Må citeres med fuld kildeangivelse:

Fremskridt nr. 25

29. juli 1984

12. årgang

Til politikernes hverdag hører at blive bestormet af grupper, der med glødende begejstring kæmper for deres ideer og projekter. De mangler bare lige nogle pengebeløb, som sammenlignet med de offentlige budgetters astronomiske tal - virker forsvindende små.

Ebba Strange (SF), Arne Melchior (M) og lignende gammelpolitikere siger automatisk ja med valgflæskskummende læber. De, der er optaget af sagen, bruger jo deres kryds på ja-sigerne. Mens de, som har nogen interesse for opgaven, skubbes væk fra de partier, der stemmer imod merbevillingen. Og andre skatteydere reagerer ikke på valgdagen over, hvordan en promille-brøkdel af deres skattepenge forvaltes. De andre partiers analyser resulterer derfor i, at de skal være imødekommende. For dem tæller store stemmetal på førstkommende valgdag mest. Mens Fremskridtsfolk alene bør besjæles af, hvilken afgørelse der på længere sigt er mest samfundsgavnlig.

Og her siger den almindelige erfaring, at har man først givet et foretagende en lillefinger, koster det ofte mere og mere. Blandt andet fordi andre pressionsfolk dukker op og siger: Når den og den gruppe får tilskud, skal vi også have.

Skal tilskuddene have nogensomhelst positiv virkning, må man holde ud med projektet måned efter måned. Og her afløses den oprindelige ildhu ofte af, at det hele er for kummerligt - materielt og moralsk - til at løse den opgave, som skulle klares.

Endnu nogle skatteydermillioner er fordampet nytteløst, ville være en hyppigt hørt konklusion. Hvis mediernes folk valgte det perspektiv på deres servering for publikum. Men det gør de røde lejesvende ikke.

Mogens Glistrup

soul&boogie #2

(Kleeer - Intimate Connection)

day two of the ’soul&boogie’ and already dropping bombs…anyone who was there throwing shapes knows that this cut tore it up anytime it was played and still sounds as fresh as it did more almost 25, (Count ‘Em), years ago.

The cats in question, (Paul Crutchfield, Richard Lee, Norman Durham and Woody Cunningham), started out in the early 70’s but it wasn’t really until they hooked up with producers Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael around 1976, (as the Universal Robot Band), that things really began to take off.

3 years later they changed their name to Kleeer and begun to record, (for me), some of the best boogie of the period, one of which has already graced themusicologist, (musicology #10). This one though from 1984 is the cream of the crop. produced by Eumir Deodato, engineered and mixed down by Mallory Earl for Atlantic, has to be one of my most cherished pieces of the ‘black stuff’.

Serious…..

SVD.se: - Jag tycker att debatt är bra. Det finns ju en liten grupp som är oerhört engagerad och hörs mycket, och så är det alltid. Men att de som tillverkar någonting måste få betalt för sitt jobb, det tror jag att de flesta ändå håller med om.

Uppenbarligen så har Beatrice Ask missat diverse undersökningar som påvisar att fler är för fildelning än emot.

Sen kan man fråga sig varför kocken som uppfinner en ny maträtt inte får betalt när en annan kock lagar maträtten, eller när en snickare bygger något unikt, inte får ersättning när en annan snickare bygger detsamma hos någon annan. Näe, det är ju tydligen bara en rätt som är tillägnad artister och författare.

Och att sedan film- och skivbolag ska få agera privatpolis i Sverige - de ska få rättigheter som inte ens svensk polis har - det verkar inte störa Beatrice Ask.

Eurythmics… die fehlen hier auch noch!

