Jeremy Clarkson's disablist insult on Gordon Brown is a typical example of the working of the right-wing mind. This is not to say that the Left or the Greens are above using ad hominem arguments, because they are not; but personal insults are the stock in trade of the Right.
Why should this be? Maybe it goes back to the centuries-old ignoble British tradition of maintain an aristocracy, whose assured position of superiority over the peasants made it habitual for them to talk down and insult anyone who disagreed with them.
Not that Clarkson is an aristocrat, but he did go to public school. His father made Paddington Bear toys to send him to Repton.
"One eyed" is a pure piece of disabilism, and Clarkson has apologised for that.
"Scottish" is not an insult (now if he had said "Scotch" it might have been more insulting, but it would have rebounded on Clarkson himself). Needs no apology.
"Idiot" sugggests person of subnormal inteligence, a layman, or uneducated person. This is the kind of insult that would come naturally to the public school Clarkson, but it is an inversion of the truth, since it is Clarkson whose education was terminated by expulsionfor drinking, smoking and being a nuisance, whereas Gordon Brown has a PhD in history. Therefore, apology needed.
This suggests that Clarkson may be overcompensating for a deeper sense of intellectual insecurity.
Not that any of this matters all that much. Greens are critical of Brown, who has many political faults, chiefly his adherence to militarism, and economically because he is pouring our money into the banks without securing much in return, and into the motor car industry, rather than investing in a low-carbon energy strategy; but our criticism is political, not personal. His policies are mistaken, but that is no reason to call him an "idiot".
The pity of it all is that there is unlimited room in the media for discussion of Clarkson's jibes and mistakes, but very little room for serious discussion of investment in clean energy, its potential for creating good work, and for heading off the coming Peak Oil crisis.
In the end, Clarkson is a lightweight comedian, who achieves notoriety by his absolutist delivery of outrageous opinions. Clarkson is not a problem: the problem is the thousands of mini-clarksons who, reinforced by right wing media, ape his opinions in the pubs and on the comment slots, believing that if they say right wing things loudly enough and with enough disdain and conviction, they will become true.
Still, just as the absolute opinions of the banksters in the rightness of their free market enterprise has withered to nothing, in time the opinions of the clarkson-clones will wither in the light of unfolding realities.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Friday, February 06, 2009
What a difference a Snow makes (24 hours in Dolberrow)
Yesterday was a washout; limping around indoors using my R leg as a strut because it hurt when I used the muscle, due to falling onto a stone on Tuesday, and also miserable because of reading a flame email from some policy oberstleutnantstormbahnfurhrer who objected to a short discussion of "Green Keynesianism".
It seems rare to be able to hold a constructive discussion on email lists. The scholastics had "disputations" where it was important to understand the other side, and aimed to build a common ground; but it seems that the adversarial system has spread from our courts, via the media, to email discussions. I told myself it was he that had the problem, not me, but it still darkened my yesterday.
Today began at 6 am with a night sky tinged with roseate light seemingly arising from the ground. Looked out, and everything was proper snowy. Six and a half inches of white fluff everywhere - on the ground, on the trees, on the bird bath. And on the road. Line of tail lights on the A38. Stuck.
I took 400mg of Ibuprofen with my breakfast, got my skis, filled my pack with coffee, shovel and saw, and set off up the hill to the traffic jam. White van slewed across the road. Great sense of community effort as we all sorted it out, pulled him clear, helped a few others to get moving. What you have to do is dig a little track in front of the wheels, down to the tarmac. Simple, but not universally known. Took the saw to some branches that were narrowing a carriageway, and soon the traffic was moving, turning the virginal snow into an ugly brown mush. It was a relief to get up the hill again to our house, where all the cars were dressed out like Steiner wedding cakes, all sitting as still as a cat by a mouse hole.
All this time I was totally unaware of my bruised thigh. (Though it still stiffens up after a period of non-use).
Lunch with Joe, friends-and-neighbours Luke & Carole, Nicky and Laurence in the Crown, which is a pub seemingly unchanged in decor since the year 1306. The only one I know like it is the Blue Flame on the moors of North Somerset. (Beware the cider). Great atmosphere, talking with neighbours at the next table, Dunkirk spirit. Everyone agrees that it makes sense for the UK to have a National Holiday every time it snows.
Then back up the hill with toboggans. Joe chooses the Wall of Death slope on the south side of Dolberrow, where rivers in the Ordovician period (I made that up, I like the word Ordovician; anyway, after the Ice Age) carved a channel in the Mendip limestone. We tobogganed off the Iron age ramparts, bounced off the Iron Age first line of defence , then baled out before reaching 180mph on the steep slope. Later Dom and Zena turned up, and we built a snow lip over the Wall of Death and got some pics of Dom and Joe flying off the jump into an Infinite Void, with trees hundreds of feet below.
I ran about on my touring skis, pursued by Joe's dog, who, though naked and unshod, seemed not to notice the coldness of the snow. On the flat I am happy on the Langlauf, but a bit nervous about the negotiating of bends. I know the theory of the telemark turn, but my cerebellum doesn't. I had a teacher who taught me downhill skiing: Always Keep Leaning Forwards, which is excellent advice, but you cannot do that on Nordic skis. So I found myself adopting the English Pose: that of someone who is unwilling to make skin contact with the toilet seat. Anyway, I only fell a few times, and that was mainly the fault of the terrain.
Joe, Dom and Zena went down to the Crown, but we were too knackered to make any further movement, and happily collapsed by the flames of the fire, me pondering what Keynes would have done in 2009.I am pretty sure he would have insisted that any quantitative easing should be invested into renewable energy, and if not, so much the worse for Keynes.
It seems rare to be able to hold a constructive discussion on email lists. The scholastics had "disputations" where it was important to understand the other side, and aimed to build a common ground; but it seems that the adversarial system has spread from our courts, via the media, to email discussions. I told myself it was he that had the problem, not me, but it still darkened my yesterday.
Today began at 6 am with a night sky tinged with roseate light seemingly arising from the ground. Looked out, and everything was proper snowy. Six and a half inches of white fluff everywhere - on the ground, on the trees, on the bird bath. And on the road. Line of tail lights on the A38. Stuck.
