Meno male che c'è Ratzy! Senza le sue lezioni di vita io sarei perso.

Oggi si è svegliato, ha dato un bacino al suo segretario, si è messo il suo completino più fashion ed ha dichiarato: "Le nazioni cristiane stanno perdendo la loro identità". Identità sessuali, ovviamente.

E c'ha ragione: se penso che all'orgia a quattro appena fatta dai G4 rimango sconcertato per cotanto libertinaggio sessuale. Ma poi "G4", che sboroni: già trovarne uno di punto G è un pugno in culo, ma trovarne quattro è un'impresa faraonica.

L'orgia aveva l'obiettivo di fronteggiare l'attuale crisi finanziaria. Dal mondo del business sono stati tante le richieste di aiuto. Prendiamo la presidenta di Confindustria, Emma Marcegaglia: "Intervenga lo Stato, ma dopo  si ritorni al mercato libero". Papà, papà, si è rotto il giocattolino, riparalo - però poi vattene pure a fare in culo! E così anche le imprese stanno perdendo la loro identità: un giorno libero mercato, un giorno liberi tutti ma mai che ci liberassimo noi di loro.

Persino l'amministrazione pubblica ha perso la sua identità. "A ottobre in calo del 50% le malattie" - ha affermato Brunetta. Ora quando un dipendente statale scopre di avere un cancro, va a lavoro - e quando tossisce sangue, prende un cilicio e si fa del male per scusarsi con Brunetta per aver sporcato la carta intestata.

Ha proprio ragione il Papa: stiamo perdendo tutti l'identità. Tranne lui: gaio* era, e gaio è rimasto. Certi capisaldi non devono mai venir meno.

*Gaio nel senso di felice, ovviamente.

• l'allégorie de la caverne :

il y a une caverne, énorme, dans laquelle se trouve 2 grottes: une très petite, avec un accès à l'eau et au monde extérieur, une très grande, sombre et surpeuplée. Dans leur grande intelligence les habitants de la petite grotte ont scellé l'accès à la deuxième.

• l'allégorie humaine:

l'homme est un golfeur (oui je sais qu'il y a anachronisme), la femme un parcours de golf .

• l'allégorie de l'économie moderne:

Quand une méga corporation ressent un désir , il se produit une image de l'objet désiré, une sorte de sensation qui lui fait connaître sa passion et lui demande d'y obéir et de la satisfaire.

Peut etre pourrais je me prendre pour un penseur moderne influencé :

• pensée spinal-gumpienne : le monde, c'est un sandwich de merde .

• pensée guns 'n' hobbesienne: le monde est une jungle pour l'homme.

• pensée nitshhobbesienne: Vrai et faux sont des attributs de l' homme et non des choses. Là où n'est point d' homme, il n'y a ni vérité ni fausseté.

• pensée metallicospenglerienne :La vérité n'a rien à faire avec l'histoire.

• pensée volée (je dirais pas à qui) : la statut de la liberté est aux Usa car c'est là bas qu'ils l'ont enterrée.

• pensée marxoclausewitzienne : L'économie est donc un acte par lequel nous cherchons à contraindre l'adversaire à se soumettre à notre volonté.

• pensée sarcozienne: Le pouvoir veut de l'ordre, la police lui en donne.

CQFD: je me mets à penser comme sarcozy : la philosophie rends con !

Ceci est le meilleur appareil photo au monde toutes catégories confondues:

Ceci est le pire président jamais élu démocratiquement :

à moins que ce ne soit lui :

ou lui (ça c'est une vraie photo de poseur):

ou encore lui :

Comme dirait brecht "[...] Qu'on dissolve le peuple[...]

comment?

Comment fait il pour dire tant de choses, faire tout ce qu'il dit, dire tout ce qu'il fait, se contredire 5 fois par jours et tout cela avec le même sourire que celui qu'aborde Mick jaeger sur cette célèbre photo de années 70 où il pose avec bob marley et peter tosh? La réponse est peut entre ce numéro de téléphone présent à la fois dans le répertoire de carla bruni et de sir Mick?

qui?

Qui est nicolas sarcozi? nicolas sarcozy est le président démocratiquement élu par les français.

Mais surtout pourquoi?

