Montmartre - "I sing the body electric"

by Ted Welch Sun Jun 14th, 2009 at 08:54:31 AM EST

After a hard afternoon in a net cafe, before going to meet LEP, a couple of beers in a bar, where two women are having a serious discussion, it could be a tutorial. From the book on the table it could be about the body in a globalised society ah, these French intellectuals:

Back in Paris !

by Ted Welch Thu Jun 11th, 2009 at 10:44:41 AM EST

I'm back in Paris for a much-needed two weeks. Meeting LEP later today. If anybody else would like to meet up next week, email me: tedwelch at me dot com

LQD: Goodbye, GM ...by Michael Moore

by Ted Welch Thu Jun 4th, 2009 at 02:18:30 PM EST

I write this on the morning of the end of the once-mighty General Motors. By high noon, the President of the United States will have made it official: General Motors, as we know it, has been totaled.

As I sit here in GM's birthplace, Flint, Michigan, I am surrounded by friends and family who are filled with anxiety about what will happen to them and to the town. Forty percent of the homes and businesses in the city have been abandoned. Imagine what it would be like if you lived in a city where almost every other house is empty. What would be your state of mind?

It is with sad irony that the company which invented "planned obsolescence" -- the decision to build cars that would fall apart after a few years so that the customer would then have to buy a new one -- has now made itself obsolete. It refused to build automobiles that the public wanted, cars that got great gas mileage, were as safe as they could be, and were exceedingly comfortable to drive. Oh -- and that wouldn't start falling apart after two years. GM stubbornly fought environmental and safety regulations. Its executives arrogantly ignored the "inferior" Japanese and German cars, cars which would become the gold standard for automobile buyers. And it was hell-bent on punishing its unionized workforce, lopping off thousands of workers for no good reason other than to "improve" the short-term bottom line of the corporation. Beginning in the 1980s, when GM was posting record profits, it moved countless jobs to Mexico and elsewhere, thus destroying the lives of tens of thousands of hard-working Americans. The glaring stupidity of this policy was that, when they eliminated the income of so many middle class families, who did they think was going to be able to afford to buy their cars?

...
Based on my track record, I request an honest and sincere consideration of the following suggestions:

1. Just as President Roosevelt did after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the President must tell the nation that we are at war and we must immediately convert our auto factories to factories that build mass transit vehicles and alternative energy devices. Within months in Flint in 1942, GM halted all car production and immediately used the assembly lines to build planes, tanks and machine guns. The conversion took no time at all. Everyone pitched in. The fascists were defeated.

We are now in a different kind of war -- a war that we have conducted against the ecosystem and has been conducted by our very own corporate leaders. This current war has two fronts. One is headquartered in Detroit. The products built in the factories of GM, Ford and Chrysler are some of the greatest weapons of mass destruction responsible for global warming and the melting of our polar icecaps. The things we call "cars" may have been fun to drive, but they are like a million daggers into the heart of Mother Nature. To continue to build them would only lead to the ruin of our species and much of the planet.

The other front in this war is being waged by the oil companies against you and me. They are committed to fleecing us whenever they can, and they have been reckless stewards of the finite amount of oil that is located under the surface of the earth. They know they are sucking it bone dry. And like the lumber tycoons of the early 20th century who didn't give a damn about future generations as they tore down every forest they could get their hands on, these oil barons are not telling the public what they know to be true -- that there are only a few more decades of useable oil on this planet. And as the end days of oil approach us, get ready for some very desperate people willing to kill and be killed just to get their hands on a gallon can of gasoline.

President Obama, now that he has taken control of GM, needs to convert the factories to new and needed uses immediately.

2. Don't put another $30 billion into the coffers of GM to build cars. Instead, use that money to keep the current workforce -- and most of those who have been laid off -- employed so that they can build the new modes of 21st century transportation. Let them start the conversion work now.

3. Announce that we will have bullet trains criss-crossing this country in the next five years. Japan is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its first bullet train this year. Now they have dozens of them.
   

...

7. Transform some of the empty GM factories to facilities that build windmills, solar panels and other means of alternate forms of energy. We need tens of millions of solar panels right now. And there is an eager and skilled workforce who can build them.

8. Provide tax incentives for those who travel by hybrid car or bus or train. Also, credits for those who convert their home to alternative energy.

9. To help pay for this, impose a two-dollar tax on every gallon of gasoline. This will get people to switch to more energy saving cars or to use the new rail lines and rail cars the former autoworkers have built for them.
   

...

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=248

LQD: Americans defend their right to enjoy baguettes

by Ted Welch Tue Jun 2nd, 2009 at 12:28:51 PM EST

This might cheer Jerome up a bit - and is a heart-warming tale of hot bread and shattered stereotypes :-)

A French couple came to town several years ago in search of something. Here, amid the swelling mountains and struggling businesses, the Red Sox hagiography and Yankee taciturnity, they were looking for just the right place to sell madeleines.