I took 400mg of Ibuprofen with my breakfast, got my skis, filled my pack with coffee, shovel and saw, and set off up the hill to the traffic jam. White van slewed across the road. Great sense of community effort as we all sorted it out, pulled him clear, helped a few others to get moving. What you have to do is dig a little track in front of the wheels, down to the tarmac. Simple, but not universally known. Took the saw to some branches that were narrowing a carriageway, and soon the traffic was moving, turning the virginal snow into an ugly brown mush. It was a relief to get up the hill again to our house, where all the cars were dressed out like Steiner wedding cakes, all sitting as still as a cat by a mouse hole.
All this time I was totally unaware of my bruised thigh. (Though it still stiffens up after a period of non-use).
Lunch with Joe, friends-and-neighbours Luke & Carole, Nicky and Laurence in the Crown, which is a pub seemingly unchanged in decor since the year 1306. The only one I know like it is the Blue Flame on the moors of North Somerset. (Beware the cider). Great atmosphere, talking with neighbours at the next table, Dunkirk spirit. Everyone agrees that it makes sense for the UK to have a National Holiday every time it snows.
Then back up the hill with toboggans. Joe chooses the Wall of Death slope on the south side of Dolberrow, where rivers in the Ordovician period (I made that up, I like the word Ordovician; anyway, after the Ice Age) carved a channel in the Mendip limestone. We tobogganed off the Iron age ramparts, bounced off the Iron Age first line of defence , then baled out before reaching 180mph on the steep slope. Later Dom and Zena turned up, and we built a snow lip over the Wall of Death and got some pics of Dom and Joe flying off the jump into an Infinite Void, with trees hundreds of feet below.
I ran about on my touring skis, pursued by Joe's dog, who, though naked and unshod, seemed not to notice the coldness of the snow. On the flat I am happy on the Langlauf, but a bit nervous about the negotiating of bends. I know the theory of the telemark turn, but my cerebellum doesn't. I had a teacher who taught me downhill skiing: Always Keep Leaning Forwards, which is excellent advice, but you cannot do that on Nordic skis. So I found myself adopting the English Pose: that of someone who is unwilling to make skin contact with the toilet seat. Anyway, I only fell a few times, and that was mainly the fault of the terrain.
Joe, Dom and Zena went down to the Crown, but we were too knackered to make any further movement, and happily collapsed by the flames of the fire, me pondering what Keynes would have done in 2009.I am pretty sure he would have insisted that any quantitative easing should be invested into renewable energy, and if not, so much the worse for Keynes.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Gordon Brown, Depression slip of tongue - and monetary reform
Gordon Brown's slip of the tongue, referring to action to take the world out of "depression" when he meant "recession" is probably an indication of what the Cabinet is talking about behind closed doors.
The Economist says ... "there is no widely accepted definition of depression. ...A search on the internet suggests two principal criteria for distinguishing a depression from a recession: a decline in real GDP that exceeds 10%, or one that lasts more than three years. America’s Great Depression qualifies on both counts, with GDP falling by around 30% between 1929 and 1933. Output also fell by 13% during 1937 and 1938. The Great Depression was America’s deepest economic slump (excluding those related to wars), but at 43 months it was not the longest: that dubious honour goes to the one in 1873-79, which lasted 65 months".
So Gordon's slip may indicate the seriousness of what the world is facing. Add to that the impact of climate change, where extreme weather events will cause further economic disruption and added burdens on the insurance industry (see here for a bar graph of rising insurance claims for extreme weather events). UK plc is heavily dependent on insurance - financial services and insurance constitute 22.7% of our commercial service exports - so climate change is going to hit us hard (although not so hard as poor countries who did little to cause the problem).
This may be why depression is in Gordon's thoughts, and gets tangled up with his emergent thoughts. Maybe this is why Joseph Stiglitz said Gordon should let the banks fail and set up a fresh banking system under temporary state control rather than cripple the country by propping up a corrupt edifice.
And this is why we should give thought to James Robertson's proposals regarding a radical restructuring of money. This is James' message:
A CRASH CAMPAIGN - URGENT ACTION NEEDED
The G20 Must Discuss Monetary Reform at its 2nd April Meeting
and We Must Make Sure It's on Their Agenda
The way money is created today as profit-making debt, both nationally and internationally, cannot avoid leading to recurrent highly damaging booms and busts. In normal times too, it results in a skewed system of financial rewards and penalties that motivates almost everyone in the world to get money in socially, environmentally, and economically damaging ways.
This means that not only active citizens should support monetary reform. So should non-governmental organisations (NGOs) concerned with social issues (poverty, welfare, social injustice, health, human rights, etc), environmental issues (climate change, energy supply and use, water, food and agriculture, etc); the problems of ‘developing’ countries; and general economic and public policy issues (world future prospects; local and community economic development; ethical investing, trading and consuming; corporate social responsibility; etc).
The G20 (twenty of the economically most important countries in the world) is replacing the G7 as the top international forum for discussing the world’s economic problems. It is meeting at the beginning of April in London to discuss international co-operation in handling the present global financial crisis.
So far, their policies have ignored the importance of national and international monetary reform. It is vital that they should be persuaded to put these topics on their agenda and we must make sure that this happens.
What to do. People in all the G20 countries should act urgently:
In an enterprise of this kind, even the smallest action may turn out to have a big impact.
Please feel free to use any information from the campaign document, which explains why monetary reform is needed and suggests some possible solutions. A pdf version can be downloaded from www.jamesrobertson.com/g20monetaryreform.pdf
Meanwhile, during the next eight weeks, this will have to be a highly de-centralised co-operative project. It is potentially very influential if self-energised and co-ordinated by its participants with one another in their own and other G20 countries - pursuing the shared aim of encouraging and pressuring the governments of the G20 countries to take monetary reform very seriously.
We will aim to make news reports of the campaign available once a week at www.jamesrobertson.com/g20campaignnews.htm
Please forward this notice to anyone who you think might be interested. As the G20 meeting starts on 2nd April, time is of the essence.
