Bob Morris @ Jun 19th 2007 15:15 - Category: Unfiled ;
Venezuela has announced production of low-priced Linux computers that will made jointly by the government and a Chinese firm. Prices will be 40% less than comparable Windows computers.
This could really kickstart Linux in Latin America.
Bob Morris @ Jun 19th 2007 12:41 - Category: Unfiled ;
I recently transited through O’Hare. The wifi there is amazing. Big banners announce it, and list the SSID “concourse” to use. This is a smart idea as it protects people from rogue ad hoc networks. Also, the wifi is everywhere. You don’t have to go to a special place in the terminal to access it.
O’Hare gets it about wifi. May other airports and venues follow.
DJ @ Jun 19th 2007 08:26 - Category: Anti-war ;
Observation #4: A militant group uses war to gain power unavailable through democratic means.
If the outside enemy benefits politicians of the State, violence itself does the same for a militant group. In my last post on the subject, I argued that government participation in the Sri Lanka conflict has more to do with internal divisions among the Sinhalese majority than with any real disagreement with the Tamils. Likewise on the LTTE side, the situation is more complex than it first appears.
The LTTE began as a group of low-caste Tamil militants. Increasing discrimination against Tamils by the Sinhala-controlled government meant fewer resources for all Tamils– and especially for those of lower caste. In addition, the caste structure itself enforced a kind of discrimination within the Tamil community. Low-caste youths, a minority within their own ethnic group, had no means of gaining political power through democratic means, not even within their own ethnicity. They had no hope of improving their situation, which they perceived to be relatively worse off, without violence. Thus in the early 1970s, the precursor to the LTTE was formed by a couple of dozen militant youths. Their first exploits were primarily robberies, but they quickly graduated to political targets.
Interestingly, in the mid-1980s, the LTTE had a significant following among college students and intellectuals in the Tamil community, who perceived that democracy had failed to address the grievances of the Tamils as a whole. The LTTE, which claims to be the “sole” voice of the Tamil people, at that time had a fairly broad base of support. But toward the late 1980s, the independent thought of these supporters became inconvenient, and the LTTE increasingly relied on low-caste recruits who had little to lose. The hero-culture promoted by the LTTE made possible acclaim that a youth from a poor village in the jungle could never otherwise hope to achieve.
Because the LTTE essentially represents a double minority, without a significant change in perspective it would not get elected in a free and fair election. Thus, it must ensure that it never faces one. Eliminating opponents is necessary, but not sufficient: it must prevent elections from taking place. That can easily be done by continuing the same course it has maintained for over two decades: violence. In a state of war, elections are impossible and the LTTE faces no opposition within its territory.
The pattern replays itself around the world: post-modern militants most often represent a minority position that could not win an election in a democracy. The position may be ethnic, religious, class, caste, language– almost any type of division within a society. Mao wrote that power grows from the barrel of a gun. By resorting to violence, the minority can co-opt both power and audience that they would otherwise not have access to.
A final note: the war in Sri Lanka has at times absorbed up to 40% of the country’s GDP. The LTTE, representing a minority within a minority, quite literally impacts the entire economy of the nation (though not with positive effect). It could never command such power through democratic means. While I do not condone violence, especially against civilians, I do understand this: violence works for a militant group; it provides the group with the power it seeks.
Bob Morris @ Jun 19th 2007 00:15 - Category: Uncategorized Tags: ecosocialism;
Climate and Capitalism Ian Angus blogs extensively on ecosocialism
Another Green World From Derek Wall, Principal Male Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales.
Marxsite. Ecosocialism Lots of linksGreen Socialist magazine (UK)
Capitalism Nature Socialism magazine
Green Left (Australia)
Green Lefts, Left Greens (Australia)
Ecosocialism.blogspot.com good stuff, but hasn’t posted in a awhile.
Bob Morris @ Jun 19th 2007 00:08 - Category: Unfiled ;
Not only is it still there, a recent study found levels at a former US air base at Danang were 300-400 times higher than accepted limits.
These levels were in areas where Agent Orange was mixed before being put on planes to defoliate entire areas. Not only did it destroy the lives of innocent Vietnamese, it must have done the same to the unfortunate US soldiers who had to mix it.
And it’s still destroying lives in Vietname, judging from recent hideous health problems detailed in the article. The US appears to be doing as little as possible to remediate the health disaster it created.
Subscribe
