Totalitarianism Today
ALINA STEFANESCU
ALINAON@MSN.COM
Saturday, October 19, 2002
WHY DO CEO'S MAKE SUCH OUTLANDISH AMOUNTS OF MONEY? tHE MAGIC WORDS: "INSIDER LOANS".
According to a study to be published in November by the Corporate Library, a firm based in Portland that analyzes corporate data and advocates greate accountability to shareholders, about three-quarters of the nation's top 1, 500 corporations (exactly 1,133) disclosed loans to insiders in recent regulatory filings. Congress reacted to the problems of corporate accountability fairly rapidly after the Enron debacle by passing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which bans insider loans for stock insurance or anything else. However, Judith Fischer, managing director of Executive Compensation Advisory Services, a firm based in Alexandria that designs compensation strategies, doesn't think the "addiction" to offering insider loans as a means of attracting corporate executives will be an easy one to end, given both its long history and its deeply embedded ethos. Indeed, stock-purchase loans programs started being used during the 1980's bull market. It's been an uphill climb since then, with disclosure policies not doing much to prevent insider loans.
So what to do if common knowledge stipulates corporations will just do their best to get around the new disclosure mandates and loan bans? Scholars have suggested that the USC rule in favor of protecting earnings as art in order to get around some of the recent problems with insider loans and forgiveness policies for corporate executives.
Friday, October 18, 2002
RETURNING THE FLAVOR
Radley Balko may wish he never posted his thought-provoking piece on the problems with the concept of race because now I am on a roll. So here's a toast to inspiration for Radley and a gracious thanks to David Beito for the invitation.
Call it a blessing in no disguise. When David Beito of the Alabama Scholars Association contacted me about Peter Kirsanow coming to speak, I dropped my spork. Needless to say, his talk did what no Congressional debate can do-- it roused, it riled, and ultimately, it ennobled. For those of you unfortunate enough to be unfamiliar with Kirsanow, an introduction is in order.
Civil-rights commissioner Peter Kirsanow has been called everything from a fascist to an Uncle Tom by the more vile elements of the press and the political shark pool. He certainly fought a tough battle against dour Democrats in order to finally claim his seat. And it looks like the battle may not be over yet, since, although Kirsanow won at the federal appellate level, it appears that his self-righteous opponents deem this important enough for the Supreme Court. (My guess-- the Court won't accept it.)
In his talk, Kirsanow made it clear that his controversial remarks had been taken out of context. He has been criticized by both left and right for opposing affirmative action in its current condition. In his speech, however, Kirsanow indicated that affirmative action, as initially conceived-- to help disadvantaged persons set higher goals and standards for themselves-- was a good thing. However, affirmative action today, with its demeaning and dehumanizng system of preferences and quotas, squares the circle by telling young blacks or young women that they shouldn't even bother trying to improve themselves, as their skin color or sex provides a free ride.
According to Kirsanow, inflation is a problem at the high school as well as the university level, even at Ivy League schools such as Harvard, where 82 percent of students graduate with honors. He said it is also a pressing issue at open admissions schools because it lessens the value of a degree.
Nuckolls said grade inflation is the result of "consumer education" in an effort to convince students to stay at a certain school and even prevent lawsuits resulting from low grades and angered students."
More importantly, grade inflation and preferences do not accomplish what they set out to do, which is to create a hypothetical level playing field. By lowering the bar for certain people, it also lowers the expectations for their success or the ability, leading to perceptions that might be considered "racist".
The same three-prong strategy for civil rights has been used for last 35 years. These three prongs consist of a commitment to affirmative action, which Kirsanow calls "lower standards", a view of civil rights as groups rights, instead of individual rights (which pits it against the Constutition on my view), and the doling out of entitlements or reparations to "deal" with problems. Kirsanow notes that, over the last 35 years, the income and achievement gaps have not narrowed. On his view, it's time to change strategies, since this one has proven itself to be ineffective.
