Re: China and socialism
Chris Doss wrote: For the NYT or WP, everything bad that happens in China or Russia is the result of a nefarious plot hatched in Beijing or Moscow. For the life of me I can't understand why people who would be hypersceptical over these papers' coverage of, say, Venezuela cite them as impeachable sources on other parts of the world. Louis Proyect replied: This comes as no surprise. C'mon, cut it out. If you aren't surprised, then perhaps you should not answer at all? End the dialogue? Work to end his verbal oppression through action? Refuse to consent to his comment? Overcome? Yet you continue: You have stated publicly on LBO-Talk that censorship was not a problem in the USSR and that people could read whatever they want. You also quote liberally from the , which fails to meet Rupert Murdoch's standards by all accounts. Putinite press -- You quote from all kinds of things, yourself, Louis. As suits your needs. The news media is not monolithic. The owners are. Because you've never been published in newsmedia, you may not understand the pressure. The staff are just like other workers. So spare me your blanket generalizations. the Monthly Review article I was reviewing Another book report from Louis. (No need, here, of course, for blanket generalizations here about the class of people contributing to the Monthly Review.) Finally, it does not surprise me that you would take the side of the Chinese government against an investigative piece that ran in the NY Times. Heh. It doesn't surprise me you like the NY Times. You liberal, you. :) Ken. -- He couldn't figure out how to pour piss from a boot if the instructions were written on the heel. -- Lyndon Johnson
Re: China and socialism
I . . .uhhEye against IFlesh of my flesh and Mind of my mind.Two of a kind but one won't survive.The image is reflect in my enemy eyes and my image is reflect in his the same time. Right here is where the end gonna start at.Conflict . . . contact . . . call back.Fighter stand where the land is marked at . . .Settle the dispute about who the livest. . . Free world says who ever survive this. Only one of us can arrive foreverSo you and I can't ride together.We can't live or die together . . .All we can do is collide together.So I skillfully apply the pressure . . . won't stop til i'm forever.ONE!A door step where death never comesSpread across time . . . til my time never done.And I'm never doneWalk tall why . . . every run . . .When they moveth . . . I ever come.Bad man never fret warGeneral we have the stock the mad fire burn. I . . .uhhEye against IFlesh of my flesh and Mind of my mind.Two of a kind but one won't survive.The image is reflect in my enemy eyes and my image is reflect in his the same time. Who am IOne man squadron Man stir the fire that snatches your tomorrow.The thousand yard spear that pierces your armor . . .YOU CAN GET IT ON RIGHT NOW IF YOU WANT TO.But when you front now . . .get marched throughI warned you.You know who forever belongs to. Mos Def : Eye againt I . . . theme to Blade 2
Re: China and socialism
I would never have read this if it hadn't been referenced by Kenneth. You have stated publicly on LBO-Talk that censorship was not a problem in the USSR and that people could read whatever they want. You also quote liberally from the , which fails to meet Rupert Murdoch's standards by all accounts Virtually nothing was banned in the USSR. It was not imported or printed, but that is not the same thing. Just ask Wojtek Sokolowski. The same was true in Poland. What does it mean to quote liberally from the ,? __ Do you Yahoo!? Y! Messenger - Communicate in real time. Download now. http://messenger.yahoo.com
Re: China and socialism
Putinite press -- You quote from all kinds of things, yourself, Louis. - How does somebody who doesn't read Russian know jack shit about the Russian press, Putinite are otherwise? How lame. That's not how the Russian media work. Anyway that's my last word on the subject. __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail is new and improved - Check it out! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
Re: China and socialism
All right, one final word and then I am outta here. The inanity of that statement is breathtaking. I worked for the Russia Journal for three years. (Actually I am somewhat proud of the fact that the eXile praised my editorials. That's pretty rare.) I think I know how the Russian media work. Putinoid. How lame. How New York Times. --- Chris Doss [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Putinite press -- You quote from all kinds of things, yourself, Louis. - How does somebody who doesn't read Russian know jack shit about the Russian press, Putinite are otherwise? How lame. That's not how the Russian media work. Anyway that's my last word on the subject. __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail is new and improved - Check it out! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail __ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
Re: The Soviet empire was a drain on Moscow
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Any modern economy operating on the basis of the exchange of labor is going to manifest economic inequality. What Russia junked was socialism. The people of the Soviet Union understood that Brezhnev was not a Red. I remember their jokes from this period . . . concerning Brezhnev trying to impress his mother with his power and wealth and privileges. At the end of the story . . . Brezhnev's mother looks at him and says . . . you have done well son . . . but what you gonna do when the Reds come back? --- Everybody in the USSR knew about his fleet of cars, his big boat, and the stuff with women and alcohol. Andropov distributed videotapes of Brezhnev engaging in compromising behavior as part of his anti-Brezhnev campaign -- unfortunately for him, not many Soviets had VCRs! That said, the Brezhnev-era USSR was a reasonably OK place to live for most of the population, if you weren't unlucky enough to get stuck in a communal apartment with bad neighbors. It was the apex of the Soviet way of life. __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
Information from Beyond: Norman Bethune is Shocked Appalled
The below was written for a different purpose, after my recent extended period of teaching in Shanghai. It is not a profound economic analysis at all, rather it is a view of the heatlh services. Even there I have omitted stats for lack of time to research them, tho' this will follow. Purpose was to convey the bitterness of indidivual decision making, that is going on in China. Hari __ Health Care In China Today, following privatization of the Health Care System Astonishingly, there remain some who call themselves Marxist-Leninists, yet who still believe that the China of today is a socialist state. Even if we can agree to leave aside our fundamental differences with them regarding the political character of Mao Ze Dong, this belief of such people is too far beyond the pale not to challenge. Alliance can understand at least [without agreeing with], that school of Maoists who say that after Mao, socialism in China disintegrated. We do not agree with the implied lauding of Mao, but this latter formulation at least does recognise that the China post-Mao is not a socialist state. But to say it remains a socialist state now, is untenable. One does not need to visit China to be aware of the amazing rifts in the social fabric that have been allowed to further accentuate differences between rich and poor. Since Deng Xiaoping proclaimed it was socialist to Enrich Yourself! the green light for all manner of rapacious grabs was given. We will examine one small area that acts as a litmus indicator of how every-day life for ordinary people has dramatically changed. In the days when the pretence of being socialist was far more important than it is now, there was at least a modicum of equality in the health care services. The legacy of the legions of health care workers of Chinese background was astounding. The legacy of foreign workers (those like Dr Norman Bethune and Dr Joshua Horn) who came to China to assist the Liberation forces and the Chinese medical corps, was honourable. What has been done with this legacy? It has been ravaged by market forces. A recent article by Geoffrey York, lays out some disturbing facts. Public health services have eroded. Medical services have crumbled. Doctors and hospitals generate profit by charging higher fees. And those who cannot afford the fees are left out in the cold. Two-thirds of the population has no health insurance. About 60 to 70 percent of hospital patients are forced to end hospital treatment prematurely because they are unable to pay. A recent UN report found that Chinas health system is suffering a profound decline because of the shift to a profit based system. Because of the commercialization of medicine, health costs have jumped 400% in the past decade. And the medical system has become the top cause of poverty: more than 40% of poor families have fallen into poverty because of high medical costs. In some of the poorest regions, illness and mortality rates are increasing despite the economic prosperity in the rest of the country. Diseases such as TB and Hepatitis B are reappearing, and immunizations are being neglected because they dont generate a profit. Drug prices are routinely inflated and unnecessary treatments arte often prescribed so that the hospitals can earn income. York G: In New China, millions cant afford doctors; May 17th 2004; Globe and Mail p. A10. Under the previous era: Health cooperatives, and barefoot doctors ensured a minimum level of medical care for everyone even in the poor rural areas. Life expectancy rose dramatically and most children were immunized. It was a public health model for the world, and it achieved some incredible things, said Lisa Lee, a medical officer in Beijing for the WHO. But as China switched from socialism to free-market capitalism, it decided to privatize most of its health system. The medical cooperatives have been disbanded and nothing has replaced it Dr Lee said. Some very vulnerable and poor segments of the population are being left behind. Critical health services are falling through the gaps. Geoffrey York Ibid. These problems are enormous and naturally affect the most vulnerable and poorest sections the hardest: The problems are greatest in rural areas, where 90% of patients must pay cash for health services. Chinese media have reported cases of women dying in childbirth because they couldnt afford a hospital delivery. But the problem is also hurting people in big cites. Forty percent of urban dwellers have no insurance, and even the insured are often forced to pay most of their medical costs from their own pockets. York, G Ibid. Health care workers are naturally disturbed and upset that they are forced to participate in this sham of a heath care system: In a recent report to the Chinese parliament, one physician told poignant stories of impoverished patients and their lack of care. As soon as the
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Michael Perelman wrote: Also, I have never heard of any competitive contest where you aim to just get over the hump. Sounds like a stupid strategy. The alternative strategy would be to arouse public passion (and participation!). It has long been my own theory that the DP leadership would always choose losing rather than risk such arousal. The Public is a great Beast, and dangerous when aroused. (I think Zinn argues this someplace, but I'm not sure of my memory on this.) Carrol
Re: China and socialism
Chris Doss wrote: Virtually nothing was banned in the USSR. The Washington Post July 20, 2002 Saturday Soviet Dissident Alexander Ginzburg Dies BYLINE: Martin Weil, Washington Post Staff Writer Alexander Ginzburg, 65, who was persecuted, imprisoned and exiled as a leader of the dissident intellectual movement that worked for human rights and individual freedom in the Soviet Union, died July 19 in Paris. Mr. Ginzburg is often credited with being a founder of the Samizdat, or self-publishing movement, by which intellectuals put forward their ideas and challenged government repression. The Associated Press attributed reports of Mr. Ginzburg's death to Russian news accounts. No cause of death was given. After being expelled from the Soviet Union, Mr. Ginzburg came first to the United States, and then made France a base for writing, lecturing and worldwide campaigning. The courage and dedication of the dissident movement -- including such figures as Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Nathan Shcharansky and Andrei Sakharov -- have been described as important to the ultimate downfall of Soviet communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Individual loose sheets -- often poetry, typed, handwritten and copied by duplicating machine -- began appearing in Moscow a few years after Stalin's death. Mr. Ginzburg, was credited with the creation in 1960 of what was considered the first magazine to circumvent the Soviet government's publishing monopoly. The magazine's name has been translated as Syntax, or Syntaxis, and on its pages appeared underground intellectuals, writers and poets not officially sanctioned by the government, taking sly aim, through literary techniques, at some of the abuses and hypocrisies of the Soviet regime. It lasted only a few issues, but the authorities recognized Mr. Ginzburg's work with a two-year prison sentence. In 1965, dissident writers Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel were arrested, and they went on trial the next year. In the White Book, Mr. Ginzburg offered an account of what the dissidents viewed as a blatantly political prosecution. This drew greater worldwide attention to Soviet repression and helped amplify the voices of the dissidents. For Mr. Ginzburg, it brought a closed trial and new five-year prison term. -- The Marxism list: www.marxmail.org
