France - the supposed hell where we'd love to live

The Daily Mail flashes its richman fangs at strike-hit France - such an awful place, eh? That would explain why the late Sir Stuart Bell MP spent more time there than in the UK, I expect.

Time for some stats:

WHO, 2013 - from Wikipedia

 

World Bank, 2011-2013 (via Wikipedia)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality

 

World Bank, 2009-2013

World Bank, 2009-2013

 

Total public and private debt owed to non-residents
Source: Wikipedia

Perhaps that's why, less than five years ago (and, like the temperature of the oceans, things don't change that fast), the Daily Mail was reporting this:

Daily Mail, 7 January 2010

As Slog-blogger John Ward - now based in France - is fond of saying, IABATO - which as he is also a Hellenophile, may be derived from the Greek expression "ιαβατω!" ("I smell bullsh*t!").


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Knowing

Suppose many orthodox social and political narratives are either completely false or far more inaccurate than we have hitherto supposed. It’s not much of a supposition, but I’m thinking of narratives based on old-fashioned generalisations about human behaviour.

From similar causes have arisen those notions which are called universal or general, such as man, dog, horse, etc. I mean so many images arise in the human body, e.g., so many images of men are formed at the same time, that they overcome the power of imagining, not altogether indeed, but to such an extent that the mind cannot imagine the small differences between individuals (eg colour, size etc.) and their fixed number, and only that in which all agree in so far as the body is affected by them is distinctly imagined.

Baruch Spinoza - Ethics (Boyle translation)

We are all familiar with the weaknesses of what Spinoza called universal or general notions. As he says, they are substitutes for a level of individual detail we cannot possibly attain. We have to use generalisations, clambering around their many pitfalls as best we can.

Yet modern search engines and databases have already acquired a level of individual detail about many aspects of our lives and habits. They have moved on from the ancient and intractable situation where the mind cannot imagine the small differences between individuals.

So Spinoza's point is being made obsolete by technology, by huge modern databases which are not constrained by our ancient need to generalise. Not surprisingly their information is valuable enough to be sold to third parties. With safeguards it is said, but who believes that?

So generalisations are no longer necessary for those with deep pockets. We know it of course, but how do we deal with it?

How might we acquire such information ourselves without a government’s ability to twist arms? The short answer is that we can’t. The information isn’t likely to appear in books either because there is too much of it and the financial return would be inadequate. Neither is it likely to appear in academic literature for the same reasons.

So for global corporations and presumably governments, Spinoza’s problem is rapidly becoming outdated. The big hitters don’t need his universal or general notions. They have at their fingertips a colossally detailed corpus of information about human behaviour which lies well beyond the reach of most ordinary folk.

What do they know that we don’t?

How to manipulate our behaviour in order to ensure bovine social and political attitudes? Almost certainly, so the only political answer is smarter voting.

Oh oh – not smarter voting again. Rats.

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White collar robots

My working life was almost entirely spent in environmental science. Over almost forty years I saw it change from a piecemeal, locally-based effort to a full-blown global bureaucracy with the UN at the top. It became process-driven.

Apart from an ambitious few who knowingly go with the flow, most capable scientists don’t cope well with bureaucracy. Their working ethic tends to be based on two assumptions.

The truth will out.

People are essentially ethical.

Unfortunately the truth isn’t that powerful and process-driven people are not known for an unequivocal reliance on ethical standards. As a result most scientists do not compete well with the implacable nature of process-driven bureaucracies. By the time I left, the good scientists had mostly departed and process worship was setting every agenda.

Even so I had an interesting time and probably learned more about human nature and the nature of institutions than I then realised. I now look back on it as a time of profound social change which eventually became obvious, but had been rather less obvious only a few decades earlier.

One reason why the left/right political dichotomy no longer works is that both sides of the political divide are process-driven. They also seem increasingly willing to merge their processes. The traditional left always loved process with its tendency to centralise every decision and its endless mistrust of the uncontrolled.

Today even our local electrician is enmeshed in process - trained, certified tested and certified again. The butcher the baker and even the candlestick maker too no doubt. Maybe the latter will make a comeback after a few more years of process-driven energy policies.

So political right dances hand in hand with political left because government and global business are nothing if not process-driven. We are entering a process-driven world where most young people probably have no prospect whatever of avoiding process-driven employment.

Everything they do will fall into one of two categories.

