[PEN-L:8104] Mobs put City under siege
eletronic Telegraph ISSUE 1485 Saturday 19 June 1999 Mobs put City under siege By David Millward, George Trefgarne and Peter Foster Carnival turns into nightmare Protest part of global plan Strange mix of defiance and pot plant barricades AN anti-capitalist demonstration in the City of London deteriorated into violence yesterday as protesters pelted police with bricks and bottles and attacked financial institutions, causing widespread damage. After more than six hours of rioting and vandalism by up to 4,000 protesters, one woman was known to be in hospital after falling under the wheels of a police van. There were also reports that four police officers received hospital treatment and a male protester was also injured in an incident with a police van. Shops, buildings and monuments in the Square Mile were left damaged or defaced. The "Carnival Against Capitalism" was organised to attract environmental protesters and opponents of capitalism to the City, one of the world's leading financial centres. In its early stages yesterday morning, the demonstration passed with little trouble as massed ranks of cyclists brought traffic to a standstill and other protesters staged sit-ins in a number of buildings. Police and staff in the institutions adopted a low-key approach in what was, generally, a good-natured atmosphere. After lunch, however, when it became evident that many protesters had been drinking heavily, the mood became violent. A large crowd gathered outside Liverpool Street station, with police avoiding any conflict, but then split into four groups, which moved in different directions through the City. The City of London force - which deployed up to 800 officers, many in riot gear, with support from the Metropolitan and British Transport police - said these groups started to use "gratuitous and unprovoked" violence against officers. Cars were attacked, buildings, statues and seating were damaged. A bar was attacked and a branch of McDonalds in Cannon Street was wrecked. Tube and mainline stations were closed as police tried to contain protesters who, in some cases, seemed bent on confrontation. In some of the worst violence, several hundred protesters smashed down the doors of the Liffe building, London's futures market. They were repelled by security staff who reversed the escalators, sending the demonstrators tumbling
[PEN-L:8118] Re: Dry goods 2000
Max Sawicky wrote, And the Emmy for most inscrutable e-mail post of the year goes to . . . Gore-Tex (gôr'teks , gohr'-) Trademark . . . Hey, Max, it's still early in the year. If you think that was inscrutable, wait 'til you see Chapter 13 of Descending Mount Pelerin! regards, Tom Walker http://www.vcn.bc.ca/timework/worksite.htm
[PEN-L:8117] goodbye to Kosmet
This will be my last commentary on the situation in Kosmet. At the end of my session today I shall log off both pen-l and lbo-talk again, probably for an extended time. I shall still be on pkt where I am on the Board of Moderators, whoop de doo. The Subject heading on this is no accident. Although Noam Chomsky refers to it as this, and this has been the politically correct among Serbs way to refer to this province of the Serbian Republic of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, henceforth I shall refer to it as just "Kosovo" and not "Kosovo-Metohija," but not "Kosova" either. It is clear that Kosovo will now be in a quasi-Chechnya condition, technically, officially, de jure what is described above, but de facto independent, and certainly autonomous, although obviously not fully so given what will be its effective status as officially a UN protectorate but effectively a NATO one, with a lot of outside oversight and control. I hate to admit it, but given the clear unreliability and tendency to revenge and general viciousness of the UCK/KLA, this will probably be a Good Thing, more or less, at least better than the obvious alternatives available for now. I for one have to admit that I was at least partly wrong about this. I thought the war would go on much longer, that' the Serbs would hold out much longer. I am glad that I was wrong about that. I understand that there are people on these lists who are unhappy about this, who wanted very much for a clear Serbian victory. If this could have been achieved quickly and reasonably bloodlessly, and without all the horrible stuff that was done to the Albanian Kosovars, that would have been fine, maybe. But it was not a possibility. Of course a low moment in all these discussions, which I think have been very stimulating, was the infamous remark of Mark Jones when he declared of the exile of the Albanian Kosovars that this was a matter of "good riddance to bad rubbish." I think that prior to producing that sterling piece of brilliance, he must have consumed about half of that case of Lagavulin that he is still expecting from Max Sawicky. I don't see much point in hashing over the old arguments about this war. We have all had a lot to say, some of it smart, some of it not, some of it impassioned, some of it not, blah blah. Obviously there are some very nasty actors on both the Serbian and Albanian sides. The sooner they are all gotten under control, the better. Maybe we are about