Eurythmics - SexCrime (1984)

Snap quiz: how many ministries does the New Zealand government have, as in Minister of This and Minister for That? I’ve undertaken the herculean task of writing a list: as you read this consider not only the number of ministries, but also which areas of your life (and other people’s) that our slave masters deem it necessary to manage. For the sake of brevity I have written the name of each ministry in the simplest form possible:

1. tourism
2. finance
3. infrastructure
4. economic development
5. energy & resources
6. justice
7. state owned enterprises
8. commerce
9. health
10. state services
11. environment
12. climate change issues
13. accident compensation corporation
14. police
15. corrections
16. veteran’s affairs
17. education
18. tertiary education
19. treaty of waitangi negotiations
20. arts, culture, & heritage
21. agriculture
22. biosecurity
23. foreign affairs
24. sport & recreation
25. rugby world cup
26. trade
27. conservation
28. defence
29. research, science & technology
30. transport
31. communications & information technology
32. courts
33. pacific island affairs
34. disarmament and arms control
35. disability issues
36. youth affairs
37. fisheries
38. housing
39. ethnic affairs
40. women’s affairs
41. immigration
42. broadcasting
43. labour
44. food safety
45. building & construction
46. customs
47. statistics
48. small business
49. internal affairs
50. land information
51. civil defence
52. senior citizens
53. racing
54. local government
55. regulatory reform
56. consumer affairs
57. community & voluntary sector
58. revenue
59. forestry
60. social development & employment

You’ll probably need a cup of tea and a lie down after reading that, but while you’re lying down consider three things:

1) I could dispute the need for each and every one of these ministries, but let’s focus on a few: why on earth do we need to have the government managing arts, culture and heritage, or the community and voluntary sector, or sport and recreation? All together now, say after me: “nanny state”.

2) even if the government does need to manage all these aspects of daily life - a notion that I totally reject - why can’t they combine some of the ministries? E.g., agriculture, forestry, fisheries and biosecurity would be a logical combination, as would police, courts, justice and corrections. Additional combinations can be found with ease.

3) is there an area of your life that the government isn’t trying to manage? Sex, food, housing, money, employment, TV, rugby, the air you breathe and a trip to the art gallery are all covered; keep trying and a post a comment if you can think of one area of your life that isn’t ruled by a government ministry. If you fail to find one area of your life that isn’t managed by the government let me know as well.

We get quite a bit of feedback on our campaign to end discrimination at Music PEI, some positive some negative.

Some have said “I know they’re sons of bitches but if you complain the government will take the money away and ruin it for everyone.”

Good points. Firstly, the government always put money into music on PEI. Under the Tories it was run by the late Elmer MacFayden with Harry Holman acting as the gatekeeper. Harry and Lloyd Doyle had a direct connection: if you signed up with Sandbar, Lloyd could get you money with hardly any fuss or paperwork.

That system again excluded people who were not connected and the rule was no music could criticize the government, censorship of the arts. What a big, bad ugly thing that was.

Disability Alert and Mars Hill offended the Premier, Elmer. Harry and Lloyd Doyle when when they used the song “Where Did the Money Go” with permission from Mars Hill.

Pretty tame and subtle satire compared with the stuff on TV.

When Mars Hill had travelled from Montreal to Halifax for a paid appearance at the ECMA’s, Harry pushed on Lloyd threatening to stop payment of promised travel money to the band. Holman wanted a stupid paper signed which said Disability Alert didn’t have permission.

Doyle could be seen running around the ECMA’s in Halifax like Michael Keaton on Beetle Juice, his head ready to bust off his neck.

Silly man. Here’s what we know about the blessed event Elmer MacFadyen as minister of truth.

“I personally apologized to Mars Hill when I found out the government’s over-reaction,” said Stephen Pate director of PEI Disability Alert. “We had no intention of causing them any trouble.”

We don’t know if Doyle has ever got over his brush with free speech.

Maybe he’s the brains behind Paw (Oakie/Brow) masterminding this whole silly episode out of vindictive rage. Well Lloyd get over it because we ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s Farm no more.

So there always was money for musicians, actually more than they give us under the Liberals.

We don’t need another set of tyrants and bigots to act as gatekeepers. Minister Bertram kept Holman in place.

Maybe there would be more money if Oakie and Brow weren’t there skimming money like the PEI Mafia.

Tomorrow…some encouragement in this process.

