[PEN-L:6082] Music and class struggle (was re: rethinking overdetermination)
The news that Bill Monroe died stimulates me to jump into this thread. There's a song named "you don't need a reason to sing". (I foget who wrote this). When my mate banjo player proposed to play this tune in my band, I opposed to it because I could not like the phrase. It's 20 years ago, I believed there must be a reason to sing. Though I loved and still love to hear and play that white music (bluegrass), I once seeked to find out any "red" in it. All I could find was some rumpen-proletariat factors. Unlike bluegrass, I often see proletarian factors in (american) old-time music. A collection of such is Mike Seeger's "Tripple, Loom Rail"(Folkways). Besides those traditionals, I learned many songs of struggle in american folk music, too. Needless to mension Woody Guthrie or other CIO organizers, songs were weapons of working class in US, I believe. In the case of Japan, we traditionally sang and played only so-to-say official labor/struggle/revolutionary songs in Japan or from east europe and USSR in our movement. The only exception has been "L'internationale". (It's from western europe, isn't it? :)) Most of folk songs sung were russians. Adding this, our predecessors recommended to listen to classics so that we would learn the best part of bourgeois culture. Native pop culture had been ignored untill mid- 70's. But the situation changed in younger generation in 70's. Japanese youth became much culturally "americanized". Folk music revival was imported directly. Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Tom Paxton, ... became very popular in japanese youth at the time. Students began to learn to play the guitar and sing anti-war songs (imported) in the campus struggles. But as the heat of student power diminished, the music scene also changed. Inside the left culture movement, there came a discovery of native japanese pop culture. Many activists in this field picked up native pop music like Tsugaru shamisen, Kawachi-ondo, etc. At the same time, some activists began to write and play american folk songs-like songs in japanese to express the present motivations of workers struggles. Right now in mid-'90, I don't see any good attempt to establish proletarian music movement among youth in Japan. American folk song-like songs are boring for the youth. Reggae seems to turn to appear as love songs in Japan. (where's Bob Marley?) Raps, too. I think development of such proletarian pop culture is not independent from real avtivity of labor movement. We can't sharpen our class conciousness if we are apart from concrete struggles. The form of expression may change into any direction. If we can apply appropriately to some concrete struggles, Karaoke may turn to be our weapon. Iwao Kitamura [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6083] Re: New Book--Same old...
Treacy: You can read many British economic histories that talk about capital formation that never mention profits of slaving. Indeed, when you read about Liverpool, and Bristol wealth it seems that "Black Birding" was never the main source of maritime profits. The inclusion of Japan to this thesis is strange given the way things were run in Japan during the Tokugawa shogunate. [EMAIL PROTECTED] copyrighted On Mon, 9 Sep 1996, James Michael Craven wrote: I picked up a book the other day "Centuries of Economic Endeavor:Parallel Paths in Japan and Europe and Their Contrast With the Third World" by John P. Powelson, Univ of Michigan, 1997 ed. On "Why do Japan, western Europe, North America, and Australia and New Zealand lead the world in economic development, and why are their prosperity infrastructure, and standards of living far, far greater than those of the less-developed zones? This book offers an answer to this puzzle." (p1) This book offers "an" answer to this puzzle? I questioned to myself. So after reading this extraordinary statement I went immediately to the index of the book--a habit of mine to get an early fix on the working paradigms of the author. I looked for "imperialism"--nothing; I looked for "colonialism"--4 pages on Africa and 2 pages on India; I looked for "aboriginal peoples"--nothing; I looked for "racism"-- nothing; I looked for "gender or sex discrimination"--nothing; I looked for "dualism or disarticulation"--nothing; I looked for references to domination/selective uses of internatnational organizations like IMF and World Bank by so called "developed nations"--nothing; I looked for references to "covert operations and social systems engineering by DC's in LDC areas"--nothing; I looked up "De jure--and/versus--"De Facto"(Institutions etc); I looked for "unequal exchange"--nothing; ... So the author gives his main thesis on page 1: " In both Japan and northwestern Europe, the methods, rules, and instruments of policy and exchange were fashioned primarily by bargaining among the parties concerned: farmers, landowners, producers and traders... As the parties negotiated with each other and with the sovereign, they built into their systems ways of holding each other accountable for performance and for efficient use of resources, both public and private. On these foundations, economic development took the form of millions upon millions of positive-sum transactions, agreed upon by thousands upon thousands of people and groups, acting separately, often independently of superior authority. While the sovereign attempted to interfere with economic endeavor at all times, for the most part the people resisted, and for the most part the people won." In the rest of the world by contrast, economic endeavor and its rules and instruments were conducted or fashioned primarily by the sovereign, using the weight of superior authority and military command. Here the people either could not resist, or they lost. These areas are now the less-developed zones." (p1) So here we have a litany of tautologies and worse than "revisionist history" basically rationalizing some very ugly historical processes and structures of imperial domination; e.g. only "western" institutions and concepts of "economic freedom" promote economic development "therefore" the western countries are developed because they developed "western" institutions--a monstrous anti-historical tautology. Of course no mention of inequalities within these western countries; no mention of wholesale slaughter of aboriginal peoples and national minorities; no mention of widening inequalities of wealth and income; no mention of widening gaps between De jure rights and promises versus de facto realities; no mention of the fact that many of these deleterious--to development etc--institutions, structures and regimes in the Third World were created, installed and supported by imperial powers in the developed countries to promote economic surplus creation/appropriation and expanded reproduction of a globalized imperial system for the advantage of imperial interests; Again all this fancy language hiding some ugly sophistry reminded me of the poem by Bertolt Brecht: Those who take the most from the table, teach contentment; Those for whom the taxes are destined, demand sacrifice; Those who eat their fill, speak to the hungry of wonderful times to come; Those who lead the country into the abyss, call ruling difficult, for ordinary folk. (Bertolt Brecht) Jim Craven
[PEN-L:6084] Lingua Franca and all that