Pourquoi nicolas sarcozy court il partout tout le temps en ne proposant au final qu'une seule réponse quelle que soit la situation?

Enfant nicolas sarcozy révait de devenir policier, n'ayant jamais atteint la taille réglementaire, il devint avocat; mais puissant déjà le coté obscure en lui était- il préférait gagner du pognon plutot que de mettre des "méchants" en prison-jusqu'au jour où il découvrit la politique, là: le petit nicolas redevint enfant: il est le chef de la police et répondra quelque soit le problème en envoyant la police, voire en en créant une si besoin est.

J'entends déjà les puristes hurler.... avant de critiquer, il faut savoir que cette chanson est dédiée à nicolas sarcozy.

La religion (ainsi que les préférences sexuelles) fait bien sur partie des critères du dossier edwige (pour les inculques : fichiers composés de pleins de critères permettant de ficher légalement une partie de la population; fichier pouvant etre consulté à n'importe quel moment, quel que soit le motif, par n'importe quel fonctionnaire de police.) A quand le retour de l'étoile jaune et du triangle rose?

Je ne pensais jamais dire celà mais voilà : "bravo!"

Une seule question reste en suspent : pourquoi la gauche ne l'a-t-elle jamais fait?

Beurk

C'est un nom qu'on dirais inventé pour lui

Cet enculé de bâtard de fils de pute de sarcozy

Il faudrais que quelqu'un se dévoue et lui tire une balle

Ou comme pour le fn qu'on lui réserve une raffalle

J'ai rêvé plus d'1 millier de fois d'le voir mort

Plus souvent que Gollum de r'trouver son trésor

Beurk

Que celui qui lui jettera la première pierre

Soit canoniser plus saint qu's'il avait tué hitler

Ô Lucifer laisse moi rien qu'une fois

Mettre mon point dans la salle gueule de nicolas

Beurk

Est-ce berlusconi qui s'est incarné en lui

Ou juste un quelconque putain de néo nazi

Le monde connais son allégence pour la hongrie

Même si d'puis quelques temps il est plus attiré vers l'italie

Beurk

Ô Lucifer laisse moi rien qu'une fois

Mettre mon point dans la salle gueule de nicolas

Beurk

Malgré son metre trente sur la photo il est plus grand qu'bush

A qui il a leché le cul le bougre il est pas farouche

Beurk

Que celui qui lui jettera la première pierre

Soit canoniser plus saint qu's'il avait tué hitler

Ô Lucifer laisse moi rien qu'une fois

Mettre mon point dans la salle gueule de nicolas

(j'espère que wordpress défends la liberté d'expression, sinon je vais avoir des problèmes)

(tout rapport avec d'éventuelle loi honteuse votée en catimini quand toute la france est en vacances serait forcément fortuit)

La maladaie orpheline sarkozydose (sarkozydosys in english) qui frappe la france depuis 2003, pays qui rappelons le sortais à peine d'une lepenite aigüe, se répands dangereusement , d'après les spécialistes elle devrait infecter la totalité des 27 pays de l'union européenne avant la fin du mois de juillet.

Cherchons le :

1. Tout d'abord il est né au 20eme siècle comme beaucoup d'entre nous.
2. Il occupera de hautes fonctions, probablement politiques pour contenter son orgueil.
3. Il se délectera dans la luxure, en couchant avec des salopes célèbres comme carla bruni- sarcozy par exemple.
4. Il désirera posseder plus et plus encore et fréquentera certainement les milliardaires.(ndlr pour les cons :il sera gourmand)
5. Il se satisfera du malheur d'autrui, voulant jouir de tout et deviendra très vite impopulaire.(ndlr pour les cons :il sera envieux)
6. Il aura des périodes de courtes folies ou la colère lui fera commettre l'irréparable, un peu comme lorsqu'un certain ministre mis le feu aux banlieues françaises en voulant les passer, je cite :" au karsher (tm)"(ndlr pour les cons :il sera colérique)
7. Il fera croire qu'il est partout et fait tout mais en réalité ne fera rien ou très peu.(ndlr pour les cons : il sera paresseux )
8. Il voudra que tout lui revienne tout de suite, il s'attribuera l'autorité ainsi que les récompenses d'autrui (ndlr pour les cons :il sera avare)

Donc en gros : un président impopulaire,colérique d'une 50aine d'année, marié avec un top model, ayant des amis milliardaires, faisant croire qu'il fait tout partout tout le temps et récoltant les bons résultats (si bon résultat il y a) de ses collaborateurs alors qu'en fait il ne fait rien ... Oh mon Dieu ! Le président de la France est l'anté christ !!!