THE MIND (stereo)
Steve-vocals, gtr
Bob-gtr
Gordo Baird-bass
Stu K.- drums, skull pic
Al Right-sax
212 Peterborough St, 15-9-84

MOVE IT, GROOVE IT (stereo)
Steve-vocals, casiotone SK1
Stu-casiotone SK1, lettering
Bob-bass
Cassy O’Tone-tapes, mix
Stu’s pad, Colombo St, around Oct. 84

<.> another axemen anno xxv rediscovery series mix <.>

Hello Everyone

Yes I do like titles that catch peoples attention when their using
the search engines to find what their looking for. Being a freelance
web developer, times are tough right now with the layoffs, home
forecloures, job market etc being in a down slide. Everyone is looking
for ways to bring in extra income to help pay the bills, and I’m no
different.

Everyday I make my rounds to my freelance bidding sites, search for
jobs to bid on and wait to see if there are any interest in my offer.
Well I don’t like sitting doing nothing which made me think, how can I
make some extra income with this dead time I have? The answer I came up
with was playing poker. Now I’m not recommending everyone play poker in
their spare time to earn extra income, because it might not work out
that way for you. In fact, it could put you in a worst situation than
your in now!

Playing poker, especially online poker, can get you in more trouble
money wise. Because its not a easy road to making money and takes a lot
of discipline.

So this blog will be for anyone looking to make some extra money, or
play fulltime if your up to it, playing poker. At the moment, I’m
playing poker pretty much full-time. I have 60 hours in already for the
past 7 days and have played a total of 3,690 hands in that time. So
even at this early stage, with my background in mathematics and
previous gambling ventures, I’m do believe I know what I’m talking
about. If you don’t like my teachings then feel free to follow another
poker writer/player. Now this will be a topic that I will cover later
on, which is I do believe you MUST
be a poker player first, and not a writer. Now anyone looking for
advice in helping them in building a foundation for their serious poker
career, I would assume, does’t worry if the writing is proper, or the
gramer is correct. They want to learn poker, not become a writer or
english professor. Just give the people what their looking for and you
will have steady visitors. Just make sure that your writing is readable
and they can understand what your teaching them.

Well I have to start putting things together as there will be video
tutorials posted here for you all to learn from. Remember though you
are free to  stop by and play with me online, but I have already passed
the low limits and micro limits that I will be teaching you all here.
Now I am playing at these limits to both try out new strategies and
naturally to datamine for future study in my free time. Remember, this
is a fulltime job for me now, I’m not really bidding or activily
looking for web design/development work right now. So what I’m making
now is strickly from playing poker. So the title “Make A Living Playing
Poker” is a true title. And if I can do it, I can teach it also because
I’m a good teacher? Well, I’ll let you all determine that.

george orwells buch “1984” zählt nicht umsonst zu den großen klassikern der literaturgeschichte. der autor schafft eine beänstigende, erdrückende atmosphäre. winston smith hat die hauptrolle in diesem buch. er, der genug hat vom überwachungsstaat, der sich seine persönliche freiheiten trotzdem suchen will. auf dem weg zum stillen und manchmal lauten protest lernt man nebenbei die methodik und beeinflussung des staates an seinen bürgern kennen.
das buch gehört wohl zu den meistzitierten, der “große bruder” ist jedem ein begriff und das thema hat an aktualität nichts verloren. orwell schuff diesen roman 1948 und war damit unglaublich seiner zeit voraus.
ein absoluter klassiker, den man unbedingt lesen sollte.

From the album “Make It Big” (1984)

Written by George Michael/Andrew Ridgeley

Cantonese version: 梅艷芳 - 夢幻的擁抱 / 蔡國權 - 無心快語 / 甄妮 - 忍痛說謊

Japanese version: 西城秀樹 - 抱きしめてジルバ / 郷ひろみ - Careless Whisper

Time can never mend the careless whispers of a good friend
To the heart and mind, ignorance is kind
there’s no comfort in the truth
pain is all you’ll find

Should’ve known better

I feel so unsure
as I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor
as the music dies, something in your eyes
calls to mind the silver screen
and all its sad good-byes

I’m never gonna dance again
guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it’s easy to pretend
I know you’re not a fool

Should’ve known better than to cheat a friend
and waste the chance that I’ve been given
so I’m never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you

Time can never mend
the careless whispers of a good friend
to the heart and mind
ignorance is kind
there’s no comfort in the truth
pain is all you’ll find