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tue Sep 10 03:14:46 1996 Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 06:13:42 -0400 Date-warning: Date header was inserted by rfd.oit.umass.edu From: Herbert Gintis [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Lingua Franca and all that X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Samuel Bowles [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT X-Status: X-UID: 2741 Dear Michael, Someone told me that there had been some discussion about me on pen-l, and I might want to look into it. Since yours appears to be the original posting, I'm writing this note to you, though I think I've looked over it all--at least all I could find. You can repost this to pen-l if you wish. Lingua Franca is doing a piece on Sam and me. It was not at my prompting, but theirs. Nothing about pen-l was ever discussed between me and the people at Lingua Franca. The subject simply never came up. I didn't say history is made by elites. I said that revolutionary movements are spearheaded by relatively well-off, well-educated people. This is why dictators always close down the universities, and why education and communication are so important. Of course, all the great historical struggles have be mass struggles by brave, valiant, and resourceful people from the oppressed and dominated classes. I am not conservative at all, in my estimation. I am progressive. But I'm not part of the left or the right. I like lots of traditional left ideas (gender/racial equality, partipatory democracy, the goal of a society where all have the possibility of achieving dignity and developing their potential), but I like lots of right ideas as well (free choice, school choice, minimizing wasteful government, curbing monopolistic practices, such as protectionism, making people responsible for their actions). I think the old right-left stuff is anachronistic, and we should be thinking of new ways to achieve our goals, and we should in part change our goals--e.g., to value choice and responsibility more than the left traditionally has). I am very sorry for being so rude and insulting on pen-l. All I can say is that I wasn't used to the electronic format, at it took a while for me to learn to use the internet in an adult, responsible way. In my defense, however, I might note that the response to me was also rude and insulting, rather than informing me of how to behave in internet discussions. As soon as I left pen-l, I found out how to do it right. In my post-keynesian discussions after that, I never acted the way I did on pen-l, and though many disagreed with me (most), I don't think there was any rancor. Also, my poor behavior on pen-l NEVER extended to ad hominems, but rather to denigrating the positions of others (which is bad enough). In fact, I now think that news groups are reasonable in limiting discussions to people who basically agree on certain basic issues. I am not part of pen-l because I don't agree with these issues, and my insistence on bringing them up again and again naturally raised people's hackels, and rightly so. I should have been asked to move on, or just lurk. I am on cordial terms with Wolff and Resnick, but our intellectual projects are almost wholly disjoint. There was a time when we both read Althusser, but we took different things from it, radically different things, I believe (Sam and I took the notion of practices and sites, which we used in our book Democracy and Capitalism, whereas Resnick and Wolff took epistimological notions). I often take positions not because I believe them, but because I want to try them out. People often don't understand this. Most such positions I drop when they are roundly criticized, but some survive. These I keep. This is what some have called 'shooting from the hip. Cordially, Herb Herbert Gintis Department of Economics Phone: 413-586-7756 University of Massachusetts Fax: 413-586-6014 Amherst, MA 01003 [EMAIL PROTECTED]http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~gintis/ -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 916-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6085] What Is Profit? (II)
Profit appears under capitalism merely as a category in the ledger of an individual enterprise. How successful that enterprise will be in making capitalist profit will depend on the place it has in relationship to all other enterprises. With the development of laissez-faire capitalism into monopoly capitalism, the question of profit became linked with the place of a monopoly or a conglomerate in relation to others in the national and world economies. The building of socialism gives an entirely opposite definition of profit. For the first time, the national economy, and not an individual enterprise or a monopoly, becomes the measure whether an enterprise is profitable or not. To what extent the national economy is profitable has to be determined within a given span of time according to socialist planning and not on the basis of the anarchy of production as it exists under capitalism. For the first time, labor is no longer considered a cost. On the contrary, the entire national social product belongs to the working people as a whole in whose interest it is distributed. The worker is no longer a wage-slave and the constantly rising material and cultural level of the working people becomes the motive of production. Distribution of the national social product, that is all production minus costs, follows the social needs of the economy according to the overall plan, and the consideration of "to each according to his ability, to each according to his work." The question of profit cannot be understood and fully appreciated without studying the historical economic conditions, the mode of production and the contradictions inherent in it. Capitalist profit is *unpaid* labor in a society in which production is based on the making of the maximum capitalist profit as is the case in capitalist countries at this time. In such societies, the only consideration is to make that enterprise most profitable in the sense of maximum capitalist profit even though it may be extremely damaging to the national economy as a whole. The production of armaments is extremely profitable to the owners but is extremely damaging to the national economy as it produces no value either for consumption or means of production. At the same time, certain investments in education, health and social programs may not be profitable in the capitalist sense but they are extremely beneficial to the national economy and the raising of the level of the society. The question of profit cannot be reduced to a technical category, a column in a capitalist's ledger. Capital is nothing more than a social relationship; in the same fashion, the making of maximum capitalist profit is the reproduction of that social relationship. The main content of capital is the relationship between the capitalist owner of the means of production and a human being who possesses nothing but labor power. The development of capitalism is the development of this relationship over and over again in which the rich become richer and the poor poorer with the entire populace becoming more and more proletarianized. Capital in a socialist society reflects an opposite relationship: it reflects on the one hand the relationship of the working people as a whole, as owners of production, applying their capital