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Rafi Segal the Israeli architect and urbanism expert has been profiled by Michael Sorkin in an article published in The Nation magazine titled ‘The Trials of Rafi Segal’. Sorkin states “In early 2012, the National Library of Israel announced a competition for a new building in Jerusalem. The site was one of special prominence—near the Knesset, the Supreme Court and the Israel Museum—and the project enjoyed enormous national prestige. The competition was sponsored by two entities: the Israel National Library Construction Company and Yad Hanadiv, a foundation funded and controlled by the Rothschild family and the principal funder of the library project. The track record of the Rothschilds in sponsoring Israeli architectural competitions is somewhat checkered, which isn’t surprising for a rich and powerful organization participating in processes where the outcome is, theoretically, beyond its control. …When the library competition was announced, it almost immediately became mired in similar issues of power and manipulation. …And then something remarkable happened: in September 2012, Rafi Segal—a very talented young Israeli architect—became the jury’s enthusiastic choice. His elegant, subtle, site-sensitive scheme was described by the jury as “modest yet original and unique.” And so it was. …Then the assault began. First came an attack on Segal by Yair Gabbay, an attorney from the Jerusalem Municipality Planning and Building Committee, who threatened to thwart the permit process for the new building unless the National Library Board promised to “cancel the results of the tender and start a new process to choose a worthy planner for the National Library from among the Zionist architects living in Israel” Gabbay’s beef with Segal had to do with the latter’s authorship a decade ago (with Eyal Weizman) of the fine book A Civilian Occupation: The Politics of Israeli Architecture, which succinctly examined the spatial specifics of Israeli settlement policy. …This was only the beginning…”  Inspired by Michael Sorkin, The Nation ow.ly/kBg8D Image source LinkedIn ow.ly/kBfZM A worthy planner for the National Library (May 31 2013)

 

Rafi Segal the Israeli architect and urbanism expert has been profiled by Michael Sorkin in an article published in The Nation magazine titled ‘The Trials of Rafi Segal’. Sorkin states “In early 2012, the National Library of Israel announced a competition for a new building in Jerusalem. The site was one of special prominence—near the Knesset, the Supreme Court and the Israel Museum—and the project enjoyed enormous national prestige. The competition was sponsored by two entities: the Israel National Library Construction Company and Yad Hanadiv, a foundation funded and controlled by the Rothschild family and the principal funder of the library project. The track record of the Rothschilds in sponsoring Israeli architectural competitions is somewhat checkered, which isn’t surprising for a rich and powerful organization participating in processes where the outcome is, theoretically, beyond its control. …When the library competition was announced, it almost immediately became mired in similar issues of power and manipulation. …And then something remarkable happened: in September 2012, Rafi Segal—a very talented young Israeli architect—became the jury’s enthusiastic choice. His elegant, subtle, site-sensitive scheme was described by the jury as “modest yet original and unique.” And so it was. …Then the assault began. First came an attack on Segal by Yair Gabbay, an attorney from the Jerusalem Municipality Planning and Building Committee, who threatened to thwart the permit process for the new building unless the National Library Board promised to “cancel the results of the tender and start a new process to choose a worthy planner for the National Library from among the Zionist architects living in Israel” Gabbay’s beef with Segal had to do with the latter’s authorship a decade ago (with Eyal Weizman) of the fine book A Civilian Occupation: The Politics of Israeli Architecture, which succinctly examined the spatial specifics of Israeli settlement policy. …This was only the beginning…”

 

Inspired by Michael Sorkin, The Nation ow.ly/kBg8D Image source LinkedIn ow.ly/kBfZM

Nestor Osorio Londono the Colombian administrative lawyer and Representative to the UN has been interviewed by Gustavo Capdevila for the IPS News Service in an article titled ‘Q&A: Innovation Key to Sustainable Development Goals’ In the article Osorio Londono states “I believe it [Innovation, as the fruit of science and technology] is a cross-cutting issue within many of the objectives for the post-2015 period. We’re talking about the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] – that is, how to do something beyond the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] and bring together industrialised and developing countries in an ongoing process of irreversible compliance with fundamental goals for integral sustainability. …We’re talking about water conservation, more liveable cities, food security, infrastructure and curtailing (green house) gas emissions. We have to decarbonise the planet. And all of this forms part of innovation. …Those who can participate in a very efficient manner, as we have seen, are young people. Young people are and always have been involved in the origins of the biggest innovations. Microsoft, Facebook and others have been created, innovated, by 20 or 25-year-old kids.So there’s a very important link here: how innovation and connection and preparation of future work go together. And when it comes to gender equality, we’re talking about the same thing. …I think they could do it with a fundamental commitment by governments, which translates into budget allocations. The partnership between government and private sector is also essential throughout this process. I’ll cite an example of what we have done in Colombia: the policy of President Juan Manuel Santos has been to earmark – and a law was approved to this end – a portion of oil and mining industry royalties to the Institute of Sciences and Technology. …Companies gradually discover what their needs are and how they have to adapt to the requirements of sustainability. (For example), there can’t be investment in projects that use huge quantities of water, because that is wasteful. Companies have to adapt to the requirements that the world presents…”  Inspired by Gustavo Capdevila, IPS News ow.ly/kBeTC Image source Twitter ow.ly/kBg0S Innovation key to sustainable development goals (May 30 2013)Nestor Osorio Londono the Colombian administrative lawyer and Representative to the UN has been interviewed by Gustavo Capdevila for the IPS News Service in an article titled ‘Q&A: Innovation Key to Sustainable Development Goals’ In the article Osorio Londono states “I believe it [Innovation, as the fruit of science and technology] is a cross-cutting issue within many of the objectives for the post-2015 period. We’re talking about the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] – that is, how to do something beyond the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] and bring together industrialised and developing countries in an ongoing process of irreversible compliance with fundamental goals for integral sustainability. …We’re talking about water conservation, more liveable cities, food security, infrastructure and curtailing (green house) gas emissions. We have to decarbonise the planet. And all of this forms part of innovation. …Those who can participate in a very efficient manner, as we have seen, are young people. Young people are and always have been involved in the origins of the biggest innovations. Microsoft, Facebook and others have been created, innovated, by 20 or 25-year-old kids.So there’s a very important link here: how innovation and connection and preparation of future work go together. And when it comes to gender equality, we’re talking about the same thing. …I think they could do it with a fundamental commitment by governments, which translates into budget allocations. The partnership between government and private sector is also essential throughout this process. I’ll cite an example of what we have done in Colombia: the policy of President Juan Manuel Santos has been to earmark – and a law was approved to this end – a portion of oil and mining industry royalties to the Institute of Sciences and Technology. …Companies gradually discover what their needs are and how they have to adapt to the requirements of sustainability. (For example), there can’t be investment in projects that use huge quantities of water, because that is wasteful. Companies have to adapt to the requirements that the world presents…”

 

Inspired by Gustavo Capdevila, IPS News ow.ly/kBeTC Image source Twitter ow.ly/kBg0S

 

 

Stefanie Ostfeld the American Policy Advisor with Global Witness, an international advocacy organization that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict and corruption, exposing the ways in which the global financial system enables corrupt public officials to loot and launder state funds. Ostfeld has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Why UN arms negotiations must include talk of ending corporate secrecy’, in which she states “There is a need to fix the system that enables illegal arms dealers and other felons to evade law enforcement. As United Nations representatives meet to hammer out a Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) …they must take into account the role of corporate secrecy in facilitating illegal arms trafficking and other crimes around the world. Addressing anonymous shell companies and hidden company ownership will be essential to successfully stemming the flow of illegal weapons around the world and protecting the innocent civilians who suffer from their proliferation. …Each year, approximately 2 million corporations are formed in the US under state laws that often allow anonymous incorporation of companies. While some states require listing of shareholders, these can be other companies or "nominees" who serve as front people for the actual shareholder. In many states, less information is collected from individuals seeking to incorporate than is required from people applying for a driver's licence or registering to vote (which explains how a recent World Bank report found that the US was the favourite destination of corrupt politicians trying to set up such shell companies). …There is a growing momentum in the US and abroad to improve company ownership transparency and end anonymous shell companies. Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that he intends to use the UK presidency of the G8 to address this issue. Now is the perfect time for Congress to end anonymous incorporation in the US and for the Obama administration to act in concert with our international partners to end anonymous incorporation in all G8 countries, and around the world.”  Inspired by Stefanie Ostfeld, Aljazeera ow.ly/kBcvF Image source offshorealert ow.ly/kBdcF UN negotiations must end corporate secrecy (May 29 2013)

 

Stefanie Ostfeld the American Policy Advisor with Global Witness, an international advocacy organization that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict and corruption, exposing the ways in which the global financial system enables corrupt public officials to loot and launder state funds. Ostfeld has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Why UN arms negotiations must include talk of ending corporate secrecy’, in which she states “There is a need to fix the system that enables illegal arms dealers and other felons to evade law enforcement. As United Nations representatives meet to hammer out a Global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) …they must take into account the role of corporate secrecy in facilitating illegal arms trafficking and other crimes around the world. Addressing anonymous shell companies and hidden company ownership will be essential to successfully stemming the flow of illegal weapons around the world and protecting the innocent civilians who suffer from their proliferation. …Each year, approximately 2 million corporations are formed in the US under state laws that often allow anonymous incorporation of companies. While some states require listing of shareholders, these can be other companies or “nominees” who serve as front people for the actual shareholder. In many states, less information is collected from individuals seeking to incorporate than is required from people applying for a driver’s licence or registering to vote (which explains how a recent World Bank report found that the US was the favourite destination of corrupt politicians trying to set up such shell companies). …There is a growing momentum in the US and abroad to improve company ownership transparency and end anonymous shell companies. Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that he intends to use the UK presidency of the G8 to address this issue. Now is the perfect time for Congress to end anonymous incorporation in the US and for the Obama administration to act in concert with our international partners to end anonymous incorporation in all G8 countries, and around the world.”

 

Inspired by Stefanie Ostfeld, Aljazeera ow.ly/kBcvF Image source offshorealert ow.ly/kBdcF

Peter Hoffmann the American former Washington and foreign correspondent for a major business/technology news service has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘The Hydrogen Solution’ in which he states “Around the world, governments and businesses are constantly being called upon to make big investments in solar, wind, and geothermal energy, as well as biofuels. But, in the United States, unlike in Europe and Asia, discussion of hydrogen energy and fuel cells as systemic, game-changing technologies is largely absent. That needs to change: these clean, renewable energy sources promise not only zero-emission baseload power, but also a zero-emission fuel for cars and trucks, the biggest polluters of them all. By now, many have heard about plans by big carmakers – including Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai – to launch hydrogen fuel-cell cars commercially around 2015. Daimler, Ford, and Nissan plan to launch such cars around 2017. Germany plans to build at least 50 hydrogen fueling stations by 2015 as the start of a countrywide network. Japan and Korea have announced similar plans. But a bigger, largely unreported, message is that some European countries, especially Germany, have launched projects that combine renewables like solar and wind with hydrogen for energy storage, implying clean, zero-emission, stable power grids that require no coal, oil, or nuclear power. Indeed, the bottom line of a new study by two American researchers, Willett Kempton and Cory Budischak, is that the combination of renewables and hydrogen storage could fully power a large electricity grid by 2030 at costs comparable to those today. Kempton and Budischak designed a computer model for wind, solar, and storage to meet demand for one-fifth of the US grid. The results buck “the conventional wisdom that renewable energy is too unreliable and expensive,” says Kempton.”  Inspired by Peter Hoffmann, Project Syndicate ow.ly/kBbQa Image source hydrogenambassadors ow.ly/kBbHO Hydrogen energy game-changing technologies (May 28 2013)

 

Peter Hoffmann the American former Washington and foreign correspondent for a major business/technology news service has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘The Hydrogen Solution’ in which he states “Around the world, governments and businesses are constantly being called upon to make big investments in solar, wind, and geothermal energy, as well as biofuels. But, in the United States, unlike in Europe and Asia, discussion of hydrogen energy and fuel cells as systemic, game-changing technologies is largely absent. That needs to change: these clean, renewable energy sources promise not only zero-emission baseload power, but also a zero-emission fuel for cars and trucks, the biggest polluters of them all. By now, many have heard about plans by big carmakers – including Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai – to launch hydrogen fuel-cell cars commercially around 2015. Daimler, Ford, and Nissan plan to launch such cars around 2017. Germany plans to build at least 50 hydrogen fueling stations by 2015 as the start of a countrywide network. Japan and Korea have announced similar plans. But a bigger, largely unreported, message is that some European countries, especially Germany, have launched projects that combine renewables like solar and wind with hydrogen for energy storage, implying clean, zero-emission, stable power grids that require no coal, oil, or nuclear power. Indeed, the bottom line of a new study by two American researchers, Willett Kempton and Cory Budischak, is that the combination of renewables and hydrogen storage could fully power a large electricity grid by 2030 at costs comparable to those today. Kempton and Budischak designed a computer model for wind, solar, and storage to meet demand for one-fifth of the US grid. The results buck “the conventional wisdom that renewable energy is too unreliable and expensive,” says Kempton.”

