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Send in the clowns. Maybe they’ll win.

July 19, 2015

Stephen Sondheim’s song “Send in the clowns” is a reference to the theatre where “if the show is not going well, send in the clowns” applied. It seems this applies to politics as well.

In the US we have a clown on the right making large noisy waves and Donald Trump is actually leading in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination.

In the UK we have a clown from the lunatic left fringe of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, also in the lead for the leadership of the Labour party.

The chances of either actually winning are low, though the Labour Party leadership contest must be decided soon. There may not be enough time for the Labour Party to come to its senses and they may wake up to find they have elected a Marxist leader without really intending to. For the Republicans there is much more time available for Trump to implode. But they are both clowns being sent in since their respective shows are going so badly. In the US the Republicans are not just fragmented, they have no clear vision of where they want to go and the many candidates are struggling to find a few key issues which resonate across the country. Trump has shaken things up by focusing not on immigration broadly, but on the undoubtedly disproportionately high level of criminality among illegal Latino (i.e Mexican) immigrants. He has challenged political correctness and decorum by asking why someone who gets captured (and even if they show great fortitude in surviving a brutal imprisonment) becomes a “war hero”. He is not being very nice at all but it is not difficult to see the point he makes. that just having the ability to be captured is not the stuff of heroes. Trump the clown is having a field day as the Republicans scramble and search for what they are.

Jeremy Corbyn was not taken seriously when the Labour party leadership contest began. He was having a tough time getting enough nominations to be included. Many felt that a “token” candidate from the loony left would help to show their party’s “broad appeal” and he was included on the ballot because they were running scared of the SNP which had wiped them out in Scotland with a more left-wing manifesto than Labour had. So he just got on to the ballot. But then the Trade Union “Unite” endorsed him. Maybe they were being Machiavellian and though that by first promoting a guaranteed loser, they would ensure that their real candidate Andy Burnham would get elected. But in that case their ploy has backfired and they could get stuck with having the clown as the winner. Corbyn is a traditional, hard-left socialist. The maximisation of public spending is his solution to most economic issues. He automatically supports whoever is perceived to be the “underdog” and has had questionable links with extreme (and sometimes terrorist) organisations from the IRA and the Tamil Tigers to Hamas and other questionable Islamist groups. He is one of those clowns who is utterly convinced of his own gravitas. But now there are signs of panic within the Labour Party that Corbyn could see to complete demise of the party. Even the Conservatives are feeling just a little concerned that the meltdown of the Labour Party, which will inevitably occur with Corbyn, may not be such a good thing. Having a vacuum in opposition only leads to the devil you don’t know.

……….

Don’t you love farce?
My fault I fear.
I thought that you’d want what I want.
Sorry, my dear.
But where are the clowns?
Quick, send in the clowns.
Don’t bother, they’re here.

Isn’t it rich?
Isn’t it queer,
Losing my timing this late
In my career?
And where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns.
Well, maybe next year.

Send in the clowns.

Maybe they’ll win.

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Posted in Behaviour, Politics | 2 Comments »

A Deputy PM who isn’t (if you are in Sweden and the deputy is a “green”)

July 19, 2015

The Swedish Social Democrats were forced to bring the Environmental Party into government to cobble together a majority in parliament with external support from the Left Party (rebranded communists). The leader of the Greens, Åsa Romson, was given the title of “Deputy Prime Minister” but it has now been revealed that in the agreement between the Social Democrats and the Greens, the position was entirely titular. Fortunately the Social Democrats were sane enough and responsible enough not to allow the possibility of a Green Deputy PM actually stepping in to replace the PM when he was abroad or ill. That would be more frightening than nuclear weapons with a rogue state.

This agreement came to light this week when the PM, Stefan Löfven, was taken ill – just for a few hours – on his return from a trip abroad. Though he has not named any particular person to fill his empty shoes, it is usually the Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström, also a Social Democrat, who steps in.

Opposition parties have been quick to take pot-shots. “Unconstitutional”, said some of them, “to have a deputy who wasn’t”.