to see that. As for the economics, well, I forecast that Kosovo will probably get something like what Albania has. That is nothing to write home about, a gangster type of capitalism. I do not see any great achievement of a "silk road to oil" coming out of this. Given that the US and EU will give no aid to Yugoslavia and have it under an embargo, I do not see any quick rebuilding of the bridges on the Danube that will allow the traffic on the Danube to flow so well. Slobodan Milosevic is a war criminal and should be thrown out of office by the Serbs. But I see nothing to be gained by this embargo against Yugoslavia. This will simply sow more seeds of hatred and war and retribution in the region. Perhaps the US and the EU have been out to undo Serbian socialism, such as it is, but it persists in its odd form in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I continue to see the real systemic struggle going on in Slovenia where the EU is trying to enforce an opening to foreign capital. There the best remnants of the old Yugoslav economic system persist, but are under pressure from outside to conform. The role of the EU as the main actor in this really stands out very strongly. This was very definitely a matter of Euro-periphery pacification, with the aid of the US and Canada. In any case, goodbye Kosmet! I welcome messages from anybody and remind folks that my website is at http://cob.jmu.edu/rosserjb. I have recently put several more papers up on it. Take care everybody! Barkley Rosser Professor of Economics James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA 22807 USA
[PEN-L:8116] Intro textbook recommendations
A good friend of mine who teaches high school Advanced Placement economics has asked me for a textbook recommendation. She has been using Heilbroner's intro text for years. But that is getting out of date, and apparently no new editions are forthcoming. I think she would like something that is as close to Heilbroner as possible, in two senses: something that is very well-written and therefore accessible to high school students; and something that is progressive in its slant, though which still has a mainstream framework in which it is asking questions. Whatever she decides, she, and her school, will have to live with for a long time. Unlike at universities, the school, not the student, buys the books, so the money comes out of very tight budgets. I would welcome recommendations. Please feel free to just send them to me directly. Regards, Bob Pollin Robert Pollin Department of Economics and Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) Univesity of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA 01003-7510 (413) 577-0126 (office); (413) 545-2921 (fax); (413) 545-6355 (PERI office); (413) 549-8796 (home) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:8115] Re: debt relief?
I know that the reaction on the part of debt forgiveness activists will be that this does not go far enough, and that all the debt should be wiped clean. I agree with them, but I don't like the strategic move they made many months ago to focus their efforts on just the poorest countries. The global macroeconomic effects of the debt overhang are devastating and derive primarily from the debts of the non-poorest, such as Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc. Without substantial writedown for these countries, we are still facing a fundamental distortion that not only holds down economic growth but increases the pressures for "competitiveness" and provides continuing leverage for the neoliberal lords of credit. The Jubilee folks chose a politically achievable goal by restricting their demands to the poorest debtors, but they gave up on one of the core issues of the global political economy. Peter Jim Devine wrote: from SLATE: All papers front the announcement by the G7 that it intends to relieve the world's poorest nations of about half of their debt, totaling $65-$70 billion dollars, provided they steer the savings to education and health programs, particularly AIDS prevention. The G7 countries, at a summit meeting to discuss the war in Kosovo and relations with Russia, said up to 70 percent of the debt, or $90 billion, could be relieved if other nations pitch in. Any comments? does anybody know more about this Jubilee 2000 than the official media are reporting? Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/JDevine.html
[PEN-L:8114] Re: Economics websites
Most penellers probably know about Resources for Economists on the Internet, which is copious and invaluable, but another useful service is the Scout Report on Business and Finance. This is a free e-mail subscription service, and it includes heterodox as well as mainstream items. It also posts a number of working paper series. Peter
[PEN-L:8113] RE: Dry goods 2000
And the Emmy for most inscrutable e-mail post of the year goes to . . . Gore-Tex (gôr'teks , gohr'-) Trademark . . .
[PEN-L:8112] RE: JKG
Michael Perelman wrote: Yes, but Galbraith is a principled liberal -- a rare bird these days. Actually under the Law of Proportionate Moral Distribution, principle among liberals is no less real than among the holier- than-thou left. Lyapunov proved it with his famous pentagonal matrices. Albert E.
