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When philosophy professors go rogue

Friday, November 07, 2008
My old chum Ségolène Royal is well placed to be the new head honchetta of the French Socialists, so doubtless electoral oblivion and toe-curling embarrassment awaits them. So far so hum drum.

A rather more interesting side effect is that Senator Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his faithful Sancho Panza, Marc Dolez have resigned from the PS in an epic fit of pique and are going to create a new movement 'that will not compromise with the right'. Which is nice. By my reckoning French political parties are essentially the ego projections of individuals rather than organisations based on much by way of principle, and furthermore they are woefully unimaginative when it comes to names.

Anyway, enough of the tiresome background details, and on with the far-fetched parallels:

Mélenchon is a philosopher, and the only other academic philosopher I can think of who ever decided to get a little more muscular with his political philosophy is Abimael Guzman - El Presidente Gonzago, El Sol Rojo de Perú - of the Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path.

Soo, perhaps Mélenchon will decide to raise a peasant insurrection - le chemin brillant? - in his Senatorial home of Essonne, although this being the Paris 'burbs etc, I do not think it is ideal territory.

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posted by Croydonian

'Sarkozy, you are in the process of getting closer to socialism. Welcome to the club'

Saturday, October 25, 2008
Mot my words, but those of Hugo Chavez.

If Sarko does not administer a stout rebuff to the Venezuelan thug I will be 'disappointed'.

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posted by Croydonian

"The Paraguayans have no exalted sentiments. They can all be bought"

Friday, August 15, 2008
To adopt Napoleon speaking of Albion perfide...

Our friends in Taipei are still doing their bit to grease the wheels of international amity with a touch of chequebook diplomacy, with the targets of their largesse this week being that diplomatic, economic etc behemoth, Paraguay:

"President Ma Ying-jeou was to meet with Paraguayan president-elect Fernando Lugo yesterday in Asuncion amid unease over his previous claim that his country would switch ties to China if it does not receive US$71 million in foreign aid from Taiwan".

Lugo has donned a figleaf, however: "But the incoming president appeared to backtrack on the matter when he told local media on Wednesday that Paraguay would maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan after he assumes office. He said that cooperation projects between the two countries would extend to the agriculture sector".

I think 'co-operation' is a family-sized euphemism for a tsunami of money....

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posted by Croydonian

Diplomatic spat of the week

Saturday, May 31, 2008
"Chile and Peru have for some time been embroiled in a dispute over the origins of the potato. Chile's latest claim to be the region where potatoes first grew is being hotly refuted in the Peruvian press....However, the controversy is not over by a long chalk. Researchers in Bolivia say they have found traces of the potato which are more ancient than those found in either Chile or Peru". Source

And to think that there are people who deem the British press shallow.

Anyway, 'like a sack of old potatoes, the night has a thousand eyes'.

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posted by Croydonian

Taking one's sugar daddy for granted

Monday, May 26, 2008
That Taiwan hoses down its friends with money is hardly a revelation, but they are pushing their luck in Paraguay:

VP elect Federicao Franco: "I’ve met with authorities at the Taiwanese embassy and they confirmed to me that they will donate US$71 million to the country when the [Fernando] Lugo government assumes office on Aug. 15".

And this is what Taipei has to say:

"The incoming Lugo government has expressed its wish [for the donation], but we haven’t discussed any details yet".

And $71m is more than double the money Taipei was waving at Port Moresby, as noted earlier in the month.

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posted by Croydonian

A history lesson for Chavez

Monday, May 12, 2008
Hugo Chavez does not seem to be up to speed with German political history, judging from this little outburst at Frau Merkel:

"The Venezuelan leader criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel for belonging to the conservative Christian Democratic Union, calling the movement "the same right wing that supported Hitler and fascism".

Well, the CDU was founded by Adenauer, who would have no truck with the Nazis, and consequently spent time in The Big House. Still, why let the facts stand in the way of a good rant?

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posted by Croydonian

Out of the mouths of babes and Latin American thugs

Monday, March 03, 2008
Our old friend Chavez:

"Colombia is [the] Israel of Latin America". Well, it is a liberal democracy with a market economy...

I suppose Venezuela would have to be the Iran of the continent - ever intent on mischief and destabilising its neighbours.

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posted by Croydonian

Radio Tirana redux

Monday, September 17, 2007
In a manner of speaking.

An Argentinian MP has come up with a really good idea for spending Argentinian tax payers' money: "a bill calling for the establishment of a bilingual broadcasting station targeted to service the Falkland Islands".

....

He added that it was essential to have “a 24 hours broadcasting service, both in English and Spanish geared to the Malvinas Islands from the studios of Radio Nacional in Rio Grande and with the purpose of spreading Argentine culture and news”.

I think it is fair to say that even the most insomniac inhabitants of the Islands of the Blessed (1) will be not be tuning in with much regularity.




(1). Here is the current crime round up: Between the 24th and 26th August there were two road traffic accidents, a report of the theft of heating fuel, and "a 999 call about a horse laying down in the vicinity of the Lady Elizabeth". I wonder how Her Ladyship felt about that?

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posted by Croydonian

A full and frank exchange of views

Monday, September 10, 2007
La Paz style:



Apparently it kicked off over "whether or not to try the judges on corruption charges". Source

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posted by Croydonian

Trade unions with foreign policies....