Fiske on Iraq
August 01, 2004 The War Is a Fraud Robert Fisk, The Independent, August 1, 2004: The war is a fraud. I'm not talking about the weapons of mass destruction that didn't exist. Nor the links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qa'ida which didn't exist. Nor all the other lies upon which we went to war. I'm talking about the new lies. For just as, before the war, our governments warned us of threats that did not exist, now they hide from us the threats that do exist. Much of Iraq has fallen outside the control of America's puppet government in Baghdad but we are not told. Hundreds of attacks are made against US troops every month. But unless an American dies, we are not told. This month's death toll of Iraqis in Baghdad alone has now reached 700 - the worst month since the invasion ended. But we are not told. The stage management of this catastrophe in Iraq was all too evident at Saddam Hussein's trial. Not only did the US military censor the tapes of the event. Not only did they effectively delete all sound of the 11 other defendants. But the Americans led Saddam Hussein to believe - until he reached the courtroom - that he was on his way to his execution. Indeed, when he entered the room he believed that the judge was there to condemn him to death. This, after all, was the way Saddam ran his own state security courts. No wonder he initially looked disorientated - CNN's helpful description - because, of course, he was meant to look that way. We had made sure of that. Which is why Saddam asked Judge Juhi: Are you a lawyer? ... Is this a trial? And swiftly, as he realised that this really was an initial court hearing - not a preliminary to his own hanging - he quickly adopted an attitude of belligerence. But don't think we're going to learn much more about Saddam's future court appearances. Salem Chalabi, the brother of convicted fraudster Ahmad and the man entrusted by the Americans with the tribunal, told the Iraqi press two weeks ago that all media would be excluded from future court hearings. And I can see why. Because if Saddam does a Milosevic, he'll want to talk about the real intelligence and military connections of his regime - which were primarily with the United States. Living in Iraq these past few weeks is a weird as well as dangerous experience. I drive down to Najaf. Highway 8 is one of the worst in Iraq. Westerners are murdered there. It is littered with burnt-out police vehicles and American trucks. Every police post for 70 miles has been abandoned. Yet a few hours later, I am sitting in my room in Baghdad watching Tony Blair, grinning in the House of Commons as if he is the hero of a school debating competition; so much for the Butler report. Indeed, watching any Western television station in Baghdad these days is like tuning in to Planet Mars. Doesn't Blair realise that Iraq is about to implode? Doesn't Bush realise this? The American-appointed government controls only parts of Baghdad - and even there its ministers and civil servants are car-bombed and assassinated. Baquba, Samara, Kut, Mahmoudiya, Hilla, Fallujah, Ramadi, all are outside government authority. Iyad Allawi, the Prime Minister, is little more than mayor of Baghdad. Some journalists, Blair announces, almost want there to be a disaster in Iraq. He doesn't get it. The disaster exists now. When suicide bombers ram their cars into hundreds of recruits outside police stations, how on earth can anyone hold an election next January? Even the National Conference to appoint those who will arrange elections has been twice postponed. And looking back through my notebooks over the past five weeks, I find that not a single Iraqi, not a single American soldier I have spoken to, not a single mercenary - be he American, British or South African - believes that there will be elections in January. All said that Iraq is deteriorating by the day. And most asked why we journalists weren't saying so. But in Baghdad, I turn on my television and watch Bush telling his Republican supporters that Iraq is improving, that Iraqis support the coalition, that they support their new US-manufactured government, that the war on terror is being won, that Americans are safer. Then I go to an internet site and watch two hooded men hacking off the head of an American in Riyadh, tearing at the vertebrae of an American in Iraq with a knife. Each day, the papers here list another construction company pulling out of the country. And I go down to visit the friendly, tragically sad staff of the Baghdad mortuary and there, each day, are dozens of those Iraqis we supposedly came to liberate, screaming and weeping and cursing as they carry their loved ones on their shoulders in cheap coffins. I keep re-reading Tony Blair's statement. I remain convinced it was right to go to war. It was the most difficult decision of my life. And I cannot understand it. It may be a terrible decision to go to war. Even Chamberlain thought that; but he didn't find it a difficult decision - because,
Walmart costs California
Wal-Marts cost state, study says Retailer refutes UC research that claims taxes subsidize wages - George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, August 3, 2004 Employment practices at Wal-Mart, the nation's largest employer with relatively lower labor costs in the retail sector, cost California taxpayers about $86 million annually in public assistance to company workers, according to a study released Monday by a UC Berkeley research institute. The study estimates that low wages force employees to accept $32 million annually in health-related services and $54 million per year in other assistance, such as subsidized school lunches, food stamps and subsidized housing. Wal-Mart questioned the validity of the report, saying the authors undervalued the wages and benefits the chain's employees receive. The UC report comes from the Berkeley Labor Center, an institute that is openly supportive of union causes. Although its researchers have in the past accepted funding from the grocery workers' union to conduct studies, this report was not funded by labor, its authors said. Wal-Mart, and its possible expansion in California, is a major topic in labor circles as negotiators for 45,000 union grocery clerks in the Bay Area begin contract talks with Safeway, Albertson's and other major employers. The current contract expires Sept. 11. The union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and management are also working on a separate pact covering 15,000 Sacramento Valley union workers. These negotiations follow the disruptive 139-day strike and lockout of nearly 70,000 union grocery clerks in Southern California that ended Feb. 29. In all these talks, management is using Wal-Mart's presence and proposed California expansion as a negotiating tactic, arguing they must lower labor costs to be competitive with the company and other low-cost grocers. Union leadership is backing political efforts to limit Wal-Mart's growth. Authors Arindrajit Dube of the UC Berkeley Institute of Industrial Relations and Ken Jacobs of the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education make a number of assumptions in their study, beginning with a workforce estimate of 44,000 Wal-Mart employees at 143 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in California who earn an estimated 31 percent less than workers in the large retail sector as a whole. The wage difference is even greater when comparing Bay Area Wal-Mart workers with other union retail workers: The estimate is that Wal-Mart workers earn on average $9.40 an hour compared with $15.31 for union grocery workers, 39 percent less, and the study estimates that they are half as likely to have health benefits. A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, Cynthia Lin, said, It's disappointing that UC researchers would release a study which has such questionable findings, but then again, they are going to arrive at faulty conclusions when they work off faulty assumptions.'' She said the study reports wages incorrectly. Bay Area workers earn an average of $11.08 an hour while statewide it is $10.37. Also, 90 percent of Wal-Mart's workers have health insurance, Lin said. Of them, 50 percent have coverage through Wal-Mart and 40 percent through other sources. She added that two-thirds of workers are senior citizens, college students or second-income providers. The UC authors do not have data on actual public assistance for Wal-Mart workers. They take information from several sources, including testimony about company wages in a sex-discrimination lawsuit brought against Wal-Mart. They say that, at such low wages, many Wal-Mart workers rely on a public safety net. The authors extrapolate that if other large California retailers apply the Wal-Mart model of wages and benefits to their 750,000 employees, it would cost taxpayers an additional $410 million a year in public assistance to employees. David Theroux, founder and president of the libertarian Independent Institute in Oakland, said it is important to consider who the Wal-Mart employees are: They may be former unemployed workers, they may be retirees or have taken a second job out of necessity, or they may be developmentally disabled or have any number of disadvantages. If we eliminate Wal-Mart ... it means those people are unemployed. Is it better for them to be employed or unemployed?'' Theroux asked. Theroux also faulted the study for what he said is a presumption that Wal- Mart employees are more prone to go on welfare rolls. How do they know that? They need to show that,'' he said. He added that, historically, competition drives up wages. It sharpens workers' skills and boosts productivity so workers can command higher wages. It works in high tech. Why would retail be any different?'' Theroux said. The study authors say in their conclusion, In effect, Wal-Mart is shifting part of its labor costs onto the public.'' Co-author Jacobs, in an interview, said he hopes that policy-makers keep that argument in mind when Wal-Mart seeks to expand. Indeed, the Los Angeles City
new Rape situation
I don't know if this is a suburban legend ? Charles Subject: FW: Pay attention to this new Rape situation THIS IS NO JOKE A woman at a nightclub on Saturday night was taken by 5 men, who according to hospital and police reports, gang raped her before dumping her. Unable to remember the events of the evening, tests later confirmed the repeat rapes along with traces of Rohypnol in her blood and Progesterex, essentially a small sterilization pill. The drug is now being used by rapists at parties to rape AND sterilize their victims. Progesterex is available to vets to sterilize large animals. Progesterex is being used together with Rohypnol, the date rape drug. As with Rohypnol, all they have to do is drop it into the girl' drink. The girl can't remember a thing the next morning, of all that had taken place the nightb before. Progesterex, which dissolves in drinks just as easily, is such that the victim doesn't conceive from the rape and the rapist needn't worry about having a paternity test identifying him months later. The drug's effects ARE NOT TEMPORARY - They are P*E*R*M*A*N*E*N*T Progesterex was designed to sterilize horses. Any female who takes it WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO CONCEIVE. The weasels can get this drug from anyone who is in the vet school or any university. It'sthat easy, and Progesterex is about to break out big on campuses everywhere. Believe it or not, there are even sites on the Internet telling people how to use it. Please forward this to everyone you know, especially girls. Be careful when you're out and don't leave your drink unattended. Please make the effort to forward this on to all you know...Guys, please inform all your female friends and relatives.