Cette maladie est particulièrement difficile à pronostiquer , ses principaux symptômes étant une fatigue inhabituelle et une toux sèche; dans moins de 30 % des cas suivent des éruptions cutanées, des ganglions mous, mobiles, et de petites tailles dans la nuque surviennent dans moins de 30 % des cas; des irritations graves des yeux surviennent dans moins de 40 % des cas, des cas de paralysie notamment faciales (atteintes neurologiques) surviennent dans moins de 5 % des cas , s'en suivent des attaques qui peuvent toucher tous ou n'importe quel organes. Des perturbations immunologiques surviennent dans plus de 75% des cas.(source: House M.D.)

Donc pour simplifier, les patients atteints de sarcoïdose sont fatigués, toussent , voient leur système immunitaire perturber ou détruire leurs organes et subissent pleins de petites perturbations qui très vite compliquent leur vie sociales allant jusqu'à les forcer à se cloitrer.

Petite comparaison : étant ministre de l'intérieur, celui dont le nom ne doit pas être nommé, à pris la tête des anticorps de la France, les rendant fous et incontrôlable, ensuite il migre au ministère de l'économie, étouffant petit à petit la population du pays (tapez pouvoir d'achat sur google , juste pour voir) nouvelle migration vers le ministère de l'aménagement du territoire (en passant par la case ministère de l'intérieur et émeutes généralisées) enfin en migrant à l'Élysée, centre névralgique du pays la sarcozydose s'empare de toute la population, même sous l'occupation les rues n'étaient pas aussi vide une fois la nuit tombée, au moins à cette époque, il y avais la résistance .

Un magasin vendant des maris viens juste d'ouvrir à New York, les femmes peuvent y aller et acheter leurs moitié; à l'entrée se trouve le règlement : chaque femme ne peut visiter le magasin qu'une seule fois, il y a 6 étages et le nombres de qualités possédées par les messieurs augmentent d'étages en étages; il y a par contre un hick : la demoiselle peut choisir de pénétrer cet etage pour y choisir n'importe quel homme OU passer à l'étage suivant , mais sans avoir le droit de redescendre par la suite (si ce n'est pour sortir).

Ainsi une femme pénètre le magasin des maris...

• étage 1 : ses hommes ont un emploi et aiment dieu.
• étage 2 : ses hommes ont un emploi et aiment dieu et les enfants.
• étage 3 : ses hommes ont un emploi et aiment dieu et les enfants , de plus ils sont très beau.
• étage 4 : ses hommes ont un emploi et aiment dieu et les enfants , de plus ils sont très beau et aiment faire le ménage. -"fantastique s'exclame la femme c'est exactement le mari qu'il me faut "-pourtant elle passe à l'étage suivant.
• étage 5 : ses hommes ont un emploi et aiment dieu et les enfants , de plus ils sont très beau et aiment faire le ménage et ont un délicieux penchant pour le romantisme. - la tentation du 5eme étage est énorme mais finalement elle passe au 6eme.
• au 6eme étage le panneau indique : " vous êtes la 4 363 012eme visiteuse, il n'y a pas d'homme à cette étage , seulement la preuve qu'il est impossible de satisfaire une femme ; merci d'être passé au magasin des maris , faites attention en sortant et passez une bonne journée ."

Sinon j'avais aussi : Sarcozy et Le pen sont sur un bateau avec leur programmes politique , quelqu'un vole le programme de Le pen , qui est ce?

Der Karikaturenstreit ist erneut entbrannt - und Teile Kopenhagens mit.

Die Deutschen Medien berichten darüber nebenbei - oder garnicht. Kopenhagen und andere Städte Dänemarks befinden sich heute am Mittag nach der achten Krawallnacht mit Brandstiftungen. Doch die Krawalle sind in der gestrigen Nacht abgeflaut, es gab nur noch 89 Brandalarme...