All good fun, but there is a serious point. The Greens are not seen, even by their partners in government, as being responsible enough to be allowed to take the reins. And that is the reality. The 6 Green Party Ministers in this government have, in my perception, amply demonstrated their inexperience which borders on the incompetent. They are a destructive force, primarily concerned with stopping actions from others,  but have few constructive ideas of their own. They raise barriers when others want to “do” but “do” very little themselves.

Dagens Nyheter: The Green Party spokesperson Åsa Romson’s is Deputy Prime Minister – but will still not act as replacement for Stefan Löfven (S). Instead, it is Margot Wallström, who has that role in government.

According to information provided to DN the Social Democrat leaders did  not want to give Romson the responsibility to lead the country in a crisis.

“Stefan Löfven has not appointed a deputy. Since no specific proxy has been appointed the role is taken by the longest serving Minister” says Hans Dahlgren (S), State Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.

In the red-green government, Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström is the longest serving minister. Therefore she has, whenever available, led most of the cabinet meetings that have taken place since last autumn whenever Stefan Löfven has been abroad or absent for other reasons.

…….. when the Social Democrats and the Green Party negotiated for government posts last autumn, the parties agreed that Åsa Romsons title as Deputy Prime Minister was merely titular.

“We made no demands about getting an operational deputy post when we negotiated to enter government. It was more important for us to have clear responsibilities and cooperation in government”, says Åsa Romson.

The issue came to a head on Thursday when Stefan Löfven after a trip to Ethiopia suffered acute nausea and was taken by ambulance from the airport to the Karolinska University Hospital. But it took more than a day for the Prime Minister to answer DN’s questions on the matter.

The Green Party is based on agitation when in opposition. In government they flop about like fish on dry land.

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Hitler has long inspired the British Royals

July 18, 2015

The Saxe-Coburg and Gothas may have changed their names to Windsor, and the current British Royals are certainly not the Tudors, but they do have a hankering for the “good old days” when forelocks were properly tugged and dissenting heads could be “offed”.  That Edward and Wallis were fairly committed supporters of the Nazi cause has been well documented. But The Sun has now acquired some home movies where Edward is shown teaching his nieces and his mother the Nazi salute in 1933. Of course in 1933 most of the Royal Houses of Europe supported Hitler as the scourge of the communists and the potential saviour of Royalty. Mind you, as recently as 2005, the Nazi sympathies of the Windsors were on display with Harry Windsor.

The Editor of The Sun would be high on their list of people to be sent to The Tower.

(I find it a little amusing when present members of ruling Royal families extol the virtues of monarchic democracies).

1933 – (The Sun- 2015)

Royals Hitler 1933 The Sun

Royals Hitler 1933 The Sun

1937

23 October 1937 Edward and Wallace with Hitler

23 October 1937 Edward and Wallis with Hitler – Wikipedia

2005 – (The Sun – 2005)

Harry Swastika 2005 The Sun

Harry Swastika 2005 The Sun

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Posted in Behaviour, History | 2 Comments »

Mass murderer Breivik being pandered to by Oslo University

July 17, 2015

There is something wrong with the state of justice in Norway when “rules” are used as an excuse to overrule common sense and pander to the desires of Anders Behring Breivik.

Anders Behring Breivik strax efter rättegången i Oslo 2012.

Anders Behring Breivik soon after his trial in Oslo 2012 – image SvD

Svenska Dagbladet:

Anders Behring Breivik, sentenced for mass murder, has been admitted into the graduate program in political science at the University of Oslo.
The mass murderer will be studying at a distance from his cell, never staying on campus, nor having any contact with other students or staff. All contact between Breivik and the university will be through a contact in the prison. Breivik will not participate in the seminars.

“We as an institution must follow the rules. We can not allow a single person to change this”, says Rector Ole Petter Ottersen.

Rules cannot be an end in themselves. They are tools devised for some purpose. It has been my experience that “rules” are always used as an excuse when actions are known to be wrong but where the actor has not the imagination or skill or competence to find the route to correct behaviour.

