Re: [Marxism] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, China, and Green Technology
Hi Michael, This is what comes up when I click on the link you gave: You are not allowed to edit this post. --- Dogan Göcmen (http://dogangocmen.wordpress.com/) Author of The Adam Smith Problem: Reconciling Human Nature and Society in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations, I. B. Tauris, LondonNew York 2007 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, China, and Green Technology
I got it Michael, it is on the front page of your web site. - Dogan Göcmen (http://dogangocmen.wordpress.com/) Author of The Adam Smith Problem: Reconciling Human Nature and Society in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations, I. B. Tauris, LondonNew York 2007 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Voting with feet, not commendable in Argentina Re: China's high speed rail plans
Néstor Gorojovsky wrote: The day you overcome your liberal-progressive worship of those national movements that, in fact, seek to destroy larger national movements that tend to supersede imperialist domination, that day, you will begin to understand something in this terrain. In the meanwhile, learn. http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/state_and_revolution/argentina3.htm Juan Perón Coming to terms with Juan Perón is necessary for two reasons. Firstly, Perónism remains an important element of Argentine politics today, especially in the labor movement. Secondly, in many ways Hugo Chavez is a Perón-like figure. For Marxists, such figures present a significant challenge. If we are for socialism, what is our attitude toward figures struggling against imperialism but who are not socialists? For some socialists, however, Perón was not in a progressive struggle with imperialism. He is seen as some kind of Bonapartist caudillo at best, or fascist at worst. Before attempting to address the question of what Perón stood for, it is necessary to review the economic problems that faced Argentina prior to his ascendancy. By the early 20th century, Argentina had already become dominated by a coalition of the local ruling classes based on the ranching, grain growing in the pampas; and the import-export and financial sectors in Buenos Aires, which supported the agrarian economy. The city's proximity to the pampas made it the political and commercial hub of the country, just as New York City was for the USA. These local fractions of the bourgeoisie had developed a very close relationship to Great Britain that relied on Argentina for its agricultural exports. The emergence of refrigerated ships ensured that meat could arrive in British seaports without any loss. Prior to this technical innovation, you had to ship livestock that naturally lost weight during the arduous trans-oceanic voyage. While this arrangement made Argentina relatively prosperous and allowed an upsurge of immigration, the economy was ultimately dependent on Great Britain. It also stunted local industrial growth since the relationship with Great Britain implied favoritism toward imported British manufactured goods. Local industry remained somewhat primitive and wage labor tended to be of an unskilled and part-time nature. The Radical Party mounted the first challenge to the entrenched class relationships. Their social base was in the petty proprietors, shopkeepers, intelligentsia, professionals and labor aristocracy of the cities and towns. The leadership, however, came mainly from landed interests that were shut out of the Argentina-England connection. Hipólito Yrigoyen, the Radical who became president in 1916 and again in 1928, was himself a small landowner. Despite the name Radical, the party was incapable of breaking completely with the pre-existing class system. Basically, it sought to extend both geographically and socially the system that had defined Argentina's past. As long as the economy continued to expand, the Radical Party did not pose a threat to the status quo. The dominant ranchers and bankers probably understood that the system needed loosening up for it to survive over the long haul. With such a low level of class struggle in a period of rising economic expectations, it is no wonder that some segments of the labor movement developed reformist illusions. Corradi writes: The undisputed economic hegemony of the landed elite throughout this period of middle-class government is even more clearly revealed by the vicissitudes of the Argentine socialist movement. That movement was born in the 1880's when inflation devoured the incomes of the incipient working class. With the subsequent expansion of Argentine exports, the favorable terms of trade stabilized the currency. Thus, the success of the elite's economic program won for them the support of the socialists, who from then on sought reform and not revolution. Social mobility also contributed to the bourgeois tendencies of the socialists. Eventually they became junior partners of the establishment. These are the historical roots of a spectacle that would puzzle some observers in 1945, when socialists and communists demonstrated against Perón in the company of reactionary landlords. After Yrigoyen's re-election in 1928, things changed radically. With the stock market crash, the prices of meat and grain fell. Consequently, Argentina's gold reserves flowed outward to pay for imported goods. Multiplier effects worsened the economy overall and before long Argentina was in a deep social and economic crisis comparable to the one being suffered today. General discontent provoked the dominant landed and banking sectors to back a military coup against Yrigoyen and on September 6, 1930 General José Felix Uriburu came to power. Despite being thrust into power by the old agrarian ruling class, the military junta was forced
[Marxism] Life insurance now being bundled like subprime mortgages
NY Times, September 6, 2009 Back to Business Wall Street Pursues Profit in Bundles of Life Insurance By JENNY ANDERSON After the mortgage business imploded last year, Wall Street investment banks began searching for another big idea to make money. They think they may have found one. The bankers plan to buy “life settlements,” life insurance policies that ill and elderly people sell for cash — $400,000 for a $1 million policy, say, depending on the life expectancy of the insured person. Then they plan to “securitize” these policies, in Wall Street jargon, by packaging hundreds or thousands together into bonds. They will then resell those bonds to investors, like big pension funds, who will receive the payouts when people with the insurance die. The earlier the policyholder dies, the bigger the return — though if people live longer than expected, investors could get poor returns or even lose money. Either way, Wall Street would profit by pocketing sizable fees for creating the bonds, reselling them and subsequently trading them. But some who have studied life settlements warn that insurers might have to raise premiums in the short term if they end up having to pay out more death claims than they had anticipated. The idea is still in the planning stages. But already “our phones have been ringing off the hook with inquiries,” says Kathleen Tillwitz, a senior vice president at DBRS, which gives risk ratings to investments and is reviewing nine proposals for life-insurance securitizations from private investors and financial firms, including Credit Suisse. “We’re hoping to get a herd stampeding after the first offering,” said one investment banker not authorized to speak to the news media. In the aftermath of the financial meltdown, exotic investments dreamed up by Wall Street got much of the blame. It was not just subprime mortgage securities but an array of products — credit-default swaps, structured investment vehicles, collateralized debt obligations — that proved far riskier than anticipated. The debacle gave financial wizardry a bad name generally, but not on Wall Street. Even as Washington debates increased financial regulation, bankers are scurrying to concoct new products. In addition to securitizing life settlements, for example, some banks are repackaging their money-losing securities into higher-rated ones, called re-remics (re-securitization of real estate mortgage investment conduits). Morgan Stanley says at least $30 billion in residential re-remics have been done this year. Financial innovation can be good, of course, by lowering the cost of borrowing for everyone, giving consumers more investment choices and, more broadly, by helping the economy to grow. And the proponents of securitizing life settlements say it would benefit