date:20061227


I don't think it's cattiness at all, and now Marvin is asking me to
answer some questions, so I guess he wants me to give still more
information and analysis.
So here goes.


MG:


Allawi? Hashemi? Some salvation! Some front!


Evidently all you have to do is oppose the occupation and call for a timetable.
Why the sarcasm here?

MG

We know most Iraqis and their political parties want an end to the

occupation. So, in fact,  does the Bush administration. The issue, of
course, is over when the occupation should end  -  before or after US forces
have suppressed the Sunni insurgency. And on this point, of course, Iraqi
politicians like Allawi and Hashemi (and Maliki and Sistani and Hakim and
also presumably Sadr who moves in these circles) are clear: they want to see
the Sunni militias crushed, and then they will sort matters out among
themselves.

If the national security state plans permanent occupation--that is
permanent bases in Iraq--then how could Bush be for ending the
occupation. Where have you ever read or heard anything from Bush to
this effect--that he wants to end his occupation of Iraq? In specific
terms--like a timetable for withdrawal? And even if he had, would he
lie to cover up the plan to stay? Sure he would.


a) If Sadr is truly on the side of the Sunni insurgents against the

Americans and their collaborators, why did he become part of the Iraqi
government which is trying to suppress it rather than developing a common
program and organization, including a joint military wing, with the
insurgents?

In classic resistance form he is on record as saying that no social or
political progress could be made in the occupation. Remember, HE IS
NOT part of the government. People politically active who are
associated with him are--as a parliamentary bloc (not the Shia bloc,
but a solid 30 member bloc) and as ones with portfolios running some
ministries. But what you say would be like saying Dr. Dean is now in
power in Washington DC. I might also add that some elements of the
Sunni Resistance are also politically represented. In ways quite
analogous to the Sadrists, they are represented in structures outside
the occupation that seek social and political roles, and they also
have people in the elected government.


If Sadr is determined to end the occupation, why has he not proclaimed

that any reinforcement of the US garrison and attacks on Sunni areas will be
met with resistance from the Mahdi Army? What kind of signal does it send to
the Bush administration for Sadr to instead meet with Sistani and government
officials with a view, according to his own representatives, of shortly
resuming his participation in the government?

I didn't see any meeting recently between Sadr and Sistani. I saw
people taking their coalition of the occupation to Sistani, with
Sistani rejecting it. Show me a quote where his representatives are
saying they will shortly resume participation.





Sadr is a story of a road not taken after the battle of Najaf. If he had
opted then to move towards political unity with the Sunni resistance rather
than accept to become part of the US-sponsored government, it would, IMO,
have dealt a decisive blow to the occupation. Januzzi's position, in effect,
is that Sadr has been on the first road all along and that he is engaging in
coordinated attacks with the Sunni insurgents against the US and
government troops. I think this is a bizarre reading of what is happening in
Iraq, but we'll know soon enough.

Political unity in what structure? The occupation government that he
and the Sunni Resistance mostly reject (though some participate in)? I
count the Sadrists and at least two other groups as constituting the
Shia Resistance, and this has included armed conflict--that is the
reason why Britain, for example, has had as many deaths among its
troops. I also think more than a few Sunni are relieved that the
Sadrists pursued their ends on at least three fronts: one, in the
parliament (where they have opposed breaking up the country); two, in
Iraq as a state within the state , and three, in armed resistance.

I'm not really sure what you are waiting on to happen in Iraq Marvin,
so I'm not really sure what predictions you will see come true. I
think you have some hidden views about Iraq and Islamists that seems
to cloud your thinking. If Michael thinks that is catty, well too bad.
As he knows, I appreciate moderators who do more than boo from the
sidelines and he himself has added very little to the discussion.

CJ

Re: [PEN-L] A modest proposal


On 12/27/06, ken hanly [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

News sources routinely report US accusations that
Iran meddles in Iraqi affairs. After any such reports
the news media should make use of the emoticon of the
guy rolling on the floor laughing (ROFL). Imagine a
country halfway around the world that together with
its cronies occupy Iraq complaining that a neighbour
with close ties to the Shia in Iraq meddles in Iraqi
affairs.
   I notice that when US soldiers are tried for
crimes committed in Iraq the news media generally fail
to notice that they are tried in the US and not in
Iraqi courts.

Cheers Ken Hanly


It would seem that much of the 'Iranian' meddling is actually part of
the US's own regime change plans using Iraq as a base against Iran.
BTW, the military personnel are tried under the Uniform Code of
Military Justice, which can be conducted anywhere the US claims
extraterritoriality. In actual practice, the courts are often held at
military bases in the US.

CJ

Re: [PEN-L] The strategy behind the surge

2006-12-27 Thread Marvin Gandall


CJ wrote:


I'm not really sure what you are waiting on to happen in Iraq Marvin,
so I'm not really sure what predictions you will see come true. I
think you have some hidden views about Iraq and Islamists that seems
to cloud your thinking...

===
I want a full and unconditional withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Charles,
and now I'm now fully and unconditionally withdrawing from this thread.

Re: [PEN-L] Palast on oil etc. in Iraq


On 12/26/06, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

On 12/25/06, CeJ [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 Investigative journalist? More like bad humorist. What dreck. Sorry.

tell us some details behind your measured judgment, Charles.



Well this one piece or Palast's massive output of nonsense? Which?
This one struck me as a classic invented 'straw man'
argument--actually an assembly of them-- to put it in short terms--and
to use it all so blatantly to score points with a particular kind of
audience. My gosh, you'd almost think this guy gets syndicated!

But I usually don't get off that easy and so please make my homework
assignment specific so I know which to do: draw on all that Palast
nonsense (not everything he writes is nonsense, I'm not saying
that--he has been somewhat game in analyzing the 'war for oil' thing)
or just this particular piece of bad writing. I feel a headache coming
on.

CJ

Re: [PEN-L] The strategy behind the surge


On 12/27/06, Marvin Gandall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

CJ wrote:

 I'm not really sure what you are waiting on to happen in Iraq Marvin,
 so I'm not really sure what predictions you will see come true. I
 think you have some hidden views about Iraq and Islamists that seems
 to cloud your thinking...
===
I want a full and unconditional withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Charles,
and now I'm now fully and unconditionally withdrawing from this thread.


Great Marvin. At least rhetorically you and the Sunni Resistance and
the Sadrists all agree. Prediction: the US is not planning to
withdrawal from Iraq, there are no plans to withdrawal from Iraq,
unless somehow they could get everyone to believe that building bases
there constitutes a withdrawal (they break up Iraq into three pieces,
and withdraw to their bases in Baghdad and parts south). Considering
how few Americans still don't know that Guantanamo is in Cuba, I
should not be surprised. Thanks--in all uncattiness as I can
muster--for the discussion Marvin.

CJ

Re: [PEN-L] The strategy behind the surge

2006-12-27 Thread Michael Perelman

I am preparing to leave town  do not have time to follow everything for a 
while,
but if this tone continues any more you must cease immediately to communicate 
like
this!


On Wed, Dec 27, 2006 at 11:56:12PM +0900, CeJ wrote:
 On 12/27/06, Marvin Gandall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
  CJ wrote:
 
   I'm not really sure what you are waiting on to happen in Iraq Marvin,
   so I'm not really sure what predictions you will see come true. I
   think you have some hidden views about Iraq and Islamists that seems
   to cloud your thinking...
  ===
  I want a full and unconditional withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Charles,
  and now I'm now fully and unconditionally withdrawing from this thread.

 Great Marvin. At least rhetorically you and the Sunni Resistance and
 the Sadrists all agree. Prediction: the US is not planning to
 withdrawal from Iraq, there are no plans to withdrawal from Iraq,
 unless somehow they could get everyone to believe that building bases
 there constitutes a withdrawal (they break up Iraq into three pieces,
 and withdraw to their bases in Baghdad and parts south). Considering
 how few Americans still don't know that Guantanamo is in Cuba, I
 should not be surprised. Thanks--in all uncattiness as I can
 muster--for the discussion Marvin.

 CJ

--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
michaelperelman.wordpress.com

Re: [PEN-L] A modest proposal

2006-12-27 Thread ken hanly

Crimes committed by US soldiers in Iraq are tried
under the uniform code of military justice only
because of an agreement that in effect limits Iraqi
sovereignty. In the Philippines for example criminal
acts at least some of them such as rape are tried in
Philippine courts under an agreement between the US
and the Philippine government. I believe that
contractors for the occupation too are not subject to
Iraqi law. I believe the same is true in Afghanistan.
Of course the US also operates jails in both
countries.

