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What you want to say – 7th September 2016 September 7, 2016

Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.
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As always, following on Dr. X’s suggestion, it’s all yours, “announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose”, feel free.

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1. Gewerkschaftler - September 7, 2016

Tony Phillips here claims:

..it turns out Apple’s small investments in staffing and infrastructure in Ireland are dwarfed by the benefits Apple accrued from a special relationship with the Irish legal and taxation system which it has been milking for billions for years.

Now I’ve always suspected that is the case – when one counts up the public investment that Apple Inc got for free – education of workers, road, electricty and other infrastructure, all sorts of sweeteners by the IDA etc. etc.

But has anyone crunched the numbers? Anybody?

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Gewerkschaftler - September 7, 2016

This Analysis from the Tax Justice Network about the dubious value even from a gimmlet-eyed beggar-my-neighbour point of view of successive Irish misgovernments is essential reading.

Even the OECD is refuting Corporation Tax arbitrage as an economic ‘strategy’.

Referring to arguments which are cloned in standard RoI govt and meeja megaphone sophistries they say …

And there’s a more profound reason why policy-makers shouldn’t pay much attention to the kind of evidence we’ve highlighted above. From a policy-maker’s perspective, attracting investment should not be an end goal. It is at most an intermediate target. An end goal would be to benefit your broad population, for example by sustainably raising the number of productive jobs overall. Corporate tax cuts may hurt other sectors, leaving your own economy no better off, or attract mobile investment with few local roots or benefit.

I other words, €13Bn not invested in public works, social security, looses say at least €20Bn in the domestic economy by multiplier effects.

And the jobs in Cork are bought (if there is indeed any relationship between jobs at Cork and the great Corporate Tax giveaway) at the expense of other, more sustainable, jobs in the local economy.

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2. Gewerkschaftler - September 7, 2016

Also the Apple that ‘creates jobs’ in Cork has, at least in tax scam legal fiction, little to do with the one that so massively robs from the public purse.

Namely Apple Operations International with all of no employees.

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3. irishelectionliterature - September 7, 2016

Last Nights NAMA Spotlight Documentary

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botheredbarney - September 7, 2016

Wow!

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WorldbyStorm - September 7, 2016

Wow indeed. Fair dues to the BBC.

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benmadigan - September 7, 2016

thanks a lot irish election Literature – damning picture

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benmadigan - September 7, 2016

re-blogged here with a bit more info about frank cushnahan and a couple of other Stormont scandals https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/nama-miskelly-miss-out/

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4. irishelectionliterature - September 7, 2016

Thought this might be of interest to one or two of you 🙂 Ten of the best NWOBHM bands
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/sep/07/the-new-wave-of-british-heavy-metal-10-of-the-best?CMP=twt_a-music_b-gdnmusic

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5. sonofstan - September 7, 2016

Ploughing through the intimidating programme of European Consortium for Political Research conference here in Prague – 2,000 papers over 4 days! – and I’ve found one that must have been designed by a CLR committee: ‘V for Vendetta and G for Gramsci’ Teaching Power Through Movies’

Go on; which one of you is pretending to be Katerina Glaab from Munster with an umlaut?

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6. Liberius - September 7, 2016

A thought hit me today, if Donnelly has left the Social Democrats has he also left their technical group with the greens? And if so do they still exist, not having five members anymore?

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6to5against - September 7, 2016

I think it was on the news that he hasn’t left the dail grouping. So – as I understand it – he says that he is still a social democrat, and that he’s a member of the Social Democrats in the dail, but he’s no longer a member of the Social Democrats. But perhaps I have that wrong…

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WorldbyStorm - September 7, 2016

I think you’re right re the fact he hasn’t left the Dáil grouping but I hadn’t heard he was still SD in the Dáil. I heard due to the technical group he’d still have to vote with them or some such.

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Liberius - September 7, 2016

It’s like a matrovska doll of political allegiances, all we need is for him to sign for FF in the next transfer window* to make it all even more complicated.

* rumour has it LP are looking to swoop in at the last minute and bag the high profile signing, though word has it he’s also been potted at FG’s training ground…

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Liberius - September 7, 2016

*matryoshka, Russian isn’t my strong point.

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irishelectionliterature - September 7, 2016

Donnelly has been seen having coffee with FF, Tea with Labour, lunch with FG …. or so rumour would have it!