Elementary school question
What is the total amount of "money" in the whole world ? Charles
Jon Stewart versus Ted Koppel
(Koppel will be a guest on the Daily Show this thursday.) slate.com Battle of the Network Anchors Ted Koppel and Jon Stewart face off on the convention floor. By Dana Stevens Updated Friday, July 30, 2004, at 6:30 PM PT Because of our predilection (scroll down to Wednesday's entry) for watching convention coverage on the always-perverse MSNBC network, Surfergirl did not catch the much discussed balloon mishap that had CNN inadvertently broadcasting the shouted obscenities of a producer immediately after John Kerry's speech. If only it were possible to monitor all the channels at once from a wall-size bank of television monitors, like a crazy millionaire in the movies! But, as has been noted over and over this week, a modern political convention is a place where unexpected things like Balloongate very rarely happen. One exception was Ted Koppel's surprising encounter with The Daily Show's Jon Stewart on the Wednesday night edition of Nightline. Koppel was in Boston that night, covering well, the coverage; the theme of the show was the Democratic National Convention through the eyes of the beholders. I had tuned in mainly to watch what was billed as an interview with Ana Marie Cox, aka Wonkette, the D.C.-based satirical blogger hired this week by MTV to attract the nerdy blog-reading demographic. As it turned out, Wonkette's appearance on Nightline amounted to little more than a 20-second sound bitesomething about her Web site claiming to be no more than the journalistic equivalent of candy, albeit a kind of candy that takes a while to acquire a taste for. (Mmm, gimme some.) But after the commercial break, something unforeseeable happened on Nightline: an anchorman showdown! What began as a casual media-on-the-media puff piece turned into a fascinating five-minute referendum on old and new ways of looking at the meaning and purpose of television news. In a one-on-one chat on the deserted convention floor after the day's festivities had ended, Koppel, in his low-key, dignified, What-Me-Worry way, got medieval on Stewart's ass. full: http://slate.msn.com/id/2104473/#koppel --- NIGHTLINE TRANSCRIPT: TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) A lot of television viewers, more, quite frankly, than I'm comfortable with, get their news from the comedy channel on a program called The Daily Show. Its host is Jon Stewart. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) You were telling me before, and it's a very interesting concept, I'd like to steal it. JON STEWART Please. Please, feel free. JON STEWART (Off Camera) But you would only, you would draw everyone's attention to it. You called this a product launch. JON STEWART Yes. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) This is like a product launch. What did you mean? JON STEWART It's not like a product launch. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) It is a product launch. JON STEWART It's a product launch. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) Tell me about it. JON STEWART The product is John Kerry, now with lemon, and they're launching what they consider to be, look, they went through a primary where they, you know, everybody was Taxi-Tested Tough, and they went through it. They've come up with this candidate, John Kerry, who apparently was in Vietnam. I don't know if you heard that. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) I heard that. JON STEWART They mentioned it earlier. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) They mentioned it once or twice. JON STEWART And what they're doing is now sort of, in the way that any company would want to put its product in the best light, whether it be Toyota or Tylenol, or the Democratic party, which is well within their right, and probably what they should do. No one's going to bring him out there and go, and by the way, in the back, there's a huge dent. You know, they're going to want to show it at its finest. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) We used to come to, as we have both noted on separate occasions, I'm a lot older than you are, but back, you know, back 40 years ago, we would actually come to these events in the expectation that unexpected things were going to happen. JON STEWART But unexpected things used to happen in the world. They don't happen anymore. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) Oh, sure they do. JON STEWART Very rarely. Very rarely is an event not parsed prior to when it happens. And when it does happen unexpectedly, it's only because the speculation was off cue. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) When there were only three of us, we were not as easy to manipulate, because you could only play A off against B off against C. JON STEWART That I agree with. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) Right? Now you have got 200 of us. You don't like what Jon Stewart is doing, go to John Lovitz. JON STEWART But we are a separate, we are a peripheral, we're a sundae bar, and I don't think that, we're reactive, and not actual news. So I don't think, if you don't like Jon Stewart, then you'll have to go to another comedy program. Not another news program. TED KOPPEL (Off Camera) You're refreshingly honest about that. And I
Re: China and socialism
End of thread! Why can you just discuss things without getting nasty and bringing up material from other lists? -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Re: Jon Stewart versus Ted Koppel
From: Louis Proyect [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Koppel will be a guest on the Daily Show this thursday.) slate.com Battle of the Network Anchors Ted Koppel and Jon Stewart face off on the convention floor. By Dana Stevens ... In a one-on-one chat on the deserted convention floor after the day's festivities had ended, Koppel, in his low-key, dignified, What-Me-Worry way, got medieval on Stewart's ass. I hope that when he reports for duty on the Daily Show Thursday the low-key, dignified, What-Me-Worry -- whatever that means (Alfred E. Neuman should sue) -- Koppel wears the low-key, dignified combat outfit he sported when he was embedded like a suppository in the US Army during the Iraq invasion. Carl _ Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/
Russian media
I am reminded by a recent exchange that the party line in the West is that the Russian media are uniformly pro-Putin. This is not true. The three national TV channels generally follow the Kremlin line. Some political shows have closed, which is a shame. However, this is not true of the print media. The print media are controlled by various business groups and/or political factions. E.g. Sovetskaya Rossiya is the newspaper of the Communist Party. Zavtra is ultra-nationalist. Novaya Gazeta is anti-Putin to the point of psychosis. Kommersant is owned by Boris Berezovsky. If you want confirmation of this, simply go to their respective websites and, assuming you can't read Russian, Babelfish a couple of articles. They will read like Dadaist poetry, but you will get the idea. The two widest-circulation papers in Russia, Argumenty i Fakty and Komsomolskaya Pravda, are at www.aif.ru and www.kp.ru, respectively. Novaya Gazeta's often-bizarre ramblings are at http://www.novayagazeta.ru/. Kommersant, which I guess the Kremlin just forgot to shut down, is at http://www.kommersant.ru/. Indeed, Kommersant has an English-labguage website, which may or may not have different content than the main one. I haven't checked. http://www.kommersant.com/ __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
quotation du jour
George Monbiot in today's (Aug.3's) GUARDIAN on democracy in the so-called industrial democracies: we can vote out the monkeys but not the organ-grinder. Jim Devine
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Well I think that Plato argued it a bit earlier..in The Republic.. Cheers, Ken Hanly - Original Message - From: Carrol Cox [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 8:42 AM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] No Bounce for Kerry Michael Perelman wrote: Also, I have never heard of any competitive contest where you aim to just get over the hump. Sounds like a stupid strategy. The alternative strategy would be to arouse public passion (and participation!). It has long been my own theory that the DP leadership would always choose losing rather than risk such arousal. The Public is a great Beast, and dangerous when aroused. (I think Zinn argues this someplace, but I'm not sure of my memory on this.) Carrol
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
ken hanly wrote: Well I think that Plato argued it a bit earlier..in The Republic.. :-) Yup. My post was a bit ambiguous -- pronoun reference not clear. I was thinking primarily of the DP rather than the general principle re a great Beast. Whether the DP leadership reads Plato or not I do not know, but I suspect they remember the '30s and '60s well enough not to need specific guidance from him. I think Zinn argues specifically that the DP has existed above all to keep the Beast down, but I'm not sure. Carrol ken hanly wrote: Carrol wrote: The alternative strategy would be to arouse public passion (and participation!). It has long been my own theory that the DP leadership would always choose losing rather than risk such arousal. The Public is a great Beast, and dangerous when aroused. (I think Zinn argues this someplace, but I'm not sure of my memory on this.) Carrol
Re: Jon Stewart versus Ted Koppel
embedded like a suppository I'm stealing this. Dan
Re: quotation du jour
-Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Devine, James Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 9:48 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PEN-L] quotation du jour George Monbiot in today's (Aug.3's) GUARDIAN on democracy in the so-called industrial democracies: we can vote out the monkeys but not the organ-grinder. Jim Devine Response Jim C: Loved the quote. Here is another one from Monica Lewinski (a real quote). For some time I was a Democrat but now I am a Republican. The Democrats just left a bad taste in my mouth.
Re: China and socialism
Thanks LP for posting the review of Hart-Landsberg and Burkett's long MR piece. I just picked up a copy yesterday, and have been looking it over. I've got my own little quibbles with it (not enough emphasis on rural China, which I think is desperately important right now, they lump pre-1976 China together as 'Maoist' China, etc.), but personally I think it's a very welcome and timely piece. I hope it continues to spark debate and interest. Many of the (reposted) digs against Hart-Landsberg and Burkett seem wildly off the mark. The duo are mainly concerned about people using China as a progressive model of development. Few in the US do, but I think there is a growing sense in other parts of the world that China offers a viable alternative to neoliberalism. Particularly when China works together with Brazil and other countries in the Group of 77. Stiglitz seems to be in this category, and you'll find lots of this in UN orgs and other wonky progressive orgs. To counter this, Hart-Landsberg and Burkett try to show how bad things are in China for the working class. It's not the whole story, but it's hard to deny, and it's only going to get worse. I think we should be getting ready for this debate. When these kind of news stories - see below - appear (and we're only hearing about this one because one of the villagers was able to get to the internet), perhaps we should pause and look a bit closer at what's going on. The way that these contradictions are either displaced, resolved, or sublated will have, IMO, a wide-reaching influence on how the 21st Century plays out, just as they did last century. Jonathan - Villagers vow to fight on in face of police assault Joint owners want to overturn the sale of 150 hectares worth 40 million yuan SCMP | 3 aug Villagers in Henan province vowed to continue their fight for justice after police intervened at the weekend to quell their protest over land sales, leaving several people injured and four detained. What we ask for is simple: return our land and punish the corrupt village officials, said a villager surnamed Liu, whose mother was injured in the raid and was being treated yesterday for gunshot wounds. Mr Liu, 22, said the district government had sent about 400 officials to Shijiahe village in Zhengzhou city to try to stop the villagers from petitioning. About 600 police armed with tear gas, shotguns, dogs and electric batons raided the village last Saturday looking for the organisers of protests against land sales approved by village head Liu Guo-zhao. At least 30 people were injured and four detained in the incident, Mr Liu said. Most of the injured cannot even afford to go to hospital. Villagers strongly opposed the land deal, which involved 150 hectares of farmland worth up to 40 million yuan and owned by more than 6,000 of them, Mr Liu said. They had protested since June and sent their petitions to the city and provincial governments but had not received any response. A district government team went to the village about three weeks ago after villagers threatened to hold a protest in Beijing. The incident police raid happened on the same day the team had promised to release an investigation result, Mr Liu said. The team disappeared from the village before the police arrived. He said local government representatives had visited his mother, one of the four still in hospital. It was merely a show. They did not even bother to visit the other victims who were in other wards, he said. They tried to give my mother 1,000 yuan for medical care, but we refused to accept it because we knew their real intention was to stop us from petitioning any further. My mother said, 'We don't need your money now. Let us wait until the problem is resolved'. Mr Liu, who works in Zhengzhou, posted a report of the incident and his mobile phone number on an overseas Chinese website on Sunday. He said yesterday that internet police had phoned him and he dared not return home for fear of further police harassment. An official from the Huiji district government publicity department confirmed that a group of officials had been sent to Shijiahe village to deal with the dispute. Most of our staff from the relevant departments are in the village now, he said. They have been working on the dispute ever since it started. The incident is still under investigation ... and things are going in the right direction. The official denied a report that the village head had been placed in shuanggui, a disciplinary measure outside the regular legal system under which party members are detained and interrogated. A Zhengzhou city government spokeswoman said the fact that no local media had covered the story proved the sensitivity of the case. We cannot give any comment, not because it is a secret; we need time to clarify the facts, she said.