Cheers, Ken Hanly
--- CeJ [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 On 12/27/06, ken hanly [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
  News sources routinely report US accusations that
  Iran meddles in Iraqi affairs. After any such
 reports
  the news media should make use of the emoticon of
 the
  guy rolling on the floor laughing (ROFL). Imagine
 a
  country halfway around the world that together
 with
  its cronies occupy Iraq complaining that a
 neighbour
  with close ties to the Shia in Iraq meddles in
 Iraqi
  affairs.
 I notice that when US soldiers are tried for
  crimes committed in Iraq the news media generally
 fail
  to notice that they are tried in the US and not in
  Iraqi courts.
 
  Cheers Ken Hanly

 It would seem that much of the 'Iranian' meddling is
 actually part of
 the US's own regime change plans using Iraq as a
 base against Iran.
 BTW, the military personnel are tried under the
 Uniform Code of
 Military Justice, which can be conducted anywhere
 the US claims
 extraterritoriality. In actual practice, the courts
 are often held at
 military bases in the US.

 CJ

Re: [PEN-L] A modest proposal


On 12/28/06, ken hanly [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

Crimes committed by US soldiers in Iraq are tried
under the uniform code of military justice only
because of an agreement that in effect limits Iraqi
sovereignty. In the Philippines for example criminal
acts at least some of them such as rape are tried in
Philippine courts under an agreement between the US
and the Philippine government. I believe that
contractors for the occupation too are not subject to
Iraqi law. I believe the same is true in Afghanistan.
Of course the US also operates jails in both
countries.


Yes, each 'occupied' country has some sort of agreement concerning
extraterritoriality and status of forces. Bases themselves also add to
aspects of extra-territoriality. For example, if a soldier commits a
rape or murder on a US base in Japan he will be tried under the
UCMJ--a court martial (and you had better believe that there is a lot
of crime on US military bases, both in the US and overseas). If he
commits the crime off base, he will be tried under Japanese laws, with
some aspects of extra-territoriality coming into play. However, at the
local level, the US military has repeatedly interfered in many aspects
of such cases, including evidence tampering. The recent controversy in
the Philippines appears to be at least nominally over the issue of
when the US military personnel could be handed over to the Philippine
criminal justice system. If the Philippine authorities violated the
SOFA and took the convict before final sentencing it might be because
previous experiences--a long history of them-- show that American
personnel often 'escape' back to the US after returning to US military
custody before final disposition.

CJ

Re: [PEN-L] The strategy behind the surge


My last word on the matter--for a while. I seem to read material on
Iraq that my conversant didn't or doesn't.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061227/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_061226224542

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A string of car bombs and other blasts killed at least
54 Iraqis on Tuesday, including 17 outside Baghdad's most venerated
Sunni mosque, while U.S. troops battled Shiite militiamen in Baghdad.

Seven more American soldiers died, the U.S. military said, pushing the
December death toll to 90 in one of the bloodiest months for the
American troops in  Iraq this year. Some 105 troops were killed in
October.

U.S. troops, meanwhile, exchanged fire with Shiite militiamen in east
Baghdad, near Sadr City, the stronghold of anti-American cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr.

An AP reporter embedded with the soldiers watched the Americans set up
roadblocks, occupy homes and engage in gun battles with militia
fighters across the border of Sadr City.

U.S. troops crouched on rooftops, hiding behind laundry hanging on a
clothesline. Bursts of gunfire ricocheted off rudimentary cement
houses.

The gunbattles waned as darkness fell. At least six mortars fell on a
U.S. military base nearby, but caused no injuries.

Sadr City is believed to be the chief base of operations for al-Sadr's
militia, the Mahdi Army.

Pressured by Iraqi politicians in late October, American soldiers
dismantled barbed-wire barricades that controlled traffic in and out
of the area. Since then they have rarely ventured into the district.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061227/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestsadrus_061227135510


Tension after US soldier shoots Sadr supporter


A statement said Ameri was implicated in recent bomb attacks on US and
Iraqi forces, and was shot by an adviser after he fled to the roof of
his house and aimed an assault rifle at an Iraqi soldier.

The suspect allegedly provided recently several IEDs (bombs) to his
cell for an attack that he allegedly directed be carried out against
Iraqi and coalition forces in the Najaf area, a statement said.

This cut no ice with Sadr's supporters, however, and they called a
news conference at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad to condemn the raid
and accuse the US military of deliberately attempting to provoke a
reaction.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061223/wl_mideast_afp/iraqpolitics_061223193222

No deal yet as Iraq talks to return Sadr to govt break off by Hassan
Abdel Zahra
Sat Dec 23, 2:32 PM ET



NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - Talks to woo supporters of radical cleric Moqtada
al-Sadr back intoIraq's ruling coalition broke up without
agreement after he insisted on a timetable for the withdrawal of US
troops.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nevertheless, participants in the talks expressed confidence that his
32 lawmakers and six ministers would soon return rejoin the
government.

Members of the current coalition's main Shiite bloc, the United Iraqi
Alliance, met the Shiite firebrand for the first time since his
movement walked out of the government last month, at talks in the holy
city of Najaf.

Re: [PEN-L] The strategy behind the surge


I'm in the middle of transcribing Cabale News Service's news right now.

Here's a piece of relevant information:

To 'Surge' or not to 'Surge': Surge... Secretary of Defense Gates cuts
orders for one brigade (3500+-) of 82nd Airborne soldiers to Kuwait,
replacing 2200 Marines moving out to al-Anbar Iraq.


That's an additional 1,300 troops... 82nd Airborne replacing Marines.
FWIW, by all measures, the Marines are running at an even MORE ragged
OPTEMPO edge than the Army.

[PEN-L] Nuclear material as a useful way of making money

We sense that people have recognized the value of nuclear material as
a useful way of making money, Oxford said. Nuclear material is
becoming a marketable commodity. [more below the fold... unnnh... scroll.]

...and in other happyface news courtesy of DefenseTech:
http://www.defensetech.org/

Pic of the week, the Scooter of Doom:
http://www.hellinahandbasket.net/2006/12/talk_about_a_crotch_rocket.htm

TV crew sparks French airport security concern after smuggling Semtex
and knives on board New York and Nice flights

By Justin Wastnage
http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2006/12/22/Navigation/177/211276/TV+crew+sparks+French+airport+security+concern+after+smuggling+Semtex+and+knives+on+board+New+York.html

France has been rocked by its own version of the Anglo-Saxon journalist
trick of by-passing airport security after a television crew was able to
smuggle explosives onto Air France and Delta Air Lines flights.

The investigative journalism series Pièces à Conviction (evidence) is
airing a film made by undercover reporter Laurent Richard tonight on
airport security. In it Richard, accompanied by security expert
Christophe Naudin, is reportedly filmed on board an Air France Airbus
A320 family aircraft to Nice carrying de-activated Semtex explosive and
a detonator in his hand baggage.

...

Nuclear traffic doubles since '90s

By Richard Willing, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-12-25-nuclear-traffic_x.htm
12/25/2006

Annual incidents of trafficking and mishandling of nuclear and other
radioactive material reported to U.S. intelligence officials have more
than doubled since the early 1990s, says the director of domestic
nuclear detection at the Department of Homeland Security.

Also up: scams in which fake or non-existent nuclear or radioactive
material is offered for sale, often online, says Vayl Oxford, nuclear
detection director at the department.

We sense that people have recognized the value of nuclear material as a
useful way of making money, Oxford said. Nuclear material is becoming
a marketable commodity.

The incidents tracked by the department, based on its reporting and
information from foreign diplomatic and intelligence sources, average
about twice the number made public each year by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA).

Oxford said reports of nuclear and radioactive materials trafficking
have ranged from 200 to 250 a year since 2000, up from about 100 a year
in the 1990s.

The reports include incidents in which material was stolen, offered for
sale, lost or mishandled.

The IAEA, whose members self-report trafficking incidents on a voluntary
basis, said there were 121 such incidents in 2004 and 103 last year. The
agency, based in Vienna, reports only trafficking incidents that its
members have confirmed and elected to make public. The Department of
Homeland Security numbers include all known or suspected trafficking
incidents identified by the United States and allied governments.