people who want to cash out their policies while they are alive. But some are dismayed by Wall Street’s quick return to its old ways, chasing profits with complicated new products. “It’s bittersweet,” said James D. Cox, a professor of corporate and securities law at Duke University. “The sweet part is there are investors interested in exotic products created by underwriters who make large fees and rating agencies who then get paid to confer ratings. The bitter part is it’s a return to the good old days.” Indeed, what is good for Wall Street could be bad for the insurance industry, and perhaps for customers, too. That is because policyholders often let their life insurance lapse before they die, for a variety of reasons — their children grow up and no longer need the financial protection, or the premiums become too expensive. When that happens, the insurer does not have to make a payout. But if a policy is purchased and packaged into a security, investors will keep paying the premiums that might have been abandoned; as a result, more policies will stay in force, ensuring more payouts over time and less money for the insurance companies. “When they set their premiums they were basing them on assumptions that were wrong,” said Neil A. Doherty, a professor at Wharton who has studied life settlements. Indeed, Mr. Doherty says that in reaction to widespread securitization, insurers most likely would have to raise the premiums on new life policies. Critics of life settlements believe “this defeats the idea of what life insurance is supposed to be,” said Steven Weisbart, senior vice president and chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group. “It’s not an investment product, a gambling product.” After Mortgages Undeterred, Wall Street is racing ahead for a simple reason: With $26 trillion of life insurance policies in force in the United States, the market could be huge. Not all policyholders would be interested in selling their policies, of course. And investors are not interested in healthy people’s policies because they would have to pay those premiums for too long, reducing
[Marxism] Socialist Voice: China / Fidel / Class / US Health Care
SOCIALIST VOICE Marxist Perspectives for the 21st Century http://www.socialistvoice.ca September 6, 2009 SUFFERING AND STRUGGLE IN RURAL CHINA http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=584 Is China killing the goose whose golden eggs have financed its economic upsurge? John Riddell reviews “Will the Boat Sink the Water,” a gripping first-hand portrayal of the suffering and struggles of Chinese peasants today. FIDEL: A TIME TO UNITE AND MARCH TOGETHER http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=580 The establishment of seven U.S. military bases in Colombia poses a direct threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the other peoples of South and Central America with which our national heroes dreamed of creating the great Latin American homeland. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New in LeftViews LeftViews is Socialist Voice's forum for articles related to rebuilding the left in Canada and around the world, reflecting a wide variety of socialist opinion. All LeftViews articles are listed at http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?cat=58 CLASS AGAINST CLASS? REAL WORLD ALIGNMENTS FOR REVOLUTION http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=574 Mike Ely of the Kasama Project says it is not true that we need to unite the working class as a prerequisite for a socialist revolution. Rather we should seek to unite working people and other oppressed people around a radical, socialist program. WILL U.S. HEALTH REFORMS HARM WORKING PEOPLE? http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=600 Fred Feldman, a long-time Marxist activist in the United States, argues that the left should not automatically dismiss the concerns of some opponents of proposed U.S. health care reforms. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Other recent articles: 'BLACK BOOK' EXPOSES CANADIAN IMPERIALISM http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=567 AFGHAN WOMEN’S RIGHTS LEADER SAYS FOREIGN TROOPS SHOULD LEAVE http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=539 TWO ACCOUNTS OF ENGELS’ REVOLUTIONARY LIFE http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=534 CLIMATE JUSTICE: RED IS THE NEW GREEN http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=526 WORLD FARMERS’ ALLIANCE CHALLENGES FOOD PROFITEERS http://www.socialistvoice.ca/?p=395 * SOCIALIST VOICE Web: http://www.socialistvoice.ca Email: socialistvo...@sympatico.ca Editors: Ian Angus, Roger Annis, John Riddell Associate Editor: Mike Krebs Readers are encouraged to forward or distribute Socialist Voice as widely as possible. To subscribe, send a blank email to socialist-voice-subscr...@yahoogroups.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to socialist-voice-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com FEEDBACK: Socialist Voice welcomes questions, comments and debate on the articles we publish. Please use the `Feedback' box at the bottom of each article on our website. LINK DOESN'T WORK? Some email programs block links to websites. If clicking on a link in Socialist Voice doesn't work, try holding down the CTRL key as you click, or copy the link address into your browser. \ YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, China, and Green Technology
At 19:54 05/09/09 -0700, michael perelman wrote: One of the keys to Green Technology may be buried in China. Just responding to the alarmist title of this post Peak Rare Minerals, I don't see that there is a peak anything. When you point out that China produces ... 95 percent of neodymium that does NOT mean that there would ever be a shortage of it if it weren't exported by China. According to Wikipedia, the earth's crust contains 38 ppm of neodymium, a huge amount considering its limited use. If they aren't mining much of it elsewhere, I'm sure that is just because it is cheaper to obtain from China. Another claim I hear a lot is that the war in the Congo is driven by minerals, which I don't deny, but then the narrative goes on to say that Mobile phones are dependent on Coltan (tantalum) mined in the Congo as if this were a critical source for the mineral. Actually only a small amount of the world's tantalum is mined from that region. What's more, tantalum isn't necessarily required to manufacture modern electronics, it is only used to replace old fashioned electrolytic capacitors with the smaller variety made from tantalum. Those capacitors are just a tiny portion of the volume of a telephone and you'd never know the difference if tantalum weren't used. I don't think that there will be a peak of any mineral, because when the price goes up, they just find ways of obtaining it from methods which cost more. For instance, the production of oil from the tar sands in Canada becomes profitable with the rise in the price of oil, but then will become a large extra source of oil whenever the price exceeds that point. Same goes, I believe, for every mineral: it will be mined wherever and whenever it is profitable. And although I always hear about Peak Oil being some sort of disaster, I don't understand that because it would be a VERY GOOD thing if it were real! It would force a shift to greener energy BEFORE the CO2 level rises too high. Unfortunately there is little evidence of peak oil and it appears that the CO2 level WILL rise greatly because of the availability of oil and coal. Unless there is a different force for shifting energy production, but that clearly won't be the free market as long as there is an economic advantage in relying on fossil fuels. I'm not aware of any mineral that is reaching a peak in production as long as there is increasing demand, and I think that such headlines are alarmist and inaccurate. - Jeff YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Working Poorer; Increased Accumulation, Reduced Reproduction; Or Why the Recovery IS the Contraction
From the Financial Times of September 5/6: Families Take Up Food Stamps as Wages Shrink The number of working Americans turning to free government food stamps has surged as their hours and wages erode ...some 40 percent of the families on food stamps have 'earned income,' up from 25 percent two years ago. The agriculture department, which runs the programme, attributes this rise to workers have their hours cut back. I'm sort of stunned, it seems like a dire warning...that even the jobs people are retaining in this recession aren't at thewage level and hours level they need to provide for their families said Heidi Shierholz, economist at the Economic Policy Institute. ...The average working week is now about 33 hours, the lowest on record, while the number forced to work part-time has risen more than 50 percent in the past year to a record 8.8 million. YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: China /Fidel /Class/ U.S. Health Care