I’m never gonna dance again
guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it’s easy to pretend
I know you’re not a fool

Should’ve known better than to cheat a friend
and waste this chance that I’ve been given
so I’m never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you

Never without your love

Tonight the music seems so loud
I wish that we could lose this crowd
Maybe it’s better this way
We’d hurt each other with the things we’d want to say

We could have been so good together
We could have lived this dance forever
But now who’s gonna dance with me
Please stay

And I’m never gonna dance again
guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it’s easy to pretend
I know you’re not a fool

Should’ve known better than to cheat a friend
and waste the chance that I’ve been given
so I’m never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you

(Now that you’re gone) Now that you’re gone
(Now that you’re gone) What I did’s so wrong
that you had to leave me alone

I’ve been rereading George Orwell’s 1984, for the first time since high school, when, while rather impressed by it, i didn’t quite absorb the full impact of it. You know how it is, required reading, while sometimes still impacting is after all required reading, and i took a lot of it for granted.

Now rereading it, i am utterly blown away.

Orwell of course is a literary genuis. I discovered Down And Out back in early college and was really moved. 1984 has remained one of the those books that you know so much about you rarely go back to fully appreciate just why it’s so ubiquitous. But having gone back i’m so moved that it’s making a post.

It clocks in at considerably less than 200 pages (as opposed to the 4 1,000 page novels i’ve been reading. a cyberpunkish series that to be hoest isn’t all that great, but what the hell. It got me through the broken foot).

It is to it’s credit that Orwell does not waste a single word. the book is so packed with ideas that most lesser novelists would devote full tombs to ideas contained in only one chapter.

Mot dystopian novels pale in comparison and most of the rest owe a deep gratitude to it.

Having now become quite intimate with the communist/socialist backdrop on which it is based, i am astonished at how well he nails many socialist details. The book was written in 1949, the cold war hadn’t even really begun in earnest, Russia hadn’t yet even approached it’s zentih, and the Chinese cultural revolution was still almost 20 years away. And yet he understands the eastern european socialist/communist fallicies and takes them to a limit of incredible vision.

But of course the book is vastly more than a scathing critique of eastern european communism. As long as there are governments, there will be the manipulation of the masses. Every American with half a brain can see the manipulation in their own culture. ( a pretty interesting current critique can be found in the internet video Zeitgeist: Addendum. I don’t agree with every assertion and point of view, but even so, it’s really bloody impacting.) Critique of government and societal attempts at mass manipulation will never go away, and i have never read a better, more thought provoking book on the subject than 1984.

North Korea today pretty much uses the book as a how to manual.

So basically, i know some of you out there have probably thought that it might be a good idea to pick 1984 up again at some point and give it another read through. If you’re in between novels, than let me be the one to tell you: go for it. It IS in fact all that and more. It’s doubleplusgood.

War is peace.

Freedom is slavery.

Ignorance is strength.

As true today as it ever was.

Just for kicks here’s clip from the 80’s movie. I never did see it in it’s entirety and can’t vouch for it, but if you’re bored, what the hell.

The pro-anthropgenic global warming comments on the FM site (and emails to me) are so similar that a generic reply will save everybody time and effort.  This post examines 7 common elements.  These are general statements.  They do not apply to every individual comment on the FM site or to material elsewhere (in any medium).

1. Pro-AGW comments often display no signs of having read the skeptics work
2. Do skeptics deny the existence of climate change?
3. Pro-AGW comments usually show little or no awareness of the authoritative reports on this issue.
4. Pro-AGW comments usually show little or no knowledge of the long struggle to force some climate scientists to release data and methods.
5. Pro-AGW comments usually show little understanding of the scientific method.
6. Pro-AGW faith in computer models
7. The irrationality of the “precautionary principle” as commonly used

This post concludes with a quote from George Orwell, a prescient observer of trends in western culture.

1.  Pro-AGW comments display no signs of having read the skeptics work

Pro-AGW Comments seldom make any specific rebuttal to actual skeptics arguments or data.  Often comments indicate that the author writing a rebuttal clearly has not the post in question.  I have seen few pro-AGW comments showing evidence that the author has read much (if any) of the AGW skeptics’ literature in journals, general media, or the Internet.