© 2008 Financial Times Deutschland, © dpa

Die siebte Krawallnacht war die schlimmste - Teile einer Gesamtschule brannten nieder. Zehn weitere Brandstiftungen an Schulen wurden von der Polizeit vereitelt. Mitte letzter Woche brannte schon eine andere Schule. Die Täter sind zwischen 12 und 18 Jahre alt.Als Frankreich heimgesucht wurde, konnten sich die Käsblätter garnicht satt schreiben. Auch die erste Welle auf Dänemark wurde großgeschrieben. Langweilt das Thema oder entspricht es nicht der aktuellen Mode?

Übrigens: die Firma Kärcher verwehrt sich gegen die Verwendung ihrer Geräte zum "wegspritzen" bestimmter Personen oder Personengruppen. Überhaupt seien ihre Geräte dazu ganz und gar ungeeignet. In Frankreich gab's dazu eine Anzeigenkampagne und in Österreich sogar eine Unterlassungsklage.

Recht haben Sie, ein Kärcher macht keinen Unterschied zwischen Mann und Frau, Österreicher, Franzose, Däne, Moslem oder Kind. Ihm ist das völlig egal. Uns aber nicht - Kinder gehören versohlt.

Nachtrag vom 19.02.08: der Kosovo hat unverschämt viel Klicks mehr als dieser Beitrag. Ich werte den Versuch, zwar populistische, jedoch niveaulich höher angesiedelte Überschriften zu wählen damit als gescheitert. Zukünftig also wieder weiter auf BILD-Niveau:Zerstören die Ausländer Dänemark? Wütende Moslems brennen Kopenhagen nieder! Wer stoppt die brandschatzenden Kinder?

What many Europeans forget is that in 1945 few would have held out much hope for something like the Coal and Steel Community, which was established just six years later. And after the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958, few figured that the French would consent to the United Kingdom entering the European Community (EC) in 1973. After all, had de Gaulle not resolved to bind Germany to France in the European Economic Community in order to counterbalance the Anglo-Saxon powers?

Few recall today that the project of forming a currency union seemed dead after the Werner Plan foundered on French mercantilism in the 1970s.1 Then it would have been unimaginable that a socialist president of France, François Mitterand, —fearing German preponderance in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall—would become the driving force behind a European currency union. His motive, to wrest the Bundesbank's monetary policy hegemony from united Germany, has also been forgotten, in Germany the more so since German industry benefited hugely from the introduction of the Euro.

Europe’s loss of memory concerning its own experience of successful integration may also be understandable in view of present anxieties. Once again, with Nicolas Sarkozy, France has a rather mercantilist president, and he expresses dissatisfaction with a European Central Bank which, though led by a Frenchman, "outbundesbanks the Bundesbank" in the view of most anglo-saxon economists. Belgium, a founding member of the European Community as well as host to the “capital” of the European Union, threatens to disintegrate on the basis of language. “New Europe” seems driven by very old instincts of nationalism. "Idealism is mugged by reality", a British realist writes triumphantly, though just a little worried. No wonder the rest of the world is seen through this prism, too.

But as confirmed by eminent Asian authors in the November 2007 issue of Internationale Politik, the trend is going in the opposite direction in Asia, where functional integration and community-building are understood as a strategy for the future. What had to be initiated in Europe with the political theory of idealism is in Asia the result of political and economic decisions inspired by strategic pragmatism. European idealist with a dogmatic frame of mind wrongly mistake strategic pragmatism as opportunism. As explained in more detail in our first post and in our web site www.schmiegelowpartners.com, pragmatism was developed as a philosophy by Charles Peirce, William James and John Dewey in the late 19th and early 20th century. But in more recent decades, the most impressive patterns of strategic pragmatism can be found in Asia. Since according to Kant, the necessity to decide excedes the capacity to know, strategic pragmatism is ethically superior to dogmatism.