China Study Group
Jonathan Lassen writes: Thanks LP for posting the review of Hart-Landsberg and Burkett's long MR piece. I just picked up a copy yesterday, and have been looking it over. I've got my own little quibbles with it (not enough emphasis on rural China, which I think is desperately important right now, they lump pre-1976 China together as 'Maoist' China, etc.), but personally I think it's a very welcome and timely piece. I hope it continues to spark debate and interest. I do not like to diminish the MR. Just... put it in perspective. Who funds it? Have you met the people who do? (I have met some of them.) Likewise, with groups using .orgs. So, here, to save reader's time, is from the Web site of China Group: China Study Group is a New York based non-profit organization formed in 1995 to facilitate networking of scholars/activists, and promote dissemination of info and research works, Another New York intelligentsia leftist group. Without roots, perhaps, based on the self-description: Members of the CSG support the broad goals of the Chinese revolution that triumphed in 1949, and seek to stimulate knowledge and debate regarding its achievements and limitations, as well as to offer a critical perspective of the radical changes that have occurred in China over the past 25 years and an ongoing analysis of its role in the world today. No mention of the money, though. Are these rich people in the CSG support? My guess is -- and this is prejudicial against me, not you -- that these people are academics or dilettantes without any roots in the cultures they write about. (Only a guess.) Nonetheless, China exists without the CSG, so, please, do not interpret my skeptical view of information from the CSG as a refutation of China. I think China might possibly be there for a long time -- even without me. Ken. -- I am the passenger And I ride and I ride I ride through the city's backside I see the stars come out of the sky Yeah, they're bright in a hollow sky You know it looks so good tonight -- The Passenger Iggy Pop, 1977
No bounce for Kerry
So why did Bush, not Kerry, get the bounce? Tue Aug 3, 7:09 AM ET By Susan Page, USA TODAY There was a bounce after last week's Democratic National Convention. But it went to President Bush, not John Kerry. Pollsters and strategists are puzzling over Kerry's failure to get a boost from a convention that even critics acknowledged went almost precisely as planned. Polls show it improved voters' impressions of Kerry as a strong leader and a potential commander in chief. It burnished views of the Democratic Party. (clip) Since polling became a routine part of politics, the only other candidate who failed to see any improvement in his standing after the convention that nominated him was George McGovern in 1972. That year, Democrats fought bitterly over credentials and the platform. Their convention in Miami Beach was so chaotic that the candidate didn't deliver his acceptance speech until well after midnight. This time, the Democratic convention in Boston was a sea of tranquility. With an emphasis on Kerry's biography, particularly his service in Vietnam, the convention succeeded in improving his image on almost every front, the poll shows. He boosted his standing as a candidate who is optimistic, honest, trustworthy and caring. The ingredients were carefully chosen, the recipe time-tested. So why didn't the cake rise? Among the theories: There wasn't enough red meat on the menu. The Kerry campaign tamped down direct criticism of Bush, fearing that harsh convention rhetoric would repel swing voters. One result: Kerry's ratings went up, but Bush's ratings didn't go down significantly. Bush's approval rating fell just 1 percentage point, to 48%. The percentage who said Bush has the personality and leadership qualities needed to be president stayed the same at 55%. Those who said they agreed with Bush on the issues that matter to them stayed precisely the same. What they didn't really do was clear contrast with Bush, says Democratic pollster Doug Schoen. All the contrasts that were made were inferential. There wasn't anybody who said: 'Here's the problem. Here's what we're going to do differently.' Some Democrats now will press Kerry to take a harder line. Republicans already have made it clear they won't repeat the Democratic strategy. Criticism of Kerry, especially of his career in the Senate, is expected to be a major component of the Republican convention, though that approach carries its own risks. Kerry failed to specify what he would do about Iraq. A 52% majority still says that Kerry doesn't have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq, down only slightly from 56% before the convention. Just 38% say Kerry has a clear plan, compared with 42% for Bush. That makes it more difficult for Kerry to capitalize on the political vulnerabilities Bush faces stemming from the war. In Boston, Democrats didn't blast the decision to invade Iraq, in part because Kerry voted to authorize the war. The percentage of voters who say it was a mistake to go to war actually dropped after the convention, to 47% compared with 50% before. He hasn't presented how he would do things differently, says Brooke Fox, 40, a natural resource policy consultant from Windsor, Colo., who was among those surveyed. How is he going to persuade the international community to get on board? What he has said are platitudes. full: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storycid=676e=11u=/usatoday/sowhydidbushnotkerrygetthebounce -- The Marxism list: www.marxmail.org
Re: China Study Group
Hi Kenneth Campbell, Who funds Monthly Review? I have no idea. I do know a bit about China Study Group, since I work with them. The annual budget is about 100 dollars, which is what the website costs. All the labor is volunteer. My guess is -- and this is prejudicial against me, not you -- that these people are academics or dilettantes without any roots in the cultures they write about. (Only a guess.) Some are academics, most are not. Most of the members are from China. None are dilettantes. Cheers, Jonathan wrote: Jonathan Lassen writes: Thanks LP for posting the review of Hart-Landsberg and Burkett's long MR piece. I just picked up a copy yesterday, and have been looking it over. I've got my own little quibbles with it (not enough emphasis on rural China, which I think is desperately important right now, they lump pre-1976 China together as 'Maoist' China, etc.), but personally I think it's a very welcome and timely piece. I hope it continues to spark debate and interest. I do not like to diminish the MR. Just... put it in perspective. Who funds it? Have you met the people who do? (I have met some of them.) Likewise, with groups using .orgs. So, here, to save reader's time, is from the Web site of China Group: China Study Group is a New York based non-profit organization formed in 1995 to facilitate networking of scholars/activists, and promote dissemination of info and research works, Another New York intelligentsia leftist group. Without roots, perhaps, based on the self-description: Members of the CSG support the broad goals of the Chinese revolution that triumphed in 1949, and seek to stimulate knowledge and debate regarding its achievements and limitations, as well as to offer a critical perspective of the radical changes that have occurred in China over the past 25 years and an ongoing analysis of its role in the world today. No mention of the money, though. Are these rich people in the CSG support? My guess is -- and this is prejudicial against me, not you -- that these people are academics or dilettantes without any roots in the cultures they write about. (Only a guess.) Nonetheless, China exists without the CSG, so, please, do not interpret my skeptical view of information from the CSG as a refutation of China. I think China might possibly be there for a long time -- even without me. Ken. -- I am the passenger And I ride and I ride I ride through the city's backside I see the stars come out of the sky Yeah, they're bright in a hollow sky You know it looks so good tonight -- The Passenger Iggy Pop, 1977
Re: No bounce for Kerry
From: Louis Proyect [EMAIL PROTECTED] So why did Bush, not Kerry, get the bounce? Tue Aug 3, 7:09 AM ET By Susan Page, USA TODAY There was a bounce after last week's Democratic National Convention. But it went to President Bush, not John Kerry. Kerry should lose Licorice the hamster. Carl _ Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/
Re: China Study Group
Hi Kenneth Campbell, Hi Jonathan Lassen! Who funds Monthly Review? I have no idea. I have an idea... grin. But I love the publication, nonetheless. I do know a bit about China Study Group, since I work with them. The annual budget is about 100 dollars, which is what the website costs. All the labor is volunteer. Okay... that sounds noble. Volunteer labour is in most things -- like Christian summer camps. Some are academics, most are not. Most of the members are from China. None are dilettantes. As I hope you understood, I meant no offence. China needs no help from us. Ken. -- An important scientific innovation rarely makes its way by gradually winning over and converting its opponents: it rarely happens that Saul becomes Paul. What does happen is that its opponents gradually die out and that the growing generation is familiarized with the idea from the beginning. -- Max Planck
Re: China and socialism
Jonathan Lassen wrote: When these kind of news stories - see below - appear (and we're only hearing about this one because one of the villagers was able to get to the internet), perhaps we should pause and look a bit closer at what's going on. The way that these Contradictions are either displaced, resolved, or sublated will have, IMO, a wide-reaching influence on how the 21st Century plays out, just as they did last century. Jonathan - Villagers vow to fight on in face of police assault Joint owners want to overturn the sale of 150 hectares worth 40 million yuan SCMP | 3 aug Villagers in Henan province vowed to continue their fight for justice after police intervened at the weekend to quell their protest over land sales, leaving several people injured and four detained. Is this particular story emblematic of the restoration of capitalism, though? Isn't it true that this kind of event took place in pre-reform China -- and not necessarily to benefit the working and toiling classes? We expect to see it in capitalist countries, of course. In a socialist country, however, where the working class is the dominant social strata, one might expect it not to happen. My question is, to what extent is political repression in China the result of a one-party system that had/s(?) the tendency to disallow dissenting opinions and/or the insistence on a single path to socialism (if that kind of rhetoric is allowable), or a political culture (not meant in the anthropological sense) generated by a cultural-revolution-type atmosphere rather than a restoration of capitalism? I think some parallels are easily made with the Soviet Union and the means to an end mentality of some on the left in that one-party system, considering that it doesn't exist anymore. Joel Wendland http://www.politicalaffairs.net _ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee® Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
Re: No bounce for Kerry
Kerry should lose Licorice the hamster. Carl G.O.P. QUESTIONS KERRY'S HAMSTER HEROISM [by Andy Borowitz] Rodent Story 'Doesn't Add Up,' Mass Email Claims A mass email from the Republican National Committee is questioning whether or not Democratic nominee John Kerry actually saved his daughter Alexandra's pet hamster, Licorice, from drowning during a family boating trip as Ms. Kerry has claimed he did. The email, with a subject line reading Kerry Hamster Story - We Smell a Rat, was sent to over two thousand news outlets just hours after Ms. Kerry charmed the Democratic national convention with her tale of the Senator's hamster heroism. In the email message, the G.O.P. quotes an unnamed witness who claims that not only did Mr. Kerry not save the rodent's life, but he may have actually been responsible for its premature demise. According to the witness, Licorice was breathing normally when Mr. Kerry pounced on the hamster and administered unnecessarily forceful CPR in an over-the-top bid to appear heroic, breaking several of the hamster's ribs and puncturing its left lung. Speaking at a fundraiser held by the Creative Coalition in Hollywood, Mr. Kerry defended his daughter's version of events and was joined onstage by several veterans of the boating trip during which Licorice fell overboard, a group Mr. Kerry called his band of brothers. But perhaps the most vehement defense came from wife Teresa Heinz Kerry, who told the gathering, The Licorice story is true, and if you don't believe it, you can shove a live hamster in a secure, undisclosed location. Mrs. Kerry's remark drew long and loud applause from the Hollywood crowd, especially from actor and Pretty Woman star Richard Gere. [I don't get the joke in the last line.] Jim Devine
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
[EMAIL PROTECTED] 08/03/04 12:28 AM I was struck by the same thing as Michael H. I doubt that they will reciprocate for the Dems. On Tue, Aug 03, 2004 at 12:24:33AM -0400, Michael Hoover wrote: related point: tv media abandoned past convention coverage in giving reps so many opportunities to sprinkle on dem parade...michael hoover Also, I have never heard of any competitive contest where you aim to just get over the hump. Sounds like a stupid strategy. Michael Perelman meant to write in previous post that conservative media set up dems on bounce by giving rep talking heads pre-convention opportunities to talk about how kerry would probably get double digit post-convention bump... re. dem/kerry strategy, elections are mechanisms of social control, narrow kerry win will actually be narrow bush loss, kerry's people think this can happen with existing likely electorate which, of course, means doing nothing to get more folks to vote, result will be few 'progressive' expectations of kerry administration...michael hoover -- Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure.
