Bhagwati's defense of Mankiw
Any reaction to the following op-ed defense of Mankiw by Bhagwati. I observe two flaws: 1) a complete misunderstanding of competition; Bhagwati attacks Kerry because, Bhagwati thinks, Kerry is unable to see the connection between outsourcing of jobs and the "improve[ment of] the competitiveness of American companies." And then he goes and says this: "jobs disappear in America ...because technical change has destroyed them, not because they have gone anywhere" as if this technical change a God-given or conspiratorial phenomenon rather than the very imposition of "improved" (I would say, intensified) global competition. 2) a racist blindfoldedness and arrogance in his unsolicited advice to Craig Barrett, chief executive of Intel; I would argue that Barrett's perception has a quality of superior understanding and realism of a functioning capitalist regarding the high quality of researchers in the South. Ahmet Tonak - February 15, 2004 OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Why Your Job Isn't Moving to Bangalore By JAGDISH BHAGWATI Greg Mankiw, head of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, has been widely criticized for telling reporters the simple truth that "outsourcing" of jobs is beneficial to the United States economy (even though he hedged his comment with a "perhaps"). John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, described executives who import services Here is the link for the op-ed: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/opinion/15BHAG.html
"Presidential" ignorance/Islam, etc.
Here is my letter to the editor from our relatively widely circulated local (Western Mass.) newspaper Berkshire Eagle: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/Stories/0,1413,101~6268~1917246,00.html Ahmet
Das Kapital in Pictures
I just added 13 paintings of a Turkish painter (Yuksel Arslan)--from his exhibition album Le Capital, based on Vol.I of Capital-- to the following site: http://www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak/image_gallery/ Ahmet Tonak
Re: A. Sen on Sraffa, Wittgenstein, and Gramsci
My apologies for the absence of the source; it was JEL, the most recent issue. E. Ahmet Tonak wrote: I just finished reading the following fascinating article by Sen. As the abstract suggests two distinct issues were discussed. I disagree with the view that they are interrelated as presented by Sen. Though in reality they might. Regarding the first issue there are two sub issues: The first has to do with Sraffa's "pivotal influence on Wittgenstein" which was already well-established, admitted by Wittgenstein himself and explored by his biographers. Sen himself also says this in the article. Hence, there is nothing new in this regard. The second sub-issue would have been a very interesting area to explore. In my view, what Sen suggests regarding Sraffa's "education" in "the activist political circle in Italy (clustered around the journal L'Ordine Nuovo)" is very speculative, broad, too general and does not go beyond again what is already well-known --there was a deep friendship between Sraffa and Gramsci and Gramsci was interested in everything, including those philosophical, anthropological and linguistic issues, which Sen discusses in this piece. My point is that the "Gramsci connection" to our understanding of Sraffa-Wittgenstein interaction was not well-grounded. Having said this, I found Sen's insights to and formulations of "the influence of Sraffa's philosophical views on his economics" and the way Sraffa challanged the mainstream economic theory (beyond what is generally accepted by heterodox economists) very interesting and crisp. Especially, those parts of Sen's discussion based on his personal relations/observations at Cambridge and unpublished material (Sraffa's and Dobb's letters) are revealing in terms of what really these giants were thinking/worrying about. There are also research programmatic suggestive ideas in this second part of the essay, e.g. exploring the possibility of "combining" labor and utility based value theories. And many other insights and the facts of intellectual history. I recommend it. Sraffa, Wittgenstein, and Gramsci Amartya Sen Two distinct but interrelated issues are investigated here. The first concerns Sraffa's critical role in contemporary philosophy through his pivotal influence on Wittgenstein. The intellectual origins of this profound influence can be traced to the philosophical interests of the activist political circle in Italy (clustered around the journal L'Ordine Nuovo) to which both Sraffa and Antonio Gramsci belonged. The second inquiry concerns the influence of Sraffa's philosophical views on his economics. Sraffa's economic contributions can be much better understood by paying attention to the way Sraffa changed the nature of the questions asked, rather than seeking different answers to already established questions.
A. Sen on Sraffa, Wittgenstein, and Gramsci
I just finished reading the following fascinating article by Sen. As the abstract suggests two distinct issues were discussed. I disagree with the view that they are interrelated as presented by Sen. Though in reality they might. Regarding the first issue there are two sub issues: The first has to do with Sraffa's "pivotal influence on Wittgenstein" which was already well-established, admitted by Wittgenstein himself and explored by his biographers. Sen himself also says this in the article. Hence, there is nothing new in this regard. The second sub-issue would have been a very interesting area to explore. In my view, what Sen suggests regarding Sraffa's "education" in "the activist political circle in Italy (clustered around the journal L'Ordine Nuovo)" is very speculative, broad, too general and does not go beyond again what is already well-known --there was a deep friendship between Sraffa and Gramsci and Gramsci was interested in everything, including those philosophical, anthropological and linguistic issues, which Sen discusses in this piece. My point is that the "Gramsci connection" to our understanding of Sraffa-Wittgenstein interaction was not well-grounded. Having said this, I found Sen's insights to and formulations of "the influence of Sraffa's philosophical views on his economics" and the way Sraffa challanged the mainstream economic theory (beyond what is generally accepted by heterodox economists) very interesting and crisp. Especially, those parts of Sen's discussion based on his personal relations/observations at Cambridge and unpublished material (Sraffa's and Dobb's letters) are revealing in terms of what really these giants were thinking/worrying about. There are also research programmatic suggestive ideas in this second part of the essay, e.g. exploring the possibility of "combining" labor and utility based value theories. And many other insights and the facts of intellectual history. I recommend it. Sraffa, Wittgenstein, and Gramsci Amartya Sen Two distinct but interrelated issues are investigated here. The first concerns Sraffa's critical role in contemporary philosophy through his pivotal influence on Wittgenstein. The intellectual origins of this profound influence can be traced to the philosophical interests of the activist political circle in Italy (clustered around the journal L'Ordine Nuovo) to which both Sraffa and Antonio Gramsci belonged. The second inquiry concerns the influence of Sraffa's philosophical views on his economics. Sraffa's economic contributions can be much better understood by paying attention to the way Sraffa changed the nature of the questions asked, rather than seeking different answers to already established questions.
Brazilian fingerprinting is being challenged by Lula!
I was told by a colleague of mine that the president's office is suing to overturn the fingerprinting order, on the grounds that Lula should have exclusive authority to make foreign policy. This whole episode reminded me that several years ago a "social-democratic" Turkish government had a progressive foreign affairs minister (Professor Mumtaz Soysal, a constitutional law professor from Ankara University with national pride and courage) who established a visa requirement for American visitors citing also the concept of "reciprocity." Ahmet Tonak Yoshie Furuhashi wrote: Landing in Miami yesterday on my return I was amused and delighted to find that an American Airlines pilot had been taken into custody and ultimately fined $12,500 - yes dollars -- for an obscene gesture at the Sao Paulo entry point. The photo in the Miami Herald showed him in the entry photo holding the ID paper with his middle finger extended. The police took this as an insulting gesture and locked him up and detained the rest of the crew -- later sending all dead-heading back to the USA. The pilot's mindset -- if I can interpret it -- seems to be the typical American arrogance and self-rightousness. Sad. Gene Coyle I got a kick out of the AA pilot story, too. It's great that Brazil is standing up to the US government. If many other governments followed Brazil's example, the fingerprinting scheme might collapse like the recent negotiations about the WTO and the FTAA. I also love Mexico's insistence on its consular rights and challenge to the US death sentencing of Mexican nationals. -- Yoshie
Correction and the "others" on unequal exchange.
The following reference in Jurriaan's message on unequal exchange does not exist. The only article Anwar wrote for that book was the one on transformation problem. However, the revised version of the Science and Society articles on international trade and unequal exchange was later published in an edited book by E. Nell, Growth, Profits and Property : Essays in the Revival of Political Economy. Being from the "East," I would also recommend Samir Amin's and many Indian Marxists' writings on unequal exchange. Anwar Shaikh, ""The theory of international exchange", article in Jesse Schwartz, "The Subtle Anatomy of Capitalism" Ahmet Tonak Jurriaan Bendien wrote: I wrote: "In the meantime, wise men which consult about how to continue the system of exploitation for the long haul." It should be: "In the meantime, wise men will consult about how to continue the system of exploitation for the long haul." J.
