It has been a long time (like, a day, or even more) since anybody wrote a Europe.Is.Doomed diary, and an even longer time has passed without me introducing newcomers to the "NARRATIVE".

It is about time that we recall again all our conventional wisdom about reality, enlightenment and anthropology 101 with the excuse of a wonderful wonderful, really wonderful (or the "wond") tale about mortgages and the European economic world.

Today, we will visit a textbook example of how narratives interact with each other to create semi-structural myths which in turn can get close to losing internal coherence.

Yes.. the "Europe.Is.So.Doomed" narrative strikes again in a mindblowing attack leading to this MY HUMBLE POSITION PAPER.

Read it and go shout it from the hilltops! - Promoted by Migeru

Isaías Carrasco was shot three times in front of his wife and daughter. He had no bodyguards since he was no longer a member of the Social-Democrat group in the Mondragón city council.

The election campaign is officially over... the left-wing government is really shaken. PM Zapatero's face when he received the news at a rally is that of a shattered man. The right-wing PP cancelled also all their activities.

We will follow the developments here... but anything you have heard before about the general election to be held in two days's time is now officially "not valid". Now, everything is possible.

Spanish community... please... update... at will...

Come next 9th of March, we select the Congress of Spain in general elections. The two main parties are the center-left PSOE currently in power and led by Prime Minister Zapatero, and the PP (center-right/hardcore-right) led by Mariano Rajoy. Today they face each other. We hope to follow the debate for all those interested.

Let me recall that it is highly unlikely that any of the two big parties will be able to form a government without the help  of other small parties (greens/left-wing IU, catalan nationalists CIU, Basque nationalist PNV, or some smaller regional parties).

Nevertheless, the party which gets more seats in Congress gets to set the agenda and initiate the coalition talks with other parties. It is highly unlikely that the loser will form the government unless the right-wing party wins by a very narrow margin and does not find any partner among the big nationalistic parties (Catalan and Basque). [editor's note, by Migeru] This is quite likely considering that the PP is campaigning on explicit anti-Catalanism.

A win by Zapatero will throw the right-wing party into disarray and will solidify all the social reforms introduced by Zapatero, together with the very centered (a la more than Clinton) economic policy.
On the foreign front... pro-EU, against Iraq involvement... and against any US conservative administration.

A right-wing win means the end of some of the social reforms, a US-style reduction in taxes, and a firm pro-US policy... something like Blair. It would also lead to a major earthquake for the Europe left as the two main representatives (Spain and Italy) would be out of government.

(Note: this is a community thread.. any relevant comment will be place in the main thread. Spaniards are encouraged to participate.. as is anyone alse interested).

It is in this time of emergency that I think I should break my vow (becasue that's why vows are for, to disobey them) of not writing anything serious or relevant anymore.

So for the first time in a long time I am going to write something very very serious (you'd better hit the rec bottom and fast!.. what the hell Mig you'd better frontpage this :) [editor's note, by Migeru] Yeah, why not?). It is time to humble humbilly save this community (yeah sure *)

Once upon a time I had a master... a master that taught me "the secret",  yeah the secret.. the secret about how to really overcome the wedge philosphical barrier among members of the left.. the so-called rationalists uberscientists vs spiritualists-magic-youcrazyscientists.

I must say I hate those words for the two cathegories because we are all different (as the life of Brian proved). So here I am , sharing with you one of the most deep secrets... all with the hope that this small secret/tale will show that we have more in common that we dare to speak... and hoping that we all will be friends again after the christmas drunk party is over and that everybody will be happier than before Xmas.

Follow me below the fold to the christmas tale.

I have been trying to get an answer in the comments and everybody seem as puzzled as me .. (or well. they think I am stupid so why bother)...So I will launch a diary that I hope it will be promoted by the powers to be and answered by the experts in the field

I would like an answer to one simple question...

SNARK.... I thought we all need a little bit of loosing it up. Specially myself after an awful week in Barcelona and after so much reading you write about war with Iran and oil over 100$... let's look a bit at the bright side of life (while we can :))...translation below the fold

Really Do we care about the state of the world...? about the real state of the world... I am not talking about the rich world, or about the lack of oil, or private cars..but about the other not-so capitalistic world...