Seeking the “win-win situations” described in Internationale Politik by both ASEAN’s former Secretary General Ong Keng Yong and China’s former Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, such strategic pragmatism has created impressive results over time.
The economic, sociocultural, and security policy ties of East and Southeast Asia described by Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda and the President of the Japan Foundation, Kazuo Ogura, are strikingly reminiscent of the functionalist and neofunctionalist strategies of the European Community’s founding fathers, albeit in a different sequence. Whoever thinks Asian monetary cooperation is inconceivable should carefully read Kuroda’s essay. Building on ASEAN, ASEAN+3, and the East Asian Summits (EAS), the method of community-building established by the ASEAN states links the political, economic, and ecological objectives explained by Ong Keng Yong. It does so with an impressively realistic sense of the balance of power among Asia’s great powers. The fact that the heads of government of India, Australia, and New Zealand have been invited to the EAS since 2005 demonstrates a pragmatic usage of the geographical term "East Asia". The network of asymmetrically overlapping regional organizations is developing as dynamically in Asia as in earlier phases of European integration.

Kazuo Ogura’s analysis of the historical commonalities of Asian cultures, their displacement by Western modernization in the form of colonialism, and their resurgence now casts doubt on the assertion by Western observers that the very lack of a shared culture prevents Asia from becoming a community. Yusuf Wanandi’s idea of an East Asian Community sharing the responsibilities of global governance is a strong indication that the concept of a forward-looking policy that Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, expounds once more in the same Asia issue of Internationale Politik as a way to manage the global challenges of the future will find receptive partners in Asia.

Read more at our web site or download the article "The Road to an Asian Community" by Michele Schmiegelow and Henrik Schmiegelow offered on our site or at www.internationalepolitik.de.

The long-running tale of malpractice enveloping EADS continues. Nicholas Sarcozy distances himself from any involvement, and calls for punishment of the guilty

Earlier posts to this blog have followed the various dismissals, resignations, restructurings, and political interventions, at EADS and its Airbus subsidiary.

This week the International Herald Tribune picked up the news agency bulletin:

"If there are people who committed fraud at EADS, judicial officials must get to the bottom of it so that we know the truth and those who behaved dishonestly be punished in proportion to what they did," Sarkozy said. "I'll get to the bottom of the investigation to know what the responsibilities of the state were at the time."

While a major shareholder, the French government does not sit on the EADS board. Its interests are represented by the French defense and media conglomerate Lagardere, which holds a 7.5 percent stake.

EADS shareholders Lagardere SCA of France and Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG announced in March 2006 that they would reduce their stakes.

There are several inter-related strands to this story. Airbus is a European flagship company with a complex governance structure through its parent EADS which involves particularly French and German Governments. The business theme is centred around the fierce competition between Airbus and Boeing products. The political theme involves unresolved bickering about the ways in which the US and European governments subsidize their commercial interests. There are additional fascinating manufacturing, logistic, and technological issues to do with creating next-generation products across multiple international sites, and meet increasingly drifting deadlines. Oh, yes, and Airbus is struggling to achieve considerable cost-cuttings with industrial relations troubles. Add to all these issues a series of allegations of corruption.

At the start of the year I attempted to tease out the killer facts in the Airbus affair. At the time, it seemed that

[In 2006] A380 project executives, including Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert, were dismissed. Humbert was blamed for the failure to deal effectively with the project delays, but also was accused of concealing the seriousness of the problems.

In the same period, it was revealed that the joint CEO of EADS, Noel Forgeard had sold EADS stock weeks before its Airbus subsidiary announced the Airbus A380 would be delayed again. M. Forgeard resigned, and the stock plummeted.

In a short space of time, Humbert’s replacement, at Airbus, Christian Streiff resigned, which was when Louis Gallois stepped in. Streiff was believed to have failed to secure backing for a financial package he believed necessary to turn things around with the A380.

In a few months, the company had begun to unravel some of its knottier problems, and achieved a more convincing organizational structure.

However, the changes left some players with lesser roles.