Fred Feldman wrote: About 50 million people are reported to have no health insurance of any kind. Source please? Greg McDonald YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, China, and Green Technology
Jeff, I agree with everything you said except your point about the word, peak. Mathematically, as long as a fixed supply exists, there will necessarily be a peak point in extraction. The debates about peak oil revolve around the question of the size of that fixed supply. You obviously understand that when you suggest that new methods of extraction might exist. Here are another problem arises because the extraction, as I understand it, requires removing an immense quantity of earth, then using solvents of some kind to separate out the minerals. In the case of gold, 1 ounce requires 30 tons of rock to be moved and then treated with cyanide. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: China /Fidel /Class/ U.S. Health Care S. Artesian
S. Artesian wrote: In 2003, US Census Bureau reported 45 milllion US residents without health insurance. http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p60-226.pdf Don't you agree that it should not be difficult to construct an extrapolation from these official 2003 estimates that would establish that, with the rise in layoffs and plant closures, the reduction in working hours and benefits generally in the past 4 years, including uninsured and unpolled immigrants, the number of those without health care by now stands at well more than 50 million? Ralph YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: China /Fidel /Class/ U.S. Health Care
Re: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: China /Fidel /Class/ U.S. Health Care S. Artesian I'm sorry, Les, I did it again. I forget to remove the name from my cut and paste. etter next time. Ralph YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: China /Fidel /Class/ U.S. Health Care S. Artesian
Sure. Actually more than sure. Like unemployment figures, I'm certain non-insured numbers are under-reported. Census Bureau has probably updated its figures. I just downloaded the 2003 figures years ago. - Original Message - From: Ralph Johansen mdriscol...@charter.net To: David Schanoes sartes...@earthlink.net Sent: Sunday, September 06, 2009 12:29 PM Subject: Re: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: China /Fidel /Class/ U.S. Health Care S. Artesian Don't you agree that it should not be difficult to construct an extrapolation from these official 2003 estimates that would establish that, with the rise in layoffs and plant closures, the reduction in working hours and benefits generally in the past 4 years, including uninsured and unpolled immigrants, the number of those without health care by now stands at well more than 50 million? Ralph YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: China /Fidel /Class/ U.S. Health Care
Ralph Johansen wrote: Don't you agree that it should not be difficult to construct an extrapolation from these official 2003 estimates that would establish that, with the rise in layoffs and plant closures, the reduction in working hours and benefits generally in the past 4 years, including uninsured and unpolled immigrants, the number of those without health care by now stands at well more than 50 million? Well put. Getting an accurate assessment might prove difficult, however. Anyone up for the task? Greg YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Voting with feet, not commendable in Argentina Re: China'shigh speed rail plans
Why do you say that? Clearly one can have differences with their tactics and strategy, but to say they were not a leftist group or were not to the left of Peron seems dubious and sectarian. Moreover, why then did the Peron regime and its successors do so much to repress and kill them? Surely you don't mean to suggest we shouldn't have solidarity with them? By that logic the Weathermen were to the right of Nixon? (BTW, there was an excellent three hour interview on C-SPAN2 last night with Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn) Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2009 00:07:44 -0300 From: nmg...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Marxism] Voting with feet, not commendable in Argentina Re:China'shigh speed rail plans To: t...@hotmail.com Look, Kosslof, if you think the Montoneros were in any way on Perón´s left, as most standard leftists in Arg believe, then you are so far away from Marxism that, as I guessed, it is pointless to discuss any of these issues with you. _ Get back to school stuff for them and cashback for you. http://www.bing.com/cashback?form=MSHYCBpubl=WLHMTAGcrea=TEXT_MSHYCB_BackToSchool_Cashback_BTSCashback_1x1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] *ANTI-POSCO STRUGGLE* - *APPEAL FOR SUPPORT*
ANTI-POSCO STRUGGLE* - *APPEAL FOR SUPPORT* *Friends,* For more than four years the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samity (PPSS) has been bravely resisting attempts to displace over 30,000 people in Jagatsinghpur District of Orissa by POSCO, a South Korean company, which wants to set up a steel company and a port on their lands. The US12 billion dollar project, being aggressively promoted by both Orissa and Indian governments, threatens the livelihood of thousands of agriculturists, workers, fisherfolks, rural artisans and small businesses in the area besides devastating the local environment and ecology. In the course of their peaceful and democratic non-violent struggle to prevent their lands from being forcibly acquired by POSCO, the members of PPSS have been brutally attacked by paid goons of the company and subjected to grueling economic blockades by the local administration. Several of their leaders, including Shri Abhay Sahu, veteran CPI leader in the area, have been put behind bars and false charges foisted on over 150 activists, both men and women. *Need For Doctors and Medicines: * As a result of all this there is now a grave medical emergency developing in the Erasama and Kujanga blocks of Jagatsinghpur district, the sites of the proposed land acquisition for the POSCO Steel Plant. There are dozens of activists who have fractured limbs due to violence by the company's hired musclemen, some of which include injuries from bomb attacks. They need orthopedic help and in some cases possibly even surgical intervention. Some women in the area are in late stages of pregnancy but unable to leave the area to get the medical care they need because of the fear of harassment and even arrest by the local police. Many other women have developed a range of gynecological problems that need urgent medical attention. There is severe malnutrition among children owing to the lack of income over the past few years as many local people have not been able to pursue their normal livelihoods because of the turmoil in the area. The general population of the affected villages also need help in combating malaria which is endemic to the area. There are also patients suffering from paralysis who need medical care. All these patients cannot go out and receive treatment because of the threat of arrests. Therefore, we appeal to you to help in mobilizing a support for a medical camp which can be organized by the anti-POSCO movement. Please contact; Satya Shivaram (0)9818514952, Prashant Kumar Paikray (0)9437571547 or K.P. Sasi (0)9945282056. *Protest on September 10: * A huge gathering of the people affected by POSCO will take place on September 10,, Balitutha, the entrance point of the proposed POSCO area. Many leaders of different anti-displacement struggles will address the gathering. The anti-POSCO movement appeals to all people's movements against displacement, movements against SEZ, mass organization leaders and like-minded activists to participate and express solidarity. *Need for Contributions:* There is an urgent need for contributions for the protest on September 10, medical care, legal defense and other expenses of the movement. We appeal to you to communicate to your friends and mobilize maximum support and inform Shri Prashant Kumar Paikray, the spokesperson of the movement (0)9437571547 at the earliest. *Send Letters of Protest:* The PPSS appeals to people all over India and around the world to show solidarity with the struggle by sending letters of protest to the Chief Minister of Orissa, Shri Naveen Patnaik, Naveen Nivas, Aerodrome Road P.O., Bhubaneswar, Orissa, Pin-751001, Email : c...@ori.nic.in, Fax - 0674 2400100 and the Prime Minister, Shri Manmohan Singh, Room No.148B, South Block, New Delhi-110001, Fax-011 23016857, 23015603. If copies of protest letters are sent to antiposcosolidar...@gmail.com it can help the process further. *Prashant Paikray, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samithy (PPSS)* *K.P.Sasi, Visual Search, **Bangalore* *Satya Sivaraman: **New Delhi*** *Magline Peter, Theeradesa Mahilavedi, Kerala* *Dhirendra Panda, Common Concern, Orissa* *Jagdish, New Socialist Alternative, **Bangalore*** *Rajaji Mathew, MLA, Chairperson, Kerala Legislative Assemby on Enviironment * *Anivar, Moving Republic, **Bangalore*** *(For Anti Posco Struggle Solidarity)* *antiposcosolid...@gmail.com* -- Click for exclusive coverage on the New Bajaj Pulsar 220 the fastest Indian bike http://www.zigwheels.com/Features/Bajaj-Pulsar-220-DTSi-Special-Coverage/Pul sar_20090623-1-1 ___ Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list marxist-leninist-l...@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at:
Re: [Marxism] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, China, and Green Technology
At 09:04 06/09/09 -0700, Michael Perelman wrote: Jeff, I agree with everything you said except your point about the word, peak. Mathematically, as long as a fixed supply exists, there will necessarily be a peak point in extraction. Well you've obviously studied the economics of this, but what I have seen about peak oil seems oversimplified in several ways. For instance, it is often said that the peak occurs when half of the fixed supply has been depleted, but there is no reason to assume that that should even be approximately true. The production might well just increase to meet demand right up to the exact end of the supply, if it were simply like emptying a big can of oil that suppliers had. I would imagine that a peak in production will occur at the point where the cost of producing energy using oil exceeds the costs of energy from other sources (which are coming down) so it would have as much to do with other forms of production (and energy demand), not just how much oil is left in the ground. But my main point was that there might NOT be a fixed supply to speak of, but rather a supply which just becomes more and more expensive to tap, so that the ultimate amount available doesn't really enter into it. That is even more true for minerals, since I believe the supply is virtually endless if you're willing to dig deeper and bigger mines (not that I want them to!). Here are another problem arises because the extraction, as I understand it, requires removing an immense quantity of earth, then using solvents of some kind Yes, that's not nice, but I thought you were originally addressing the economics of the matter. And in particular the implication that the Chinese might obtain a stranglehold on minerals needed for technological progress (in this case neodymium used for making the strongest permanent magnets for the most efficient and lightest motors and generators). If that were really a threat, then they would just gear up for mining it elsewhere. If they aren't doing that, it's because they trust the Chinese to continue supplying it at a better price. I think the discussion of such shortages has to do with the short-term price fluctuations that may concern industry and speculators, but the specter of any one country (or even a few countries) having long-term control of one essential resource doesn't seem like a real problem. They would find alternatives if and when they had to. to separate out the minerals. In the case of gold, 1 ounce requires 30 tons of rock to be moved and then treated with cyanide. Yes that's disgusting, especially when you consider how much of that gold will be used only for its symbolic value (rather than the utilitarian value gold has in plating contacts for electrical connectors etc.). Note that the proportion you just gave of 1 ppm of gold in the ore they mine, is much lower than the 38 ppm of neodymium over the entire earth (not to mention its abundance where they actually mine it), and the yearly production (again according to Wikipedia) is only 7000 tons (but surely rising rapidly). Also, there may be a semantic confusion involved. Neodymium is classified as a rare earth according to its position on the periodic chart, but that is just the name for elements of atomic number 57 to 71. It isn't nearly as rare as gold or platinum. Its production being dominated by China doesn't seem to be of long-term significance, as far as I can tell, and it certainly isn't facing any peak in production due to depletion. - Jeff YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Good critique of Walter Benn Michaels's NLR article
I am sorry but that is not a good critique of Benn Michaels. Like yours Louis it too is filled with strawperson arguments based on things that he never said. I am not going to get into specifics of his arguments, which I personally think he does not present very well, because it is clear that most are unable to maintain simple reading comprehension whenever someone mentions race and gender. A good critique would take what he actually says and show how some of it is empirically wrong and politically a bad tactic. I have yet to read such a critique and zero interest in writing it. Brad YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Good critique of Walter Benn Michaels's NLR article
brad bauerly wrote: I am sorry but that is not a good critique of Benn Michaels. Like yours Louis it too is filled with strawperson arguments based on things that he never said. I am not going to get into specifics of his arguments, which I personally think he does not present very well, because it is clear that most are unable to maintain simple reading comprehension whenever someone mentions race and gender. A good critique would take what he actually says and show how some of it is empirically wrong and politically a bad tactic. I have yet to read such a critique and zero interest in writing it. I don't think it is possible to mount a good critique of WBM (although I tried) because he speaks out of both sides of his mouth. His article reads like Jim Sleeper in one passage and like Rosa Luxemberg in another. That is his stratagem. He wants to be published in NLR rather than in Dissent Magazine. But when he says that anti-racism and anti-sexism are not part of the left, then he really betrays his backward tendencies. As I pointed out to a fellow named Will Shetterly who has been taking up WBM's cause on my blog, there's a long line of class trumping race or gender on the left, usually however published in Dissent rather than NLR. Here are some snippets that I posted on my blog. Tomasky, a rascal if there ever was one, sounds most like WBM: 1) Jim Sleeper: I stuck to my claims, including an insistence that more than a few whites are readier to let go of the old racist coordinates than are some blacks, who have sought a perverse kind of comfort in guilt-tripping whites by finding racism in every leaf that falls. (http://www.jimsleeper.com/?p=13) 2) Todd Gitlin: MR. WATTENBERG: And you think the left now has taken their eye off the ball. Is that more or less the idea? MR. GITLIN: I think that many people, perhaps most on the left, orat least most who are visible, have gone down a path in which theyare obsessed with what differs between them and one — one crowd and another. They are more obsessed with what divides them than what they have in common with the rest of humanity. MR. WATTENBERG: Who would these groups that engage in identity politics be, for specifics? MR. GITLIN: Many of them are so-called racial or ethnic minorities, or groups who are organized around their narrow group interest. They’re not all on the left, by the way. I mean, there’s also a right-wing version of identity politics, which is – full: http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript235.html 3) Michael Tomasky: Imagine! The principle of diversity supported by a mostly Republican group to such an extent that Congress was taken aback. The revolutionaries dropped it, left it to the courts. These corporations were in fact making a common-good argument to the revolutionaries: Diversity has served us well as a whole, enriched us. And it’s not just corporate America: All over the country, white attitudes on race, straight peoples’ attitudes toward gay people, have changed dramatically for the better. These attitudes have changed because liberals and (most) Democrats decided that diversity was a principle worth defending on its own terms. Put another way, they decided to demand of citizens that they come to terms with diversity. So it can work, this demanding. YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: China /Fidel /Class/ U.S. Health Care