Reported incidents may be increasing, Oxford says, because since the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, governments have become more diligent about
policing material that could be used by terrorists to build a
radioactive dirty bomb or similar device.

Most reported incidents occurred outside the USA. There are no reported
incidents in which radioactive or nuclear material was successfully sold
to a terror group, according to the IAEA.

Some of the incidents have involved enriched uranium or plutonium of the
type that can be used to make a nuclear weapon. In June 2003, for
instance, a smuggler was arrested trying to carry 170 grams of enriched
uranium across a border in Sadahlo, Georgia, in the former Soviet Union.

Most incidents involved very small amounts of material that were
mishandled by authorities and never intended to be sold, the IAEA said.
In New Jersey last year, a package containing 3.3 grams of enriched
helium was accidentally disposed of, the IAEA reported.

Some experts are concerned that the increase in trafficking incidents
makes it more likely terrorists could acquire nuclear material.

We're only seeing the dysfunctional part of the market — the supplier
who's dumb enough to try to sell it to the police, said Jeffrey Lewis,
director of the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard University's
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

--30--

[PEN-L] Treacherous Triangle: Iran, Israel, And United States - RFE/RL Interview


Funny thing... No mention of *Israel's* part in summoning the nuclear
proliferation jini to attend to the middle east's Sinbads here, even
though the interviewee wrote a book called: Treacherous Triangle: The
Secret Dealings Of Iran, Israel, And United States

Just focus on the sanctions and  don't look at the  fnords...
Don't look at the  fnords...

Don't look at the  fnords...

If you don't see the fnords they won't eat you... Don't look at the
fnords...

(Just in case you've never read Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminatus
trilogy, that advice is very, very, tragically very, wrong.)

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Iran: Expert Says UN Sanctions Leading To Lose-Lose Situation
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/24216a0c-0733-4a15-9486-efc785b3d6ff.html

December 27, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Iran's parliament passed a bill today
obliging the government to review its cooperation with the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in reaction to a United Nations resolution
on December 23 placing sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its
uranium-enrichment program.

RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari interviewed Trita Parsi, author
of the forthcoming book Treacherous Triangle: The Secret Dealings Of
Iran, Israel, And United States and president of the National
Iranian-American Council.


RFE/RL: Are the limited UN sanctions going to bring Western countries
closer to a solution to the nuclear standoff? So far it seems that they
have made Tehran more defiant and more confrontational.

Trita Parsi: I think what is happening right now is that we're entering
a lose-lose situation. It's no longer about finding solutions and
finding a compromise. It's more about seeing which side can endure the
most pain. Will Iran have to give in before the West gives in -- and
it's going to be difficult to foretell which side is going to endure
this much more, while Iran is certainly going to pay a price. At least
its economy [is] and it is already starting to pay a price in its
economy and the U.S. is also in a tremendously difficult position in Iraq.


blockquote
Certainly the chance for diplomacy has not been eliminated, but it
certainly has been made more unlikely because at this stage no side
wants to lose face and that increases the cost of actually getting to
the negotiating table.
/blockquote


RFE/RL: So you think the UN Security Council move has made the situation
more complicated -- but are the UN sanctions going to be effective?

Parsi: I don't think necessarily the sanctions from the UN [themselves
are] going to be effective, but the unilateral sanctions that the United
States has quietly put in place over the last couple of months with a
tremendous amount of pressure on international banks not to deal with
Iran -- those, I think, may impose a cost on Iran. They're going to be
far more effective than the UN sanctions.

RFE/RL: But are they a solution to the crisis?

Parsi: I think this step is not a step toward the solution. This is a
step toward creating a lose-lose situation while at the same time
further closing the window of opportunity for diplomacy. Diplomacy is
falling victim to an endless cycle of provocations right now and those
provocations obviously come from both sides. I think from the Iranian
side it's been extremely provocative to [hold] this conference regarding
the Holocaust in Tehran, which really has not served Iran's interest in
any way, shape, or form.

RFE/RL: What about the U.S. side?

Parsi: Well, from the U.S. side you have the continuation of refusing to
talk, the continuation of basically having a blind spot for Iran when it
comes to how the situation should be dealt with in Iraq. Whatever help
Iran can provide, the U.S. basically refuses it, and it also refuses to
recognize that Iran has done quite a lot to help stabilize Iraq.

RFE/RL: Despite that, is a diplomatic solution still possible? Is there
a chance that Tehran and Western countries could go back to the
negotiating table?

Parsi: Certainly the chance for diplomacy has not been eliminated, but
it certainly has been made more unlikely because at this stage no side
wants to lose face and that increases the cost of actually getting to
the negotiating table.

I think from the beginning it was clear that there're two things that
need to happen. On the one hand, from the Western side, there needs to
be a recognition of Iran's inalienable right [to pursue nuclear energy
for peaceful purposes] -- in making sure that they are pursuing a
nonproliferation policy that is not in violation of the [Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)] itself and, on the other hand, making
sure that dialogue is taking place without any preconditions.

From the Iranian side, it needs to be a more sophisticated diplomacy
and not a diplomacy based on provocation.

RFE/RL: At this stage there are no signs that Iran will comply with the
Security Council demand and halt its uranium-enrichment program. How do
you think UN members will react and what will be the next

Re: [PEN-L] Gender Pay Gap, Once Narrowing, Is Stuck in Place


the article doesn't mention the fact that much of the narrowing of the
pay gap is because men's pay stagnated and/or fell (as blue-collar
jobs with middle-class pay disappeared and a lot of white-collar
jobs were abolished).

On 12/26/06, Yoshie Furuhashi [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

Few Cracks in the Glass Ceiling:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/23/business/24GAP.jpg

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/business/24gap.html
December 24, 2006
Gender Pay Gap, Once Narrowing, Is Stuck in Place
By DAVID LEONHARDT

Throughout the 1980s and early '90s, women of all economic levels —
poor, middle class and rich — were steadily gaining ground on their
male counterparts in the work force. By the mid-'90s, women earned
more than 75 cents for every dollar in hourly pay that men did, up
from 65 cents just 15 years earlier.

Largely without notice, however, one big group of women has stopped
making progress: those with a four-year college degree. The gap
between their pay and the pay of male college graduates has actually
widened slightly since the mid-'90s.


--
Jim Devine / Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the
world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it
is the farthest thing from it, because cynics don't learn anything.
Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world
because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. -- Stephen
Colbert.

[PEN-L] from Juan Cole.


*Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2006 *

1. Myth number one is that the United States can still win in Iraq.

Of course, the truth of this statement, frequently still made by William
Kristol and other Neoconservatives, depends on what winning means. But if
it means the establishment of a stable, pro-American, anti-Iranian
government with an effective and even-handed army and police force in the
near or even medium term, then the assertion is frankly ridiculous. The
Iraqi government is barely functioning. The parliament was not able to
meet in December because it could not attain a quorum. Many key Iraqi
politicians live most of the time in London, and much of parliament is
frequently abroad. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki does not control large
swathes of the country, and could give few orders that had any chance of
being obeyed. The US military cannot shore up this government, even with an
extra division, because the government is divided against itself. Most of
the major parties trying to craft legislation are also linked to militias on
the streets who are killing one another. It is over with. Iraq is in for
years of heavy political violence of a sort that no foreign military force
can hope to stop.

The United States cannot win in the sense defined above. It cannot. And
the blindly arrogant assumption that it can win is calculated to get more
tens of thousands of Iraqis killed and more thousands of American soldiers
and Marines badly wounded or killed. Moreover, since Iraq is coming apart at
the seams under the impact of our presence there, there is a real danger
that we will radically destabilize it and the whole oil-producing Gulf if we
try to stay longer.


2. US military sweeps of neighborhoods can drive the guerrillas out.

The US put an extra 15,000 men into Baghdad this past summer, aiming to
crush the guerrillas and stop the violence in the capital, and the number of
attacks actually *increased*. This result comes about in part because the
guerrillas are not outsiders who come in and then are forced out. The Sunni
Arabs of Ghazaliya and Dora districts in the capital *are* the insurgents.
The US military cannot defeat the Sunni Arab guerrilla movement or
insurgency with less than 500,000 troops, based on what we have seen in
the Balkans and other such conflict situations. The US destroyed Falluja,
and even it and other cities of al-Anbar province are not now safe! The US
military leaders on the ground have spoken of the desirability of just
withdrawing from al-Anbar to Baghdad and giving up on it. In 2003, 14
percent of Sunni Arabs thought it legitimate to attack US personnel and
facilities. In August, 2006, over 70 percent did. How long before it is
100%? Winning guerrilla wars requires two victories, a military victory over
the guerrillas and a winning of the hearts and minds of the general public,
thus denying the guerrillas support. The US has not and is unlikely to be
able to repress the guerrillas, and it is losing hearts and minds at an
increasing and alarming rate. They hate us, folks. They don't want us there.