It will be part of a documented process – or

It will be forbidden.

The vast majority will have no outlet for their modest talents because there will be no tick box for modest talent. Process rules. White collar robots are the future.

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Ebola and liberty

Ron Paul argues that the solution to containing diseases like Ebola is to allow foreign countries to grow their economies so that they can afford modern medical facilities.

On the face of it that makes sense, as does so much of he says. But it does link to another issue: what is free trade, and what should it be?

Twenty years ago, billionaire Sir James Goldsmith warned that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade would destabilise society by undermining the labour forces of developed economies. This is exactly what has happened, and it also has the potential to unsettle the countries to whom the work has been outsourced or "offshored". I had previously produced a jokey graphic to illustrate the disruptive effects of what I might call "free trade without brakes or steering":

from Broad Oak Magazine, 18 June 2012

The order-givers have, in effect, used the Chinese like coolies and are quite prepared to switch to other countries (such as Vietnam) to keep down labour costs; and to "re-onshore" business to the USA when robots can do the work instead.

I don't at all include Ron Paul in this picture, but it does seem to me that if we are to have peaceful evolution on world trade then we need more than GATT, TPP and TTIP, which are (as far as I understand) simply battering-rams for accumulated capital to force its way into markets irrespective of the human costs there and at home.


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Old Newcastle

The Black Gate and the Castle Keep

I fell in love with Newcastle many years ago when I had to attend business meetings just outside the city. On one occasion, as I was walking back to my hotel, one of my northern colleagues pointed out the historic features of ‘Old’ Newcastle to me whilst our colleagues continued to talk business. It was on this occasion that I first heard about the historic Castle Keep and the remains of the curtain walls that were part of the city’s medieval castle’s defences.

The castle keep is a fine example of a Norman keep; it was built by Henry II between 1168 and 1178. The Castle Keep website tells us that “it stands within a site that also contains: an early motte and bailey castle built by Robert Curthose, the son of William the Conqueror: an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and a Roman Fort (Pons Aelius)”. The keep is situated in a naturally defensible site on a steep sided promontory overlooking the River Tyne. I enjoyed spectacular views of Newcastle from the rooftop.

Near the castle keep is the Black Gate which is one of the last additions to the castle’s mediaeval defences. It was built between 1247 and 1250 as the gatehouse of the barbican, a walled, defensive, entrance passage that led to the castle’s north gate. Over the years the black gate has had many different uses and has been much altered over time. The name Black Gate has nothing to do with the gate’s appearance, it derives from Patrick Black, a London merchant who occupied the building in the first half of the 17th century.

St. Nicholas Cathedral from the Castle Keep

Not far from the Black Gate is the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas which started life as a humble parish church, only becoming a cathedral in July 1882 when, due to the rapid growth of the industrial population, Newcastle separated from the ancient diocese of Durham. Soon after the castle was built, the first parish church was built on the site where we now see St Nicholas’ Cathedral. The first, wooden building was rebuilt in stone towards the end of the 12th century and was subsequently damaged by fire on two occasions leading to repairs and other modifications over the years including the addition of the stone crown and tower in the 15th century moving the church to much the same form as we see today.

To the rear of the Cathedral, in a street that is quaintly named ‘Amen Corner’, is the curious Vampire Rabbit. The rabbit (or is it a hare?) sits atop an ornate doorway which is now the entrance to an office. Although there are many theories, nobody seems to know the meaning of the strange creature. 

The city has many archaeologically interesting buildings including an elegant Edwardian shopping arcade that is contained within the triangular triple-domed Central Arcade building. The arcade is underneath a glass barrel-vaulted roof and is decorated with fabulous tile work.

For those who like art there is the Laing Art Gallery. The gallery which focuses on British oil paintings, water colours, ceramics, silver and glassware houses permanent exhibitions including an 18th-19th century gallery and the Northern Spirit Gallery that celebrates the achievements of artists and manufacturers from the North East. The gallery displays temporary exhibitions regularly.

I have stayed in many Newcastle hotels over the years; my current hotel of choice is The Vermont. It faces The Moot Hall which has a columned portico to the front and to its rear, is based upon the Parthenon. If you are lucky your room in The Vermont will provide you with a close-up view of the Tyne Bridge, one of several iconic bridges spanning the Tyne it links the city of Newcastle with the town of Gateshead.