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7. dublinstreams - September 7, 2016

wheres the tax (justice) review the Zappone was talking about last week not in the gov motion http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=33582&CatID=139

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fergal - September 7, 2016

Can anybody hear explain Minister Zappone’s rationale behind backing an appeal? Cos I don’t get it? She believes that other countries could benefit if we appeal the Apple decision…..how so? If we’re appealing it’s to overturn the 13 billion ruling, so adios to the pot of gold..

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dublinstreams - September 7, 2016

I guess it was agreed by cabinet but independent review of Ireland’s corporation tax code not in motion as I expected it to be The Minister also spoke about the Government’s decision to undertake a review of the corporation tax code, which is to be done by an independent expert. – See more at: http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/Statement_by_the_Minister_for_Finance_on_the_Government_Decision_to_appeal_the_Apple_State_aid_decision.html

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RosencrantzisDead - September 8, 2016

Can anybody hear explain Minister Zappone’s rationale behind backing an appeal?

She’s not convinced that the Irish people are ready for that €13bn. We need more time.

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8. Starkadder - September 7, 2016

Female misogynist Phyllis Schlafly is no more, but her rotten legacy
lives on in the likes of Trump and Ann Coulter:

http://theslot.jezebel.com/how-phyllis-schlaflys-legacy-paved-the-way-for-todays-a-1786250619

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9. NAMA – Miskelly, Miss Out | the mirror@wordpress.com - September 7, 2016
10. Michael Carley - September 8, 2016

Worth a read, an extract from a new book on UK official secrecy.

Under the headline “British in Indo-China” appeared a copy of a letter that had also been sent to Ernest Bevin, the foreign secretary. “It appears that we are collaborating with Japanese and French forces against the nationalist forces of Viêt Minh,” the letter read. “For what purpose is this collaboration? Why are we not disarming the Japanese? We desire the definition of government policy regarding the presence of British troops in Indo-China.” The letter was signed by the “British other ranks” of the signal section of an infantry brigade based in Saigon.

It was highly unusual – notwithstanding the egalitarian spirit of those postwar days – to see a group of low-ranking British troops so publicly demanding that the foreign secretary explain his government’s policies. But what was truly extraordinary was the disclosure that British troops were fighting in the former French colony against the local population, and that they were doing so alongside their former enemies: the Japanese army and the Vichy French.

Few members of the public were aware that the British government had been so anxious to see the French recover control of their prewar colonial possession that the entire 20th Infantry Division of the British Indian Army had been airlifted into the country the previous August, with orders to suppress the Vietnamese people’s attempts to form their own government. There were almost 26,000 men with 2,500 vehicles, including armoured cars. Three British artillery regiments had also been dispatched, the RAF had flown in with 14 Spitfires and 34 Mosquito fighter-bombers, and there was a 140-strong contingent from the Royal Navy.

On landing, the British had rearmed the Vichy troops with new .303 British rifles. Shortly afterwards, surrendered Japanese troops had also been rearmed and compelled to fight the Vietnamese – some under the command of British officers.
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The British were operating in accordance with an order that they should show a ruthless disregard for civilians, who, consequently, were killed and maimed in large numbers. “There is no front in these operations,” the order said. “We may find it difficult to distinguish friend from foe. Always use the maximum force available to ensure wiping out any hostilities we may meet. If one uses too much force, no harm is done. If one uses too small a force, and it has to be extricated, we will suffer casualties and encourage the enemy.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/08/britains-secret-wars-oman

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CMK - September 8, 2016

+1 Good read. James Heartfield’s ‘Unpatriotic History of the Second World War’ covers elements of the the UK’s interventions post the official end of WWII in both the French and Dutch colonies in South East Asia. It’s worth reading even if it is the most appalling edited book I’ve every read.

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Jolly Red Giant - September 8, 2016

Not forgetting the British support for Greek fascists used to crush the workers movement in Greece during the Greek Civil War.

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11. Liberius - September 8, 2016

The HSE has urged parents to protect their daughters against cervical cancer by ensuring they receive the vaccine currently being administered to first-year students.

About 5,000 fewer girls received the vaccine last year compared to the previous year, according to preliminary figures from the school immunisation programme.

Predictable.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/concerns-raised-as-5-000-fewer-girls-receive-hpv-vaccine-1.2782713

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12. Phil F - September 9, 2016

Two important books on the subject that came out this year are by British marxists John Smith and Tony Norfield. Tony looks mainly at finance and the world imperialist system while John looks at the imperialist domination and exploitation of the Third World.