on nature, and on the other hand, the application of their capital against the capitalist exploiters. Such a relationship in its development creates the conditions for the elimination of this relationship altogether, with humanity eventually producing a community of goods in its own interest. The question of profit cannot be detached from the character of capital, which is to say that the issue of profit cannot be detached from how people derive their living. In capitalist countries, at this time, people have no say in the economy, politics or culture because all the main means of production are the preserve of the capitalist class. The financial oligarchy extracts tribute from the whole of society while people obtain their living by working for them, in which they have no say about any matter. The more capitalist profit is made in capitalist countries, the more it is damaging to the general interests of the society, as it persists in recreating the differentiation between the rich and the poor, between the exploiters and the exploited with capital becoming ever stronger as it amasses profit. The people are forced to confront all the ills of capitalism, such as the jobless recovery, that are reproduced with growing ferocity. The capitalists claim that the health of individual enterprises will improve the health of the economy but this has been proven to be altogether wrong. Record profits in certain sectors of the economy exist side by side with record levels of unemployment and bankruptcies. It is necessary to pay special attention to the health of the national economy, while the monopolies are interested in their own narrow interests nationally and
[PEN-L:6086] We're Number One
With all this talk by Clinton and others about how "America" and "We" are "number One", I just thought we might talk about some of the areas in which "America" is "Number One" among 19 industrialized countries. The following was taken from "We're Number One: Where America Stands--and Falls--in the New World Order" by Andrew L. Shapiro, Vintage, N.Y. 1992 Among 19 Industrialized Nations, America Stands "Number One" in: (in terms of rates--per 100,000 or per capita) 1. No 1 in Billionaires (and No 1 in Children Living in Poverty) 2. No 1 in Health Care Absolute and Per Capita Expenditures (and No. 15 in Life Expectancy) 3. No 1 in Total Health Spending (and No. 13 in Public Health Spending) 4. No 1 in Wealth and Income Inequality and No 16 in Percentage of Total Income Held by Poorest 40% of the Population 5. No 1 in Percentage of Population without Health Care Coverage 6. No 1 in NOT Providing Paid Maternity Leave (or No. 19 in providing paid maternity leave as 0 weeks are provided) 7. No 1 in Abortion and No. 11 in use of Contraceptives 8. No 1 in Percentage of Pregnancies Ending in Abortion and no. 1 in Abortions Obtained by Women Who have had an Abortion Before 9. No 1 in Teenage Pregnancy and No 1 in Teenage Mothers under 14 Years Old 10. No 1 in Infant Mortality and No. 1 in Percentage of Infants Born at Low Birth Weight, No 1 in Preschoolers NOT Fully Immunized and No. 1 in Death of children Under 5 years-old; 11. No 1 in AIDS, No 1 in Incidence of Cancer Among Men, No 1 in Incidence of Breast Cancer and No 13 in Death Due to Breast Cancer; 12. No 1 in Beef Consumption Per Capita, No 1 in Coronary Bypass Operations Per Capita, No 1 in Snack Food Consumption 13. No 1 in Divorce Rate 14 No 1 in Single-Parent Families; 15. No 2 in Cigarette Consumption and No 4 in Alcohol Consumption per Capita 16. No 1 in Highest-paid Athletes and No 19 in Teacher' Salaries 17. No 1 in Private Spending on Education and No 1 in Higher Education Enrollment and No 17 in Public Spending on Education, No 11 in Years of Free Full-time Compulsory Education, No 9 in Early Childhood Education, 15 in Scientists and Technicians per Capita, and No 19 in Math Proficiency Scores on Internationally Standardized Tests 18. No 1 in Big Homes and No 1 in Homelessness 19. No 1 in Defense Spending and No 19 in Spending on the Poor, the Aged, and the Disabled 20. No 1 in % of Research and Development Spending on Defense, No 1 in Military Aid to Developing Countries and No 19 in Humanitarian Aid to Developing countries 21. No 1 in Net Indebtedness, No 19 in National Saving and Investment Rates (as % of GDP) 22. No 1 in Bank Failures and Bank Bailouts 23. No 1 in Managers, No 1 in Executive Salaries, No 1 in Ratio of Average Executive Salary to average worker (pay inequality) 24. No 15 in average female wage as % of average male wage 25. No 1 in U.N. Dues Owed/Not Paid and No 1 in U.N. Security Council Vetos since 1980 26. No 1 in Percentage of Population who have been a victim of a crime, No 1 in Murder Rate, No 1 in Murder of Children and No 1 in Reported Rapes 27. No 1 in Deaths by Gun, No 1 in Deaths by Capital Punishment, No 1 in percentage of murders still at large, and No 14 in percentage of murders solved 28 No 1 in Number of people killed in car accidents due to drunk driving 29. Number 1 in Lawyers and No 1 in Litigation and No 1 in Rates of Incarceration 30 No 1 in emissions of air pollutants per capita and No 1 in controbution to acid rain, No 1 in garbage per capita, No 1 in paper use per capita, No 1 in Junk Mail, No 1 in Hazardous Waste and No 14 in recycling paper and No 16 in recycling glass 31 No 1 in gasoline consumption per capita and No 1 in rate of increase in oil imports, No 1 in Major Oil Spills Affecting Coastal Areas, No 1 in Autos Per Capita and No 1 in use of Autos in Lieu of Available Public Transport, 32. No 1 in TVs and Radios per capita, No 1 in time spent watching TV, No 1 in percentage of homes with VCRs and No 18 in daily newspaper circulation per capita and No 19 in Book Titles published per capita Jim Craven *--* * James Craven *"Concern for man himself must always * * Dept of Economics* constitute the chief objective of* * Clark College* all technological effort, concern* * 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. * for the big, unsolved problems of* * Vancouver, Wa. 98663 * how to organize human work and the * * (360) 992-2283 * distribution of commodities in such * * [EMAIL PROTECTED] * a manner as to assure that the * * * results of our scientific thinking * * * may be a blessing to mankind,and not * * * a curse. * * *Never
[PEN-L:6088] oops
in a missive I posted this morning on overdetermination (not music), I referred to In many cases, we need vector quantification, as with Howard Margolis' replacement of scalar measurements of "intelligence" with a set of 8 different types of intelligence. It should be Howard _Gardner_. (Margolis, on the other hand, has a book that combines economic rationality with altruism.) in pen-l solidarity, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] 74267,[EMAIL PROTECTED] Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ. 7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950 "It takes a busload of faith to get by." -- Lou Reed.
[PEN-L:6087] INFORMATION: HOW SUBSCRIBE.
Curitiba, 09/10/1996 Dear. I am a fourth-year economy student in the Federal University of Parana, Brazil. I knew about you through my professor Francisco P. Cippolla that told me about the list of Pen-l. If it is possible, I would like more information about how I can subscribe this list. Thank you. Fernanda De Negri [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6089] Re: What did Herb say?