Friday, October 18, 2002
WHERE PHILOSOPHY AND ECONOMICS MEET. AWKWARDLY.
So classical liberalism is responsible for all the evil in the world and the plunders of privatization must be rememdied through reparations, or so says Dana De Zoysa in her review of David Bollier's latest spin on sophisticated self-flagellation. Just when I am ready to yawn and color myself that lovely blue shade of bored, I hear a rumour about a new philosophy which incorporates economics, known as The School of Economic Science, more commonly abbreviated as SES. A little sample of logic according to the SES view....
"All trains are long. All coaches are long. Therefore, all trains are coaches....That is logic, and it is no good for anything at all. There is absolutely no relationship between rationality and logic."
Suddenly, the yawn tempts me again. Alas, what can I say? I'm getting old. Just color me Austrian.
Friday, October 18, 2002
A RISE IN CHILDHOOD AUTISM DEFIES SCIENTISTS' EXPLANATIONS
With cases of childhood autism on the rise, scientists claim they are "at a loss to explain the reasons for what they called an epidemic of autism, the mysterious brain disorder that affects a person's ability to form relationships and to behave normally in everyday life". Though autism is acknowledged by most scientists to have a strong genetic component, Portia Iversen, a founder of Cure Autism Now, a research and advocacy group in Los Angeles formed by parents of autistic children says what they can't seem to isolate is the environmental factor that is interacting with genes to "contribute to this huge increase in cases".
The study documenting this rise was taken by researchers at UC Davis in California, with the assistance of Governor Gray Davis' 2001 special-education funding bill, which channeled a significant amount of new funds into the system. Those who parent or help care for autistic children describe it as alternately rewarding and upsetting. But scientists have not progressed much on cures for autism and its sister developmental disorder, Asperger syndrome. What treatments that have been discovered tend to be concentrated in therapeutic, as opposed to medicinal, cures.
The person who first explained autism to me is now married to a wonderful man who lives in Florida, where she works with autistic children. This young lady, Kimberly Marsh, has decided to put off having children of her own in order to be able to give more attention to her a-kids. Kim is a hero.
Thursday, October 17, 2002
THE WAR CRITICS IN THE MILITARY: SPOTLIGHT ON GEN. ANTHONY ZINNI
Among those of significant stature in the US military who have publicly expressed their opposition to unilateral war against Iraq are retired Gen. Brent Scowcraft, former NATO military commander Gen. Wesley Clark, and significantly, retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, former head of Central Command for US forces in the Middle East. Frustrated by administration hawks who continue to pish-posh the anti-American sentiment of Arabs in the Middle East, Zinni snapped, "I'm not sure which planet they live on because it isn't the one that I travel".
Zinni says Saddam falls 5th or 6th on the list of foreign policy priorities in the Middle East, much further down the line from the first priority, which he believes is getting the Arab-Israeli peace process back on track. As for heroism and liberation, Zinni remind us that, "It's not whether you're greeted in the streets as a hero; it's whether you're still greeted as a hero when you come back a year from now". On Zinni's view, war is the absolute last stop-- only to be pulled after all diplomatic channels have been exhausted. Like his heroes Gen. MacArthur, Gen. George C. Marshall, and Gens. Grant and Lee, Zinni doesn't think "that violence and war is the solution".
Perhaps the wisest comment comes to the question of how to judge when objectives have been met on the field. Zinni replies:"Success in a military operation isn't only defined in military terms. We tried to do that in Vietnam by body counts and it didn't work. Success in a military operation has to be measured in success in the political objectives that you're out to achieve....That will be the mark of what we are-- what we leave behind in this". If history is a guide, Iraq might be in for another American-approved Saddam.