I don't know that all that is necessary. 2009 Statistical Abstract of the US shows that for 2006, 47 million without health insurance, 15.8% of the population [est. at 250 million in 06]. So now we have a Census estimate of 300 million in the US-- 15.8% of with is what 47.4 million. Close enough to 50 million for government work. - Original Message - From: Greg McDonald saboca...@gmail.com To: David Schanoes sartes...@earthlink.net Sent: Sunday, September 06, 2009 1:04 PM Subject: Re: [Marxism] Socialist Voice: China /Fidel /Class/ U.S. Health Care YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, China, and Green Technology
On Sun, Sep 06, 2009 at 08:39:16PM +0200, Jeff wrote: I think the discussion of such shortages has to do with the short-term price fluctuations that may concern industry and speculators, but the specter of any one country (or even a few countries) having long-term control of one essential resource doesn't seem like a real problem. They would find alternatives if and when they had to. Yes, but to do so can require a decade or more. Note that the proportion you just gave of 1 ppm of gold in the ore they mine, is much lower than the 38 ppm of neodymium over the entire earth (not to mention its abundance where they actually mine it), and the yearly production (again according to Wikipedia) is only 7000 tons (but surely rising rapidly). You learn something everyday. Thanks. Also, there may be a semantic confusion involved. Neodymium is classified as a rare earth according to its position on the periodic chart, but that is just the name for elements of atomic number 57 to 71. It isn't nearly as rare as gold or platinum. Its production being dominated by China doesn't seem to be of long-term significance, as far as I can tell, and it certainly isn't facing any peak in production due to depletion. As Sartesian noted, the peak can come at any point. It cannot be known to have occurred unless the output in the last period exceed all the existing [not necessarily known] supply. Even then, you can redefine the peak by measuring it in terms of output per second rather than output per year. But a peak will occur nonetheless. I guess with all the baggage associated with peak, I could have used another term. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, China, and Green Technology
Agreed. On Sun, Sep 06, 2009 at 12:02:33PM -0700, nada wrote: Don't confuse rare earths elements and compounds with precious metals. One can say that all precious metals are rare earths but not all rare earths are precious metals. Most rare earths are sold by by the lbs/kilo and all precious metals are sold by the ounce. China does in fact have most *known* rare earths, other countries notwithstanding. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] A Different Environmental Threat: Peak Rare Minerals, China, and Green Technology
If Sartesian means that the extraction rates need not conform to the bell curve. I agree, but extraction must reach a peak before the supply is exhausted. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Voting with feet, not commendable in Argentina Re: China'shigh speed rail plans
Of course we should have given them all our solidarity. But they were certainly NOT TO THE LEFT OF Perón. Been explaining this on the list long ago. When and if I have time again will expand fully in the future. 2009/9/6 Tom Cod t...@hotmail.com: Why do you say that? Clearly one can have differences with their tactics and strategy, but to say they were not a leftist group or were not to the left of Peron seems dubious and sectarian. Moreover, why then did the Peron regime and its successors do so much to repress and kill them? Surely you don't mean to suggest we shouldn't have solidarity with them? By that logic the Weathermen were to the right of Nixon? (BTW, there was an excellent three hour interview on C-SPAN2 last night with Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn) Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2009 00:07:44 -0300 From: nmg...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Marxism] Voting with feet, not commendable in Argentina Re: China'shigh speed rail plans To: t...@hotmail.com Look, Kosslof, if you think the Montoneros were in any way on Perón´s left, as most standard leftists in Arg believe, then you are so far away from Marxism that, as I guessed, it is pointless to discuss any of these issues with you. _ Get back to school stuff for them and cashback for you. http://www.bing.com/cashback?form=MSHYCBpubl=WLHMTAGcrea=TEXT_MSHYCB_BackToSchool_Cashback_BTSCashback_1x1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/nmgoro%40gmail.com -- Néstor Gorojovsky El texto principal de este correo puede no ser de mi autoría YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
In a nutshell: * modern humans separated from Neanderthals around 300-400,000 years ago rather 500-600,000 years. * modern humans migrated out of Africa between 55-60,000 years ago rather than 70-80,000 years. * our African ancestral mother, the mitochondrial Eve lived around 110-130,000 years ago, rather than 150,000-200,000 years ago. full http://www.physorg.com/news171286860.html The second point, revising the out of Africa timing is of particular interest. ML YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
Mark Lause wrote: The second point, revising the out of Africa timing is of particular interest. Could you elaborate on this? Greg McD YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
In a message dated 9/6/2009 6:32:55 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, saboca...@gmail.com writes: The second point, revising the out of Africa timing is of particular interest. Could you elaborate on this? Greg McD Comment They also got more recent dates for other crucial events such as the age of our African ancestral mother, known as mitochondrial Eve, from who all recent humans (Homo sapiens) descended. She was found to have lived around 110-130,000 years ago, rather than previous estimates of 150,000-200,000 years ago. Versus . . . . (Genesis Revisted by Zecharia Sitchin pg 199 Chapter 9 “The Mother Called Eve.” Scanned from First Avon edition 1990. 17th printing.My personal copy of the book. “Because a person's DNA keeps getting mixed by the genes of the generational fathers, comparisons of the DNA in the nucleus of the cell (which come half from mother, half from father) do not work well after several generations. It was dis covered, however, that in addition to the DNA in the cell's nucleus, some DNA exists in the mother's cell but outside the nucleus in bodies called mitochondria (Fig. 62). This DNA does not get mixed with the father's DNA; instead, it is passed on unadulterated from mother to daughter to granddaughter, and so on through the generations. This discovery, by Douglas Wallace of Emory University in the 1980s, led him to compare this mtDNA of about 800 women. The surprising conclu sion, which he announced at a scientific conference in July 1986, was that the mtDNA in all of them appeared to be so similar that these women must have all descended from a single female ancestor. The research was picked up by Wesley Brown of the Uni versity of Michigan, who suggested that by determining the rate of natural mutation of mtDNA, the length of time that had passed since this common ancestor was alive could be calcu lated. Comparing the mtDNA of twenty-one women from di verse geographical and racial backgrounds, he came to the conclusion that they owed their origin to a single mitochon-drial Eve who had lived in Africa between 300,000 and 180,000 years ago. These intriguing findings were taken up by others, who set out to search for Eve. Prominent among them was Rebecca Cann of the University of California at Berkeley (later at Hawaii University). Obtaining the placentas of 147 women of different races and geographical backgrounds who gave birth at San Francisco hospitals, she extracted and compared their mtDNA. The conclusion was that they all had a common female ancestor who had lived between 300,000 and 150,000 years (depending on whether the rate of mutation was 2 percent or 4 percent per million years). We usually assume 250,000 years, Cann stated. The upper limit of 300,000 years, paleoanthropologists noted, coincided with the fossil evidence for the time Homo sapiens made his appearance. What could have happened 300,000 years ago to bring this change about? Cann and Allan Wilson asked, but they had no answer.” This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from _http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm_ (http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm) YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