And croissants. And tarts. And long, thin loaves of French bread that all but dare you to tear at their heel before you're out the door.

"L'Italie à la table"

by Ted Welch Mon Jun 1st, 2009 at 01:01:41 PM EST

This time there is very little text (did somebody breathe a sigh of relief ? :-) ).

The Italian food and drink festival is on in Nice: "L'Italie a table".

http://www.italieatable.fr

Previously it was on the Promenade des Anglais, in a long line of tents with little space to move around and it tended to get very hot. This year it's in the Jardin Albert 1, with a lot more space and it's cooler:

LQD: Cameron's answer to crisis - copy California's disaster

by Ted Welch Wed May 27th, 2009 at 06:49:54 AM EST

"I believe there is only one way out of this national crisis we face," said Mr Cameron.

"We need a massive, sweeping, radical redistribution of power. From the state to citizens; from the Government to parliament; from Whitehall to communities. From Brussels to Britain; from judges to the people; from bureaucracy to democracy. Through decentralisation, transparency and accountability we must take power away from the political elite and hand it to the man and woman in the street."

...
He expounded on his theme of the "redistribution of power", and suggested ... The right to initiate local and national referendums.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5390171/MPs-expenses-David-Cameron-pledges-t o-give-more-power-to-public-under-reforms.html

Hasn't Cameron heard of California? We've seen that such politics by "initiative" leads to disaster:

Bill Maher:

It's not Arnold's fault that California has a worse credit rating than Louisiana, a state that's half underwater and half in the bag.

You see, our state is designed to be ungovernable because we govern by ballot initiative, and we only write two kinds of them: "Spend money on things I like" and "Don't raise my taxes." More money for teachers and firefighters? Check "yes"! High-speed rail? "Cooool!" Drug treatment for former child actors? "Sure, why not?" But don't even think of taxing me for any of it.
...

This is why our founders wanted a representative democracy, because they knew that if you give the average guy the chance, he'll vote for a fantasy world with no taxes and free beer.
...
But before you laugh at us, remember: This desire to have everything and give up nothing is a national condition, not just a California thing. Like everything else, we just take what's real, exaggerate it, add some explosions and give it a giant pair of fake breasts.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-maher21-2009may21,0,7944770.story

Like other states, California is suffering from a collapse in tax revenues brought on by the recession. Unlike other states, it suffers from severely dysfunctional politics, including gridlock-inducing budget procedures and a deeply anti-tax strain that plays itself out in endless voter referenda, dating back to the Proposition 13 property tax cap from the 1970s. As a result, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared recently that more tax increases are politically impossible. Yet, his proposed spending cuts are also unappealing, if not impossible, including slashing education and health care funds and releasing prison inmates early.

What the Obama administration should make clear is that a bias for spending cuts -- and against tax increases -- is the wrong approach for California and other states. Both spending cuts and tax increases are harmful in a downturn, because they reduce already weak consumer demand. But most states are required by law to balance their budgets, so when deficits emerge, they are forced to do one or the other, or both.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, raising taxes may be better than spending cuts because tax increases, especially if they are focused on wealthy taxpayers, have less of a negative impact on consumption. Spending cuts hit consumption hard, depriving the economy of money that would otherwise be spent quickly. They also have the disadvantage -- so evident in the cuts proposed by Mr. Schwarzenegger -- of falling heavily on the needy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/opinion/24sun1.html

Rapallo - art, treason, conspiracy and affirmation

by Ted Welch Tue May 19th, 2009 at 11:54:24 AM EST

I had thought this was going to be a fairly short, light piece about our trip to Rapallo and Portofino, but when I got back and started reading more about Rapallo, I learned about some darker aspects and connections between art, treason and conspiracy. It falls into two sections, so if you prefer the short, lighter version, jump off at the blue palm.

The post-visit intellectual journey is a long one. If you are into history and intellectual debates about art and politics, the CIA and cultural imperialism, press on beyond the reflection of the palm into a "wilderness of mirrors". But don't worry, there's a path back to Rapallo and Nice, where you'll end up on Nietzsche's terrace - possibly with "amor fati" - a love of fate:

To embrace amor fati is to grow, evolve, and know what it means to be human, all too human [title of one of Nietzsche's books].

http://thenietzscheindex.blogspot.com/2008/08/amor-fati.html

Some light relief

by Ted Welch Thu Apr 30th, 2009 at 12:08:33 PM EST

Sunday and Monday were two days of almost continuous rain, rare for Nice, the observatory was not the usual bright, white dome etched on blue:

Tuesday the blue sky and brilliant light were back:

So I felt like walking again - in the old town:

St. Patrick's, philosophy and laughter

by Ted Welch Fri Mar 20th, 2009 at 06:36:09 PM EST

Another St. Patrick's day, as an Irish barman at "Paddy's Bar" said: "It's an excuse to continue the Carnaval" - doubtless St. P's was another imposition of Christian dominance over older pagan festivals. St. P's day is on the supposed date of his death - seems a good reason to celebrate.  I drink in sympathy with the poor bloody Irish who suffered not only British rule, but centuries of Christian misery.