I didn't say history is made by elites. I said that revolutionary movements are spearheaded by relatively well-off, well-educated people. This is why dictators always close down the universities, and why education and communication are so important. Of course, all the great historical struggles have be mass struggles by brave, valiant, and resourceful people from the oppressed and dominated classes. Actually, Herb, I stand by my statement. My notes from your European History Class (Fall 1982), indicate that you said, "History is made by elites." [or perhaps "the elite"] Furthermore, the larger context was precisely your point that, contrary to lefty presumptions, history is not made by mass struggle but by maneuvers, negotiations, struggles, etc., among the elite. Your argument made mass struggles an appendage to struggles among the elite. We were not talking about the importance of education among the masses, nor about the leadership of mass struggles, but about the relative historical importance of mass struggles vs. conflicts within the ruling class. I distinctly remember talking after that class with a number of students who were also struck and dismayed by your comments. I am on cordial terms with Wolff and Resnick, but our intellectual projects are almost wholly disjoint. There was a time when we both read Althusser, but we took different things from it, radically different things, I believe (Sam and I took the notion of practices and sites, which we used in our book Democracy and Capitalism, whereas Resnick and Wolff took epistimological notions). In my opinion Bowles and Gintis on the one hand and Wolff and Resnick on the other took some different and some of the same things from Althusser. I think those of us who studied with both pairs of teachers were the beneficiaries of their mutual interest in Althusser, sometimes complementary, sometimes at odds and sometimes quite compatible. Wolff and Resnick, for instance, also talk about sites and practices, if, for sure, not in exactly the same way as Bowles and Gintis. For the first two years I studied at UMass I was in strong sympathy with the projects and perspectives of Bowles and Gintis, which is why I find it interesting now that I am close to Wolff and Resnick's work and not that of Bowles and Gintis. However, I would never deny that I learned a great deal of important and interesting social theory from Bowles and Gintis. (This statement, of course, is not intended to make them responsible for my limited understanding.) Indeed, with only a few exceptions, I felt that the vast majority of the courses I took at UMass, almost everything I read for my courses, and most of the class and extra-curricular discussions with professors and students, were extremely valuable. I do not regret for a moment having obtained my Ph.D. from there. Blair Blair Sandler [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6090] FW: Daily Report
BLS DAILY REPORT, COMBINED FOR MON., SEPT. 9, AND TUES., SEPT. 10, 1996 RELEASED TODAY: The revised seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity change for the second quarter of 1996 were 1.1 percent in the business sector and 0.5 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors, productivity growth was slower than in the first quarter of 1996. Manufacturing productivity increased 2.2 percent in the second quarter, with respective increases of 3.9 percent in durable goods manufacturing and 0.5 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing. The unemployment rate dipped to 5.1 percent in August--the lowest jobless rate in more than seven years--as the economy added 250,000 new workers. Nearly one-third of the increase was accounted for by teachers and other local government workers. The jobless rates for people under age 25 and over age 54 showed the strongest improvement over-the-month. Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers rose 6 cents in August to $11.87, or 3.6 percent above the level in August 1995.(New York Times, September 7, page 1; Daily Labor Report, September 9, page D-1; Washington Post, September 7, page D1). In conjunction with an article on The Employment Situation release, the New York Times carries a piece on "Trying to Figure Out How Low Unemployment Figures Can Go." Over the last two years, as the unemployment rate has edged down below 6 percent, economists have had to reassess one of their most widely accepted assumptions--that the natural rate of unemployment was near 6 percent. Below the rate of natural unemployment, the theory goes, labor markets become so tight that wages surge and send prices upward. The traditional signs of inflation have, as yet, not surfaced even with the unemployment rate at 5.1 percent...(New York Times, September 7, page 35). The consensus forecast of a member survey conducted by the National Association of Business Economists (NABE) predicts that the U.S. economy should remain on a moderate growth path with little chance of inflation accelerating through 1997. The business economists say that strong employment increases and a modest pickup in compensation gains are unlikely to fuel price increases..(Daily Labor Report, September 10, page C-1). However, in a speech to NABE, Federal Reserve Board Governor Laurence Meyer identifies the 5.1-percent unemployment rate and 6-cent-per-hour increase in average hourly earnings as threats to make inflation worse as employers find it increasingly difficult to offset increases in the costs of production..(Washington Post, September 9, page A10; Daily Labor Report, September 10, page C-2.) A bipartisan group of 11 senators sends President Clinton a letter asking him to support a 0.5 percentage point reduction in the Consumer Price Index when adjusting federal entitlements, income tax brackets, and other payments .. The group recommends that part of the resulting savings be used to fund the pending fiscal 1997 appropriations bills. Several congressional aides and budget analysts said the CPI question is likely to emerge as a major issue after the elections when members will turn their attention once again to reducing the deficit and revamping entitlement programs such as Social Security..(Daily Labor Report, September 10, page A11).
[PEN-L:6092] re: FYI
On Mon, 9 Sep 1996, Max B. Sawicky wrote that: The brakes to U.S. public sector growth began to get a lot of traction, as did other aspects of "Reaganomics," during the Carter Administration. An obvious factor was the productivity slow-down, for which causes have not been well-explained, among which 'globalization' was not even an important candidate. Another was the tax revolt, spurred in part by rising income tax liability due to bracket creep under the unindexed income taxes (Federal and state). It's an empirical question, but I don't think one can rule out a role for "globalization" in the 1970s productivity slowdown completely: while some people blame the high international price of oil for the slowdown during that decade, it's also quite possible that given the way productivity is measured (with output measured as an index number weighted with prices) that declining US manufacturing terms of trade had an effect on productivity measures. (Opening up markets in general could have meant similar slow-downs in other countries.) Also, here in California, home of the tax revolt and many other idiocies, some of the basis of the "revolt" (at least in the working class) was a response to stagnant after-tax real wages. Simultaneously, many older folks ended up paying exorbitant property taxes (that they couldn't afford to pay on fixed incomes) because of inflation- induced reassessment of their houses. To some extent, the wage decline was due to the increased international competition that the US faced and the rise in oil prices. The latter of course encouraged inflation. But I wouldn't see globalization as the source of all problems or anything like that (and high oil prices cannot be reduced to simply "globalization"). It's a long-term trend which reasserted itself in the 1970s. Many other things were and are going on, so that the actual result is "overdetermined" (to coin a word). One left explanation for the productivity slow-down was the fall-off in public investment. In turn, we might attribute the shift away from public investment and towards transfer payments as the fruits of left insurgency between 1965 and 1975. As you note, that explanation is unlikely. I'd say instead that the fading of government investment was a result of the fading of the popular coalition centered on the WW II veterans and the construction industry, that promoted the GI Bill, the building of the interstate highways (autobahns), suburbanization, and the like. if wages are so important, why do we have any manufacturing jobs at all? Transportation communication costs, mobility costs, higher labor productivity in the US, specialized labor, access to markets. Plus, nowaday, falling wages. In other words, the current wage level isn't the whole story, just as you say. in pen-l solidarity, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] 74267,[EMAIL PROTECTED] Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ. 7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950 "It takes a busload of faith to get by." -- Lou Reed.