That the Rector uses “rules” to justify his actions in pandering to the wishes of someone who killed 77 innocent people and injured 24 is unconscionable. It is the lazy way to justify doing wrong. It is the excuse used at the Nuremberg trials. An insufficient exercise of mind. Was it the purpose of the “rules” to provide aid and comfort to a mass murderer?

 

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Bibi Netanyahu loses his security blanket

July 14, 2015

I particularly like this from B Michael in a Haaretz opinion column, even if his sarcasm is a little over the top. But with Bibi nothing registers if it does not go over the top.

My heart goes out to Benjamin Netanyahu. With one cold, cruel stroke of the pen, the rulers of the world have taken away his most beloved toy – the apple of his eye and the joy of his heart, the rock of his existence and the source of his strength, and above all, the rock of his refuge and safe haven. Or in short, the Iranian bomb. ……… From now on, Netanyahu is like a baby that has lost its security blanket, or like one whose favorite teddy bear was thrown into the garbage – the one that warmed his heart during the long nights and infused him with calm and serenity during times of trouble and election campaigns.

But Bibi has an easy solution says Michael. He could just take one of Israel’s greater than 200 nuclear warheads and smuggle it into Iran and he can then rest easy that he can get back to crying “Wolf” whenever he has nothing else to say.

But our hope has not yet been lost. If salvation doesn’t come from without, we will bring it from within, from ourselves. ….. As everyone already knows, the State of Israel – of course only according to strange foreign sources – has a respectable arsenal of atomic bombs that long since crossed the 200 mark. More than enough to destroy half the world. 

And here, in these surplus bombs, lies the solution to Netanyahu’s distress. All he has to do is take one of those 200 bombs of ours (according to foreign sources), wrap it up nicely in gift wrapping and give it secretly, as an anonymous donation, to the Islamic Republic of Iran. …… To anyone who fears the move might be discovered and embarrass us, don’t worry; nobody will notice the loss of one bomb out of 200. And even if a curious journalist does discover that one is missing, it’s not so terrible. As is the norm in such cases, Israel will grab the lowly guard on duty and cast him into purgatory the way one usually does with scapegoats, and that will settle the matter.

And thus, everyone will once again be happy.

But to be serious for a moment, bringing Iran back into the fold and creating a more balanced situation could be the best thing to happen in the Middle East for a long time. It is actually the 3-pronged balance between Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran which gives hope. A military, political, financial and even a religious balance. Ultimately the Middle East has to find its own solutions for what constitutes “democracy” and of living together, without solutions being imported and imposed from Washington.

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Iran deal is done, Bibi unhappy, Greek deal done, Greeks unhappy.

July 14, 2015

Reuters and other anonymous sources are reporting that an Iran deal has been done.

Greece yesterday, Iran today, what’s for tomorrow?

Bibi is neither pleased nor amused. A “pre-emptive” strike by Israel on Iran now becomes that much more difficult. Saudi Arabia will not be too pleased either. If sanctions are  lifted and also on weapons sales by Iran then we can see the pro-Iranian factions across the Middle East getting a boost. Which will probably constrain the advance of ISIS somewhat (and whatever the Saudis might say it is private Saudi money funding the barbarians). The pro-Iranian factions in Syria and Iraq will not only get a boost, they may also be more successful on the ground than the US-led coalition.

However Saudi Arabia will not be too unhappy about the additional downward pressure on oil prices. It will be sometime before Iran can ramp up production and during this time, low-cost Saudi oil will win further market share. Though Saudi Arabia failed to wipe out shale oil from the US, it is still increasing production and contributing further to the current oil glut. Saudi seems to be pursuing a revised strategy of keeping oil prices relatively low for 2 years or more in a war of attrition against the higher-cost oil producers. Market share is perceived as their prime weapon to try and get rid of the higher-cost producers. But I think they have miscalculated even here. A discontinued shale oil well can be restarted with very little investment and at very short notice. Production costs of shale oil have decreased sharply. Shale oil developers will just ramp their production up and down depending upon the prevailing oil price. And the larger shale oil wells can make money even with oil prices down at $40/ barrel.

