Bread for the poor or circuses for the rich?

Justin asks: Global Food Crisis: The Limits of Free Market Thinking? The current tide is definitely a wake-up call. But I think Victor Lebow carries more blame than Milton Freedman or Adam Smith (if you haven’t yet, go see the story of stuff. It gives a lot to think about in this context).

The problem is not with the invisible hand, its with the strong hand, which promotes over-consumption of non-sustainable goods, subsidizes meat production (which feeds much less people per hectare) and prioritizes bio-fuelled humvees over wind-farm powered powered public transport. The problem is not with the economic system (there’s frankly very little difference between one and the other nowadays). The problem is with base values.

Kiki and bubu teach you a lesson in the new control economy

educate yourself. wake up. stand up.
don’t ya love Marxism2.0?
(digg story)

truth, statistics and damn good visualization

Hans Rosling takes on common myths about east-west, north-south, and tears them to shreds. And he does it using brilliant visualizations of undeniable facts. Statistics as you’ve never seen it before.
The only divide is in our prejudice. Not between Africa and Europe or North America and Asia, but between countries which tend to their citizen’s health and welfare, and those that don’t.

If you stick with it to the end, you’ll even learn why the OLPC is so important (hint here).

And some of the tools he uses are available online: http://tools.google.com/gapminder/

(digg)

may day 2007

When I was a kid we used to put on our blue shirts and shake the dust out of the red flags. We’d take the bus to Tel-Aviv, and join the parade. I hardly ever went to Tel-Aviv, so for me it was a city in red, with the Arab-Jewish communist youth taking the lead. Then we’d go and have ice coffee at Gil’s granddad’s hotel, though we did feel guilty for enjoying a capitalist treat. After that, we would take the shirts off and dip in the sea before taking the bus back to Jerusalem.

Yesterday Aviv emailed: hey, its mayday. let’s go visit Karl Marx’s tomb in Highgate. But I had to pick up the kids from school. As the postcard on Judith’s fridge says: I wanted to start a revolution, but I couldn’t find a babysitter.

Arise, ye workers from your slumber,
Arise, ye prisoners of want.
For reason in revolt now thunders,
and at last ends the age of cant!
Away with all your superstitions,
Servile masses, arise, arise!
We’ll change henceforth the old tradition,
And spurn the dust to win the prize!
So comrades, come rally,
And the last fight let us face.
The Internationale,
Unites the human race.
So comrades, come rally,
And the last fight let us face.
The Internationale,
Unites the human race.

Credits

Buck Pago
KarlMarx
الحجم
LiorMania
Teacher Dude’s BBQ
Nancy Broden