Thursday, October 17, 2002
A HODGE-PODGE OF DECENT STUFF
Because sometimes the best doesn't fit together in any concievable fashion; they stand alone. Kelly Jane Torrance mocks the shyster who told Chris Hitchens that he couldn't smoke at his own movie premiere. J. Carter Wood discusses the recent elections in Germany that revealed a German third way in the paving. James Norton reviews Yves Fremion's Orgamsms of History, a chronicle of utopian insurrections and rebellions from ancient days up through the modern times. And finally, Philip Roth laments the "kitschification" of the Sept. 11th deaths, as well as the Bush administration's embrace of total war, which essentially means a war waged not only on military targets, but on infrastructure and civilian targets as well.
Thursday, October 17, 2002
SPIRIT OF SECESSION ALIVE AND WELL?
William Safire certainly thinks so, as he writes ominously:
"The spirit of secession once again stalks the land. But this time, its fiery advocates want to break up cities, not a nation, and talk of devolution, not revolution.
Key Biscayne, Fla., has already seceded from Miami. Residents of Staten Island were agitating to pull out of New York City until successive mayors agreed to stop dumping Manhattan's garbage there. Roxbury wants out of its tie to Boston, and West Seattle has long been contemplating divorce."
Beautiful. Need I even quip on this one?
Thursday, October 17, 2002
THE ONLY WARS WORTH WAGING ARE OVER MUSICAL TASTE
So arm yourselves with come-back albums and a few favorites to influence whether Radley Balko's list blows hot, cold, or, even more menancing, mediocre. Might I suggest a little ditty called "Kill the US Govt." by the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, or will Radley tell me to start my own anarchist top 40? Let the musical savagery begin.
Thursday, October 17, 2002
BUSH FLIRTS WITH THE CLOVEN-FOOTED CRAVEN
The Huntington Long Islander might not appear too important in its current state, but during the Reconstruction debates following the American Civil War (or, as my Southern friends like to call it, "the War of Northern Agression"), the Long Islander stood out for its remarkable commitment against the "sacrifice of principle for policy". An editorial by a Republican during the debates over the final form of the Fourteenth Amendment read as follows:
"Policy, like the devil in Eden, is deceptive in its appearance, and is the author of and father of lies. it degrades itself by surrendering principle to expediency, and showing the cloven-footed craven, when truth and justice raises its voice to protect the weak and the innocent from harm."
In a piece entitled "Principles, Not Men", running in the Long Islander on February 16th of 1866, the same view is expressed when the author speaks of liberty and equality as "the two vital principles of a Republican government, without which a government, though republican in name, cannot be republican in fact". Rather than allowing politics to be conditioned by Congressmen or DC bigwigs, it would be apt for principles to condition politics, hopefully trickling down to develop Americans into wise, restrained, and principled citizens-- the goal of any self-reliant polity.
There are too many escape clauses to wise citizenship nowadays-- too many estrogen-driven sychophants more interested in rising to political prominence by emotional appeal than by thoughful, weighted reasoning. It is our loss as Americans that this should be so. If I were a parent, I would be discussing the pros and cons of this war on terrorism at the dinner table with my children and husband every night, asking them to compare their gut feelings with their moral inclinations, asking them to think, debate, and consider the options. The benefits of democracy lie precisely in this option of public and private deliberation or discourse. Before we make the world (or the Middle East) "safe for democracy", it might behoove us to remember why democracy matters in the first place. There are terrible moral consequences for democratic inaction. When the history books are written, what we do not talk about now will be what we cannot turn back time to change.
For more on the Reconstruction debates, see Akhil Reed Amar's readable work on the Bill of Rights. Pamela Brandwein reexamines some of the USC's most famous decisions to show how individual justices' interpretations of historical events shaped the Court's institutional memory and jurisprudence for decades, with a particular focus on nineteenth-century Justice Samuel Freeman Miller's construction of the meaning of the American Civil War and how it subsequently effected the Court's interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment. The best resource is this summary of the issues; the meat and crucial links for study can be found in the endnotes.