James Robertson
The Economist says ... "there is no widely accepted definition of depression. ...A search on the internet suggests two principal criteria for distinguishing a depression from a recession: a decline in real GDP that exceeds 10%, or one that lasts more than three years. America’s Great Depression qualifies on both counts, with GDP falling by around 30% between 1929 and 1933. Output also fell by 13% during 1937 and 1938. The Great Depression was America’s deepest economic slump (excluding those related to wars), but at 43 months it was not the longest: that dubious honour goes to the one in 1873-79, which lasted 65 months".
So Gordon's slip may indicate the seriousness of what the world is facing. Add to that the impact of climate change, where extreme weather events will cause further economic disruption and added burdens on the insurance industry (see here for a bar graph of rising insurance claims for extreme weather events). UK plc is heavily dependent on insurance - financial services and insurance constitute 22.7% of our commercial service exports - so climate change is going to hit us hard (although not so hard as poor countries who did little to cause the problem).
This may be why depression is in Gordon's thoughts, and gets tangled up with his emergent thoughts. Maybe this is why Joseph Stiglitz said Gordon should let the banks fail and set up a fresh banking system under temporary state control rather than cripple the country by propping up a corrupt edifice.
And this is why we should give thought to James Robertson's proposals regarding a radical restructuring of money. This is James' message:
A CRASH CAMPAIGN - URGENT ACTION NEEDED
The G20 Must Discuss Monetary Reform at its 2nd April Meeting
and We Must Make Sure It's on Their Agenda
The way money is created today as profit-making debt, both nationally and internationally, cannot avoid leading to recurrent highly damaging booms and busts. In normal times too, it results in a skewed system of financial rewards and penalties that motivates almost everyone in the world to get money in socially, environmentally, and economically damaging ways.
This means that not only active citizens should support monetary reform. So should non-governmental organisations (NGOs) concerned with social issues (poverty, welfare, social injustice, health, human rights, etc), environmental issues (climate change, energy supply and use, water, food and agriculture, etc); the problems of ‘developing’ countries; and general economic and public policy issues (world future prospects; local and community economic development; ethical investing, trading and consuming; corporate social responsibility; etc).
The G20 (twenty of the economically most important countries in the world) is replacing the G7 as the top international forum for discussing the world’s economic problems. It is meeting at the beginning of April in London to discuss international co-operation in handling the present global financial crisis.
So far, their policies have ignored the importance of national and international monetary reform. It is vital that they should be persuaded to put these topics on their agenda and we must make sure that this happens.
What to do. People in all the G20 countries should act urgently:
- to mobilise pressure on their governments by early March to include national and international monetary reform in their April agenda, and
- to achieve widespread media coverage in their countries about why those reforms are necessary.
- That can be done through many channels. They include writing and other ways of communicating:
- to the politicians who represent us in our legislatures
- to the press and broadcasting media;
- to NGOs that support our concern for development, social justice, environment, ethical economics, or any of the numerous causes that suffer from how the present money system works;
- to other people able to do any of these things themselves, and
- by speaking at meetings about those concerns.
In an enterprise of this kind, even the smallest action may turn out to have a big impact.
Please feel free to use any information from the campaign document, which explains why monetary reform is needed and suggests some possible solutions. A pdf version can be downloaded from www.jamesrobertson.com/g20monetaryreform.pdf
Meanwhile, during the next eight weeks, this will have to be a highly de-centralised co-operative project. It is potentially very influential if self-energised and co-ordinated by its participants with one another in their own and other G20 countries - pursuing the shared aim of encouraging and pressuring the governments of the G20 countries to take monetary reform very seriously.
We will aim to make news reports of the campaign available once a week at www.jamesrobertson.com/g20campaignnews.htm
Please forward this notice to anyone who you think might be interested. As the G20 meeting starts on 2nd April, time is of the essence.
James Robertson
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Whose Pigs are These, Whose Pigs are These?
This came by email, and the author has been lost - so - thanks, whoever you are..
Rt Hon David Miliband MP
Secretary of State,
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA),
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Dear Secretary of State,
My friend, who is in farming at the moment, recently received a cheque for £3,000 from the Rural Payments Agency for not rearing pigs. I would now like to join the "not rearing pigs" business.
In your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to rear pigs on, and which is the best breed of pigs not to rear? I want to be sure I approach this endeavour in keeping with all government policies, as promoted by the EU under the Common Agricultural Policy.
I would prefer not to rear bacon pigs, but if this is not the type you want not rearing, I will just as gladly not rear porkers. Are there any advantages in not rearing rare breeds such as Saddlebacks or Gloucester Old Spots, or are there too many people already not rearing these?
As I see it, the hardest part of this programme will be keeping an accurate record of how many pigs I haven't reared. Are there any Government or Local Authority courses on this?
My friend is very satisfied with this business. He has been rearing pigs for forty years or so, and the best he ever made on them was £1,422 in 1968. That is - until this year, when he received a cheque for not rearing any.
If I get £3,000 for not rearing 50 pigs, will I get £6,000 for not rearing 100?
I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself down to about 4,000 pigs not raised, which will mean about £240,000 for the first year. As I become more expert in not rearing pigs, I plan to be more ambitious, perhaps increasing to, say, 40,000 pigs not reared in my second year, for which I should expect about £2.4 million from your department. Incidentally, I wonder if I would be eligible to receive tradable carbon credits for all these pigs not producing harmful and polluting methane gases?
Another point: These pigs that I plan not to rear will not eat 2,000 tonnes of cereals. I understand that you also pay farmers for not growing crops. Will I qualify for payments for not growing cereals to not feed the pigs I don't rear?
I am also considering the "not milking cows" business, so please send any information you have on that too. Please could you also include the current Defra advice on set aside fields? Can this be done on an e-commerce basis with virtual fields (of which I seem to have several thousand hectares)?
In view of the above you will realise that I will be totally unemployed, and will therefore qualify for unemployment benefits.
I shall of course be voting for your party at the next general election.
Yours faithfully,
Rt Hon David Miliband MP
Secretary of State,
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA),
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Dear Secretary of State,
My friend, who is in farming at the moment, recently received a cheque for £3,000 from the Rural Payments Agency for not rearing pigs. I would now like to join the "not rearing pigs" business.
In your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to rear pigs on, and which is the best breed of pigs not to rear? I want to be sure I approach this endeavour in keeping with all government policies, as promoted by the EU under the Common Agricultural Policy.
