Andy Roberts

Home › Items tagged with the-observer

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Why Marx Was Right by Terry Eagleton – review

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/05/29/why-marx-was-right-by-terry-eagleton-%E2%80%93-review

  Is Marx more diminished than enhanced by Terry Eagleton’s defence of him?This article titled “Why Marx Was Right by Terry Eagleton – review” was written by Tristram Hunt, for The Observer on Sunday 29th May 2011 01.30 UTCAs the IMF dishes out its medicine in Lisbon, Dublin and Athens, and the limitations of neo-liberalism become more apparent, the moment is surely right for a compelling account of Karl Marx’s relevance to the modern world. And in campus conferences, continuing sales of Das Kapital, and even the words of Pope Benedict XVI (moved to praise Marx’s “great analytical skill”), there is a growing appreciation for Marx’s predictions of globalisation, rampant capitalism, and the instability of international finance. As the Times put in the middle of the 2008 crash: “He’s back!”But Marx also remains the target of any number of lazy slurs. The easiest way to kill off debate about Marxism is to jump straight to the Stalin show-trials, Soviet gulags, and Khmer Rouge Year Zero. The philosophical beliefs of a mid-19th-century denizen of the British Museum are all too quickly elided with the most terrible atrocities of the 20th century as an all-purpose intellectual get-out card.So Terry Eagleton – literary critic, liberal-baiter, Marxist man of letters – has set himself the task of explaining why Marx was right. “What if all the most familiar objections to Marx’s works are mistaken?” he begins. His plan is to take on “10 of the most standard criticisms of Marx and try to refute them one by one”. He does so, he believes, at a time when capitalism is uniquely in crisis: “the system has ceased to be as natural as the air we breathe, and can be seen instead as the historically rather recent phenomenon it is”. Or as Friedrich Engels used to put it: “This time there’ll be a dies irae such as has never been seen before… all the propertied classes in the soup, complete bankruptcy of the bourgeoisie, war and profligacy to the nth degree.”But for any admirer of Eagleton or Marx, the book is a disappointment. There is none of the logical precision, winning prose or intellectual ambition displayed most recently in Eagleton’s Yale lectures on faith. Part of the problem is the structure. This is a work of intellectual rebuttal, as chapter by chapter Eagleton takes on a century of misreading Marx. All of which means he is fighting on an enemy territory of dreary objections. For example, there’s a long attempt to justify the 1917 Bolshevik revolution and the Leninist aftermath, as well as the East German system of childcare – not something, I imagine, Marx and Engels themselves would have bothered with.The consequence of such deviations is that there is little sense of the anger, brio and bravado of Marx and Engels; none of the humour, irony and creativity so central to the Marxian heritage. Instead, this book reads like a rapidly crammed set of notes for an American midwest college course. There’s an array of lecture-hall style jokes and fairly worthless hyperbole. In no credible sense do one in three children in Britain today “live below the breadline”.Thankfully, amid the banalities, there lurk some wonderful passages. Eagleton is right to stress the centrality of democracy to Marxian communism, as well as explain so successfully the nature of free will within Marx and Engels’s account of history. This is all very much the humanist, Paris Marx of the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts.Eagleton also stresses the modernity of Marx’s thinking and how, for example, he saw the nature of social class shifting with the progress of capitalism. “As long ago as the mid-19th century, he is to be found writing of the ‘constantly growing number of the middle-classes’ … men and women ‘situated midway between the workers on the one side and the capitalists on the other.’” This is a long way from the hackneyed dichotomy of proletarian and bourgeois.There is also a touch of the old Eagleton when he deploys Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure to explore the interaction of culture and materialism. When it comes to Jude Fawley, we need to appreciate that “Oxford University is the ‘superstructure’ to Jericho’s ‘base’.”However, Eagleton’s touch is less sure when it comes to the human condition under communism. In trying to rebut claims of utopianism, he goes too far in suggesting that “Marxism holds out no promise of human perfection” and “envy, aggression, domination, possessiveness and competition would still exist”. Engels, though, was clear that the ascent from socialism to communism entailed a metaphysical change. Under the leadership of the proletariat, humanity achieves true freedom liberated from its animal instincts: “It is the ascent of man from the kingdom of necessity to the kingdom of freedom.”Here was the quasi-theological endpoint of Marxism and it would have been more rewarding if Eagleton, such an intriguing catholic thinker, had expanded upon the Judaeo-Christian assumptions underpinning much of Marx’s heaven on earth. But perhaps that was too close to the bone.In the end, this is another worthy volume in the rarely scintillating Marx-Engels interpretative canon. Useful for undergraduates at the University of Notre Dame, but not for anyone else interested in the drama, insights, and majesty of Marxism. Marx might well have been right about an awful lot, but sadly Eagleton fails to make you care very much. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogWhy Marx Was Right by Terry Eagleton – reviewRelated posts:Karl Marx, part 6: The economics of powerThe Wizard of Oz – reviewThe latest word on globalisation

  

  • Tags:
  • bankruptcy
  • politics
  • General
  • Social
  • socialism
  • Class
  • revolution
  • Article
  • culture
  • The Observer
  • Reviews
  • The New Review
  • democracy
  • Books
  • Philosophy
  • capitalism
  • modernity
  • Economic
  • international finance
  • worker
  • Communism
  • Soviet
  • Stalin
  • karl marx
  • analytical skill
  • das kapital
  • khmer rouge
  • neo liberalism
  • philosophical beliefs
  • pope benedict
  • Terry Eagleton
  • Tristram Hunt

  May 29 2011, 11:40am | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Arts venues band together to fund new festival of finest radical theatre

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/05/03/arts-venues-band-together-to-fund-new-festival-of-finest-radical-theatre

  Not Edinburgh or London but a Nottingham international arts and theatre festival. Nottingham’s Neat 11 theatre festival opens on 26 May 2011.

  This article titled “Arts venues band together to fund new festival of finest radical theatre” was written by Vanessa Thorpe, for The Observer on Saturday 30th April 2011 23.06 UTC It might not seem the right time to launch an international arts festival, but Nottingham is to take this fearless step. Later this spring the city will hold neat11, the first Nottingham European arts and theatre festival, to prove the way to beat the cuts in the arts is to pool resources. Nottingham Playhouse has joined the city council, the regeneration body One Nottingham and many of the city’s other arts venues – including the Theatre Royal, Lakeside Arts Centre, and the Broadway Cinema – to present a range of radical theatre, music, film and visual art from across Europe between 26 May and 12 June. The festival will showcase the work of leading foreign companies such as Det Norske Teatret, Deutsches Theater and Theatre Nowy alongside the work of British companies including Cheek By Jowl and Gob Squad. In the face of reduced grants from Arts Council England, funding of £98,000 has been earmarked for the project. “This is work you would not be able to see anywhere else in the country,” said Giles Croft, the artistic director of Nottingham Playhouse. “Audiences will be able to see great performers from Kosovo, Bulgaria and Denmark. And for me, key highlights are Deutsches Theater’s productionq of Woyzeck by Georg Büchner, using the songs of Tom Waits, along with the only UK performance this year of Cheek by Jowl’s Three Sisters, performed in Russian. I am also really looking forward to Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther by Det Norske Teatret from Norway.” Croft argues the festival will emphasise the “strong cultural life” of Nottingham. “Bringing this kind of work here will also demonstrate that it is a European city. We are hoping we can bring the festival back in two years time and establish it as a bienniale. I am absolutely confident we can make it a success.”

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogArts venues band together to fund new festival of finest radical theatre

  Related posts:Theatre Blogger: 52 Venues in 52 weeks What to see: Lyn Gardner’s theatre tips Theatre in Scotland Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band

  

  • Tags:
  • theatre
  • Art
  • General
  • stage
  • UK news
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • The Observer
  • Vanessa Thorpe

  May 3 2011, 5:29am | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  MPs step up pressure to remutualise Northern Rock

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/05/02/mps-step-up-pressure-to-remutualise-northern-rock

  Support grows for motion tabled by MP Chuka Umunna to return nationalised lender to the mutual sector. That means the Northern Rock Bank would become the Northern Rock Building Society again, a mutual building society without any shareholders.

  This article titled “MPs step up pressure to remutualise Northern Rock” was written by Jill Treanor, for The Observer on Saturday 30th April 2011 23.06 UTC Political pressure for the remutualisation of Northern Rock is gathering strength: 100 members of parliament have signed an early day motion backing the return of the nationalised lender to the mutual sector. Chuka Umunna, the Labour MP who tabled the motion, said 19 MPs had lent their support in the past week. Northern Rock and UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which looks after the taxpayer’s interests in the bailed-out banks, have appointed Deutsche Bank to explore options for the Newcastle-based lender. Deutsche will present ideas to UKFI that could be used as the basis of any recommendations made about Northern Rock to the chancellor. The lender, notorious for granting 125% mortgages before the financial crisis, was nationalised by Labour in February 2008 after it suffered the first UK bank run in living memory and thousands of anxious depositors queued round the block to withdraw funds amid fears about its solvency. After it was rescued by the government, the bank was split to create Northern Rock plc, the “good” bank that has resumed lending, and Northern Rock Asset Management, the “bad” bank that was merged with Bradford & Bingley’s mortgage business, another nationalised casualty of the credit crunch. Deutsche is looking at the options for Northern Rock plc. While Labour was in office, the then Treasury minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry revealed that ways of remutualising Northern Rock had been considered, but warned: “I’m not pretending it’s going to be easy.” Coventry building society has presented itself as being interested in linking up with Northern Rock, although little information has emerged as to how it might facilitate any deal. An analysis by Landman Economics has suggested that “profit participating deferred shares” could help the government recoup the money tied up in the lender. Landman’s analysis concludes that a trade sale or stock market flotation would not raise enough funds to pay back the taxpayer in full. Labour ex-minister Gareth Thomas, who has campaigned for the Rock to be remutualised, said he had doubts about whether George Osborne was interested. “I do not believe the Treasury is taking this seriously,” he said. Another option is merging the 70 Northern Rock branches with the 600 that Lloyds Banking Group has to sell to comply with EU rules on state aid.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogMPs step up pressure to remutualise Northern Rock

  Related posts:A co-ordinated strike is the next step Fukushima factor adds pressure to economic fallout from Japan’s crisis Bank of England governor blames spending cuts on bank bailouts

  

  • Tags:
  • economics
  • money
  • UK
  • politics
  • Minister
  • business
  • building
  • Banking
  • Financial
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • The Observer
  • chancellor
  • Financial crisis
  • george osborne
  • solvency
  • Economic
  • april
  • Jill Treanor
  • credit crunch
  • investment
  • deutsche bank
  • asset management
  • Bingley
  • Bradford
  • coventry building society
  • depositors
  • flotation
  • Gareth Thomas
  • Limited
  • Lloyds
  • members of parliament
  • mortgage business
  • Northern Rock
  • northern rock plc
  • remutualise
  • Sarah McCarthy-Fry
  • stock market

  May 2 2011, 9:51am | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Herbal remedies banned as new EU rules take effect

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/05/02/herbal-remedies-banned-as-new-eu-rules-take-effect

  Manufacturers and herbal practitioners say strict guidelines aimed at improving safety could force them out of business.