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
The strategy guarentees that Kerry will have no coattails. On Tue, Aug 03, 2004 at 03:32:47PM -0400, Michael Hoover wrote: re. dem/kerry strategy, elections are mechanisms of social control, narrow kerry win will actually be narrow bush loss, kerry's people think this can happen with existing likely electorate which, of course, means doing nothing to get more folks to vote, result will be few 'progressive' expectations of kerry administration...michael hoover -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
If there's a great untapped reservoir of leftish populism in the American masses, why did Kucinich do so badly in the primaries, and why is Nader now down around 2%? Doug
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Kucinich had no money supporting him; Kerry has an organize (well, well-funded) party. Gore's support picked up when he did populism, so would Kerry's. All he had to do was to take Edwards' 2-America's riff a bit further. On Tue, Aug 03, 2004 at 03:52:16PM -0400, Doug Henwood wrote: If there's a great untapped reservoir of leftish populism in the American masses, why did Kucinich do so badly in the primaries, and why is Nader now down around 2%? Doug -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Doug Henwood wrote: If there's a great untapped reservoir of leftish populism in the American masses, why did Kucinich do so badly in the primaries... it may not be populism, but leftist sentiment might be present. its a media affair involving millions of dollars of course: kucinich was relatively unknown to most, let alone his stand. in a democratic nominees focus group session that was broadcast on c-span, some of the participants referred to him not by name, but as the guy who was not serious because he was looking for a bride on the internet. --ravi
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
I don't know about Kucinich, but I remember that someone was complaining about his singing of America the Beautiful at his rallies and how embarrassing it was. Maybe that hurt. Also, Nader is likely falling because of the view that any vote for Nader is a vote for Bush. BTW, one reason for the lack of Kerry bounce is that so many pro-Bush people are hard-core and would never shift. Also, Krugman's column in today's NY TIMES suggests that the media did Kerry in. (BTW, when will PK get back to Ec?) Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine Michael Perelman: Kucinich had no money supporting him; Kerry has an organize (well, well-funded) party. Gore's support picked up when he did populism, so would Kerry's. All he had to do was to take Edwards' 2-America's riff a bit further. On Tue, Aug 03, 2004 at 03:52:16PM -0400, Doug Henwood wrote: If there's a great untapped reservoir of leftish populism in the American masses, why did Kucinich do so badly in the primaries, and why is Nader now down around 2%?
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
I worked for Kucinich in the Iowa caucuses. Lots of folks that supported Kerry were way more progressive than Kerry. In particular, they were against the war. What moved them was the electability issue. They wanted to back a winner. I don't claim that this completely answers your question (nor that there is necessarily a great untapped reservoir of leftish populism), but it's an important piece of the puzzle that should not be discounted. At 03:52 PM 8/3/2004 -0400, you wrote: If there's a great untapped reservoir of leftish populism in the American masses, why did Kucinich do so badly in the primaries, and why is Nader now down around 2%? Doug -- Robert Naiman Senior Policy Analyst Venezuela Information Office 733 15th Street, NW Suite 932 Washington, DC 20005 t. 202-347-8081 x. 605 f. 202-347-8091 www.veninfo.org ::: ::: ::: ::: ::: ::: ::: The Venezuela Information Office is dedicated to informing the American public about contemporary Venezuela. More information is available from the FARA office of the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
What is the total wealth ?
What is the total wealth, networth, valueof all the economies of the world ? Do any economists estimate this ? What is total wealth divided by the population of the earth ? If total wealth were divided equally, what would be per capitanetworth ? Charles
Re: What is the total wealth ?
The Fed Gov says it's $89.9 trillion for the U.S. Some of it -- like the Brooklyn Bridge -- would be hard to divvy up. Would you want a share in the Brooklyn Bridge? It would look nice on the wall. mbs From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Charles BrownSent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 4:10 PMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: What is the total wealth ? What is the total wealth, networth, valueof all the economies of the world ? Do any economists estimate this ? What is total wealth divided by the population of the earth ? If total wealth were divided equally, what would be per capitanetworth ? Charles
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Devine, James wrote: Also, Nader is likely falling because of the view that any vote for Nader is a vote for Bush. My understanding is that plans are afoot to arrest him and put him on trial at the Hague for crimes against humanity. -- The Marxism list: www.marxmail.org
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
no, they're going to put him in the free speech zone in Boston, now that it's no longer in use. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine I wrote: Also, Nader is likely falling because of the view that any vote for Nader is a vote for Bush. LP: My understanding is that plans are afoot to arrest him and put him on trial at the Hague for crimes against humanity.
Changing Sex, Changing Islam
Changing Sex, Changing Islam (In Iran, transsexuals, changing sex, have been changing Islam as well, under its still theocratic government): http://montages.blogspot.com/2004/08/changing-sex-changing-islam.html. -- Yoshie * Critical Montages: http://montages.blogspot.com/ * Greens for Nader: http://greensfornader.net/ * Bring Them Home Now! http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/ * Calendars of Events in Columbus: http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html, http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php, http://www.cpanews.org/ * Student International Forum: http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/ * Committee for Justice in Palestine: http://www.osudivest.org/ * Al-Awda-Ohio: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio * Solidarity: http://www.solidarity-us.org/
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Michael Perelman wrote: Kucinich had no money supporting him C'mon - he was in the debates, he was on the road a lot. He should have done better than, what?, 2% of the primary vote. Doug
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Robert Naiman wrote: What moved them was the electability issue. They wanted to back a winner. This is the popular attitude that disturbs me most, for more than any other attitude it represents despair at the possibility of people affecting national policy. Carrol
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Devine, James wrote: BTW, one reason for the lack of Kerry bounce is that so many pro-Bush people are hard-core and would never shift. Also, Krugman's column in today's NY TIMES suggests that the media did Kerry in. Cruising the dial after the speech it seemed that all the pundits pronounced Kerry's speech a major success - which confused me, because I thought it sucked. Doug
Re: What is the total wealth ?
Charles Brown wrote: What is the total wealth, networth, value of all the economies of the world ? Do any economists estimate this ? Wealth is tough. Income is easier. Acc to World Bank, per capita GDP (PPP, with all Paul A's caveats incorporated by reference) in 2002 was $7,867.94. Cash money, no PPP magic: $5,212.56. Doug
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Carrol Cox wrote: This is the popular attitude that disturbs me most, for more than any other attitude it represents despair at the possibility of people affecting national policy. The other interesting thing going on is the trivialization of the campaign, with major statements being made about Kerry's donning of a clean suit at NASA, debunking his mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of a hamster, etc. I strongly suspect that the corporate media will be going gung-ho for Kerry in the next few months. I wouldn't be surprised at a Bush landslide at this point. When Kerry functions in the electoral arena like the opponents of the Harlem Globetrotters did in basketball, what else would you expect? I myself think it would be a good thing if Kerry lost, both in terms of the issues Andy Stern raised (and then was pressured into recanting)as well as the likelihood that US imperialism will have less room to manueuver with Bush reelected. In any case, I think that it is imperative for those forces committed to Nader to coalesce in preparation for 2008. If unchallenged DLC type politics can't deliver the goods, then people might be ready to fight for an alternative which surely won't come from within the DP. -- The Marxism list: www.marxmail.org
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
alas I missed his speech. I had to work last night. (I like to watch the candidates' convention speeches for the same reason I saw Terminator I and II, i.e., to keep up with popular culture.) Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Doug Henwood Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 1:34 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [PEN-L] No Bounce for Kerry Devine, James wrote: BTW, one reason for the lack of Kerry bounce is that so many pro-Bush people are hard-core and would never shift. Also, Krugman's column in today's NY TIMES suggests that the media did Kerry in. Cruising the dial after the speech it seemed that all the pundits pronounced Kerry's speech a major success - which confused me, because I thought it sucked. Doug
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
[EMAIL PROTECTED] 08/03/04 3:52 PM If there's a great untapped reservoir of leftish populism in the American masses, why did Kucinich do so badly in the primaries, and why is Nader now down around 2%? Doug uhhh, who said anything about 'untapped reservoir of leftish populism' (whatever that is)... come now doug, you know answers to above questions... however, 'conventional wisdom' holds that dem positions on civil rights/civil liberties issues began to alienate white working class in late 1960s, race ostensibly drove wedge between white and non-white working workers with resultant diminution of class voting, such analysis is mostly based upon assessments using self-identified class, this measure fails to address voter economic circumstances, analysis relying upon relative income situation of voters reflects relative level of resources folks have, results show increasing support among less affluent for dems, differences in voting by income position (social class) have been increasing, not decreasing... mainstream poli sci guy jeffrey stonecash uses nes data - see his _class and party in american politics_ - to show that *even in south* white working class voters remain more likely to vote dem than more affluent white voters, big problem is relative scarcity of white working class turnout in south (condition exacerbated nationally by similar scarcity at polls among all workin people)...michael hoover -- Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure.