I would prefer not to rear bacon pigs, but if this is not the type you want not rearing, I will just as gladly not rear porkers. Are there any advantages in not rearing rare breeds such as Saddlebacks or Gloucester Old Spots, or are there too many people already not rearing these?
As I see it, the hardest part of this programme will be keeping an accurate record of how many pigs I haven't reared. Are there any Government or Local Authority courses on this?
My friend is very satisfied with this business. He has been rearing pigs for forty years or so, and the best he ever made on them was £1,422 in 1968. That is - until this year, when he received a cheque for not rearing any.
If I get £3,000 for not rearing 50 pigs, will I get £6,000 for not rearing 100?
I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself down to about 4,000 pigs not raised, which will mean about £240,000 for the first year. As I become more expert in not rearing pigs, I plan to be more ambitious, perhaps increasing to, say, 40,000 pigs not reared in my second year, for which I should expect about £2.4 million from your department. Incidentally, I wonder if I would be eligible to receive tradable carbon credits for all these pigs not producing harmful and polluting methane gases?
Another point: These pigs that I plan not to rear will not eat 2,000 tonnes of cereals. I understand that you also pay farmers for not growing crops. Will I qualify for payments for not growing cereals to not feed the pigs I don't rear?
I am also considering the "not milking cows" business, so please send any information you have on that too. Please could you also include the current Defra advice on set aside fields? Can this be done on an e-commerce basis with virtual fields (of which I seem to have several thousand hectares)?
In view of the above you will realise that I will be totally unemployed, and will therefore qualify for unemployment benefits.
I shall of course be voting for your party at the next general election.
Yours faithfully,
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Let banks fail, says Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz
Let banks fail, says Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz - Telegraph: "Professor Stiglitz, the former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told The Daily Telegraph that Britain should let the banks default on their vast foreign operations and start afresh with new set of healthy banks."
Hmmm. Food for thought here.
According to the Telegraph, Stiglitz said "the Government should underwrite all deposits to protect the UK's domestic credit system and safeguard money markets that lubricate lending. It should use the skeletons of the old banks to build a healthier structure...City of London would survive the shock of such a default because it would uphold the principle of free market responsibility. "Counter-parties entered into voluntary agreements with the banks and they must accept the consequences," he said".
The challenging aim of this exercise is to separate "good" money - the bank savings of families, public services and pension funds - from the "bad money" - notional figures that have been thrown recklessly into the casino economy, the global derivatives market. Stiglitz is saying that the UK Governments present position, of offering to insure the banks against bad debt, is hopeless, given the black hole of debt that the banksters have created in the Ponzi style derivatives.
He says let them go hang. This is what happens when a Ponzi scheme collapses - the scammees come out of it with nothing but a learning experience.
So - GB insurance scheme no good.
What about the Bad Bank, or Toxic Asset Dump, advocated months ago by Prof Wilem Buiter, and still under consideration by Darling where the so called "assets" created in the casino economy can be corralled up? Stiglitz calls it "cash for trash", and George Soros (same link) doubts it would work.
It depends how much cash you give for the trash. Given that nobody knows how to put a price on the Toxic Assets, "not a lot", would be my answer. The Bad Bank should be modeled on the amnesty model, where people can hand in knives and guns to their local police station, no questions asked, but certainly no money paid out. In the Bad Bank, the "assets" can at least be studied. Some may prove to have some positive value, which might pay for the administration costs at least, or even provide a windfall for the public purse. Some will prove to be pure Ponzi scams, and the originators could be taken to court, and repay their debt to society by doing 20 years' community service in the Bad Bank itself. Wearing orange jump-suits and tied to the desk in case they try to jump out of the window.
So the Bad Bank might still be the way to go, if the price is right. Chances are that if they go down this route, Alistair ad Gordon will pay out too much cash for the trash.
If not the Bad Bank, then we have the Stiglitz plan - pull out the people's money, and let the banking system collapse under the weight of its own internal contradictions (as the Marxists should say, but don't, because, amazingly, they do not support Monetary Reform, preferring to leave the creation of money in the hands of the private corporations).
The devil is in the detail. We need to pull good money out of the building before it falls. Savings, and loans to ecologically useful concerns that have a reasonable chance of being paid back.
The rest of the financial "services "can go hang. This will include many mega-capitalist Transnational Corporations, who are heavily exposed to toxic assets. Arms companies will be threatened, so politicians will have to be screened off from their desperate lobbying for World War III as a way of stimulating demand for their goods.
But what about the pension funds? Most of these are up to their necks in the swirling cauldron of decaying putridity that constitutes the stock market. Is there some way of rescuing them? I have no idea. Suggestions welcome.
Having drawn a line between good money and hopeless trash, we nationalise at least some banks, and use them to fulfil the old core banking services, and furnish the system with new, clean money issued by Government on behalf of the people.
What will this new money be based on?
Gold is a bit retro.
Greed has been shown to be not a good backer of global finance.
Gaia is the ultimate guarantor of our human life, so the money should be based on some valuation of the aggregate ecological capital in any region.
What income does the nation have from the sun - direct, in insolation (jargon for sunshine, not a typo for insulation), and indirect solar income - wind, wave tide, hydro?
What potential is there for agriculture, if water resources are properly spread around?
What human capital - knowledge, skills - is there in the nation?
This is the natural capital of a nation, and the challenge for economists is how to create an internationally accepted currency unit that reflects Gaian values. Richard Douthwaite has made an outline with his Energy Based Currency Unit - the ebcu.
To design a new currency that reflects ecological reality is not an easy task, but it is a necessary task if the banks fail, whether the failure be due to the failure of world leaders' attempts to save the banks, or whether we accept Joseph Stiglitz advice, and leave the global bankers to experience the consequences of their global folly.
Hmmm. Food for thought here.
According to the Telegraph, Stiglitz said "the Government should underwrite all deposits to protect the UK's domestic credit system and safeguard money markets that lubricate lending. It should use the skeletons of the old banks to build a healthier structure...City of London would survive the shock of such a default because it would uphold the principle of free market responsibility. "Counter-parties entered into voluntary agreements with the banks and they must accept the consequences," he said".