Caring means worrying about global warming  and the rest of humankind. Thanks to Gore and IPCC we hear about global warming..and probably because it will affect us... but what about other people? Do we worry, not in the western sense of making them "richer", but in the sense of knowing if their lives are worthwhile.. in other words, do we care about if other human beings have food and sanitation secured???

Yes that's all...Anthropology taught long time ago that cultures need humans, so they need safe and clean food and water to thrive.. (given that most of the people can get shelter and money is mostly paper) easily... but I do not hear about it...

Even when the UN report of the Millennium goal is already out for 2007.. I did not hear a word.. anywhere.

Follow me please.

This is the lemma I use to sum up the Bush-Cheney administration. They try to pursuit one goal and turn out to get something completely different (Monty Python style). This may seem a rather stupid assessment of how Bush has made an impact in the US society and in the Iraqi society but not the world. Well, actually, it may be not so stupid assesment for the US since P. Krugman says that if they would have been more competent the US would not be a republic by now. But just because we know that the US tortures, it is in huge debt, the middle class is been strongly hit by the credit bubbles, the elites do not care about children’s health care, and does no do anything  to address global warming, it does not mean that other administrations or more competent people would have carried it through in a different way, maybe they would have hidden those aspects better. Bush is the symptom , not the disease, some people here say.

In a word, I have always thought that the big difference between Reagan and Bush has always been the disdain of the administration (and the USSR of course). And now brace yourself, because , while this disdain has destroyed Iraq and it is in the process of create a complete and awful Gilded Age in the US, the net result for the world has been "LUCILY" HUGELY POSITIVE… provided they DO NOT BOMB IRAN

Follow me below the fold….

El Pais, Spain's largest newspaper, part of a center-left Spanish media Empire (PRISA), has obtained the minutes of a conversation between President Bush and Prime Minister Aznar in February 2003 in Crawford, days before the introduction of the second UN Security Council resolution sponsored by Spain, the UK and the US demanding that Saddam Hussein disarm and which would eventually be withdrawn to avoid an embarrassing defeat. In the resolution there was no mention of possible retaliations if Saddam Hussein failed to comply. Bush and Blair sought a second resolution allowing for the use of force and war if Saddam Hussein did not disarm. Of course, according to them Hussein was openly armed and he would never disarm.

As far as Europeans go, we knew the war was a done deal. I am not sure about Americans. [editor's note, by Migeru I was in the US in 2002/2003 and I was fully aware of what was going on through American media, so I don't think Americans have an excuse]

So it may be useful for Americans to see the minutes. And still I think it is specially relevant to get a transcript because it gives you an idea of the kind of language, narrative and assumptions being used behind the scenes. Did they believe that Saddam Hussein had chemical weapons? It was obvious that Saddam Hussein did not have a nuclear program since that is impossible to hide... but did they believe their own rethoric... did they believe in the UN's role... We more or less know the answer... but you need the language to get an insight. So I have thought that a proper English translation of the Spanish transcript from El Pais is absolutely essential. I also think it may be useful for our American counterparts in the blogosphere...

And you will find that some sentences are pure gold

Follow me below the fold... but I do not provide commentary, that is not the purpose of this diary. I leave that to you :)

[editor's note, by Migeru See also Booman's story on Booman Tribune, with a translation of El Pais' background piece]

Committed to an existence in which only observable experience is real, the Pirahã do not think, or speak, in abstractions and thus do not use color terms, quantifiers, numbers, or myths. Everett pointed to the word "xibipío" as a clue to how the Pirahã perceive reality solely according to what exists within the boundaries of their direct experience which Everett defined as anything that they can see and hear, or that someone living has seen and heard. When someone walks around a bend in the river, the Pirahã say that the person has not simply gone away but xibipío ‘gone out of experience,’  Everett said. They use the same phrase when a candle flame flickers. The light ‘goes in and out of experience.’

I still recall the first day that one  universals fell down. I was probably 10 and somehow I woke up and stand tall and tired.. My mom hug me up and said "come on.. it is not like you are going to work the fields"... I , of course, did not understand. "what do you mean , mom?", "Well I mean you are not going to harvest like your grandma at your age".. she answered. "When was that?" I replied. I was known in the family by my insistence of knowing when things happened instead of why things happened... and with numbers attached to them.. that's why I asked the numbers of all the buses that came by during six months at the age of 2 (The patience of my mother answering them was for sure breathtaking.) Once she provided a date I trusted her.. but how was that possible.. how?.. and I did not utter a word...I could not comprehend...until.. LIGHT  "Do you mean that there are children who do not wake up in the morning and go to school?" My mom smile back....There it was... my first cultural ethnocentric urban european belief smashed with a smile... at the age of 10...