[PEN-L:8111] start reading the General Theory
Pkters and pen-lers: It is time to start reading the General Theory for our discussion beginning in July. Instead of reading the GT chapter by chapter, I suggest we start modestly and first focus on chapters 2, 3 and 19. Also, paralleling these chapters you might want to read Paul Davidson's chapters 2 and 10 from his Post Keynesian Macroeconomic Theory book. Also, I want to recommend that we look at Peter Thirlwall's article in Vol. 21, No. 3 Spring, 199 JPKE titled "A second edition" of Keynes' General Theory". I haven't decided what date to start the discussion but probably around the 7th of July. The discussion will be moderated not so much for content but that the messages stick to the topics of discussion and no messages hinting of flaming will be allowed. I haven't decided which pkt list to use for the moderated discussion. But I just wanted people to have time to start reading. More later. -Ric Holt editor of pkt
[PEN-L:8110] Dry goods 2000
Gore-Tex (gôr'teks , gohr'-) Trademark 1. a breathable, water-repellent fabric laminate used on clothing, shoes, etc. Vel-cro (vel'kroh) Trademark 1. a fastening tape consisting of opposing pieces of nylon fabric, one with tiny hooks and the other with a dense pile, that interlock when pressed together, used as a closure on garments, luggage, etc. Tef-lon (tef'lon) 1. Trademark. a fluorocarbon polymer with slippery, nonsticking properties: used in the manufacture of electrical insulation, cookware coatings, etc. adj. 2. characterized by imperviousness to blame or criticism: a Teflon politician. regards, Tom Walker http://www.vcn.bc.ca/timework/worksite.htm
[PEN-L:8108] JKG
Michael Perelman wrote: Yes, but Galbraith is a principled liberal -- a rare bird these days. And certainly no enemy of socialism. Back in the early 1980s, when Monthly Review had a fire in its office, Galbraith signed an emergency fundraising letter for them. Back in the 1970s, he convinced the dean of UMass that it was OK to hire a bunch of Marxists in the econ department. And the new MR has a 50th anniversary greeting from JKG. Plus he gave me a blurb, so he must be all right! Doug
[PEN-L:8107] debt relief?
from SLATE: All papers front the announcement by the G7 that it intends to relieve the world's poorest nations of about half of their debt, totaling $65-$70 billion dollars, provided they steer the savings to education and health programs, particularly AIDS prevention. The G7 countries, at a summit meeting to discuss the war in Kosovo and relations with Russia, said up to 70 percent of the debt, or $90 billion, could be relieved if other nations pitch in. Any comments? does anybody know more about this Jubilee 2000 than the official media are reporting? Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/JDevine.html
[PEN-L:8105] KLA on the rampage
The Times (London), June 19, 1999, Saturday KLA 'beat man of 70 to death' Daniel McGrory in Pristina A gang of KLA fighters were accused yesterday of beating to death a 70-year old man whom they claimed was a Serb collaborator. German troops with Kfor discovered a KLA torture chamber when they moved into Prizren's former police headquarters. They found the old man tied to a chair and KLA men standing around the bloodstained room. He had been beaten for hours before he died. On the ground were knives, chains and a baseball bat with a nail in it. In other rooms the peacekeepers found another 20 elderly ethnic Albanians, all of whom had been beaten during hours of interrogation. One man had his leg smashed after KLA fighters had stamped on him. Most were so terrified they could not speak. This is the worst incident yet of what Kfor commanders complain is KLA mob rule in Prizren since the Serbs moved out. The local KLA commander's excuse to the officers was: "They were dealing with Serb collaborators and people who have been looting." Under the rules of engagement, the peacekeeping troops were unable to arrest the men. Questions had been asked about whether the German contingent had been firm enough in disarming the KLA; last night, however, KLA fighters were banned from carrying their weapons in public in Prizren from midnight. © 1999, LEXIS®-NEXIS®, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved. === The Washington Post , June 19, 1999, Saturday, Final Edition KLA Accused of Beating Gypsies; Discovery Raises Doubts About Rebels' Discipline John Ward Anderson, Washington Post Foreign Service PRIZREN, Yugoslavia, June 18 German NATO troops raided the former Serbian Interior Ministry police headquarters here today and disarmed about 25 ethnic Albanian rebels who apparently had imprisoned and severely beaten 15 elderly people, including a man found chained to a chair who had died, German army officials said. The prisoners, some chained to radiators, others with their hands bound behind their backs, had apparently been accused of collaborating with Serbs during the war. The German officer who led the raid said the captives, described as Gypsies, told German troops that rebels from the Kosovo Liberation Army had detained them for allegedly looting the homes of ethnic Albanians. The discovery came four days after the secessionist rebels returned triumphantly to Prizren in southern Kosovo following the withdrawal of Yugoslav army and Serbian police forces, and it serves as a reminder of the KLA's brutal reputation -- something that was frequently overlooked in recent months as the group became a convenient ally of NATO in its air war against Yugoslavia. U.S. officials have long considered the rebel group to be undisciplined and violent, and at one point called it a terrorist organization. That ended around the time the group became a significant political and military threat to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Today's discovery, however, highlights the pitfalls NATO could face in forging a working relationship with the rebels, who have taken up positions across Kosovo as Serbian forces withdraw. It also illustrates the challenges in transforming the KLA from a war-hardened guerrilla group to a modern, democratic political organization that respects human rights. In a search of the building, German soldiers found numerous torture instruments, including sticks with protruding nails, batons with chains and "special skewers," according to Lt. Col. Dietmar Jeserich, a German NATO spokesman. Soldiers said it appeared the