For an educated audience there are many sites providing easy to understand evidence undercutting the basis for AGW, such as Climate Audit or Anthony Watt’s Watts Up with That.  Of special note is perhaps the best modern example of citizen-science:  Anthony Watt’s surfacestations.org– showing that the US surface temperature measuring system, while accurate for its intended purpose of collecting weather data, is grossly inadequate for measuring long-term climate changes to fractions of a degree.

2.  Do skeptics deny the existence of climate change?

Pro-AGW comments often invent assertions which they can easily refute, a weird form of the straw man logical fallacy.   “Skeptics deny the existance of climate change” is the most common.  This is bizarre, as the existence of natural climate cycles — and the difficulty of assigning a weight to human-caused impacts — is central to the “skeptic’s case”.  The world has been warming for centuries as we rebound from the Little Ice Age.

In fact, the opposite is more often the case.  Ask even a well-educated believer of AGW about past climate fluctuations; often they have little knowledge about their magnitude and frequency.  Sad, as this was widespread knowledge a generation ago.  To raise fears about future climate change, discussion of past cycles was eliminated from many textbooks and most mainstream media stories.  Goebbels would be proud of this, another successful use of his methods.

3.  Pro-AGW comments usually show little or no awareness of the authoritative reports on this issue.

Pro-AGW comments prattle on about the “consensus” but tend to go silent when asked about the various authoritative reports on climate change — those done by experts outside the climate change fraternity, such as the North Report, the Wegman Report, and the analysis by Richard L. Smith.  For links, see section 4 on the FM reference page about Science, Nature, and Geopolitics. 

4.  Pro-AGW comments usually show little or no knowledge of the long struggle to force some climate scientists to release data and methods.

Much of what we know about the data and methods of the pro-AGW case comes from the skeptics long fight to get vital information into the sunlight.  Freedom of information act requests, pressure from Congress, requests to have professional journals enforce their requirements for disclosure of data support articles — all these and more were used in this long struggle.  A dark one, since the mainstream media refuses to report its existence.  Needless to say, this long campaign of concealment does not create confidence in the pro-AGW case — and prevents the normal routines of scientific progress from operating in climate science.

One of the classic examples of this attitude of many (not all) climate scientists is this vignette.

In response to a request for supporting data, Philip Jones, a prominent researcher {University of East Anglia} said “We have 25 or so years invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it.”

– From the testimony of Stephen McIntyre before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (the July 2006 hearings which produced the Wegman Report).

There are even stories of retaliation against scientists publishing data critical of AGW.  For example, the case of Dr. Lloyd D. Keigwin.  He published a climate reconstruction based on analysis of Sargasso Sea mud in (”The Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period in the Sargasso Sea”, Science, v274, 1996).  The backlash was formidable, especially when Exxon ran an advertisement mentioning his work.  Fortunately for his career and continued research funding, he wrote a public letter to Exxon rebuking them for using his work to criticize the AGW paradigm.   (No word yet if upon mailing the letter he muttered that “The mud does not lie.”).  For a brief description of this episode see this:  “Exxon Mobil Uses Scientist’s Data As Evidence of Natural Warming“, Wall Street Journal, 22 March 2001 (subscription required).

For a briefing on this vital subject see “Data Archiving, Disclosure and Due Diligence” at the Climate Audit website.

5.  Pro-AGW comments usually show little understanding of the scientific method.

20th century work to understand the process of science has focused on the role of replication and testing of theories (Karl Popper saw falsification as the key element).  The pro-AGW emphasis on consensus is a step backwards from rigorous science to an almost religious-like process.  In theology church leaders appropriately meet to decide doctrine, and can declare anything outside that approved circle of belief is heresy — to be condemned and prosecuted.

Michael Crichton documents the spread of this into science, using science as a lever to force political change.  This was perfected by Carl Sagan in his campaign about nuclear winter.  For more on these things see:

1. “Nuclear winter: science and politics“, Brian Martin, Science and Public Policy, Vol. 15, No. 5, October 1988, pp. 321-334.
2. “Aliens cause global warming”, Michael Crichton, lecture at the California Institute of Technology, 17 January 2003.