[PEN-L:6091] Conf on Labour, Rights and Globalization: Aust Asia-Pacific (fwd)
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 08:58:08 -0400 Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Sam Lanfranco [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Conf on Labour, Rights and Globalization: Aust Asia-Pacific Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 15:20:17 +0800 (HKT) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Robert Budd) (via [EMAIL PROTECTED]) Subject: Conference on Labour, Rights and Globalisation: Aust. Asia-Pacific - NOVEMBER 1-3, Melbourne, Australia The Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights would appreciate it if you could display the following text on your internet site (if you have one) with a link to our homepage at http://www2.deakin.edu.au/cchr This conference for academics and practitioners will examine the effects of globalisation on human rights and labour conditions in Australia and the Asia-Pacific, explore governmental and non-governmental strategies for action, and prepare discussion positions for the NGO forums preceding the meetings of APEC (November) and WTO (December). Location--- Deakin University, Toorak Campus, Melbourne Registration Rates---Early Bird rate-- $175 (Conc. $125 ) i.e. paid before 4/10/96 Paid after 4/10/96 -- $195 ( Conc. $145 ) Concession applies to anyone not in full time employment. Telephone numbers for further info.---Aust 052 272062 (re Reg'n queries) All other queries ring 052 272173 or 052 272113 If you do not have access to an internet homepage, it would be appreciated if you could disseminate the information by any other means at your disposal (eg newsletter, email to members, etc) if this option is preferred could you also include the following- A CALL FOR PAPERS- Papers are invited for the following thematic sections: * Globalisation: shaping the future (including globalisation and localisation, trade and economics, social, environmental and cultural impacts, women and globalisation, information technology and transnational data flows, etc) * Working conditions and labour markets (including labour market restructuring, working conditions, formal and informal economies in Australia and Asia-Pacific, etc) * Rights and protections (including international and national legal frameworks, labour law, the governance of TNCs, human rights and labour rights, public policy in a globalising world, etc) * Global citizenship (including mass media, internet and new communication systems, local and global identities, governmental and non-governmental action strategies, etc) Abstracts of 200 words are due by 13 September. Robert Budd Administrative Officer Centre for Citizenship and Human Rights Deakin University GEELONG 3220 Phone: 052 272173 Fax: 052 272155 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Internet: http://www2.deakin.edu.au/cchr
[PEN-L:6093] BC EVENT: Jeremy Rifkin on What is the Future of Work?
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 19:51:33 -0400 Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Sam Lanfranco [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: BC EVENT: Jeremy Rifkin on What is the Future of Work? -- Forwarded message -- Date: Mon, 09 Sep 1996 15:05:32 -0500 From: Vaune Adams [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: EVENT: Jeremy Rifkin on What is the Future of Work? Information is available at the website: http://www.sfu.ca/continuing-studies/CAPPs/Events/ting.htm _ Jeremy Rifkin What is the future of work for BC? "We are entering a new age of global markets and automated production. The road to a near-workerless economy is within sight. Whether that road leads to a safe haven or a terrible abyss will depend on how well [BC] prepares for the post-market era that will follow ... The end of work could spell a death sentence for civilization ... The end of work could also signal the beginning of a great social transformation ... The future lies in our hands." - Jeremy Rifkin The information age has arrived in British Columbia where a booming economy exists, profits are up and opportunities on a global scale are unlimited. At the same time, thousands of people are losing their jobs in British Columbia's traditional sectors of resource extraction, government and service. Noted economist Jeremy Rifkin, The Foundation on Economic Trends, and author of The End of Work, will analyse the prospects for British Columbia and how the economic proceeds from the knowledge sector must be applied to re-engage the swelling numbers of technologically-displaced workers ... before it is too late. JEREMY RIFKIN will be joined by TOM GUNTON, Deputy Minister, Cabinet Policy and Communication Secretariat, Government of BC; BRIAN CANFIELD, Chairman and CEO, B.C. Tel, Managing Director, and BARBARA BRINK, former Science World Board of Governors member and 1996 Volunteer Vancouver Award recipient, to work with forum participants to begin charting a course for the future of British Columbia. Co-sponsored by the David and Cecilia Ting Forum on Advanced Public Affairs, Simon Fraser University, Centre for Labour Studies, Simon Fraser University, VanCity, VanCity Community Foundation, Credit Union Central of BC, BC Labour Force Development Board. Venue: Hotel Vancouver Fees: Forum (October 17) $225 + GST Evening Public Lecture (October 16) $18 + GST Contact: Public Policy Programs Continuing Studies, Simon Fraser University Telephone (604) 291-4565 or 291-3792 Fax (604) 291-3851 E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6094] Re: Fwd: re: rethinking overdetermination
Did this end up being the Pajama Game, with Doris Day, in the 1950s? The
story IS about labor relations, with Doris as the shop steward. The
conflict is she falls in love with the boss' lackey. Likely a revision on
the ILGWU version if there's any relation.
Nancy Breen
--
From: pen-l
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [PEN-L:6078] Re: Fwd: re: rethinking overdetermination
Date: Monday, September 09, 1996 8:56PM
Judging art by who likes it is ridiculous.
After all, there are idiots who like Marx.
(We know who you are.) And I read Henwood.
The best progressive music many of you never heard
of is the musical theatrical production "Pins and
Needles." It was orginally staged by the ILGWU in
the forties. There was one song in particular for
which different words were written corresponding to
before, during, and after the Hitler-Stalin pact
("Four Little Angels of Peace Are We").
If you look (if helps if you're in New York City)
you can find a 50's LP version featuring
a young lady named Barbara Streisand.
I'm also fond of reading proletarian messages into
the music of The Band. (e.g., "Japan," in the
recent "Jericho" album)
M.S.