 

Inspired by Peter Hoffmann, Project Syndicate ow.ly/kBbQa Image source hydrogenambassadors ow.ly/kBbHO

Nicholas Robert Hytner the 57 year old British Director of London's National Theatre has been featured in an article by Hannah Furness in the Telegraph titled ‘Talking about the arts in economic terms is 'philistine' and 'self-defeating', critics argue’ Furness states “Responding to a speech by culture secretary Maria Miller, in which she argued arts organisations must make an economic case for funding, directors warned a focus on finances was too “narrow”. Leading figures claim they have already provided convincing evidence for the “enormous” financial benefits of the arts, having put forward the argument “for years”. …Sir Nicholas Hytner, the artistic director of the National Theatre, said the economic argument was "legimate", while pointing out a “contradiction at the heart" of Mrs Miller's speech. “On the one hand she recognises with great eloquence how effective modest arts spending can be as an engine for growth,” he said. “On the other hand what she was preparing us for was a further reduction in investment." He added he was “extraordinarily wary” of all British arts being held up to the example of the profitable London theatres, with a “huge danger” of “splitting” between the South East of England and everywhere else. “Enormous cuts on the scale we have been warned about would have a really, really damaging impact everywhere,” he said. "But the bigger and immediate danger is what’s happening outside London. I would be extremely worried about this sink or swim approach. If I was outside London I would think that was the writing on the wall. “We know the worst case scenario by looking at the consequences of the repeated reduction in funding in the 80s, when 25 per cent of theatres over the whole country closed.”  Inspired by Hannah Furness, The Telegraph ow.ly/kyPya Image source BBC ow.ly/kyPw9 Worried about this sink or swim approach (May 27 2013)

 

Nicholas Robert Hytner the 57 year old British Director of London’s National Theatre has been featured in an article by Hannah Furness in the Telegraph titled ‘Talking about the arts in economic terms is ‘philistine’ and ‘self-defeating’, critics argue’ Furness states “Responding to a speech by culture secretary Maria Miller, in which she argued arts organisations must make an economic case for funding, directors warned a focus on finances was too “narrow”. Leading figures claim they have already provided convincing evidence for the “enormous” financial benefits of the arts, having put forward the argument “for years”. …Sir Nicholas Hytner, the artistic director of the National Theatre, said the economic argument was “legimate”, while pointing out a “contradiction at the heart” of Mrs Miller’s speech. “On the one hand she recognises with great eloquence how effective modest arts spending can be as an engine for growth,” he said. “On the other hand what she was preparing us for was a further reduction in investment.” He added he was “extraordinarily wary” of all British arts being held up to the example of the profitable London theatres, with a “huge danger” of “splitting” between the South East of England and everywhere else. “Enormous cuts on the scale we have been warned about would have a really, really damaging impact everywhere,” he said. “But the bigger and immediate danger is what’s happening outside London. I would be extremely worried about this sink or swim approach. If I was outside London I would think that was the writing on the wall. “We know the worst case scenario by looking at the consequences of the repeated reduction in funding in the 80s, when 25 per cent of theatres over the whole country closed.”

 

Inspired by Hannah Furness, The Telegraph ow.ly/kyPya Image source BBC ow.ly/kyPw9

Jere Downs the American journalist and business writer has published an article in the Courier Journal titled ‘New York nonprofit buys and forgives more than $1 million in Louisville medical debt’. Downs states “A New York-based nonprofit says it has bought up more than $1 million in medical debts owed by more than 1,000 people in the Louisville area, as part of a protest of the credit industry. The Rolling Jubilee Fund, founded by Occupy Wall Street protesters, said it has forgiven the debts, which ranged from $25.50 to $8,790 — so they no longer have to be paid. “We believe that no one should have to go into debt for the basic things in our lives, like healthcare, housing and education,” said Thomas Gokey, the organization's vice president. The goal of the project, which began last fall, is to “to buy and abolish personal debt,” said Gokey, who argues there is a double standard with debt — Wall Street banks that owe billions of dollars are bailed out, while “the same options are not available for the 99 percent.” The Rolling Jubilee said it used donations from people sympathetic to their cause to purchase the debt, which was owed to local doctors and then sold on the credit market after the doctors were unable to collect. The group said it bought the debt from a debt broker and a collection agency in the Louisville area. …Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, according to a study by Harvard University Law School. An estimated 17 percent of Kentucky residents have no medical insurance, including Medicaid, according to the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Kentucky. ……Health care costs are “such a disaster, a personal and individual disaster for so many Kentuckians and people in Indiana,” Adams said, adding the Rolling Jubilee Fund “is truly a wonderful thing.”  Inspired by Jere Downs, Courier Journal ow.ly/kuIxy Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuIx8 Protest of the credit industry (May 26 2013)

 

Jere Downs the American journalist and business writer has published an article in the Courier Journal titled ‘New York nonprofit buys and forgives more than $1 million in Louisville medical debt’. Downs states “A New York-based nonprofit says it has bought up more than $1 million in medical debts owed by more than 1,000 people in the Louisville area, as part of a protest of the credit industry. The Rolling Jubilee Fund, founded by Occupy Wall Street protesters, said it has forgiven the debts, which ranged from $25.50 to $8,790 — so they no longer have to be paid. “We believe that no one should have to go into debt for the basic things in our lives, like healthcare, housing and education,” said Thomas Gokey, the organization’s vice president. The goal of the project, which began last fall, is to “to buy and abolish personal debt,” said Gokey, who argues there is a double standard with debt — Wall Street banks that owe billions of dollars are bailed out, while “the same options are not available for the 99 percent.” The Rolling Jubilee said it used donations from people sympathetic to their cause to purchase the debt, which was owed to local doctors and then sold on the credit market after the doctors were unable to collect. The group said it bought the debt from a debt broker and a collection agency in the Louisville area. …Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, according to a study by Harvard University Law School. An estimated 17 percent of Kentucky residents have no medical insurance, including Medicaid, according to the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Kentucky. ……Health care costs are “such a disaster, a personal and individual disaster for so many Kentuckians and people in Indiana,” Adams said, adding the Rolling Jubilee Fund “is truly a wonderful thing.”

 

Inspired by Jere Downs, Courier Journal ow.ly/kuIxy Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuIx8

Stephanie Trouillard the French TV journalist and blogger has published an article on France24 titled ‘Can human DNA be patented?’ in which she states “The US Supreme Court is hearing a case against a US biotech company that wants to defend its exclusive rights over two human gene sequences that could be used to identify people at greater risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Myriad Genetics, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, developed a genetic diagnosis tool based on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes -- sequences that the company successfully patented -- in the late 1990s. …Myriad’s monopoly over the two genes is contested. Researchers, doctors and patients argue that the company’s patents prevent wider testing and research into cancer. The US-based Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) is one of several scientific bodies contesting Myriad’s patents at the Supreme Court, whose nine justices are expected to deliver their ruling in June. The AMP argues that the genetic sequences for which Myriad holds the patents, awarded in 1997 and 1998, unfairly block further and more extensive research into cancer treatments. … AMP lawyer Christopher Hansen argued to the court that a company could not have exclusive rights over DNA, it being a substance created by nature. “The question presented by this case is what exactly did Myriad invent?” Hansen said. “And the answer is nothing.” The groups opposing Myriad’s patents are supported by Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, who discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953. He argued that the product of nature could not be monopolised by any entity. "Knowledge per se cannot be patented. Myriad should not own breast cancer genes," Watson said outside the Supreme Court. Myriad, meanwhile, wants to secure its rights on the genetic sequences and so safeguard the substantial investments it made in researching and developing its analysis tools.”  Inspired by Stephanie Trouillard, France24 ow.ly/kuIe9 Image source ow.ly/kuIci Can human DNA be patented? (May 25 2013)

Stephanie Trouillard the French TV journalist and blogger has published an article on France24 titled ‘Can human DNA be patented?’ in which she states “The US Supreme Court is hearing a case against a US biotech company that wants to defend its exclusive rights over two human gene sequences that could be used to identify people at greater risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Myriad Genetics, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, developed a genetic diagnosis tool based on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes — sequences that the company successfully patented — in the late 1990s. …Myriad’s monopoly over the two genes is contested. Researchers, doctors and patients argue that the company’s patents prevent wider testing and research into cancer. The US-based Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) is one of several scientific bodies contesting Myriad’s patents at the Supreme Court, whose nine justices are expected to deliver their ruling in June. The AMP argues that the genetic sequences for which Myriad holds the patents, awarded in 1997 and 1998, unfairly block further and more extensive research into cancer treatments. … AMP lawyer Christopher Hansen argued to the court that a company could not have exclusive rights over DNA, it being a substance created by nature. “The question presented by this case is what exactly did Myriad invent?” Hansen said. “And the answer is nothing.” The groups opposing Myriad’s patents are supported by Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, who discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953. He argued that the product of nature could not be monopolised by any entity. “Knowledge per se cannot be patented. Myriad should not own breast cancer genes,” Watson said outside the Supreme Court. Myriad, meanwhile, wants to secure its rights on the genetic sequences and so safeguard the substantial investments it made in researching and developing its analysis tools.”

 

Inspired by Stephanie Trouillard, France24 ow.ly/kuIe9 Image source ow.ly/kuIci

 

 

Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel the 35 year old Yemeni, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps has published an article in The New York Times titled ‘Gitmo Is Killing Me’. Moqbel states “…I weighed 132, but that was a month ago. I’ve been on a hunger strike since Feb10 and have lost well over 30 pounds. I will not eat until they restore my dignity. I’ve been detained at Guantánamo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial. I could have been home years ago — no one seriously thinks I am a threat — but still I am here. Years ago the military said I was a “guard” for Osama bin Laden, but this was nonsense, like something out of the American movies I used to watch. They don’t even seem to believe it anymore. …Where is my government? I will submit to any “security measures” they want in order to go home, even though they are totally unnecessary. I will agree to whatever it takes in order to be free. I am now 35. All I want is to see my family again and to start a family of my own. The situation is desperate now. All of the detainees here are suffering deeply. At least 40 people here are on a hunger strike. People are fainting with exhaustion every day. I have vomited blood. And there is no end in sight to our imprisonment. Denying ourselves food and risking death every day is the choice we have made. I just hope that because of the pain we are suffering, the eyes of the world will once again look to Guantánamo before it is too late.”  Inspired by Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, New York Times ow.ly/kuHp7 Image source Wikipedia ow.ly/kuHoz Gitmo Is Killing Me (May 24 2013)

 

Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel the 35 year old Yemeni, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States’s Guantanamo Bay detention camps has published an article in The New York Times titled ‘Gitmo Is Killing Me’. Moqbel states “…I weighed 132, but that was a month ago. I’ve been on a hunger strike since Feb10 and have lost well over 30 pounds. I will not eat until they restore my dignity. I’ve been detained at Guantánamo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial. I could have been home years ago — no one seriously thinks I am a threat — but still I am here. Years ago the military said I was a “guard” for Osama bin Laden, but this was nonsense, like something out of the American movies I used to watch. They don’t even seem to believe it anymore. …Where is my government? I will submit to any “security measures” they want in order to go home, even though they are totally unnecessary. I will agree to whatever it takes in order to be free. I am now 35. All I want is to see my family again and to start a family of my own. The situation is desperate now. All of the detainees here are suffering deeply. At least 40 people here are on a hunger strike. People are fainting with exhaustion every day. I have vomited blood. And there is no end in sight to our imprisonment. Denying ourselves food and risking death every day is the choice we have made. I just hope that because of the pain we are suffering, the eyes of the world will once again look to Guantánamo before it is too late.”

