The Missing Ingredient

It is an interesting conjecture, having Northern Ireland in the headlines again with the difficulties faced by the DUP now, due to complications with the first minister. Moreover, what this really ought to highlight is the heavy growth of republicanism in the north. I say this, because Fianna Fall are becoming an electoral proposition in the north, and Sinn Fein equally in the South having some representation in terms of councillors on both sides. Fianna creating a platform by experimenting with scheduled events or conferences throughout Northern Ireland is quietly lending an ear to unification along the lines proposed by Sinn Fein, although not explicitly democratic socialism, although one cannot rule a left-leaning Ireland out given the latent growth of the Labour Party in the South. In short, the crisis of union politics now may signal the beginning of the end on their stranglehold on populism in the north, and believe it or not an era of quiet respectability for republicanism throughout the entire island. For it is refreshing that we can now think along the lines of politics that transcends the borders and welcomes in a new dawn of an 'all-Ireland consensus'. All we may now ponder, given this new fluidity, is how one may pay for joining the north and the south or perhaps on a county by county basis, letting Fermanagh go, for instance by creating a charitable fund to aid the Southern government in this mammoth task. Or perhaps, the cost might be shared between Britain and the Republic given Britain's role at the core of a bitterly fought conflict with large subsidies from a formally organised charitable organisation aimed specifically at this political purpose. If Fianna are serious about expanding into the North, this has the added benefit of increasing the breadth of the Republican base, and second increasing the competition between political parties that do not broadly endorse hardline sectarian - more- an inclusive ethos based on the culture and traditions of their ancient culture and language.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/15/united-ireland-gerry-adams

Sourced Talent

I think that Mark Lamarr is quite an interesting chap, even though he is working on Radio 2 now. Anyway, this is the poem that made him famous, it kind to mind for no specific reason but here goes:

"I'm the James Dean of the dole queue
You've got to admire my cheek -
Trying to work out how to live fast and die young
On seventeen-fifty a week.
A legend in my own cubicle
All alone, never one of the mob
I'm the James Dean of the dole queue
A rebel without a job."

Older, Still Energised

It occurred to me today whilst at work, how important it is that we allow the elderly to stay in work for as long as possible. As difficult as this sounds, it makes sense for the economy. On the grounds of compassion, I feel it is crucially important to act in the context of routine and hardiness. When I am in my my seventies, I will still want to work ad pay tax to support myself and have somewhere to go every day of the week. It makes sense for the health service also, by pumping tax levy into the economy, the government may be compelled to introduce a tax to cover the cost of an army of nursing homes for when they really need it. Also, it is very important that the elderly mix with the young so there is less of a culture of exclusion, so that people of all ages can mix together because there is lots to learn from this. And the opportunity to work may add pleasure and purpose as they reach the end of their lives. For me, retirement is not worth contemplating whilst I am still able and willing to do a days work, even if I am working from home. Companies that allow the senior citizens to continue their career ought to be commended.

Kevin Hart

This poem was published in the Forward Book of Poetry and I found it to be rather moving.

That Life / Kevin Hart

There is a life I've barely lived at all
And, summer afternoons, I feel it brush
Against me, heading somewhere far away,

Up in the north perhaps where rain comes down
As if just thrown in vengeance for something wrong
No one remembers now, though people talk,

And in that life I stroll through open doors
And take the darkness offered every night
And am bewildered still by clocks and eyes.

It touches me, that breath, say once a year,
When rain hits thick and hard against that door,
When I have let my darkness have its way,

And then I almost know that other world,
And live in small hard words from years ago
And cannot be at peace in any life

Switching the Light On

The crisis with Enron was crucial in predicating the specific formula for disaster capitalism recently demonstrated. Although a seperation of commercial and investment banking would be beneficial, a critique of all the components of the economic cycle need not be spared. The auditors, accountants and restructuring element have a large role to play in the value of investments and the yield/return on share price, whether valued falsely or not. And they have made tens of millions from this crisis, while the real economy has faltered. I wish I had listened carefully in my A Level politics lectures about the danger signals and complexities of Enron, particularly of the significance of the accountants Arthur Andersen in liquidating a major company to make big money from the outset. If this crisis of capitalism has taught me anything, it is to keep a fine eye on the details of business practice, political policy and the demand for a regulatory framework that brings to an end the speculative practice. But the investors who were victims in the Madoff scandal are now taking pwc to court, and the same consequences may reach kpmg as well.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/6074118/Madoff-victims-to-sue-accountants-PwC-over-feeder-fund-audits.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_scandal

Complex Plan

Not quite the inference we all wanted, a second wave of recession is potentially looming because the problems that caused the first wave have not been rectified. I believe that this has been caused by inequality of income, yet again and an over-reliance on credit markets to make up the surplus, or credit as welfare. It is odd, however, that a state like Germany, where they save a massive proportion of their income compared to the British that there should be problems. Professor Schiller's appraisal of this outcome was widely distributed, and hopefully many have drawn in debts and sacrificed holidays to bring commitments down. The good news however, is that the government may start to tax banks who continue to reward overpaid bully-boys that dominate the city, forcing them to spend their money in a more equitable fashion. The question is, however, that is if there are more banking issues in Britain, what sort of rescue package can they fathom to bring us back to stability? And why wasn't more done in the first place? The attempts to 'de-politicise' economics have seemingly resulted in meaningless and offensive state bail-outs of monetary instruments so complex that only a few of us understand!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/6095203/German-state-to-lend-directly-as-second-credit-crunch-looms.html

Zooropa

An A Level in the study of U2. Just what I need to get me interested in study again. A monkey could do it? Quite insulting, isnt't it when you think of all the effort that goes in, and that horrible feeling three days before the exams. Easier? I'd say that A Levels are stressful simply because the exams come all in a two-three day period usually, which is challenging enough for most university entrants. A Level graduates certainly have something to be proud of when they score A grades, of that there is no doubt.
The post-war swarm of graduates who made babies and pushed for academic success have made us into a nation of highly educated obsessives. You can re-sit many modules now, giving candidates time to correct mistakes. To make it more challenging, maybe students should do three in a year. And then another three the following year. There is no doubt the system is more flexible, and easier to succeed. But we want a job at the end of all this, do we not? We have been allowed to draw out our childhood dependency for a long time by surviving on grants/loans. And we are better educated, which is good. But the answer to all this lies in the labour market itself, and finding suitable employment.