[PEN-L:6095] re: FYI
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It's an empirical question, but I don't think one can rule out a role for "globalization" in the 1970s productivity slowdown completely: while some people blame the high international price of oil for the slowdown during that decade, it's also quite possible that given the way productivity is measured (with output measured as an index number weighted with prices) that declining US manufacturing terms of trade had an effect on productivity measures. (Opening up markets in general could have meant similar slow-downs in other countries.) It's easy to acknowledge the likelihood that globalization was 'a' factor, but my understanding is that research rules it out as 'the' factor, as it does oil shocks. Also, here in California, home of the tax revolt and many other idiocies, some of the basis of the "revolt" (at least in the working class) was a response to stagnant after-tax real wages. Simultaneously, That was part of my point. Resistance to taxes was stiffened by wage stagnation, itself abetted by slower productivity growth (though productivity growth such as it still outstripped wages). I would say the real tax revolt was the election of Reagan. Aggregate state and local taxes have not been reduced, though there have obviously been episodes of anti-tax politics in assorted states. But I wouldn't see globalization as the source of all problems or anything like that (and high oil prices cannot be reduced to simply "globalization"). It's a long-term trend which reasserted itself in the 1970s. Many other things were and are going on, so that the actual result is "overdetermined" (to coin a word). . . . Right. Max B. Sawicky 202-775-8810 (voice) Economic Policy Institute 202-775-0819 (fax) 1660 L Street, NW [EMAIL PROTECTED] Suite 1200 Washington, DC 20036
[PEN-L:6096] Future Nobel laureate
From the Wall Street Journal, Sept. 10th, *Work Week* column, TEACHERS' UNIONS hamper student achievement, a new study argues. School districts with teachers' unions have higher dropout rates, a study just published by the Quarterly Journal of Economics says. Caroline Hoxby, an assistant professor of economics at Harvard University, analyzed the high-school dropout rates at more than 10,000 school districts before and after they were unionized between 1970 and 1990, and discovered that districts had higher dropout rates after unionization. The study may help solve the mystery of why increasing school spending often has no effect on student achievement, says Larry Katz, the journal's editor. Once unionization's effects are controlled, measures such as raising teacher salaries seem to improve student achievement, Ms. Hoxby says. Nonunionized schools may be targeting spending more, she says, increasing entering teachers' pay rather than of all teachers uniformly. But the National Education Association calls the study, "hogwash," saying it is ridiculous to measure achievement only by dropout rates. Other smaller-scale studies show that unionization has slight positive effects, says Morris Kleiner, a University of Minnesota professor, including one that compared test scores of children in unionized and nonunionized districts. Jim Westrich Institute on Disability and Human Development University of Illinois at Chicago "Rags, old iron; all he was buying were rags and old iron."
[PEN-L:6098] No War - No Peace: A Dangerous Situation For The People
The imperialist powers are trying to impose a condition of "no war-no peace"on the world. While they launch their aggressions and war as they have in Bosnia, Lebanon, Iraq and elsewhere, at the same time they are indulging in imperialist peace. This "no war-no peace" condition is favorable to the imperialists to consolidate their stranglehold over the world and to redivide it into their own spheres of influence. U.S. imperialism is the most active in launching wars as it has against Iraq, imposing an imperialist peace there while carrying out extensive war preparations. The people of the world cannot accept this condition of "no war-no peace" as it goes against their interests. The imperialist powers, especially U.S. imperialism, launches wars when it suits its own interests and tries peace initiatives likewise when it serves its interests in doing so. However, the interests of the peoples of the world can be served only through lasting peace. All forces which threaten peace or all those who are imposing the situation of "no war-no peace" should be overthrown. The condition of "no war-no peace" is based on the premise that the interests of the imperialists have precedence over all others and that "might makes right." This means that the imperialists are fighting for their interests by imposing a condition of "no war-no peace" at this time, as they uphold their own interests whenever they engage in inter-imperialist war or wars of aggression. With all the propaganda about the "global economy," that "national interests and security stretch well beyond a country's borders", it is quite clear that all imperialist powers are preparing to establish their own hegemony. The working class and the broad masses of the people must condemn all acts of aggression including the present situation of "no war-no peace." The people must prepare the condition for a lasting peace through the overthrow of all imperialism and world reaction. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6099] Fighting Over Crime In Canada
At the recent meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police the federal Justice Minister Allan Rock used the podium to attack the cutbacks of the Ontario government. He was responding to attacks by the Ontario Solicitor-General Robert Runciman who said earlier that the federal government had not done enough to prevent crime. Mr. Rock suggested that if Mr. Runciman is serious about preventing crime, "He should perhaps start at home. Rather than worrying about what we are doingHe can look at some of the effects in the long run of what some of his government's budget cuts are going to have on the criminal-justice system." He said that hacking away at "social justice" programs such as education and child welfare will ultimately have serious consequences for the criminal-justice system. The link between social justice and criminal justice is obvious, he added. "Making streets safer has as much to do with literacy as it does with the law." Mr. Runciman angrily replied saying, "That's offensive to say the least,...He [Mr. Rock] should always keep in mind that his government has dramatically reduced transfer payments to the province." This sharpening of open conflict between the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives speaks volumes about how each side is blaming the other for the consequences of the anti-social offensive. The fact of the matter is that both are right in blaming the other, that is, in relationship to each other. However, both are wrong as far as the facts are concerned. Both push the deficit and the debt as the most important issue and both are carrying out the anti-social offensive. The fact that they are fighting each other reflects the growing movement against the anti-social offensive. As the effects of the anti-social offensive extend to broader sections of the people, there is no doubt that crime is going to increase. If a modern society does not look after its members, who will? Families, communities and charities do not have the resources nor the organizing power to pool enough resources to meet the people's basic needs. The youth especially are going to turn to whatever means necessary to survive. Violent Bonnie and Clyde type confrontations are going to increase as poverty reaches wider and wider circles. A genuinely national government in the hands of the people would put an immediate end to the anti-social offensive to prevent any further deterioration of the standard of living of the people. However, the Liberal government is neither genuinely national nor is it in the hands of the people, and the Ontario government makes no bones about serving only those who possess wealth. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6097] Re: Pins and Needles
Breen, Nancy wrote: Did this end up being the Pajama Game, with Doris Day, in the 1950s? The story IS about labor relations, with Doris as the shop steward. The conflict is she falls in love with the boss' lackey. Likely a revision on the ILGWU version if there's any relation. I've never seen the Pajama Game, but I do remember a song from Pins and Needles called "It's Better With a Union Man" that starts with: I'll tell you the story of Bertha, who worked at the Sears pants machine The song goes on to note a "non-union man with a leer" who hits on Bertha. Now I'll have to rent the Pajama Game to find out if there's anything to this. Thanks for the tip. M.S.
