Search LBO-Talk Archives

376 Filth in chocolate -- rank: 1000

I am interested to see that even in the heartland of the free market, the US Federal Foods and Drug Administration has felt the need to compile a list of unappetising "natural or unavoidable defects" in household foods which apparently cause no harm to human health. They will however act if for example a sample of chocolate has 90 or more insect fragments per 100 grams (approx 3 1/2 ounces) or if 6 100gram samples contain an average of 60 or more insect fragments per 100grams. Alterna ...

Document Size:	5119
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Sun Aug 12 17:08:28 PDT 2001

377 Kissinger protests against International Criminal Court -- rank: 1000

Getting worried? http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,534399,00.html Chris Burford London

Document Size:	4809
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Thu Aug 9 22:51:59 PDT 2001

378 The Tension Rises -- rank: 1000

This is a valuable article for left wingers to consider, as we often underestimate the significance of divisions between imperialist states. On the other hand the contradictions are not as great as those described by Lenin which would inevitably lead to war. FAZ has an important reputation to keep up for objectivity (within the terms of its own constituency) and relations between Europe and the USA are extremely important for its readership. The article seems to me to be soundly based. >The U ...

Document Size:	7358
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Thu Aug 9 00:29:40 PDT 2001

379 BAT's ambitions in Korea -- rank: 1000

"British American Tobacco PLC announced Wednesday that it planned to invest more than $1 billion in curing South Koreans of their addiction to their own cigarettes." International Herald Tribune Thur 9 Aug 2001

Document Size:	4649
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Wed Aug 8 23:35:44 PDT 2001

380 IMF/WB study question -- rank: 1000

At 07/08/01 17:04 -0700, you wrote: >[For all the anti-corporate lurkers...] > >Who said it? And Google won't help you. > >"Americans have been repeatedly confronted by the harsh fact that the >corporation leaders know more about managing the central and dynamic >element of the system than any other group." > > >Ian Well it could be Karl Marx, except it is not his style, and he is dead. It is an important point. It is one of the reasons why marxist influen ...

Document Size:	6113
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Wed Aug 8 00:10:20 PDT 2001

381 May Day "violence is our enemy" -- rank: 1000

I have forwarded this important political article by George Monbiot to PEN-L with the following comments: On 25th April I commented on an extensive article by George Monbiot (spotted by Ian) with the following words: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Arguably these proposals by George Monbiot are nothing but a reformist and palely green cover for the continued development of capitalism. Under the guise of provocatively ridiculing the planting of cannabis in Par ...

Document Size:	9577
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Mon Apr 30 23:29:30 PDT 2001

382 PDS criticises SED formation -- rank: 1000

At 30/04/01 11:31 +0200, Johannes wrote: >The English text of the PDS apology is now on their website: > >http://www.pds-online.de/international/dokumente/englisch/0104/zimmerpau_sed >.htm I am encouraged to see how extremely difficult it is to translate German into English. >In respect to the apologies owed by the PDS to the West a joke is >circulating here: > >All those apologies are worthless unless the PDS does not apologize for the >goal sored by Jürgen Sparwasser ...

Document Size:	8763
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Mon Apr 30 14:58:42 PDT 2001

383 Baby Bonds in UK -- rank: 1000

At 29/04/01 11:03 -0700, Dennis wrote: >On Sat, 28 Apr 2001, Chris Burford wrote: > > > I think the point is that this is different. It is capital, which > cannot be > > spent in any shape or form till the age of 18 > >Nope. Capital is a social relation, not a thing; it's the totality of all >the property relations, relations of exchange, etc. in the world-system. Theoretically correct, and important. I was using the term here in the lay sense, as a saved sum that e ...

Document Size:	6029
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Sun Apr 29 13:48:22 PDT 2001

384 Baby Bonds in UK and Citizens Income -- rank: 1000

At 28/04/01 13:27 -0700, Ian wrote: > > Quite honestly I suspect that this move at the moment by Labour is more to > > wrong foot the Conservatives, and because someone in the government has > > read the book Max cited. But it just could be part of a longer term > > strategy to cap the Conservatives' appeal strategically. After all New > > Labour wants to appeal to the middle ground without totally losing its > > idealist left wing. >=========== >Anthony ...

Document Size:	8578
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Sun Apr 29 10:35:51 PDT 2001

385 Baby Bonds in UK -- rank: 1000

At 28/04/01 09:06 -0700, you wrote: >On Sat, 28 Apr 2001, Chris Burford wrote: > > > I certainly would not have proposed it myself, but I think it is > ingenious, > > and paradoxically provides new terrain that progressive people can > fight on > > to make the system of production socially responsible. > >Well, the Continental countries already have pretty extensive programs of >child-funds, where households get a cash payment every month for each >child ...

Document Size:	7147
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Sat Apr 28 11:31:43 PDT 2001

386 Baby Bonds in UK -- rank: 1000

At 27/04/01 18:12 +0100, Max wrote: >See The Stakeholder Society by Ackerman & Alstott. >It should be encouraged, IMO. > >You'd need a pretty good ROR to grow 500 to 3000 >in 18 years. Over 10%, by my reckoning. This involves top-ups from the government at several intermediate birthdays (I cannot remember which) But even so analysts say that the best government predictions depend on risky commercial investment on the stock market, which of course could go down. Part of the mi ...

Document Size:	5635
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Fri Apr 27 23:57:29 PDT 2001

387 Baby Bonds in UK -- rank: 1000

The UK Labour Government has trailed a proposal to give each baby at birth a few hundred pounds. Children of poorer families would get more, namely £500. Periodically a bit would be added. If, but only if it is invested in the Stock Exchange it might reach £3000 by the 18th birthday, when the owner would be able to spend it, but probably on restricted items. This I believe borrows from ideas in the USA. It is the first time in the UK that benefits have been given in the form of capital. As a way ...

Document Size:	5072
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Fri Apr 27 14:30:27 PDT 2001

388 Biological Exuberance (was Re: I told you it was Eve's fault...) -- rank: 1000

My feeling is that these articles are indeed exuberant and at worst harmless, because although they imply reductionism, similar but slightly different features are just as likely to get emphasised in a few month's time. About intergender relations it is necessary to remember that it is the whole species, and not just the genes that reproduce. Humankind appears to have been very precariously balanced for ecological survival until the neolithic revolution. The high degree of homogeneity of our gen ...

Document Size:	9051
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Thu Apr 26 16:16:27 PDT 2001

389 Belgrade releases 143 Albanians, charges 183 Serbs -- rank: 1000

This news item appears to confirm Albanian claims that Serbia had continued to detain Albanians for political purposes after the end of the Kosovo war. Or is it only the result of US financial extortion? Chris Burford _________________ April 25, 2001 BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Belgrade has released 143 Kosovo Albanian prisoners hours after charging almost 200 Yugoslav soldiers with war crimes. The two simultaneous moves are seen as further significant signals in a break from the old Milosevic regim ...

Document Size:	8037
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Wed Apr 25 16:25:07 PDT 2001

390 Cook warns against Montenegro secession -- rank: 1000

The following news item shows that the policy of international finance capital in former Yugoslavia, once its financial dominance has been assured, is not to promote separatism but integration on the basis of mitigating ethnic divisions. This is consistent with NATO still not challenging that Kosovo is legally a part of Serbia, and consistent with their interventionist war which did not base western strategy on a struggle by Albanians for total independence in Kosovo. Chris Burford London _____ ...

Document Size:	6568
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Wed Apr 25 16:45:13 PDT 2001