 

Inspired by Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, New York Times ow.ly/kuHp7 Image source Wikipedia ow.ly/kuHoz

Marni Halasa the British lawyer, journalist, and performance artist for Occupy Wall Street in New York City and member of Occupy's Alternative Banking Group, a direct action and seminar group that distributes information to the public, has published an article on Huffington Post titled ‘Show Time! Tripping the Light Fantastic as a Performance Artist for Occupy Wall Street’. Halasa states “My conservative Arab father always told me I had no shame. Little did he know that my insatiable desire to exhibit and entertain as a performance artist would come in handy for Occupy Wall Street. I help the movement spread its message of the 99 percent in a somewhat unique and flamboyant way. Whether I am dressed as Marie-Antoinette, protesting against workers' low wages in front of a Walmart in New Jersey; a police officer during an anti-police brutality march in Union Square; or a dominatrix covered in fake money in front of the Federal Reserve, I am compelled to be a living breathing costumed illustration of my own political beliefs. And mind you -- all of this is done on skates. So why do I risk arrest, brave the sometimes hostile elements and lose sleep over hours of preparation? An obsessive desire for creative self-expression is the obvious reason. The other is that it is my chance to belong to an amazingly purposeful politicized community. When Occupy began, I connected with a group of people who could discuss the complexities and dynamics of wealth, power and social mobility in our society. From them I learned how bankers from HSBC laundered money for the drug cartels and avoided criminal prosecution, why the Dodd-Frank reforms do not go far enough to insure our country's financial stability, and the reasons behind the lack of mobility for the low income. Although these people were for the most part strangers, they charmed me with their warmth, intellect, and uncanny ability to make complex information understandable. They were also keen to make a positive impact. I quickly decided I had to join the Occupy movement...”  Inspired by Marni Halasa, Huffington Post ow.ly/kuGR4 Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuGMQ I help the movement spread its message (May 23 2013)

 

Marni Halasa the British lawyer, journalist, and performance artist for Occupy Wall Street in New York City and member of Occupy’s Alternative Banking Group, a direct action and seminar group that distributes information to the public, has published an article on Huffington Post titled ‘Show Time! Tripping the Light Fantastic as a Performance Artist for Occupy Wall Street’. Halasa states “My conservative Arab father always told me I had no shame. Little did he know that my insatiable desire to exhibit and entertain as a performance artist would come in handy for Occupy Wall Street. I help the movement spread its message of the 99 percent in a somewhat unique and flamboyant way. Whether I am dressed as Marie-Antoinette, protesting against workers’ low wages in front of a Walmart in New Jersey; a police officer during an anti-police brutality march in Union Square; or a dominatrix covered in fake money in front of the Federal Reserve, I am compelled to be a living breathing costumed illustration of my own political beliefs. And mind you — all of this is done on skates. So why do I risk arrest, brave the sometimes hostile elements and lose sleep over hours of preparation? An obsessive desire for creative self-expression is the obvious reason. The other is that it is my chance to belong to an amazingly purposeful politicized community. When Occupy began, I connected with a group of people who could discuss the complexities and dynamics of wealth, power and social mobility in our society. From them I learned how bankers from HSBC laundered money for the drug cartels and avoided criminal prosecution, why the Dodd-Frank reforms do not go far enough to insure our country’s financial stability, and the reasons behind the lack of mobility for the low income. Although these people were for the most part strangers, they charmed me with their warmth, intellect, and uncanny ability to make complex information understandable. They were also keen to make a positive impact. I quickly decided I had to join the Occupy movement…”

 

Inspired by Marni Halasa, Huffington Post ow.ly/kuGR4 Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuGMQ

Daniel Campbell Blight the British writer and curator with a specific interest in the history and theory of photography, and cultural media studies, has published an article in the Guardian titled ‘Writing an artist statement? First ask yourself these four questions’. Blight states “…You can find preposterously complex, jargon-laden artist statements on the websites of galleries and pop-up project spaces all over the English-speaking world. If you don't believe me, join the e-flux mailing list. I regularly visit such exhibition spaces in London and beyond, and read – with total, dulling indifference – the often pompous ramblings of what Alix Rule and David Levine call International Art English. This is a dialect of the privileged; the elite university educated. If you can't write it effectively, you're not part of the art world. If you're already inside but don't understand it, you're not allowed to admit it, or ask for further explanation. This kind of rhetoric relies on everyone participating without question. To speak up would mean dissolving the space between inside and outside: quite literally, the growing boundary between the art world and the rest of society. …The funny thing is, the chat you actually hear at a gallery opening rarely uses this language. …The vocabulary of artspeak is not without meaning, but it has a specific place. Academia is only one part of the art world. My dislike is not for the language of artspeak, more the effect it has on the art industry in its ability to engage with a wider audience. Not to mention what such language does to the reputation of writing in the arts, as well as the wider practice of writing itself. Writing about your work should be an open and compelling activity, not a labyrinthine chore.”  Inspired by Daniel Blight, The Guardian ow.ly/kuGnt Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuFEd Complex jargon-laden artist statements (May 22 2013)

 

Daniel Campbell Blight the British writer and curator with a specific interest in the history and theory of photography, and cultural media studies, has published an article in the Guardian titled ‘Writing an artist statement? First ask yourself these four questions’. Blight states “…You can find preposterously complex, jargon-laden artist statements on the websites of galleries and pop-up project spaces all over the English-speaking world. If you don’t believe me, join the e-flux mailing list. I regularly visit such exhibition spaces in London and beyond, and read – with total, dulling indifference – the often pompous ramblings of what Alix Rule and David Levine call International Art English. This is a dialect of the privileged; the elite university educated. If you can’t write it effectively, you’re not part of the art world. If you’re already inside but don’t understand it, you’re not allowed to admit it, or ask for further explanation. This kind of rhetoric relies on everyone participating without question. To speak up would mean dissolving the space between inside and outside: quite literally, the growing boundary between the art world and the rest of society. …The funny thing is, the chat you actually hear at a gallery opening rarely uses this language. …The vocabulary of artspeak is not without meaning, but it has a specific place. Academia is only one part of the art world. My dislike is not for the language of artspeak, more the effect it has on the art industry in its ability to engage with a wider audience. Not to mention what such language does to the reputation of writing in the arts, as well as the wider practice of writing itself. Writing about your work should be an open and compelling activity, not a labyrinthine chore.”

 

Inspired by Daniel Blight, The Guardian ow.ly/kuGnt Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuFEd

Jeremy Scahill the 38 year old American National Security Correspondent for The Nation magazine and author of the international bestseller Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, has published an article in The Nation titled ‘Inside America's Dirty Wars’. Scahill states “…Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, the oldest son of Anwar al-Awlaki, was born in Denver. Like his father, he spent the first seven years of his life in the United States, attending American schools. After he moved to Yemen with his family, his grandparents—Anwar’s mother and father—played a major role in his upbringing, particularly after Anwar went underground. Anwar “always thought that it is best for Abdulrahman to be with me,” Anwar’s father, Nasser al-Awlaki, told me. Anwar believed that his wife and children “should not be involved at all in his problems.” …Abdulrahman was not his father; he loved hip-hop music and Facebook and hanging out with his friends. They would take pictures of themselves posing as rappers, and when the Yemeni revolution began, Abdulrahman wanted to be a part of it. As massive protests shook Yemen, he would spend hours hanging out in Change Square with the young, nonviolent revolutionaries, sharing his vision for the future and, at times, just goofing off with friends. …As Abdulrahman mourned [his father’s assassination], the boy’s family members in Shabwah tried to comfort him and encouraged him to get out with his cousins …and joined a group of friends outdoors to barbecue. There were a few other people doing the same nearby. It was about 9 pm when the drones pierced the night sky. Moments later, Abdulrahman was dead. So, too, were several other teenage members of his family, including Abdulrahman’s 17-year-old cousin Ahmed. …The Obama administration would fight passionately to keep answers secret, invoking the “state secrets” privilege repeatedly …The consensus that has emerged from various anonymous officials commenting on Abdulrahman’s killing was that it was a mistake.”  Inspired by Jeremy Scahill, The Nation ow.ly/kuEpP Image source Terri M Venesio ow.ly/kuEoO Inside America’s Dirty Wars (May 21 2013)

Jeremy Scahill the 38 year old American National Security Correspondent for The Nation magazine and author of the international bestseller Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, has published an article in The Nation titled ‘Inside America’s Dirty Wars’. Scahill states “…Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, the oldest son of Anwar al-Awlaki, was born in Denver. Like his father, he spent the first seven years of his life in the United States, attending American schools. After he moved to Yemen with his family, his grandparents—Anwar’s mother and father—played a major role in his upbringing, particularly after Anwar went underground. Anwar “always thought that it is best for Abdulrahman to be with me,” Anwar’s father, Nasser al-Awlaki, told me. Anwar believed that his wife and children “should not be involved at all in his problems.” …Abdulrahman was not his father; he loved hip-hop music and Facebook and hanging out with his friends. They would take pictures of themselves posing as rappers, and when the Yemeni revolution began, Abdulrahman wanted to be a part of it. As massive protests shook Yemen, he would spend hours hanging out in Change Square with the young, nonviolent revolutionaries, sharing his vision for the future and, at times, just goofing off with friends. …As Abdulrahman mourned [his father’s assassination], the boy’s family members in Shabwah tried to comfort him and encouraged him to get out with his cousins …and joined a group of friends outdoors to barbecue. There were a few other people doing the same nearby. It was about 9 pm when the drones pierced the night sky. Moments later, Abdulrahman was dead. So, too, were several other teenage members of his family, including Abdulrahman’s 17-year-old cousin Ahmed. …The Obama administration would fight passionately to keep answers secret, invoking the “state secrets” privilege repeatedly …The consensus that has emerged from various anonymous officials commenting on Abdulrahman’s killing was that it was a mistake.”

 

Inspired by Jeremy Scahill, The Nation ow.ly/kuEpP Image source Terri M Venesio ow.ly/kuEoO

Michael Brant Shermer the 58 year old American science writer, historian of science, and founder of The Skeptics Society has been interviewed by Joseph Cotto for the Washington Times in an article titled ‘Asking Michael Shermer: Why is mythology more popular than science?’. Shermer states “…it is better to live in a reality-based worldview than a faith-based (or superstition-based) worldview. Plus, for a liberal democracy to work we need informed voters, but not just informed—they need to know how to think critically. That is, not just what to think, but HOW to think. That is what scientific skepticism is all about—knowing how to think about claims, how to test hypotheses, how to challenge ideas fairly and objectively …Mythology (and its cousin religion) are only more popular in certain areas. When it comes to, say, medical treatment, almost everyone in the industrial West still favors going to a medical doctor instead of a witch doctor. You show me someone who prefers mythology at 35,000 feet and I’ll show you a hypocrite. …Derision only comes from a few corners: religious fundamentalists on one extreme and academic postmodernists on the other extreme. I have debunked them both thoroughly and they are not worth bothering about unless they try to influence education and politics, which they occasionally do, so we monitor their activities and respond when necessary; otherwise they are best ignored for the ignorance they portray. They reject science because it is open-ended and they already know the truth. …Extremist ideologies can attract droves of followers, but in the long run they do not survive. Moderate politics is in it for the long haul, which is why no terrorist organization in half a century of attempts has ever overrun a state. In fact, studies show that 95% of the time terrorists fail to achieve even one of their objectives.”  Inspired by Joseph Cotto, The Washington Times ow.ly/kuDXs Image source David Patton ow.ly/kuDWe Extremist ideologies attract droves of followers (May 20 2013)

 

Michael Brant Shermer the 58 year old American science writer, historian of science, and founder of The Skeptics Society has been interviewed by Joseph Cotto for the Washington Times in an article titled ‘Asking Michael Shermer: Why is mythology more popular than science?’. Shermer states “…it is better to live in a reality-based worldview than a faith-based (or superstition-based) worldview. Plus, for a liberal democracy to work we need informed voters, but not just informed—they need to know how to think critically. That is, not just what to think, but HOW to think. That is what scientific skepticism is all about—knowing how to think about claims, how to test hypotheses, how to challenge ideas fairly and objectively …Mythology (and its cousin religion) are only more popular in certain areas. When it comes to, say, medical treatment, almost everyone in the industrial West still favors going to a medical doctor instead of a witch doctor. You show me someone who prefers mythology at 35,000 feet and I’ll show you a hypocrite. …Derision only comes from a few corners: religious fundamentalists on one extreme and academic postmodernists on the other extreme. I have debunked them both thoroughly and they are not worth bothering about unless they try to influence education and politics, which they occasionally do, so we monitor their activities and respond when necessary; otherwise they are best ignored for the ignorance they portray. They reject science because it is open-ended and they already know the truth. …Extremist ideologies can attract droves of followers, but in the long run they do not survive. Moderate politics is in it for the long haul, which is why no terrorist organization in half a century of attempts has ever overrun a state. In fact, studies show that 95% of the time terrorists fail to achieve even one of their objectives.”

