[PEN-L] Speaking Of Somalis... The Minnesota Somalis...

Vietnamese in California... Hmongs (Laotians) in Wisconsin... (I have a funny story about a biker friend from WI and his WI Hmong opium I'll re-tell sometime) Somalis in Minnesota! If it seems absurd, think on this: "George W. Bush in the White House". It looks like the Minneapolis Star-Tribun

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

Doesn't this whole thing read like Fastow's shells at Enron? - Original Message - From: "Michael Perelman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 12:24 AM Subject: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation > Private equity supposedly companies make their

[PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

Getting a hold of some of more of Allen's work I found the following: The Growth of Agricultural Productivity in Europe, 1500-1800 Output Per Worker, England in 1500 =1.00 ENGLAND NETHERLANDS BELGIUM FRANCE GERMANY SPAIN AUSTRIA 15001 1.071.390.830

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

Getting a hold of some of more of Allen's work I found the following: The Growth of Agricultural Productivity in Europe, 1500-1800 17001.151.241.2 0.740.540.870.74 I suppose there is no need to explain why England's agrarian productivity was on a par with the rest

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

I have not read Brenner's work on the low countries, but I have read some about their agriculture. I think the fact is fairly well established that agricultural modernization begins in the low countries and that Britain attempted to emulate it. Although the table suggests that Britain and the lo

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

I have not read Brenner's work on the low countries, but I have read some about their agriculture. I think the fact is fairly well established that agricultural modernization begins in the low countries and that Britain attempted to emulate it. Although the table suggests that Britain and the low

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

I'm a big fan of Salaman, Redcliffe N. 1985. The History and Social Influence of the Potato (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), which I have not read in 40 years. I do not recall the potato having that much influence in either the Netherlands or in England, but the potato did have an incredi

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

Michael Perelman writes: >> Private equity supposedly companies make their fortune with their deep >> insight into unlocking hidden value. In the case of Sears, this value >> is taking trademarks, shifting them abroad to tax havens, and then >> reducing taxes. Somehow, we should applaud this gre

[PEN-L] 17 posts per second

That's just the blog-0-sphere: (w/ charts... lots of charts...) 'Social networking' in hyperdrive. Leigh '3/5 of a mile in 10 seconds'? Just another road kill on the information superhighway.

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

I'm a big fan of Salaman, Redcliffe N. 1985. The History and Social Influence of the Potato (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), which I have not read in 40 years. I do not recall the potato having that much influence in either the Netherlands or in England, but the potato did have an incredi

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On 5/7/07, David B. Shemano <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Securitizations are a huge component of the capital markets (ad hom redacted). If you would like to have a serious discussion of the phenomena (which directly impacts what I do as a bankruptcy lawyer), let me know. Speaking of 'capita

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

On 5/7/07, Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Among these Eurocentric historians farming practices loom larger than any other supposedly objective criterion underpinning the rise of the West. The West is the world of the plucky, inventive yeoman farmer, while the despotic East employed unpr

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

I'm really not up on the Brenner controversy at all, so this is a genuine question from a naif: what is at stake in this debate? Why is it important? Doug

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

It's not an East-West thing. Compare the trends in R. Allen's table: in England and the Netherlands, productivity went up, in France it stayed the same, and in Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Australia it declined. The differences are indicative of the different balances of class forces: where capi

[PEN-L] Japanese homeless find sleep, shelter in cyber cafes

Japanese find sleep, shelter in cyber cafes Sun May 6, 2007 11:12 PM ET By Sophie Hardach TOKYO (Reuters) - Takeshi Yamashita does not look like a homeless person. From his carefully distressed jeans to his casual-cool navy striped T-shirt, he is every bit the trendy Tokyoite. Yet the 26-yea

[PEN-L] Engels on Transition

* From: sartesian < Now this last distinction is key for Brenner, for Brenner is last, first, and foremost examining, analyzing, the conditions of labor, the social relations of property that encapsulate labor and either advance or inhibit its productivity. ^^^ CB: In this process, labor i

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

I'm really not up on the Brenner controversy at all, so this is a genuine question from a naif: what is at stake in this debate? Why is it important? Doug Well, I never would have given it any attention unless I had run into Jim Blaut on Marxmail. Basically, Jim was the only person besides Imma

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On 5/7/07, David B. Shemano <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Michael Perelman writes: >> Private equity supposedly companies make their fortune with their deep >> insight into unlocking hidden value. In the case of Sears, this value >> is taking trademarks, shifting them abroad to tax havens, and then

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

Raghu writes: >> How is this characterization juvenile? Securitization may be a great >> idea for, say, home mortgages. But for non-tangible assets such as >> brandnames (Trademarks?)? How can you possibly appraise such things? >> Is this not a sure recipe for fraud (as with Enron)? Before I answ

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

That may be what On 5/7/07, David B. Shemano <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: In fact, PE groups generally have little interest in securitizations, because PE groups usually want control of the company, which means primarily an equity investment, while securitizations are essentially a form of secured