It isn’t quite time for vacation yet in Europe (apart from Sweden which is closed for July). Some kind of framework resolution for the whole package of the 3rd bailout needs to be passed by the Greek parliament by tomorrow. Some resistance is showing today but the resolution will surely pass. Of course that says nothing about the Greek government’s implementation of all they have signed up for. Their track record of implementing what has been solemnly promised is not good. And if the reports today that the ECB will not be pumping liquidity willy-nilly into the Greek banks are correct, then the banking system will have to start issuing IOU’s to keep functioning while the negotiations are concluded. That will effectively be an alternative currency and it won’t be long before the IOU’s start trading at a different value to par. A currency by another name than “Euro” is still a Grexit for as long as that currency is used.

But an Iran back in the international fold is undoubtedly a good thing.

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Varoufakis (backed by Krugman) chose the wrong game

July 13, 2015

Yanis Varoufakis is a Marxist economist and an “expert” on game theory. Paul Krugman is about as close to a Marxist economist as one can get in the US. The only thing that “star” economists get right are back casts where they force their theories to apply to things that have already happened. Krugman is a Nobel prize winner – but in economics that is not something to be very proud of. Krugman has been a vociferous supporter of the anti-austerity camp. He has even criticised those who have argued against debt write-offs. Thomas Piketty is another “star”, French, “socialist” economist who has also been supportive of the anti-austerity brigade.

(In my own view this is not a battle of ideologies since austerity and anti-austerity are not ideologies. If anything it is a battle between profligate public expenditure on the one hand and prudence and good housekeeping on the other.)

In any event, tonight Greece is contemplating the stringent austerity measures they must sign up to by Wednesday along with the loss of fiscal independence required to be able to just enter negotiations on a 3rd bailout of some €85 billion. Debt restructuring is not included in the package though some rescheduling of debt service will be discussed. It is a package is much more stringent than the Greeks rejected in their much-vaunted and self-indulgent referendum. (What referendum if posing the question “Do you want more taxes?”, would not answer “No”. I was surprised that as many as 39% answered “Yes”.) If the negotiations had been completed 3 months ago, Greece would have been able to conclude a much less painful package.

image – http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

But it all makes sense if seen as a high stakes “game” that Varoufakis convinced Tsipras and his Syriza colleagues to play. With his game theory credentials and the support of empty “heavyweights” such as Krugman and Piketty, Varoufakis probably thought that he could outmaneuver Schauble especially as he was initiating the game. Perhaps he even felt he was defining the game. A threat to leave the Euro was the nuclear weapon in his arsenal. Seen as such a game, the calling of the referendum was probably planned as the decisive, pre-ultimate move. Even his resignation immediately after the referendum was probably a premeditated move for the negotiation they expected to have. But these moves backfired. First, against Greek expectations, the banks were asphyxiated. Varoufakis had probably miscalculated in thinking that the ECB under friendly French influence would not shut off the liquidity tap. Schauble’s decisive counter-move came yesterday when, for the first time, a Grexit, in the form of a 5 year time-out, was openly named as the alternative. Once Schauble had hijacked that as the nuclear weapon, the game was over. Tsipras had no weapons left and no alternative to capitulating completely.

The Greek population are not only paying for the profligacy of the past. They are also now paying for a game started by Varoufakis which went horribly wrong.

This game is over but the match is still going on. Tsipras would do well to ignore Varoufakis (and Krugman and Piketty) for the rest of the match. Marxists and economy just don’t mix. Marxism may be able to hide its face in the blend but the economy is poisoned.

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Lack of ethics institutionalised at American Psychological Association

July 11, 2015

That members of the American Psychological Association actively participated in and helped to design the torture programme during the Bush era has been known for some time. But for over 10 years the APA has shielded its members and covered up their involvement. In fact they have had an Ethics Officer whose primary job has been to conceal the lack of ethics. The New York Times has details about a new investigation report which focuses on the failings of the members of the American Psychological Association.

NYT Editorial:

The first detailed accounts of the brutal interrogation program the Central Intelligence Agency established after the Sept. 11 attacks noted that psychologists and other medical professionals played key roles in abetting the torture of terrorism suspects. However, much about their role and their degree of responsibility in one of the most macabre and shameful chapters of American history has remained shrouded in secrecy.