The challenging aim of this exercise is to separate "good" money - the bank savings of families, public services and pension funds - from the "bad money" - notional figures that have been thrown recklessly into the casino economy, the global derivatives market. Stiglitz is saying that the UK Governments present position, of offering to insure the banks against bad debt, is hopeless, given the black hole of debt that the banksters have created in the Ponzi style derivatives.
He says let them go hang. This is what happens when a Ponzi scheme collapses - the scammees come out of it with nothing but a learning experience.
So - GB insurance scheme no good.
What about the Bad Bank, or Toxic Asset Dump, advocated months ago by Prof Wilem Buiter, and still under consideration by Darling where the so called "assets" created in the casino economy can be corralled up? Stiglitz calls it "cash for trash", and George Soros (same link) doubts it would work.
It depends how much cash you give for the trash. Given that nobody knows how to put a price on the Toxic Assets, "not a lot", would be my answer. The Bad Bank should be modeled on the amnesty model, where people can hand in knives and guns to their local police station, no questions asked, but certainly no money paid out. In the Bad Bank, the "assets" can at least be studied. Some may prove to have some positive value, which might pay for the administration costs at least, or even provide a windfall for the public purse. Some will prove to be pure Ponzi scams, and the originators could be taken to court, and repay their debt to society by doing 20 years' community service in the Bad Bank itself. Wearing orange jump-suits and tied to the desk in case they try to jump out of the window.
So the Bad Bank might still be the way to go, if the price is right. Chances are that if they go down this route, Alistair ad Gordon will pay out too much cash for the trash.
If not the Bad Bank, then we have the Stiglitz plan - pull out the people's money, and let the banking system collapse under the weight of its own internal contradictions (as the Marxists should say, but don't, because, amazingly, they do not support Monetary Reform, preferring to leave the creation of money in the hands of the private corporations).
The devil is in the detail. We need to pull good money out of the building before it falls. Savings, and loans to ecologically useful concerns that have a reasonable chance of being paid back.
The rest of the financial "services "can go hang. This will include many mega-capitalist Transnational Corporations, who are heavily exposed to toxic assets. Arms companies will be threatened, so politicians will have to be screened off from their desperate lobbying for World War III as a way of stimulating demand for their goods.
But what about the pension funds? Most of these are up to their necks in the swirling cauldron of decaying putridity that constitutes the stock market. Is there some way of rescuing them? I have no idea. Suggestions welcome.
Having drawn a line between good money and hopeless trash, we nationalise at least some banks, and use them to fulfil the old core banking services, and furnish the system with new, clean money issued by Government on behalf of the people.
What will this new money be based on?
Gold is a bit retro.
Greed has been shown to be not a good backer of global finance.
Gaia is the ultimate guarantor of our human life, so the money should be based on some valuation of the aggregate ecological capital in any region.
What income does the nation have from the sun - direct, in insolation (jargon for sunshine, not a typo for insulation), and indirect solar income - wind, wave tide, hydro?
What potential is there for agriculture, if water resources are properly spread around?
What human capital - knowledge, skills - is there in the nation?
This is the natural capital of a nation, and the challenge for economists is how to create an internationally accepted currency unit that reflects Gaian values. Richard Douthwaite has made an outline with his Energy Based Currency Unit - the ebcu.
To design a new currency that reflects ecological reality is not an easy task, but it is a necessary task if the banks fail, whether the failure be due to the failure of world leaders' attempts to save the banks, or whether we accept Joseph Stiglitz advice, and leave the global bankers to experience the consequences of their global folly.
The Water Project: Peace in Israel/Palestine through cooperation on sustainability
Peace in the Middle East through cooperation on water infrastructure projects
The question of how to create a true, just and sustainable peace in Israel and Palestine (I/P) is now firmly at the top of the international agenda. There is a political agenda to be pursued by diplomats, on which Greens have much to say, but there is also a uniquely ecological issue that we can add. This paper proposes that the approach taken by Friends of the Earth Middle East should be adopted and expanded, and placed on the table of peace negotiations.
It is right and necessary for European Greens to take a constructive interest in I/P matters, since everything on the surface of the Earth is interconnected, and the deep division of opinion there is reflected in tension within our own society. Also, if the conflict escalates to a major war, we will be affected, especially if the war progresses to the use of nuclear weapons.
The proposal is that GPEW, the European Green Party and the US Green Party draw together a coalition of green NGOs in I/P with the aim of persuading funding organisations, primarily the EU and the USA, to put significant amounts of money into a cross-community Water Management Project in I/P.
There are two established principles in conflict resolution: first, find common ground that is of benefit to both parties, and second, introduce a displacement activity to divert attention away from conflict to co-operation, from destruction to construction.
The common ground for both communities is, literally, their common ground: they need to win a sustainable living out of an arid land. The population in the Land has increased since 1946, and this means that the productivity of the land must be increased to meet the needs of the people there. Water is needed to increase agricultural productivity, and at present water is in short supply throughout the Middle East. This scarcity is itself a potential cause for conflict, but intelligent action can transform water into a cause of resolution of conflict.
We are aiming for a massive programme of investment and employment in water conservation, water harvesting, and afforestation. This will require significant financial investment, and the EU is one potential source for such, although other agencies could be tapped also. We know that peace in Northern Ireland came about after massive infrastructure investment in that country.
The Water Project programme has three arms: water conservation, water harvesting and afforestation.
Water Conservation
1 Recycling of grey water.
We can be sure this is happening already, but it needs to be universal, and in towns some technology – such as filters – may be needed.
2 Composting toilets should be used instead of water-mediated sewerage systems.
There are many working models for this approach which we can tap into. The Water Project can trial the many technologies on offer, and the most successful models can be rolled out across the whole ME. Composting toilets replace the conventional water- and energy-intensive system with a natural system which actually enhances the fertility and structure of the soil.
3 In places where boreholes are used, attention should be paid to the levels of water, and if these levels are falling, conservation measures in the locality should be intensified.
Water Harvesting
Every roof should be a water collecting point, and every building should have a water holding cistern appropriate to the size of the roof. This will create many thousands of jobs in both communities, work that requires little training. It will require a large amount of guttering and cisterns, probably made of plastic, preferably recycled. Some of this may come from established and new factories in both communities, some may come from the EU.