Re: Estimating the surplus - Turkey (Cem Somel)
Assuming that we're still interested in changing capitalism, I would argue that Marx's categories help us to understand how the imperatives of profitability and capitalist growth operate, in theory and in practice. That is sufficiently large enough payoff (intellectual or otherwise) for me. Ahmet Tonak - Original Message - From: "Doug Henwood" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2003 3:00 PM Subject: Re: Estimating the surplus - Turkey (Cem Somel) g kohler wrote: >Concerning the Somel - Parmaksiz (based on Shaikh&Tonak) difference of >estimates about Turkey - don't know. But regarding estimates of SV USA, >Moseley's book compares his estimates with those of other authors. All of >these authors measured the same theoretical concept (SV). But the estimates >diverged considerably. One of the reasons was that other authors stayed >closer to the statistical categories of the GDP accounting system, whereas >Moseley re-cast the data into authentic Marxian categories. And the intellectual/political payoff for this authenticity is? Doug
Re: Estimating the surplus - Turkey (Cem Somel)
I am very glad that my good friend Cem was able to share his important and meticulous work with the English-speaking world. His article has so many insights regarding policy shifts in Turkey and their implications for Turkish economy at large. Having said that, I should point out that because his article is based on the notion of economic surplus rather than surplus-value many of our earlier criticisms of those empirical works based on economic surplus are applicable here as well (you may review those in Shaikh&Tonak, 1994:202-209). Specifically and in order to point out how dramatic the empirical sense one may get based on these two different approaches I'd like to compare some preliminary estimates of the rate of surplus value (calculated by my student Kaan Parmaksiz based on Shaikh&Tonak methodology in 1998) with rate of "economic surplus" as reported in Cem's piece (Table 1). The rates start with approximately the same 1981 value, 1.29 and 1.20 for the rate of surplus value and that of "economic surplus" respectively. But, that point on until 1988 they behave very differently, i.e. the rate of surplus value increases by 103% while the rate of economic surplus decreases by 19%! This is the period which was characterized by Yeldan (1995) as "surplus extraction through wage suppression." BTW, Yeldan (1995) is not exclusively "theoretical" work on economic surplus as classified by Cem, it has many insightful empirical estimates, including "excess wage income" estimates. He also uses a version of productive and unproductive labor distinction when he conceptualizes "surplus depleting" and "surplus generating" concepts (Yeldan 1995. RRPE, Vol.27, #2). The interesting thing is that the dramatic difference in the behavior of the above-mentioned rates also existed between our US (s/v) and Stanfield's rate of economic surplus: during 1965-69 our rate declined by 4.2% as his increased by 9.7%! Ahmet Tonak - Original Message - From: "g kohler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 11:20 AM Subject: Estimating the surplus - Turkey (Cem Somel) > just published in CJE - empirical study - abstract below > > > Cambridge Journal of Economics 27:919-933 (2003) > Copyright © 2003 Cambridge Political Economy Society > > Estimating the surplus in the periphery: an application to Turkey > Cem Somel > Middle East Technical University. > > Address for correspondence: Cem Somel, Department of > Economics, Middle East Technical University, 06531 Ankara, Turkey; email: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Abstract > > This note discusses how the economic surplus concept can be used to analyse > the constraints the world system imposes on economic development. An > estimation of the surplus for Turkey for 1980-96 utilises Köhler's unequal > exchange analysis to measure the transfer of surplus abroad and the official > minimum wage to calculate essential private consumption. The estimation > yields the allocation of the surplus between non-essential consumption, > investment and unrequited transfers abroad. The note assesses Lippit's > argument that the main obstacle to development is the misuse of the surplus > in the domestic economy and not transfers abroad. > > Key Words: Economic surplus . Dependency . Development > > _ > The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/bcomm&pgmarket=en-ca&RU=http%3a%2f%2fjoin.msn.com%2f%3fpage%3dmisc%2fspecialoffers%26pgmarket%3den-ca >
Re: college students again and a question
Radical economists cannot get teaching positions at those universities respected or otherwise if there is no demand for them. The demand itself is always created by the general political and cultural mood. Sometimes, certain segments of society signal/provoke those "mood" swings, e.g. youngsters in the 60's and the landless peasants in contemporary Brazil, etc. I think, what happened in the US universities (as I was told by American friends) in the 60's is one concrete illustration of this connection between academia and society at large, i.e. radicals "infiltrated" to all kind of programs throughout, including economics departments: Marglin of Harvard, Harris of Stanford, Foley of Barnard/Columbia, etc. Am I making sense as an outsider--as another Turk? Ahmet Tonak - Original Message - From: "Sabri Oncu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 1:30 AM Subject: Re: college students again and a question > > Many of the students seemed convinced that > > neoclassical economics was an inadequate tool > > for analyzing production and distribution. > > But several of them wanted to know why it was > > so popular and dominant in the schools. Why > > weren't most students presented with alternatives? > > What would pen'lers have told them? > > > > Michael Yates > > Hi Michael, > > Once on PEN-L I claimed that one of the reasons for > that was that most of the economists on PEN-L, as well > as others like them, had not resisted hard enough to > keep their rightful places at the "respected" > universities. Whether we like it or not, it is at > these "respected" universities that one can outshout > the others. Those who outshouted the alternative views > did that from their posts at these "respected" > universities. > > Whether PEN-Lers and others like them had any chance > to find a place at such universities is a question to > which I am not qualified to provide an answer. I > simply do not have enough information to do that. > > But it is my belief that it is time for those who have > the knowledge and ability to present alternative views > to reclaim their rightful places at these "respected" > universities. > > Otherwise, they will continue to be outshouted or so I > believe. > > Sabri >
Re: the Clinton years and Social Wage
Typo: I meant obviously "Anwar's unpublished 1978 manuscript on National Income Accounts.." Ahmet Tonak e. ahmet tonak wrote: I agree with Rakesh's main points, including his characterization of my work with Anwar (originally started with Anwar's unpublished 1987 manuscript on National Income Accounts and continued with my dissertation, an article in RRPE and later with our joint book). In my dissertation, I formulated our concern about the limits of the capitalist state within the context of marxist theories of the state (Poulantzas/Miliband/Gough/O'Connor/Bowles/Gintis and even German Capital Logic School!) and also within the so-called "Plan Problem." However, even there I didn't extensively go into "an actual theory of the nature of the state." Secondly, and more importantly, our goal was to understand the limitations of the capitalist state by focusing on the redistrubitive activities of the state, which in turn empirically demonstrated that first, such functions are directly determined by capital accumulation, and second, the standard of living of workers is mostly shaped by labor-capital relations rather than labor-state, at least in the case of the US. The following last paragraph of our article says this clearly. "Perhaps the most important result of our study is that it yields a clear sense of the limits to the capitalist state. It is striking to note when one compares the real wage of workers adjusted for the net social wage is not very different from the unadjusted real wage, i.e. from real employee compensation per worker (Figure 4). Thus in spite of the welfare state, the real basis of the standard of living of workers remains the wage they are able to win from their employers. Its steady rise over the boom phase, followed by its stagnation and decline in the subsequent crisis phase, forcibly remind that class struggle and of the reserve army of labor continue to play a central role as ever in its determination." Rakesh Bhandari wrote: Interesting that while Noam Chomsky is understood to be (or understands himself as) an anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist, he seems to support Robert Pollin's and Robin Hahnel's attempts to specify the essence of the rational state in terms of which the actual state is Given, then, the specifically bourgeois form of the state--and I admit to being hardly clear as to what these "structural" limits on real democracy are, but this is what I would like to investigate--perhaps we should not be surprised by both (a) the limits on state stabilization policy and its increasingly class biased form (predicted by Mattick Sr, Mario Cogoy, Joachim Hirsch) and (b) Shaikh and Tonak's very important finding that the welfare state never redistributed income downward even in the so called Golden Age, working class taxes may have exceeded transfers even before 'social democracy' was blamed for stagflation, and the regressive nature of the so called welfare state has only since worsened with relative cuts in social expenditures and regressive increases in the payroll and sales tax paying for tax breaks not even for investment (as recommended by Paul O'Neill who was run out of town) but for the consumption of the rich (Bob Jessop refers to transition from Keynesian welfare state to Schumpeterian workfare state). I would imagine that for Shaikh and Tonak that this would not be evidence of the corruption of the state by private interest but rather (in a Marxian vein) evidence of the corruption of the state, given its form in a bourgeois society. But I do not think their findings are supplemented by an actual theory of the nature of the state.