Arnaud Lagardère (of the media group of the same name) was French Co-chairman of EADS and seems to have been airbrushed out of the wider game. It had been muttered (especially in the French press) that he escaped scrutiny over earlier share scandals, and is 'protected' by Sarcozy, who was given a rather soft ride from Lagardère's media group in his election campaign. M. Largardère, claims that he had no inside knowledge of delays in deliveries of the A380, when his family group sold off 7.5 per cent of the Franco-German planemaker's shares in April 2006. The possibility remains that he will be in line to return to EADS in the future, when the Chair rotates from German to French hands

According to The Independent, reports from the French press, that

[S]ince taking over the family empire after his father died in March 2003, M. Lagardère has cultivated a chatty and approachable style. He has, however, been plunged into controversies. His group is one of France's biggest media players, owning a controlling stake in Hachette-Filipacci Media, the company that owns Paris-Match. He also has smaller stakes in Le Monde, Le Parisien and L'Equipe ... M. Lagardère has been accused of interfering in editorial decisions to protect his friend M. Sarkozy and especially to prevent discussion of alleged problems in the President's [private life]. Le Monde quoted a "close adviser" of M. Lagardère [as saying that] "whatever happens" he will be protected by M. Sarkozy.

It now seems, that “whatever happens” M. Sarcozy intends to place himself hors de combat.

"No tenemos informaciones de que Irán aspire a fabricar armas nucleares. No tenemos datos objetivos que nos aseguren que Irán tenga dichos planes", subrayó Putin al término de un encuentro con Sarkozy en el Kremlin, centrado en la crisis nuclear iraní.

Agencias La Jornada

The report spoke to a boss in the rag trade and his trouble at getting business done due to most things having ground to a halt. The boss naturally supported the proposed political reforms being tacitly mooted by Dominique de Villepin and Nicolas Sarcosie the main 2 political centre-right heavyweights in France. Unsurprisingly whilst many bosses support the reforms, the workers are broadly in favour of retaining their tradition of en vaccances for the month of August.

Many French public sector employees work a 35 hour week and can be entitled to anything up to 11 weeks off in total. A France Telecom employee was cited as being understandably happy with the current situation and suspicious of any changes in working regulations. He mentions that French workers despite having one of the shortest working weeks in Europe are also one of the more productive and therefore the holidays are relative and not a threat to the economic situation any more than they would have been over the decades that the situation has been in place.

It is interesting that the slant now seems to be that changes to the French system are both inevitable and desirable the inference being “those lazy French” and their arcane ways etc. etc. 40 years ago one might have expected it to be very different and to see much of the world regarding the French model with a degree of envy. The claim of the French public sector worker that 4 weeks holiday in August allows one a proper holiday is not scrutinised. I was most interested in this statement because it was one I felt considerable solidarity with. In the job I am now in I get public sector holidays which amount to 6 weeks a year rather than the usual norm in Britain which is 4. This meant I was able to take 2 weeks in Cornwall early last year and just as the Frenchmen says the first week is purely about shaking off the shackles, getting rid of the thoughts of what you left behind. Someway into the second week you actually start to relax. The trouble for me was that just when I started to relax I became all too aware of the impending end of the holiday. I would have thought in the modern world it would be even more prevalent that what little leisure time we receive should be cherished and used to good effect.

Many French school leavers think that the welfare system is too benign and allows a culture of ambivalence to work since 2/3 of ones salary will be paid in welfare payments for up to 2 years. People believe this means workers will attempt to cherry-pick or not work at all. Much of this indifferance to work though is very much a product of the type of society we live in. People resent the notion that we are supposed to be drones for the 40 odd years of our working lives. and feel there should be more to life than this. Of course one would not expect the company bosses to feel thus, they are the very people who manny huge capital gains from such an exploiutative system. They are able to relax in comfortable houses and in comfortable cars and offices, not to mention down the golf course. If the French political establishment has their way one of the last remaining progressive pieces of worker's rights pertaining to holiday will be eroded.

If one casts a comparitive eye over the British model one finds less holiday and less statutory, this has not led to increased production, nor intrinsically more economic growth over a prolonged period. It certainly does not mean that British workers feel they get more from their jobs in fact the reverse is true. One can at this point draw in elements of other countries social legislation such as the pre-Schroeder welfare system of Germany or the parental leave rights from the Scandinavian countries none of which we enjoy in Britain. So does the lack of these conditions and rights make British workers more or less inclined to work? They are certainly cheaper and have far less employment legislation in their favour regarding any disputes and it is small wonder that companies have traditionally used Britain as a useful place to have offices, part of the EU but as a non-signatory to the Social Chapter less "repressive" for the companies. Post-Thatcher Britain has of course weakened Trade Union rights in addition to all this.