Thursday, October 17, 2002
WHY CAN'T OUR GOVERNMENT BE MORE LIKE SHERLOCK?
A great article by Colin Shea on oil, war, Texas, and the domestification of foreign policy. Don't miss the map.
Thursday, October 17, 2002
WOODY HARRELSON TALKS ABOUT THE WAR FROM BRITAIN
Living in the UK while he stars in a play there, American actorWoody Harrelson says he is "tired of American lies" where other countries are concerned. States are natural-born killers on his view:
"I remember playing basketball with an Iraqi in the late
80s while Iran and Iraq were at war. I didn't know at the
time that the US and Britain were supplying weapons
to both sides. I asked why they were always at war
with each other and he said something that stayed
with me: "If it were up to the people, there would be
peace. It's the governments that create war." And now
my government is creating its second war in less than
a year. No; war requires two combatants, so I should
say "its second bombing campaign".
Harrelson admits that his views shaped by being a father--"no amount of propaganda can
convince me that half a million dead children is
acceptable "collateral damage." Unlike most Hollywooders, he knows his history:
The fact is that
Saddam Hussein was our boy. The CIA helped him to
power, as they did the Shah of Iran and Noriega and
Marcos and the Taliban and countless other brutal
tyrants. The fact is that George Bush Sr continued to
supply nerve gas and technology to Saddam even
after he used it on Iran and then the Kurds in Iraq.
While the Amnesty International report listing
countless Saddam atrocities, including gassing and
torturing Kurds, was sitting on his desk, Bush Sr
pushed through a $2bn "agricultural" loan and
Thatcher gave hundreds of millions in export credit to
Saddam. The elder Bush then had the audacity to
quote the Amnesty reports to garner support for his oil
war.
Harrelson mourns the history lessons taught in American schools today, using Colombus Day as a recent example:
The history taught in our schools is scandalous. We
grew up believing that Columbus actually discovered
America. We still celebrate Columbus Day. Columbus
was after one thing only - gold. As the natives were
showering him with gifts and kindness, he wrote in his
diary, "They do not bear arms ... They have no iron ...
With 50 men we could subjugate them all and make
them do whatever we want." Columbus is the perfect
symbol of US foreign policy to this day."
For my part, the weather is beautiful, the leaves turning that lovely shade of Irish, and I would rather just close my eyes and pretend there isn't a war going on-- which is easy enough, the art of modern democratic citizenship. However, since there is a war and my country is the aggressor, suffice it to say I am proud that Woody Harrelson is an American.
Thursday, October 17, 2002
FEMALES, SHOW YOUR UH PATRIOTISM
Looks like there is a way for the ladies to be patriotic that doesn't involve the strategic use of a credit-card. A friend forwarded a proposal to me that I might as well post:
The TALIBAN and Al Quaida cannot stand nudity and consider it a sin to see a
naked woman that is not one's wife. Next Saturday afternoon, at 2:00 p.m.
EST, all North American women are asked to walk out of their houses
completely naked to help weed out any neighborhood terrorists. Circling
your
block for one hour is recommended for this antiterrorist effort. All men
should position themselves in lawn chairs in front of their homes to prove
that they think it's OK to see other women nude. (Since the enemy does not
approve of alcohol, a cold six-pack at your side would be further proof of
your anti-Taliban sentiment.) Notify the appropriate authorities of any
people who do not participate. Your efforts to root out terrorists will be
greatly appreciated and indicate your desire to demonstrate your patriotism.
To achieve 100% participation, forward this note to other similar minded
patriots.
Thursday, October 17, 2002
RICHARD RORTY MOURNS DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA
Surprisingly enough, Richard Rorty writes a spotless commentary on the current problems for democracy in The Nation. Rather than admit there is not much that it can do to prevent terrorism, the US government would prefer to wage wars for the economy. Rorty notes that "the last thing it wants is genuine public debate about what needs to be done", sincve such debate would undermine the belief that we are already at war-- a belief which keeps us complacent.