What is the total wealth ?
by Max B. Sawicky The Fed Gov says it's $89.9 trillion for the U.S. Some of it -- like the Brooklyn Bridge -- would be hard to divvy up. Would you want a share in the Brooklyn Bridge? It would look nice on the wall. Mbs ^^ Ok I said it dumbly, but I'm trying to start a holistic thought like Levins and Lewontin might advise. Is there enough wealth in the whole world to give everybody a decent minimum ? Could we have a world minimum income/networth ? So, you want to sell me the Brooklyn Bridge ? I must look like a peasant from Detroit. Can I sell the paper on the bridge and buy some use-values I can use ? Charles ^ Subject: What is the total wealth ? What is the total wealth, networth, value of all the economies of the world ? Do any economists estimate this ? What is total wealth divided by the population of the earth ? If total wealth were divided equally, what would be per capita networth ? Charles
Date Rape Drug? HOAX
Sorry . CB ^ http://hoaxinfo.com/progesterex.htm Progesterex: Date Rape Drug? First Published June, 2000 Updated September, 2002 In 1999, an e-mail began circulating that proclaimed a new date rape drug had been introduced. This drug not only rendered the victim helpless to defend themselves against a would-be rapist, but caused permanent sterilization to the victim. That drug was called Progesterex. It is also, an absolute fabrication. There is no drug called Progesterex. An Go Ask Alice http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1597.html , Columbia University's Internet Question and Answer Site looked in to this one and concluded there was no such drug. There are indeed date rape drugs, such as Rohypnol, and one would be wise to keep an eye out for those who might take advantage of a young, college aged woman at the many parties that are thrown on campus. However, this is one drug you can scratch off the list. This is a copy of the hoax e-mail circulating: PASS THIS ONTO YOUR FEMALE FRIENDS. Ladies, be more alert and cautious when getting a drink offer from a guy. Good guys out there, please forward this message to your lady friends. And boyfriends, take heed. There is a new drug that has been out for less than a year. Progesterex, that is a essentially a small sterilization pill. The drug is now being used by rapists at parties to rape AND sterilize their victims. Progesterex is available to vets to sterilize large animals. Rumour has it that the Progesterex is being used together with Rohypnol, the date rape drug. As with Rohypnol, all they have to do is drop it into the woman's drink. The woman can't remember a thing the next morning, of all that had taken place the night before. Progesterex, which dissolves in drinks just as easily, is such that the victim doesn't conceive from the rape and the rapist needn't worry about having a paternity test identifying him months later. The drug's effects AREN'T TEMPORARY. Progesterex was designed to sterilize horses. Any female that takes it WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO CONCEIVE. The crooks can get this drug from anyone who is in the vet school of any university. It's that easy, and Progesterex is about to break out big on campuses everywhere. Believe it or not, there is even a site on the internet telling people how to use it. Please forward this to everyone you know, especially the gals.
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
When has a person in the debates been called a vanity candidate before. The singing schtick was stupid, though. On Tue, Aug 03, 2004 at 04:32:11PM -0400, Doug Henwood wrote: Michael Perelman wrote: Kucinich had no money supporting him C'mon - he was in the debates, he was on the road a lot. He should have done better than, what?, 2% of the primary vote. Doug -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
What is the total wealth ?
by Doug Henwood Wealth is tough. Income is easier. Acc to World Bank, per capita GDP (PPP, with all Paul A's caveats incorporated by reference) in 2002 was $7,867.94. Cash money, no PPP magic: $5,212.56. ^^ So, in a very abstract sense, if everybody had equal cut from GDP in 2002, everybody would be poor, but not real poor ? Or do I misinterpret this ? Charles
The Women of Crawford Have a Secret
http://www.bushvchoice.com/trailer/crawford.swf Find out how these successful, driven women could swing the election and help bring the end of a woman's right to choose -- without saying a word. Produced by: NARAL Pro-Choice America, Inc. www.ProChoiceAmerica.org -- Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure.
Correction
The other interesting thing going on is the trivialization of the campaign, with major statements being made about Kerry's donning of a clean suit at NASA, debunking his mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of a hamster, etc. I strongly suspect that the corporate media will be going gung-ho for BUSH in the next few months. -- The Marxism list: www.marxmail.org
Re: What is the total wealth ?
Charles Brown wrote: So, in a very abstract sense, if everybody had equal cut from GDP in 2002, everybody would be poor, but not real poor ? Or do I misinterpret this ? It's roughly at the level of Mexico, PPP-wise. Doug
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
Devine, James wrote: alas I missed his speech. I had to work last night. (I like to watch the candidates' convention speeches for the same reason I saw Terminator I and II, i.e., to keep up with popular culture.) That seems a better motive than most have. :-) Maillists tend to tell you everything you need to know (and sometimes a lot more than you want to know) about popular culture. The main problem is that no one seems to be able to describe what they mean by popular culture. That was partly behind the long list of questions I posted not long ago. (How many watch Fox News, watch CBS, don't watch any, etc.) For example, in addition to the high-rated TV shows there are in fact hundreds of TV shows, presumably watched by _some_ people (who also presumably make up part of popular culture). What percentage of the adult population regularly watches at least one of the top three TV shows in a given year? What do we have to say about those (number unknown to me) who do not watch any of the top three TV shows? What percentage of the population does NOT see at least seven of the 10 most popular movies? What information about popular culture is given us by the existence of the Western Channel on cable tv. What is the cultural status (popular or freakish) of those who watch reruns of Gunsmoke or old Autry movies? How many do watch the reruns of Gunsmoke? Carrol P.S. The last president and/or presidential candidate that I heard deliver more than two consecutive sentences by (the time it takes to reach the radio dial) was LBJ in 1964. But I've never had any trouble understanding anything anyone said to me about the current president and/or candidate.
Re: What is the total wealth ?
Charles Brown wrote: Ok I said it dumbly, but I'm trying to start a holistic thought like Levins and Lewontin might advise. Is there enough wealth in the whole world to give everybody a decent minimum ? Could we have a world minimum income/networth ? I don't think estimates of total wealth tell one much. What counts for your purposes is the flow of material goods and services available at any given moment. Or perhaps the productive capacity if everyone were employed, but I doubt anyone could make even a wild estimate of that. Carrol
Re: What is the total wealth ?
the reason why the income number is easier than the wealth number, of course, is that if you had all the world's wealth, what would you buy with it? In a very real sense ( this phrase [c] Alan Bennett), the world's wealth can probably only be measured in hours of equivalent socially necessary average labour time, because that's what you'd command if you owned all the other stuff. The global money supply question is also very difficult indeed; my ex-colleague Peter Warburton used to collect decent money for a now-defunct brokerage by guesstimating a Global Hard Money Equivalent figure, but this was about five years ago and I haven't kept in touch with him. The differential between the cash and PPP numbers Doug quotes below would probably indicate to a better Keynesian economist than myself something about the relative tightness/looseness of the GHME money supply, but I'm too frazzled to work it out right now. The answer to Charles' fundamental question is of course yes; if you're on $1,000 per year you're doing much better than the official poverty levels, and there's enough production going on in the world to give everybody that much. cheers dd -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Doug Henwood Sent: 03 August 2004 21:41 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: What is the total wealth ? Charles Brown wrote: What is the total wealth, networth, value of all the economies of the world ? Do any economists estimate this ? Wealth is tough. Income is easier. Acc to World Bank, per capita GDP (PPP, with all Paul A's caveats incorporated by reference) in 2002 was $7,867.94. Cash money, no PPP magic: $5,212.56. Doug
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
I wrote: alas I missed his speech. I had to work last night. obviously, I meant that night, i.e., last Thursday night. More coffee is needed. I remember Bill C's DP convention speech well. He clearly came off as intelligent, as opposed to W (in 2000), who came off as dumb. Both were wrong, but that's another issue. By the way, Jim C, where did you get that quote from Monica Lewinsky. (I tried to google it, but hit upon a site called JewWatch which turned my stomach, so I gave up.) jd
Re: What is the total wealth ?
Wealth is liberty... it is disposable time and nothing more. Tom Walker 604 255 4812
What is the total wealth ?