This activity will stimulate worthwhile production and good jobs in line with Keynesian policies as a response to the global recession, and will therefore help to relieve the poverty that is endemic in Gaza.
Afforestation
Forests act as aerial aquifers, conducting water inland from the sea in the evapotranspiration cycle. Wangari Maathai of the Green Belt Movement finds that an area of trees in Kenya of 15 square kilometres will create its own rain cloud.
Please see the Desert Rose Project for an outline proposal for (re)creating coastal forests, using water from solar desalination plants, and gradually working inland. Forests moderate the local (and, eventually, global) climate, and provide many other goods and services that are advantageous to the local community.
There are already projects of this nature taking place in Israel. The aim should be to expand them with new investment.
By putting in place these – and other – measures, there will be plenty of work for all people in both communities, with a resulting increase in general prosperity, and a decrease in available time and energy spent in ruminating on injustices and planning of revenge for same.
There is a wealth of experience in these matters within Friends of the Earth Middle East, who have been working on this for many years. They have in-depth knowledge of these matters
The present proposal is that the Green Party here should adopt this proposal and put it to the European Green Party, to the Green Group in the European Parliament, and to the United States’ Green Party. Working in cooperation with FoEME, the Israel Green Party, the Israel Green Movement (when they can be contacted) and as many of the Palestinian Green NGOs as we can contact, we will press for funding to be made available for a serious and expanding approach to water management which will continue until no more can be done to improve the situation.
In working toward this goal, we will be
· assisting the peace process at street level with constructive and economically worthwhile activity
· alleviating water shortages
· producing more productive agriculture
· providing a model that can be applied throughout the Middle East and in other arid and conflict-ridden regions.
This is a preliminary paper, seeking support from within the GPEW International Community, and from the GPEW leadership.
Background Information on Water in IP.
The question of how to create a true, just and sustainable peace in Israel and Palestine (I/P) is now firmly at the top of the international agenda. There is a political agenda to be pursued by diplomats, on which Greens have much to say, but there is also a uniquely ecological issue that we can add. This paper proposes that the approach taken by Friends of the Earth Middle East should be adopted and expanded, and placed on the table of peace negotiations.
It is right and necessary for European Greens to take a constructive interest in I/P matters, since everything on the surface of the Earth is interconnected, and the deep division of opinion there is reflected in tension within our own society. Also, if the conflict escalates to a major war, we will be affected, especially if the war progresses to the use of nuclear weapons.
The proposal is that GPEW, the European Green Party and the US Green Party draw together a coalition of green NGOs in I/P with the aim of persuading funding organisations, primarily the EU and the USA, to put significant amounts of money into a cross-community Water Management Project in I/P.
There are two established principles in conflict resolution: first, find common ground that is of benefit to both parties, and second, introduce a displacement activity to divert attention away from conflict to co-operation, from destruction to construction.
The common ground for both communities is, literally, their common ground: they need to win a sustainable living out of an arid land. The population in the Land has increased since 1946, and this means that the productivity of the land must be increased to meet the needs of the people there. Water is needed to increase agricultural productivity, and at present water is in short supply throughout the Middle East. This scarcity is itself a potential cause for conflict, but intelligent action can transform water into a cause of resolution of conflict.
We are aiming for a massive programme of investment and employment in water conservation, water harvesting, and afforestation. This will require significant financial investment, and the EU is one potential source for such, although other agencies could be tapped also. We know that peace in Northern Ireland came about after massive infrastructure investment in that country.
The Water Project programme has three arms: water conservation, water harvesting and afforestation.
Water Conservation
1 Recycling of grey water.
We can be sure this is happening already, but it needs to be universal, and in towns some technology – such as filters – may be needed.
2 Composting toilets should be used instead of water-mediated sewerage systems.
There are many working models for this approach which we can tap into. The Water Project can trial the many technologies on offer, and the most successful models can be rolled out across the whole ME. Composting toilets replace the conventional water- and energy-intensive system with a natural system which actually enhances the fertility and structure of the soil.
3 In places where boreholes are used, attention should be paid to the levels of water, and if these levels are falling, conservation measures in the locality should be intensified.
Water Harvesting
Every roof should be a water collecting point, and every building should have a water holding cistern appropriate to the size of the roof. This will create many thousands of jobs in both communities, work that requires little training. It will require a large amount of guttering and cisterns, probably made of plastic, preferably recycled. Some of this may come from established and new factories in both communities, some may come from the EU.
This activity will stimulate worthwhile production and good jobs in line with Keynesian policies as a response to the global recession, and will therefore help to relieve the poverty that is endemic in Gaza.
Afforestation
Forests act as aerial aquifers, conducting water inland from the sea in the evapotranspiration cycle. Wangari Maathai of the Green Belt Movement finds that an area of trees in Kenya of 15 square kilometres will create its own rain cloud.
Please see the Desert Rose Project for an outline proposal for (re)creating coastal forests, using water from solar desalination plants, and gradually working inland. Forests moderate the local (and, eventually, global) climate, and provide many other goods and services that are advantageous to the local community.
There are already projects of this nature taking place in Israel. The aim should be to expand them with new investment.
By putting in place these – and other – measures, there will be plenty of work for all people in both communities, with a resulting increase in general prosperity, and a decrease in available time and energy spent in ruminating on injustices and planning of revenge for same.
There is a wealth of experience in these matters within Friends of the Earth Middle East, who have been working on this for many years. They have in-depth knowledge of these matters
The present proposal is that the Green Party here should adopt this proposal and put it to the European Green Party, to the Green Group in the European Parliament, and to the United States’ Green Party. Working in cooperation with FoEME, the Israel Green Party, the Israel Green Movement (when they can be contacted) and as many of the Palestinian Green NGOs as we can contact, we will press for funding to be made available for a serious and expanding approach to water management which will continue until no more can be done to improve the situation.
In working toward this goal, we will be
· assisting the peace process at street level with constructive and economically worthwhile activity
· alleviating water shortages
· producing more productive agriculture
· providing a model that can be applied throughout the Middle East and in other arid and conflict-ridden regions.