Re: the Clinton years and Social Wage
I agree with Rakesh's main points, including his characterization of my work with Anwar (originally started with Anwar's unpublished 1987 manuscript on National Income Accounts and continued with my dissertation, an article in RRPE and later with our joint book). In my dissertation, I formulated our concern about the limits of the capitalist state within the context of marxist theories of the state (Poulantzas/Miliband/Gough/O'Connor/Bowles/Gintis and even German Capital Logic School!) and also within the so-called "Plan Problem." However, even there I didn't extensively go into "an actual theory of the nature of the state." Secondly, and more importantly, our goal was to understand the limitations of the capitalist state by focusing on the redistrubitive activities of the state, which in turn empirically demonstrated that first, such functions are directly determined by capital accumulation, and second, the standard of living of workers is mostly shaped by labor-capital relations rather than labor-state, at least in the case of the US. The following last paragraph of our article says this clearly. "Perhaps the most important result of our study is that it yields a clear sense of the limits to the capitalist state. It is striking to note when one compares the real wage of workers adjusted for the net social wage is not very different from the unadjusted real wage, i.e. from real employee compensation per worker (Figure 4). Thus in spite of the welfare state, the real basis of the standard of living of workers remains the wage they are able to win from their employers. Its steady rise over the boom phase, followed by its stagnation and decline in the subsequent crisis phase, forcibly remind that class struggle and of the reserve army of labor continue to play a central role as ever in its determination." Rakesh Bhandari wrote: Interesting that while Noam Chomsky is understood to be (or understands himself as) an anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist, he seems to support Robert Pollin's and Robin Hahnel's attempts to specify the essence of the rational state in terms of which the actual state is Given, then, the specifically bourgeois form of the state--and I admit to being hardly clear as to what these "structural" limits on real democracy are, but this is what I would like to investigate--perhaps we should not be surprised by both (a) the limits on state stabilization policy and its increasingly class biased form (predicted by Mattick Sr, Mario Cogoy, Joachim Hirsch) and (b) Shaikh and Tonak's very important finding that the welfare state never redistributed income downward even in the so called Golden Age, working class taxes may have exceeded transfers even before 'social democracy' was blamed for stagflation, and the regressive nature of the so called welfare state has only since worsened with relative cuts in social expenditures and regressive increases in the payroll and sales tax paying for tax breaks not even for investment (as recommended by Paul O'Neill who was run out of town) but for the consumption of the rich (Bob Jessop refers to transition from Keynesian welfare state to Schumpeterian workfare state). I would imagine that for Shaikh and Tonak that this would not be evidence of the corruption of the state by private interest but rather (in a Marxian vein) evidence of the corruption of the state, given its form in a bourgeois society. But I do not think their findings are supplemented by an actual theory of the nature of the state. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: US troops clash with 'PKK rebels'
I didn't say the Iraqi Kurdish resistance, I said the Iraqi resistance, which mostly consists of --for the moment--non-Kurdish Iraqis. I agree with the rest of your observation. Ahmet Michael Perelman wrote: There must be more did this story. I know that the Kurds fight with each other, and they don't have a common enemy. Surely they don't want the United States to become more directly involved with their struggle against Turkey. "e. ahmet tonak" wrote: First, the Turkish government was forced to cancel the 10,000 troops deployment in Iraq. Now, Turkish Kurds also joined the Iraqi resistance. ** US troops clash with 'PKK rebels' ** American troops have clashed with suspected Turkish Kurd rebels based in northern Iraq, it emerges. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/3257273.stm > -- E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
US troops clash with 'PKK rebels'
First, the Turkish government was forced to cancel the 10,000 troops deployment
in Iraq. Now, Turkish Kurds also joined the Iraqi resistance.
** US troops clash with 'PKK rebels' **
American troops have clashed with suspected Turkish Kurd rebels based in northern Iraq, it emerges.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/3257273.stm >
--
card
E. Ahmet Tonak
Professor of Economics
Simon's Rock College of Bard
84 Alford Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Tel: 413 528 7488
Fax: 413 528 7365
www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
--
card
Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the
question and the only solution is to negate the question.
Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127.
E. Ahmet Tonak
Professor of Economics
Simon's Rock College of Bard
84 Alford Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Tel: 413 528 7488
Fax: 413 528 7365
www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Will WTO's Steel Decision Affect the Election?
** EU scores steel victory over US ** The World Trade Organisation declares US tariffs on steel imports "inconsistent" with free trade, in a major victory for the European Union. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/3256197.stm > E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
temporary position at Simon's Rock
The Division of Social Studies, Simon s Rock College of Bard, an early-admission four-year liberal arts college committed to superior teaching, seeks a broadly trained economist to contribute to our interdisciplinary curriculum and invites applications for a one-year replacement position in economics, beginning August 2004. Ph.D. in economics and college teaching experience are preferred (ABD s will also be considered). Expected offerings are Macroeconomics, Microeconomics and other non-technical economics courses. All Social Studies faculty teach a Great Books type, second year general education seminar and supervise senior theses, a yearlong research project. Full-time teaching load is three courses per semester. Applications for part-time teaching on a per course basis also considered. Send letter of application, curriculum vitae, graduate transcripts, and two letters of reference to: E. Ahmet Tonak, Division of Social Studies, Simon s Rock College of Bard, 84 Alford Rd., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Simon s Rock College of Bard is an equal opportunity employer, and specifically invites applications from women and minorities. Visit Simon s Rock College of Bard s website at: http://www.simons-rock.edu E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Query: critique of production functions
OK, Jurriaan; you want the whole package! Here it is: Palgrave entry: http://homepage.newschool.edu/~AShaikh/pal7.pdf Original 1974 article: http://homepage.newschool.edu/~AShaikh/humbug.pdf Solow's rejoinder (Anwar's postcript to his own 1980 article --a chapter in Ed Nell's book-- responds to this rejoinder): http://homepage.newschool.edu/~AShaikh/solow.pdf Jurriaan Bendien wrote: He actually wrote two articles on it. Maybe in the New Palgrave dictionary of economics, or another dictionary ? J. - Original Message - From: "Michael Perelman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 12:52 AM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Query: critique of production functions Shaikh, AM, (1974). "Laws of Algebra and Laws of Production: The Humbug Production Function", Review of Economics and Statistics, 61: 115-20. (1980). On Tue, Nov 04, 2003 at 12:45:23AM +0100, Jurriaan Bendien wrote: See Prof. Anwar Shaikh's articles on the "humbug production function" (not to be confused with the Cobb-Douglas production function). -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Query: critique of production functions
Here is the article Michael and Jurriaan suggested, in downloadable form: http://homepage.newschool.edu/~AShaikh/humbug2.pdf ahmet tonak Michael Perelman wrote: Shaikh, AM, (1974). "Laws of Algebra and Laws of Production: The Humbug Production Function", Review of Economics and Statistics, 61: 115-20. (1980). On Tue, Nov 04, 2003 at 12:45:23AM +0100, Jurriaan Bendien wrote: See Prof. Anwar Shaikh's articles on the "humbug production function" (not to be confused with the Cobb-Douglas production function). -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- card E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Letter to Bill Weinberg/Turkish Rock-and-Roll
Sabri, I am "the" Turkish friend who "hated" Turkish rock-and-roll from the 1970s. BTW, "hate'" is not the right word to describe my emotional/intellectual distance to this musical imitation --a bad one-- in Turkey and only THEN, i.e. in the 1970's. I, at the same time, happen to agree with you regarding this music's surreal qualities. Though, the causal link is not an automatic one for me: because it was surreal then one had to love it. My reaction was formed by the political context (contrary to its American counterpart, Turkish rock-and-roll from the 1970 was very much escapist in one of the most politically vibrant and promising environment), and by its lack of sophistication. Even Turks can disagree among themselves! Lovingly, Ahmet Tonak Sabri Oncu wrote: Louis: Let me first of all take this opportunity to thank you for playing selections from "Hava Narghile", that collection of Turkish rock-and-roll from the 1970s. I picked it up almost immediately after hearing it but have to confess that my Turkish friends hate it. Louis, You should have talked to me before writing this. Who says your Turkish friends hate it? Hating Turkish rock-and-roll from the 1970s is same as hating Cuneyt Arkin's "The Man Who Saved the World" movie or hating King of the Arabesk Brother Orhan's (Orhan Abimizin) "Let This World Sink" (Batsin Bu Dunya) song. All are surreal and, hence, loveable. Please pass my best regards on to Bill Weinberg the next time you correspond with him. Sabri PS: For those of you who don't know what narghile, that is, nargile is, here are some pictures: http://web.sakarya.edu.tr/~ozalp/nargile.htm In the surreal Turkish stile, the first heading next to the first picture says: "Let us get to know nargile" Now, you know. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: hydrogen
great exchange! Mike Ballard wrote: sore. -- card
[Fwd: FWD: the death of Edward W. Said]
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-obit-said,0,2511480.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines Palestinian Scholar Edward W. Said Dies By Associated Press September 25, 2003, 10:49 AM EDT NEW YORK -- Edward W. Said, a Columbia University professor, literary critic and leading spokesman in the United States for the Palestinian cause, has died, his editor at Knopf publishers said Thursday. He was 67. Said died at a New York hospital, said editor Shelly Wanger. He had suffered from leukemia at least since the early 1990s. Born in 1935 in Jerusalem -- then part of British-ruled Palestine -- Said spent almost all his adult life in the United States. He wrote passionately about the Palestinian cause but also on a variety of other subjects -- from English literature, his academic specialty, to music and culture. His books ranged from "The Question of Palestine" in 1979 and "After the Last Sky" in 1986 -- both about the Arab-Israeli conflict -- to "Musical Elaborations" in 1991, and "Cultural Imperialism" in 1993. Said was consistently critical of Israel for what he regarded as mistreatment of the Palestinians He wrote two years ago after visits to Jerusalem and the West Bank that Israel's "efforts toward exclusivity and xenophobia toward the Arabs" had actually strengthened Palestinian determination. "Palestine and Palestinians remain, despite Israel's concerted efforts from the beginning either to get rid of them or to circumscribe them so much as to make them ineffective," Said wrote in the English-language Al-Ahram Weekly, published in Cairo. Copyright 2003, The Associated Press >= Original Message From julian samuel = >> Subject: Edward Said >> >> Dear Colleagues, >> >> It is with great personal sorrow that we inform you of the death of >> Edward W. Said, today, the 24th of September, 2003, at approximately >> 4 p.m. EST. Edward had been very ill for the past couple of weeks >> and last night he was re-admitted to the hospital (he had been >> released last week and was thought to be recovering). However, it >> was not to be and this afternoon, he was taken off the respirator and >> died shortly thereafter. For us -- and we know for the entire >> academic community as well as everyone who had believed in >> Palestinian sovereignty, not to mention the self-determination of >> oppressed and exploited people worldwide -- this is a loss that will >> never be overcome. >> >> --- from list [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
intellectual property
I thank everyone who shared very useful bibliographic info. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Norman Finkelstein on Christopher Hitchens (brilliant!)