 

Inspired by Joseph Cotto, The Washington Times ow.ly/kuDXs Image source David Patton ow.ly/kuDWe

Diana Cariboni the 50 year old Argentinean associate editor in chief at the IPS New Service and regional editor of IPS Latin America has published an article on IPS News titled ‘Maduro, Capriles and Wayward Democracy’ stating “When the left was in opposition in Latin America, it never tired of repeating that true democracy was not limited to electing governments at the ballot box. Democracy was also needed in the distribution of rights and riches. Now that self-described leftwing governments predominate in the region, the catch is to make that maxim their political practice. They must fulfill the formality of celebrating clean, fair and transparent elections that produce governments of the majority that do not trample on the minority, nor prevent them from exercising their role of social control. …But the country’s democracy is far from being perfect, and further still from being predictable. …although Maduro and Capriles have both called repeatedly for “peace,” violence has taken over the streets. There have been fatalities, and dozens of people have been injured. Amid the commotion, something has been lost from view: Venezuelan society has long wanted to put an end to decades of apparent democracy, and oil profits for only a few. In the last 15 years, the country has made strides in poverty reduction, and many marginalised people were able to learn to read and write, and gained access to education and health care. They were also empowered to speak up, and to feel that one of their own, someone close to them, represented them in the presidency. But it cannot be forgotten that Venezuela today has serious problems, such as a high crime rate, a weak economy and excessive dependence on oil. If they do not understand the electoral snapshot represented by Sunday’s results, Maduro and Capriles risk riding the roller coaster of setting at odds the two halves of their nation, instead of leading them to a mirror and showing them the need to coexist and understand each other.”  Inspired by Diana Cariboni, IPS News ow.ly/kuDnM Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuDva Venezuela today has serious problems (May 19 2013)

 

Diana Cariboni the 50 year old Argentinean associate editor in chief at the IPS New Service and regional editor of IPS Latin America has published an article on IPS News titled ‘Maduro, Capriles and Wayward Democracy’ stating “When the left was in opposition in Latin America, it never tired of repeating that true democracy was not limited to electing governments at the ballot box. Democracy was also needed in the distribution of rights and riches. Now that self-described leftwing governments predominate in the region, the catch is to make that maxim their political practice. They must fulfill the formality of celebrating clean, fair and transparent elections that produce governments of the majority that do not trample on the minority, nor prevent them from exercising their role of social control. …But the country’s democracy is far from being perfect, and further still from being predictable. …although Maduro and Capriles have both called repeatedly for “peace,” violence has taken over the streets. There have been fatalities, and dozens of people have been injured. Amid the commotion, something has been lost from view: Venezuelan society has long wanted to put an end to decades of apparent democracy, and oil profits for only a few. In the last 15 years, the country has made strides in poverty reduction, and many marginalised people were able to learn to read and write, and gained access to education and health care. They were also empowered to speak up, and to feel that one of their own, someone close to them, represented them in the presidency. But it cannot be forgotten that Venezuela today has serious problems, such as a high crime rate, a weak economy and excessive dependence on oil. If they do not understand the electoral snapshot represented by Sunday’s results, Maduro and Capriles risk riding the roller coaster of setting at odds the two halves of their nation, instead of leading them to a mirror and showing them the need to coexist and understand each other.”

 

Inspired by Diana Cariboni, IPS News ow.ly/kuDnM Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuDva

Liz Alderman the American Paris based writer on European economics, finance and business has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘More Children in Greece Are Going Hungry’ in which she states “The Greek economy is in free fall, having shrunk by 20 percent in the past five years. The unemployment rate is more than 27 percent, the highest in Europe, and 6 of 10 job seekers say they have not worked in more than a year. Those dry statistics are reshaping the lives of Greek families with children, more of whom are arriving at schools hungry or underfed, even malnourished, according to private groups and the government itself. Last year, an estimated 10 percent of Greek elementary and middle school students suffered from what public health professionals call “food insecurity,” meaning they faced hunger or the risk of it, said Dr. Athena Linos, a professor at the University of Athens Medical School who also heads a food assistance program at Prolepsis, a nongovernmental public health group that has studied the situation. “When it comes to food insecurity, Greece has now fallen to the level of some African countries,” she said. Unlike those in the United States, Greek schools do not offer subsidized cafeteria lunches. Students bring their own food or buy items from a canteen. The cost has become insurmountable for some families with little or no income. Their troubles have been compounded by new austerity measures demanded by Greece’s creditors, including higher electricity taxes and cuts in subsidies for large families. As a result, parents without work are seeing their savings and benefits rapidly disappear. …A 2012 Unicef report showed that among the poorest Greek households with children, more than 26 percent had an “economically weak diet.” The phenomenon has hit immigrants hardest but is spreading quickly among Greeks in urban areas where one or both parents are effectively permanently unemployed…”  Inspired by Liz Alderman, New York Times ow.ly/kuDf7 Image source Facebook ow.ly/kuDeq Children in Greece Are Going Hungry (May 18 2013)

 

Liz Alderman the American Paris based writer on European economics, finance and business has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘More Children in Greece Are Going Hungry’ in which she states “The Greek economy is in free fall, having shrunk by 20 percent in the past five years. The unemployment rate is more than 27 percent, the highest in Europe, and 6 of 10 job seekers say they have not worked in more than a year. Those dry statistics are reshaping the lives of Greek families with children, more of whom are arriving at schools hungry or underfed, even malnourished, according to private groups and the government itself. Last year, an estimated 10 percent of Greek elementary and middle school students suffered from what public health professionals call “food insecurity,” meaning they faced hunger or the risk of it, said Dr. Athena Linos, a professor at the University of Athens Medical School who also heads a food assistance program at Prolepsis, a nongovernmental public health group that has studied the situation. “When it comes to food insecurity, Greece has now fallen to the level of some African countries,” she said. Unlike those in the United States, Greek schools do not offer subsidized cafeteria lunches. Students bring their own food or buy items from a canteen. The cost has become insurmountable for some families with little or no income. Their troubles have been compounded by new austerity measures demanded by Greece’s creditors, including higher electricity taxes and cuts in subsidies for large families. As a result, parents without work are seeing their savings and benefits rapidly disappear. …A 2012 Unicef report showed that among the poorest Greek households with children, more than 26 percent had an “economically weak diet.” The phenomenon has hit immigrants hardest but is spreading quickly among Greeks in urban areas where one or both parents are effectively permanently unemployed…”

 

Inspired by Liz Alderman, New York Times ow.ly/kuDf7 Image source Facebook ow.ly/kuDeq

Pauline Rose the British Director of EFA Global Monitoring Report with her expertise themes of governance, marginalization and conflict, has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘The world's poorest children are paying a high price for scholarships’. Rose states “For many donor countries, a large proportion of "aid" never leaves their country. Spending this money on education in the world's poorest countries could go a long way to giving the 132 million out-of-school children and adolescents the chance for a better future. Our recent policy paper, Education for All is affordable - by 2015 and beyond, shows that the financing gap for achieving basic education has grown by $10 billion in three years and now totals $26 billion per year. This increased finance gap is primarily due to donors failing to increase aid significantly to help developing countries send children to school. This finance gap can be bridged, however, if both developing countries and donors prioritised basic education. Currently, however, donors spend $3.1 billion per year on university students from poor countries to study in donor countries, equivalent to one quarter of total direct aid to education. This money is spent on scholarships and imputed costs (costs incurred by donor-country institutions when they receive students from developing countries). While higher education is undoubtedly important, allocating aid in this way does little to help the world's poorest and most vulnerable children and young people and does little to fill the finance gap. …Donor countries should prioritise basic education by targeting 20 percent of overall aid to education. If they also allocated half of these funds to basic education, we could raise a total of $14 billion. This would go a long way in reducing the current financing gap for basic education. It will be even more vital to ensure aid reaches those who need it most as we approach the prospect of even more ambitious education goals after 2015.”  Inspired by Pauline Rose, Aljazeera ow.ly/kuD1T Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuCVg Children paying high price for scholarships (May 17 2013)

Pauline Rose the British Director of EFA Global Monitoring Report with her expertise themes of governance, marginalization and conflict, has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘The world’s poorest children are paying a high price for scholarships’. Rose states “For many donor countries, a large proportion of “aid” never leaves their country. Spending this money on education in the world’s poorest countries could go a long way to giving the 132 million out-of-school children and adolescents the chance for a better future. Our recent policy paper, Education for All is affordable – by 2015 and beyond, shows that the financing gap for achieving basic education has grown by $10 billion in three years and now totals $26 billion per year. This increased finance gap is primarily due to donors failing to increase aid significantly to help developing countries send children to school. This finance gap can be bridged, however, if both developing countries and donors prioritised basic education. Currently, however, donors spend $3.1 billion per year on university students from poor countries to study in donor countries, equivalent to one quarter of total direct aid to education. This money is spent on scholarships and imputed costs (costs incurred by donor-country institutions when they receive students from developing countries). While higher education is undoubtedly important, allocating aid in this way does little to help the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children and young people and does little to fill the finance gap. …Donor countries should prioritise basic education by targeting 20 percent of overall aid to education. If they also allocated half of these funds to basic education, we could raise a total of $14 billion. This would go a long way in reducing the current financing gap for basic education. It will be even more vital to ensure aid reaches those who need it most as we approach the prospect of even more ambitious education goals after 2015.”

 

Inspired by Pauline Rose, Aljazeera ow.ly/kuD1T Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuCVg

 

 

Shinzo Abe the 58 year old and youngest post-World War II Prime Minister of Japan and also the President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been the subject of article by Joseph Stiglitz on the Project Syndicate titled ‘The Promise of Abenomics’. Stiglitz states “…Abe’s program for his country’s economic recovery has led to a surge in domestic confidence. But to what extent can “Abenomics” claim credit? Interestingly, a closer look at Japan’s performance over the past decade suggests little reason for persistent bearish sentiment. Indeed, in terms of growth of output per employed worker, Japan has done quite well since the turn of the century. …as many Japanese rightly sense, Abenomics can only help the country’s recovery. Abe is doing what many economists (including me) have been calling for in the US and Europe: a comprehensive program entailing monetary, fiscal, and structural policies. Abe likens this approach to holding three arrows – taken alone, each can be bent; taken together, none can. …Government efforts to increase productivity in the service sector probably will be particularly important. For example, Japan is in a good position to exploit synergies between an improved health-care sector and its world-class manufacturing capabilities, in the development of medical instrumentation. …There is every reason to believe that Japan’s strategy for rejuvenating its economy will succeed:  the country benefits from strong institutions, has a well-educated labor force with superb technical skills and design sensibilities, and is located in the world’s most (only?) dynamic region. It suffers from less inequality than many advanced industrial countries (though more than Canada and the northern European countries), and it has had a longer-standing commitment to environment preservation. If the comprehensive agenda that Abe has laid out is executed well, today’s growing confidence will be vindicated. Indeed, Japan could become one of the few rays of light in an otherwise gloomy advanced-country landscape.”  Inspired by Joseph Stiglitz, Project Syndicate ow.ly/kuCAs Image source TTTNIS ow.ly/kuCDc The Promise of Abenomics (May 16 2013)

Shinzo Abe the 58 year old and youngest post-World War II Prime Minister of Japan and also the President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been the subject of article by Joseph Stiglitz on the Project Syndicate titled ‘The Promise of Abenomics’. Stiglitz states “…Abe’s program for his country’s economic recovery has led to a surge in domestic confidence. But to what extent can “Abenomics” claim credit? Interestingly, a closer look at Japan’s performance over the past decade suggests little reason for persistent bearish sentiment. Indeed, in terms of growth of output per employed worker, Japan has done quite well since the turn of the century. …as many Japanese rightly sense, Abenomics can only help the country’s recovery. Abe is doing what many economists (including me) have been calling for in the US and Europe: a comprehensive program entailing monetary, fiscal, and structural policies. Abe likens this approach to holding three arrows – taken alone, each can be bent; taken together, none can. …Government efforts to increase productivity in the service sector probably will be particularly important. For example, Japan is in a good position to exploit synergies between an improved health-care sector and its world-class manufacturing capabilities, in the development of medical instrumentation. …There is every reason to believe that Japan’s strategy for rejuvenating its economy will succeed:  the country benefits from strong institutions, has a well-educated labor force with superb technical skills and design sensibilities, and is located in the world’s most (only?) dynamic region. It suffers from less inequality than many advanced industrial countries (though more than Canada and the northern European countries), and it has had a longer-standing commitment to environment preservation. If the comprehensive agenda that Abe has laid out is executed well, today’s growing confidence will be vindicated. Indeed, Japan could become one of the few rays of light in an otherwise gloomy advanced-country landscape.”