Napoleon's return and effects of the crisis on ex-pats

by Ted Welch Sun Mar 15th, 2009 at 07:02:05 AM EST

On 8th March we went to Golfe-Juan, near Cannes, to see the re-enactment of Napoleon's return from exile in Elba. Men do like to dress up, especially if it's a colourful uniform and they can play with weapons too.

From the diaries with an edit by afew

Louche living and some Nice history

by Ted Welch Fri Mar 6th, 2009 at 08:23:30 AM EST

A Nice mix


Let's take another break from all this abstract EU stuff  - not to mention what Marx called "economic shit":

We recall Marx writing to Engels (in 1857!) saying that he hoped to have done with the "economic shit" within 1-2 years. I myself have studied "economic questions" for years, and have also spent years in recovery from the novicained, ashes- in- the mouth feeling brought on by excessive exposure to the "dismal science", or even to its critique.

http://www.connexions.org/CxLibrary/CX7937.htm

But this is not to say it's unimportant - don't get me wrong :

What is truly appalling today in large swaths of the left and far-left in the West is the willful illiteracy in the critique of political economy. Perhaps even more appalling, and closely related, is the willful illiteracy, boredom and hostility where science and nature are concerned.

ibid

Anyway, Jerome asked for a variety of kinds of diaries, so here's a bit more euro-louching.

Get out - while you can

by Ted Welch Mon Mar 2nd, 2009 at 07:53:27 PM EST

Leave ET - get out now !

I suppose it's idelness so I really ought to get and do something, anything really other than just sitting on my butt reading blogs. I was supposed to go up to london to see a friend but they cancelled with a bad cold. So.... I'm reading blogs.

Helen

The just part of me tells me to get the hell out of ET while I am still alive, before I end up in a gulag or murdered by someone.

poemless

 It's nice to be able to take a bit of time to ponder a response or to actually engage in the "meat world" instead of staying plugged in to the "e-world".

blueneck

 Relax Jerome, I don't mean leave forever :-)

Nice, but Dark and Dionysian

by Ted Welch Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 06:16:53 PM EST

Previously we'd seen the Nice carnival ("carnaval" here) during the day - apart from one surreal night when we lived near the port and the carnival floats went past our window, almost close enough to touch. Also we'd seen it from above, from a hotel terrace bar, as I don't like crowds (and small children spraying me with coloured foam :-) ). In this context the carnaval seemed like harmless fun.

But one evening recently I came across it as I was returning home and just as the floats were entering Place Massena. Suddenly, now immersed in it, the other, more sinister, Dionysian side of carnaval hit me, as the floats loomed above us in the dark:

Genoa: Romance and revolution

by Ted Welch Sun Feb 22nd, 2009 at 04:08:00 AM EST

I liked Genoa when we had a brief stay at Xmas, so I was happy for an excuse to go back - since it was the weekend of Valentine's day,  what better than an Italian city?

 Since Xmas I had acquired a rare copy (thanks to the internet) of a book on Genoa by Edmund Howard, who'd been British Consul-General there for four years in the 1960s. All quotations are from it, unless otherwise indicated:

... I hope in a small compass to do justice to the wealth and variety of its architecture, painting and sculpture ... in this way I should wish to arouse in many visitors to Italy a desire to become well acquainted with a mysterious and altogether fascinating city and to share with them my enthusiasm for it.

Genoa: History and art in an old seaport

take a European trip - afew

The streets are alive - with the sound of insurrection !

by Ted Welch Tue Feb 10th, 2009 at 03:43:44 PM EST

Hearing a lot of noise this afternoon, I opened the window:

in London I used to travel for an hour to the centre to cover a demo, here they march down my street.

Thousands of French university lecturers took to the streets today [Feb. 5th, 2009] amid violent clashes as part of a growing "unlimited" strike movement against government higher education reform plans.

Lecturers and students marched in around twenty cities across the country, including Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/feb/05/internationaleducationnews-france

LQD: The real orgasmic Puritans

by Ted Welch Thu Nov 20th, 2008 at 06:24:41 PM EST

Update [2008-11-21 5:31:58 by Ted Welch]: What did you Puritans ever do for us, Oliver?