Monday, July 02, 2007
Making a change from the usual idiotic posturing by syndicalists over Israel, Amicus has found a new pool to dip its collective toes in - Colombia.

And this is what it has to say: "Unite, the UK biggest union, has today called on the incoming Foreign Secretary, David Milliband MP, to support international efforts to encourage peace negotiations between the Columbian government and the FARC".

And this is wiki has to say about FARC: "The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People's Army, in Spanish Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia–Ejército del Pueblo, also known by the acronym of FARC or FARC-EP is a communist revolutionary and illegally armed terrorist organization in Colombia. It was established in 1964-1966 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, and is designated by the Colombian Government, the United States, and the European Union, amongst others, as a narcoterrorist organization for their actions against not only the government but also towards civilians and infrastructure".

Nice.

I look forward to Colombian trade unionists telling Broon he should 'negotiate' with our very own home grown Islamofascists.

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posted by Croydonian

Introducing the world's least threatening sounding militia

Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Bolivia's Red Ponchos.

"Bolivia’s President Evo Morales is facing mounting pressure to disarm indigenous communities who have been given weapons to deter groups in the east of the country who want increased autonomy. Morales encouraged indigenous communities to unitewith the country’s armed forcesfor this purpose, giving the so-called “Red Ponchos” military status and frequently referring to them as an army in their own right.... But it hasnot been an easy task. It is estimatedthat some 100,000 menwere armed in the initial campaignthroughout the country."

So, not quite so comical after all. The autonomy movement is in response to much of Bolivia's natural resources being in the west, whereas the population is tilted to the centre. Equally, eastern / central Bolivians are largely mestizo or Guarani, with the westerners different ethnic group and less than happy about the province's natural resources not benefiting them to what they consider a commensurate degree.

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posted by Croydonian

Criminalising economic acts between consenting adults

Saturday, February 17, 2007
Yes, that is what Hugo 'Hero of the Brain dead Left' Chavez is now intent on. The New York Times has the details:

"Faced with an accelerating inflation rate and shortages of basic foods like beef, chicken and milk, President Hugo Chávez has threatened to jail grocery store owners and nationalize their businesses if they violate the country’s expanding price controls"...."José Vielma Mora, the chief of Seniat, the government’s tax agency, oversaw a raid this month on a warehouse here where officials seized about 165 tons of sugar. Mr. Vielma said the raid exposed hoarding by vendors who were unwilling to sell the sugar at official prices. He and other officials in Mr. Chávez’s government have repeatedly blamed the shortages on producers, intermediaries and grocers".

And why might they not be willing to sell? Inflation is running at at least 18%, far higher than official figures, and unsurprisingly supply / demand and profit / loss issues have come into play. Venezuela is a major grower of sugar cane, and that there is shortage of sugar and everyone bar Chavez is being blamed really tells you everything.

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posted by Croydonian

Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Socialists for flat taxes


I've just seen an interesting item in the Wall Street Journal (5/5/06) about the possible implementation of flat taxes (individual and corporate) by the government of Costa Rica:

"Immediately after President-elect Oscar Arias takes office in Costa Rica on Monday, he will have an historic opportunity to help bring his country into 21st-century competitiveness. The choice? Whether to adopt a national flat tax on corporate and individual income. ..Yet despite his reputation as a man of the left, Mr. Arias is also a practical socialist, blessed with common sense and not averse to leading on controversial issues. He has pledged to fight for the ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement even though the country's labor unions are militantly opposed to it. On the flat tax, Mr. Arias is already sending encouraging signals. Last week his National Liberation Party made an agreement with the Libertarian Movement in Congress to seriously explore the idea. Together the two parties would have enough votes to make it a reality.

The writer (Mary Anastasia O'Grady) further notes: "Yet the flat tax has already proved an effective way to fight poverty in a host of developing countries. For individuals, tax evasion goes down and tax collection goes up because of better compliance. Low corporate rates attract capital, spurring economic growth and job creation. That means there is more money in government coffers to help the needy. Without a laundry list of tax exemptions and loopholes, corruption is thwarted".


C'mon Gordon, how about it?



(I'm not in the habit of getting my news a month old, but the explanation for why I've seen this is far too boring to go into. However, a friend's father has stockpiled his old newspapers and is currently working through copies of Le Monde from the 70's at the rate of a copy a day)

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posted by Croydonian

Monday, May 15, 2006
The Sandalistas all over again

Ah, the metropolitan left - aren't they amusing in their own silly way. Before even asking the basic questions about a packed judiciary and all sorts of other blatant abuses of power, I just wonder if the Pinters / Abbotts / Bianca Jaggers of this world would be happy to share a space with someone who commented about another group of people in these terms: "minorities, the descendants of those who crucified Christ, have taken over the riches of the world". Somehow I doubt that they would find similar comments about other ethnic groups gave them quite such a frisson of excitement. I expect this "If you are going to compare me to the worst criminal in humanity - the president of the US; He is an assassin. He is a criminal responsible for genocide, completely immoral" transported them to an unparalleled ecstacy. Especially Livingstone: "I sometimes have views on George Bush - not too dissimilar from yours". Ken Leninspart, as Private Eye calls him, makes the Hartlepool monkey look a model of civic rectitude and dignity.

Meanwhile, Chavez looks like a typical Latin American populist strongman, only with quasi-situationist tendencies, and one might note that Tom Wolfe skewered the precursors of Chavez's fan club to very good effect in 'Radical Chic'.

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posted by Croydonian