 

Inspired by Joseph Stiglitz, Project Syndicate ow.ly/kuCAs Image source TTTNIS ow.ly/kuCDc

Jennifer Viegas the American Discovery News reporter has published an article on io9 titled ‘This Fish Fossil Shows Why Humans Have Two Arms and Two Legs’. In the article Viegas states “An unusual prehistoric fish with fins near its butt has helped to solve the mystery over why most animals, including humans, have paired limbs. The fish, Euphanerops, is possibly the first creature on the planet to have evolved paired appendages, which in this case were fins. The 370-million-year-old species is described in the latest issue of Biology Letters. …This was a jawless fish that lived long before dinosaurs first emerged. Many living fish have a single anal fin, located at the center back of the fish’s underside near its rear end. The fin is thought to help maintain control of body position. Euphanerops, however, evolved two such fins. Some subsequent fish did not evolve the paired appendages, so fish with all sorts of fin combinations existed for a while. …later helped some species make the transition from water to land.  Heather King of the University of Chicago and colleagues studied living lungfish to see how that transition might have happened. "Lungfish are very closely related to the animals that were able to evolve and come out of the water and onto land, but that was so long ago that almost everything except the lungfish has gone extinct," she explained. King and her team found that lungfish could, as their name suggests, blow up with air like a balloon, giving their body buoyancy. Their scrawny back paired appendages can then either sort of hop or actually walk by alternating the movement of these limbs. …Since those first steps from water to land were taken, some animals evolved four limbs for walking. Even for these animals, like dogs and cats, the limbs come in pairs. For that innovation, we can probably thank the unusual, long-extinct jaw-less fish Euphanerops.”  Inspired by Jennifer Viegas, io9 ow.ly/k8YXQ Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8Zwf Why humans have two arms and two legs (May 15 2013)

 

Jennifer Viegas the American Discovery News reporter has published an article on io9 titled ‘This Fish Fossil Shows Why Humans Have Two Arms and Two Legs’. In the article Viegas states “An unusual prehistoric fish with fins near its butt has helped to solve the mystery over why most animals, including humans, have paired limbs. The fish, Euphanerops, is possibly the first creature on the planet to have evolved paired appendages, which in this case were fins. The 370-million-year-old species is described in the latest issue of Biology Letters. …This was a jawless fish that lived long before dinosaurs first emerged. Many living fish have a single anal fin, located at the center back of the fish’s underside near its rear end. The fin is thought to help maintain control of body position. Euphanerops, however, evolved two such fins. Some subsequent fish did not evolve the paired appendages, so fish with all sorts of fin combinations existed for a while. …later helped some species make the transition from water to land.  Heather King of the University of Chicago and colleagues studied living lungfish to see how that transition might have happened. “Lungfish are very closely related to the animals that were able to evolve and come out of the water and onto land, but that was so long ago that almost everything except the lungfish has gone extinct,” she explained. King and her team found that lungfish could, as their name suggests, blow up with air like a balloon, giving their body buoyancy. Their scrawny back paired appendages can then either sort of hop or actually walk by alternating the movement of these limbs. …Since those first steps from water to land were taken, some animals evolved four limbs for walking. Even for these animals, like dogs and cats, the limbs come in pairs. For that innovation, we can probably thank the unusual, long-extinct jaw-less fish Euphanerops.”

 

Inspired by Jennifer Viegas, io9 ow.ly/k8YXQ Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8Zwf

Scott K Johnson the American Hydrogeologist and Earth science instructor at Madison College has published an article on Ars Technica titled ‘Oceans continue to warm, especially the deeps’ referring to altered patterns seen over past two decades. In the article Johnson states “When discussing global warming, the public eye is mostly directed to global average surface air temperatures, but that’s just one slice of the climate pie. If you haven’t noticed, the ocean is awfully big, and it holds a great deal more heat energy than the atmosphere. In fact, about 90 percent of the energy that’s been added to the climate system by human activities has gone into the ocean. …The resulting ocean heat content data shows some interesting features. Drops in ocean heat content coincide with large volcanic eruptions, which pump sunlight-reflecting aerosol particles into the atmosphere for a time. But there’s also a small drop after 1998—a year known for the incredibly strong El Nino that pushed global surface temperature to a (then) high point. …After this period, ocean heat content continued to rise sharply—especially in the deep ocean. The paper states that “recent warming rates of the waters below 700 [meters] appear to be unprecedented” in the record. Supporting some earlier estimates, the data shows about 30 percent of ocean warming after 1998 taking place more than 700 meters down. While it’s certainly useful to note the extent to which heat energy is accumulating in the climate system, it’s more interesting to ask why the deep ocean has taken such a large share of it recently. It seems to relate to changes in ocean circulation. A 2011 study indicated that La Ninas and a circulation pattern called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation could cause lulls in surface warming while energy is stuffed into the deep ocean. That may be exactly what we’ve experienced over the past decade. When those conditions change, we’ll see the effects in higher surface temperatures.”  Inspired by Scott K Johnson, ars technica ow.ly/k8XFo Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8Y70 Oceans continue to warm especially the deeps (May 14 2013)

Scott K Johnson the American Hydrogeologist and Earth science instructor at Madison College has published an article on Ars Technica titled ‘Oceans continue to warm, especially the deeps’ referring to altered patterns seen over past two decades. In the article Johnson states “When discussing global warming, the public eye is mostly directed to global average surface air temperatures, but that’s just one slice of the climate pie. If you haven’t noticed, the ocean is awfully big, and it holds a great deal more heat energy than the atmosphere. In fact, about 90 percent of the energy that’s been added to the climate system by human activities has gone into the ocean. …The resulting ocean heat content data shows some interesting features. Drops in ocean heat content coincide with large volcanic eruptions, which pump sunlight-reflecting aerosol particles into the atmosphere for a time. But there’s also a small drop after 1998—a year known for the incredibly strong El Nino that pushed global surface temperature to a (then) high point. …After this period, ocean heat content continued to rise sharply—especially in the deep ocean. The paper states that “recent warming rates of the waters below 700 [meters] appear to be unprecedented” in the record. Supporting some earlier estimates, the data shows about 30 percent of ocean warming after 1998 taking place more than 700 meters down. While it’s certainly useful to note the extent to which heat energy is accumulating in the climate system, it’s more interesting to ask why the deep ocean has taken such a large share of it recently. It seems to relate to changes in ocean circulation. A 2011 study indicated that La Ninas and a circulation pattern called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation could cause lulls in surface warming while energy is stuffed into the deep ocean. That may be exactly what we’ve experienced over the past decade. When those conditions change, we’ll see the effects in higher surface temperatures.”

 

Inspired by Scott K Johnson, ars technica ow.ly/k8XFo Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8Y70

Laurent Fabius the 66 year old French Socialist politician who served as Prime Minister and current Foreign Minister has been forced to deny rumors of tax evasion. In an article published on France24 by Joseph Bamat, titled ‘French foreign minister denies tax-evasion ‘rumour’’, Bamat states “Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius denied … a rumour that he may have a secret bank account in Switzerland. The allegation comes less than a week after former budget minister Jérôme Cahuzac admitted he lied about holding a secret Swiss bank account, in a tax-evasion scandal that has rocked the Socialist government of President François Hollande. There is no “substance or foundation” to the news report, Fabius said in a statement to the press, adding he would take legal action to “stop the diffusion of this false and slanderous information”.  …left-leaning daily Libération reported that the investigative news website Médiapart – which broke the Cahuzac affair – was looking into whether Fabius was also stashing away euros in “one or several” bank accounts across the border. It stated that Hollande’s cabinet is in a state of panic ahead of potentially devastating new revelations. “More than an affair, it’s a potential political bomb. Everyone thinks the same thing: if Fabius really does have a Swiss bank account, the entire government would fall. Immediately,” the newspaper wrote in its Monday edition that headlined, “The nightmare continues”. However, Libération did not publish any information or document proving that one of France’s top government minister’s had an illegal bank account. Left reeling from the Cahuzac affair, France's government attempted to take back the initiative by stating that it was looking into tightening Europe-wide measures against tax evasion. Médiapart chastised the newspaper Libération for publishing the allegations. Contacted by Libération, Médiapart staff journalist Fabrice Arfi said the only news it stood by was “what is published on our site”.”  Inspired by Joseph Bamat, France24 ow.ly/k8WiS Image source Olivier Ezratty ow.ly/k8Wgl Diffusion of false and slanderous information (May 13 2013)

 

Laurent Fabius the 66 year old French Socialist politician who served as Prime Minister and current Foreign Minister has been forced to deny rumors of tax evasion. In an article published on France24 by Joseph Bamat, titled ‘French foreign minister denies tax-evasion ‘rumour’’, Bamat states “Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius denied … a rumour that he may have a secret bank account in Switzerland. The allegation comes less than a week after former budget minister Jérôme Cahuzac admitted he lied about holding a secret Swiss bank account, in a tax-evasion scandal that has rocked the Socialist government of President François Hollande. There is no “substance or foundation” to the news report, Fabius said in a statement to the press, adding he would take legal action to “stop the diffusion of this false and slanderous information”.  …left-leaning daily Libération reported that the investigative news website Médiapart – which broke the Cahuzac affair – was looking into whether Fabius was also stashing away euros in “one or several” bank accounts across the border. It stated that Hollande’s cabinet is in a state of panic ahead of potentially devastating new revelations. “More than an affair, it’s a potential political bomb. Everyone thinks the same thing: if Fabius really does have a Swiss bank account, the entire government would fall. Immediately,” the newspaper wrote in its Monday edition that headlined, “The nightmare continues”. However, Libération did not publish any information or document proving that one of France’s top government minister’s had an illegal bank account. Left reeling from the Cahuzac affair, France’s government attempted to take back the initiative by stating that it was looking into tightening Europe-wide measures against tax evasion. Médiapart chastised the newspaper Libération for publishing the allegations. Contacted by Libération, Médiapart staff journalist Fabrice Arfi said the only news it stood by was “what is published on our site”.”