[PEN-L:6100] Re: Future Nobel laureate
Date sent: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 14:17:33 -0700 (PDT) Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Jim Westrich [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:[PEN-L:6096] Future Nobel laureate From the Wall Street Journal, Sept. 10th, *Work Week* column, TEACHERS' UNIONS hamper student achievement, a new study argues. School districts with teachers' unions have higher dropout rates, a study just published by the Quarterly Journal of Economics says. Caroline Hoxby, an assistant professor of economics at Harvard University, analyzed the high-school dropout rates at more than 10,000 school districts before and after they were unionized between 1970 and 1990, and discovered that districts had higher dropout rates after unionization. The study may help solve the mystery of why increasing school spending often has no effect on student achievement, says Larry Katz, the journal's editor. Once unionization's effects are controlled, measures such as raising teacher salaries seem to improve student achievement, Ms. Hoxby says. Nonunionized schools may be targeting spending more, she says, increasing entering teachers' pay rather than of all teachers uniformly. But the National Education Association calls the study, "hogwash," saying it is ridiculous to measure achievement only by dropout rates. Other smaller-scale studies show that unionization has slight positive effects, says Morris Kleiner, a University of Minnesota professor, including one that compared test scores of children in unionized and nonunionized districts. Jim Westrich Institute on Disability and Human Development University of Illinois at Chicago "Rags, old iron; all he was buying were rags and old iron." RESPONSE: I plan to use this one as a perfect example of the post hoc and correlation equals causation fallacies. Perhaps the causality runs this way: feudal/fascist -increased need for a union\ administrators \ correlation \ / \-increased spending---higher dropout rates on big offices/perks decreased spending on stimulating and relevant educational programs Both increased unionization and higher dropout rates are dependent variables and a function of overpaid, underworked, megalomaniacal, narcissistic, uninspired and uninspiring feudal/fascist administrators who create the climate that leads to both the need for increased unionization and higher dropout rates. Jim Craven *--* * James Craven *"Concern for man himself must always * * Dept of Economics* constitute the chief objective of* * Clark College* all technological effort, concern* * 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. * for the big, unsolved problems of* * Vancouver, Wa. 98663 * how to organize human work and the * * (360) 992-2283 * distribution of commodities in such * * [EMAIL PROTECTED] * a manner as to assure that the * * * results of our scientific thinking * * * may be a blessing to mankind,and not * * * a curse. * * *Never forget this when you are* * * pondering over your diagrams and * * * equations!" * * * (Albert Einstein, Speech at Cal. * * *Inst. Technology Feb, 16, 1931) * * MY EMPLOYER HAS NO ASSOCIATION WITH MY PRIVATE/PROTECTED OPINION *
[PEN-L:6101] Re: What did Herb say?
I do not think that rehashing the incident will serve much of a purpose. I sent Herb's statement to the list because I thought that it was was mostly a sincere apology, for which we can be grateful. Herb is not on pen-l and will probably not read much of this unless someone forwards it to him. Blair Sandler wrote: Actually, Herb, I stand by my statement. My notes from your European History Class (Fall 1982), indicate that you said, "History is made by elites." [or perhaps "the elite"] -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 916-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6102] Re: INFORMATION: HOW SUBSCRIBE.
Here is the info you requested: Dear Penners, This is an occasional reminder of some of the listserv commands at your disposal. The commands have been capitalized for emphasis. These commands should be sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you are going to be away and want to postpone messages from pen-l send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and in the message type: SET pen-l MAIL POSTPONE== postpones one's mail SET pen-l MAIL ACK == unpostpone one's mail To unsubscribe from pen-l, please mail listproc the message UNSUB pen-l == two word command Most common mistakes: 1. The inclusion of personal names with the unsub request. 2. Punctuation marks near the two wordsE.g., "unsub pen-l" rather than unsub pen-l unsub pen-l rather than unsub pen-l unsub pen-l. rather than unsub pen-l unsub pen-l rather than unsub pen-l 3. Trying to unsubscribe from an (internet) .edu address when your subscription is registered under a .bitnet address. To determine the address under which you are subscribed, send [EMAIL PROTECTED] the two word request. This request will also give you a list of all subscribers. REVIEW Pen-l If your efforts to unsub have been frustrated, please write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] rather than taking your problem to the list. It is helpful to forward a copy the of mail from [EMAIL PROTECTED] that shows the source of your problem. If you would like to receive pen-l messages in batches or digests several times per week instead of message-by-message, send the following command to [EMAIL PROTECTED] SET pen-l MAIL DIGEST If you want to return to message-by-message mail, use the command SET pen-l MAIL ACK If you want to see an index of the logs of past messages and other files send (to [EMAIL PROTECTED]) the command INDEX pen-l The list of files returned from the index command are retrievable with the get command. If, for example, you are interested in messages from January 94, you send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and in the body of the message type GET pen-l JAN94 For friends who would like to subscribe, please have them send the four/five word cmd SUB pen-l Firstname Lastname REMEMBER: All of these commands should be sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 916-898-5321 916-898-6141 messages E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6103] re: rethinking overdetermination
Just one more note on music. In my original post I mentioned Joe Hill -- labor organizer and singer. His medium was what I think of as 'snide, sarcastic folk'. Now, it is true that folk music has been co-opted by alot of upper class types, but, Joe Hill was put to death on a frame up because of his labor organizing. If that isn't pro-labor, I don't know what is! maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6104] Illusions About Full Employment