by Carrol Cox I don't think estimates of total wealth tell one much. What counts for your purposes is the flow of material goods and services available at any given moment. Or perhaps the productive capacity if everyone were employed, but I doubt anyone could make even a wild estimate of that. ^ What proportion of total GDP is consumable ? How much is liquid ? What proportion is in plant , equipment and bridges ? Just full of questions. CB
testing
there's no need to read this. How does the format look? Who needs enemas? Rebecca FrontTuesday August 3, 2004The Guardian A blow to conspiracy theorists appeared in this paper the other day. According to scientists, Napoleon Bonaparte was not murdered, as has long been suspected, but instead died as the result of a potassium imbalance. This, it's now thought, was brought about by a well-intentioned doctor being over-zealous in his use of enemas. I'm aware that the mere mention of an overzealous enema will have led many of you to start turning the page, but stay with me if you will. To historians and medics, you can see why Napoleon's enemas would be of interest. To ardent fans of colonic irrigation, such adverse publicity may be seen as a pain in the arse - but that, after all, is nothing they won't have dealt with before. To the would-be humourist, however, such a story presents a problem. Enemas. A great word, ripe with comic possibilities. There may never again be such a golden opportunity to use the old gag: "with friends like these ..." But puns are so last century. In the age of darker than dark, bitter without the sweet comedy, the sort of comedy in which I so often work, puns are simply not done. They're considered cheap, cheesy and a bit juvenile. Some might argue that that's what makes them funny. Puns are, after all, pretty harmless faux-confusions of two words that sound alike; surely hating them is... well, it's homophone-bia. But trust me, I write from experience. Some years ago I began working on a news satire show called The Day Today. The rest of the team were actors and writers too, but most had stand-up comedy experience. Not me. While they had been treading sticky, beer-sodden stages and helping to create the new wave of hard-hitting, postmodern irony, I had been sitting in radio studios with middle-aged actors, listening, between takes, to anecdotes with tag lines such as "stark bollock naked in front of Princess Margaret!" Of course, I had a lot of comedy experience, but when a show has a title such as The Nice Man Cometh or Rabble Without Applause, you know you can go for it all puns blazing. (Damn, there goes another one.) For the first few improvisation sessions on this new show, I felt too intimidated to utter a word. Then one day, someone set up an idea about capital punishment. I could see it rolling towards me ... a glorious, multi-layered pun. Someone was bound to get there first, to pick it up and run with it, but no. So I took a deep breath and said it: "No noose is good noose", then looked down modestly and waited for the guffaw. Silence. When I looked up again, some of my colleagues were pretending they hadn't heard me, others were frantically doodling on their notepads. One, sensing my bewilderment and fearful that I might repeat my crime, whispered: "No puns. No innuendo." I was mystified. This was a comedy. It was as if I'd been told to drive up a motorway with no gears and no steering wheel. But the comedy ground had shifted, and I had to jump on or fall through the gap. To many people, the kind of jokes you use are irrelevant. To Conservative party members in Congleton, for instance, the fact that their MP Ann Winterton made that irredeemably duff gag about Chinese cockle pickers has not deterred them from reselecting her. But the comedy world is as much dominated by fashion as... well, the fashion world. So I have learned to resist puns and innuendo, but it isn't easy. At a Blue Peter children's Prom this weekend - and let us just pause to consider the resonant potential of "Blue", "Peter" and "Prom" - I tried to sit stony faced while the presenters breathlessly praised the Royal Albert Hall's finest feature: "9,999 pipes! That's quite an organ, isn't it, Liz?" "Yes, Simon, that's certainly one powerful organ." I have to tell you it was hard. Keeping a straight face, I mean, not the organ. (Damn, I just can't help myself.) Which brings us back to Napoleon ... Bonaparte ... (I'm resisting the innuendo locked within those three syllables, but it's killing me.) My brief for this column was to find a story that shouted to me and run with it. I could have chosen anything, but while Napoleon didn't shout to me, his enemas did. For all the wrong reasons. And, as I have my reputation to consider, instead of basing a column on a cheap joke, I've wasted one explaining my decision not to. But in doing so, I have created a spurious link between me and the great Corsican: Napoleon was defeated by Nelson; I, alas, was crushed by the column. Rebecca Front is a comedy writer and performer, who recently appeared in the BBC's Nighty Night Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
Re: China and socialism
Joel Wendland wrote: Is this particular story emblematic of the restoration of capitalism, though? Isn't it true that this kind of event took place in pre-reform China -- and not necessarily to benefit the working and toiling classes? We expect to see it in capitalist countries, of course. The pre-reform, post-revolutionary state in China did not resort to organized violence in order secure land for industrial purposes. They had sufficient legitimacy and power so that violence was not necessary. The violence associated with land grabs is very much a recent problem, developing since the late 90s as far as I know. In a socialist country, however, where the working class is the dominant social strata, one might expect it not to happen. China's working class may be the majority in urban China, but I don't think anyone would consider them dominant. My question is, to what extent is political repression in China the result of a one-party system that had/s(?) the tendency to disallow dissenting opinions and/or the insistence on a single path to socialism (if that kind of rhetoric is allowable), or a political culture (not meant in the anthropological sense) generated by a cultural-revolution-type atmosphere rather than a restoration of capitalism? I don't think you can separate the current development/restoration of capitalism and repression in China. People living in non-capitalist social relations have to be drawn kicking and screaming into the loving embrace of the 'market.' Chinese farmers don't want to be locked cages and thrown back into the 19th century. The corrupt bureaucratic class of China's countryside is the underground pump for the sea of factories that produce an increasingly large chunk of social materiality on this planet. This can only be accomplished under the most ruthless of dictatorships, regardless of the appearence of the political system. The current 'political culture' in China has been generated by the Cultural Revolution only in a negative way. Dengism was the conscious rejection of everything Maoist, particularly the Cultural Revolution. It emerged as the victorious ideology only after Mao's death, and the failure of the Cultural Revolution. Cheers, Jonathan
Re: testing
...perfect. - Original Message - From: Devine, James To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 7:18 PM Subject: testing there's no need to read this. How does the format look? Who needs enemas? Rebecca FrontTuesday August 3, 2004The Guardian A blow to conspiracy theorists appeared in this paper the other day. According to scientists, Napoleon Bonaparte was not murdered, as has long been suspected, but instead died as the result of a potassium imbalance. This, it's now thought, was brought about by a well-intentioned doctor being over-zealous in his use of enemas. I'm aware that the mere mention of an overzealous enema will have led many of you to start turning the page, but stay with me if you will. To historians and medics, you can see why Napoleon's enemas would be of interest. To ardent fans of colonic irrigation, such adverse publicity may be seen as a pain in the arse - but that, after all, is nothing they won't have dealt with before. To the would-be humourist, however, such a story presents a problem. Enemas. A great word, ripe with comic possibilities. There may never again be such a golden opportunity to use the old gag: "with friends like these ..." But puns are so last century. In the age of darker than dark, bitter without the sweet comedy, the sort of comedy in which I so often work, puns are simply not done. They're considered cheap, cheesy and a bit juvenile. Some might argue that that's what makes them funny. Puns are, after all, pretty harmless faux-confusions of two words that sound alike; surely hating them is... well, it's homophone-bia. But trust me, I write from experience. Some years ago I began working on a news satire show called The Day Today. The rest of the team were actors and writers too, but most had stand-up comedy experience. Not me. While they had been treading sticky, beer-sodden stages and helping to create the new wave of hard-hitting, postmodern irony, I had been sitting in radio studios with middle-aged actors, listening, between takes, to anecdotes with tag lines such as "stark bollock naked in front of Princess Margaret!" Of course, I had a lot of comedy experience, but when a show has a title such as The Nice Man Cometh or Rabble Without Applause, you know you can go for it all puns blazing. (Damn, there goes another one.) For the first few improvisation sessions on this new show, I felt too intimidated to utter a word. Then one day, someone set up an idea about capital punishment. I could see it rolling towards me ... a glorious, multi-layered pun. Someone was bound to get there first, to pick it up and run with it, but no. So I took a deep breath and said it: "No noose is good noose", then looked down modestly and waited for the guffaw. Silence. When I looked up again, some of my colleagues were pretending they hadn't heard me, others were frantically doodling on their notepads. One, sensing my bewilderment and fearful that I might repeat my crime, whispered: "No puns. No innuendo." I was mystified. This was a comedy. It was as if I'd been told to drive up a motorway with no gears and no steering wheel. But the comedy ground had shifted, and I had to jump on or fall through the gap. To many people, the kind of jokes you use are irrelevant. To Conservative party members in Congleton, for instance, the fact that their MP Ann Winterton made that irredeemably duff gag about Chinese cockle pickers has not deterred them from reselecting her. But the comedy world is as much dominated by fashion as... well, the fashion world. So I have learned to resist puns and innuendo, but it isn't easy. At a Blue Peter children's Prom this weekend - and let us just pause to consider the resonant potential of "Blue", "Peter" and "Prom" - I tried to sit stony faced while the presenters breathlessly praised the Royal Albert Hall's finest feature: "9,999 pipes! That's quite an organ, isn't it, Liz?" "Yes, Simon, that's certainly one powerful organ." I have to tell you it was hard. Keeping a straight face, I mean, not the organ. (Damn, I just can't help myself.) Which brings us back to Napoleon ... Bonaparte ... (I'm resisting the innuendo locked within those three syllables, but it's killing me.) My brief for this column was to find a story that shouted to me and run with it. I could have chosen anything, but while Napoleon didn't shout to me, his enemas did. For all the wrong reasons. And, as I have my reputation to consider, instead of basing a column on a cheap joke, I've wasted one explaining my decision not to. But in doing so, I have created a spurious link between me and the great Corsican: Napoleon was defeated by Nelson; I, alas, was crushed by the column. · Rebecca Front is a comedy writer and
Re: China Study Group
Kenneth Campbell wrote: As I hope you understood, I meant no offence. China needs no help from us. I'm not sure why China provokes such strong feelings of separateness/alienation. Let's all just stay in our hermetically sealed container-states, it's much safer. JL
Re: Changing Sex, Changing Islam
An interesting piece! Apart from Islamic Rules, the body politics issue in Iran has its origin mostly in the cultural codes of behavior. There are many irreligious peoples who cant consider changing sex as a normal phenomenon because of their cultural roots. For example, you cant believe that how much I myself as an Iranian man goggled when a few years ago I discovered that Mr. Donald McCloskey has became Mrs. Deirdre McCloskey or that how much is exclamatory now that I am reading her _Crossing: A Memoir_. These wonderments have not their origin so much in religion (I have no religion) as in the cultural background. Therefore, it seems to me that the obstacles in the changing sex in Iran are in the society itself rather than in political scene in which the theocratic government is dominant. Of course, this is not the case for Hijab as an incarnation of Islamic body politics in Iran. M. M. Changing Sex, Changing Islam (In Iran, transsexuals, changing sex, have been changing Islam as well, under its still theocratic government): http://montages.blogspot.com/2004/08/changing-sex-changing-islam.html. -- Yoshie _ Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/
Re: No Bounce for Kerry