 

Inspired by Joseph Bamat, France24 ow.ly/k8WiS Image source Olivier Ezratty ow.ly/k8Wgl

Jose Antonio Ocampo Gaviria the 60 year old Colombian Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs has been interviewed by Marzieh Goudarzi for the IPS News Service in an article titled ‘Moving Away from “Elite Multilateralism”’. During the interview Ocampo-Gaviria states “I have written extensively on the G20 and my perspective is that these informal institutions, which I call “elite multilateralism”, are not the best form of global governance. I like “the G’s” when they are part of multilateral institutions. Global governance derives its legitimacy at the global level just as governance does at a national level, from universality. You have to have universal membership. For that purpose, the best way for these “G’s” to work is within a formal multilateral setting. At the same time, I agree that you have to have effective decision-making mechanisms. Smaller decision-making bodies, in which everyone is directly represented, are fundamental. In all democracies, decisions are taken by a limited number of actors at the end, but those actors have to be representing all of the membership. …The basic problem is that power ends up in the hands of the elite that uses power to further its own interests. This has been associated with developing countries, but it can also happen in developed countries, particularly in the financial sector. There has been a change in that regard during the recent crisis; now there is a bit more hope that financial policy will be detached from financial interests. Successful human development strategy has to include very active social policy, including education, health, and social protections, and at the same time very active economic development policy, particularly the generation of employment. We have seen so many cases of countries that have improvements in education and when an educated labour force comes to the market, there is no employment to absorb that population. You have to have an active social policy but also an active economic policy and the basic connection between the two is called employment.”  Inspired by Marzieh Goudarzi, IPS News ow.ly/k8TND Image source Wikipedia ow.ly/k8UQp Moving away from elite multilateralism (May 12 2013)

 

Jose Antonio Ocampo Gaviria the 60 year old Colombian Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs has been interviewed by Marzieh Goudarzi for the IPS News Service in an article titled ‘Moving Away from “Elite Multilateralism”’. During the interview Ocampo-Gaviria states “I have written extensively on the G20 and my perspective is that these informal institutions, which I call “elite multilateralism”, are not the best form of global governance. I like “the G’s” when they are part of multilateral institutions. Global governance derives its legitimacy at the global level just as governance does at a national level, from universality. You have to have universal membership. For that purpose, the best way for these “G’s” to work is within a formal multilateral setting. At the same time, I agree that you have to have effective decision-making mechanisms. Smaller decision-making bodies, in which everyone is directly represented, are fundamental. In all democracies, decisions are taken by a limited number of actors at the end, but those actors have to be representing all of the membership. …The basic problem is that power ends up in the hands of the elite that uses power to further its own interests. This has been associated with developing countries, but it can also happen in developed countries, particularly in the financial sector. There has been a change in that regard during the recent crisis; now there is a bit more hope that financial policy will be detached from financial interests. Successful human development strategy has to include very active social policy, including education, health, and social protections, and at the same time very active economic development policy, particularly the generation of employment. We have seen so many cases of countries that have improvements in education and when an educated labour force comes to the market, there is no employment to absorb that population. You have to have an active social policy but also an active economic policy and the basic connection between the two is called employment.”

 

Inspired by Marzieh Goudarzi, IPS News ow.ly/k8TND Image source Wikipedia ow.ly/k8UQp

Maev Kennedy the Irish staff news writer for The Guardian has published an article titled ‘Archaeologists find 10,000 objects from Roman London’ following discoveries include writing tablets, thousands of pieces of pottery and a large collection of phallus-shaped luck charms. Kennedy states ”Scores of archaeologists working in a waterlogged trench through the wettest summer and coldest winter in living memory have recovered more than 10,000 objects from Roman London, including writing tablets, amber, a well with ritual deposits of pewter, coins and cow skulls, thousands of pieces of pottery, a unique piece of padded and stitched leather – and the largest collection of lucky charms in the shape of phalluses ever found on a single site. Sophie Jackson, of Museum of London Archaeology, said: "The waterlogged conditions left by the Walbrook stream have given us layer upon layer of Roman timber buildings, fences and yards, all beautifully preserved and containing amazing personal items, clothes and even documents – all of which will transform our understanding of the people of Roman London." The horrible working conditions, in a sodden trench up to 7 metres deep along the buried river, resulted in startling preservation of timber – including massive foundations for buildings, fencing still standing to shoulder height, and remains of a complex Roman drainage system, as well as the largest collection of leather from any London Roman site, bone and even a straw basket, which would all have crumbled into dust centuries ago on a drier site. The most puzzling object is an elaborately worked piece of leather, padded and stitched with an image of a gladiator fighting mythical creatures. The archaeologists believe it may have come from a chariot, but are only guessing since nothing like it has ever been found. …Up to 60 archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology worked on the site, digging by hand through 3,500 tonnes of soil. The site, which includes the longest surviving stretch of the Walbrook, covers the entire period of Roman London, from very soon after the invasion to the 5th century.”  Inspired by Maev Kennedy, The Guardian ow.ly/k8SBa Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8SyE Archaeologists find objects from Roman London (May 11 2013)

 

Maev Kennedy the Irish staff news writer for The Guardian has published an article titled ‘Archaeologists find 10,000 objects from Roman London’ following discoveries include writing tablets, thousands of pieces of pottery and a large collection of phallus-shaped luck charms. Kennedy states ”Scores of archaeologists working in a waterlogged trench through the wettest summer and coldest winter in living memory have recovered more than 10,000 objects from Roman London, including writing tablets, amber, a well with ritual deposits of pewter, coins and cow skulls, thousands of pieces of pottery, a unique piece of padded and stitched leather – and the largest collection of lucky charms in the shape of phalluses ever found on a single site. Sophie Jackson, of Museum of London Archaeology, said: “The waterlogged conditions left by the Walbrook stream have given us layer upon layer of Roman timber buildings, fences and yards, all beautifully preserved and containing amazing personal items, clothes and even documents – all of which will transform our understanding of the people of Roman London.” The horrible working conditions, in a sodden trench up to 7 metres deep along the buried river, resulted in startling preservation of timber – including massive foundations for buildings, fencing still standing to shoulder height, and remains of a complex Roman drainage system, as well as the largest collection of leather from any London Roman site, bone and even a straw basket, which would all have crumbled into dust centuries ago on a drier site. The most puzzling object is an elaborately worked piece of leather, padded and stitched with an image of a gladiator fighting mythical creatures. The archaeologists believe it may have come from a chariot, but are only guessing since nothing like it has ever been found. …Up to 60 archaeologists from Museum of London Archaeology worked on the site, digging by hand through 3,500 tonnes of soil. The site, which includes the longest surviving stretch of the Walbrook, covers the entire period of Roman London, from very soon after the invasion to the 5th century.”

 

Inspired by Maev Kennedy, The Guardian ow.ly/k8SBa Image source Twitter ow.ly/k8SyE

Lauren Carasik the American Professor and nationally recognized expert in the field of disability law has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘When fear eclipses justice, we all lose: Shutter Guantanamo now’ stating the US intransigence on Guantanamo issue is counterproductive, as it only serves to stoke animosity and contempt. In the article Carasik states “Eleven years into their incarceration at Guantanamo Bay, many desperate detainees are exerting what little control they still exert over their lives: they are refusing to eat. As word of the hunger strikes began trickling out of the prison in February, lawyers for the detainees became increasingly alarmed at the harrowing conditions their clients were reporting. Even now a vast discrepancy separates the official story and what numerous counsels have witnessed and heard firsthand from their clients. According to various detainees, the roots of the resistance originated when the prison authorities seemed to revert to their pre-Obama levels of brutality.  Cells were searched, family photos and other cherished, tangible reminders of life before Guantanamo were confiscated and harsh treatment ensued. Perhaps more upsetting to detainees was that Qurans were rifled through in a manner detainees had repeatedly denounced as desecration of their holy book. The justification centred on arguments that such searches were necessary security measures, though detainees were reportedly willing to surrender their Qurans instead of having them subjected to search, while observing that hiding items in the Quran would violate their religious practices. …According to lawyers for the detainees, after almost two months of striking, the health of the men is deteriorating rapidly, and others are already in critical condition. Medical experts warn that long-term hunger strikes can cause severe and irreversible physiological and neurological damage, which is compounded by the psychological distress of indefinite detention and isolation. An unconfirmed number of detainees are prepared to die, and may in fact prefer death to living their remaining years within the confines of Guantanamo. The US can and must act: if it has any hope of regaining its moral authority, these men should not be reduced to a despair so profound that they feel their only way out of Guantanamo is in a coffin.”  Inspired by Lauren Carasik, Aljazeera ow.ly/k6H4b Image source WNE ow.ly/k6HA7 When fear eclipses justice we all lose (May 10 2013)

 

Lauren Carasik the American Professor and nationally recognized expert in the field of disability law has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘When fear eclipses justice, we all lose: Shutter Guantanamo now’ stating the US intransigence on Guantanamo issue is counterproductive, as it only serves to stoke animosity and contempt. In the article Carasik states “Eleven years into their incarceration at Guantanamo Bay, many desperate detainees are exerting what little control they still exert over their lives: they are refusing to eat. As word of the hunger strikes began trickling out of the prison in February, lawyers for the detainees became increasingly alarmed at the harrowing conditions their clients were reporting. Even now a vast discrepancy separates the official story and what numerous counsels have witnessed and heard firsthand from their clients. According to various detainees, the roots of the resistance originated when the prison authorities seemed to revert to their pre-Obama levels of brutality.  Cells were searched, family photos and other cherished, tangible reminders of life before Guantanamo were confiscated and harsh treatment ensued. Perhaps more upsetting to detainees was that Qurans were rifled through in a manner detainees had repeatedly denounced as desecration of their holy book. The justification centred on arguments that such searches were necessary security measures, though detainees were reportedly willing to surrender their Qurans instead of having them subjected to search, while observing that hiding items in the Quran would violate their religious practices. …According to lawyers for the detainees, after almost two months of striking, the health of the men is deteriorating rapidly, and others are already in critical condition. Medical experts warn that long-term hunger strikes can cause severe and irreversible physiological and neurological damage, which is compounded by the psychological distress of indefinite detention and isolation. An unconfirmed number of detainees are prepared to die, and may in fact prefer death to living their remaining years within the confines of Guantanamo. The US can and must act: if it has any hope of regaining its moral authority, these men should not be reduced to a despair so profound that they feel their only way out of Guantanamo is in a coffin.”

 

Inspired by Lauren Carasik, Aljazeera ow.ly/k6H4b Image source WNE ow.ly/k6HA7

Barry Eichengreen the 61 year old American Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘The Use and Abuse of Monetary History’. In the article Eichengreen states “Imagine two central banks. One is hyperactive, responding aggressively to events. While it certainly cannot be accused of ignoring current developments, its policies are widely criticized as storing up problems for the future. The other central bank is unflappable. It remains calm in the face of events, seeking at all cost to avoid doing anything that might be construed as encouraging excessive risk-taking or creating even a whiff of inflation. What I have just described is no mere hypothetical, of course. It is, in fact, a capsule depiction of the United States Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. One popular explanation for the two banks’ different approaches is that they stem from their societies’ respective historical experiences. The banks’ institutional personalities reflect the role of collective memory in shaping how officials conceptualize the problems that they face. The Great Depression of the 1930’s, when the Fed stood idly by as the economy collapsed, is the molding event seared into the consciousness of every American central banker. As a result, the Fed responds aggressively when it perceives even a limited risk of another depression. By contrast, the defining event shaping European monetary policy is the hyperinflation of the 1920’s, filtered through the experience of the 1970’s and 1980’s, when central banks were enlisted once again to finance budget deficits – and again with inflationary consequences. Indeed, delegating national monetary policies to a Europe-wide central bank was intended to solve precisely this problem. … For the Fed, it is important to ask whether the 1930’s, when its premature policy tightening precipitated a double-dip recession, really is the best historical analogy to consider when contemplating how to time the exit from its current accommodating stance. Certainly, the Great Depression is not the only alternative on offer.”  Inspired by Barry Eichengreen, Project Syndicate ow.ly/k6FvO Image source Twitter ow.ly/k6FsF Use and abuse of monetary history (May 9 2013)

 

Barry Eichengreen the 61 year old American Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘The Use and Abuse of Monetary History’. In the article Eichengreen states “Imagine two central banks. One is hyperactive, responding aggressively to events. While it certainly cannot be accused of ignoring current developments, its policies are widely criticized as storing up problems for the future. The other central bank is unflappable. It remains calm in the face of events, seeking at all cost to avoid doing anything that might be construed as encouraging excessive risk-taking or creating even a whiff of inflation. What I have just described is no mere hypothetical, of course. It is, in fact, a capsule depiction of the United States Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. One popular explanation for the two banks’ different approaches is that they stem from their societies’ respective historical experiences. The banks’ institutional personalities reflect the role of collective memory in shaping how officials conceptualize the problems that they face. The Great Depression of the 1930’s, when the Fed stood idly by as the economy collapsed, is the molding event seared into the consciousness of every American central banker. As a result, the Fed responds aggressively when it perceives even a limited risk of another depression. By contrast, the defining event shaping European monetary policy is the hyperinflation of the 1920’s, filtered through the experience of the 1970’s and 1980’s, when central banks were enlisted once again to finance budget deficits – and again with inflationary consequences. Indeed, delegating national monetary policies to a Europe-wide central bank was intended to solve precisely this problem. … For the Fed, it is important to ask whether the 1930’s, when its premature policy tightening precipitated a double-dip recession, really is the best historical analogy to consider when contemplating how to time the exit from its current accommodating stance. Certainly, the Great Depression is not the only alternative on offer.”