One reason would be that "the left:" (?)--as perceived by "people" -- includes so many Hitchens-like characters. Devine, James wrote: ... The left also lacks sufficient gravitational power to keep people in our orbit. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
critique of intellectual property rights
Any suggestion of ARTICLES (and downloadable!!) on intellectual property rights? Thanks. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: analysis of the "PATRIOT" act
jim, the link wasn't there. would you send it? thanks. Devine, James wrote: here's a useful link, to part I of a four-part analysis of the "PATRIOT" act. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine -- card E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Exile in Büyükada
Thanks Lou, already ordered since I am an enthusiast of Buyukada (also Trotsky). By the way, when I visited Trotsky's house in Mexico I observed a big B&W photo of Trotsky with a fisherman from Buyukada --in his study just behind his desk on which there was a U.S. Printing Office document --a congressional report/hearing on world economy/international trade. ahmet Louis Proyect wrote: I just googled the title with 17 results and none of them was useful for ordering the DVD version of this documentary. What was your trick Lou? Amazon.com: http://makeashorterlink.com/?S34B221D5 others: http://www.videopriceshop.com/dvdinfo/7114 http://www.venturadistribution.com/new_releases/serve/5467/Exile+in+Buyukada http://www.hitdvd.net/dvdinfo/7114
Re: Exile in Büyükada
I just googled the title with 17 results and none of them was useful for ordering the DVD version of this documentary. What was your trick Lou? Louis Proyect wrote: For those who are seeking to rid themselves of the bad taste in their mouth from the portrayal of Trotsky in "Frida", I strongly recommend the 72 minute documentary titled "Exile in Büyükada". Narrated by Vanessa Redgrave, made in Turkey, and based on Isaac Deutscher's "The Prophet Outcast", it combines archival footage with performances by a fine cast of Turkish actors, with one Russian, Victor Sergachev, playing Trotsky with enormous effectiveness. Radical activists and scholars would know Büyükada as Prinkipo, which was the biggest of Istanbul's islands and got its name from the fact that princes and deposed emperors were often exiled there. When Stalin exiled Trotsky to Turkey in 1929, this latter-day prince of revolution was afraid that this might be a prelude to his assassination--not only by Stalin's agents but by counter-revolutionary Russians in exile themselves. Istanbul had become the first stop for many expropriated noblemen who were now working as restroom attendants or prostitutes in many cases. Although it is customary to think of Mexico as Trotsky's chief sanctuary, Mustafa Kemal was as willing as Lazaro Cardenas to protect him and for many of the same reasons. As a radical nationalist, Kemal was anxious to establish Turkey's reputation as a modern secular republic that respected democratic rights, even extending them to one of the world's most controversial figures. Trotsky's first stop in Istanbul was the Russian consulate, which provided living quarters for him despite the fact that he was no longer welcome in the Soviet Union. Within a month or so he moved to a first-class hotel in nearby Beyoglu, which is one of the most cosmopolitan and affluent neighborhoods in Istanbul. Rare archival footage of Beyoglu's street life and other Istanbul neighborhoods in 1929 would alone make this film worth seeing for those who love Turkish culture--in other words, just about everybody. Finally Trotsky, his family and his staff move to a manor in Büyükada, where they set about the work of disseminating the ideas of the left opposition. Some of the most gripping scenes involve Trotsky making the case to his co-thinkers that the future of the world rested on the outcome of the events in Germany. It is obvious that the screenwriters either use Trotsky's actual words or a reasonable facsimile. When delivered passionately by Victor Sergachev, they remind us of how much of a presence Trotsky was when he was alive and why Stalin had to eradicate him. Although I could find very nothing in the way of background on the Turkish principals involved with this film, it does suggest to me that the level of artistic and political sophistication in this country far exceed anything evident in "Frida". They also seem to have some adroitness in financing such projects, since the closing credits list the Stock Exchange of Istanbul as a sponsor! While "Exile in Büyükada" might not be the sort of thing easily obtainable from Blockbuster, you can order the DVD from various sources online. Just enter the title in google and a number of vendors will pop up. Highly recommended. Louis Proyect, Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org -- card Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Falsifiability and the law of value
Our book (Shaikh & Tonak, 1994, Measuring Wealth of Nations...) intended to develop a consistent and applicable Marxian macroeconomic accounting framework based on conventional system of national accounts. I am copying the link to the Preface and 1st Chapter of the book: http://www.simons-rock.edu/%7Eeatonak/mwon.pdf Chris Burford wrote: Can I point out that the marxian law of value, probably cannot be falsified, but may be "true". The only empirical study I know about it is by Paul Cockshott and Allin Cottrell showing that it could fit with macroeconomic data, I think for Scotland if I recall correctly. Chris Burford E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Re: Re: academic angst
In my case, 375 student elite liberal arts college, the ratio is around 20%. Until I suggested/provoked the students to cancel the classess and organize a teach-in there was no visible activity on campus --they seemed a bit paralyzed. There has been always a small group of militant ones (20 or so) , going to every demonstrations (even being arrested, etc.). On the other hand, the situation is radically different on Bard campus. Very visible and active presence of anti-war students is felt everywhere, including their very well organized teach-in, 25-30% of the student body's militant participation in demos. Michael Perelman wrote: I don't know about the rest of the world, but here in Chico we have some wonderful activist students, but at the same time, I guess that about 30-40% of my students in my introductory classes accept the Saddam-World Trade Center connection on some level or another. There is a sort of "why would they lie to us about weapons of mass destruction" attitude. I have not seen any evidence of right wing, confrontational actions yet. On Sat, Apr 05, 2003 at 11:47:12AM -0500, Doug Henwood wrote: Devine, James wrote: from MS SLATE's on-line summary of major US newspapers >Finally, the NY [TIMES] fronts the growing divide on college campuses between peace-loving professors, many of them veterans of the Vietnam era, and their hawkish, right-leaning students. The piece focuses largely on Amherst, where 40 professors appeared in a dining hall holding antiwar signs. Students objected vociferously and some shoving ensued. "In Madison, teach-ins were as common as bratwurst," opines an Amherst prof. "There was a certain nobility in being gassed. Now you don't get gassed. You walk into a dining hall and hand out an informational pamphlet." And get shoved by a 19-year-old, which is, presumably, in no way ennobling. < You'd never know from reading this article that there's been an explosion of activism on U.S. campuses over the last 5 years. What planet does the newspaper of record live on? Doug -- E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Trying to locate a message.. Help..