  This article titled “Herbal remedies banned as new EU rules take effect” was written by Robin McKie, for The Observer on Saturday 30th April 2011 23.06 UTC New EU rules came into force at the weekend banning hundreds of herbal remedies. The laws are aimed at protecting consumers from potentially damaging “traditional” medicines. Under the directive, herbal medicines will now have to be registered. Products must meet safety, quality and manufacturing standards, and come with information outlining possible side-effects. Herbal practitioners and manufacturers say they fear the new rules could force them out of business. Research conducted for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2009 showed that 26% of adults in the UK had taken a herbal medicine in the last two years, mostly bought over the counter in health food shops and pharmacies. Commonly used ingredients already registered include echinacea, which is used against colds, St John’s wort, used for depression and anxiety, and valerian, which is claimed to ease insomnia. The agency said it hoped to promote a more cautious approach to the use of herbal medicines after a study found that 58% of respondents believed these products were safe because they are “natural”. In fact, herbal remedies can have harmful side-effects. St John’s Wort can stop the contraceptive pill working, while ginkgo and ginseng are known to interfere with the blood-thinning drug warfarin. And in February the MHRA issued a warning about the herbal weight loss product Herbal Flos Lonicerae (Herbal Xenicol) Natural Weight Loss Formula, after tests showed it contained more than twice the prescribed dose of a banned substance. To date, the industry has been covered by the 1968 Medicines Act, drawn up when only a handful of herbal remedies were available and the number of herbal practitioners was very small. From now, manufacturers will have to prove their products have been made to strict standards and contain a consistent and clearly marked dose. Remedies already on sale will be allowed to stay on the shelves until their expiry date. The agency said there had been 211 applications for approval of herbal remedies so far, with 105 granted and the rest still under consideration. Approved remedies will come with a logo marked THR.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogHerbal remedies banned as new EU rules take effect

  Related posts:Cause and effect Cause and effect Japan nuclear reactor water-bombing has little effect

  

  • Tags:
  • General
  • food
  • China
  • depression
  • health
  • UK news
  • News
  • Life and style
  • Article
  • Main section
  • Science
  • The Observer
  • Robin McKie
  • safety
  • Alternative medicine
  • contraceptive pill
  • directive
  • drug
  • echinacea
  • ginkgo
  • ginseng
  • health food shops
  • Healthcare
  • Herbal
  • herbal medicine
  • herbal medicines
  • herbal remedies
  • herbal weight loss
  • Lonicerae
  • Medicines
  • quality
  • st john s wort
  • valerian
  • warfarin

  May 2 2011, 9:46am | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Tesco protesters charged after second night of violence in Bristol

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/05/02/tesco-protesters-charged-after-second-night-of-violence-in-bristol

  Police appeal for informants to identify others involved in violent disorder surrounding Tesco opening in Bristol Stokes Croft riots area

  This article titled “Tesco protesters charged after second night of violence in Bristol” was written by Jamie Doward, for The Observer on Saturday 30th April 2011 23.06 UTC Two people have been charged following a second round of violent protests against the opening of a Tesco shop in Bristol. Stephen Carroll, 32, was charged with assaulting a police officer and criminal damage. A 17-year-old, who cannot be named, is accused of violent disorder and theft. The two were among 30 people detained after violence in the Stokes Croft area of the city saw officers and protesters injured early on Friday. A further 13 men and two women remain in custody, while 12 men have been released on bail pending further inquiries, police said. The violence, which saw stones, bottles and other missiles thrown, came a week after high-profile demonstrations followed the shop’s opening. CCTV images of more than 80 people were issued by police following the first eruption, which came after officers raided a flat in search of petrol bombs they believed were about to be thrown at the shop. “I am appealing to the community, to residents, and traders and other people whose lives have been severely disrupted, whose property may have been damaged and whose personal safety may have been put at risk by the violence,” said assistant chief constable Rod Hansen. “I urge people to study the photographs, and if you think you know any of these people and where they might be, please contact us.” Police said Thursday night’s demonstration began as a “good-spirited event” attended by eight neighbourhood beat officers. But the crowd grew from about 250 to more than 400.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogTesco protesters charged after second night of violence in Bristol

  Related posts:Bristol Stokes Croft Riot Bristol 1831 Mural Artist compares Arab Spring 2011 and Bristol Stokes Croft Riots UK Uncut accuses police of politically motivated arrests

  

  • Tags:
  • Art
  • UK
  • politics
  • Photograph
  • photo
  • photographs
  • business
  • crowd
  • neighbourhood
  • UK news
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • Protest
  • Protesters
  • Jamie Doward
  • The Observer
  • World news
  • demonstration
  • Retail industry
  • Supermarkets
  • Tesco
  • supermarket
  • identify
  • police officer
  • bristol
  • CCTV
  • chief constable
  • Crime
  • Croft
  • informants
  • missiles
  • petrol bombs
  • rod hansen
  • Stephen Carroll
  • Stokes

  May 2 2011, 9:33am | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  China’s insatiable thirst for fine wine threatens to burst Bordeaux bubble

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/05/01/chinas-insatiable-thirst-for-fine-wine-threatens-to-burst-bordeaux-bubble

  Bordeaux prices are soaring as buyers in Hong Kong develop a taste for the famed French wine, and this is why you can’t find a reasonably priced real claret in England any more, amongst all the new world wines that fill up the majority of shelf space

  This article titled “China’s insatiable thirst for fine wine threatens to burst Bordeaux bubble” was written by Jamie Doward, for The Observer on Saturday 30th April 2011 23.05 UTC It is one of the most hotly debated topics in the world of wine: is the Bordeaux bubble about to burst? The price of one of France’s most celebrated wines has soared over the last 12 months as British buyers compete with an increasing number of Chinese oenophiles to snap up the all too precious cases of claret. With the likes of Chris de Burgh and Sir David Frost recently selling their Bordeaux collections for six-figure sums, attention has focused on the top-tier wines such as Château Lafite, cases of which are going for as much as £15,000. At the start of the year, Lord Lloyd-Webber sold off a large part of his cellar, including a 12-bottle lot of Château Pétrus 1982 for $77,564 (around £48,500). Berry Brothers recently sold three cases of the same vintage for £58,000 a case. A dozen bottles of a typical second-tier Bordeaux was selling for around £600 a year ago, according to Berry Brothers, the wine merchants, but is now going for anything up to £2,000. But experts say the demand for Bordeaux is now so great that even wines from less well known producers have seen prices rocket. A decision by the Hong Kong government to abolish wine and beer duties has fuelled the demand. Berry Brothers estimates that last year, of the £110m of Bordeaux it sold “en primeur” – while still in the barrel – some £30m worth went through Hong Kong, compared with just £10m the year before. With en primeur sales of the 2010 vintage, which was apparently a fantastic year, soon to take place, the company is anticipating substantial demand from Chinese buyers. “We’ve got fewer than 100 customers in China, so you can imagine what happens if more Chinese people get a thirst for Bordeaux,” said Simon Staples, sales and marketing director at Berry Brothers. Intriguingly, the demand among Chinese buyers is only for red wine and only for Bordeaux. “Burgundy is much more complicated, the knowledge among Chinese buyers isn’t there yet, whereas Bordeaux is much easier to understand,” Staples said. “They want red wine; it’s a male thing, it’s good for the heart, good for the libido.” Staples has remortgaged his home three times in the last 10 years (in 2000, 2005 and 2009) to buy Bordeaux. Last year he recommended that his mother-in-law buy five cases of a particular Bordeaux at £2,400. These are now selling for £7,800. Chateaux producing the wine have responded to the surge in interest, investing in sophisticated machinery and a more rigorous selection policy for their grapes. A taste among a new generation of drinkers to consume Bordeaux much earlier than their predecessors has been driven by an earlier ripening of the grapes, in part down to longer, hotter summers in France. Vineyards have also started to strip leaves to give grapes more sun while leaving them longer on the vine so they are softer and sweeter. “It’s coincided with a new style of Bordeaux,” said Adam Lechmere, the news editor at Decanter magazine. “The vintages are drinkable much younger. You used to have to lay them down for 15 years or so, but now they’re softer and don’t have such harsh tannins.” Staples is confident heightened global demand means Bordeaux prices will not fall even if the UK economy enters a double dip. But others are wary. “People who work in the City tell me this has all the hallmarks of a Bordeaux bubble,” Lechmere said.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogChina’s insatiable thirst for fine wine threatens to burst Bordeaux bubble

  Related posts:Bordeaux uncorked Are social photo apps trapped in a Silicon Valley bubble? Firstbuy could lock young homebuyers into falling property market

  

  • Tags:
  • UK
  • producers
  • wine
  • General
  • World
  • france
  • China
  • Europe
  • England
  • News
  • Life and style
  • Article
  • Main section
  • Jamie Doward
  • The Observer
  • World news
  • Bordeaux
  • vineyard
  • producer
  • Adam Lechmere
  • celebrated wines
  • Chateaux
  • Chris de Burgh
  • claret
  • fine wine
  • french wine
  • hong kong government
  • Lord Lloyd-Webber
  • oenophiles
  • shelf space
  • Simon Staples
  • Sir David Frost
  • wine merchants
  • world of wine
  • world wines

  May 1 2011, 1:17pm | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  The cyberplague that threatens an internet Armageddon

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/05/01/the-cyberplague-that-threatens-an-internet-armageddon

  The unchecked rise of malware could culminate in a massive global event that would change forever the way we use the broadband internet

  This article titled “The cyberplague that threatens an internet Armageddon” was written by John Naughton, for The Observer on Saturday 30th April 2011 23.04 UTC In 1971, Bob Thomas, an engineer working for Bolt, Beranek and Newman, the Boston company that had the contract to build the Arpanet, the precursor of the internet, released a virus called the “creeper” on to the network. It was an experimental, self-replicating program that infected DEC PDP-10 minicomputers. It did no actual harm and merely displayed a cheeky message: “I’m the creeper, catch me if you can!” Someone else wrote a program to detect and delete it, called – inevitably – the “reaper”. Although nobody could have known it 40 years ago, it was the start of something big, something that would one day threaten to undermine, if not overwhelm, the networked world. For as we became more and more dependent on information and communications technology, we were also subjected to a plague of what came to be called “malware”. It’s an ugly term, as befits something that covers a multitude of sins, all involving computer code designed with destructive or malevolent intent. It includes not only viruses, which are programs that replicate by copying themselves into other programs, but also worms (self-replicating programs that use a network to send copies of themselves to other machines on the network, with or without human assistance) and Trojans (similar to viruses but instead of replicating they infiltrate a computer and perform some illicit activity, possibly under remote control). Malware also refers to other evils: the junk mail we call spam; “phishing”, or trying to hoodwink internet users into revealing bank account passwords etc; page-jacking, which makes it difficult or impossible for a victim to get rid of a web page; and other scams. The malware plague has gone through several phases. It began in a harmless and experimental way with the creeper and a worm released on to the internet in 1988 by Robert Morris, a student from New York State’s Cornell University. Morris wanted to find out how many computers were connected to the internet so he wrote a small program that would install itself on every machine it found and send back a “present and correct” message. But there was a flaw in his code that meant the worm replicated. On 2 November 1988, network administrators realised something was up because their machines – and the network itself – had slowed to a crawl. In the end, the culprit was identified and carpeted, though it doesn’t seem to have done him any lasting harm: Morris is now a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Malware began on the internet, but its next phase involved the stand-alone machines we now call personal computers. In 1982, a Pennsylvanian teenager named Rich Skrenta created the “elk cloner” virus that infected the Apple II, then the most popular personal computer in upmarket US households. Skrenta’s virus covertly altered the floppy disk needed to boot up the computer, displaying some doggerel on the screen on start up. It was annoying but harmless. Early PC malware tended to be like that – irritating but not terribly destructive. And malware spread slowly, because most of these PCs were not networked; infections spread by “sneakernet” – ie users sharing floppy disks. The real trouble began when domestic internet use exploded in 1993. From then on, an infected PC was a potential menace not just to its owner, but to other machines with which it communicated. For many people, early malware was a baffling phenomenon. It was seen as something akin to physical vandalism in the real world – hooligans despoiling an environment for no obvious reason. What motivated them? Nobody knew, though several psychologists had a go at explaining it. The notion that malware was motiveless destructiveness was fuelled by the fact that much of it was imitative, carried out by “script kiddies” – non-programmers who downloaded DIY virus-construction kits. In the 1990s, malware development accelerated. When Microsoft released Windows 95, it rapidly became the de facto standard for the PC industry and the world’s IT systems came to exhibit the characteristics of a monoculture: millions and millions of PCs across the globe, all running the same software, all sharing the same security vulnerabilities. At the same time, domestic broadband connections became common. Suddenly, there were millions of machines, operated by people with little understanding of computer security, with shared vulnerabilities and fast connections to the network. Most importantly, malware found a business model in the late 1990s. The fragility of the monoculture could be exploited for profit. Spamming – junk emailing – could now be done on a truly gigantic scale. Hitherto, it had required identifiable servers with broadband access to the net. But the new broadband environment offered a better infrastructure. All you had to do was find machines with fast connections, unpatched security vulnerabilities and non-savvy owners and infect them with a Trojan that would turn them into relay stations for spam (and which could be turned off just as easily, to avoid detection). Spamming works because it can be very profitable. It costs very little more to send 10m emails than it does to send 100. If you’re selling a packet of Viagra for $20 and you have a response rate of 0.1%, you’ll make $20 from 1,000 emails. But if you send out 10m and have the same response rate you’ll be earning $200,000 a day. This is the kind of serious money that makes organised criminal gangs sit up. The idea of covertly suborning networked PCs was a critical breakthrough for malware because it enabled malefactors to set up “botnets” – networks of compromised machines that could be remotely controlled. Nobody knows how many of these botnets exist, but there are probably thousands of them worldwide and some are very large. A list of the 10 largest in the US in 2009, for example, estimated that they ranged in size from 210,000 to 3.6m compromised machines. In addition to spamming, botnets can be used for a wide variety of purposes. They can, for example, launch “distributed denial of service” (DDOS) attacks on e-commerce or other web sites. Each machine in the botnet bombards the targeted site with simultaneous requests, repeated incessantly, to the point where the site’s servers buckle under the load or the site becomes unusable by legitimate customers. More sinisterly, botnets can be used for blackmail, effectively extracting protection money from retail sites to ward off the threat of a DDOS attack. Nobody talks about this in public, but it goes on. Domestic PCs that have been compromised by Trojans can be put to other uses too. For example, they can covertly monitor their user’s keystrokes when logging into banking and other sites, thereby stealing passwords and credit card details. At a recent presentation by officers from Soca (Serious Organised Crime Agency), I was struck by a slide that showed how highly developed the online market in stolen credit card data had become. It showed a marketplace for “USA 100% APPROVED TRACK2 DUMPS” in which Visa debit card details were going for $8 and American Express details were $10. On another such marketplace, American MasterCard details cost $15 while European credit card details were going for $40 a pop. “Buying large quantities,” it said, “prices are negotiable for every customers.” (Grammar and spelling are not a speciality in this particular netherworld.) We’ve come a long way from the creeper and elk cloner. The driving forces behind contemporary malware are financial gain and organised crime, much of it with its headquarters in Russia and other parts of eastern Europe. One of the most blatant examples of an online marketplace in stolen credit card data was CarderPlanet.com, a website ostensibly based in Vietnam, but operated by people based in Russia and Ukraine, and now shut down. A senior US secret service official described CarderPlanet as “one of the most sophisticated organisations of online financial criminals in the world” which had been “repeatedly linked to nearly every major intrusion of financial information reported to the international law enforcement community”. Some of the principals behind CarderPlanet were arrested after an intensive campaign by the US authorities. But one of them, Dmitry Ivanovich Golubov, was subsequently released by the Ukrainian authorities and has allegedly started a political organisation called “the Internet Party of the Ukraine”. The latest round in the malware saga came in June last year when the Stuxnet worm finally broke cover. Stuxnet infects Windows computers and spreads mainly via infected USB sticks, so it doesn’t require the internet for dissemination. Once a USB stick infects a machine, it uses a variety of tricks to infect other machines on the local network and to take control of them, but with an added twist. It looks for a special kind of programmable logic controller (PLC) made by the German company Siemens. If a PLC is found, the worm infects it using a vulnerability in the controller’s software and changes its code and thus its behaviour. This is scary because these Siemens controllers play a critical role in virtually every industrialised plant in the world, including water treatment plants, electricity grids and oil refineries, and nuclear reprocessing facilities. One target of Stuxnet was Iran’s controversial nuclear weapons programme, specifically the gas centrifuges it uses to enrich uranium. It is claimed that the worm reprogrammed the Siemens PLCs to cause over 900 centrifuges to spin uncontrollably while at the same time feeding back “normal” data to the plant’s operators, thereby concealing the problem until it was too late. The fact that this has set back Iran’s nuclear programme by several years has led to speculation that the worm was the creation not of criminal hackers, but of a state agency (possibly Israeli or American). This hunch was supported by the fact that Stuxnet seems a pretty sophisticated piece of malware. Bruce Schneier, a leading security expert, estimates that it would have taken eight to 10 accomplished programmers six months to design, implement and test it under laboratory conditions. It’s difficult to imagine the criminal hacking fraternity having the resources to do that. Why has malware become so pervasive and so difficult to combat? The main reason is that malevolent innovation is the downside of the open architecture of the PC and the internet. The combination of an open, programmable PC and a network that is open to anyone created a “generative system” which was uniquely hospitable to what has come to be called “permissionless innovation”. This had some amazing benefits – it gave us the world wide web, for example, Wikipedia, the Linux operating system and the Apache web-server software that powers a majority of the world’s web sites. But it has also given us the malware plague. There is another, deeper, fear – that the mysterious botnets that have been assembled by the merchants of malware may one day be used in some co-ordinated way to engineer a massive global event – cyberspace’s equivalent of 9/11, if you will. If something like that were to happen, then the response of governments everywhere would be draconian. Just as civil liberties in western democracies were massively eroded by the aftermath of 9/11 and the ensuing “war on terror”, so the freedoms we have hitherto taken for granted in cyberspace would be correspondingly curtailed. The day might come when you’ll need a government licence to connect to the internet. Bob Thomas’s creeper could have a creepy inheritance.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogThe cyberplague that threatens an internet Armageddon

  Related posts:The internet is over Work PLEs internet futures and social relations Fixed: blog not displaying properly in Internet Explorer

  

  • Tags:
  • Wiki
  • ukraine
  • broadband
  • tools
  • internet
  • US
  • General
  • Computing
  • Mac
  • website
  • Features
  • Email
  • broadband connection
  • download
  • technology
  • information
  • windows
  • Article
  • Russia
  • The Observer
  • John Naughton
  • The New Review
  • Wikipedia
  • Discover
  • phenomenon
  • Programming
  • USA
  • arpanet
  • bob thomas
  • computer code
  • Data and computer security
  • DDOS
  • dec pdp
  • eastern Europe
  • intrusion
  • Malware
  • menace
  • Microsoft
  • minicomputers
  • Organised crime
  • packet
  • spam
  • Spamming
  • Stuxnet
  • Trojans
  • vandalism
  • Vietnam
  • Viruses
  • worms

  May 1 2011, 9:06am | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Popularity of fish pedicures fuels health and animal welfare concerns

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/05/01/popularity-of-fish-pedicures-animal-welfare

  Fish pedicure Ban in a dozen US states prompts British scientists to investigate risk posed by treatment amid animal welfare concerns. Have you tried a fish pedicure? What happens to the fish afterwards?

  This article titled “Popularity of fish pedicures fuels health and animal welfare concerns” was written by Tracy McVeigh, for The Observer on Saturday 30th April 2011 23.05 UTC One of the fastest-growing beauty treatments in Britain, fish pedicures – during which tiny toothless carp smooth down feet by eating dead skin – has come under new scrutiny from health experts and animal rights campaigners. The number of UK outlets offering pedicures with Garra rufa – fish that lift off hard skin and, through an enzyme in their saliva, diathanol, are thought to heal conditions such as psoriasis and eczema – is growing rapidly. As the craze catches on, beauty salons are already starting to move on to full body immersion tanks. But even for those who can get past the “ick” factor, the treatment is not without controversy. Following the decision by more than a dozen states in the US to ban the pedicures over fears they could spread infections and disease, scientists from the Health Protection Agency have begun an investigation into potential risks. A spokesperson for the agency said that, while it did not expect to be enforcing a ban in the UK and believed the risk of catching an infection from a fish foot spa to be “very small”, it was looking at publishing guidelines for the public. “The HPA and Health Protection Scotland are currently unaware of any cases of infection associated with the use of fish spa pedicures in the UK,” the spokesperson said. “However, following a number of inquiries to the HPA from local environmental health officers, the HPA, Health Protection Scotland and the Health and Safety Laboratory are currently examining the most up-to-date evidence and will publish practical advice to help both salons and the public to minimise any possible risk in due course.” Animal rights groups have also voiced alarm over the conditions in which the fish are kept. “We do have concerns about the welfare of any fish involved in this practice,” a spokeswoman for the RSPCA told the Observer. “Fish are covered by the Animal Welfare Act. They need a stable environment, with the correct water quality and temperature range. Sudden changes in temperature should be avoided as they can severely compromise welfare and even kill the animals. Water quality is of paramount importance in maintaining healthy fish. Having people bathe in the water with the fish is likely to affect quality, particularly if they are wearing any lotions or other toiletries that could leach into the water. Similarly, chemicals used to disinfect tanks and to clean patients’ feet beforehand would have to be non-toxic to the fish.” The practice of using Garra rufa fish – often called “doctor fish” – to heal skin dates back over 400 years in their native southern Turkish river basins. Turkey’s government has now made the Garra rufa a protected species over concerns about over-exploitation by spas, which has led to some outlets in the US using the chin chin, which masquerades as a Garra rufa but doesn’t do the job as well and often dies in the process. In the UK the business is booming, helped by the cheap cost of setting up. At least three companies run franchise operations for fish pedicures and several dozen online offer complete kits for a Garra rufa business. One firm, Appy Feet, has opened 21 stores throughout the UK with double that planned. “Appy Feet is extremely popular with both sexes and all age groups and the interest continues to grow. It is not just people trying the treatment for the novelty factor, many of the customers are regulars who come for a treatment around one to two times a month,” said a spokeswoman, who added that the welfare of the fish was high on their agenda. BEASTLY BEAUTY

  Bull semen A moisturing hair treatment is on offer at a London salon that uses the sperm of Angus bulls.

  Ox bone-marrow shampoo Exactly what it says on the bottle. From Brazil.

  Nightingale droppings Salons in Japan and New York offer the so-called Geisha facial as a cleanser. Victoria Beckham is allegedly a fan.

  Snail slime Farmers in Chile raising snails for the French market discovered secretions gave them smooth and soft hands. They now produce an ooze-filled hand cream.

  Snake venom Several face creams contain a protein that is a replica of the venom produced by the temple viper, claimed by some to have the same face-freezing effects as Botox.

  Leech Therapy Used for centuries to treat disease and still used in medicine, the slimy parasites now appear in a “detox” spa in Austria beloved of celebrities such as Demi Moore.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogPopularity of fish pedicures fuels health and animal welfare concerns

  Related posts:Identify these fish India dabbles in fish genetic experiments Fukushima fallout: the risks to health

  

  • Tags:
  • London
  • wildlife
  • UK
  • Animals
  • health
  • beauty
  • temperature
  • business
  • UK news
  • News
  • Life and style
  • Article
  • Main section
  • Tracy McVeigh
  • Society
  • The Observer
  • treatment
  • animal rights campaigners
  • Animal welfare
  • beauty treatments
  • british scientists
  • craze
  • dead skin
  • disinfect
  • eczema
  • environmental health officers
  • Feet
  • foot spa
  • full body immersion
  • hard skin
  • health experts
  • health protection agency
  • Healthcare industry
  • immersion tanks
  • infection
  • safety laboratory
  • saliva
  • Salons
  • spa pedicures
  • Welfare

  May 1 2011, 7:23am | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Game facing 60% drop in profits, warn retail analysts

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/04/26/game-facing-60-drop-in-profits-warn-retail-analysts

  The computer game retailer Game, is expected to publish results badly affected by the rise of digital downloads in the same way as music filesharing has hit record shops.

  This article titled “Game facing 60% drop in profits, warn retail analysts” was written by Andrew Clark, for The Observer on Saturday 23rd April 2011 23.06 UTC Britain’s leading computer games retailer, Game, is likely to reveal a plunge in profits of up to 60% this week as electronic entertainment enthusiasts shun high street shops in favour of digital downloads. Game, which is expected to name former Ladbrokes boss Chris Bell to replace its soon-to-retire chairman Peter Lewis, is forecast by analysts to deliver profits of £37m-£39m for the year to January, a dramatic drop from £90m a year ago, in spite of the success of hit games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops and Fight Night Champion. In common with music specialist HMV, the company is facing fundamental structural challenges as sales migrate onto the internet. In a strategic review in February, Game promised a “step change” in its own online offering, pledging to triple digital sales to £300m by 2013 to offset weak trading at its 1,300 shops. Analysts at Deutsche Bank have suggested Game could be a takeover target for US retailer Gamestop, which has a handful of shops in Britain and is rumoured to be considering expansion.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogGame facing 60% drop in profits, warn retail analysts

  Related posts:Goldman Sachs CEO’s pay nearly doubles despite slump in profits Insurers fall after Japan quake, as FTSE suffers worst weekly drop for eight months Inflation will drop to 1.5% as cuts hit spending, MPC member predicts

  

  • Tags:
  • Music
  • internet
  • download
  • technology
  • review
  • business
  • Media
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • Andrew Clark
  • The Observer
  • computer
  • High Street
  • Retail industry
  • Games
  • guardian news
  • challenges
  • black ops
  • chairman
  • Champion
  • Chris Bell
  • computer game
  • computer games retailer
  • deutsche bank
  • electronic entertainment
  • expansion
  • filesharing
  • Game Group
  • game retailer
  • ladbrokes
  • specialist
  • takeover

  April 26 2011, 12:48pm | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Seasonal water metering is seen as a con by consumers, study finds

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/04/26/seasonal-water-metering-is-seen-as-a-con-by-consumers-study-finds

  Public anger grows over proposed seasonal water tariffs, as utility companies look for ways to save the UK’s supply

  This article titled “Seasonal water metering is seen as a con by consumers, study finds” was written by Jamie Doward and Mario Ledwith, for The Observer on Saturday 23rd April 2011 23.06 UTC The race to provide Britain with a sustainable water supply is already generating the first of what is likely to be a long list of controversies. As the UK basks in temperatures that put Athens in the shade and with rivers already running low, utility companies are under increasing pressure to preserve water. But the most comprehensive study of its kind suggests the leading option for ensuring the UK enjoys a sustainable water supply – metering – is hitting the poorest hardest and is viewed with suspicion by consumers who believe it is a ruse by utility companies to increase their profits. The study by Wessex Water, which supplies water to more than one million households in the west country, found the introduction of meters reduced customer demand by 17%, higher than previous estimates. The reduction was even greater if the meters were tied to a tariff system that saw the price of water rise in the summer, an increasingly popular option being considered by the utility companies, but one which has caused widespread anger among consumers. The Wessex study, the largest since metering was introduced 20 years ago, found 15% of customers saw their annual bills rise by more than £100 after flat-rate metered systems were installed. A quarter of the poorest customers saw their bills increase by more than £50. Phil Wickens, tariffs manager at Wessex Water, acknowledged his company had one of the highest water rates in the UK, but said that it was vital the industry introduced a new charging system if the UK was to have a sustainable supply. “We want a charging system that gives us the ability to meet future challenges in the long term,” Wickens said. “Climate change and population growth are going to place pressure on the need for increased investment. In order for us to secure that investment we really need all of our customers to be willing and able to pay their bills. There is a commercial incentive for raising these issues now.” Household water bills have increased by more than 50% in real terms since 1989, partly due to investment costs. But the financial burden on customers is becoming a key issue, with an increasing number refusing to pay their bills. Wessex estimates its underlying bad debt has doubled over the past decade, with the figure expected to rise further given economic conditions. It is estimated that the average customer now pays an extra £12 a year to cover unpaid water bills. Experts suggest establishing a fair charging system is vital if more schemes, such as the new £270m Thames Water desalination plant that filters salt from water in the Thames estuary, are to get the go-ahead. A failure to address water sustainability could have serious repercussions for the UK. The current spell of hot weather has already triggered warnings that farmers in some regions will have to limit their use of water. Several rivers in England and Wales are reportedly at “exceptionally low” levels, raising fears there will be a need for hosepipe bans. The Environment Agency said two months of unusually dry weather has left 11 rivers at extremely low levels of the kind seen only once every 20 years. The government is currently consulting on water sustainability, and environment minister Caroline Spelman is reportedly in favour of metering as a key part of its response. All new homes built since 1989 have had to be fitted with water meters, and an increasing number of people opt for them. Just under half of all UK customers now have a water meter, and it is predicted that all households will have one fitted in the future. But the shift to metering has prompted concern among charities. The Fairness on Tap (FoT) coalition – made up of 12 leading environmental organisations, including the WWF and the National Trust – is calling for a national switch to water metering. The coalition claims the current system of water charging is outdated, unfair and encourages wastage, with many households paying a flat “all you can use” charge, giving them no incentive to be water-efficient. However, the previous charging system, with water bills linked to the rateable values of homes, protected the poorest in society from excessively high bills. “The industry has been moving from a system based on rateable values that were set as part of local authority charging back in the late 80s,” Wickens said. “Lower income customers were paying less than higher income customers, but as we are gradually moving towards metered charging that social protection is winding out.” Creating a fairer charging system has seen some water companies experiment with higher charges in the summer. The option, being tested in more than 1,000 homes by Wessex, has resulted in a “step change” in consumer behaviour, says the company. Wickens said: “Higher income customers with bigger gardens end up paying a fairer chunk than lower income customers.” The new form of charging is likely to trigger animosity among households in the “squeezed middle”, who may fear they will be hit disproportionately. However, the Wessex study found almost all customers opposed to seasonal tariffs. “Customers are cynical about companies changing the way they are charged; they assume it’s about making money, like travel companies charging more on holidays, but in our case it isn’t,” Wickens said. “Even if we had a dry summer and generated more income, the regulator takes that money off us.”

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogSeasonal water metering is seen as a con by consumers, study finds

  Related posts:‘Water poverty’ to rise in the UK as scarcity pushes up bills Superbug gene rife in Delhi water supply What the frack? US natural gas drilling method contaminates water

  

  • Tags:
  • UK
  • politics
  • river
  • thames
  • sea
  • climate change
  • weather
  • England
  • temperature
  • business
  • holidays
  • Water
  • Government
  • Wales
  • UK news
  • Environment
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • charging
  • household
  • Jamie Doward
  • meter
  • pressure
  • The Observer
  • Britain
  • climate
  • Environmental
  • Population
  • Utilities
  • repercussions
  • investment
  • region
  • Caroline Spelman
  • Athens
  • authority
  • charging system
  • customer
  • demand
  • manager
  • Mario Ledwith
  • Phil Wickens
  • rivers
  • Seasonal
  • seasonal water
  • sustainability
  • sustainable supply
  • sustainable water supply
  • Trust
  • use
  • wastage
  • water tariffs
  • Wessex
  • WWF

  April 26 2011, 11:01am | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Jemima Kiss: How I kicked my digital habit

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/04/25/jemima-kiss-how-i-kicked-my-digital-habit

  Twitter, Facebook, emails, and voicemail – we are overwhelmed by digital data, is it time to rebel against information overload? I wondered whe Jemima Kiss had gone too. But of course, managing the information overload IS your job.

  This article titled “Jemima Kiss: How I kicked my digital habit” was written by Jemima Kiss, for The Observer on Saturday 23rd April 2011 23.05 UTC We were brushing through wet grass in the early morning when we saw it – a flash of white drifting behind a small patch of trees, backlit by the sun. Crouching down next to my small son, we watched the unmistakable shape of a barn owl until he disappeared into the wood. The look on my son’s face was part of a brief moment of magic, the kind of memory that we live for. Ordinarily, my next thought would have been to pull out my phone and take a photo, send a tweet or record a video. Connecting is something I do unconsciously now. Tweeting is like breathing and photos and video have documented nearly every day of my 21-month-old son’s life. The meaningful merged with the mundane, all dutifully and habitually recorded – my enjoyment split between that technological impulse and the more delicate human need to be in the moment. This is how we live. That weekend, however, our whole family – my partner, my son and I – were offline. Swallowtail Hill Farm, in Rye, East Sussex, is a pretty soft option when it comes to a digital detox; a charming small farm with a diverting collection of animals and four vintage tractors. Camping was an easy option for an offline experiment, but there wasn’t much choice outside that for a UK break. High-end hotels in the US are now promoting their offline credentials, from boutique luxury to remote donkey trekking, but the UK has some catching up to do. Anyway, blessed with two days of good weather and some delicious local food, I barely even noticed I wasn’t online. What I did notice was my partner, Will. If my worst digital habit is incessant tweeting, his is allowing his phone to be the single most disruptive thing in our relationship. Country walks, dinner, bathing our son – no moment is safe from the seemingly irresistible ringing, vibrating, nagging phone that demands – and wins – his attention when he should be enjoying the moment with us. Any objections of mine are swiftly defended by explaining the importance of dealing with that email/text/voicemail now, though it never seems anything that couldn’t wait half an hour. I take equal responsibility for our connectopia – magnetically drawn, as I am, to any screen that can feed my addiction.

  We handed our phones in at the gate. The only interruption during lunch was from two woodpeckers and the entertainment during dinner by the fire was our own conversation. There was a moment when Will was distracted by a buzzing sensation and reached for his phone, before realising it was a bee. Without our phones, we had no idea what the time was. I reached for my phone when I wondered about local property prices and whether it is normal to see a barn owl during the day. And those moments when Artley, my son, was leaning out of the steam train window, having his bath outdoors under a woodburner-powered shower and being read his bedtime story in front of an open fire, I’ve had to try and commit to my own fallible memory. Breaking away from my connected life, I could feel how the compulsion, the divided attention, the multitasking has permeated my way of being. Early adopters, the heavy technology users who throw themselves at every new device and service, will admit to an uncontrollable impulse to check email, tweets or Facebook. Researchers have called this “variable interval reinforcement schedule”; we have in effect been trained into digital message addiction because the most exciting rewards are unpredictable. We’re no better than slot-machine addicts. The hustle we develop as we struggle to keep up with the pace of digital information has produced a restless, anxious way of engaging with the world. Desperate for efficiency, this seeps into our physical lives; I feel compelled to tidy while on the phone, to fold the washing while brushing my teeth. No single task has my undivided attention. A study by the University of California, San Francisco, last week concluded that constant multi-tasking gradually erodes short-term memory. And interruptions are a massive problem, taking anything up to 20 times the length of the interruption to recover. For those of us compelled to check email every few minutes, that revelation explains where the day goes. As consumer web technologies mature, so too does our desire to understand the impact they are having on our lives. Few books on digital dystopia are more resonant than Hamlet’s BlackBerry, an imaginative and thoughtful book that explores philosophical reaction to new technologies throughout time and the lessons we should have learnt from those. The author, former Washington Post journalist William Powers, is, like me, a true believer in the power and potential of digital technologies, but concludes that we need a little discipline to restore control over our unsettling, hyper-connected lives. “The more we connect, the more our thoughts lean outward,” he writes. “There’s a preoccupation with what’s going on ‘out there’ in the bustling otherworld, rather than ‘in here’ with yourself and those right around you. What was once exterior and faraway is now easily accessible and this carries a sense of obligation or duty.” That feeling that we should be reaching out, or be available to be reached out to, is tied to the self-affirmation the internet provides. “In less-connected times, human beings were forced to shape their own interior sense of identity and worth.” Powers offers practical solutions, including advocating the use of paper as a more efficient way of organising our thoughts. The theory of “embodied interaction” asserts that physical objects free our minds to think because our hands and fingers can do much of the work, unlike screens where our brains are constantly in demand. The eponymous technology he describes in his book is an intriguing Elizabethan version of a PDA, pocket-sized notebooks with pages coated in an erasable, plaster-like material. “Writing tables”, as they were known, were used for note-taking and checklists. While we can’t be sure Shakespeare used one, we’re shown that Hamlet was a keen user of the latest screen technology. “Yea, from the table of my memory,” Hamlet reflects, after meeting the ghost of his dead father. I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and observation copied there Hamlet wants to clear his life of all the superficial detritus so that he can focus exclusively on avenging the death of his father. The development of print culture was adding to the tumult of life in Elizabethan England, just as we are overwhelmed with the explosion of always-on digital information today. Exploring Seneca’s “spa of the mind” as a way of escaping the commotion of a busy city, Powers explains that the constant demands of being overwhelmingly connected need to be balanced out by reintroducing a little disconnectedness. That’s exactly what Powers did at home, banning the internet at weekends. It took six months for the family to adjust. “Because we were now away from our connectedness on a regular basis, we grasped its utility and value more fully … There was an atmospheric change in our minds, a shift to a slower, less restless, more relaxed way of thinking. We could just be in one place, doing one particular thing, and enjoy it.”

  At home, my concern about our digital addiction is most acute when I catch my son looking at me while I’m checking a screen. It’s reinforcing how much more important the screen is than him, as if I’m teaching him that obeying these machines is what he needs to do. Our fireside conversation that night, against a backdrop of a moonlit wood, was about Hamlet’s BlackBerry and what Powers calls the “vanishing family trick”, when a seemingly sociable family would gradually dissolve away to screens in different corners of the house. It’s a familiar story. “What’s lost in the process is so valuable, it can’t be quantified,” Powers despairs. “Isn’t this what we live for – time spent with other people, those moments that can’t be translated into ones and zeros and replicated on a screen? I sometimes felt as if love itself, or the acts of the heart and mind that constitute love, were being leached out of the house by our screens.” As we left the farm, the real work began, trying to resolve our new promise of balancing work and home life by introducing phone-free zones and offline days. Best of all, when the farmer handed back our phones, we didn’t have a missed call or message between us.

  Jemima, Will & Artley stayed at Swallowtail Hill Farm, 01275 395447; canopyandstars.co.uk

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogJemima Kiss: How I kicked my digital habit

  Related posts:Teaching Assistants Community Now That’s What I Call Music goes digital Digital love: Manuelle Gautrand and the Gaîté Lyrique

  

  • Tags:
  • social media
  • theory
  • tools
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • Computing
  • Features
  • Email
  • technology
  • information
  • Article
  • culture
  • Main section
  • Society
  • The Observer
  • solution
  • Digital media
  • Ebooks
  • explosion
  • Jemima Kiss
  • addiction
  • Mobile phones
  • rebel
  • occupation
  • In focus
  • stream
  • guardian news
  • tweets
  • BlackBerry
  • detox
  • early adopters
  • habit
  • information overload
  • interaction
  • revelation
  • Social trends
  • Telecoms
  • tweet
  • William Powers

  April 25 2011, 10:45am | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Honda considers suspending UK production after Japanese crisis

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/04/07/honda-considers-suspending-uk-production-after-japanese-crisis

  Carmakers Honda are considering a plan for coping with the parts shortage in Swindon as the global impact of earthquake and tsunami takes hold

  This article titled “Honda considers suspending UK production after Japanese crisis” was written by Tom Bawden and Justin McCurry in Tokyo, for The Observer on Saturday 2nd April 2011 23.13 UTC Honda could be forced to halt production at its car plant in Swindon next month as the repercussions of Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami reach British factories. At a crunch meeting this week, the Japanese carmaker will agree a plan on how to tackle the growing shortage of key components such as satnavs. Executives will discuss a range of options, including a temporary closure of the Swindon plant, which employs about 3,000 staff, or a period of reduced production. The plant makes about 165,000 Civics, CR-V compact SUVs, and Jazz superminis a year and is braced for a shortage of electronic, electrical and brake parts. Each car comprises about 20,000 parts, 10% to 15% of which come from Japan. A Honda spokesman said: “All scenarios are a possibility. There will be an impact, although it won’t be till May. We don’t yet know what to do to get around the issue, but a decision will be made some time this week.” Honda is by no means alone, with car manufacturers around the world expecting interruptions to production as component shortages spread worldwide. Toyota’s UK plants in Burnaston, near Derby, and in north Wales are to continue a ban on daily overtime and fortnightly Saturday shifts imposed around the middle of last month, while a Nissan spokesman said the group was “constantly monitoring the situation in the UK and all over its operations”. The shortage of parts in the UK is expected to become increasingly significant over the next month, since many components from Japan take six weeks to arrive. Paul Everitt, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said: “The disruption in Japan will have an impact on the UK motor industry, but the scale and timing remain very uncertain.” Initially, carmakers had hoped that most component manufacturers in Japan would be up and running in time to ensure minimal interruptions to overseas supplies. However, in the past fortnight it has become increasingly apparent that the damage and power shortages in Japan will have an impact overseas. Professor ManMohan Sodhi, an expert in supply chain management at Cass Business School in London, said: “There has been an aftershock in car manufacturing that mirrors the aftershocks from an earthquake. They may be smaller, but they are still significant.” In Japan, the economic damage caused by the crisis is already evident. Sales of new vehicles plummeted by 37% in March, the biggest monthly decline since 1974. Although none of the major car manufacturers suffered serious damage to factories, most cannot return to full operation until at least mid-May. Toyota had to halt production at all 18 of its plants in Japan immediately after the earthquake, although two have since reopened to produce a limited number of Prius and two other hybrid models. Honda said it would resume making parts for export markets tomorrow, with production due to restart at all its Japanese factories seven days later – but only at half their original capacity. The firm has not said when manufacturing will return to normal. Nissan, which estimated that its production fell by 55,000 vehicles in March, said it would resume normal operations by mid-April at all but one of its assembly plants. The exception is a factory in Iwaki, north-east Japan, located just 50km from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogHonda considers suspending UK production after Japanese crisis