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On 5/7/07, David B. Shemano <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Raghu writes: >> How is this characterization juvenile? Securitization may be a great >> idea for, say, home mortgages. But for non-tangible assets such as >> brandnames (Trademarks?)? How can you possibly appraise such things? >> Is this no

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On May 7, 2007, at 4:03 PM, raghu wrote: In any case the original article does talk about securitization: - 58: "Don Davis, managing director and general counsel at Commercial Strategy, a Boston intellectual property consulting firm, says the potential for a market in bonds backed by

[PEN-L] SIPP Survey at Risk! Your Signature Needed

Dear Colleagues: After a year of your calls and letters, in January, Congress secured funding for the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) for 2007. Unfortunately, the President's budget for 2008 eliminates funding for the SIPP yet again, and allocates a meager $15.9 million to fur

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On 5/7/07, raghu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: In any case the original article does talk about securitization: - 58: "Don Davis, managing director and general counsel at Commercial Strategy, a Boston intellectual property consulting firm, says the potential for a market in bonds backed

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On 5/7/07, Doug Henwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: intangibles are only valuable insofar as they enable transactions, especially at a higher price than the good or service would otherwise command. What's the point of valuing a "brand" on the balance sheet if it's not going to result in sales. Yea

[PEN-L] the East (of Europe) ain't red.

Grave errors Neil Clark May 7, 2007 7:00 PM http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/neil_clark/2007/05/grave_errors.html Grave robbing is always a despicable act. But when the grave is that of a man who, under difficult circumstances, did his best for his fellow countrymen and women, and presided o

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

Raghu writes: >> The reason I find this disturbing is: how can you possibly appraise >> intangibles accurately enough to put a price on it? Black-Scholes is >> problematic enough but even those types of formulas would not apply >> for illiquid intangibles. >> >> The whole thing seems like a recipe

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

Yes, that is the story that Salaman tells also. He puts a lot of emphasis on the ability of the potato to support more people, especially in north central China. On Mon, May 07, 2007 at 01:24:18PM -0400, Louis Proyect wrote: > Blaut points out that until the arrival of the potato from South > Am

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

Doug Henwood asks: "Why should some chump buy bonds based on that intangible value alone when you can buy P&G paper?" To repeat one of the points from my prior post, because the chump does not want to be a creditor of P&G (as opposed to a bankruptcy-remote affiliate supported by a dedicated inc

[PEN-L] If Congress Votes Its Districts, There's a Veto-Proof Majority for Withdrawal from Iraq

original with links/references: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/if-congress-voted-on-publ_b_47877.html If Congress Votes Its Districts, There's a Veto-Proof Majority for Withdrawal from Iraq If members of Congress voted on a timetable for withdrawing from Iraq based on whether more p

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

PE groups attempt to make profit anyway that they can. Ragu's point was that the connection between their manipulations and social welfare is tenuous. At least the robber barons built things. PE is more likely to tear them down. In the Sears case, the securitization is not necessarily a typic

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On May 7, 2007, at 6:19 PM, David B. Shemano wrote: Doug Henwood asks: "Why should some chump buy bonds based on that intangible value alone when you can buy P&G paper?" To repeat one of the points from my prior post, because the chump does not want to be a creditor of P&G (as opposed to a ban

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

Keep in mind that securitaztion is only potentially a market relationship. For now, Sears has set up a company offshore to do transfer pricing to avoid taxes. On Mon, May 07, 2007 at 03:12:48PM -0700, David B. Shemano wrote: > > I still think you are confused and are mixing up a lot of differe

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On May 7, 2007, at 6:26 PM, Doug Henwood wrote: A dedicated income stream? So P&G would pay interest to a trust of some sort holding as its only asset the trademarks of P&G? So this trust becomes senior to other debt claims on P&G, which should annoy existing creditors? By the way, this fictio

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

On 5/7/07, Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >It's not an East-West thing. Compare the trends in R. Allen's table: >in England and the Netherlands, productivity went up, in France it >stayed the same, and in Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Australia it >declined. The differences are indicat

Re: [PEN-L] the East (of Europe) ain't red.

On 5/7/07, Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Grave errors Neil Clark May 7, 2007 7:00 PM http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/neil_clark/2007/05/grave_errors.html In many cases, it's been parties nominally of the left, bought off by capital, which have been doing the dirty work. That se

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

In that case, maybe it's time to let go of it. The debate has no apparent implications for what people think of imperialism today and what to do about it. -- Yoshie Actually, I was inspired to take up the question once again by some posts from Richard of Lenin's Tomb. I promised him a response.