 

Inspired by Barry Eichengreen, Project Syndicate ow.ly/k6FvO Image source Twitter ow.ly/k6FsF

William Eggleston the 73 year old American photographer who is credited with increasing recognition for color photography as a legitimate artistic medium to display in art galleries has been featured by Julia Halperin in a Blouin Artinfo article titled ‘Judge Rules William Eggleston Can Clone His Own Work, Rebuffing Angry Collector’. Halperin states “Photographers across the country can breathe a sigh of relief. The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York dismissed collector Jonathan Sobel’s lawsuit against photographer William Eggleston. The case, art law experts say, has broader implications for all artists who incorporate old photographic negatives into new work — and the collectors who support them. Filed last April, the complaint alleged that Eggleston diluted the value of Sobel’s collection by printing larger, digital versions of some of his best-known works and then selling them for record prices at Christie’s. …The lawsuit was spurred by Christie’s sale last March of 36 poster-size, digital prints of images that Eggleston had shot in the Mississippi Delta more than 30 years ago. Some were created from negatives he had never printed before, while others were based on iconic works… For Sobel, who owns 190 Eggleston works, the success of the sale was part of the problem. “The commercial value of art is scarcity, and if you make more of something, it becomes less valuable,” he told ARTINFO last April. The judge disagreed. Egggleston may have profited from the Christie’s sale, she concluded, but not at Sobel’s expense. Eggleston could be held liable only if he created new editions of the limited-edition works in Sobel’s collection using the same dye-transfer process he used for the originals — a move that would directly deflate their value. In this case, however, Eggleston was using a new digital process to produce what she deemed a new body of work.”   Inspired by Julia Halperin, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/k6Eb7 Image source Facebook ow.ly/k6E3T Deemed a new body of work (May 8 2013)

 

William Eggleston the 73 year old American photographer who is credited with increasing recognition for color photography as a legitimate artistic medium to display in art galleries has been featured by Julia Halperin in a Blouin Artinfo article titled ‘Judge Rules William Eggleston Can Clone His Own Work, Rebuffing Angry Collector’. Halperin states “Photographers across the country can breathe a sigh of relief. The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York dismissed collector Jonathan Sobel’s lawsuit against photographer William Eggleston. The case, art law experts say, has broader implications for all artists who incorporate old photographic negatives into new work — and the collectors who support them. Filed last April, the complaint alleged that Eggleston diluted the value of Sobel’s collection by printing larger, digital versions of some of his best-known works and then selling them for record prices at Christie’s. …The lawsuit was spurred by Christie’s sale last March of 36 poster-size, digital prints of images that Eggleston had shot in the Mississippi Delta more than 30 years ago. Some were created from negatives he had never printed before, while others were based on iconic works… For Sobel, who owns 190 Eggleston works, the success of the sale was part of the problem. “The commercial value of art is scarcity, and if you make more of something, it becomes less valuable,” he told ARTINFO last April. The judge disagreed. Egggleston may have profited from the Christie’s sale, she concluded, but not at Sobel’s expense. Eggleston could be held liable only if he created new editions of the limited-edition works in Sobel’s collection using the same dye-transfer process he used for the originals — a move that would directly deflate their value. In this case, however, Eggleston was using a new digital process to produce what she deemed a new body of work.”

 

Inspired by Julia Halperin, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/k6Eb7 Image source Facebook ow.ly/k6E3T

Bassem Raafat Muhammad Youssef the 39 year old Egyptian cardiac surgeon, satirist, and TV host of El Bernameg a satirical news program broadcasted by Egyptian television was summoned and interrogated by Egyptian authorities after being charged with insulting President Mohamed Morsi, denigrating Islam, and spreading false news. Abby Ohlheiser in an article published on Slate titled ‘"Egypt's Jon Stewart" Has It Tougher Than America's Version’ states “… out on bail now, but activists and critics are watching this one closely for the precedent it sets on the new government's stance towards freedom of expression. …He's commonly called the Egyptian version of Jon Stewart, and for good reason: Youssef modeled his widely-watched show after his comedic idol's Daily Show. …Youssef is also a heart surgeon who treated the wounded after a notoriously brutal attempt by the Mubarak regime to drive protesters from Tahrir square. … Youssef turns his satirical eye toward those in power, whether that means mocking the military, or its elected successors, the current government who took office in June. Now, it looks like Youssef could become the most prominent test case for the new Muslim Brotherhood-led government's commitment to the democratic process that put it into power. Egyptian journalists, as the BBC explains, have already argued that the new Islamist-influenced constitution doesn't do nearly enough to protect freedom of the press, expression, or religious minorities in the country. …Youssef, who is Muslim, [states] "We are not the ones who insult religion, all we do is expose the channels that have misused religion and harmed it more than anyone else. If there is anyone who has insulted religion it is those who use Islam as a weapon for political reasons." … Youssef posted a tweet in English to his one million-plus followers saying he was "touched by people's support and media attention, however, there are many more activists being prosecuted that deserve to get that support."  Inspired by Abby Ohlheiser, Slate ow.ly/k6BVR Image source TheWorld ow.ly/k6BR3 We are not the ones who insult religion (May 7 2013)

Bassem Raafat Muhammad Youssef the 39 year old Egyptian cardiac surgeon, satirist, and TV host of El Bernameg a satirical news program broadcasted by Egyptian television was summoned and interrogated by Egyptian authorities after being charged with insulting President Mohamed Morsi, denigrating Islam, and spreading false news. Abby Ohlheiser in an article published on Slate titled ‘”Egypt’s Jon Stewart” Has It Tougher Than America’s Version’ states “… out on bail now, but activists and critics are watching this one closely for the precedent it sets on the new government’s stance towards freedom of expression. …He’s commonly called the Egyptian version of Jon Stewart, and for good reason: Youssef modeled his widely-watched show after his comedic idol’s Daily Show. …Youssef is also a heart surgeon who treated the wounded after a notoriously brutal attempt by the Mubarak regime to drive protesters from Tahrir square. … Youssef turns his satirical eye toward those in power, whether that means mocking the military, or its elected successors, the current government who took office in June. Now, it looks like Youssef could become the most prominent test case for the new Muslim Brotherhood-led government’s commitment to the democratic process that put it into power. Egyptian journalists, as the BBC explains, have already argued that the new Islamist-influenced constitution doesn’t do nearly enough to protect freedom of the press, expression, or religious minorities in the country. …Youssef, who is Muslim, [states] “We are not the ones who insult religion, all we do is expose the channels that have misused religion and harmed it more than anyone else. If there is anyone who has insulted religion it is those who use Islam as a weapon for political reasons.” … Youssef posted a tweet in English to his one million-plus followers saying he was “touched by people’s support and media attention, however, there are many more activists being prosecuted that deserve to get that support.”

 

Inspired by Abby Ohlheiser, Slate ow.ly/k6BVR Image source TheWorld ow.ly/k6BR3

Helen Elizabeth Clark the 63 year old former Prime Minister of New Zealand and current Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published an article on the IPS News Service titled ‘The BRICS and the Rising South’. Clark states “…Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, known as the BRICS …will examine proposals to create their own BRICS development bank. The readiness of the BRICS countries to offer their own new international development initiatives and policy ideas is a clear manifestation of the changing global development landscape examined in UNDP’s newly released 2013 Human Development Report, “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World”. This dramatic change in global dynamics, however, goes well beyond the BRICS. More than forty developing countries are estimated to have made unusually rapid human development strides in recent decades, according to the Report. Together, they represent most of the world’s population and a growing proportion of its trade and economic output. The progress of these fast mover countries measured in human development terms has accelerated markedly in the past decade. These geographically, culturally, and politically varied countries share a keen sense of pragmatism and a commitment to people, as seen through investments in education, health care, and social protection, and their engagement with the global economy. Neither rigid command economies nor laissez-faire free marketeers, they are guided by what works in their own national circumstances. …A greater voice for the South also means greater responsibility, with shared accountability for solving problems and sustaining progress. A more engaged, successful South, meanwhile, helps the North, through its economic dynamism and collaboration on global challenges. As the 2013 Human Development Report says, the South still needs the North, but, increasingly, the North also needs the South.” Inspired by Helen Clark, IPS News ow.ly/k4oC7 Image source Wikipedia ow.ly/k4ok2 Proposals to create BRICS development bank (May 6 2013)

 

Helen Elizabeth Clark the 63 year old former Prime Minister of New Zealand and current Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published an article on the IPS News Service titled ‘The BRICS and the Rising South’. Clark states “…Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, known as the BRICS …will examine proposals to create their own BRICS development bank. The readiness of the BRICS countries to offer their own new international development initiatives and policy ideas is a clear manifestation of the changing global development landscape examined in UNDP’s newly released 2013 Human Development Report, “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World”. This dramatic change in global dynamics, however, goes well beyond the BRICS. More than forty developing countries are estimated to have made unusually rapid human development strides in recent decades, according to the Report. Together, they represent most of the world’s population and a growing proportion of its trade and economic output. The progress of these fast mover countries measured in human development terms has accelerated markedly in the past decade. These geographically, culturally, and politically varied countries share a keen sense of pragmatism and a commitment to people, as seen through investments in education, health care, and social protection, and their engagement with the global economy. Neither rigid command economies nor laissez-faire free marketeers, they are guided by what works in their own national circumstances. …A greater voice for the South also means greater responsibility, with shared accountability for solving problems and sustaining progress. A more engaged, successful South, meanwhile, helps the North, through its economic dynamism and collaboration on global challenges. As the 2013 Human Development Report says, the South still needs the North, but, increasingly, the North also needs the South.”

 

Inspired by Helen Clark, IPS News ow.ly/k4oC7 Image source Wikipedia ow.ly/k4ok2

Spinning Pop is an artistic and conceptual exploration of specific people and events of our contemporary time and culture. The digital photo manipulated work is premised on the belief that Pop Art in its beginnings, freeze-framed what consumers of popular culture experienced into iconic visual abstractions. Visual information now circulates in such quantities, so rapidly and exponentially, that to comprehend a fraction of it all becomes a kind of production process in itself.  The use of video production for exhibiting the work enables the individual images to become fragmented elements of the global popular culture over a time line.  Adapting Pop Art’s notion of mass media imagery into a context of the contemporary digital age, the work draws on a myriad points of reference. Utilizing fractured images to provide an allusion to the digital noise pounding away daily into our sub consciousness.   Diverging from the traditional Pop Art notion of a pronounced repetition of a consumer icon, instead this work focuses on the deluge of contemporary digital content.

April 2013 ISSUE now from Amazon.

Spinning Pop is an artistic and conceptual exploration of specific people and events of our contemporary time and culture.
The digital photo manipulated work is premised on the belief that Pop Art in its beginnings, freeze-framed what consumers of popular culture experienced into iconic visual abstractions. Visual information now circulates in such quantities, so rapidly and exponentially, that to comprehend a fraction of it all becomes a kind of production process in itself.
The use of video production for exhibiting the work enables the individual images to become fragmented elements of the global popular culture over a time line.
Adapting Pop Art’s notion of mass media imagery into a context of the contemporary digital age, the work draws on a myriad points of reference. Utilizing fractured images to provide an allusion to the digital noise pounding away daily into our sub consciousness.
Diverging from the traditional Pop Art notion of a pronounced repetition of a consumer icon, instead this work focuses on the deluge of contemporary digital content.