3. The United States is best off throwing all its support behind the Iraqi
Shiites.

This is the position adopted fairly consistently by Marc Reuel
Gerechthttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/opinion/21gerecht.html.
Gerecht is an informed and acute observer whose views I respect even when I
disagree with them. In fact, Washington policy-makers should read Daniel
Goleman's work on social
intelligencehttp://www.danielgoleman.info/social_intelligence/index.html.
Goleman points out that a good manager of a team in a corporation sets up a
win/win framework for every member of the team. If you set it up on a
win/lose basis, so that some are actively punished and others triumph, you
are asking for trouble. Conflict is natural. How you manage conflict is what
matters. If you listen to employees' grievances and try to figure out how
they can be resolved in such a way that everyone benefits, then you are a
good manager.

Gerecht, it seems to me, sets up a win/lose model in Iraq. The Shiites and
Kurds win it all, and the Sunni Arabs get screwed over. Practically
speaking, the Bush policy has been Gerechtian, which in my view has caused
all the problems. We shouldn't have thought of our goal as installing the
Shiites in power. Of course, Bush hoped that those so installed would be
secular, and that is what Wolfowitz and Chalabi had promised him. Gerecht
came up with the ex post facto justification that even the religious Shiites
are moving toward democracy via Sistani. But democracy cannot be about one
sectarian identity prevailing over, and marginalizing others.

The Sunni Arabs have demonstrated conclusively that they can act effectively
as spoilers in the new Iraq. If they aren't happy, no one is going to be.
The US must negotiate with the guerrilla leaders and find a win/win
framework for them to come in from the cold and work alongside the Kurds and
the religious Shiites. About this, US

Re: [PEN-L] Gender Pay Gap, Once Narrowing, Is Stuck in Place


On 12/27/06, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

the article doesn't mention the fact that much of the narrowing of the
pay gap is because men's pay stagnated and/or fell (as blue-collar
jobs with middle-class pay disappeared and a lot of white-collar
jobs were abolished).


Yes, neoliberal capitalism has had an effect of narrowing the gender
gap in wages due to capital's attacks on the working-class male
bastion of economy -- unionized manufacturing jobs -- and an increased
share of service sectors.

That doesn't explain the widening gap at the high end, though: In
earlier decades, the size of the gap was similar among middle-class
and affluent workers. At times, it was actually smaller at the top.
But the gap is now widest among highly paid workers. A woman making
more than 95 percent of all other women earned the equivalent of $36
an hour last year, or about $90,000 a year for working 50 hours a
week. A man making more than 95 percent of all other men, putting in
the same hours, would have earned $115,000 — a difference of 28
percent (David Leonhardt, Gender Pay Gap, Once Narrowing, Is Stuck
in Place,
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/business/24gap.html).
--
Yoshie
http://montages.blogspot.com/
http://mrzine.org
http://monthlyreview.org/

[PEN-L] Samir Amin on political Islam

2006-12-27 Thread Louis Proyect


Political Islam

Samir Amin shines much needed light on a dimly understood phenomenon

by Samir Amin

What is the nature and function, in the 
contemporary Muslim world, of the political 
movements claiming to be the one true Islamic 
faith? These movements are commonly designated 
Islamic fundamentalism in the West, but I 
prefer the phrase used in the Arab world: 
Political Islam. We do not have religious 
movements, per se, here  the various groups are 
all quite close to one another  but something 
much more banal: political organizations whose 
aim is the conquest of state power, nothing more, 
nothing less. Wrapping such organizations in the 
flag of Islam is simple, straightforward opportunism.


Political Islam is the adversary of liberation 
theology. It advocates submission, not emancipation.


Modern Political Islam was invented by the 
orientalists serving British colonialism in India 
and was adopted intact by Mawdudi of Pakistan. It 
consisted mainly in proving that Muslim 
believers may only live under the rule of an 
Islamic State  anticipating the partition of 
India  because Islam cannot permit separation of 
Church and State. The orientalists conveniently 
forgot that the English of the 13th Century held 
precisely such ideas about Christianity.


Merciless Adversary of Liberation

Political Islam is not interested in the religion 
which it invokes, and does not propose any 
theological or social critique. It is not a 
liberation theology analogous to what has 
happened in Latin America. Political Islam is the 
adversary of liberation theology. It advocates 
submission, not emancipation. Mahmoud Taha of 
Sudan was the only Islamic intellectual who 
attempted to emphasize the element of 
emancipation in his interpretation of Islam. 
Condemned to death by the authorities of Khartoum 
for his ideas, Taha's execution was not protested 
by any Islamic group, radical or moderate. 
Nor was he defended by any of the intellectuals 
identifying themselves with Islamic Renaissance 
or even by those merely willing to dialogue 
with such movements. It was not even reported in the Western media.


The heralds of Islamic Renaissance are not 
interested in theology and they never refer to 
classic theological texts. For such thinkers, an 
Islamic community is defined by inheritance, like 
ethnicity, rather than by a strong and intimate 
personal conviction. It is a question of 
asserting a collective identity and nothing 
more. That is why the phrase Political Islam is 
the appropriate designation for such movements.


Saudi Arabia is a country without a constitution, 
whose rules claim that the Qur'an is a 
satisfactory substitute. In actual practice, the 
House of Saud has the power of an absolute monarchy or tribal chiefdom.


Of Islam, Political Islam retains only the shared 
habits of contemporary Muslim life  notably 
rituals for which it demands absolute respect. At 
the same time, it demands a complete cultural 
return to public and private rules which were 
practiced two centuries ago in the Ottoman 
Empire, in Iran and in Central Asia, by the 
powers of that time. Political Islam believes, or 
pretends to believe, that these rules are those 
of the real Islam, the Islam of the age of the 
Prophet. But this is not important. Certainly 
Islam permits this interpretation as legitimation 
for the exercise of power, as it has been used 
from Islam's origin to modern times.


In this sense Islam is not original. Christianity 
has done the same to sustain the structures of 
political and social power in pre-modern Europe, 
for example. Anyone with a minimum of awareness 
and critical sense recognizes that behind 
legitimizing discourse stand real social systems, 
with real histories. Political Islam is not 
interested in this. It does not propose any 
analysis or critique of these systems. 
Contemporary Islam is only an ideology based on 
the past, an ideology which proposes a pure and 
simple return to the past, and more precisely, to 
the period immediately preceding the submission 
of the Muslim world to the expansion of 
capitalism and Western imperialism. That 
religions  Islam, Christianity, and others  are 
thus interpreted in a reactionary, obscurantist 
way, does not exclude other interpretations, 
reformist or even revolutionary. Not only is the 
return to the past not desirable (nor actually 
desired by the peoples in whose name Political 
Islam pretends to be speaking); it is, quite 
simply, impossible. That is why the movements 
which constitute Political Islam refuse to offer 
a precise program, contrary to what is customary 
in political life. For its answer to concrete 
questions of social and economic life, Political 
Islam repeats the empty slogan: Islam is the 
solution. When pushed to the wall, the spokesmen 
for Political Islam never fail to choose an 
answer harmonious with liberal capitalism, as 
when the Egyptian parliament grants absolute

Re: [PEN-L] from Juan Cole.


On 12/27/06, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2006

snip

9. The Sunni Arab guerrillas in places like Ramadi
will follow the US home to the American mainland
and commit terrorism if we leave Iraq.