... On the eve of a new drama about Cromwell and the English Revolution, its writer Peter Flannery tells Lucy Powell we've got the Roundheads all wrong

What did the Puritans ever do for us? They banned Christmas, closed the theatres, and made "tippling" illegal. So, if I ask you to picture a Puritan, the image, inevitably, is not appealing.

...as a new four-part series on Channel 4 is set to illustrate, the Puritans of revolutionary 17th-century England were not entirely the black-clad killjoys history remembers...

Here, Flannery explains why the Puritan revolution merits such a vastly ambitious overhaul, the legacy it left us, and why those plain-clothed, no-nonsense men are sexier than you might think...

Studs Terkel tribute - in his own words

by Ted Welch Sat Nov 1st, 2008 at 04:38:38 PM EST

1912 - 2008

"He was a cigar and martini man, white-haired and elegantly rumpled"

Later Studs would guide the careers of Big Bill Broonzy and other blues stars, and befriend Billie Holiday. "She was really something," Studs recalled, "with that gardenia in her hair." Holiday once sang Willow Weep for Me for Terkel and nine other people. "We weren't weeping for her, we were weeping for ourselves," he later said, "That's an artist."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/01/studs-terkel-usa

"We are the most powerful nation in the world, but we're not the only nation in the world. We are not the only people in the world. We are an important people, the wealthiest, the most powerful and, to a great extent, generous. But we are part of the world."

"We can't make any choices unless we connect the past with the present. The thing that horrifies me is the forgetfulness."

"I'm known around the block as a writer and broadcaster, but also as that old guy who talks to himself."

"We're born eventually to die, of course. But what happens between the time we're born and we die? We're born to live. One is a realist if one hopes."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/01/studs-terkel-dies-author-broadcaster

LQD Another Joe - on no loans and oligopoly

by Ted Welch Sun Oct 26th, 2008 at 09:01:55 AM EST

Listen in to a telling conference call with Joe - who then shows why the bailout isn't making loans more available and is instead helping rich banks to hoard and turning "the banking system into the oligopoly of giant national institutions":

So When Will Banks Give Loans?

By JOE NOCERA    Published: October 24, 2008

"Chase recently received $25 billion in federal funding. What effect will that have on the business side and will it change our strategic lending policy?" It was Oct. 17, just four days after JPMorgan Chase's chief executive, Jamie Dimon, agreed to take a $25 billion capital injection courtesy of the United States government, when a JPMorgan employee asked that question. It came toward the end of an employee-only conference call that had been largely devoted to meshing certain divisions of JPMorgan with its new acquisition, Washington Mutual.

Which, of course, it also got thanks to the federal government. Christmas came early at JPMorgan Chase.
...

LVD - "Something for the ladies" - and guys

by Ted Welch Wed Oct 22nd, 2008 at 02:24:17 PM EST

 "Something for the ladies" as Al Murray would say - offering them white wine - and "pints for the fellas":

Al Murray (Pub Landlord) is a parody of a stereotype - a xenophobic, small-minded, nationalistic, sexist, beer-swilling, 'mans man'. the job of Landlord attracts a range of very strong male character types, the kind of man who likes the dominance of the male presence in Pubs but can reluctantly cope with the ladies too, and although it's in flux or disappearing, people like this still exist but have increasingly become a laughing stock - hence the intentional opportunity you have here. The act itself originates in 1994, with the first national tour occuring during the last few years, and Murray has been nominated several times for the Perrier Comedy Award (and won it once) as well as having had his own UK sitcom, quiz show, and special appearance shows too. Very popular, he certainly is, and very funny.

http://twitchfilm.net/archives/005136.html

Women comedians on men and women:

LQD How to win a Nobel - "dare to be silly"

by Ted Welch Tue Oct 21st, 2008 at 05:43:10 PM EST

I came across this article by Krugman recently - well worth passing on; while he illustrates his "rules for research" by reference to economics, they clearly apply very widely:

... What I want to talk about in this essay is something more restricted: some thoughts about thinking, and particularly how to go about doing interesting economics. I think that among economists of my generation I can claim to have a fairly distinctive intellectual style -- not necessarily a better style than my colleagues, for there are many ways to be a good economist, but one that has served me well. The essence of that style is a general research strategy that can be summarized in a few rules; I also view my more policy-oriented writing and speaking as ultimately grounded in the same principles.
...
RULES FOR RESEARCH

In the course of describing my formative moment in 1978, I have already implicitly given my four basic rules for research. Let me now state them explicitly, then explain. Here are the rules:

1. Listen to the Gentiles

2. Question the question

3. Dare to be silly

4. Simplify, simplify

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