6.  Pro-AGW faith in computer models.

The faith of many lay pro-AGW advocates in computer models is touching, despite their poor track record in so many fields — including climate science, finance, and economics.  Would you like to buy some AAA-rated collateralized debt obligations (CDOs); computer models show that the risk is small!  Or perhaps invest in Long Term Capital Management– the Nobel Laureates on their staff have excellent risk control models.

This is not an idle comparison.  The common elements are striking.  Perhaps most important are these.

• Calculations on the edge of known data and theory.
• No outside or 3rd party review of the models, let alone auditing of data and methods used.
• Those using them profess exaggerated confidence in the model’s output.

7.  The irrationality of the “precautionary principle” as commonly used.

Another justification for aggressive action to prevent AGW is ”We are better safe than sorry, and it is not as if taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a dangerous policy.” (source)

More to the point, it is an expensive policy. And there are many other vital needs that deserve funding, needs far more substantial.  There are a large number of high impact - low probability scenarios (”shockwaves”), of which AGW is just one. We can not defend against them all. I discuss this in greater length at this post; here is the key point:

Commission a group to collect as many shockwave scenarios as possible, with a brief analysis of each. Fortunately there are thousands of interest groups willing to pitch in and help! Then apply a common analytical framework to rate them on both dimensions: probability and impact. The results would prove quite interesting, and allow more rational public policy discussion about which to act upon. 

A note from George Orwell

As seen in the comments on the FM site’s climate change posts, most of pro-AGW advocates seem unable to even perceive what the skeptics are saying — despite the skeptics firm basis in traditional concepts of science. This brings to mind the prophetic warning of George Orwell in 1984:

Don’t you see the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. … Even now there is no reason or excuse for committing thought-crime. It’s merely a question of self-discipline, reality-control.

Afterword

If you are new to this site, please glance at the archives below.  You may find answers to your questions in these.

Please share your comments by posting below.  Per the FM site’s Comment Policy, please make them brief (250 words max), civil, and relevant to this post.  Or email me at fabmaximus at hotmail dot com (note the spam-protected spelling).

For more information from the FM site

To read other articles about these things, see the FM reference page on the right side menu bar.  Of esp relevance to this topic:

• Posts about Science, Nature, and Geopolitics

Posts on the FM site about climate change:

1. A look at the science and politics of global warming, 12 June 2008
2. Global warming means more earthquakes!, 19 June 2008
3. An article giving strong evidence of global warming, 30 June 2008
4. Worrying about the Sun and climate change: cycle 24 is late, 10 July 2008
5. More forecasts of a global cooling cycle, 15 July 2008
6. Update: is Solar Cycle 24 late (a cooling cycle, with famines, etc)?, 15 july 2008
7. Two valuable perspectives on global warming, 4 August 2008
8. President Kennedy speaks to us about global warming and Climate Science, 7 August 2008
9. Solar Cycle 24 is still late, perhaps signalling cool weather ahead, 2 September 2008
10. Update on solar cycle 24 - and a possible period of global cooling, 1 October 2008
11. Good news about global warming!, 21 October 2008
12. One of the most interesting sources of news about science and nature!, 27 October 2008
13. “Aliens cause global warming”: wise words from the late Michael Crichton, 15 November 2008

Because I have some financial and business background in my early life I have been increasingly astonished, not to say angered, by all the devices that are being uncovered in what has been a casino [still is, I fear]called the financial sector.

The various government supports in response to that industry’s yells of ‘Feed Me!’ have shown the truth of the old saying ‘Owe a million and get an honour, owe a thousand and get put in prison.’ Except these days no respectable honoree owes less than a billion!

You know the film, don’t you? ‘Feed Me!’ gets fed by all those who owe it nothing, and it gradually takes over and destroys everything. This seems a good analogy for the financial sector - certainly since the early 1980s.

Now it seems, through government action, we, our children, our granchildren and on are going to be paying off the gambling debts. Indeed that sector appears fully in the tradition of the rake who, on inheriting the family fortune proceeds to gamble it away, as well as the lands, the building and possibly his own grandmother.