This assertion is just a variation on the invalid domino
theory. People in Ramadi only have one beef with
the United States. Its troops are going through their
wives' underwear in the course of house searches
every day. They don't want the US troops in their town
or their homes, dictating to them that they must live
under a government of Shiite clerics and Kurdish
warlords (as they think of them). If the US withdrew
and let the Iraqis work out a way to live with one another,
people in Ramadi will be happy. They are not going to
start taking flight lessons and trying to get visas to the US.
This argument about following us, if it were true, would
have prevented us from ever withdrawing from anyplace
once we entered a war there. We'd be forever stuck in
Serbia for fear that Serbs would follow us back home.
Or Korea (we moved 15,000 US troops out of South Korea
not so long ago. Was that unwise? Are the thereby liberated
Koreans now gunning for us?) Or how about the Dominican
Republic? Haiti? Grenada? France? The argument is a crock.

snip

Think Progress points out that in 1999, Governor George
W. Bush criticized then President Clinton for declining to
set a withdrawal timetable for Kosovo, saying Victory means
exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain
to us what the exit strategy is.


I don't know if Juan Cole has thought about this, but there are still
about 1,500 US troops, as well as other NATO troops, in Kosovo.  There
are US troops in Japan, Germany, South Korea, and so on and so forth,
even though the wars that first sent US troops there ended DECADES
ago.  It seems to me that, with a few exceptions like the Vietnam War,
Washington seldom withdraws all its troops from foreign countries once
it sends troops into them.
--
Yoshie
http://montages.blogspot.com/
http://mrzine.org
http://monthlyreview.org/

Re: [PEN-L] here's a quotation du jour for degustation (2006 vintage)

2006-12-27 Thread David B. Shemano

Raghu asks:
David,
I happen to recall a recent query from you about the existence of a Cognitive 
Elite. I assume that you borrowed that phrase from Charles Murray in the 
article you linked above.

Do you think this quote below is an accurate version of twentieth century 
history? (This is not a rhetorical question - I am simply curious to know.)
-raghu.

---quote
The cognitive elite refers to people in the top percentiles of cognitive 
ability who, over the course of the American twentieth century, have been part 
of a vast but nearly invisible migration.

At the beginning of the century, the great majority of people in the top 5 or 
10 percent of the intelligence distribution were not college educated, often 
not even high-school educated, and they lived their lives scattered almost 
indistinguishably among the rest of the population.
As the century progressed, the historical mix of intellectual abilities at all 
levels of American society thinned as intelligence rose to the top. The upper 
end of the cognitive ability distribution has been increasingly channeled into 
higher education, especially the top colleges and professional schools, thence 
into high-IQ occupations and senior managerial positions. The upshot is that 
the scattered brightest of the early twentieth century have congregated, 
forming a new class.
-
To be lawyerly, I believe it is very plausible that the quote is accurate.  It 
is an argument I take very seriously.  I think the evidence is overwhelming 
that there is a correlation and causation between cognitive ability and success 
or failure in the modernized world.  Whether the segregation has increased is 
more of an open question to me.  For instance, I think it is evident that in 
general 50 years ago a lawyer would marry his secretary while a lawyer today 
would marry another lawyer.  However, it is plausible that the legal secretary 
of 50 years ago would be intellectually indistinguishable from the female 
lawyer of today.
David Shemano

[PEN-L] Iran Is Seeking More Influence in Afghanistan


It would be better if Washington competed with Tehran over which side
could build more roads, power lines, and so on in Afghanistan, instead
of plotting to go to war with Iran some day. -- Yoshie

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/world/asia/27afghan.ready.html
December 27, 2006
Iran Is Seeking More Influence in Afghanistan
By DAVID ROHDE

ISLAM QALA, Afghanistan — Two years ago, foreign engineers built a new
highway through the desert of western Afghanistan, past this ancient
trading post and on to the outside world. Nearby, they strung a
high-voltage power line and laid a fiber-optic cable, marked with red
posts, that provides telephone and Internet access to the region.

The modernization comes with a message. Every 5 to 10 miles, road
signs offer quotations from the Koran. Forgive us, God, declares
one. God is clear to everyone, says another. A graceful mosque rises
roadside, with a green glass dome and Koranic inscriptions in blue
tile. The style is unmistakably Iranian.

All of this is fruit of Iran's drive to become a bigger player in
Afghanistan, as it exploits new opportunities to spread its influence
and ideas farther across the Middle East.

The rise of Hezbollah, with Iran's support, has demonstrated the
extent of Tehran's sway in Lebanon, and the American toppling of
Saddam Hussein has allowed it to expand its influence in Iraq. Iran
has been making inroads into Afghanistan, as well. During the
tumultuous 1980s and '90s, Iran shipped money and arms to groups
fighting first the Soviet occupation and later the Taliban government.
But since the United States and its allies ousted the Taliban in 2001,
Iran has taken advantage of the central government's weakness to
pursue a more nuanced strategy: part reconstruction, part education
and part propaganda.

Iran has distributed its largess, more than $200 million in all,
mostly here in the west but also in the capital, Kabul. It has set up
border posts against the heroin trade, and next year will begin work
on new road and construction projects and a rail line linking the
countries. In Kabul, its projects include a new medical center and a
water testing laboratory.

Iran's ambassador, Muhammad Reza Bahrami, portrayed his government's
activities as neighborly good works, with a certain self-interest.
Iran, he said, is eager to avoid repeating the calamities of the last
20 years, when two million Afghan refugees streamed over the border.

Our strategy in Afghanistan is based on security, stability and de
veloping a strong central government, he said. It not only benefits
the Afghan people, it's in our national interest.

Still, there are indications of other motives. Iranian radio stations
are broadcasting anti-American propaganda into Afghanistan. Moderate
Shiite leaders in Afghanistan say Tehran is funneling money to
conservative Shiite religious schools and former warlords with
longstanding ties to Iranian intelligence agencies.

And as the dispute over Iran's nuclear program has escalated [leading
the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran on
Dec. 23], Iranian intelligence activity has increased across
Afghanistan, American and Afghan officials say. This has included not
just surveillance and information collection but the recruitment of a
network of pro-Iranian operatives who could attack American targets in
Afghanistan. [On Dec. 20 in London, British officials charged the
interpreter for NATO's commanding general in Afghanistan with passing
secrets to Iran.]

Discerning Iranian motives is notoriously difficult. Government
factions often have competing agendas. Even so, the question of Iran's
intentions in Afghanistan has come under a microscope in recent weeks
amid debate in Washington over whether the United States should begin
dealing with Tehran as part of a possible solution in Iraq. Some
American officials have suggested that Iran's seeming cooperation in
Afghanistan may be something of a model for Iraq.

So far, even as it declines to talk with the Iranians about Iraq, the
Bush administration has adopted a posture of uneasy detente over
Afghanistan. American officials say that they are watching closely,
and no evidence has emerged of recent arms shipments to Iranian
proxies, as there have been in Iraq, or of other efforts to
destabilize the country. Iran's Shiite leaders appear to be
maintaining their historic opposition to the Sunni Taliban, who
consider Shiites heretics. Iran, they also say, is failing to gain
popular support among Afghans, 80 percent of whom are Sunni Muslims.

Of far greater concern, according to American, European and Afghan
officials, is Pakistan, America's ostensible ally against terrorism.
They say the Pakistanis have allowed the Taliban to create a virtual
ministate and staging base for suicide attacks just across
Afghanistan's eastern border. Suicide attacks have quintupled, from 23
in 2005 to 115 this year, killing more than 200 Afghan civilians.

[It is too early to know if the Bush

Re: [PEN-L] here's a quotation du jour for degustation (2006 vintage)

2006-12-27 Thread Eugene Coyle


I think this speculation about a cognitive elite  is simply a
product of elitism.  I recall a study done at the time of WW II
comparing the cognitive abilities of a group of lawyers with a group
of boilermakers.  The boilermakers tested higher.

Gene Coyle

On Dec 27, 2006, at 12:01 PM, David B. Shemano wrote:


Raghu asks:
David,
I happen to recall a recent query from you about the existence of a
Cognitive Elite. I assume that you borrowed that phrase from
Charles Murray in the article you linked above.

Do you think this quote below is an accurate version of twentieth
century history? (This is not a rhetorical question - I am simply
curious to know.)
-raghu.

---quote
The cognitive elite refers to people in the top percentiles of
cognitive ability who, over the course of the American twentieth
century, have been part of a vast but nearly invisible migration.

At the beginning of the century, the great majority of people in
the top 5 or 10 percent of the intelligence distribution were not
college educated, often not even high-school educated, and they
lived their lives scattered almost indistinguishably among the rest
of the population.

As the century progressed, the historical mix of intellectual
abilities at all levels of American society thinned as intelligence
rose to the top. The upper end of the cognitive ability
distribution has been increasingly channeled into higher education,
especially the top colleges and professional schools, thence into
high-IQ occupations and senior managerial positions. The upshot is
that the scattered brightest of the early twentieth century have
congregated, forming a new class.