If there's a great untapped reservoir of leftish populism in the American masses, why did Kucinich do so badly in the primaries, 1. Kucinich is nice, poor, and white. 2. Kucinich is short: 5 feet 7 inches. 3. 93% of Americans are still unsure about how to pronounce his last name. and why is Nader now down around 2%? 1. According to Gallup, Nader appears to have peaked at 5% in the June 3-6, 2004: img src=http://media.gallup.com/POLL/Releases/pr040713ii.gif;, so his inability to get on the Green Party ballots brought down his popularity. 2. Nader is forced to waste money fighting off Democrats' demagogy about Republican funding and legal challenges to his ballot accesses: blockquoteWhile Mr. Nader digs in his heels, the Democrats are trying to sideline him. The party has enlisted Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor, who has declared an extraordinary emergency to stomp out Nader votes. And some former associates of Mr. Nader are organizing an extensive, well-financed national campaign against him. Organizers include Toby Moffett, a former congressman from Connecticut and onetime Nader Raider, who lost a close race for the Senate in 1982 after his former boss endorsed his opponent. Mr. Moffett, now a lobbyist in Washington, worked against Mr. Nader in six states in 2000, an informal effort that he now calls amateurish. With that experience under his belt, he said, we're vowing not to let it happen again. Mr. Moffett and others from labor and feminist organizations spent their time at the Democratic convention coordinating six or eight anti-Nader groups. Calling themselves United Progressives for Victory, they are raising money through an independent political committee known as a 527, named for the section of the I.R.S. code that governs it, and are working with other 527's that are already identifying sympathetic voters. (By law, such committees can raise unlimited amounts of money but cannot coordinate with the Kerry campaign.) The group is armed with a poll conducted by Stanley Greenberg, who was President Bill Clinton's pollster. The group includes Roy Neel, a former Gore associate who worked for Mr. Dean and is now preparing the computer model for finding the 2.8 million people who voted for Mr. Nader in 2000 and might vote for him again. Mr. Moffett said there was no chance that Mr. Nader would drop out, so the only way to stop him from throwing the election to Mr. Bush is to discourage his supporters. . . . . . . [For instance,] when Nader supporters learned that Mr. Nader had accepted help and money from Republicans to get on the ballots in various states, they dropped away. And one of the few public figures who has credibility with Nader backers is former President Jimmy Carter, who is perceived as not compromised by or profiting from the political system. So some of the group's officials say they have discussed redeploying Mr. Carter, who they say has indicated a willingness to help. The briefings in Boston drew dozens of donors, lawyers and activists, including Arianna Huffington, the columnist. . . . Mr. Moffett said that he and Elizabeth Holtzman, the former congresswoman from New York, were coordinating with election lawyers in several states to challenge Mr. Nader's ballot petitions. Their strategy, he said, is to try to undercut Mr. Nader strong not only in swing states where he could make a difference but in safe states, to drain him of resources and force him to spend his time and money./strong . . . Mr. Nader has raised $1.5 million, tens of thousands of it from Republicans, who also collected the signatures to get him on the ballot in Michigan. But he shrugged off the significance of their help, saying, We had nothing to do with it. . . . I wish Republicans who support us would send us some donations, Mr. Camejo said. In polls, 25 percent of our vote is from Republicans and only 5 percent of our money. (emphasis added, Katharine Q. Seelye, Convictions Intact, Nader Soldiers On, emNew York Times/em, a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/02/politics/campaign/02nader.html;August 2, 2004/a)/blockquote -- Yoshie * Critical Montages: http://montages.blogspot.com/ * Greens for Nader: http://greensfornader.net/ * Bring Them Home Now! http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/ * Calendars of Events in Columbus: http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html, http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php, http://www.cpanews.org/ * Student International Forum: http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/ * Committee for Justice in Palestine: http://www.osudivest.org/ * Al-Awda-Ohio: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio * Solidarity: http://www.solidarity-us.org/
Re: testing
Title: Re: testing there's no need to read this. How does the format look? Somewhat staid, but it flowed nicely. Scanlan
The NY Times, the Democratic Party and Italian fascism
Alan A. Block, Space, Time Organized Crime: As a way of initially placing the fascist presence in America, consider Mussolini's reception in the United States. According to John P. Diggins' history, Mussolini enjoyed a vast popularity which was a product of the press. Diggins pointed out that The New York Times correspondents' writing on Italy approved of fascism and Mussolini. One of the most prolific was Anne O'Hare McCormick who rhapsodized upon the feats of the Blackshirts and consistently defended the twists and turns of Mussolini's diplomacy, justifying the Ethiopian invasion, the Italian 'volunteers' in Spain, and the Rome-Berlin axis. Like the extraordinarily influential The New York Times which featured so many rhapsodic articles on fascism, the mass circulation Saturday Evening Post which had about three million subscribers in 1930 effectively created a respectable image of Mussolini. Indeed, Post writers did much more than make Mussolini respectable, they described him in numerous articles as a political savior, and economic genius, and the leader in the struggle of virtue over vice. In 1928, the Post went beyond description of fascism and Mussolini, and in serial form published Mussolini's autobiography. Negotiations for this publishing coup were carried out by the American ambassador to Italy, Richard Washburn Child who was infatuated with the Italian dictator and frequently conferred with him on the state of American opinion. Most likely the Mussolini autobiography published in the Post was in fact written by Child with the aid of Mussolini's brother. Fascism was well established and deeply entrenched within the associational life of Italian-Americans. And, Generoso Pope as publisher of pro-Fascist papers was clearly one of the most important Fascist propagandists. Pope's Fascist activities, however, were not entirely subsumed by his newspapers. As a man of influence Pope played a role in legitimizing fascism by his participation in public events that extolled Mussolini and Italian Fascism. For instance, he was a member of a committee which arranged for the reception of Italo Balbo, Italian airman, on January 3, 1929. A few weeks later, Piero Parini, director of the bureau of Italians abroad and director general of the Italian schools abroad at the Rome Foreign Office came to the United States. While in New York, Parini received the honorary title of deputy sheriff of New York County at a dinner arranged for him by Pope. The chief editor of Il Progresso Italo-Americano was Italo Carlo Falbo who was a friend of Mussolini's and also represented the state-controlled Stefani News Agency in New York. Pope engaged in fund-raising activities for the Reverend Joseph Congedo's educational endeavors among Italian-American children which were laced with fascist propaganda. The Reverend Congedo was knighted by Mussolini in 1932 for spreading the fascist gospel. Early in 1934, Pope was a featured speaker at, what Salvemini described, the golden anniversary of the priesthood of the Fascist Reverend Francis P. Qrassi, paster of Saint Anthony, Wakefield, Bronx. In March 1934, Pope sent a representative to a birthday of Fascism party held at the Hotel Ambassador which had been promoted by Il Grido delta Stirpe and was attended by Count di Revel and other fascists. In October 1934 Pope sent a telegram of greeting and approval to the Lictor Association which had promoted a celebration of the March on Rome. Similar demonstrations took place in 1935 with Pope either speaking or as one of the distinguished guests. He was especially prominent in defending Italy's right to civilize Ethiopia during that year. With only one substantial exception which will be dealt with shortly, there has never been any question of Pope's background in the Italian-American fascist movement. There is, however, a substantial question dealing with Pope and fascism which is concerned with precisely when he actually denounced Mussolini and Fascism. Furthermore, there are interpretive problems dealing with the meaning of Pope's anti-fascist statements coming as they did in general after Italy and America were at war. Let us first deal with the exceptionPope's defender who claimed that he was never even a Fascist sympathizer. In the spring of 1941, [Democratic Party] Congressman Samuel Dickstein from New York took up cudgels for Pope in the House of Representatives and answered newspaper allegations that Pope had been a fascist sympathizer. Dickstein acknowledged that Pope was the publisher of two, as he put it, outstanding Italian newspapers, and then added that he was a benefactor to the poor and that He always condemned fascism and the Mussolini movement. Several months later, Dickstein continued his defense in Congress. This was necessary because in the interim, Dickstein's original statement had sparked a flurry of mail to Congress which as Dickstein stated
Re: testing
Title: Re: testing thanks. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine -Original Message-From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Dan ScanlanSent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 4:27 PMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: Re: [PEN-L] testing there's no need to read this. How does the format look? Somewhat staid, but it flowed nicely. Scanlan
Re: The NY Times, the Democratic Party and Italian fascism
[how does this look?] Alan A. Block, "Space, Time Organized Crime": As a way of initially placing the fascist presence in America, consider Mussolini's reception in the United States. According to John P. Diggins' history, Mussolini enjoyed a "vast popularity" which was a "product of the press." Diggins pointed out that "The New York Times" correspondents' writing on Italy approved of fascism and Mussolini. One of the most prolific was Anne O'Hare McCormick who "rhapsodized upon the feats of the Blackshirts and consistently defended the twists and turns of Mussolini's diplomacy, justifying the Ethiopian invasion, the Italian 'volunteers' in Spain, and the Rome-Berlin axis." the New York TIMES also had a reporter who loved Stalin. Is it possible that back then the NYT embraced generalized authoritarianism -- or simply suffered from low journalistic standards. (Back in the 1970s, I went to a chiropractor who was also a right-wing nut (or a right wing-nut, I forget which). But he was a great chiropractor and a lot of Bay Area lefties went to him. Anyway, while he had me on the table, he used to rant about his politics, about how children didn't obey their parents anymore, how we need law and order, etc. Not wanting to disagree (given my posture), I said "don't they have law and order in the Soviet Union?" hoping to catch him on a contradiction. It turned out that he loved the USSR, since he was a _generalized_ authoritarian. He liked the fact that Soviet children wore uniforms, etc. Oh, my back!) Jim Devine
Re: The NY Times, the Democratic Party and Italian fascism
Devine, James wrote: [how does this look?] Alan A. Block, Space, Time Organized Crime: As a way of initially placing the fascist presence in America, consider Mussolini's reception in the United States. One of those random things one remembers from early youth (8 or 9 at most). A cartoon in the Sunday Chicago Herald-American (a Hearst paper). It was a double panel. One showed Stalin in an armored railroad car surrounded by armed guards. The other showed Mussolini driving a tractor pulling a combine or something, with scores of happy peasants working in the fields around him. No guards. (I'm probably making some of the details up, but the basic contrast was there.) Carrol
Nuruddin Farah: We No Longer Own Our Country
Nuruddin Farah: 'We No Longer Own Our Country' (Nuruddin Farah, a Somali novelist, writes of what it means to lose one's own country -- utterly): http://montages.blogspot.com/2004/08/nuruddin-farah-we-no-longer-own-our.html -- Yoshie * Critical Montages: http://montages.blogspot.com/ * Greens for Nader: http://greensfornader.net/ * Bring Them Home Now! http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/ * Calendars of Events in Columbus: http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html, http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php, http://www.cpanews.org/ * Student International Forum: http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/ * Committee for Justice in Palestine: http://www.osudivest.org/ * Al-Awda-Ohio: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio * Solidarity: http://www.solidarity-us.org/
Re: Walmart costs California
Wal-Mart questioned the validity of the report, saying the authors undervalued the wages and benefits the chain's employees receive. The UC report comes from the Berkeley Labor Center, an institute that is openly supportive of union causes. Although its researchers have in the past accepted funding from the grocery workers' union to conduct studies, this report was not funded by labor, its authors said. _openly_ supportive of union causes? do they ever say openly supportive of corporate causes? is Labor is such bad shape that it's a market of shame to support it? Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
Re: Walmart costs California
The labor center was singled out by Arnold for extinction, although the Dems made him fund the certer. The construction industry is especially hostile to the center. On Tue, Aug 03, 2004 at 08:07:07PM -0700, Devine, James wrote: Wal-Mart questioned the validity of the report, saying the authors undervalued the wages and benefits the chain's employees receive. The UC report comes from the Berkeley Labor Center, an institute that is openly supportive of union causes. Although its researchers have in the past accepted funding from the grocery workers' union to conduct studies, this report was not funded by labor, its authors said. _openly_ supportive of union causes? do they ever say openly supportive of corporate causes? is Labor is such bad shape that it's a market of shame to support it? Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu