Bush - Little Things Count a Lot

Molly Ivins column (Also here) which points out the little blots on Bush's copy book. Please do not vote for this guy, it only encourages him... but, if you don't vote for him, please vote for somebody else, and somebody else who stands a chance of getting in, not Mr Nader. Please!

UK Management and Productivity



This one touched a nerve with me :



http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/16/it_holy_grail/



It's easy, especially as a cynical, non-employee, IT geek, to just

slag off management and blame managers for everything but this

article seems to bear this view out with respect to the productivity

gap.



Personally I think there are a couple of reasons why we are in this

mess :



One such reason why this is such a problem in the UK versus the US is

the albatross we carry round our necks which we call "The Class

System". We defer less than we used to to the "high heid yin's" but

we still have this "them and us" bull and associated inferiority /

superiority complex. I dare say this goes on in the US too but I

doubt it's quite as much of a problem.



Management in the UK is too centered around finance and accountancy.

I can't quote it here but I've read elsewhere that there is some

astonishingly high ratio of accountants in the UK versus the US. This

in turns means more conservative (With a small 'c') decisions are

made and less innovation and input from non-management / non-finance

employees. The obsession with costs also makes investment a very low

priority in the UK, especially with respect to training.



Finally, much as I like to bash the US, I do get the impression that

US employees do invest more of their own time and money in improving

their skills than we do in the UK. Can't blame managers for that,

though maybe I could blame them for not motivating us enough?

Cars = Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.

Disclaimer : I've owned 4 cars in the 16 years I've been legal to drive. 3 were cheap bangers 13+ years ago, my current I've had since '99 and was mainly bought for two reasons :
a) Having a kid more or less makes a car essential, having a teenager makes you an unpaid taxi-driver ;)
b) I work freelance, so not having a car restricts the places I can work a lot.

The car, to me, is the single purchase which most clearly defines all that is wrong with 'Western Civilisation' :
It's individualist and about personal freedom primarily, and doesn't give a toss about the common good.
It brings out the worst characteristics in people.
It's use leads to people being killed and injured, a lot.
It has lead to our destroying large parts of the natural world to accommodate it's use.
Worst of all, it's not even a good technological solution - Cars are woefully inefficient and , superficial changes and materials aside, haven't changed design much since the days of the Ford Model T.
It's one of those things that everyone knows should be scrapped and replaced with a better solution but nobody has the vision or balls to do so - The classic, "But we've always done it that way." excuse.
Until we can take a good hard look at nonsense like driving around in piles of metal powered by dead fish bits, each of which is generally piloted by one person alone, progress of the human race is going to very slow. If indeed we can progress without going into a decline brought on by our use of such 'non-sensible' solutions...

The 'Me' Generation

Interesting article in Wired about our self-obsessed generation and the legacy our actions leave for our children.

Interesting BBC Programme - Terrorism and Fear

An interesting, but very little publicised programme starts on BBC2 this coming Wednesday.
It's along the lines of the thesis that Michael Moore touches on in Farenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine - That governments are making hay out of millennial and terrorism-driven fear.

BBC Spiel :
How fear of terrorism has come to dominate politics around the world
A new series, from acclaimed film-maker Adam Curtis, tells the story and examines just how far that fear is based on an illusion
The Power Of Nightmares – The Rise Of The Politics Of Fear
Wednesday 20 October on BBC TW

Also see :
Guardian Article

The Power of Nightmares starts on BBC2 at 9pm on Wednesday October 20

G24 Want More Influence in IMF

It seems the G24 are getting vocal about their lack of influence in the IMF.

It's ironic in a way - It's so common to hear Americans bleating about how they bankroll the world (I think a lot of people assume the money they dole out to Israel is matched with donations to other countries - it isn't, far from it), the truth is that the world bankrolls the US by investing in it and letting them maintain a huge deficit. What would happen should China and Saudi Arabia pull their money out of the US I wonder?

Fact is, the current IMF/World Bank set-up was engineered to suit the US's requirements -
If you haven't read about the Bretton Woods agreements prepare to be apalled :
wikipedia
google

And, if you would like to hear about alternative, fair ways of running the world and it's finances,
check out George Monbiot's books, particularly Age of Consent.