  Related posts:Japanese nuclear officials fear crack in reactor core Fukushima factor adds pressure to economic fallout from Japan’s crisis Cost of insuring Japanese government debt jumps

  

  • Tags:
  • London
  • economics
  • UK
  • car
  • Japan
  • japanese
  • jazz
  • business
  • british
  • city
  • UK news
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • The Observer
  • World news
  • bus
  • earthquake
  • assembly
  • closure
  • Derby
  • tsunami
  • Nuclear power
  • Tokyo
  • Fukushima
  • daiichi
  • Justin McCurry
  • nuclear power plant
  • devastating earthquake
  • disruption
  • Japan disaster
  • Nuclear
  • north Wales
  • Economic
  • worldwide
  • Automotive industry
  • british factories
  • car manufacturers
  • car plant
  • carmaker
  • carmakers
  • civics
  • component shortages
  • fortnightly
  • global impact
  • Honda
  • interruptions
  • motor manufacturers
  • repercussions
  • swindon plant
  • Tom Bawden
  • uk plants

  April 6 2011, 6:32pm | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Osprey webcam thrills bird lovers as Lady of the Loch awaits mate

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/04/05/osprey-webcam-thrills-bird-lovers-as-lady-of-the-loch-awaits-mate

  Thousands log on worldwide to the Osprey webcam to watch the oldest breeding osprey keep vigil beside a Scottish loch.

  This article titled “Osprey webcam thrills bird lovers as Lady of the Loch awaits mate” was written by Tracy McVeigh, for The Observer on Saturday 2nd April 2011 23.14 UTC Inside a wooden hide at the edge of a Perthshire loch, there is a flurry of excitement and a crackling of waterproof clothing. Binoculars are raised and whispered instructions exchanged. But hopes quickly fade as the alarm proves a false one. The bird that has swooped into sight is not the one they’d been waiting for. “She is taking a defensive stand; it’s not Him,” said seasonal ranger Anna Cheshier. “Look, she’s seeing him off. It’s just an interloper trying his luck.” There is a palpable feeling of disappointment in the hide, where half a dozen people sit glued to the goings-on on a platform of sticks less than 200 yards away, 60 feet up a Scots pine tree. Inside the nearby visitor centre, many more are watching the action in real time on two large HD television screens. More than 100,000 people have already viewed the webcam. The object of all the attention is Lady, the osprey, who stands in her giant nest and looks out to the blue skies. Having confounded the experts by not only living to the age of 26, against the eight years’ lifespan the bird was thought to have, but also by producing 48 fledglings, she is now waiting for Him – a 10-year-old male with whom she mated last year. He is due to land any day after a 3,000-mile migration back from west Africa. Ospreys mate for life so, if he has survived, he should be on his way. But if he doesn’t get here within the next few days, Lady is likely to presume him dead and move on to another male. In her lifetime, she has already outlived two mates. “The interest is huge,” said Cheshier, 25, from the Scottish Wildlife Trust‘s Loch of the Lowes nature reservation outside Dunkeld, an hour’s drive north of Edinburgh. “Lady is a star attraction and also very important. She has been coming back to her nest here for 19 years, but last year she was very ill and we all thought she was going to die, so no one imagined she’d be back this year.” Lady survived her near-death illness and arrived back from her African winter late last Monday night. She is not chipped or ringed, so it wasn’t until later, when the cameras got a look in her eyes, that the rangers were sure the remarkable raptor had returned. “She has a unique defect in the iris of her right eye – it looks like a lightning bolt,” said Cheshier. “It was amazing to see her come back; she is bucking every trend, rewriting the books.” Since her return, Lady has been helping herself to the loch’s supplies of perch and trout, even visiting the nearby Tay to catch herself a salmon, tidying up the nest, and waiting. Meanwhile, she is being closely watched by experts and fans. On the branches around her are positioned discreet cameras trained on the nest, one for day and one for night, and two microphones that pick up every ruffle of her feathers and her occasional piercing hawk cry. Live pictures are being eagerly watched around the world. Last year 33,000 people viewed the webcam online, but this year 120,000 have viewed the Lady of the Loch. “We will have the computer on all day in the background, just having a look every now and again,” said Jenny Hillier, up from Southampton with her husband, Pete, on a short break to see the bird. “We followed her on the webcam last year and the year before, but assumed she’d be dead. It’s amazing she’s back.” Pete Hillier has been writing about their trip on a wildlife blog to envious bird lovers around the country. “It’s quite something to see her – I think it’s the age of her, and the fact you can see her so close up here, that makes her so special,” he said. Colin and Dorothy Wilson from Dunfermline, Fife, are rooting for Lady, taking a detour from their spring break to make a pilgrimage to the nest. “We were here last June to see her and then we heard she hadn’t been so well, so we were astonished that she was back, and we had to come. It makes such a difference to be able to see wildlife like this,” said Dorothy. Two other diehard osprey fans, Alan Barraclough, 77, and Hazel Studham, 74, have come up from Cumbria to see Lady. “She’s a very special bird; we didn’t think she’d make it through the winter. I hope her beau turns up,” said Studham. Smaller than an eagle, larger than a hawk, the osprey disappeared as a species from the UK in 1916, when the last pair was killed by egg and bird hunters such as Victorian collector William Dunbar, who guiltily wrote to a friend that their obsessions “had finally done for the osprey”. Even when they returned in the 1950s to recolonise old haunts, their small numbers remained under threat, especially from postwar pesticides such as DDT. But now the osprey’s tenacity gives real encouragment to environmentalists. Roy Dennis, a conservation veteran and honorary director of the Highland Foundation for Wildlife, said Lady’s return was an astonishing feat. “It’s a real emblem, the osprey. People can see it [while they are] having a picnic on the side of a loch and you’ll see one dive in, so it’s very visible, distinct and identifiable, unlike a lot of birds. “It’s a great ambassador. But the reason osprey came back is that the habitat and the food supply are still here. It’s the persecution of the species, the shooting, that has stopped. With some of our other birds, it will be harder as their habitat is going. If Scotland isn’t becoming entirely the nature reserve of the UK, then it’s certainly its lungs – the successes with sea and white-tailed eagles, red grouse are great, but we need to do more for conservation, encouraged by these successes.” But as Dunkeld’s aged raptor enchants wildlife lovers around the world, Dennis thinks Lady may have a wait ahead of her. “I was out checking on osprey nests near me today and of 12 only two birds had returned. The weather hasn’t been so good and the closest of the tracked males is still in Spain, so it’s early days,” he said. “It could be another three or four days.”   Find the webcam at swt.org.uk/wildlife/webcams/loch-of-lowes2/

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogOsprey webcam thrills bird lovers as Lady of the Loch awaits mate

  Related posts:Bird Flu is back Three dead swans in Dorset had Bird Flu H5N1 bird flu confirmed at Bernard Mathews

  

  • Tags:
  • wildlife
  • bird
  • online
  • birds
  • fledgling
  • scotland
  • fife
  • scottish
  • habitat
  • television
  • conservation
  • UK news
  • Environment
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • Tracy McVeigh
  • The Observer
  • Environmental
  • disappointment
  • environmentalists
  • Alan Barraclough
  • Anna Cheshier
  • Binoculars
  • bird lovers
  • Birdwatching
  • cameras
  • fledglings
  • Hazel Studham
  • hd television
  • Jenny Hillier
  • osprey
  • ospreys
  • Pete Hillier
  • scots pine
  • scottish loch
  • scottish wildlife trust
  • Southampton
  • waterproof clothing
  • west africa
  • William Dunbar

  April 5 2011, 2:49pm | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  UK Uncut accuses police of politically motivated arrests

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/04/02/uk-uncut-accuses-police-of-politically-motivated-arrests

  The UK Uncut Campaign group are claiming that the police are trying to disband it following arrests at Fortnum and Mason sit-in.