-

To be lawyerly, I believe it is very plausible that the quote is
accurate.  It is an argument I take very seriously.  I think the
evidence is overwhelming that there is a correlation and causation
between cognitive ability and success or failure in the modernized
world.  Whether the segregation has increased is more of an open
question to me.  For instance, I think it is evident that in
general 50 years ago a lawyer would marry his secretary while a
lawyer today would marry another lawyer.  However, it is plausible
that the legal secretary of 50 years ago would be intellectually
indistinguishable from the female lawyer of today.

David Shemano

[PEN-L] Just Foreign Policy News, December 27, 2006

2006-12-27 Thread Robert Naiman


Just Foreign Policy News
December 27, 2006
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/newsroom/blog/

U.S. Should Promote Diplomacy, Not War, in Somalia
Ask Congress to push the Bush Administration to support diplomacy in
Somalia, not war.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/involved/somalia.html

Time to Talk to Iran: Petition
More than 27,500 people have signed the Peace Action/Just Foreign
Policy petition. Please sign/circulate if you have yet to do so.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/involved/iranpetition.html

Tell Your Representatives: Stop the Money and Bring the Troops Home
Please write/call your Members of Congress if you have not done so
recently. The Congressional recess is also a good time to call the
local office. These phone numbers are given on the representatives'
web pages, which can be found at http://www.senate.gov
and http://www.house.gov. To send a letter:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/involved/iraq.html

Just Foreign Policy News daily podcast:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/podcasts/podcast_howto.html

Summary:
U.S./Top News
The State Department came out of the closet and openly declared its
support for the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, writes Robert Naiman on
Huffington Post. The State Department instructed officials to play
down the Ethiopian invasion, and divert the press from talking about
it. Press criticism does seems to be waning as the Bush Administration
supports the invasion more openly and many members of Congress remain
silent.

The US on Tuesday signaled its support for the Ethiopian offensive in
Somalia, the New York Times reports. The State Department instructed
officials to play down the Ethiopian invasion in public statements.
Should the press focus on the role of Ethiopia inside Somalia, the
State Department memo said, emphasize that this is a distraction from
the issue of dialogue between the [transitional government] and
Islamic courts and shift the focus back to the need for dialogue.
The press must not be allowed to make this about Ethiopia, or
Ethiopia violating the territorial integrity of Somalia, the guidance
said.

The American military said Tuesday it had credible evidence linking
Iranians and their Iraqi associates, detained in raids last week, to
attacks against American forces, the New York Times reports. Some
Iraqis questioned the timing of the arrests, suggesting that the Bush
administration had political motives. Some political leaders
speculated that the arrests had been intended to derail efforts by
Iraqis to deal with Iran on their own by making Iraqis look weak.

Iran has distributed more than $200 million in aid in Afghanistan in a
bid to increase its influence, the New York Times reports. Iran's
ambassador, Muhammad Reza Bahrami, portrayed his government's
activities as neighborly good works, with a certain self-interest.
Iran, he said, is eager to avoid repeating the calamities of the last
20 years, when two million Afghan refugees streamed over the border.

Joseph Biden, incoming chair of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, said yesterday that he would oppose any plan by President
Bush to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, the Washington
Post reports. He said he plans to hold hearings for his panel next
month in a bid to influence the president's decision.

The African Union, supported by the Arab League and the east African
grouping IGAD, has called on Ethiopia to withdraw thousands of troops
from Somalia immediately, BBC reports.

The Bush administration has opened another battlefront in the Muslim
world, writes former UN official Salim Lone in the International
Herald Tribune. With full U.S. backing and military training, at least
15,000 Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia in an illegal war of
aggression. The U.S. instigation of war between Ethiopia and Somalia,
two of world's poorest countries already struggling with massive
humanitarian disasters, is reckless in the extreme. Independent
experts were united in warning that this war could destabilize the
whole region even if America succeeds in its goal of toppling the
Islamic Courts. As in other Muslim-Western conflicts, the world needs
to engage with the Islamists to secure peace, he writes.

As leaders in Washington debate Iraq war strategies, nearly everyone
appears to agree on one thing: the military advisor program needs to
be expanded, the Los Angeles Times reports. But the actual experience
of those now doing the training suggests that optimism may be
misplaced.

Iran
Iran's parliament passed a bill Wednesday obliging the government to
revise the level of its cooperation with the IAEA nuclear watchdog
after the UN Security Council approved sanctions on Tehran over its
atomic program, Reuters reports. The bill stopped short of approving
demands by some conservative parliamentarians who wanted a tougher
line against the IAEA and an end to inspections of atomic facilities.

Israel/Palestine
The Israeli government's approval of a new Israeli settlement in the
occupied West

[PEN-L] cognative elites?

2006-12-27 Thread Michael Perelman

I used to know a person who robbed liquor trucks.  His wife introduced me to my
first wife.  His son is famous, but was not.

His knowledge about the distribution networks was a sophisticated as that of a 
first
line Harvard MBA.

I was once on a US Department of Agriculture task force.  I was struck by the
rankings of the various participants, which had nothing to do with their 
knowledge.

I know a congressional rep. who is quite slow.

Besides, I have no idea what cognative really means.  What scale can you use?  
What
about people who have some narrow abilities, who have little ability in other
dimensions?
 --
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
michaelperelman.wordpress.com

Re: [PEN-L] cognative elites?

2006-12-27 Thread Perelman, Michael

Long story.  Not appropriate here.


Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901
www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
-Original Message-
From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dan
Scanlan
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 2:21 PM
To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU
Subject: Re: [PEN-L] cognative elites?

On Dec 27, 2006, at 2:13 PM, Michael Perelman wrote:

 I used to know a person who robbed liquor trucks.

When he was arrested did the cops have all the proof they needed?

Re: [PEN-L] here's a quotation du jour for degustation (2006 vintage)

2006-12-27 Thread raghu


On 12/27/06, Eugene Coyle [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

I think this speculation about a cognitive elite  is simply a product of
elitism.


I don't think it is dismissed so easily. (If only because so many
people seem to find the argument somewhat persuasive.)



On Dec 27, 2006, at 12:01 PM, David B. Shemano wrote:
To be lawyerly, I believe it is very plausible that the quote is accurate.
It is an argument I take very seriously.  I think the evidence is
overwhelming that there is a correlation and causation between cognitive
ability and success or failure in the modernized world.


For the sake of argument, let us accept some of Murray's assertions:
that standardised IQ tests objectively measure a cognitive ability,
and that IQ has no built-in cultural or gender bias, and also that it
is genetically determined.

Even if you grant all of that, I still have to dispute that there is
anything fundamentally great or desirable about high IQ individuals.
IQ is at best a narrow, arbitrary measure of what I call left brain
ability. Why would we want to focus so much on trying to increase
cognitive ability at the exclusion of everything else? Such ability
may have high correlation/causation to success in the modern world.
But the world is constantly changing and tomorrow who knows what
ability would be desirable? Is not diversity itself a virtue and in a
Darwinian sense an insurance for survival?

In other words, why on earth would we *want* a world full of, say,
mathematicians at the expense of, say, athletes or musicians?

-raghu.

[PEN-L] the wave of the future for the US?


[does all this academic bureaucracy have something to do with Thatcherism?]

Drowning in bureaucracy

Academics in Britain are hobbled by monitoring and admin, while in the
US they get on with the job

Susanne Kord and Daniel Wilson
Wednesday December 27, 2006
The Guardian

In a recent satirical commentary on British academic life, the
sociologist and broadcaster Laurie Taylor recently conjured up a memo
from the director of corporate affairs of the (fictional) University
of Poppleton on Staff Xmas Dinners. New guidelines are to be
introduced, requiring that all staff who wish to participate in any
such dinner first attend a special SDW (staff development workshop) on
social interaction; departments must henceforth submit a statement of
DAO (dining aims and outcomes); and all those attending dinners must
complete a PDQ (a post-dining questionnaire) that includes learning
outcomes and a TQA (turkey quality assessment). If this sounds
familiar - if not a turkey quality assessment then a teaching quality
assessment - you must be an academic. Such heavy-handed rules and
regulations are the reality at British universities today. Thus we
were in for a shock when we left prominent American universities over
the last decade or so and took up posts as professors in the UK.