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

Doug Henwood writes: "A dedicated income stream? So P&G would pay interest to a trust of some sort holding as its only asset the trademarks of P&G?" Yes. "So this trust becomes senior to other debt claims on P&G, which should annoy existing creditors?" More technically, it is not a debt claim

[PEN-L] Somalia: the Other (Hidden) War for Oil

Left Margin Somalia: the Other (Hidden) War for Oil By Carl Bloice BC Editorial Board The U.S. bombing of Somalia took place while the World Social Forum was underway in Kenya and three days before a large anti-war action

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On 5/7/07, David B. Shemano <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I still think you are confused and are mixing up a lot of different things. The difficulty of valuing intangibles has nothing to do with the issue of securitizations and PE firms. If I am still confused I am afraid you'd have to be a lot

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

On 5/7/07, Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >In that case, maybe it's time to let go of it. The debate has no >apparent implications for what people think of imperialism today and >what to do about it. >-- >Yoshie Actually, I was inspired to take up the question once again by some posts

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

I don't think the trademarks are for sale, but only the rights to the proceeds from the use of the trademarks. raghu wrote: I can imagine a competitor such as WalMart may be interested in buying these trademarks. But how does that change anything? Are you saying any asset that can be sold can

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On 5/7/07, michael perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I don't think the trademarks are for sale, but only the rights to the proceeds from the use of the trademarks. Yes. The poor holder of these securities doesn't even get to print a T-shirt with the Crest logo on it :). -raghu.

[PEN-L] IPSOS Exit Poll for the French Presidential Election

Just as in the US presidential election of 2004, the center left in France nominated, for the 2007 presidential election, the candidate who alienated the far left and didn't motivate the excluded and alienated, so 20% of "the left of the left" abstained or cast blank votes, and a majority (64%) of

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

- Original Message - From: "Louis Proyect" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 10:10 AM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity LP: I suppose there is no need to explain why England's agrarian productivity was on a par with the rest of "precap

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

The below, about "plucky yeoman farmers" and the "despotic East" is not at all what Brenner argues. Again I recommend we actually read his work. - Original Message - From: "Louis Proyect" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 1:24 PM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition,

[PEN-L] Imperialism Today (was More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity)

On 5/7/07, sartesian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Several things are of note here: first Brenner is specifically attacking and refuting the demographic determinism that sought to substitute population pressures for class analysis, and analysis of class struggle, in the conditions of society in gen

Re: [PEN-L] More on Transition, Brenner, Allen, Productivity

Sartesian wrote: In so doing, Brenner is attempting to locate, and ground specifically, Marx's birthmark of capitalism --"separation of the means of production from the means of labor"-- in the relations of agricutural production and producers. There's only one problem. Marx never prioritized

[PEN-L] Does It Even Matter if the U.S. Has a Cold?

May 6, 2007 Economic View Does It Even Matter if the U.S. Has a Cold? By DANIEL GROSS FOR the last several decades, the United States has functioned as the main engine of growth in a global economy that has been moving with synchr

[PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

Securitizations are a huge component of the capital markets. Your characterization is rather juvenile. If you would like to have a serious discussion of the phenomena (which directly impacts what I do as a bankruptcy lawyer), let me know. David Shemano ^ CB: I'd like to discuss this serio

[PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

Securitizations are a huge component of the capital markets. Your characterization is rather juvenile. If you would like to have a serious discussion of the phenomena (which directly impacts what I do as a bankruptcy lawyer), let me know. David Shemano ^ CB: I'd like to discuss this serio

[PEN-L] Olmert Survives No-Confidence Votes on Failures in Lebanon War

The Labor Party of Israel is just like the Democratic Party of the USA, so Olmert survives, just like Bush. -- Yoshie Olmert Survives No-Confidence Votes on Failures in Lebanon War By Jonathan Ferziger May 7 (Bloomberg

Re: [PEN-L] Private Equity, Intellectual Property, Tax Manipulation

On 5/7/07, David B. Shemano <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I also note with a smirk your apparent concern for those poor pension funds, mutual funds, money managers, etc., who are going to get snookered by those weasely bond salesman who will take them to strip joints, get them drunk, and then con

[PEN-L] So-called Third Worldism

Some accuse Monthly Review of "third worldism." If MR has had more to say about the South than the North, that's because revolutions have happened in the South, not in the North, and the magazine has always liked revolutionaries, socialist or democratic, more than liberals, which socialists and c

[PEN-L] Un-named Pakistani Official: "Iran's Nuclear Program is 'Military'"

From the news feed at my site , brought to you most likely by ISI, the same disinformation outlet that 'helped' the US with the taliban, and AQ/UBL. The article even mentions the OTHER CIA asset, the other AQ, Abdul Qadeer Khan, the nuclear boogieman. Le Monde, Fran

[PEN-L] Mission Accomplished: Infant mortality in Iraq soars

Before/After Sanctions/Wars: "Figures collated by the charity show that in 1990 Iraq's mortality rate for under-fives was 50 per 1,000 live births. In 2005 it was 125." Is it Ethnocide/Genocide yet? The Independent (UK) Infant mortality in Iraq soars as young pay the price for war By Andrew Bunc

[PEN-L] What a bargain! A war in Iraq for less than half what Americans spend at Wal-Mart?

Last year, spending in Iraq amounted to less than 1 percent of the total economy -- about as much as Americans spent shopping online and less than half what they spent at Wal-Mart. Total defense spending is 4 percent of gross domestic product, the figure that measures the nation's economic output.