A new report by a former federal prosecutor, first disclosed by James Risen in The Times, contains astonishing, disturbing details. It found that top members of the American Psychological Association, the largest professional organization of psychologists, colluded with officials at the Pentagon and the C.I.A. to keep the group’s ethics policies in line with tactics that interrogators working for the agency and the military were employing. …….. 

On Friday, Physicians for Human Rights justifiably called on the Department of Justice to begin a criminal investigation into the psychologists association’s role in the Bush administration’s torture program.

The Obama administration has so far refused to prosecute the torturers. As more evidence about this program comes to light, that position becomes increasingly indefensible.

There are no “good guys” if the behaviour of the “good guys” is no different to that of the “bad guys”. And the degree of “badness” is worse, I think, when the bad behaviour is institutionalised and not just that of rogue individuals.

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O learned judge! O idiot judge!

July 10, 2015

Oakland County in Michigan is stuck with her for a long time yet. She probably has no children – one hopes. But Oakland County residents cannot complain now. They elected her.

Lisa Ortlieb Gorcyca is a judge for the 6th Circuit Court in Oakland County, Michigan. She was elected to the court on November 4, 2008, for a six-year term ending on January 1, 2015. On November 4, 2014, Gorcyca was re-elected unopposed for another six-year term commencing on January 1, 2015, and expiring on December 31, 2020.

Oakland Press:

An Oakland County circuit judge who sent three children to a juvenile detention facility for refusing to speak to their father compared the kids to cult leader Charles Manson.

Oakland Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca declared the children of Maya Tsimhoni in contempt of court last month and ordered them held at Oakland County Children’s Village until they attempt to have a relationship with their father or they turn 18.

The three — ages 9, 10, and 14 — have been incarcerated for more than two weeks.

And as a reader writes in to the Oakland Press:

There have been many outrageous decisions made by judges over the years, but Judge Lisa Gorcyca’s recent order to send three children to spend detention until they turn 18 is one of the most appalling orders ever! Comparing these children to Charles Manson shows this judge is nothing short of insane.

She needs to resign immediately or be removed. Murderers and robbers get more lenient sentences, yet innocent children are sent away? This action by Judge Lisa Gorcyca will cause detrimental affects on these children. But then, what does she care? She is on a power trip evidently because after all, she is the all-wise judge! Pathetic!

Barry Baumann,

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Greek proposal is for European taxpayers to provide €5,000 handout per person

July 10, 2015

Why did Tsipras bother with the referendum?

The Greek proposal now is for much the same reforms that were rejected by the referendum. Except that now a debt write-off of about €54 billion is also demanded. That is about €5,000 for each of the 11 million Greek population to be funded by the taxpayers of the other European countries. It is not cash in hand of course but whether handout of cash or cancellation of debt, it costs the same.

The proposals are to be approved by the Greek parliament today and even if the hard-left vote against, it should go through with the help of all the centre-right votes. I suppose it will all get approved – with French pressure – on Sunday. But the bottom line is that every Greek citizen will effectively be getting a handout of €5,000 each from other European taxpayers.

It is not debt relief after a natural catastrophe or a war that is being asked for. It is debt relief for mismanagement. It is debt relief for earlier profligacy – for a bloated public sector which awarded itself generous pensions at 55; for years of  tax evasion and corrupt big projects. And it was done during a period when other more prudent European countries were considering raising the retirement age. Some of that profligacy will be corrected but far from all of it. This bailout is unlikely to suddenly bring “good housekeeping” to the Greek house. It will not prevent Greece from being constrained and stifled by the Euro straitjacket. Further bailouts will be needed.

For the Eurozone it will be a patch-up exercise for a fundamentally flawed common currency system. It is fundamentally flawed because it is being seen as a tool to bring about political and fiscal union when it should just be a natural – and inevitable – consequence of political and fiscal union. In the long run the Euro has to be shrunk or dismantled. Debt relief for the Greeks now is a precedent that establishes it will always be on the table for future mismanagement.

Past bad behaviour being rewarded for the sake of a grandiose concept of a Holy European Empire.

 

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