Politics – Page 35 – Spinor Info

Soviet victory

May 092009

64 years ago today, the Soviet Union was victorious against Nazi Germany in what they came to know as the Great Patriotic War. The Soviet Union may have ceased to exist almost two decades ago but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the military parade that took place on Red Square today:

Soviet-style parade

Perhaps this display should serve as a reminder that what really happened on May 9, 1945, was that the struggle between the world’s two worst totalitarian, militaristic tyrannies ended with the victory of one and the complete defeat of the other.

Revolting as the Nazi regime was, Soviet style communism was just as oppressive and murderous. Sure, for members of “inferior races”, as the Nazis called them, a Soviet victory was preferable because at the very least, Stalin did not institute a systematic program to eradicate entire ethnicities and turn their ashes into soap. (Arguably, he didn’t have to; whereas Hitler’s plans to deport Jews to Madagaskar had no basis in reality, Stalin had room in his vast empire to set up a “Jewish Autonomous District” some five thousand miles east of Moscow, where he planned to deport most of the Soviet Union’s Jewish population. The district curiously still exists in today’s Russia, although only about 1% of its population is actually Jewish.) But in terms of overall results, Stalin was just as “productive” as the Führer, murdering countless millions and ruining the lives of many more, governing an empire that was founded on fear and oppression.

An empire that, curiously, many Russians would like to see return, as this fine military display reminds us.

Supply side economics

Economy, Politics No Responses »

May 052009

Jack Kemp has died. He was a former American Congressman and vice presidential candidate, also a champion of the theory of supply side economics.

The basic premise of supply side economics is that lowering taxes increases demand; increased demand means a healthier economy, hence more tax revenue.

Others say hogwash, supply side economics is just a euphamism for making the rich richer at the expense of the public treasury, i.e., ultimately at the expense of the poor.

So which side is right? Neither.

Or, to be more precise, neither side is right all the time, though both have a point. Yet both are liars, since both elevate to the level of universal truth a principle that is right only some of the time.

Let me illustrate. If the average rate of taxation is 0%, there is obviously no government revenue. If the rate of taxation is 100%, i.e., the State takes away everything, there is no economy, hence no government revenue. At intermediate values, i.e., when the taxation rate is somewhere between 0% and 100%, there is some government revenue. One of the simplest curves that satisfy these criteria looks like this:

Revenue vs. taxation rate

In reality, the curve may be more complicated, but it’s going to be continuous and it’s going to be positive between the end points, hence it will have (at least one) maximum. And here’s the kink. The supply siders are right if the current rate of taxation happens to be to the right of that maximum… lowering the tax rate would indeed increase economic activity and hence, government revenue. But if the present taxation rate is to the left of the maximum, decreasing the tax rate will decrease revenue, and while it may increase economic activity, it certainly also increases the public debt.

So the trick, for a responsible but cash-strapped government, would be to find the maximum of this curve not to subscribe to any political ideology. Not that it’s likely to happen… politicians need snappy soundbytes to secure victory, not boring explanations.

Swine flu insanity

Health, Politics 1 Response »

Apr 302009

According to CNN, the government of Egypt began slaughtering pigs; according to RFE, Tajikistan banned the import of pork and poultry from certain countries.

Are these politicians really this bone dead stupid, or are they playing politics? Have they not heard that just because it’s swine flu, you a) cannot get it from eating pork, and b) it’s an imminent pandemic not because it’s carried by pigs (it isn’t, never mind the origin of the virus), but transmitted from human to human?

When an entire country acts in such a boneheaded way, I begin to wonder how long before a politician somewhere manages to make a really bad decision and wipes us all out. It might happen yet!

Hey, it was torture

Politics No Responses »

Apr 262009

There is this on-going debate as to whether the Obama administration should or should not prosecute officials of the Bush administration who formulated “enhanced interrogation” policies. Some suggest that it is unfair to prosecute people who were merely performing their official duties.

Oh really? So why did we prosecute Nazis? Adolf Eichmann said it most eloquently in his memoirs: he was only following orders, and his desire in life was to perform his duties superbly and please his superiors. So why did we not give him a freaking medal instead of hanging him?

It might be politically expedient for Obama not to prosecute anyone. But don’t try to suggest please that somehow, it is the “right” thing to do. The only right thing to do is to hold people fully accountable for what they had done, especially people at the top who made key decisions. Like, people who authorized torture, people who asked for, and drafted, legal opinions that authorized torture in a language that would have made Orwell proud.

