issues of alcoholism and drug addiction with police. It’s a health issue,

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-7930762460820822662008-06-18T23:19:00.001+10:002008-06-18T23:21:24.479+10:00

Jim Kunstler examines the current Status Quo-oh as the perfect storm of climate change, financial instability, and peak oil combine to make life interesting for the planet.The real tragedy of industrial agriculture is the subsitution of energy for knowledge.Behind that magic is an agribusiness model of farming cranked up on the steroids of cheap oil and cheap natural-gas-based fertilizer. Both of

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-3649453340228195652008-06-18T12:02:00.001+10:002008-11-15T14:22:11.229+11:00

In the latest Tomgram: John Feffer, Are We All North Koreans Now? John Feffer argues that the recurring crises in North Korea are not just problems with Communism but with industrial agriculture.In the 1990s, North Korea was the world's canary. The famine that killed as much as 10% of the North Korean population in those years was, it turns out, a harbinger of the crisis that now grips the globe

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-52722130071506811292008-06-17T10:13:00.003+10:002008-06-17T10:29:13.046+10:00

Seth Godin describes some important attitudes of Superheroes.He offers some basic thoughts about how to handle the paradox. This is especially important for members of Communist Parties. Superheroes don't have a look, but they definitely have an attitude. They're restless and impatient, but, here's the cool paradox, they're also calm and patient. Patient because they realize that change takes a

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-89933141149949627932008-06-16T23:12:00.001+10:002008-06-17T10:10:21.443+10:00

Mike Shedlock uncovers the hidden shame of Tent City, USA.Here is the cost of converting a social good (housing) into a commodity.The Capitalist illusion of providing social goods through production of commodities has been exposed as a fraud. Here these people are thrown into a refugee camp as the property rights of the banks are enforced.Commodities are only produced for people that can afford

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-30874379945499773692008-06-16T07:01:00.001+10:002008-06-16T07:07:22.829+10:00

Cut fuel price, say voters. This is an idiotic idea that raises problems for me in that how can I defend democracy when such attitudes are self-defeating?If we had a direct democracy, then the fuel excise tax would be reduced to zero and people would go using their cars as usual. And the peak oilers would be pissing into the wind.And it does not help when:Last week in Japan, Mr Rudd put

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-38308710329578909642008-06-12T21:41:00.000+10:002008-06-12T21:42:29.470+10:00

Heyda Fawda is an Egyptian movie about a police officer (Hatem) stalking a school teacher (Nour) who is chasing an Assistant District Attorney (Sherif) who is sleeping with a drug addict (Shiela) who wears mini-skirts. The movie has English sub-titles but the graffiti and posters are not translated.This was my first Egyptian and Arabic movie. So this post is made out of pure ignorance.There are

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10359164.post-84508817086006306772008-06-10T21:40:00.000+10:002008-06-22T16:11:09.573+10:00

Tom Peters rails against the Central Planners in favour of Seven Billion Experts—Waiting to Be Heard! He argues that the Development policies have failed.Peters also has a link to a set of PowerPoint slides about this. These are worth viewing in order to see Peter's argument elaborated on.The underlying assumption is that the development aid has failed. While this is true for the developing

Douglasnoreply@blogger.com0