Could someone help me to locate the email with an attached power point file about the economic cost of the first Gulf war, oil, etc.? I think I read it in PEN-L within last 10 days or so. Thanks. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Terror in Albuquerque
From a friend's email: Terror in Albuquerque "...As many of you know, the economy is NM is heavily dependent upon war, and if we(in the peace movement) did not understand the ramifications of that before we certainly learned what it meant from the police, mayor and many citizens last Thursday night. The plan of our groups had been to meet at the UNM bookstore at 5:00 the day after the bombing started. We assembled, dazed that all of the signals to our government had meant nothing. Rain poured on us, but no one left. A man on the megaphone signaled for us to start marching down Central Ave. on the sidewalk. I crossed the street to return to the Peace Center where another woman and I were going to spend the night. As I crossed the street a big white police van filled with special police went by. I looked at the other end of Central and saw police officers strung accross the Central. The group saw them as well and assumed that it meant that they could go out into the street. From behind, police on foot and horses, closed the back of the line. People started being pushed by the police and horses, tear and pepper gas was thrown by the police and one man that I know was hit pointblank by some bullet called a bean bag. People (mostly people of color and high school students) were pulled out of the crowd and arrested. It was all of the awful things that you can imagine. At the Peace Center we stayed up all night helping people to get out of jail. Their jail experience was a lesson in brutality. The next day some of them were visited by the police and told that they were under surveillance until the protests stopped and the police could do this under provisions of the Patriot Act. (not true, but they meant to be bullies.) Many think that the police were so rough because they intended to silence us. The videotapes verify that the crowd did nothing to justify this kind of action. The next day, the mayor called a meeting with the police, National Lawyer's Guild lawyers, and some demonstrators, saying that we had a right to assemble and a right to free speech, saying that we could march on Friday night (we did, with the company of heavily armed police blocking the streets) and assemble at the Civic Plaza that Sunday (we did, my first public speech on the Bill of Rights Defense Committee's work). After the meeting, the mayor had a press conference in which he said that he considered the police action appropriate because of our behavior. It has always struck me as amazing how something like that can be said and then becomes the truth about which people have to defended themselves. On Sunday, mounted police came into the crowd with no warning, and literally picked up a Moroccan man and carried him away. He was supposedly armed but nothing was found on him. People were not allowed to come to the Plaza after we had assembled. One of the latest spins is that the sheriff of Bernillio County is going to bill the NLG lawyers and the protesters for the $8,000/day that this has supposedly cost. Someone said that they would bill Homeland Security and we know that could well mean that we will be labelled as domestic terrorists for demonstrating. The definition of DT's in the Patriot Act could certainly be twisted that way. There is mounting evidence of houses being entered, strange things happening with email as well as phones being tapped. There are many other twists, all of which are amazing. Ghandi said that each movement has three stages: when you are ignored, when you are ridiculed, and when you are repressed..." E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
casualty figures
Can anyone suggest reliable and continuously updated sources for military and civilian casualties on both sides --beyond iraqbodycount.net? Thanks E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
two people killed in anti-war protest
The BBC reported this two deaths. I am interested in knowing anything else like this, i.e. any other deaths, large scale assault, etc.? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2872873.stm E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
G. William Domhoff replies...The whole thing?
Lou, If it is not too personal, it would be a good idea to forward Domhoff's entire response. Did you do it already? Louis Proyect wrote: Bill Domhoff wrote: for a Marxist, you don't seem to have much appreciation for structure, except of course in the economyat least so I gather from reading your last paragraphthe recent I didn't waste my time on...but your arrogance is breath taking, of course, and what else is new, and why not bother to read the book, and maybe learn why we have failed so miserably, and if you think anyone who did what I suggest would do less well than Marxism, that is pathetic... Sorry, Bill, I don't have much time for dreams. Nor Yoga, nor transcendental meditation, nor mystical peyote insights. (Now, if you know where I can get a hold of some good hashish, that's another story.) civil rights movement, feminist movement, and many others have done well with help of left, including some marxists, but everything marxist has failed totally What do they call that now? The god that failed? Oh well. I worry more about my arches falling. read the book, but I won't be opening any more of your arrogant emails... Yes, you will since I have cast a magical spell on you. Ooooga-boooga! Louis Proyect, Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org -- E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: quiet... too quiet
Organizing takes time. Devine, James wrote: pen-l is very quiet today. Is it because Fatherland Security Minister Tom Ridge has raised the alert level to burnt umber? Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine <http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/%7Ejdevine> Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Man Arrested for Wearing Peace T-Shirt / Therewill be a protest tomorrow!
ravi wrote: do folks find these news clippings worthwhile, or is it so off-topic that i should stop sending them to pen-l? --ravi <http://my.aol.com/news/news_story.psp?type=1&cat=0100&id=0303050618089478> Man Arrested for Wearing Peace T-Shirt The Associated Press Mar 5 2003 6:18AM ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A man was charged with trespassing in a mall after he refused to take off a T-shirt that said ``Peace on Earth'' and ``Give peace a chance.'' Mall security approached Stephen Downs, 61, and his 31-year-old son, Roger, on Monday night after they were spotted wearing the T-shirts at Crossgates Mall in a suburb of Albany, the men said. The two said they were asked to remove the shirts made at a store there, or leave the mall. They refused. They will be challenged tomorrow. From: Women Against War <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> This message contains information regarding a call to action for tomorrow, 3.5.03, at Crossgates Mall including legal advice for those considering civil disobedience. It also includes the overview of our Emergency Mobilization Plan, also known as Day After Action, which is our response to an action that is considered to be the declaration of war against Iraq. Announcements for other upcoming events will be sent no later than Thursday. - As announced earlier today, Women Against War, Capital District for Justice and Peace, and Peace Action organizers are calling for an action at Crossgates Mall tomorrow, 3.5.03, at Noon. Why: Yesterday a man and his father were shopping in the mall. Neither are affiliated with the antiwar movement. They purchased t-shirts at the mall that read PEACE ON EARTH. They put the shirts on and continued shopping. Within minutes they were confronted by mall security and told to either take off the shirts or leave the mall. The father refused, was arrested and today was arraigned on the charge of trespass. What: We are going back to Crossgates for lunch in the food court. We will be wearing NO WAR IN IRAQ t-shirts. We believe that people should be able to wear whatever t-shirts they want when shopping. So let's do lunch at the mall! Legal Advice: The mall is private property. We may be asked to leave for the "offense" of wearing these t-shirts. If you leave when asked, then you are not subject to arrest. If you do not leave and do not remove your shirt, then you may be subject to arrest. Many of us are willing to be subject to arrest. If you are arrested, you are most likely going to be charged with trespass, which is a violation. If you are charged with criminal trespass, it is a misdemeanor. Violation Versus Misdemeanor: A violation means that you will receive an appearance ticket and pay a small fine. You will not have a criminal record as a result of this arrest. Criminal trespass is a Class D misdemeanor. The maximum fine is $500 and 90 days in jail. Most likely, you will be released after being processed. You may have to post bail if charged with a misdemeanor. You will have to appear in court (probably Thursday evening) for an arraignment. We have lawyers who will represent us, and will work to get the charge reduced to a violation. However, if you are convicted of a misdemeanor then you will have a permanent criminal record. Those with prior convictions may wish to consult with an attorney prior to participating in this action. People here on visas are discouraged from participating in this action. Do not "go limp" or attempt to resist arrest in any other way unless you are prepared to be charged with resisting arrest, which is also a misdemeanor. It is best if you carry identification so that being processed goes as smoothly as possible. Organizers have the phone numbers for an attorney who will represent us as a group for this action. You may consult your own attorney if you wish. Where to meet and how to get a t-shirt: The Women's Building (located at 79 Central Avenue, between Henry Johnson Blvd and Lexington Avenue) will be selling antiwar t-shirts from 10 to 11am tomorrow. $15 regular price, $12 "I'm Willing to be Arrested For Wearing This Shirt" special price! Gather at Noon at Crossgates Mall... lower level, near the moose outside the Bugaboo Creek restaurant. We will enter the mall together, proceed to the food court and sit for lunch. Again, if you do not want to be subject to arrest we will make sure that you are clearly aware of when mall security states, essentially, "leave or be arrested." This entire action is being video taped for our protection. If you don't have the time to get to the building to buy a shirt, make a no war slogan and tape it to your coat or jacket... or take an old t-shirt and write NO WAR IN IRAQ across the front and back. Please do not bring signs. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Re: Re: It's not over in Turkey-the vote/military/politicalpersecution
