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451 WB and IMF -- rank: 1000

There were some interesting comments on the World Bank relative to the IMF as targets of the developing global anti-capitalist movement at the London launch of Patrick's new book "Elite Transition, From Apatheid to Neoliberalism in South Africa" earlier this week, (including from Ellen Meiksins Wood). One contributor from the audience commented that in the campaigning NGO's (hopefully not the co-opted ones - an interesting concept of Patrick's - CONGOS) there is less criticism of the W ...

Document Size:	6077
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Fri May 26 23:39:24 PDT 2000

452 Fascism under socialism (was Cockburns anti-PLC) -- rank: 1000

At 18:51 11/05/00 -0700, you wrote: > > > > > > No I am not using a DSM4 type check list of fascism. I do not think such > > operational diagnostic schema get to the inner processes that shape > > phenomena. They are a check list of epiphenomena and deeply empricist in > > philosophical nature. > > > > I regard fascism as an abuse of bourgeois democratic rights probably > > accompanied by populist politics. > > > > It may sometime ...

Document Size:	7536
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Fri May 12 15:53:41 PDT 2000

453 Berlusconi acquitted -- rank: 1000

At 16:06 11/05/00 +0100, you wrote: >In message <4.3.1.1.20000510232741.05841980 at pop.gn.apc.org>, Chris >Burford <cburford at gn.apc.org> writes > >after I said > > >>Better that Italian voters decide who is fit to represent them than > >>judges, in my view. > >> > >>After all, the elite do not need fascism if they can get away with > >>suspending democracy through legalistic means. > >That it was > > > > ...

Document Size:	7699
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Thu May 11 15:22:54 PDT 2000

454 Berlusconi acquitted -- rank: 1000

At 00:25 10/05/00 +0100, you wrote: >In message <4.3.1.1.20000509225953.0581e460 at pop.gn.apc.org>, Chris >Burford <cburford at gn.apc.org> writes > >Bad news that Berlusconi has been acquitted of a bribing tax inspectors. > > > >Whatever you think of the PDS (Italy) and its former PM D'Alema, the > >present government is possibly only a prelude to Italy swinging right > >dominated by this media magnate. > > > >There is democracy and d ...

Document Size:	5676
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Wed May 10 15:29:17 PDT 2000

455 Cockburns anti-PLC -- rank: 1000

At 17:06 09/05/00 -0700, you wrote: [giving an different reading of the text] then saying - >How are you defining fascism? You seem to be using a broad definition that >would >encompass anything you find repugnent. It seem to me that the term fascism by >definition has many characteristics. It resembles a diagnosis in the >psychiatric >DSM 4 where a certain number of specified characteristics warrants a >diagnosis of >fascism. What is you definition? And also, what is an ...

Document Size:	6166
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Wed May 10 15:40:23 PDT 2000

456 Politics of Human Rights -- rank: 1000

At 22:49 08/05/00 -0700, you wrote: > http://www.usm.maine.edu/~bcj/issues/three/contents.html > Looks interesting. How would you summarise the political stance and the philosophical stance? Chris Burford London

Document Size:	4708
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Tue May 9 16:02:43 PDT 2000

457 Cockburns anti-PLC -- rank: 1000

At 13:18 09/05/00 -0400, you wrote: >Picked this off the FREE REPUBLIC web site. The WASHINGTON TIMES is now >recyclying Cockburn's attacks on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)to >attack not only the SPLC but Chip Berlet's outfit and the left generally. >Principled criticism of other progressives is a good thing, but this kind of >immediate use of Cockburn's statements shows why his kind of roundhouse >invective is a menace to progressives and leftists of all kinds. It a ...

Document Size:	6805
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Tue May 9 15:57:23 PDT 2000

458 Berlusconi acquitted -- rank: 1000

Bad news that Berlusconi has been acquitted of a bribing tax inspectors. Whatever you think of the PDS (Italy) and its former PM D'Alema, the present government is possibly only a prelude to Italy swinging right dominated by this media magnate. There is democracy and democracy. Chris Burford London

Document Size:	4670
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Tue May 9 15:03:50 PDT 2000

459 UK Far Left Blows Its Chance in London -- rank: 1000

At 13:01 08/05/00 +0200, you wrote: >your approach sounds good, but at least it failed practically in Germany. >Surely the early Green party in Germany could be called >'marxist-influenced'. Today all left-wingers have left the party, only the >careerist around Trittin remained. > >Whreas in France the LCR-LO alliance scored some success in at the polls. As >I understand it from the distance the LCR-LO success forced the SWP into >acceptance of the LSA. > >But at th ...

Document Size:	6602
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Mon May 8 11:57:56 PDT 2000

460 UK Far Left Blows Its Chance in London -- rank: 1000

At 11:17 06/05/00 -0400, you wrote: >See attached article > >Given the proportional election system of the new London Assembly, this >should have been a chance for left socialists to elect a few assembly >members as a beachhead against the centrism of New Labour. The Greens >managed to elect three out of the twenty-five assembly members, but vicious >infighting and sectarian proliferation of candidates assurred that none of >the far left socialist parties got anywhere. ...

Document Size:	9391
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Sun May 7 15:56:26 PDT 2000

461 Phil Agre on Microsoft virus -- rank: 1000

At 12:15 06/05/00 -0400, you wrote: > >From Phil Agre, one of the most astute academic writers on technology: >Microsoft shouldn't be broken up. It should be shut down. Or expropriated. After all Bill Gates wants to give billions away to show what a nice chap he is. Let's compromise and called it "socialised". Chris Burford Brought

Document Size:	4904
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Sun May 7 04:24:14 PDT 2000

462 Capitalist cause of Love Bug virus -- rank: 1000

See this opening of this article below, which I picked up through the Netscape center, on the capitalist nature of the Love Bug problem. After the havoc caused by the international capitalist system on the people of Asia, it would be a sweet justice if a teenager from a suburb in Manilla was indeed the perpetrator of the latest lesson that capitalism is a global social phenomenon. Why merely describe viruses as a social disease? Capitalism is the social disease. This article, which has more deta ...

Document Size:	6468
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Sat May 6 00:44:47 PDT 2000

463 UK elections -- rank: 1000

At 14:15 05/05/00 -0400, you wrote: >Looks like Clintonism-Blairism got a good kick in the butt in London, >offician proclamations notwithstanding, no? > >wojtek Not entirely. Blair and New Labour have been extremely efficient at government as total social management. They have avoided provoking any constituencies. Their social base has been the state intelligentsia who had to manage a more flexible market-orientated model of not-for-profit enterprises under the years of Thatcherism. ...

Document Size:	8353
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Fri May 5 15:43:09 PDT 2000

464 Zimbabwe news (Weekly Guardian) -- rank: 1000

At 00:11 04/05/00 -0400, Michael Pollak wrote: >Mugabe to invoke land seizure powers > >White farmers agree to end political activity as opposition feels the heat How strong is the union organization of the workers on the white farms? Is their consciousness really working class or are they indeed heavily influenced by the white colonial owners? Chris Burford London

Document Size:	4888
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Fri May 5 00:40:13 PDT 2000

465 London, Frankfurt exchanges merge -- rank: 1000

It has just been formally announced at 7am London time, that the planned fusion of the London and Frankfurt exchanges is official. This looks like a sign of weakness by London in several respects - 1) it has abandoned its billion pound computerised book-keeping system a mere few years after starting it, in favour of the German system 2) although this preserves current business in London, the Frankfurt market will specialise in the newer instruments in which trade has been expanding. 3) clearly b ...

Document Size:	5376
Author:	Chris Burford
Date:	Tue May 2 23:54:19 PDT 2000