my  block

where uzairs roam

All the articles I’ve been reading lately but haven’t had time to blog about individually…

• The Guardian’s Henry Porter is pissed off about the super-rich. It’s an interesting, somewhat predictable read, since hedge-fund-bashing is in vogue these days. The comments, though, are awesome. There’s talk of revolution, advice for the author to quit complaining and work harder, and generally lots of nodding in agreement. One of the comments describes exactly how I feel:

  Cynics would argue that the system of global capitalism has simply returned to its default programme: extreme inequality and instability in the ‘rich’ world and rapacious neo-imperialism elsewhere.

• The Guardian also had an interesting article about Shariah the other day. Most people equate Shariah with chopping-off-of-hands and two-women’s-testimony-equals-one-man’s, and I’ve been guilty of that myself in the past. The article highlights how Shariah can actually empower women, which is something you rarely read about.
• A parapsychologist throws in the towel. This one’s a long read, but there’s something resembling a summary here. It sucks, but at this point one has to deal with the fact that there’s *no* scientific evidence of psychokinesis or other supernatural phenomena. Things like chi have been explained in physiological terms, and really the only phenomenon not fully understood is reincarnation, for which there *might* be some evidence!
• The Zimbabwean economy is going to hell. Mr. Mugabe has waved conventional wisdom about market behaviour aside, calling it “bookish economics”. Ignorance is bliss, at least while it lasts.
• LS sent me this great article with quotes from US soldiers who served in Iraq. It just makes you feel the whole world is going to hell and not enough people can take the time out to stop it. Things are coming to a head politically and one hopes this madness will stop somehow, but make no mistake, things have progressed beyond the point where Americans can say, “Well, we didn’t vote for him so don’t blame us”. It’s the most shameless thing one can do: pimp democracy on the one hand and shy away from any and all blame on the other. I’m about to descend into hyperbole, so I’ll just move on…
• This is an interesting, thought-provoking article, but I’m not going to talk about it. Read it and tell me what you think.
• And finally, NA pointed me to yesterday’s editorial in Dawn. The trade deficit for 2006-07 is almost 50% higher than estimated. So much for fiscal responsibility and free market principles going hand in hand.