There is a great deal about academic life here that we appreciate and
consider worth emulating abroad. But we are baffled by the level of
monitoring, reporting, evaluating and bureaucratic hassling to which
academics in this country are subjected. Our response is to ask: why
doesn't Britain let its academics do what they do best, teach and
carry out research, without government and university administrators
breathing down their necks?

Many British academics groan under the weight of administrative tasks,
and they appear to think that this worsening trend is an American one
- and American universities are widely held up as a model. US
universities have indeed experienced an increase in paperwork in
recent decades. But they can't compare with their UK counterparts in
terms of sheer zeal for reporting and monitoring.

The problem is that bureaucrats prefer to introduce monitoring and
reporting in order to forestall problems that they expect, rather than
dealing with the tiny number of such problems that might actually
appear. This is evident in the constant reporting on all sorts of
things. Instead of the central administration reacting to problems
that come to their attention, they expect departments to spell out
their activities in mind-numbingly detailed reports - hardly any of
which result in any action.

But there is also, more worryingly, a systemic distrust of academics.
If lecturers who have been trained for many years can be trusted to
teach their courses, why can they not be trusted to assess students'
performance without a host of colleagues looking over their shoulder
every step of the way? In the US and most other countries it seems to
work just fine without these excessive layers of control. While it
should be compulsory for lecturers in their first post to be
adequately trained and mentored, it seems laughable, if not demeaning,
to double- and triple-check every mark on every essay and exam on
every course of every lecturer or professor right up to retirement. By
stark contrast, even GPs, themselves familiar with appraisals and
audits, normally seek a second opinion only when referring a patient
to a specialist; otherwise they treat the patient, often with a
serious condition or illness, alone.

In the US, panels appointed to interview new colleagues typically
consist of three or four staff members from the hiring department.
They are, after all, the experts and can certainly be trusted to make
the best appointment. In Britain, such panels usually include a
vice-chancellor, a dean, a head of another department and often a
senior member of the personnel department. Potentially, then, an
appointment could be made by a panel whose majority is not from the
field for which a candidate is chosen. The present unwieldy system
reinforces the notion of academics as unruly youngsters whose every
step must be watched and controlled.

The business world seems to be the model for much of what goes on in
academia these days, but when we describe this system to business
people they inevitably say that no business could survive with this
level of monitoring and waste of resources. Academic staff have less
and less time for students and research, as polls have shown. If
American universities are indeed as superior as some think, it is not
only a matter of better funding. In our experience, American lecturers
have considerably more time for their students and for research.

British academics seem to be stressed out like no others, and that is
bound to diminish their effectiveness and reduce their levels of
research output.

While they continue to produce excellent research and are outstanding
teachers, despite their administrative overloads, they

Re: [PEN-L] cognative elites?


according to Gardner, there are at least 8 different kinds of
intelligence. One might easily be in the elite for one, but not the
others. Academics are pretty good at abstract intelligence (IQ),
perhaps because IQ was developed by academics who saw themselves as
smart. But they often lack social skills

On 12/27/06, Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

I used to know a person who robbed liquor trucks.  His wife introduced me to my
first wife.  His son is famous, but was not.

His knowledge about the distribution networks was a sophisticated as that of a 
first
line Harvard MBA.

I was once on a US Department of Agriculture task force.  I was struck by the
rankings of the various participants, which had nothing to do with their 
knowledge.

I know a congressional rep. who is quite slow.

Besides, I have no idea what cognative really means.  What scale can you use?  
What
about people who have some narrow abilities, who have little ability in other
dimensions?
 --
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
michaelperelman.wordpress.com




--
Jim Devine / Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the
world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it
is the farthest thing from it, because cynics don't learn anything.
Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world
because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. -- Stephen
Colbert.

Re: [PEN-L] Samir Amin on political Islam

2006-12-27 Thread Michael Hoover


On 12/27/06, Yoshie Furuhashi [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

On 12/27/06, Louis Proyect [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Political Islam should be thought of as neither inherently an enemy of
imperialism nor inherently a servant of it.  Each Islamic movement's
role really depends on the nature of an Islamic state or movement,
Washington's strategy, and other factors.  Its malleability is just
like socialism, nationalism, pan-Arabism, and other political
ideologies.



Origins of contemporary militancy are in the late 20s/early 30s
founding of *Moslem Brotherhood* in Egypt. Brotherhood emerged out of
period in which Eygpt initially gained nominal independence and later
had its sovereignty *officially* recognized. Of course, Britain
retained significant economic and military presence in the country.

Brotherhood leader Hassan al Baan had twin aims - revitalize what he
believed to be the corrupted Islamic faith *and* create an Islamic
political organization. Political appeal of Islam was that it had been
neither inherited from nor did it borrow from the west. Desire for
independence was understood to involve a process of spiritual
purification in which
colonized peoples regained self-respect by ridding themselves of
western ideas and influences.

Doesn't seem a coincidence that the Moslem Brothehood formed in
Ismailiya which was where Suez Canal Company was headquartered and
where a sizeable number of British troops were based. Also doesn't
seem to be a coincidence that the Brotherhood spread into countries
under British or French control: Jordan, Sudan, Syria. Organizational
strategy for accomplishing its objectives included significant effort
to train young people physically and militarily.   Michael Hoover

Re: [PEN-L] Query: The origins of trade


On 12/26/06, Michael Nuwer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

In at least two places Marx identifies the origins of exchange in
communities coming into contact with each other. He reject the notion
that exchange is rooted in some individual propensity to truck, barter,
and exchange. The two passages by Marx that I'm thinking about are
printed below.

Can anyone here point me to anthropological, historical or any other
writings that would lend support to Marx's claim.

Thanks,
Michael Nuwer

it is simply wrong to place exchange at the center of communal society
as the original, constituent element. It originally appears, rather, in
the connection of the different communities with one another, not in the
relations between the different members of a single community.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1857/grundrisse/ch01.htm#4

the exchange of products springs up at the points where different
families, tribes, communities, come in contact; for, in the beginning of
civilisation, it is not private individuals but families, tribes, c.,
that meet on an independent footing. Different communities find
different means of production, and different means of subsistence in
their natural environment. Hence, their modes of production, and of
living, and their products are different. It is this spontaneously
developed difference which, when different communities come in contact,
calls forth the mutual exchange of products, and the consequent gradual
conversion of those products into commodities.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch14.htm
[SECTION 4: DIVISION OF LABOUR IN MANUFACTURE, AND DIVISION OF LABOUR IN
SOCIETY]



Marx didn't think about this, but the origin of exchange may have been
families exchanging women between them.  See Gayle Rubin, The Traffic
in Women: Notes on the 'Political Economy' of Sex (1975).
--
Yoshie
http://montages.blogspot.com/
http://mrzine.org
http://monthlyreview.org/

[PEN-L] Can The Mass Media Even Remember What Happened Last Year?


None dare call it 'selective amnesia'.

There is an inspiring and thoughtful ‘end of the year message’ from our 
President, George W. Bush, at the end of the commentary.


[December 27 2006] Travus T. Hipp Morning News  Commentary:

End Of The Year Embarrassments - Can The Mass Media Even Remember What 
Happened Last Year? Should It Be A Media Crime To Forget?


http://leighm.net/blog/2006/12/27/tth_061227/

[PEN-L] Somalia: ICU leaders resign (go underground) as Ethiopian army nears the capital


The Rastafarians  rudeboys call it Bushmaster styleee.

Nasty *big* bush war in Somalia and the surrounding region anyone?

The Ethiopians are playing proxy army for western interests at the 
moment, but to get at the natural resources in the Horn region of Africa 
and be able to further enclose the Gulf region in a 'protective' 
projection of naval power using Somalia's strategic location... and to 
do it in the timeframe that the industrialized west has in mind, is 
going to require a push by 1st world nations, their own spooks, and 
their own armies.




somalinet.com

Mohamed Abdi Farah
http://somalinet.com/news/world/Somalia/6223

(SomaliNet) The top leaders of Islamic Courts Union in the capital have 
announced on Wednesday that they resigned and are ready to hand over the 
administration to the people in Mogadishu to avoid destruction and 
bloodshed in the city.


After having crucial and urgent meeting tonight in the capital, the 
leaders of executive and Shura councils of Islamic Courts Union and 
deputy leader of executive council of ICU, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, 
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and Sheik Abdirahman Janaqow resigned and 
issued a joint press statement over the current situation in Somalia 
particular in Mogadishu.