instruments belonged to the Serbian police, and it was unclear if any had been used on the Gypsies. Officials said they found a darkroom with "lots of negatives," a munitions room with piles of grenades, antitank weapons, automatic rifles and other weapons and a stash of amphetamines with syringes. They also found a room containing more than 1,000 passports that apparently belonged to ethnic Albanians whose personal documents had been confiscated by Serbs as they fled the country during this spring's Serbian offensive in Kosovo, a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic. In a first step toward exerting NATO control here, German army officials announced today that, beginning at midnight tonight, KLA members will not be allowed to carry weapons openly or, starting Sunday, appear in uniform in public, under an agreement hammered out with senior KLA officials. Last week's peace agreement between NATO and Yugoslavia calls for the "demilitarization" of the rebels, although it is unclear whether this means they will be required to give up all their weapons. German NATO officers said today's search came after KLA officials were told to vacate all former police buildings in Prizren by noon. Shortly before 4 p.m., a NATO unit on routine patrol saw some rebels at the former headquarters of the special police, which the KLA had occupied earlier
[PEN-L:8106] Economics websites
Financial Times (London), June 12, 1999 Where to find an online guru: Peter Temple looks at web sites dealing with the news, analysis and hard numbers of economics Like it or loathe it, professional market watchers are slavish followers of economic statistics and the pronouncements of central bankers. Forewarned is forearmed. While you might not be able to anticipate how the market will react to that latest speech from Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, or the release of the UK unemployment figures, the internet can help in alerting you to the timing of major announcements. Often, it can also provide the actual text - helping to put pundits' remarks in context. Sites devoted to economics in general and economic statistics in particular fall into several categories. Newsy sites relay the impact of announcements as they happen; sites with economic commentary can help interpretation; and the sites of official statistics organisations can provide the hard numbers. Among the news sites, probably the best are Yahoo Finance (http://finance. yahoo.co.uk) and Bloomberg (www.bloomberg.co.uk). Yahoo's site, apart from allowing access to share prices and indices, has a menu of the latest Reuters financial and economic news stories. The bond market page on the Bloomberg site contains news stories specifically related to bond markets, which naturally include all the latest economic news. The Financial Times site at www.FT.com is also worth looking up for news of economics announcements and market reaction, as well as a useful archive of material from the newspaper. There are several excellent sites containing commentary on economic matters, including analysis of key statistics, both before and after the announcements. Dr Ed Yardeni is chief economist at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York. His Yardeni Economics Network site (www.yardeni.com) includes historical charts of important economic indicators, views on the year 2000 issue, selected research articles, and links to a large number of other sites relating to economics and investment. Another interesting site, also with a US bias, is the Dismal Scientist (www. dismal.com). Named after Thomas Carlyle's gloomy description of economics, this site contains analysis of economic statistics in the US and other industrialised countries. It is easy to navigate and users can register for what the site terms a "dismal delivery" of email notification when a particular page is updated. UK users, for instance, could ask to be updated when new commentary is posted on UK GDP figures, unemployment or some other key statistic. Among home-grown pundits, Professor Tim Congdon's Lombard Street Research now has a site (www.lombard-st.co.uk) which allows free access to regular daily and monthly commentaries on the economics scene in general, although would-be users have to register first. One of the best offerings, however, comes from the economics consultancy IDEAGlobal. This organisation makes its money from subscription-based services sold to professional investors. Its Intermoney site (www.intermoney.com) has clearly laid out and pithily written analysis of economic announcements and developments in a wide range of world markets. It features an unusual "ask an analyst" button - users can put questions by e-mail to the appropriate analyst at the firm. Access is free and although registration is required, a name and email address are all that have to be revealed. There is a plethora of sites from national statistics organisation and supranational bodies. In the US, the best resources for numbers relevant to the financial markets is the Financial Statistics Briefing Room (www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr). The Federal Reserve has additional information, including the text of Greenspan's all-important speeches, at http://bog.frb.usa/releases. The Bank of England, Treasury and Office for National Statistics (ONS) all have sites. The Bank of England's site (www.bank ofengland.co.uk) has improved of late and now includes, for example, the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee. Among interesting features at the Treasury site (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk) is a large table summarising the detailed forecasts for a variety of economic variables submitted by leading investment banks, brokers and other independent forecasters. This single page, regularly updated, is in my view the best snapshot of market expectations for UK economic numbers. You can register on the Treasury site to receive news releases by e-mail, although the problem with this service is that many releases are less than relevant to the average investor. The ONS site (www.ons.gov.uk) offers free access to much published data, but only via a convoluted method of downloading likely to prove a turn-off to many web users. In other countries, national statistics organisations generally have web sites but the quality varies considerably. The UK's ONS is about average. Measured on whether or not they