The Millennium, Tyne and Swing bridges with the Moot Hall in the foreground

Near to the Tyne Bridge is the historic Swing Bridge opened in 1876 to replace an older Georgian bridge that prevented large vessels from moving ‘up river’. Opening in 1849, the High Level Bridge is even older than the Swing Bridge and is the oldest of the existing bridges. It was designed by railway engineer Robert Stephenson and it has two decks; the upper for the railway and the lower for the road. A more recent addition to the line-up of bridges crossing the Tyne is the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, which is a pedestrian and cycle bridge linking the waterfronts of Newcastle and Gateshead.

Tynmouth priory, castle, gun battery and coast guard station

Further afield is Tynemouth with its Spanish Battery, the towering memorial statue of Admiral Lord Collingwood (Nelson’s second in command at Trafalgar) and Tynemouth Priory and Castle. The castle and priory site contains interesting historical features including gun batteries that were used in the first and second world wars and a former coast guard station (not open to the public). Within the priory church the Percy Chantry is the only part to remain complete although it has been much restored. It has a vaulted ceiling with finely carved bosses that are well worth studying. The headland where the priory and castle ruins are situated offers spectacular views over the sea and the mouth of the river Tyne.

I have not explored all of ‘Old’ Newcastle and there is much more to Newcastle than its history. It is a vibrant city with many restaurants, pubs and clubs to explore depending on your preferred choice.

More information can be found via the following links:

• Old Newcastle
• Bridges on the Tyne
• Visit England – NewcastleGateshead

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Robinson Crusoe: contrarian and dreamer, but right

In October 1704 Alexander Selkirk was marooned on Mas a Tierra, an uninhabited island some 400 miles off the coast of Chile.

From Google Maps

But this probably wasn't the first time he had left his ship, the Cinque Ports, one of a pair of licensed privateers. Some months before, many of the crew (including, it's surmised, Selkirk, who as the ship's master was an expert) had quarrelled with the replacement captain over the worm-eaten condition of the vessel and, it's said, Selkirk had been warned in a dream that it would fail and be lost. Two-thirds of the company went ashore at the Juan Fernandez islands (of which Mas a Tierra was the largest) before being persuaded to return.

The next time, Selkirk (whose real name was Selcraig) went ashore on what is now known as Robinson Crusoe Island, but the others didn't follow and the captain, to make an example of him, refused to have him back.

The ship was lost soon afterwards. Some sources say it sank with the loss of most of the crew; Partington (The British Cyclopedia of Biography, 1838, p. 918).says it was surrendered to the Spaniards because it was perilously unseaworthy.

The curmudgeonly Scot was right, after all.


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MPs - a proper job?

"Members of Parliament work for an average of 70 hours a week, representing their constituents and performing their duties in the House of Commons," says this Guardian article.

In the 2013/14 session, Parliament sat for 162 days. Based on a 5-day week, that's 32.4 weeks, or 62% of the year. If each week was indeed a 70-hour week, that would be 2,268 hours a year, or the equivalent of 49 hours a week for the ordinary worker's 46.4-week working year.

That's assuming, of course, that 70 hours on site is 70 hours' work. I find it hard to believe that MPs work solidly for 14 hours per day, but perhaps they have amazing stamina. My brother tells me that he thinks the most you can expect to do is 6 hours' effective work per day, and that sounds more plausible.

Not that the average means everybody. Following an article about Sir Stuart Bell, who hadn't held a surgery in his constituency for 14 years and spent more time in France than in England, The Guardian surveyed MP absenteeism from the House in the first two months of 2011: 45 Members managed no more than 50% attendance, and the leader among these was Roger Godsiff - my former representative! - at 88.5% absence. In 2008, average absenteeism ran at about 36%.

The Government-Opposition pairing system liberates many from having to attend debates, but why should it be assumed that one side must automatically vote Aye and the other No?

And of those who do attend, how many follow the debate all the way through, and have read and understood the legislation they are passing? The Boiling Frog's sidebar quotes former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd on the Maastricht Treaty: "Now we've signed it - we had better read it."

No wonder MPs made £7 million in outside interests last year, and 20 of them earned more than their Parliamentary salary.

Richard North says windmills "are built to run, on average, for less than ten percent of the time." Perhaps we could replace a substantial number of MPs with windmills - at least the hot air in the Debating Chamber might finally be put to productive use.

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