I am not encouraged either by the G20 meeting or its statement. In brief it seemed to say ‘our answer is more of the same even though we know it isn’t working… …And we are putting off the hard decisions until another generation of politicians comes along’.

And no, I do not think President-Elect Barak Obama is that new generation in this sense. If you look at his advisors who have been drawing up his plans you will see how heavily finance and business oriented they are.

By ‘new generation’ I think I mean of economic thinkers. My personal view is very revolutionary - and for someone who tends to be small ‘c’ conservative that is saying something!

I believe the fault lies with the structure of the company. It lies far outside democratic process, yet it is so easy for the larger ones and the corporations to affect our lives in the most personal ways. Our jobs, our communities, our very environment and our world. Oh yes, and our finances.

Plan as we might, understand the dangers to the future of mankind as much as we will, all protest is frustrated by the big business power to buy influence and to drown out protest. It is not the format of George Orwell’s 1984 but it is most certainly his concept of Big Brother!

Can you go anywhere without being on CCTV? As things are shaping even your iris will be on a database - ready to be accidentally ‘lost’ and for sale. Or even accessible to so many that it can be easily hacked.

The foundation of the company lies 400 years ago, with the first Queen Elizabeth. Four worlds ago and for a completely different purpose.

Do we, this time, just want to patch things up again for a third Depression in 80 years time?

Joseph Harris

Debt Control Man

Here…. I’d be proud to be able to write stuff like that.

David Davis

Nix big brother. Nix watching. Nix you.
2008 is nich 1984. Scheint so.
Belausche unglücklich. Scheint auch so. Will see. 
SACHSEN-SPD KIPPT BUNDESRATSMEHRHEIT. Schäubles Spähgesetz steht vor dem Aus. In Sachsen gibt’s also nich nur die hübschesten Mädels der Republik, nein auch andere sind hübsch. Hübsch wichtig!
[ 1984 greift. Endlich!!! ]
Mist nur, auch ich muß wieder abbau’n. Deinschtallieren. 

Uma dos singles de maior sucesso desta banda é a música em destaque hoje.

The Wild Boys - Duran Duran
Arena [1984]

Egentligen så var det mening från början att jag endast skulle skriva den första delen, som jag kallat IPRED 1, men ju mer och mer jag funderar och reflekterar kring detta ämne blir jag faktiskt mer och mer engagerad.

På våra blogg var ju underrubriken ”hur påverkar detta individen”. Hur påverkar då IPRED individen? Ja enligt mig så är detta nya lagförslag bara ännu ett sätt att försöka kriminalisera mig, och hela min ungdomskrets, ja till och med min mamma.

För faktum är att vi alla är väldigt laglydiga individer och helt enkelt, att piratkopiera är inte olagligt för mig. Det är snarare livsnödvändigt… okej kanske inte livsnödvändigt, men det är det ord ja måste använda för det känns så elementärt med nedladdning att det nästan är på den nivån.

Innebörden av IPRED lagen är ju faktiskt inte bara att det skulle göra att vanliga Svensson-nedladdare skulle kunna få böta stora summor pengar, utan även att samhället mer och mer närmar sig 1984. Vi har FRA-lagen snart kanske IPRED lagen, tillslut kanske vi får en lag som kontrollerar vad vi köper när vi är på affären? Individens integritet och rättigheter måste få börja ta plats igen.

Och jag vet att jag kommer att fortsätta min nedladdning, både som en tyst protest mot staten, men kanske framförallt för att jag vill ha några nya album och lite schysta filmer att kolla på fredag kväll.

AV: Tobias Öjerfalk

This is an interesting story about a man going to jail for 93 days. The crime, he had a couch in “his” yard and refused to consent or recognize the state’s authority regarding the matter. He is a far braver man than I. I would have got rid of the couch and paid the fine, I would have got back in line, I have a family to feed. The lesson here is one most don’t understand. Ultimately every infraction of the state’s laws, no matter how minor, can be enforced using force (the sword). If this man continues to resist the state his life and property will slowly be taken from him. Today I saw a story that the Dallas Independent School District has been using false social security numbers to hire illegal immigrants. Does the state ever prosecute the state? Unlikely.

Source: Lew Rockwell