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
ANOTHER LINK TO A LITTLE ESSAY BY MY INSIGNIFICANT OTHER
Those of you interested in developmental psychology, the nature v. nurture debate, or blaming your parents for everything that goes wrong in your lives should take a peek at this.
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
THE MILITARY STRATEGY FOR WAR IN IRAQ
A friend reminded me of the importance of solid evidence this morning when he asked me to give substance to my statement that American planes have been circling Iraqi territory in the hopes of provoking Iraqi fire. I first heard this bit of information from a father whose son is in the US Marines and is presently on his way to Iraq. In terms of sources online, it seems that this has been part of US strategy for some time now. In October of 2000, evidence for Clinton's intent to bomb Iraq mounted. An article written for Asia Times on July 31 of 2002, by David Isenberg notes as follows:
In past months, the US military has quietly moved munitions, equipment and communications gear to the base from Saudi Arabia, the control center for American air operations in the Gulf for more than a decade. About 3,300 American troops are in Qatar, mostly at Al Udeid, where the signs of an American military buildup are unmistakable. There has been speculation that Al Udeid is being built up as an alternative to, or replacement for, the Combined Air Operations Center at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have made clear that they do not favor a US invasion of Iraq.
Al Udeid is among several US military bases in the Gulf area. Nearly 10,000 army soldiers are at Camp Doha in Kuwait, and 4,200 troops are in Bahrain, headquarters for the Navy's Fifth Fleet. Several thousand are in Saudi Arabia and a few thousand in Oman.
As part of longstanding arrangements since Desert Storm in 1990, the US Army already has about a division's worth of armor and other heavy equipment pre-positioned in the Persian Gulf region, including brigade-sized depots in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and on ships in the Indian Ocean.
US Air Force planes are already based in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In the event of the attack, more planes would operate from Turkey, which is expected to join any US effort against Iraq......In another move to free forces for an attack on Iraq, 3,000 members of Britain's main fighting force, 1 (UK) Armored Division, have been withdrawn from a tank exercise in Poland. Britain's Royal Air Force is practicing low-level precision bombing strike missions that they expect to undertake against Iraq. The ministry of defense is planning a mass mobilization of key reservists beginning in September, heightening expectation that the United States and Britain are stepping up preparations for an attack on Iraq.
The leading US ground commander would be Lieutenant-General David McKiernan of US Army Forces Central Command - ARCENT - based at Fort McPherson, Georgia. McKiernan is formerly deputy chief of staff of military planning for the army."
Perhaps the best evidence of US overfly missions is that from the mouth of our Commander in Chief himself, when, in an interview for the BBC, Bush said:
The US and Britain are patrolling two so-called "no-fly zones" over northern and southern Iraq.
Iraq contests the legality of these zones. The allies say the northern one is to protect the Kurds and the southern the Shia from any air attack by Saddam Hussein.
From time to time, these planes attack Iraqi air defence sites.
Obviously their constant presence has a military value to the US and Britain as they prepare for possible war since they get to know the Iraqi system and its strengths and weaknesses.
According to Time magazine writer Tony Karon, these no-fly zones have yet to be recognized by the UN, which raises the question of what right (besides that of sheer might, of course) the United States government has to fly over Iraq.
Make no mistake-- this will not be as smooth as the bombing of Afghanistan. American soldiers are already being trained in urban warfare in anticipation of taking Baghdad. Under such circumstances, American troops should expect high casualties, even with 6-1 advantage.
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
SWINGERS AND VOTERS
Businessweek predicts this Congressional election will be a tough call, once again perhaps due to the swing-voter phenomenon, while The Economist calls it too close to predict. This, of course, does not stop them from preditcing:
"Opinion polls show that the Republicans score better on security issues than the Democrats, but worse on the economy and corporate governance. A poll published at the end of last week also showed that by a two-to-one margin, voters wanted candidates in the forthcoming elections to focus on the economy. Democratic candidates around the country are doing their best to maximise their advantage in this way. They are keen to draw attention to the rapidly rising budget deficits forecast over the next few years, blaming Mr Bush’s tax cuts for the rich. The Republicans, as they always have, accuse the Democrats of wanting to spend too much."