Paul Zarembka wrote: Thanks, Ahmet. Two further questions: Is it correct that the vote is confidential from the Turkish people, but not the political leadership (which means that they know whom to pressure, but the people don't who would be pressured and who may cave in)? It seems correct; that is also my understanding. Second, I have Turkish students in one of my classes and I privately congratulated them. They were pleased, but one also said "you will see, the vote will be reversed!" Do you share this opinion as a likely outcome? I myself rather think it would be difficult to recall the same vote and not make it 100% obvious that pressure had been applied. In its original form the resolution will have no chance to pass in this parliament. Furthermore, I understand that any re-vote is unlikely before next week and, in the meantime, the U.S. cannot just sit and wait but must consider alternative strategies which may require implementation this week (e.g., redirecting the battle ships off Turkey through the Suez to the Arabian Gulf -- which takes time.) Domestically speaking, there are two important developments in terms of timing of any new resolution: 1. This Sunday the leader of the governing party AKP, Erdogan, will become a member of the parliament and then he is expecting to form a new cabinet. Even if this process happens very smoothly, it will take at least 2-3 weeks. 2. The former leader of Turkish Islamic politics, Erbakan recently regained his political rights and already started to intensify his efforts to steal those oppositional members of AKP to his own party and is eventually with the sufficient number of parliamentarians hoping to form a group in the parliament so that he can act as a power broker. Paul *** "Confronting 9-11, Ideologies of Race, and Eminent Economists", Vol. 20 RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, Paul Zarembka, editor, Elsevier Science http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PZarembka On Tue, 4 Mar 2003 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Re. The confidentiality of the vote: Although the session was a closed one, but the vote itself was not confidential in that session. In fact, there is a news coverage that the leader of AKP, Erdogan, apparently requested the list of AKP members,who opposed to the resolution, from the speaker! Re: Turkish military-whether it was weakened: No. Because it did have opportunity to openly support the government's proposal a day before the voting through the National Security Council meeting and it chose not to. The military itself had its own worry vis-a-vis the possibility of the establishment of an independent Kurdish state in Iraq. This intention is always supported by the politicians and this parliament will pass anything needed to facilitate this shared policy. In fact, the military did not, does not need any parliamentary approval to penetrate Iraq to neutralize Kurds. As we all know, the Turkish forces are already in Iraq. Moreover, the military, as they see it, has this proud tradition of independence and, as they exercised it in the case of Cyprus intervention,in the last analysis, can act independently of the US. The recent negotiations with the US were evolving in such a way that the Turkish military was a bit irritated by the US requirement of the exclusive command, including the Turkish forces. Re: Political persecution: It should be expected to decline regarding certain type of activism, e.g. anti-war and anti-imperialist ones. The ones which are challenging the foundations of political structure through outside the mainsteram political channels will be treated much more harshly. Ahmet Tonak Re: Re: It's not over in Turkey by Paul Zarembka 03 March 2003 03:55 UTC Sabri, Was this vote confidential? I recall that the last one on base construction was confidential. Also, is the Turkish military being weakened now because of yesterday's victory, and could political persecution be expected to decline? Thanks, Paul *** "Confronting 9-11, Ideologies of Race, and Eminent Economists", Vol. 20 RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, Paul Zarembka, editor, Elsevier Science http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PZarembka E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Turkish Speaker Nullifies U.S. Troop Vote
Although it was not at the time when pen-l discussed Turkey's financial crisis, but when we were specifically asked about this parliamentary vote by Ian Murray I anticipated this possibility, i.e. Turkey's capacity to resist, (Sabri also agreed with me) by writing the following: "It will be a good step forward for the establishment of democratic processes and institutions in Turkey. It seems to me there is a possibility for that, albeit a slim one. Today even the deputy prime minister commented on this possibility by saying that the rejection of the government's motion in the parliament would be good for the future of democracy in Turkey ..." And quantitatively speaking today's result was achieved only by a slim margin. That is exactly what I meant by "a slim possibility" in my earlier message. After all we are talking about political analyses of a very speedy, intense set of conditions which did not exist even several months ago. Michael Perelman wrote: What wonderful news! Sometime ago on pen-l we discussed Turkey's financial crisis in a way that is implied that Turkey would be impotent in resisting Western demands. Nobody, I recall, including Sabri, seem to think that Turkey would be able to show any backbone whatsoever. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Photos from Ankara demonstration-March 1st
http://istanbul.indymedia.org/news/2003/03/408.php E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Turkey: Democracy functioning! No more US soldiers...
The government's resolution was not able to get the simple majority vote in the parliament; hence it was rejected. Out of 534 parliamentarians only 264 supported the resolution when at least 268 supporters were needed --251 opposed, 19 abstained. As the parliament was in this 5 hour, rather turbulent closed session, hundreds of thousands of anti-war protesters were on the streets of Ankara. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Turkey
It will be a good step forward for the establishment of democratic processes and institutions in Turkey. It seems to me there is a possibility for that, albeit a slim one. Today even the deputy prime minister commented on this possibility by saying that the rejection of the government's motion in the parliament would be good for the future of democracy in Turkey or something like that. Ian Murray wrote: and if the parliament votes no? Sabri, anyone else? - E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Venezuela information needed
Any suggestions for progressive political and economic analyses on Venezuela --web resources preferred. Thanks E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: US uses UN to advance war aims
What are the sources of the following three benchmarks? Thanks. Ahmet Tonak k hanly wrote: The US administration is planning to have the UN require Iraq to meet threebenchmarks to show that it is co-operating with the inspection process.Each requirement furthers the US invasion plans either by providing alleged evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destructions, weakening Iraq's defensive capabililties, or giving the US useful intelligence. THe first requirement is to allow inspectors to interview Iraqi scientists without any government witness present preferably in other countries. Some have already been interviewed privately but no doubt what the US hopes is that there will be opportunity for interviews in another country where the US can offer asylum and no doubt rewards to any Iraqi scientist who gives evidence, whether true or false. This would bolster the US case for war against Hussein.
SWP and the Vietnam antiwar movement
Any reading suggestions (available in the internet) regarding the leadership role of the American SWP in the Vietnam antiwar movement? Many thanks. Louis Proyect wrote: I was referring to the American SWP, which was to the Vietnam antiwar movement as the WWP is to more recent movements. -- Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Re: Iraq war driven by a crisis of overproductionin the USA?
Is this a response to JACOB LEVICH, who interpreted the Indian report, or to the report itself. I didn't read the report yet, just briefly glanced and looked respectable to me. I posted it, as a view from the South, in my web site. If it is overtly conspiratorial let me know. Thanks. Peter Dorman wrote: In the last few days I've seen a number of posts indicating that the US obsession with deposing the Iraqi government is based on warding off the euro's threat to the dollar, by making sure oil is traded in dollars. I'm appending a reply I wrote to a friend who sent me one of these, asking for comment. FWIW, I still think the main impetus behind the war is the view that the "security" problems of concern to Washington (terrorist attacks on US interests, Palestinian attacks on Israel and Israelis) are ultimately due to the fact that the Islamic world is poorly integrated with global capitalism. Iraq is a convenient beachhead for a region-wide initiative. But here's the reply: Louis Proyect wrote: CounterPunch February 8, 2003 New Iraq Report Yes, Tony, There is a Conspiracy by JACOB LEVICH etc. -- Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Dumenil and Levy
P.S. Who are these French fellows Dumenil and Levy? They seem to be quite prolific. As in most collaborative works, in the case of Dumenil and Levy the division of labor is such that Dumenil is very well known Marxist economist (and the usual presenter/debater of their join work --at least, in English--) and Dumenil is the math person. At 03:41 PM 1/9/2003 -0800, you wrote: [was: RE: [PEN-L:33695] Re: Re: quesion from Michael Yates] > Fred B. Moseley wrote: > >You might want to take a look at my 1992 book *The Falling Rate of Profit > >in the Postwar US Economy*, and a more recent 1997 RRPE paper "The Rate of > >Profit and the Future of Capitalism." Doug writes: > So where's the ROP these days? according to the SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS (http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/ARTICLES/2002/09September/0902CorpProfit.pdf), what Fred calls the "conventional rate of profit" for the non-financial corporate sector has fallen pretty drastically in recent years. Its cyclical peak was in 1997, suggesting that the 2001 recession was partly -- or maybe completely? -- caused by the fall. I presume that the ROP fell more drastically in 2002 because of falling rates of capacity utilization (and profit realization) as it did in 2001, though the government hasn't calculated that yet. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine <http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/%7Ejdevine> -- Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Istanbul impressions and the Turkish economy...