This is a preliminary paper, seeking support from within the GPEW International Community, and from the GPEW leadership.
Background Information on Water in IP.
Extreme Weather Disruption : National Snowtime Holiday Proposal
Snow hysteria rocks Britain. The TV news alternates images of kids having the time of their lives with hard-hitting interviews with Ministers, trying to Pin The Blame on Someone.
Outside in the real world, the trees are dressed with an icing of brilliance, uncountable water molecules that have changed from vapour to crystalline solids, each ice crystal unique in its structural identity as a human being (but do we really KNOW this?).
I find my touring skis and (eventually, after searching house from loft to ottoman) boots, and set out onto Dolebury Warren. Walking up the path, I trip (not slip) and my right thigh lands on a stone. The subsequent pain every time I use my right rectus femoris spoils the fun of the skiing, though there is still the old Nordic magic of moving effortlessly downhill through the virgin snow, ridged with windblown patterns like the grain of an ash tree, the soft hiss of displaced snow, like flying.
Now it hurts every step I take. But I don't mind. That's snow.
Back to the TV presenters. Why does Somebody Have to be Responsible for the Disruption? This is Nature, white in tooth and claw. Nature reminding us that in the end, She is stronger than us.
People are moaning that schools and workplaces are closed ("When I were a child, we walked barefoot through ten miles of snowdrifts higher than a house to get to school, only to get a dose of the taws on our bare buttocks because we were late. It didn't do us any harm, apart from I write letters like this to the Daily Mail all the time...")
Why shouldn't schools and work close down if it is difficult to travel (apart from on skis)?
Why shouldn't we have a Public Holiday when it snows? Who wants to be indoors when the world is wearing its bridal dress?
Norway copes with more snow than us, because it has snow for four months a year, so it makes sound economic sense to gear up for it. There would be no economic sense in our matching Norway's level of preparedness for a four days of snow every other year.
Don't go to work if it snows, unless you are an emergency service. Lots of people can work from home anyway. Unneccessary traffic just makes things worse. Cars are designed for tarmac, just as skis and skates are designed for snow and ice. No matter how slowly you drive, you can lose control, endangering other people and your bank balance too. Your car gets stuck, you abandon it, the road is closed off for people who really need to use it (Like the garage mechanic who is called to drag your useless heap of metal out of the way).
Let's all stay home and enjoy ourselves when it snows!
Student Medic thinks the same way.
Outside in the real world, the trees are dressed with an icing of brilliance, uncountable water molecules that have changed from vapour to crystalline solids, each ice crystal unique in its structural identity as a human being (but do we really KNOW this?).
I find my touring skis and (eventually, after searching house from loft to ottoman) boots, and set out onto Dolebury Warren. Walking up the path, I trip (not slip) and my right thigh lands on a stone. The subsequent pain every time I use my right rectus femoris spoils the fun of the skiing, though there is still the old Nordic magic of moving effortlessly downhill through the virgin snow, ridged with windblown patterns like the grain of an ash tree, the soft hiss of displaced snow, like flying.
Now it hurts every step I take. But I don't mind. That's snow.
Back to the TV presenters. Why does Somebody Have to be Responsible for the Disruption? This is Nature, white in tooth and claw. Nature reminding us that in the end, She is stronger than us.
People are moaning that schools and workplaces are closed ("When I were a child, we walked barefoot through ten miles of snowdrifts higher than a house to get to school, only to get a dose of the taws on our bare buttocks because we were late. It didn't do us any harm, apart from I write letters like this to the Daily Mail all the time...")
Why shouldn't schools and work close down if it is difficult to travel (apart from on skis)?
Why shouldn't we have a Public Holiday when it snows? Who wants to be indoors when the world is wearing its bridal dress?
Norway copes with more snow than us, because it has snow for four months a year, so it makes sound economic sense to gear up for it. There would be no economic sense in our matching Norway's level of preparedness for a four days of snow every other year.
Don't go to work if it snows, unless you are an emergency service. Lots of people can work from home anyway. Unneccessary traffic just makes things worse. Cars are designed for tarmac, just as skis and skates are designed for snow and ice. No matter how slowly you drive, you can lose control, endangering other people and your bank balance too. Your car gets stuck, you abandon it, the road is closed off for people who really need to use it (Like the garage mechanic who is called to drag your useless heap of metal out of the way).
Let's all stay home and enjoy ourselves when it snows!
Student Medic thinks the same way.
Monday, February 02, 2009
There's no justice, just this lot...
Thanks to PapperBee for this:
These are from a book called Disorder in the Court!, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.
I like the medical ones, though the sexually active one is clearly the best.
___________________________________________
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
DEFENDANT: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
DEFENDANT: My name is Susan!
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
__________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when
a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's twenty, much like your IQ.
___________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shitting me?
_________________________________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different
attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town, I'm going with male.
_____________________________________
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a
deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
_________________________________________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
________ _________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________
And the best for last:
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive
when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive,nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
These are from a book called Disorder in the Court!, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.
I like the medical ones, though the sexually active one is clearly the best.
___________________________________________
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
DEFENDANT: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
DEFENDANT: My name is Susan!
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
__________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when
a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's twenty, much like your IQ.
___________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shitting me?
_________________________________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different
attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town, I'm going with male.
_____________________________________
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a
deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
_________________________________________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
________ _________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________
And the best for last:
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive
when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive,nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
Iceland appoints new premier & Left-Greens may lead new government
Green Change : Iceland appoints new lesbian premier, Left-Greens lead new government: "Iceland’s new government named Johanna Sigurdardottir, a Social Democrat Cabinet minister and former airline hostess, as the island’s first female prime minister after the economic collapse toppled the previous administration.
Sigurdardottir, 66, will lead an interim government of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left Green Movement until a snap election is held, President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said in a televised speech today in Reykjavik. The date of the election will be decided later today."
Polls suggest that the LeftGreens may end up being the biggest party in the Athlingi (Parliament).
A couple of years ago we met up with the Nordic Greens in Tim Beaumont's (RIP) rooms at the House of Lords. The Green Left from iceland were there. Didn't think much of it at the time. Democratic electoral systems are a wonderful thing.