According to The Economist, the closest races this November will be those in South Dakota, where Mr Bush has campaigned personally as part of the Republican effort to unseat the Democratic Senator Tim Johnson, and in North Carolina where Erskine Bowles, a former Clinton aide, is trying to swing the Senate seat held by Jesse Helms to the Democrats. In Iowa, a democratic senator will be trying to hold on to his seat. There are also House seats that are close in Minnesota and New Hampshire.
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
THE SECURITY COUNCIL PROBABLY WON'T REJECT THE IRAQ WAR
In the road towards war with Iraq, now that the US Congress has approved Bush's designs, there might be one last pressure-point along the way. (Benjamin Barber expresses his disgust at what he percieves as the lack of real foreign-policy debate in DC.) But this pressure-point, the UN Security Council vote, might be more influenced by the pressures of strategic back-scratching than strategic disengagement. We are, after all, talking about nation-states, notorious for their narrowmindedness.
Igor Leshukov, with his finger on the pulse in Moscow, complains about the "hypocrisy exhibited in both Washington and London in employing eloquent rhetoric that presents the whole issue as stemming from a genuine concern in those capitals about preserving the authority of the United Nations". Leshukov believes that Russia will have no option but to play along, since clearly a future for the Russian state requires alignment with the West. His argument is worth quoting at length:
Another irony of the situation, with relation to Iraq, is that Russia has been consistent in its efforts to preserve the role of the UN in international affairs. These efforts have not been driven solely by a belief that the UN represents the quintessence of international law. They also stem from the fact that, as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council with the accompanying veto rights, Russia stands a better chance of safeguarding its prestige in the world. The position is a useful tool to pursue its interests, if the world body is maintained as a central and effective force in international relations.
By contrast, Washington, as the only remaining superpower, has been looking to diminish the role of the UN in line with its (quite natural) desire to gain more freedom of action. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, NATO appears to have become a less effective tool for the United States in tackling its policy challenges, and Washington appears to be ready to turn its focus back toward the UN. Rather cynically, the Bush administration wants to use the UN as a mechanism to pass a resolution unacceptable to Baghdad and to further legitimize the pending military strike on Iraq.
Moscow's veto in the Security Council gives it the means to stop the resolution, but using it risks provoking Washington into acting unilaterally (Bush already has a mandate from the U.S. Congress) and abandoning the institution entirely. Bush has already provided reminders of the ultimate fate of the League of Nations in a not-so-veiled (if at all) threat that the UN could well follow in its predecessor's footsteps.
There's no question that, as already noted, there is a great degree of hypocrisy involved in such a position. But, if Moscow wants the UN to maintain its relevance and, by extension, wants to hold onto the last real instrument capable of underpinning Russian prestige and influence, it has to support Washington.
Meanwhile, the situation in the oil colonies looks grim, as US planes bombed a military command facility in the southern no-fly zone over Iraq yesterday after taking fire from Iraqi forces. The defense officials who mentioned this failed to mention that US planes have been circling over Iraqi no-fly zones at low levels for the past month, in the hopes of stimulating the necessary "provocation" to make this war legitimate. The French, commonly acknowledged as the diplomatic rebels in the European block, haven't been offered enough oil yet to make supporting the US worth their while. The disconnect could not be more disturbing as top US military officials tout the US military's preparedness to go to war with Iraq. If this is mere strategic rocket-rattling, I dread the peace negotiation.
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
A NEW WAY TO FLOSS
For those who collect trivial facts and tidbits, this daily quiz from Mental Floss might be just the trick to fill in the otherwise non-edifying tedium known as "times of national crisis".