On Sep 6, 2009, at 6:01 PM, Mark Lause wrote: * our African ancestral mother, the mitochondrial Eve lived around 110-130,000 years ago, rather than 150,000-200,000 years ago. I have no idea how solid this idea of a mitochondrial Eve is. However, assuming that it is valid, what follows is that at some time in the evolution of *homo sapiens sapiens* there occurred such an enormous catastrophe that in the whole world only one *hss* couple survived, and so all the races have descended from that couple. This survivor event must have been so awesome that it's memory would have been conserved in story and legend by the survivors, and handed down as their most precious possession to their offspring. It is therefore of the greatest significance that so many primitive peoples have preserved the memory of their original ancestors, the single couple that survived a world-destroying catastrophe! Not to mention the advanced Christians, Jews, and Muslims who likewise trace their descent to a single couple--but have transfigured memory into apocalyptic texts that project the original catastrophe as a future Day of Judgment. Shane Mage This cosmos did none of gods or men make, but it always was and is and shall be: an everlasting fire, kindling in measures and going out in measures. Herakleitos of Ephesos YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] The German Auto Bubble-WSJ
johnaimani (johnaim...@earthlink.net) wrote on 2009-09-02 at 13:29:51 in about [Marxism] The German Auto Bubble-WSJ: AUGUST 31, 2009 Germans Debate Whether Car Trade-In Plan Will Backfire By GEOFFREY T. SMITH The car scrappage program, which subsidizes new car purchases on old trade-ins, was a model for similar plans adopted elsewhere, including the U.S. Actually, the model is France, where such programs were already implemented in the 1990ies, and the scrappage prime was increased from 300 Euro to 1000 Euro in late 2008. The German car market is good for roughly 3 million to 3.3 million cars a year. This year, we will probably sell 3.7 million, and our forecasts are for 2.7-2.8 million next year, said Ralf Landmann, a partner with Roland Berger. [...] Carsten Dreger, an economist with the DIW research institute in Berlin, contends that not only was the cash-for-clunkers plan increasing 2009 demand at the cost of 2010's, it is also cannibalizing potential demand for other consumer goods this year. The average age of the registered cars in Germany increased steadily from 6.2 years in 1988 (I don't find older numbers) to 8.2 at the end of 2008. There are a little more than 1 car per 2 inhabitants. The market is saturated: very few new buyers. The sales are mostly replacement of old cars. The scrappage scheme has given this replacement process a boost this year, strongly rejuvenating the car population in Germany. Of course, the replacement process will rather slow down after that, in absolute numbers, and the average age of the car fleet will grow again. Germany's car makers have already laid off most of the 100,000 temporary workers they employed a year ago, according to a spokesman for the Federal Association for Temporary Work in Berlin. To clarify: they reduced the temporary (rented) workers in the last year. The car factories in Germany were hardly affected by the scrappage scheme, since mainly small and cheap cars were bought; those people who are rich enough to drive a big Mercedes, BMW, or Porsche, don't keep their cars for so lang that they could qualify for the scrappage scheme (minimum age of the scrapped car was 9 years) and for them the scrappage prime of 2'500 Euro would be lower than the sales value of the old car and too low for an incentive to buy a new one. The car factories in Germany were not very much affected by the scrappage scheme, since the cheaper models which sales were boosted by the scrappage scheme are mostly built in other countries. Negatively affected by the scrappage scheme are the independent workshops who live from the repairs of old cars. and the scrappage industry which had to rent additional storage space, was faced with heavily dropped prices for scrapped metal, and is forseeing a lower demand for used replacement car parts. Many of them were also hurt by having to destroy cars which were still in good shape and in many cases worth for a higher price on the used car market than the 2500 Euro scrappage prime. The export of such still usable cars to Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia was also heavily affected, since the law required the car to be really destroyed. Comradely yours, Lüko Willms Frankfurt, Germany YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
You're right, you have no idea how solid this idea is. And your catastrophe theory proves it. First the mitochondrial Eve and the primal Adam did not exist at the same time. Secondly, the mitochondrial Eve is not every human's common ancestor. She is the Most Recent Common Ancestor of all currently living humans with respect to their matrilineal descent. Mitochondrial DNA does not engage in exchange with other genetic material, but is transmitted to successive generations as a virtual clone of the mother's DNA. What is called a mitochondrial Eve [and Eve is a bad way of classifying this] is the women whose mitochondrial DNA exists in all humans now alive. That doesn't make her our single, solitary woman ancestor. It makes her our MRCA traced back through our mothers. All human beings have ancestors not established by matrilineal descent. My grandmother on my father's side is not part of my matrilineal descent, but I am here descendant. I didn't get here mitochondrial DNA. I did get the mitochondrial DNA of my grandmother on my mother's side. In evolutionary genetics, the mitochondrial Eve is not a theory it is a mathematical fact, at least until there is proof that humans had multiple origins. Humans and chimps have a female Most Recent Common Ancestor, Chimps and Gorillas have a MRCA, evidence of which is contained again in the matrilineal line of descent as recorded in the mitochondrial DNA. - Original Message - From: Shane Mage shm...@pipeline.com I have no idea how solid this idea of a mitochondrial Eve is. However, assuming that it is valid, what follows is that at some time in the evolution of *homo sapiens sapiens* there occurred such an enormous catastrophe that in the whole world only one *hss* couple survived, and so all the races have descended from that couple. YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
Again, I claim to be nothing but a rank amateur in following these things. And I'm not entirely sure what the point of confusion is here... Let's start by throwing out the entire Biblical language the media used to spin the original story. The term Eve was in the post because it was in the story. It was in the story because it's the sort of hype that gets the cover of magazines. The mitochondrial DNA is NOT the result of the DNA involved in the genetic mingling of the sperm and the egg...the X and Y chromosomes in the nucleus. Mitochondrial DNA is OUTSIDE the nucleus and helps to fuel the cell. What you have of it is what the original egg had. So it only comes from yo mamma. Think of it this way: my mother had only boys. We have her mitochondrial DNA. We do not contribute eggs to the next generation, so that line comes to an end. So, there WERE many female contemporaries Eve. They had kids. We are also their descendants. We just don't have their mitochondrial DNA, because--at some point--those lines came to an end. But here's where it gets interesting and perhaps is the source of the confusion here. We've been talking about the mitochondrial DNA from the same woman back at a certain point in time...AND we are talking about tracing different mitochondrial DNA after her. DNA of any sort doesn't reproduce itself exactly. It changes over time, and at a roughly predictable rates. Most mutations don't really affect anything and they never affect anything if they're in the mitochondrial DNA anyway...it just isn't used to pass on information for reproduction. So, if you can use those mutations to trace relationships among human populations and make some fascinating extrapolations about human migration in prehistory, etc. For example, they make a distinction between the population that left Africa on that last pulse and those that remained. The group that remains will have the widest variety of these mutations, while the one that migrates to another place will have a smaller variety of them. So they all start with mitochondrial DNA but then branch out into greater varieties of them. All the branches are identifiably of the original, but represent subsets with new mutations as well. These things DO have remarkable implications for evolution and human prehistory, though not those that Shane fears. We are now able to say incredible things with a remarkable level of certainty about what groups of people were doing in prehistory. ML YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
I have no idea how solid this idea of a mitochondrial Eve is. However, assuming that it is valid, what follows is that at some time in the evolution of *homo sapiens sapiens* there occurred such an enormous catastrophe that in the whole world only one *hss* couple survived, and so all the races have descended from that couple. Comment There is no such thing as biological races on this earth. Mitochondria Eve traces origin of our species and point of location, because at this stage of science everyone is created as female and then differentiates into male and female as opposed to being male. That is why mitro is mitro. Try reading a book . . . ok. You were given source material on this subject. Apparently, there are time when you ascend beyond the plane of racial theory and support for the fascist ideology of eugenics. There are two issues involved in the Women called Eve. Her name is not in dispute unless one wants to call her Lawanda! The transition from homo-sapien to homo sapien-sapien and then the evolution of homo sapien-sapien as migration from point of origin are the two issues. . The proposition of a catastrophe, setting into play human migration is sound and in conformity with the most elementary materialism in my opinion. Something happened to make the people say, marines, we are outta here or In case you have not noticed we are getting the crap kicked out of us and its time to get the fuck out of here. The character and features of the catastrophe is a set of propositions that are mind-boggling and demand clarification. One such proposition must be the depletion of resources in a closed environment. In a word food depletion. This definition is quantitative and reveals nothing except a dry concept of food that no one agrees with because one must establish what constituted foodstuff in the period in question. Obviously no one ate one dollar McDonald cheeseburgers and SubWay sandwiches. One must consider what was the totality of substances consumed by our primitive man - their nutrient content and its impact of man as a metabolic unity 200,000 years ago. And then why a change in this equation drove or rather created the impulse for migration. This impulse for migration could not happen at one time due to our connection with the earth. Women started having ugly babies and dues penises did not get as hard as they once did; the wives started losing their normal fluids and their breast was flatter; people were hungry all the time and the sun no longer rise in the west and set in the east. Now it rose in the east and set in the west. A village meeting was called. The Great Mother said, If I have to deliver another ugly ass baby I’m killing the mother. The Great father said, I am not the father of that ugly ass baby. In fact, Billy Jean is not my lover. She’s just a girl that says I am the one. The kid is not my son. The village rose in revolt killing Big Daddy saying, you were on the sense for 40 days and 40 nights. The baby is yours and ugly because you passed on ugly to it. The village idiot who was akin to the court jester, made the people laugh, struggle to the front of the crowd, and said, I am not being funny but shit is fucked up. The land is cursed. We need to leave. The people became angry and rose in revolt killing the town idiot-jokester. Then the young people demanded to boil him and eat him. The village elders said no, we do not eat people. The young people became rebellious and cooked the idiot anyway. Then they ate him. The young people were puzzled by the feel of human flesh in their mouths and took a plate of flesh to the elders. Eat this. The elders refused. The young people grabbed one of the elders, bent his knee and placed a sharp rock to his throat and demanded the elder eat the flesh. The elder asked why. The young man looked at the other elders with wide yes and said, I wanted to know if this idiot clown mutherfucker taste funny to you. *** What was depleted in the environment or rendered unobtainable to create the historic impulse for migration? Then one must at least try to assemble an outline of why migration in turn creates another impulse for development of the material power expressed as alienated labor. Then one must assume and presuppose the impulse behind alienated labor driving agricultural production and the cultivation of grain. Why grain? What are the complex sense perceptions of the human that identify grain as the solution to a material problem? What is the material problem? Food or nutrient? What senses were deployed to reach the agreement for collective cultivation of grain? Sure, no one wants to eat a clown or meat that taste funny The answer to this question answers the rise of private property and mutherfuckers not eating food that taste funny. Hey, it aint Monday yet and still
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
First, you mentioned a single couple, I was pointing out that the mitochondrial Eve had nothing to do with a notion of a single, founding couple. As for the rest-- you really need to look at this from the biological, genetic view, not from your ideological point of view. Most Recent Common Ancestor-- I said Eve is a bad way of classifying this. Yes, Eve had sisters-- guess what? They all had the same mitochondrial DNA. This has nothing to do with creationism. Read the science and get off your ideological, abstract, hermetically sealed, high horse. - Original Message - From: Shane Mage shm...@pipeline.com To: David Schanoes sartes...@earthlink.net Sent: Sunday, September 06, 2009 10:59 PM Subject: Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
On Sep 7, 2009, at 12:06 AM, S. Artesian wrote: Yes, Eve had sisters-- guess what? They all had the same mitochondrial DNA. And if they did, they all had the same female ancestor. You may send us from Eve to Lilith, but the Lilith and her sisters problem remains the same as the Eve problem you want to escape. Shane Mage This cosmos did none of gods or men make, but it always was and is and shall be: an everlasting fire, kindling in measures and going out in measures. Herakleitos of Ephesos YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
Of course it can, Shane. The way to think of this is to go back before the Eve and ask how those lines disappeared. Every time a new human is created, it'll have the mitochondrial DNA of its mother's mother and that of its father's mother isn't passed on. Every role of the dice loses 50%. So, over time, the probability of having lines disappear are much higher than surviving. This is specially so when you have a small population. And human populations have always been extremely small until quite recently in the grand scheme of things. So in the thousands of years before the mitochondrial Eve, those lines fall victim to the statistics. Hers survives...well, because somebody's has to... Otherwise, we'd have never had email... ML YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Tweaking of DNA dating on human evolution
In a message dated 9/7/2009 12:07:27 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, shm...@pipeline.com writes: But what is the probability that, out of an interbreeding population large enough to speciate, all but *one* maternal line will gradually become extinct? Darwinian evolution can't handle the phenomenon of extinction by relying only on gradual processes. Catastrophes are needed. Shane Mage Comment Inbreeding is not a problem. The problem is bloodline on how the inbreeding is carried out. You were given specific source material on this question. Here is the formula. One can have the same mother but must have a different father to carry forth 3/4 healthy blood or what is called god essence. Same mother and same father produces weakness and breach. Same father and different mother does not carry forth god essence. Here is my dispute: you claim eugenics as the science of better humans. Produce the evidence and source material from the eugenics movement. WL. WL YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Good critique of Walter Benn Michaels's NLR article
A good critique would take what he actually says and show how some of it is empirically wrong and politically a bad tactic. Well, what he sloppily insinuates about income inequality and New Left movements being the cause of it, is easily refutable. But as far as tactics are concerned, I'd say that totally distorting the political trajectory anti-racist social movements with the explicit purpose of discrediting them, is a pretty awful tactic for building a broad-based Left. I read the PinkScare critique. How doesn't that provide a critique of what he actually says? -Tyler On Sun, Sep 6, 2009 at 2:15 PM, Louis Proyect l...@panix.com wrote: brad bauerly wrote: I am sorry but that is not a good critique of Benn Michaels. Like yours Louis it too is filled with strawperson arguments based on things that he never said. I am not going to get into specifics of his arguments, which I personally think he does not present very well, because it is clear that most are unable to maintain simple reading comprehension whenever someone mentions race and gender. A good critique would take what he actually says and show how some of it is empirically wrong and politically a bad tactic. I have yet to read such a critique and zero interest in writing it. I don't think it is possible to mount a good critique of WBM (although I tried) because he speaks out of both sides of his mouth. His article reads like Jim Sleeper in one passage and like Rosa Luxemberg in another. That is his stratagem. He wants to be published in NLR rather than in Dissent Magazine. But when he says that anti-racism and anti-sexism are not part of the left, then he really betrays his backward tendencies. As I pointed out to a fellow named Will Shetterly who has been taking up WBM's cause on my blog, there's a long line of class trumping race or gender on the left, usually however published in Dissent rather than NLR. Here are some snippets that I posted on my blog. Tomasky, a rascal if there ever was one, sounds most like WBM: 1) Jim Sleeper: I stuck to my claims, including an insistence that more than a few whites are readier to let go of the old racist coordinates than are some blacks, who have sought a perverse kind of comfort in guilt-tripping whites by finding racism in every leaf that falls. (http://www.jimsleeper.com/?p=13) 2) Todd Gitlin: MR. WATTENBERG: And you think the left now has taken their eye off the ball. Is that more or less the idea? MR. GITLIN: I think that many people, perhaps most on the left, orat least most who are visible, have gone down a path in which theyare obsessed with what differs between them and one — one crowd and another. They are more obsessed with what divides them than what they have in common with the rest of humanity. MR. WATTENBERG: Who would these groups that engage in identity politics be, for specifics? MR. GITLIN: Many of them are so-called racial or ethnic minorities, or groups who are organized around their narrow group interest. They’re not all on the left, by the way. I mean, there’s also a right-wing version of identity politics, which is – full: http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript235.html 3) Michael Tomasky: Imagine! The principle of diversity supported by a mostly Republican group to such an extent that Congress was taken aback. The revolutionaries dropped it, left it to the courts. These corporations were in fact making a common-good argument to the revolutionaries: Diversity has served us well as a whole, enriched us. And it’s not just corporate America: All over the country, white attitudes on race, straight peoples’ attitudes toward gay people, have changed dramatically for the better. These attitudes have changed because liberals and (most) Democrats decided that diversity was a principle worth defending on its own terms. Put another way, they decided to demand of citizens that they come to terms with diversity. So it can work, this demanding. YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/zimmer.tj%40gmail.com YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism-Thaxis] *ANTI-POSCO STRUGGLE* - *APPEAL FOR SUPPORT*
ANTI-POSCO STRUGGLE* - *APPEAL FOR SUPPORT* *Friends,* For more than four years the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samity (PPSS) has been bravely resisting attempts to displace over 30,000 people in Jagatsinghpur District of Orissa by POSCO, a South Korean company, which wants to set up a steel company and a port on their lands. The US12 billion dollar project, being aggressively promoted by both Orissa and Indian governments, threatens the livelihood of thousands of agriculturists, workers, fisherfolks, rural artisans and small businesses in the area besides devastating the local environment and ecology. In the course of their peaceful and democratic non-violent struggle to prevent their lands from being forcibly acquired by POSCO, the members of PPSS have been brutally attacked by paid goons of the company and subjected to grueling economic blockades by the local administration. Several of their leaders, including Shri Abhay Sahu, veteran CPI leader in the area, have been put behind bars and false charges foisted on over 150 activists, both men and women. *Need For Doctors and Medicines: * As a result of all this there is now a grave medical emergency developing in the Erasama and Kujanga blocks of Jagatsinghpur district, the sites of the proposed land acquisition for the POSCO Steel Plant. There are dozens of activists who have fractured limbs due to violence by the company's hired musclemen, some of which include injuries from bomb attacks. They need orthopedic help and in some cases possibly even surgical intervention. Some women in the area are in late stages of pregnancy but unable to leave the area to get the medical care they need because of the fear of harassment and even arrest by the local police. Many other women have developed a range of gynecological problems that need urgent medical attention. There is severe malnutrition among children owing to the lack of income over the past few years as many local people have not been able to pursue their normal livelihoods because of the turmoil in the area. The general population of the affected villages also need help in combating malaria which is endemic to the area. There are also patients suffering from paralysis who need medical care. All these patients cannot go out and receive treatment because of the threat of arrests. Therefore, we appeal to you to help in mobilizing a support for a medical camp which can be organized by the anti-POSCO movement. Please contact; Satya Shivaram (0)9818514952, Prashant Kumar Paikray (0)9437571547 or K.P. Sasi (0)9945282056. *Protest on September 10: * A huge gathering of the people affected by POSCO will take place on September 10,, Balitutha, the entrance point of the proposed POSCO area. Many leaders of different anti-displacement struggles will address the gathering. The anti-POSCO movement appeals to all people's movements against displacement, movements against SEZ, mass organization leaders and like-minded activists to participate and express solidarity. *Need for Contributions:* There is an urgent need for contributions for the protest on September 10, medical care, legal defense and other expenses of the movement. We appeal to you to communicate to your friends and mobilize maximum support and inform Shri Prashant Kumar Paikray, the spokesperson of the movement (0)9437571547 at the earliest. *Send Letters of Protest:* The PPSS appeals to people all over India and around the world to show solidarity with the struggle by sending letters of protest to the Chief Minister of Orissa, Shri Naveen Patnaik, Naveen Nivas, Aerodrome Road P.O., Bhubaneswar, Orissa, Pin-751001, Email : c...@ori.nic.in, Fax - 0674 2400100 and the Prime Minister, Shri Manmohan Singh, Room No.148B, South Block, New Delhi-110001, Fax-011 23016857, 23015603. If copies of protest letters are sent to antiposcosolidar...@gmail.com it can help the process further. *Prashant Paikray, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samithy (PPSS)* *K.P.Sasi, Visual Search, **Bangalore* *Satya Sivaraman: **New Delhi*** *Magline Peter, Theeradesa Mahilavedi, Kerala* *Dhirendra Panda, Common Concern, Orissa* *Jagdish, New Socialist Alternative, **Bangalore*** *Rajaji Mathew, MLA, Chairperson, Kerala Legislative Assemby on Enviironment * *Anivar, Moving Republic, **Bangalore*** *(For Anti Posco Struggle Solidarity)* *antiposcosolid...@gmail.com* ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