There are those 'liberals' who would say that a compassionate capitalism that takes into account the worker's interests like this allowing for holidays and such like would perhaps be a better method of ideological governance, but the nature of the beast is all consuming, to think any different is delusion. Capitalism does not stop at a specific point just because its fluffy and nice, it is a rapacious evolving system that tramples what is in its path.

The concerted attack upon a number of fundamental workers rights has been coming for some time. The tricks used include the threat of shifting jobs to Eastern Europe - this is only a temporary measure for TNCs because there is already evidence that the jobs shifted to Hungary from Germany when German workers proved too costly, are now been moved again to Romania as the comparisons between it and Hungary prove favourable for slave labour.

There is no getting away from the fact that there are only 2 ways of doing things - subsistance survival for workers and a trading off of one countries workers against anothers to drive down salaries, working conditions etc. or the other way which is taxing the rich to pay for the poor and a welfare system. This does illustrate to me why socialists have traditionally looked for a different economic system, being no economist I am not in a position to offer any solutions merely to identify the problem.

There is always another way if one is minded to take it, in the case of the pensions crisis why not use some of the vast £1 billion that 400 of the UKs company directors paid themselves in pensions last year to redress the balance. In the case of worker's rights the view has to be that increasing rights is progressive not a hindrance to economic profitability. However those outside the capitalist system must enforce this. Governments are not required to be as profitable as companies to their shareholders as we cannot change the board of directors quite as often. This means governments have the option of siding with business or the people they are actually there to represent. THERE IS NO THIRD WAY. You cannot have your cake and eat it the demands of the companies and the shareholdres are a complete anathema to a fair and ethical working environment and there will always be a squeeze. Assaults like that in France on the holiday system are nothing more than the thin end of the wedge.

Song Of The Day ~ Stereolab - Ping Pong*
*the only indie song I know about the causal effect of the global economic cycle!

Original Comments:

Haddock made this comment,
Excellant post. The errosion of workers rights as you know has started in Germany as well, and as you quite rightly said it appears to be the thin edge of the wedge. From my point of view, stress in the work place in the UK seems a lot higher than it used to be, whereas in continental Europe the stress levels seem a lot lower....but I wonder for how long.
-Redbaron responds - Thanks mate, yes I spoke to a German Trade Union official at the ESF last year who told me about the continuing Easterward migration. I think workers rights in Europe are still a step ahead of them here which may account for the disparity in stress but you're right to caveat it may not be for long.-

comment added :: 19th November 2005, 13:32 GMT+01 :: http://greenhaddock2.blogspot.com/
Mark Ellott made this comment,
I tried to find more about the attempt to erode the grande vacance but couldn't. I don't see the French giving that up too easily.
-Redbaron responds - I think De Villepin and Sarcozy have their eyes on other things at the moment!-

comment added :: 19th November 2005, 20:21 GMT+01 :: http://longrider.blog-city.com

Kristie made this comment,
As an American, I can tell you I, and many of us, envy the vacation other countries have long enjoyed. It's worth preserving. In a world full of convenience and computers, there is no reason we should all still be working 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, let alone the insane 70-hour schedules some do. I'm thinking 3.5 days work, 3.5 days off, and a nice stretch of vacation time would do it. Hell, I find I'm in a much better frame of mind if I can just have a 3-day weekend--enough time to decompress (I'm quick.) The fact of the matter is, it's about control and about mandating the seat time they pay for. I can do my job in 15 hours a week, with more on rare occasions. But if I ever told them that, they'd just work me harder. I get no benefit from my efficiency. Just The Man does. I think that's crap, and therefore I'm still efficient, but I don't announce it. The time I save is my own, however limited by being bounded by my cubicle-cell.
comment added :: 20th November 2005, 18:54 GMT+01

The Fat Boy made this comment,
The riots are acts of terror. These people are destroying France, and right before the holiday season too. If they keep this up, Santa will give them shit.
-Redbaron responds - What is it with you 'Mericans eh everything that doesn't agree with your view of the world is terror-related? The riots are acts of desperation by many and violence by a few, symptomatic of the disenfranchised in an authoritarian society.-

comment added :: 22nd November 2005, 11:34 GMT+01 :: http://spongeblog.blog-city.com