  This article titled “UK Uncut accuses police of politically motivated arrests” was written by Mark Townsend, for The Observer on Saturday 2nd April 2011 20.44 UTC Protest group UK Uncut signalled its intention to continue occupying high street stores as police released images of individuals wanted in connection with violent disorder. A spokesman for the tax avoidance campaigners insisted they would not be cowed, despite concerns that the Met is intent on disabling the group’s command structure and has “politically targeted” its ringleaders. The Met has charged 138 people – practically the movement’s entire leadership – with aggravated trespass after a UK Uncut occupation of Fortnum & Mason in central London during the anti-cuts march. A meeting of UK Uncut supporters heard that those charged have had their phones confiscated. The mobiles contain details of the group’s secure networks and email accounts used to mobilise and organise its actions. The group believes the decision to charge all those inside Fortnum & Mason was an attempt by police to crush the movement. Only two of its chief ringleaders were outside the store at the time. “Practically the entire UK Uncut was inside, but it’s definitely not the end of that tactic because most people can see that this is political policing,” said the spokesman. The group is baffled why Scotland Yard, which rejects claims of politically motivated policing, decided to charge its members while previous peaceful occupations had seen officers take no action. Video evidence reveals a senior police officer assuring protesters on the day that they would not be detained upon leaving the store. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard has released 18 images of protesters, unconnected to UK Uncut, that they are keen to identify in the wake of the disorder. The investigation, Operation Brontide, is expected to publicise more images, mainly from CCTV. The Met is eager to disrupt those engaged in “black bloc” tactics, and is believed to have footage showing anarchists removing black clothing, bandanas and scarves before changing into civilian gear to evade detection. Detective chief superintendent Matthew Horne, leading Operation Brontide, said: “A significant minority came to London to cause violence and damage. There is an extensive operation to identify these people.” Fresh claims of politically motivated policing have also surfaced in a report alleging that officers prevented Muslims from attending counter demonstrations against a major English Defence League rally. Leicester constabulary operated a policy of stopping elements of the Muslim community protesting against the EDL during a high-profile march in the city last October, according to the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol). It said that the force attempted to dissuade Muslims through mosques and schools from protesting against the EDL demonstration at an authorised protest by Unite Against Fascism (UAF) on the same day, and issued leaflets advising that young people could be picked up and held in “safe areas”. Val Swain of Netpol said: “This is a strategy that we have seen up and down the country, and it appears to have been sanctioned at the highest levels. “The way in which the police are interfering in communities to deter people from organising and participating in lawful, legitimate protest is deeply disturbing. It is not for the police to decide which sectors of society are allowed to protest and which are not.” Saqib Deshmukh, a youth worker in the East Midlands, said it appeared that officers were willing to facilitate the EDL’s right to protest at the expense of the Muslim community, adding: “Certain groups of people are being denied the right to protest. It seems that the government is far more worried about the mobilisation of Muslim people than they are about the EDL.” Police in Lancashire adopted another tactic, imposing a limit of 3,000 on both an EDL march and one by counter-demonstrators in Blackburn to reduce the possibility of violence. The report by Netpol claims the reaction by Leicester constabulary could breach articles 10 and 11, the freedom of assembly and expression, of the European convention on human rights. It also reveals widespread disquiet over why the EDL was allowed to congregate in city centre pubs before the march and move close to Muslim areas. One community worker described their treatment as a “policy of appeasement”. The Leicester force has previously stated that it adopted polices to reduce the risk of public disorder and that it engaged with the Muslim community and acted in its interests.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogUK Uncut accuses police of politically motivated arrests

  Related posts:UK Uncut arrests threaten future protests, lawyer warns UK Uncut’s fears over clampdown on black bloc tactics UK Uncut protesters target Barclays over tax avoidance

  

  • Tags:
  • UK
  • Community
  • politics
  • central london
  • Communities
  • scotland
  • english
  • march
  • leadership
  • Tax
  • Tax avoidance
  • UK news
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • Protest
  • Campaign
  • Protesters
  • UK Uncut
  • Society
  • The Observer
  • World news
  • police
  • freedom
  • Demonstrators
  • interest
  • Public sector cuts
  • strategy
  • assembly
  • demonstration
  • youth
  • network
  • spokesman
  • Mark Townsend
  • Law
  • movement
  • occupation
  • League
  • Euro
  • Anti-cuts
  • disquiet
  • campaigner
  • fortnum and mason
  • trespass
  • violence
  • Anarchist
  • anarchists
  • black bloc
  • Fortnum
  • violent disorder
  • campaign group
  • campaigners
  • command structure
  • congregate
  • Deshmukh
  • Detective
  • East Midlands
  • email accounts
  • group uk
  • Lancashire
  • Matthew Horne
  • mobilisation
  • Monitoring
  • occupations
  • police officer
  • Practically
  • protest group
  • scarves
  • scotland yard
  • secure networks
  • superintendent
  • tactic
  • video evidence

  April 2 2011, 4:17pm | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Japan PM tells Fukushima nuclear plant workers to hold firm

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/04/02/japan-pm-tells-fukushima-nuclear-plant-workers-to-hold-firm

  Naoto Kan Japan‘s PM is visiting the  Japanese tsunami zone as officials try to plug the crack in the reactor housing that may be leaking radioactive water from the nuclear reactor core fuel rods into the sea.

  This article titled “Japan PM tells Fukushima nuclear plant workers to hold firm” was written by Justin McCurry in Fukushima, for The Observer on Saturday 2nd April 2011 17.07 UTC Japan’s prime minister, Naoto Kan, has told workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to hold firm in the belief that disaster can be averted, as highly radioactive water continued to seep into the sea. Nuclear officials’ discovery of a crack in a concrete pit at the number two core could offer an explanation for the flow of contaminated water that has jeopardised the operation to calm the reactors and raised fears about radiation finding its way into the sea and soil near the facility. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said it would pour concrete into the pit, where radiation measuring 1,000 millisieverts per hour has been recorded, in an attempt to seal the eight-inch long crack. Two feet away from the pit radiation levels dropped to 400 millisieverts. Workers have taken samples of the water in the pit and seawater and are analysing them to determine the level of contamination. Experts said that while the leakage was a cause for concern, radiation would be quickly diluted in the ocean. “With radiation levels rising in seawater next to the plant we have been trying to confirm why that’s happening, and [the crack] could be one source,” Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for Japan’s nuclear and industrial safety agency (Nisa), told reporters. The plant, 240km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, will continue to leak radiation until four of its six reactors have been reconnected to cooling systems that were knocked out by the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. An artificial “floating island” is being towed to the plant to store the contaminated seawater, samples of which have shown radiation levels 4,000 times the legal limit. The vast tanker could store about 10,000 tonnes of water, Tepco said; an estimated 13,000 tonnes of contaminated water has built up beneath some of the reactors. “We are trying to employ as many measures as possible to regain control of the situation,” a Tepco official said, adding that he had “high hopes” for the storage vessel. Radiation levels in the plant and its vicinity have reached such high levels that Tepco is looking to hire special workers who are prepared to enter contaminated areas to perform essential tasks before rushing out to avoid prolonged exposure. In return for their bravery the “jumpers” are reportedly being offered up to $5,000 (£3,000) a shift, Japanese media has reported. Kan has been to visit an evacuation centre in the coastal town of Rikuzentakata, which was engulfed by the tsunami. Most of its 23,000 residents were killed or injured. He later entered the 20km zone around the Fukushima plant from which 70,000 people have been evacuated. He told Tepco workers, troops and firefighters: ”I want you to fight with the conviction that you absolutely cannot lose this battle.” Police said more than 11,800 people had been confirmed dead in the disaster, while more than 15,540 people remained missing. More than 165,000 people are living in shelters.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogJapan PM tells Fukushima nuclear plant workers to hold firm

  Related posts:Japanese nuclear firm admits error on radiation reading Visualising radiation leaks from the Fukushima nuclear power plant Radioactive water from Japan’s Fukushima plant is leaking into sea

  

  • Tags:
  • World
  • Japan
  • japanese
  • Energy
  • Environment
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • The Observer
  • World news
  • earthquake
  • tsunami
  • japanese media
  • leakage
  • Nuclear power
  • radiation level
  • radiation levels
  • cooling system
  • radioactive water
  • daiichi
  • Justin McCurry
  • nuclear power plant
  • tokyo electric
  • nuclear plant
  • contaminate
  • Radiation
  • Japan disaster
  • Nuclear
  • nuclear reactor
  • contaminated water
  • nuclear officials
  • reactor core
  • Nishiyama
  • Nuclear waste
  • evacuation
  • reactors
  • stream
  • tepco
  • seawater
  • industrial safety
  • safety agency
  • Radioactive
  • Rikuzentakata

  April 2 2011, 4:04pm | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Goldman Sachs CEO’s pay nearly doubles despite slump in profits

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/04/02/goldman-sachs-ceos-pay-nearly-doubles-despite-slump-in-profits

  Goldman Sachs‘ chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, epitomises the unacceptable face of international finance capital. And he takes home $9m more for a year in which the bank‘s profits dropped 38%

  This article titled “Goldman Sachs CEO’s pay nearly doubles despite slump in profits” was written by Andrew Clark, for The Observer on Saturday 2nd April 2011 12.12 UTC An era of bonus “restraint” at Goldman Sachs came to a shuddering halt as the Wall Street bank almost doubled the pay package of its chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, to $18.6m (£11.5m) for 2010 in spite of a slump in profits. Blankfein, 56, who once quipped that his firm does “God’s work”, received share awards of $12.6m on top of a $5.4m performance-related cash bonus, and a salary of $600,000. He also received additional benefits worth $464,000, according to a filing by Goldman at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The postal worker’s son from Brooklyn became a lightning rod for controversy over the banking industry’s excesses during the financial crisis. Goldman was obliged to pay $550m in July to settle fraud charges laid by US prosecutors over the alleged mis-selling of toxic mortgage-related derivatives. Blankfein described being hit by the charges as “one of the worst days in my professional life”. Blankfein’s pay was still far below the record $68m that he received for 2007, before the credit crunch began to bite. But his earnings are almost double last year’s $9.8m – when Goldman declared it was exercising “restraint” in response to public and political pressure over the size of bonuses. “The fact that they would return to a more market-based pay is probably not surprising,” Rose Marie Orens, a senior partner at Compensation Advisory Partners in New York, told Bloomberg News. “They’re not quite back to anything remotely like what they paid in prior years.” It was the first time in three years that Goldman paid a cash bonus to Blankfein. His top lieutenants – including chief financial officer David Viniar and chief operating officer Gary Cohn – got identical $5.4m payouts. This was despite a 38% drop in profits to $7.71bn due to a sharp fall in income from trading and investment banking. Goldman is renowned for being the most hard-driving bank on Wall Street. It has a fiercely competitive ethos but rewards its employees better than any of its rivals. Unlike other top banks, it sensed the imminent implosion in US mortgages in 2007 and heavily hedged its position to protect itself against the credit crunch. Its bonus pool, shared by 35,700 employees worldwide,, including 5,000 in London, amounted to $15.3bn this year – equivalent to nearly $430,000 per person. Blankfein’s remuneration comfortably outstrips the £6.5m bonus paid to Barclays’ chief executive Bob Diamond, who is the highest-paid of Britain’s banking chiefs. In a sign of Goldman’s culture of rewards, even Blankfein’s driver appears to have done well – the bank paid out $185,110 for the CEO’s car and chauffeur, more than double last year’s figure. And Blankfein’s son, also at Goldman, was paid $170,000.