development policy of an economy to speculative in-and-out-flows of short term foreign capital, which by itself, is excessively liquid, excessively volatile, and is subject to herd psychology. In this workshop we seek to discuss lessons from the Turkish economic-political crisis with colleagues from the other crisis-inflicted Latin American countries. We hold the hypothesis that the recent wave of financial/economic/political crises in the Third World are not the end result of a series of mishaps and governance errors unique to each particular country, but they should rather be seen as an integral part of the new wave of corporate and financial globalization along with its hegemonic orthodox dogmas -the neoliberal ideology. -- Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
[Fwd: GE Documentary]
I just saw the following GE documentary, which was very good in exposing the anti-worker/anti-community corporate policy of GE. It may be rented/purchased through the following email address of the filmmaker, Mickey Friedman: mickey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> - The local newspaper Berkshire Eagle's coverage of the screening: Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - GREAT BARRINGTON -- The Housatonic River Initiative/ Housatonic Riverkeeper will sponsor a special pre-release screening of Mickey Friedman's feature-length documentary, "Good Things to Life: GE, PCBs and Our Town" on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Mahaiwe Theatre. Shot over a 12-year period, the documentary features interviews with former GE Pittsfield Managers Ed Bates and Charles Fessenden, many former transformer workers, former Pittsfield Mayor Remo Del Gallo, George L. Darey, chairman of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife; state Rep. Christopher Hodgkins, D-Lee, and the HRI Director/Housatonic Riverkeeper Tim Gray. According to an announcement from HRI, the documentary offers a look at how "workers were exposed to PCBs, how PCBs moved from the GE Pittsfield plant to the surrounding ground water, Silver Lake and the Housatonic River, and were trucked to dump sites throughout the area." Former GE workers will also talk about the "GE PCB-fill give-away program that ended up contaminating more than 150 homes and small businesses," the announcement said. Friedman was recently invited to screen an excerpt of "Good Things to Life" at the Independent Feature Project's competitive 24th annual IFP Market. It is being considered by several film festivals. HRI is asking for a suggested donation of $5 to help distribute the film Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak ~~~ PLEASE clip all extraneous text before replying to a message. -- Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: RE: Re: RE: imperialism vs. Empire.
I do not understand the need for a label. Having said this, my reading of their book suggests that, on the one hand, they are, in their own way, critical of " post-modernist" theories, on the other, they approvingly use the concept of "post-modernity" to identify the present phase of the capitalism. Devine, James wrote: > Devine, James wrote: > > >joanna bujes quotes Michael Hardt: > >> >We can be confident that in the long run their real > interests will lead > >> >global elites to support empire and refuse any project > of US imperialism. > > > >this sentence sounds like an assertion of inevitability. I thought > >that such assertions were totally "out" in this best of all possible > >postmodern worlds and aren't Hardt and Negri postmodern? > > Do "postmodernists" - whoever they are - end their books by talking > about the irrepressible joy of being communist? I don't know. Are Hardt & Negri postmodernist (as broadly defined)? Jim -- Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Who is the thief?
NYT’s objectivity: Argentina = Citicorp First, NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF’s observation: “….I was struck by the angry scrawls on American banks in Buenos Aires. A Citibank branch was defaced by this line written in English (with Spanish grammar): "Thieves, returns ours dollars!" and then, his “objectivity” mixed with his view on the above line –“misguided:” “It seems to me that Citicorp's chairman, Sanford Weill, could pull out a can of paint and scrawl those words on the Argentine Consulate in New York. Still, however misguided, that fury needs to be addressed.” If Saddam Were Only Brazilian December 17, 2002 By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF At this pivotal time, we in the U.S. are losing the battle of ideas in Latin America. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/17/opinion/17KRIS.html?ex=1041149690&ei=1&en=ff945413dd09cd8e -- card Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
photographs from Chiapas
Here is a link to a set of photographs from Chiapas (taken by my son, Ali Tonak). http://zapatista.bard.edu/ -- card Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Re: sodexho and workers and colleges
United for Peace vs. ANSWER Can anyone clarify the relationship between these two organizations? Are they excluding each other as they compete with each other? Is there any other --in addition to being anti-stalinist-- political reason for developing two parallel anti-war organizations? -- card Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Re: Sodexho-Workers-Colleges
Hi Tom, Many thanks. Your report was very helpful. I would like to receive a copy of the anti-union manual you referred to, since it is not available at the web site that you indicated as the source. Thanks. Tom Walker wrote: Ahmet, I did a dossier on Sodexho for the B.C. Hospital Employees Union about 6 months ago. A copy of it is online at: http://www.cupe.ca/downloads/sodexho_profile.pdf Tom Walker 604 255 4812 -- card Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Sodexho-Workers-Colleges
We are in the process of starting a campaign against Sodexho (Simon's Rock College's dining hall sub-contractor which recently bought the previous sub-contractor Woods!!). Any information regarding the company and its labor practices is appreciated. Thanks. -- card Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: RE: Stiglitz and the Baker Institute connection...
Brown, Martin - ARP (NIH/NCI) wrote: So is the Baker Institure pro or anti-war? Very pro-war. Here is the coverage from Sunday Herald (UK): Sunday Herald - 06 October 2002 Official: US oil at the heart of Iraq crisis By Neil Mackay President Bush's Cabinet agreed in April 2001 that 'Iraq remains a destabilising influence to the flow of oil to international markets from the Middle East' and because this is an unacceptable risk to the US 'military intervention' is necessary. Vice-president Dick Cheney, who chairs the White House Energy Policy Development Group, commissioned a report on 'energy security' from the Baker Institute for Public Policy, a think-tank set up by James Baker, the former US secretary of state under George Bush Snr. The report, Strategic Energy Policy Challenges For The 21st Century, concludes: 'The United States remains a prisoner of its energy dilemma. Iraq remains a de- stabilising influence to ... the flow of oil to international markets from the Middle East. Saddam Hussein has also demonstrated a willingness to threaten to use the oil weapon and to use his own export programme to manipulate oil markets. Therefore the US should conduct an immediate policy review toward Iraq including military, energy, economic and political/ diplomatic assessments. 'The United States should then develop an integrated strategy with key allies in Europe and Asia, and with key countries in the Middle East, to restate goals with respect to Iraqi policy and to restore a cohesive coalition of key allies.' Baker who delivered the recommendations to Cheney, the former chief executive of Texas oil firm Halliburton, was advised by Kenneth Lay, the disgraced former chief executive of Enron, the US energy giant which went bankrupt after carrying out massive accountancy fraud. The other advisers to Baker were: Luis Giusti, a Shell non-executive director; John Manzoni, regional president of BP and David O'Reilly, chief executive of ChevronTexaco. Another name linked to the document is Sheikh Saud Al Nasser Al Sabah, the former Kuwaiti oil minister and a fellow of the Baker Institute. President Bush also has strong connections to the US oil industry and once owned the oil company Spectrum 7. The Baker report highlights massive shortages in world oil supplies which now leave the US facing 'unprecedented energy price volatility' and has led to recurring electricity black-outs in areas such as California. The report refers to the impact of fuel shortages on voters. It recommends a 'new and viable US energy policy central to America's domestic economy and to [the] nation's security and foreign policy'. Iraq, the report says, 'turns its taps on and off when it has felt such action was in its strategic interest to do so', adding that there is a 'possibility that Saddam Hussein may remove Iraqi oil from the market for an extended period of time' in order to damage prices. The report also says that Cheney should integrate energy and security to stop 'manipulations of markets by any state', and suggests that Cheney's Energy Policy Group includes 'representation from the Department of Defence'. 'Unless the United States assumes a leadership role in the formation of new rules of the game,' the report says, 'US firms, US consumers and the US government [will be left] in a weaker position.' www.rice.edu/projects/baker/ -- card Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Stiglitz and the Baker Institute connection...