Clinton's recent welfare cuts have been estimated to take $55 billion away from 36 million Americans who rely on federal assistance. The vast majority are women and children. One in four of all American children depend on some form of federal welfare. But what will it do to those capitalists who are dependent on people receiving the welfare? Cuts in welfare reflect a sharpening of the contradictions amongst the capitalists as well as between the capitalists and the working class. One of the persistent excuses in reducing welfare is to force into employment those who Clinton says "refuse to work." The same argument arises in Canada with workfare which exists in one form or another in many provinces. These governments are not serious about providing work for all since full employment is not a goal under capitalism. Nor is full employment possible under capitalism whose motive for production is making maximum profits - it is not the wellbeing of the people. Jobs are incidental to making maximum capitalist profit. Capitalism cannot provide for all. Full employment and the guarantee of a livelihood for all requires moving society beyond its present level. It means developing new arrangements among human beings, especially at the workplace. The propaganda about putting welfare recipients to work is 1) to cover up the failure of the capitalist system which provides poverty at one pole and riches at the other, and keeps discarding ever larger sections of the population; and 2) to wage inter-capitalist battles for profit using attacks on the most vulnerable as a cover. Such measures, far from overcoming the problems under capitalism, will aggravate them. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6105] South Korean Gangsterism
Agents of south Korea's Agency for National Security, mandated to implement that country's fascist National Security Law which outlaws any sentiments or activities which in any way bring together Koreans from north and south, including letter writing to one another, are operating abroad with impunity. In Germany, on August 8, such agents raided in broad daylight, the Joint Secretariat Office of the National Alliance of Youth and Students for the Country's Reunification (Pomchonghakryon) in Berlin. This was a bid to kidnap the delegates from the South Korean Federation of Student Councils (Hangchongyon) who were en route to Pyongyang to take part in the 7th Pan-National Rally and the 6th Grand Reunification Festival of Pomchonghakryon. This is yet another example of white terror and a gross violation of international law and human rights. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6106] Re: A Labor Party in Buffalo?
Jerry, Thanks for the suggestion but I don't think it is worth the battle from the outside so you need not do anything. On the inside, there are chapters who are concerned and a Chapters' Bulletin is coming out soon which will address it and that will get the word out more (I didn't write that). It's clearly the case the Buffalo issue has received withspread recognition inside the Labor Party and has helped open some eyes. Who said, "in every defeat there is victory"? There is a political reason why other chapters have not been more active on the issue. Many of the most progressive in the Party are the most anti-Democratic Party. When they hear the Buffalo case, their initial reaction in some cases is hesitation. Others see more clearly the importance of solidarity around constitutional violations. The Buffalo situation is also a bit difficult for some to see. Tom Fricano, the UAW leader opposing Paxon, is first and foremost a unionist, not a Democrat. Maybe people see "white" (bourgeois) when the hear Democrat, and more or less ignore or are not interested in his union work. Actually, I am very supportive of forming a new political party in the U.S. based on workers, but it is not so obvious to me that the best way to get there is to have such party turn its back on unionists who have yet broken from Democrats. In any case, what the LP leadership did to the Buffalo Chapter is a very clear message how they want to run the show. Paul On Mon, 9 Sep 1996, Gerald Levy wrote: Paul: I am appalled by the treatment you and the Buffalo Chapter received from the Labor Party national leadership. To put it mildly, such undemocratic and bureaucratic fiats do not help the LP realize the potential that it has to challenge the bourgeois political parties. I am also dismayed that *you* had to be the one to tell us about this action -- I would have hoped that chapters across the country would have protested this action and publicized your case. Is there anything that you would suggest for those of us who wish to protest the Labor Party leadership's decision? In PEN-L Solidarity, Jerry
[PEN-L:6107] Strike In Palestine
Palestinians closed their shops and businesses throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem on Thursday August 29, to protest Israel's expansion of settlements, the wanton destruction of a Palestinian youth center in East Jerusalem by the Israeli army, the refusal by the Israeli army to hand over control of Hebron and the six month border closure and travel restrictions imposed on most Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority also issued a call for mass prayers on Friday August 30, at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem even though most Palestinians are barred from entering that part of Jerusalem. Reports say that Israel moved in large numbers of troops around Jerusalem to prevent anyone from entering the city. In another development the Canadian government officially protested Israel's demolition of a $41,000 playground paid for by Canadian taxpayers. The playground was part of a community youth center in a Palestinian quarter of Jerusalem that was destroyed by the Israeli army Tuesday night. "We find it to be regrettable and provocative and we are conveying that to the government of Israel," Canadian Foreign Affairs spokesperson Rodney Moore said. "We are not satisfied with the explanation provided by Israel to justify the actions taken," Moore added. The situation in Palestine is one of no war-no peace which the U.S. imperialists favor at the moment in order to prepare conditions to impose an imperialist peace. Unless the interference of the foreign imperialists is overcome no genuine peace is possible that will right the historic wrongs done to the Palestinian people. The Israeli state is behaving in the most arrogant manner possible as it thinks that U.S. imperialism will always be there to rescue it from the disasters of its own making. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:6108] Re: Pins and Needles
Just saw a summer stock production of Pajama Game a few weeks ago, and I don't recall hearing these lyrics. In this version at least, the plot was a bit different. The "lackey" was the hero, the young management type who sets the troglodyte boss straight and convinces him to grant a raise, thus letting management and labor live happily together forever after. Walter Daum On Tue, 10 Sep 1996 14:32:57 -0700 (PDT) Max B. Sawicky said: Breen, Nancy wrote: Did this end up being the Pajama Game, with Doris Day, in the 1950s? The story IS about labor relations, with Doris as the shop steward. The conflict is she falls in love with the boss' lackey. Likely a revision on the ILGWU version if there's any relation. I've never seen the Pajama Game, but I do remember a song from Pins and Needles called "It's Better With a Union Man" that starts with: I'll tell you the story of Bertha, who worked at the Sears pants machine The song goes on to note a "non-union man with a leer" who hits on Bertha. Now I'll have to rent the Pajama Game to find out if there's anything to this. Thanks for the tip. M.S.
[PEN-L:6109] Divine oops
Also, Margolis is not named Howard, but Lynn. But I can't remember the name of that book, which I want to read - Jim? anybody? Thanks, Lisa