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogGoldman Sachs CEO’s pay nearly doubles despite slump in profits

  Related posts:UK Uncut protesters target Barclays over tax avoidance EBay paid too much for Skype Web Services Will Be Free

  

  • Tags:
  • London
  • economics
  • bank
  • credit
  • business
  • Banking
  • Financial
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • Andrew Clark
  • Barclays
  • Bob Diamond
  • The Observer
  • International
  • capital
  • compensation
  • Britain
  • industry
  • Financial crisis
  • Executive pay and bonuses
  • profit
  • New York
  • controversy
  • Cash
  • banking industry
  • Bloomberg
  • Brooklyn
  • cash bonus
  • Commission
  • credit crunch
  • David Viniar
  • equivalent
  • excesses
  • fraud charges
  • Gary Cohn
  • Goldman
  • Goldman Sachs
  • implosion
  • income
  • international finance
  • lightning rod
  • Lloyd Blankfein
  • professional life
  • remuneration
  • Rose Marie Orens
  • share awards
  • unacceptable face
  • Wall Street
  • worldwide

  April 2 2011, 2:56pm | Comments »

• I posted to distributedresearch.net

  Chernobyl 25 years on: a poisoned landscape

  http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/03/27/chernobyl-25-years-on-a-poisoned-landscape

  As Japan struggles with its own Fukushima nuclear plant crisis, Chernobyl, the site of the biggest atomic disaster in history remains a grim, radioactive monument

  This article titled “Chernobyl 25 years on: a poisoned landscape” was written by Robin McKie in Chernobyl, for The Observer on Sunday 27th March 2011 00.06 UTC Yuri Tatarchuk has a disconcerting way of demonstrating Chernobyl’s grim radioactive legacy. An official guide at the wrecked nuclear power plant, he waves his radiation counter at a group of abandoned Soviet army vehicles that were used in the battle to clean up the contamination created by the reactor explosion in 1986. “Some of these trucks are quite clean, but some of them not,” he announces. A sweep of his counter reveals only a few clicks from their doors and roofs. Then he passes the device over one vehicle’s tracks. A sudden angry chatter reveals significant levels of radiation. “Wheels and tracks pick contamination from the soil,” he tells the group that has gathered round him. “There is still plenty of radioactive isotopes – caesium, strontium, even some plutonium – in the ground and we cannot get rid of them.” Twenty-five years on, Chernobyl remains a poisoned landscape. Set among lakes, sandy soil and forests on steppe lands north of Kiev, Chernobyl achieved global notoriety in 1986 when technicians carried out an experiment aimed at testing backup electrical supplies to one of the plant’s four reactors. The flow of water – used as a coolant to carry away the mighty heat of the reactor core – was raised and lowered. After a few minutes, there was a sudden jump in reactor power. Ten seconds later the core was blown apart by a massive explosion. Without a containment vessel, the reactor’s deadly radioactive contents were borne high into the air by the heat of the core’s burning graphite and spread over much of Europe, triggering an international panic. In the blast’s immediate aftermath, 31 plant operators and firemen died – they were not told the reactor was the cause of the blaze or that radiation levels were lethal – while thousands more people, living on land that is now in Ukraine and Belarus, received doses that undoubtedly shortened their lives, although scientists still dispute the death toll. The World Health Organisation puts it at 4,000; Greenpeace says 200,000. Significant levels of radioactive caesium-137, strontium-90 and plutonium isotopes still pollute the ground. In one zone, dubbed the Red Forest, it reached levels 20 times higher than the contamination at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and remains highly dangerous. The Chernobyl explosion was the world’s worst nuclear accident and is the only one classified as level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Next month will mark the 25th anniversary of the blast, a birthday that has acquired a dramatic resonance following the Fukushima reactor fires in Japan, which have resurrected global fears that nuclear mayhem could afflict the planet again – though it should be noted that the accident there measured only 5 on the nuclear event scale. Chernobyl clearly has much to tell us about the dangers of nuclear power. Hence the recent soaring interest in the plant which, bizarrely, has become a popular tourist destination for foreign visitors to Ukraine. My coach trip last Thursday from Kiev was a sellout – with the 25-strong party including 15 members of the German, US, Russian, Dutch and British media. Television crews fought to interview the few baffled punters on the bus about the forthcoming anniversary, while other journalists simply interviewed each other. Your correspondent was cross-examined for Russian TV about the safety of nuclear power as he stood in front of the radioactive ruins of reactor no 4. It was an extraordinary affair led by the ebullient Tatarchuk, a chunky, cheerful Ukrainian wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Hard Rock Café – Chernobyl”. Sites on our strange tour included the buried village of Kopachi, a close-up look at reactor number 4 itself, a very quick drive through the Red Forest, and an exploration of the abandoned city of Pripyat. Radiation counters were handed out, and if these started to chatter too quickly – usually if we wandered off paths and on to open soil – we were told to make a detour. It was startlingly casual and, in the end, highly unsettling.   The Ukrainian steppe is still frost-burned and the trees leafless at this time of year. There are no buds on branches and little hint of greenery, a combination that only enhances the eerie desolation inside the 30km exclusion zone around the reactor. This land has seen harrowing times. It was occupied by German troops and most communities have memorials to the Soviet soldiers who liberated them – including the village of Kopachi inside the zone. In fact, Kopachi’s memorial is just about all that is left of the place, thanks to Chernobyl. “Kopachi was very badly contaminated and so it was decided to bury it, house by house,” says Tatarchuk. “It seemed a good idea at the time, but it wasn’t. The digging only pushed radioactive material deeper into the soil and closer to the water table, so that contamination spread even further.” It transpires that devastating errors like these were common. The only other evidence of Kopachi’s existence is the primary school near the memorial. Its windows have rotted and the front door hangs on a single hinge. It is also clear that it was abandoned in haste. Schoolbooks, jotters, sheets of music and road safety leaflets litter the hall floor while a single doll – its face blackened and cracked – lies on a cot inside one classroom. Equally disturbing is the vast artificial lake built near the main plant, which was used to provide water coolant for its four reactors. The lake is frozen now, but while Chernobyl’s reactors were operating its water was warm all year round. Lichen blossomed, so a fish farm was built to populate the lake with catfish that ate the lichen and kept the waters clear. After the reactor explosion, the lake was showered with radioactive debris which sank to the bottom. Today water has to be pumped constantly from the nearby river Pripyat to stop the lake evaporating in summer and exposing its toxic sediments, which would dry out and be spread by the wind. However, it is Pripyat that provides the most disturbing evidence of the events of 25 years ago. The city was built to house the families of workers who manned the vast reactor complex at Chernobyl. Four reactors had been built by 1986 and two more were under construction. This was to be the biggest nuclear power complex in Europe. Fifty thousand people had homes here. Reactor no 4 blew up in the early hours of 26 April, but no one told the people of Pripyat. All that day, children were allowed to play outside, despite the plume of radioactive material emerging from the reactor a few kilometres away. Of course, there were rumours of a fire, but people had been indoctrinated to believe a reactor accident was impossible – until a fleet of buses arrived at 2pm the next day, 36 hours after the explosion, and Pripyat’s people were shipped off to camps and resettlement centres. At the time, they were told they would be allowed back to their homes within three days, but in the end they were never allowed to return. For an hour, our group wandered round Pripyat, stepping over broken glass and lumps of wood and stone, with the constant chirrup of our radiation counters providing warnings if we strayed too far. Everywhere nature can be seen to be taking back its territory. Trees have erupted through the thick concrete steps of Pripyat’s central plaza, while the surrounding woods – which now provide homes for healthy populations of wolves, deer and boar – have spread over every piece of open ground. Inside the city, books are littered over the grimy floors of the main library while outside, a Ferris wheel – set up to celebrate May Day that year – is slowly rusting. How many people received fatal doses of radiation in those 36 hours of exposure remains a matter of dispute. Although cheery for most of the trip, Yuri’s anger about the fate of the people of Pripyat at the hands of Ukraine’s former Soviet masters became all too clear: “People were told that they had received a radiation dose of no more than 25 rems, enough to cause only minor illness. But that just was not true. They must have got hundreds of rems, fatal doses. “It was criminal. People should have been given proper diagnoses and proper treatment. They got nothing. At least 5,000 people were badly affected at the time, while women who were pregnant were simply told to have abortions. It was a cruel time.” Today workers are allowed to live in the village of Chernobyl, but for no more than four days at a time. With all four reactors at the plant closed down, they are helping to decontaminate the land within the exclusion zone and to decommission the plant’s first three undamaged reactors. As to reactor no 4, the concrete sarcophagus that hides its wrecked, exposed, radioactive core is now crumbling and work has started on a replacement – although Ukraine has made it clear that it will need international assistance to ensure the project’s successful completion. This is a nation which will have to bear the consequences of the world’s worst nuclear accident for a long time to come. As to the comparison between Fukushima and Chernobyl, Tatarchuk is emphatic: “No, it is not as bad in Japan as it was here, not by a long way. But there are lots of similarities. Basically, we had high radiation and no information in 1986, and that seems to be going on once more. That is the pattern when these things happen.”

  guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

  Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogChernobyl 25 years on: a poisoned landscape

  Related posts:Japanese nuclear officials fear crack in reactor core Japan nuclear reactor water-bombing has little effect Fukushima nuclear plant blast puts Japan on high alert

  

  • Tags:
  • ukraine
  • world health organisation
  • Japan
  • 2010
  • Europe
  • Energy
  • Environment
  • News
  • Article
  • Main section
  • Russia
  • The Observer
  • World news
  • caesium
  • explosion
  • Nuclear power
  • Chernobyl
  • coolant
  • radioactive material
  • Robin McKie
  • nuclear accident
  • nuclear power plant
  • contaminate
  • Radiation
  • Japan disaster
  • Nuclear
  • nuclear officials
  • plutonium
  • reactor core
  • containment vessel
  • Nuclear waste
  • radioactive legacy

  March 27 2011, 1:24pm | Comments »

1 2 3

Visit Andy Roberts Music sites

For Andy Roberts music online with free downloads, mp3player widgets and further jumping off points please visit the external links below:

• Weekly Podcast
• ReverbNation
• Last.fm
• Andy Roberts Podcast on iTunes

Get Andy Roberts Sampler CD

The Andy Roberts Sampler CD has four tracks including Gernika. Available from Havering Folk Club on Wednesdays or from Andy Roberts Sampler CD page.

Listen Right here Right Now:

Andy Roberts Photos

More than 3,000 pictures in sets imported from Flickr here on

• Andy Roberts Photo Blog

London Theatre Breaks

Andy Roberts is an editor writer at:

• London Theatre Breaks

Browse via Popular Tags here

• Music
• Andy Roberts
• London
• Article
• The Guardian
• News
• Havering Folk Club
• podcast
• spain
• UK
• status
• theatre
• Main section
• andyroberts
• General
• breaks
• politics
• World news
• gardens
• andy
• song
• roberts
• folk
• kew
• wanstead
• People
• UK news
• thames
• 2008
• video
• park
• ustream
• river
• Andy Roberts Music
• twitter
• business
• flats
• richmond
• culture
• guitar
• cover
• youtube
• original
• Environment
• economics
• 2010
• Blogposts
• The
• loudon wainwright

Search