One of my students emailed me the following --an interesting mix!!! "In class, we recently discussed an article about US oil dependency and the upcoming war with Iraq. Frequently mentioned in the article was the Baker Institute for Public Policy. I took the liberty of researching who was on the board of the prestigious think tank. Some of the more interesting (and famous) members: Hushang Ansary- Director of National Oilwell Incorporated. According to Yahoo, has profited almost 5 million dollars from insider trades since August. Zoe Baird- President of philanthropic Markle Foundation. Served under president Carter, nominated for Attorney General by President Clinton but rejected by Congress. Roland Dumas- President of the Constitutional Council of the French Republic Hans-Dietrich Genscher- German foreign minister during the 1980's, referred to as "the architect of reunification." Lord Hurd of Westwell- Former Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary of Great Britain. Robert Mosbacher- One of Houston's biggest oil tycoons, head of Mosbacher Energy Co., and Secretary of Commerce under George Bush, Sr. Dr. Joseph E. Stiglitz- 2001 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in 'analyses of markets with asymetric information." -- card Frequently the only possible answer is a critique of the question and the only solution is to negate the question. Karl Marx, 1857, Grundrisse, "The Chapter on Money," p.127. E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Re: Birds of a feather
which the human race lives as a whole to the highest aggregate level, which entails focusing upon the disadvantages of the developing world, and thinks our obligations to all members of genus Homo have about the same standing as obligations to our nation, to our ethnic group, and even our own children.) He proposes that formation of a "global ethical community" roughly along U. N. lines should be a sustained, long-term historic objective, but is realistic about the need to work within the existing framework of nations and borders pretty much indefinitely. And, crucially, he is not opposed to economic globalization. He asks the big question that anti-globalizers always dodge, namely: If we did away with globalization, would the poor of the developing world be better off? No, he answers, to do so would leave them worse off. This is the big point missing from the whole debate, and it's impressive that Singer has locked on to it. full: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0211.easterbrook.html -- card E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: UN resolutions and Desert Fox (98) and Sept 96attacks on Iraq
According to the following document from MERIP, the US and Britain have referred
to UNSC 688 to justify their periodic bombing. In the forthcoming issue
of MERIP Marc Lynch of Williams College will have an article on the "Using
and Abusing the UN, Redux" (December).
http://www.merip.org/iraq_backgrounder_102202/iraq_bckground_merip_screes.pdf
ken hanly wrote:
Were there ever any specific UN resolutions giving authority for these
attacks? Or were they just carried out unilaterally by the US (and UK) to
punish Iraq for its "transgressions"?
Cheers, Ken Hanly
--
card
E. Ahmet Tonak
Professor of Economics
Simon's Rock College of Bard
84 Alford Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Tel: 413 528 7488
Fax: 413 528 7365
www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Sociology Position
Please circulate the following ad. Thanks. = Simon’s Rock College invites applicants for a permanent full-time position in sociology. The particular specializations are open, but we are seeking someone who can combine an intercultural and historical analysis of American society with several of the following areas: race, class, ethnicity, globalization, and theory. An interest in involving students in local human service programs would also be a plus. Simon’s Rock is a small liberal arts college which emphasizes independent work in a strong interdisciplinary curriculum. Rarely are disciplinary areas represented by more than one faculty member. Thus the successful candidate will be expected to create a program in sociology; to teach in the General Education Program; and to develop significant interdisciplinary interests. A Ph.D. and successful college teaching experience are required. To apply, send a letter, curriculum vitae, and brief statement of teaching philosophy and research plans, and arrange to have three reference letters sent to Ahmet Tonak, Chair, Sociology Search Committee, Simon’s Rock College of Bard, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230. The review process will begin on January 27, 2003. Applications from women and minorities are encouraged. For more information about Simon’s Rock, consult www.simons-rock.edu. AA/EOE/ADA -- card E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak Sociology Ad.doc Description: MS-Word document
Re: Re: Re: Turkey-Iraq
Mostly in the informal sector, which is huge, and agriculture. Regarding the informal sector we all know that there are some many measurement related problems. However, one of my former students from Middle East Technical University is currently writing his thesis on this topic at UMass and I am sure it will add many new insights to our understanding of the real extent of unemployment in Turkey. I would never take the figures that Sabri used, i.e. 11% unemployment rate or the labor force, seriously. They are literally harmful! Doug Henwood wrote: Sabri Oncu wrote: The official unemployment is around 11% as far as I know. It is based on a work force of roughly 25 million and which means that officialy the rest of the nation are not actively seeking work. So, officially we have about 2.8 or so million unemployed in a population of 68 million. Not bad at all I would say. What about the rest? Working in the informal sector? Not working in the informal sector? In agriculture? Doug -- card E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: FW: unproductive discussion
l then proceed to clarify the distinction and the relationship between the concepts 'productive labour in general and 'productive labour for capital , a step that is methodologically essential to a correct understanding of PUPL. Subsequent sections will deal with all the major types of labour in a capitalist socio-economic formation, ranging from self sufficient peasant households, housework and petty commodity production to hired domestic labour, production and circulation labour, in order to concretize the content of the category productive labour for capital. Separate sections will then be devoted to two thorny questions, i.e. the status of labour in the services sector and state provision of social services. A final section will take up some common criticism to be found in the literature concerning Marx's distinction between PUPL. As we have already pointed out the purpose of that final section is not to provide a critical survey of the existing literature, nor to engage in polemics, but rather to provide some further clarification on questions that have been raised in the discussion on PUPL since the seventies. = FOOTNOTES1. For empirical estimations of Marxian categories see, for example, among many recent works Shaikh and Tonak (1994), Moseley (1986). 2. Since we base our analysis on the labour theory of value, the question of whether the distinction PUPL can be meaningful in alternative theoretical frameworks lies outside the scope of this article. -- card E. Ahmet Tonak Professor of Economics Simon's Rock College of Bard 84 Alford Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Tel: 413 528 7488 Fax: 413 528 7365 www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: RE: Sweezy's occ\Shaikh
Devine, James wrote: RE: [PEN-L:31709] Sweezy's occ\Shaikh Paul A writes: >Jim: I would love to know what you think of Shaikh and Tonak's book. I plan on absorbing more of it (it can be slow going for the mathematicly impaired) but seems to be extremely relevant to your interests. It is a good example of both the empirical side AND shows how issues such as productive/unproductive shed light on the laws of motion.< I am impressed by the book's hard work and sophisticated empirical techniques. However, I disagree with the idea that the wages of unproductive labor should be included as a positive number in the numerator of the rate of profit formula. The profit rate is supposed to be connected with capitalist accumulation, whereas unproductive labor represents an overhead cost. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine -Original Message- From: Paul_A [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 7:30 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PEN-L:31709] Sweezy's occ\Shaikh Thanks for the appreciation for our work. It was hard work! I'd like to address Jim's objection to our inclusion of "the wages of unproductive labor should be included as a positive number in the numerator of the rate of profit formula." The profit rate, as many other categories in Marx, is a category that is modified (concretized) as you move through different levels of abstraction. The level Jim is referring to is one of the highest levels of analysis. The more concrete level of analysis in terms of the available funds for productive investment (out of produced and re-circulated and already absorbed surplus-value), capital accumulation, i.e. growth rate, effective demand, etc. was also presented in our book (pp.210-16). E. Ahmet Tonak
Re: Re: Re: RE: Sweezy's occ and Mage
Michael Perelman wrote:
If anyone wants to read Shane's dissertation, come to Chico. Our library
has it. It is quite good.
A detailed presentation of Mage's pioneering and sophisticated methodology
can also be found in our book (Shaikh & Tonak), Measuring The Wealth
of Nations (1994); pp. 174-180 and Appendix M.
--
card
E. Ahmet Tonak
Professor of Economics
Simon's Rock College of Bard
84 Alford Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Tel: 413 528 7488
Fax: 413 528 7365
www.simons-rock.edu/~eatonak
Re: Update to Shaikh's _Measuring the Wealth of Nations_
On Wed, 29 Apr 1998, Jim Davis wrote:
> Does anyone know of any work that has been done that brings the figures in
> Anwar Shaikh's _Measuring the Wealth of Nations_ as up-to-date as possible?
>
> jd
>
>
>
We will update the figures in the 3rd printing of our book.
E. Ahmet Tonak
IMF Article VI Change Update
I urgently need an update about the developments re. IMF Article VI change. Thanks very much. Ahmet Tonak
Re: Green Alternatives to the MAI (fwd)
On Sat, 7 Mar 1998, valis wrote: > > > Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 00:19:33 -0500 > > > From: Brian Milani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Subject: Green Alternatives to the MAI > > > The alternative to globalism is not the old industrial > > > Welfare State, > > I don't know a single idiot-child who imagines that it is. I know one: the best-seller author William Greider who also happened to be very critical of globalization... > > > >but something completely new---more > > > participatory, egalitarian, ecological, self-regulatory, > > > and grounded in a radically different, more QUALITATIVE, > > > notion of wealth." > > Of course I'll read your proposal; I'm grateful for any sign of life. > > valis > (a contributing lurker on pen-l) > > > ahmet tonak