The First Past the Post system should be chucked into the dustbin of history, along with an unelected House of Lords, Brown Envelopes (Ban the Bung!), and unregulated financial markets, to name but a few. And we do not mean at some indefinite time in the future, we mean in real time.
Good luck to our green friends in Iceland!
Sigurdardottir, 66, will lead an interim government of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left Green Movement until a snap election is held, President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said in a televised speech today in Reykjavik. The date of the election will be decided later today."
Polls suggest that the LeftGreens may end up being the biggest party in the Athlingi (Parliament).
A couple of years ago we met up with the Nordic Greens in Tim Beaumont's (RIP) rooms at the House of Lords. The Green Left from iceland were there. Didn't think much of it at the time. Democratic electoral systems are a wonderful thing.
The First Past the Post system should be chucked into the dustbin of history, along with an unelected House of Lords, Brown Envelopes (Ban the Bung!), and unregulated financial markets, to name but a few. And we do not mean at some indefinite time in the future, we mean in real time.
Good luck to our green friends in Iceland!
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Total IREM wildcat strikes and civil unrest
The current series of wildcat strikes in the UK, sparked by the decision of the Italian firm IREM to employ 400 Italian and Portugese workers in Total's Lindsey refinery is understandable but worrying. Worrying because the BNP will be trying to exploit the workers' anger to its own advantage, and because strikes are not exactly the best way to go about boosting UK plc out of recession.
INME's action is in accord with "The EU "posted workers" directive allows a European company to employ its own staff on a temporary project in another EU member state as long as it's for limited time and the company abides by local working conditions. The directive was introduced in 1996 to improve labour mobility in Europe while protecting the conditions of "posted" workers".
This directive is an example of that aspect of the EU that the Green Party wishes to change from within: its free-market "dys-economics".
The policy of moving workers around wholesale reduces them to the status of economic units, as if they were bits of machinery. This is seen in its purest form in Africa, where miners live in huge barracks, many miles from their families and communities, to the detriment of all concerned. The policy is also a driver of the increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS . Migrant working is not exactly an ideal situation, although clearly, in some cases, where the only skilled force available must be brought in from outside the area, it is necessary. When it is necessary, the living conditions and home time of the workers must be generously regulated.
[unnecessary prod at my GreenLeft colleagues deleted.]
BTW, I am not anti-Left. Some of my friends are socialists, and Conservatives always treat me as if I were a socialist, but then, anyone to the left of Chris Patten is a socialist to them.
I still find the GreenLeft's unwavering support of the right of private corporations to have a monopoly to create money out of debt for profit absolutely incomprehensible.
Back to the point. EU rules treat workers as economic units, conveniently forgetting that they are human beings with emotional needs. Migrant workers are torn from their families and communities. British workers get understandably angry. Emotions are left out of the EU dys-economic calculation.
How can this problem of migrant workers be resolved?
Workers with special skills who have to work abroad around need their rights and liberties to be fully protected.
But the real reason is that the migrant workers are cheaper, when valued narrowly, as in their wage bill. Green economics factors in the whole cost to society. In the green accounting system, migrant workers probably cost more than British workers. It is not unprecedented that British jobs are lost to cheaper foreign competition - it's been going on for decades. In the long run, the cost of living throughout the EU may level out, but in the mean time, the rules need to be tweaked so that the cost of foreign work is made truly comparable with the cost of a British worker.
This is not really my field, and I am sure that there is an economist in the Treasury who could do a holistic analysis of the true cost of foreign labour, factoring in such things as the SS costs for displaced British workers, extra NHS costs, the cost of policing the resulting demonstrations, the cost to the fabric of British society by giving the BNP a boost, and the loss to the British economy through wages sent back to Italy and Portugal.
Here's Caroline Lucas' take on it - the Posted Workers' Directive needs to be revised. The Green Group in the EuroParliament is working on it already.
INME's action is in accord with "The EU "posted workers" directive allows a European company to employ its own staff on a temporary project in another EU member state as long as it's for limited time and the company abides by local working conditions. The directive was introduced in 1996 to improve labour mobility in Europe while protecting the conditions of "posted" workers".
This directive is an example of that aspect of the EU that the Green Party wishes to change from within: its free-market "dys-economics".
The policy of moving workers around wholesale reduces them to the status of economic units, as if they were bits of machinery. This is seen in its purest form in Africa, where miners live in huge barracks, many miles from their families and communities, to the detriment of all concerned. The policy is also a driver of the increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS . Migrant working is not exactly an ideal situation, although clearly, in some cases, where the only skilled force available must be brought in from outside the area, it is necessary. When it is necessary, the living conditions and home time of the workers must be generously regulated.
[unnecessary prod at my GreenLeft colleagues deleted.]
BTW, I am not anti-Left. Some of my friends are socialists, and Conservatives always treat me as if I were a socialist, but then, anyone to the left of Chris Patten is a socialist to them.
I still find the GreenLeft's unwavering support of the right of private corporations to have a monopoly to create money out of debt for profit absolutely incomprehensible.
Back to the point. EU rules treat workers as economic units, conveniently forgetting that they are human beings with emotional needs. Migrant workers are torn from their families and communities. British workers get understandably angry. Emotions are left out of the EU dys-economic calculation.
How can this problem of migrant workers be resolved?
Workers with special skills who have to work abroad around need their rights and liberties to be fully protected.
But the real reason is that the migrant workers are cheaper, when valued narrowly, as in their wage bill. Green economics factors in the whole cost to society. In the green accounting system, migrant workers probably cost more than British workers. It is not unprecedented that British jobs are lost to cheaper foreign competition - it's been going on for decades. In the long run, the cost of living throughout the EU may level out, but in the mean time, the rules need to be tweaked so that the cost of foreign work is made truly comparable with the cost of a British worker.
This is not really my field, and I am sure that there is an economist in the Treasury who could do a holistic analysis of the true cost of foreign labour, factoring in such things as the SS costs for displaced British workers, extra NHS costs, the cost of policing the resulting demonstrations, the cost to the fabric of British society by giving the BNP a boost, and the loss to the British economy through wages sent back to Italy and Portugal.
Here's Caroline Lucas' take on it - the Posted Workers' Directive needs to be revised. The Green Group in the EuroParliament is working on it already.
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