Follow me below the fold...

From the diaries - whataboutbob

As jerome points out, they are relentless, they know their stuff and they know how to put narratives and histories behind...we also know how to do it.. but we just do not have the media.

But beside screeaming again "buy Media for Xsakes" I would like to address here the scientific implications of this kind of articles... please follow me below and provide inputs for my answer to Klaus article

This is a diary to just keep the people over here informed... if you wish

Updated results in comments: by Migeru & kcurie

From the diaries & bumped ~ whataboutbob

Today at long last I have something.

It is about nukes.. and (MAD) Mutual Assured Destruction doctrine)..and other "crazy Cheney stuff".

Go there.. and follow me if you wish.

From the diaries (with slight edit) by afew

There has been a quite astounding discovery in anthropology recently. And I learned it from the New York Times magazine article about God and antrhopology. The NYT Magazine is like a jewel of journalism that I would deem as the best in the world. As long as they exist, the US Empire is worthy... somehow:)

But this discover does not matter so much really unless you ar every much into it... but the article that appears in the NYTM explains very clearly why Free market rules... without really realizing. It also explains very well what I have been trying to explain all this time about Levi-Strauss, and narratives, and mythologies... and reality...

Here I try to explain in more detail why reality does not matter or even exists..even in what one would consider the most reality-absed of our needs: our economic system.

From the diaries -- whataboutbob

I have asked a friend to come to visit this site.. so that he could tell me what things prevent him from registering...

Let me point out that my friend is "into this kind of stuff"... and still.

Here is a list of the things he would like to see... plus some of mine.. plus some of others.

This is a heavily heavily constructive diary.. so please if you come here to just state criticism for the sake of criticism.. this is not the place. We love this site, get it? :)

Actually, that was some kind of joke since I can not imagine anyone in the community doing differently.

So go below the fold...

There are great questions in the universe and our life that belittle us but that have easy explanations when you belong to the elite.

Who Am I? A congregation of souls
Where do we go? As a person to the grave, as a specie probably nowhere after a 4-million year window and as a planet to go five billion more years around a star in the outskirts of a galaxy in the outskirts of the universe.
Where do I come from? Dust of supernovas and cooperation selection.
What is the truth of existence? You just cannot know it but you can live it through your relation with others.
What can/would a pundit/plutocrat/neo-center/neolib marketista never say? That Europe goes somehow fine.

Promoted by Colman

I will update as news come up...and please take this as a thread to discuss the proposal or append items that may be interesting.

[editor's note, by Jerome a Paris] all the documents in English can be found from here

[editor's note, by afew]The pdf of the Communication can be downloaded from the ET server here.

Press Release:

The Communication, a key element of the Commission's new energy and climate change strategy, sets out proposals for action by the EU and the rest of the international community to prevent global climate change from irrevocable consequences This means limiting global warming to no more than 2°C above the temperature in pre-industrial times.

The Commission's central proposal is that, under a future global agreement, the group of developed countries should cut their emissions of CO2 and other 'greenhouse gases' responsible for warming the planet to an average of 30% below 1990 levels by 2020.

The EU should take the lead by committing autonomously to reduce its own emissions by at least 20% by 2020 – a cut that should be increased to 30% as part of a satisfactory global agreement.

In the longer term, greater emission reductions will be necessary and developing countries will also have to be part of the global effort: worldwide emissions will need to be cut by up to half of their 1990 levels by 2050.

Promoted, and edited a little by Colman

You can go directly to Washington Post Report for the China version or follow me below with relevant transcripts of the article in the US version (adapted by myself).

In Spain he was indeed an important figure. Probably, after Chile, Spain is the country where Pinochet had more.. let's say relevance.

It was a spanish judge, B. Garzon, the one that started the prosecution against Pinochet and ordered the arrest in England.. the now oh-so fmaous arrest...

I guess a lot of you have a lot to say about his death.. at least I have.

From the diaries -- whataboutbob