Sheik Janaqow read out the statement through the local media saying:

“Since the Islamic Courts Union came to the power in Somalia, it did a 
lot of significant acts to the people, particular in terms of security, 
justice, country’s development, improving the inner and outside 
politics, reopening the air and sea ports and so on,” said in the statement.


The ICU said also in the press release that foreign powers have invaded 
the country therefore to avoid devastation and fighting inside the 
capital, the Islamic Courts Union now agreed on the following decisions:


1. It is national duty to protect the sovereignty and the integrity of 
Somalia and its people.


2. The ICU allows that Somalis should have the option to determine their 
future and would be ready for taking over the responsibility.


3. The Islamic Courts Union agreed not to allow anyone to create 
violence in Mogadishu and anybody that is found guilty would be brought 
before the law and would be taken for the suitable punishment according 
to the Islamic Sharia.


4. The ICU fighters are responsible for establishing the security and 
stability in the Somalia capital Mogadishu.


5. Lastly, the ICU is calling on all the Islamic fighters in whereever 
they are in Somalia to secure the stability and get ready in the police 
stations and other security stations.


The Islamic officials in the capital stressed that it is shame and 
misfortune that Somalia will again loss their security and peace in 
which they were brought from starting village, town, city and to country.


--30--

From the CIA World FactBook:

Natural Resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, 
tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves.


Oh yeah, and this:


Geography - note:
Strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el 
Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal.


-

Re: [PEN-L] Query: The origins of trade

2006-12-27 Thread paul phillips


Jim,
I don't think you are right on this either. This is not to say there
were not 'wars' between tribes or communities, but any community that
preyed on members of another community would soon find itself the
subject of retributive action.  Neighbouring communities, for the most
part, appear to have maintained fairly peaceful relations, including
trade relations -- primarily, because the trade was beneficial to both
groups.

Paul P

Jim Devine wrote:



long-distance trade, on the other hand, was done by armed groups. It
always involved the threat of robbery.
--





--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.28/605 - Release Date: 12/27/06 12:21 
PM

[PEN-L] The farm worker paradox - post your favorite solutions!

2006-12-27 Thread Jon Baranov

In Micheal Perelman's book the Perverse Economy, he quotes Adam Smith's farm
  worker  paradox. While he solves the diamond-water paradox, I do not 
remember him
  attempting to explain the farm worker paradox. I apologize if I simply missed
  Michael's argument

  Does anyone on this list think they
  have the answer? I think the paradox has an obvious solution as far as 
capitalists
  are concerned.  What about wage differentials between workers?

  Here's my attempt -

  1. The unequal structure of demand for various kinds of labor
  2. Bargaining power - the inherent structure if the capitalist labor market
  3. Social control - the cultural and institutional imperatives of capital
  4. Different profit rares and accidental factors

  Thanks



 __
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Re: [PEN-L] The farm worker paradox - post your favorite solutions!

2006-12-27 Thread Perelman, Michael

Smith did not use that term, but he lectured about his subject, but
caught himself
when he saw the implications of his thought, then returned the next day
to introduce
the marvelous division of labor which brought markets to perfection.
Smith's
truncated discussion would cover 2  3.


-Original Message-
From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jon
Baranov
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 6:28 PM
To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU
Subject: [PEN-L] The farm worker paradox - post your favorite solutions!

In Micheal Perelman's book the Perverse Economy, he quotes Adam Smith's
farm
worker  paradox. While he solves the diamond-water paradox, I do not
remember him
attempting to explain the farm worker paradox. I apologize if I simply
missed 
Michael's argument
 
Does anyone on this list think they 
have the answer? I think the paradox has an obvious solution as far as
capitalists 
are concerned.  What about wage differentials between workers? 
 
Here's my attempt -
 
1. The unequal structure of demand for various kinds of labor
2. Bargaining power - the inherent structure if the capitalist labor
market
3. Social control - the cultural and institutional imperatives of
capital
4. Different profit rares and accidental factors
 

 
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901
www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com

[PEN-L] Islamists Seem to Give Up Grip on Somali City


Bush scores a temporary victory in Somalia. -- Yoshie

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/world/africa/28somalia.html
December 28, 2006
Islamists Seem to Give Up Grip on Somali City
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 27 — The Islamist forces who have controlled much
of Somalia in recent months suddenly vanished from the streets of the
capital, Mogadishu, residents said Wednesday night, just as thousands
of rival troops massed 15 miles away.

In the past few days, Ethiopian-backed forces, with tacit approval
from the United States, have unleashed tanks, helicopter gunships and
jet fighters on the Islamists, decimating their military and paving
the way for the internationally recognized transitional government of
Somalia to assert control.

Even so, the Islamists, who have been regarded as a regional menace by
Ethiopia and the United States, had repeatedly vowed to fight to the
death for their religion and their land, making their disappearance
that much more unexpected.

Fortified checkpoints across the city — in front of the radio station,
at the airport, at the main roads leading into Mogadishu and outside
police stations — were abruptly abandoned Wednesday night, residents
said.

Many of the teenage troops who made up the backbone of the Islamist
army had blended back into the civilian population, walking around
without guns or their trademark green skullcaps.

The sudden reversal left it unclear whether a war that had threatened
to consume the Horn of Africa had quickly ended, or the Islamists had
merely gone underground, preparing to wage a guerrilla insurgency, as
some leaders had threatened.

The whole city is just waiting, said Sheik Ahmed Shiro, a Koranic
teacher in Mogadishu.

At 10 p.m. on Wednesday, several Islamist leaders emerged to hold a
news conference at their headquarters in Mogadishu. They did not
explicitly concede defeat to the transitional government, but seemed
to be preparing their forces for such an eventuality. We need our
soldiers to return to their positions for the sake of the people,
said Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, one of the leaders. Even if your
positions are transferred to the government, you must stay where you
are and make sure Mogadishu is as safe as it was before.

As he spoke, Mogadishu was rapidly descending back into the clan-based
anarchy that had been its hallmark for most of the past 15 years,
before the Islamists came to power and pacified the city.

Witnesses said bands of armed thugs swept through the markets,
smashing and stealing at will. Gunfire rattled from neighborhood to
neighborhood as the disparate clan-based militias that had joined
forces to form the Islamist movement began to fragment and turn on one
another.

With the war going badly for them, clan elders had been rapidly losing
faith in the Islamist leaders, residents said. The quick defeat the
Islamists suffered earlier on Wednesday at Jowhar, the last major town
on the road to Mogadishu, seemed to be the final straw.

The Islamists started out as a grass-roots movement of clan elders and
religious leaders who banded together earlier this year to rid
Mogadishu of its notorious warlords, earning them a lot of public
support.

But much of that good will seems to have been sapped by their decision
to go to war against the transitional government and the Ethiopian
forces protecting it.

The Islamists attacked Baidoa, the seat of the transitional
government, on Dec. 20; a few days later, they announced that Somalia
was open to Muslim fighters around the world who wanted to wage a holy
war against Christian-led Ethiopia.

That provoked a crushing counter-attack by the Ethiopians, who command
the strongest military in East Africa. For the past week, the
Islamists have lost one battle after another, their adolescent
soldiers no match for a professional army.

By Wednesday, the Islamists were cornered. Thousands of troops from
the transitional government were closing in on the seaside capital
from two directions.

Mogadishu was coming unhinged. The ports and airports had closed,
leading to a shortage of just about everything, sending prices for
food, medicine and fuel skyward. A gallon of gas in Mogadishu now
costs $8.

The once feared Shebab, the devout young Islamic fighters, began
deserting in droves. (Shebab is the Arabic word for youth.) We can't
resist, said Musa Abdullahi, an 18-year-old Shebab who quit his unit
after half his comrades were cut down by Ethiopian helicopter
gunships. We thought this fighting would be like the others. It's
not.

Ahmed Nur Bilal, a retired Somali general, said the war had been a
horrible miscalculation.

One of the first things the Islamists did after the fighting started
was to close all schools in Mogadishu in order to send more young
people to the front. They've misled our children to their deaths,
Mr. Bilal said.

Residents said that crowds in one slum threw rocks at the Islamists'
pickup trucks as they drove by on Wednesday. Some people openly
celebrated

Re: [PEN-L] Islamists Seem to Give Up Grip on Somali City