Marcel Dzama the 39 year old Canadian contemporary artist working particularly in ink and watercolor drawings has been featured by Hermione Hoby in a Guardian article titled ‘Cult artist Marcel Dzama: 'I try not to censor myself'’ Hoby states “…If you took a quick glance at Marcel Dzama's watercolours, you'd probably think they were illustrations for children's books. Painted in carmines, olives and browns, they're peopled with elegantly wrought figures and filled with dreamlike pageantry (for a long time, Dzama kept a torch and pad by his bed so he could sketch whatever occurred to him in the night). Then you notice how oddly erotic and calmly macabre they are: there's the troupe of balletic, hooded women pirouetting with AK-47s in their hands; and the tableau of amputee cowboys, one fellating another. … he's a bit of a cult figure: he's designed album covers for Beck, been championed by Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze, and is collected by Brad Pitt and Gus Van Sant. Nonetheless, he still has the demeanour of a small, shy boy. His softly spoken sentences tend to peter off into a timid giggle… Dzama, whose first London show in five years is about to open at the David Zwirner gallery, grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, a remote town he describes as ghostly, particularly during the long winters when everything is silenced by three feet of snow. …[he] is dyslexic and had a rough time at school, where he sketched incessantly. Teachers, he says, were constantly snatching away his drawings in lessons. He went on to study art at the University of Manitoba, where he founded The Royal Art Lodge, a collective one member described as "a mysterious yet socially OK'd therapy group for mildly socially dysfunctional, highly imaginative people who liked to draw". “  Inspired by Hermione Hoby, The Guardian ow.ly/k4myh Image source Arrested Motion ow.ly/k4miU I try not to censor myself (May 5 2013)

Marcel Dzama the 39 year old Canadian contemporary artist working particularly in ink and watercolor drawings has been featured by Hermione Hoby in a Guardian article titled ‘Cult artist Marcel Dzama: ‘I try not to censor myself’’ Hoby states “…If you took a quick glance at Marcel Dzama’s watercolours, you’d probably think they were illustrations for children’s books. Painted in carmines, olives and browns, they’re peopled with elegantly wrought figures and filled with dreamlike pageantry (for a long time, Dzama kept a torch and pad by his bed so he could sketch whatever occurred to him in the night). Then you notice how oddly erotic and calmly macabre they are: there’s the troupe of balletic, hooded women pirouetting with AK-47s in their hands; and the tableau of amputee cowboys, one fellating another. … he’s a bit of a cult figure: he’s designed album covers for Beck, been championed by Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze, and is collected by Brad Pitt and Gus Van Sant. Nonetheless, he still has the demeanour of a small, shy boy. His softly spoken sentences tend to peter off into a timid giggle… Dzama, whose first London show in five years is about to open at the David Zwirner gallery, grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, a remote town he describes as ghostly, particularly during the long winters when everything is silenced by three feet of snow. …[he] is dyslexic and had a rough time at school, where he sketched incessantly. Teachers, he says, were constantly snatching away his drawings in lessons. He went on to study art at the University of Manitoba, where he founded The Royal Art Lodge, a collective one member described as “a mysterious yet socially OK’d therapy group for mildly socially dysfunctional, highly imaginative people who liked to draw”. “

 

Inspired by Hermione Hoby, The Guardian ow.ly/k4myh Image source Arrested Motion ow.ly/k4miU

Sam Harris the 46 year old American author, philosopher, neuroscientist, and the co-founder and CEO of Project Reason has published an article on his web site titled ‘Response to Controversy’ in which he states “A few of the subjects I explore in my work have inspired an unusual amount of controversy. Some of this results from real differences of opinion or honest confusion, but much of it is due to the fact that certain of my detractors deliberately misrepresent my views. The purpose of this article is to address the most consequential of these distortions. A general point about the mechanics of defamation: It is impossible to effectively defend oneself against unethical critics. If nothing else, the law of entropy is on their side, because it will always be easier to make a mess than to clean it up. It is, for instance, easier to call a person a “racist,” a “bigot,” a “misogynist,” etc. than it is for one’s target to prove that he isn’t any of these things. In fact, the very act of defending himself against such accusations quickly becomes debasing. Whether or not the original charges can be made to stick, the victim immediately seems thin-skinned and overly concerned about his reputation. And, rebutted or not, the original charges will be repeated in blogs and comment threads, and many readers will assume that where there’s smoke, there must be fire.  Such defamation is made all the easier if one writes and speaks on extremely controversial topics and with a philosopher’s penchant for describing the corner cases—the ticking time bomb, the perfect weapon, the magic wand, the mind-reading machine, etc.—in search of conceptual clarity. It literally becomes child’s play to find quotations that make the author look morally suspect, even depraved.”  Inspired by Sam Harris ow.ly/k4j2H Image source Twitter ow.ly/k4iUP Easier to make a mess than to clean it up (May 4 2013)

 

Sam Harris the 46 year old American author, philosopher, neuroscientist, and the co-founder and CEO of Project Reason has published an article on his web site titled ‘Response to Controversy’ in which he states “A few of the subjects I explore in my work have inspired an unusual amount of controversy. Some of this results from real differences of opinion or honest confusion, but much of it is due to the fact that certain of my detractors deliberately misrepresent my views. The purpose of this article is to address the most consequential of these distortions. A general point about the mechanics of defamation: It is impossible to effectively defend oneself against unethical critics. If nothing else, the law of entropy is on their side, because it will always be easier to make a mess than to clean it up. It is, for instance, easier to call a person a “racist,” a “bigot,” a “misogynist,” etc. than it is for one’s target to prove that he isn’t any of these things. In fact, the very act of defending himself against such accusations quickly becomes debasing. Whether or not the original charges can be made to stick, the victim immediately seems thin-skinned and overly concerned about his reputation. And, rebutted or not, the original charges will be repeated in blogs and comment threads, and many readers will assume that where there’s smoke, there must be fire.  Such defamation is made all the easier if one writes and speaks on extremely controversial topics and with a philosopher’s penchant for describing the corner cases—the ticking time bomb, the perfect weapon, the magic wand, the mind-reading machine, etc.—in search of conceptual clarity. It literally becomes child’s play to find quotations that make the author look morally suspect, even depraved.”

 

Inspired by Sam Harris ow.ly/k4j2H Image source Twitter ow.ly/k4iUP

Sanal Edamaruku the 57 year old Indian founder-president of Rationalist International who potentially faces three years imprisonment on the charge of hurting religious sentiments for his role in examining a claimed miracle at a local Catholic Church [a crucifix that was dripping at Our Lady of Velankanni church in Mumbai, Edamaruku identified the source of the drip as resulting from a clogged drain], has been interviewed by Ryan Shaffer for The Humanist. During the interview Edamaruku states “Indian blasphemy laws are relics of colonial legislation and have a long history of abuse. In the decades since independence, they’ve been regularly used to hound and silence intellectuals and artists who question religious beliefs. What’s dangerous is that anybody can easily launch a complaint against whomever he wants for violating his religious feelings. And on the basis of such a complaint, the police can arrest and hold the suspect until he’s acquitted by a court of law, which can take years. So the real danger isn’t so much the verdict as the pre-trial “punishment.” …The government has the duty to protect religious and nonreligious citizens, but not religion. Religion is a private matter. History shows that most people in India are ready to tolerate others’ religions, to live and work peacefully together. But religious conflicts have always been created to play politics, and there’s no strong political will to end this old game as politicians of all parties prefer to reap its fruits. In short, the blasphemy law encourages abuse. It even offers a legal cover for crimes against the Constitution of India, Section 51A of which states “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India …(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.” Our aim at the Indian Rationalist Association is to encourage and support people to fulfill this very duty, and it’s exactly what I did in Mumbai.”  Inspired by Ryan Shaffer, The Humanist ow.ly/k4fJo Image source Twitter ow.ly/k4fpP The blasphemy law encourages abuse (May 3 2013)

Sanal Edamaruku the 57 year old Indian founder-president of Rationalist International who potentially faces three years imprisonment on the charge of hurting religious sentiments for his role in examining a claimed miracle at a local Catholic Church [a crucifix that was dripping at Our Lady of Velankanni church in Mumbai, Edamaruku identified the source of the drip as resulting from a clogged drain], has been interviewed by Ryan Shaffer for The Humanist. During the interview Edamaruku states “Indian blasphemy laws are relics of colonial legislation and have a long history of abuse. In the decades since independence, they’ve been regularly used to hound and silence intellectuals and artists who question religious beliefs. What’s dangerous is that anybody can easily launch a complaint against whomever he wants for violating his religious feelings. And on the basis of such a complaint, the police can arrest and hold the suspect until he’s acquitted by a court of law, which can take years. So the real danger isn’t so much the verdict as the pre-trial “punishment.” …The government has the duty to protect religious and nonreligious citizens, but not religion. Religion is a private matter. History shows that most people in India are ready to tolerate others’ religions, to live and work peacefully together. But religious conflicts have always been created to play politics, and there’s no strong political will to end this old game as politicians of all parties prefer to reap its fruits. In short, the blasphemy law encourages abuse. It even offers a legal cover for crimes against the Constitution of India, Section 51A of which states “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India …(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.” Our aim at the Indian Rationalist Association is to encourage and support people to fulfill this very duty, and it’s exactly what I did in Mumbai.”

 

Inspired by Ryan Shaffer, The Humanist ow.ly/k4fJo Image source Twitter ow.ly/k4fpP

Meghan Murphy the Canadian a freelance writer, journalist and founding editor of Feminist Current, has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Creating gender equity: Lessons from Iceland’ highlighting the sexually liberal country has not only criminalised the purchase of sex, but has also banned strip clubs. Murphy states “…Since the economic crash in 2008, the country has turned itself around in more ways than one. Iceland ranked first place in the 2012 Global Gender Gap report, moving up from number 4 in 2008. Based on factors like economic participation and opportunity (so, looking at things like wage equality and the number of women in the labour force and in positions of power), educational attainment (based on factors such as female literacy and the number of women enrolled in higher education), health and survival (which looks at life expectancy and mortality rates), and political empowerment (which takes into account the number of women holding political office as well as the number of female heads of state); this report ranks countries throughout the world. The US, on the other hand, ranked 22nd, having moved down a few notches from 17th place in 2011. …Unlike the US, Iceland dealt with the crash by prosecuting those responsible, holding banks accountable, minimising, and in some cases forgiving individual household debts completely, cutting government spending and raising taxes. They also came to the rather radical conclusion that a male-dominated economy and business culture were part of what led to the crash in the first place. In response, Iceland developed a legislation that ensured companies' boards were composed of 40 percent women and incorporated what they called "feminine values" into the "mainly male spheres of private equity, wealth management and corporate advice". Throughout all this, the new government made maintaining Iceland's extensive welfare system a priority, protecting the middle and working classes above the rich. The country learned the consequences of right-wing privatisation policies and responded accordingly.”  Inspired by Meghan Murphy, Aljazeera ow.ly/k4aRR Image source feministcurrent ow.ly/k4bOA Creating gender equity: Lessons from Iceland (May 2 2013)

 

Meghan Murphy the Canadian a freelance writer, journalist and founding editor of Feminist Current, has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Creating gender equity: Lessons from Iceland’ highlighting the sexually liberal country has not only criminalised the purchase of sex, but has also banned strip clubs. Murphy states “…Since the economic crash in 2008, the country has turned itself around in more ways than one. Iceland ranked first place in the 2012 Global Gender Gap report, moving up from number 4 in 2008. Based on factors like economic participation and opportunity (so, looking at things like wage equality and the number of women in the labour force and in positions of power), educational attainment (based on factors such as female literacy and the number of women enrolled in higher education), health and survival (which looks at life expectancy and mortality rates), and political empowerment (which takes into account the number of women holding political office as well as the number of female heads of state); this report ranks countries throughout the world. The US, on the other hand, ranked 22nd, having moved down a few notches from 17th place in 2011. …Unlike the US, Iceland dealt with the crash by prosecuting those responsible, holding banks accountable, minimising, and in some cases forgiving individual household debts completely, cutting government spending and raising taxes. They also came to the rather radical conclusion that a male-dominated economy and business culture were part of what led to the crash in the first place. In response, Iceland developed a legislation that ensured companies’ boards were composed of 40 percent women and incorporated what they called “feminine values” into the “mainly male spheres of private equity, wealth management and corporate advice”. Throughout all this, the new government made maintaining Iceland’s extensive welfare system a priority, protecting the middle and working classes above the rich. The country learned the consequences of right-wing privatisation policies and responded accordingly.”

 

Inspired by Meghan Murphy, Aljazeera ow.ly/k4aRR Image source feministcurrent ow.ly/k4bOA

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