Hmmm… The end of Lehman?
-
Try stomaching this article from the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7600000/7600592.stm
Find your answers to questions about the man here
http://www.energygrid.com/society/ap-bageant.html
“Ya know, I don’t think you Brits understand that when the last blood of dinosaurs is drained from the Middle East, we will bomb the fuck out of you in the competition for the last drop.
As for Bush getting elected, it’s the same as Hitler. Bush represents most Americans, or at least a slim majority. But it’s a mean majority and we can expect a Reichstadt fire sometime during the next 10 years. Bush may be gone, Kerry may get elected, but we’ve got an oil habit kiddo, and a lust for empire and you will be roadkill if you get in the road.”
-
Ryan Gosling is fast becoming one of my favourite actors. The folks over at Lovefilm keep putting his work through my letterbox, and neither myself or Lucy have been disappointed so far. I found his portrayal of crack addict schoolteacher Dan Dunne in Half Nelson particularly inspirational, despite the apparent desperation of his situation throughout the film.
See this interview from The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2007/feb/18/awardsandprizes.oscars
-
Having just returned from a fortnight of perfect sunshine, to the sobering oppression of the British rain, I needed something to cheer me up…
My favourite scene from the original…
-
I do love this track. It’s just so damned effective…
-
Here’s a very interesting article from Hometracked regarding the structure of [lastfm:Linkin Park]’s songs. A simple analysis does indeed indicate what I might call a ‘consistent’ approach to production…
-
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/29/10677/
This story about Chevron is just outrageous. Even in context the “little countries” quote is just crazy. It’s a shame a man in Obama’s position can’t take more of a stand on these issues than allowing a spokesperson to reiterate a vanilla statement. I guess once he’s done campaigning he will be able to take up causes more actively, but only if his presidential campaign is unsuccessful – one has to worry that if he wins, running the mess that is America will take up 110% of his time… We need more good people in positions of power. -
http://www.last.fm/music/Jay+Electronica/_/Act+1:+Eternal+Sunshine+(the+pledge)?autostart
I’m loving this. Jay is in the process of being corrupted by E. Badu, but it’s no reason to hate on him (until he turns to Kanye for beats – Common, some advice, Dilla, Poyser, ?uest, they helped you find forever long before Kanye turned up…)
-
John made mention of this prestigious prize and its deserving winners during the Q&A session after yesterday’s showing of The War on Democracy.
“In the spirit of the great war reporter Martha Gellhorn, these two extraordinary journalists – Dahr Jamail is American and Mohammed Omer is Palestinian – share the Prize for their courageous, insightful and, above all, independent reporting.”
-
7pm, Room 8, Lambeth Town Hall
Talk by David Fleming – Energy and Anarchy “The market is not the solution; it is part of the problem”. David proposes an alternative.
Anarchy
Leo Tolstoy drew comparisons with religion, christianity in particular.
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon described the power of small local groups and self-organization.
Matthew Arnold wrote “Culture and Anarchy”, and argued for state administered education, suggesting strong education and cultural awareness will lead individuals to good instinctive choices.
Colin Ward was editor of British anarchist newspaper Freedom from 1947 to 1960, and the founder and editor of the monthly libertarian journal Anarchy from 1961 to 1970. He recognised that people will naturally organise themselves.
This propensity to ‘naturally organise’ ourselves can be observed throughout history. The 1956 Hungarian uprising was funded by buckets in the streets into which people put money towards their greater good. Hannah Arendt, often intrigued by the mechanisms of revolution, wrote of community self organisation in the context of the 1956 revolution.
On Organisation
“Organisation is nothing more than the method we choose to get food on the table”
Forms of Organisation
- Command and Control: Authoritarian
- The Market: ‘Fabricated’ rewards and incentives
- Presence (participation): individual involvement
We can judge these forms of organisation by these broad criteria:
- Incentives (Intrinsic & Extrinsic)
- Creative Potential
- Presence/Absence (of the individual)
Incentives
Command & Control Market Presence Extrinsic: Fear; Power Extrinsic: Monetary Intrinsic: System objectives Incentives, particularly the artificial extrinsic ones, don’t work.
- Disincentives – Punishment – lead to resentment towards the ‘powers that be’
- Hence impaired relationships
- Focus on payback
- Sterilisation – we take less risks
- Devalues the task
As an example of this last point, consider this case study: Two groups of volunteers were asked to solve a challenging puzzle. One group was paid, the other was not. A coffee break was announced, and the paid group immediately took the opportunity to get away from the task. The unpaid group however worked right through the break. The task was devalued by the artificial incentive.