John Smith is interviewed here: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/interview-with-john-smith-author-of-imperialism-in-the-twenty-first-century/

Tony Norfield is interviewed here: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/interview-with-tony-norfield-on-finance-and-the-imperialist-world-system-today/

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13. ar scáth a chéile - September 9, 2016

For those seeking analysis of Venuzuala from the left
there’s a new paper on the TNI site “The implosion of Venezuela’s rentier state” from Edgardo Lander:

Click to access lander-venezuela-english-1.pdf

The recent NLR article from Julia Buxton is also well worth a read:

https://newleftreview.org/II/99/julia-buxton-venezuela-after-chavez

They make for hard reading for those of us with Bolivarian sympathies

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Gewerkschaftler - September 9, 2016

Yea that Buxton article was enlightening. And depressing.

But we’ve got to face the facts about what did and didn’t happen during the pink tide in South America.

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14. Tomboktu - September 9, 2016

Sometimes twitter

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15. Tomboktu - September 9, 2016

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16. Phil F - September 10, 2016

“All hail the mob, the incarnation of human progress” – Connolly:

All hail the mob – the incarnation of human progress

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17. sonofstan - September 10, 2016

Quick question: why did we opt out of Schengen? Was it because of the difficulty of the border being a Schengen border?

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RosencrantzisDead - September 10, 2016

We did not opt out of Schengen fully. We still share information and have “Schengen alerts” (missing children, fugitives etc.) and the like.

However, we stayed out of the border and, if I recall, the common Visa provisions because the UK declared that they were opting out. Large part was to do with the land border/Common Travel Area but there has also been a conscious choice to align our immigration with that of the UK.

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sonofstan - September 12, 2016

Ta –

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sonofstan - September 12, 2016

Interesting reprorts in the UK press today re Amber Rudd’s admission that UK citizens may need advance permission via a visa waiver programme to enter the EU: the Telegraph is calling it a ‘holiday tax’ as if holidays were the only thing the rest of Europe was for, or the only reason Brits would go there.

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18. Tomboktu - September 11, 2016

Has anybody tried the Little Sun Charger?

http://littlesun.com/product/little-sun-charge/

Is it good enough to replace the grid for powering a mobile phone, or in Ireland would it only allow you reduce the amount of energy you take from the grid??

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Gewerkschaftler - September 12, 2016

I dunno Tombuktu – it depends on the type. You’d have to crunch the numbers – there’s a lot of these portable devices about. 3+ Junction devices seem good – but I don’t know to what extent these have been commercialised.

I couldn’t see any figures on the site – that makes me suspicious.

Here’s a relevant diagram from the relevant Wikipedia article – some fairly impressive research results.

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Gewerkschaftler - September 12, 2016

You want one of these

Click to access CTJ-Datasheet.pdf

but you might have to wire it up yourself 🙂

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Gewerkschaftler - September 12, 2016

Or a few, given that they’re only 1cm^2 big. Nice little project.

Seriously this kind of thing might be a better bet.

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gendjinn - September 13, 2016

Goal Zero stuff looks good, the Nomad 20 is getting good reviews. Sorely tempted by it myself. But carrying a few extra camera/cell batteries is a cheaper and lighter solution.

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Gewerkschaftler - September 12, 2016

Make the solar panel charge a portable battery pack or a pair of packs and charge your mobile from it/them overnight.

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Tomboktu - September 12, 2016

Thanks for the pointers.

(I came across the one I asked about because it’s a social enterprise that was sharing an event with FairPhone recently.)

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19. CL - September 11, 2016

“The moral principle – the moral challenge of our humanity- remains the same: should we adjust our populations to an abstracted economic ideology, or should we, rather, use the best of our reason to craft economic and social models that can anticipate the needs and care for the peoples who share this fragile planet?”-
President Higgins.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0910/815701-famine/

The President here succinctly captures the essence of neoliberal policy making; attempting to force reality to conform to an abstraction. Like all such mad utopian dreams this is now morphing into dystopia. But a realistic human alternative has yet to emerge….

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Gewerkschaftler - September 12, 2016

Not just neo-liberalism – the prioritisation of the abstract value of capital and its accumulation over all human values is the essence of capitalism.

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CL - September 12, 2016

True

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20. botheredbarney - September 12, 2016
21. Phil F - September 13, 2016

41 years on from the coup in Chile.

One of the important elements of the process in Chile was the emergence of bodies of popular power. An interesting interview on the subject: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/forms-of-popular-power-in-chile-1970-1973-interview-with-franck-gaudichaud/

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22. Phil F - September 13, 2016

Every week over 100,000 people join the ranks of the proletariat. . .

Imperialism study group: some notes on the changing global working class

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