Conspiracies and formal logic

Mathematics, Politics No Responses »

Apr 252009

Watching the outrage over the DHS memos that purportedly target all Americans on the political right as potential enemies of the state, I have come to the realization that a great many political conspiracy theories are based on a trivial error in formal logic: namely, that the implication operator is not commutative.

The implication operator, A → B (A implies B) is true if A is false (B can be anything) or if both A and B are true. In other words, it is only false if A is true but B is false. However, A → B does not imply B → A; the former is true when A is false but B is true, but the latter isn’t.

Yet this is what is at the heart of many conspiracy theories. For instance, a DHS report might say, that those on the fringe of the political right are motivated by the Obama government’s more permissive stance on stem cell research. Some draw the conclusion that this report implies that all who are troubled by Obama’s stance on this issue must be right-wing extremists. I could write this symbolically as follows: we have

member(e, s) → prop(e, p)

where member(e, s) means that e is a member of set s, and prop(e, p) means that e has property p. This symbolic equation cannot be reversed: it does not follow that prop(e, p) → member(e, s).

A closely related mistake is the confusion of the universal and existential operators. The existential operator (usually denoted with an inverted E, but I don’t have an inverted E on my keyboard, so I’ll just use a regular E), E(s, p) says that the set s has at least one member to which property p applies. The universal operator (denoted with an inverted A; I’ll just use a plain A), A(s, p) says that all members of set s have property p. Clearly, the two do not mean the same. Yet all too often, people (on both sides of the political aisle, indeed a lot of the politically correct outrage happens because of this) make this error and assume that once it has been asserted that E(s, p), it is implied that A(s, p). (E.g., a logically flawless statement such as “some blacks are criminals” is assumed to imply the racist generalization that all blacks are criminals.)

One might wonder why formal logic is not taught to would be politicians. I fear that in actuality, the situation is far worse: that they do know formal logic, and use it to their best advantage assuming that you don’t.

So what if torture works?

Politics 1 Response »

Apr 212009

One issue repeatedly discussed by talking heads (including Dick Cheney) on CNN is whether or not torture works. As if the end, in this case, could justify the means.

Frankly, I don’t care if torture works. Civilized people don’t torture, period. Sure, it makes it harder to maintain security, just as other outdated ideas like freedom of speech or freedom of association make it harder to maintain security. But that is the price of liberty, as has been observed by many, including America’s Founding Fathers.

Incidentally, I can think of an exception. Suppose I am a NYC police officer and it comes to my knowledge that a terrorist in my custody has set up an atomic bomb in the city. I only have minutes. I beat him to a pulp, break a few bones and all that, and he tells me the location and deactivation code of the bomb. I save the city. Then, I might stand trial for torturing the terrorist, but receive a presidential pardon due to exceptional circumstances. Yes, I can imagine something like that.

What I cannot imagine is the government of a civilized country authorizing torture in advance, as a matter of policy. Civilized countries just don’t do this. It’s really that simple, and I don’t care what Dick Cheney thinks… indeed, maybe Obama is wrong and Cheney should stand trial and spend some quite time in jail, which would give him an opportunity to think and reconsider his stance.

Hungarian plot against Bolivia’s president?

Hungary, Politics No Responses »

Apr 192009

I’ve known the name of Eduardo Rozsa-Flores, as I’ve read his memoirs, published in the 1990s, about his participation in the Yugoslav war. He’s of Hungarian-Bolivian descent, described as an adventurer, writer, publicist, and journalist (among other things) by the Hungarian edition of Wikipedia.

He was certainly a strange and colorful character, but nonetheless, I did not expect him to be shot dead by Bolivian police in an alleged plot to assassinate the Bolivian president, Evo Morales. Was Rozsa-Flores really an assassin, or is it just another sign of the deterioration of the Bolivian republic under the rule of an, ahem, colorful individual in the role of president? Maybe we will find out one day. I’m not holding my breath.

Torture and prosecution

Politics No Responses »

Apr 172009

It is now official: the United States tortured suspected terrorists between 2001 and 2008.

President Obama wisely chose not to prosecute people. The purpose of bringing these memos to light was not to launch a witchhunt but the bring about a clean slate.

However, I am mildly amused (if that’s the right word) by the interpretation that I hear from some commentators: that CIA agents who engaged in torture should not be prosecuted since they acted in good faith, following the orders and explanations of their superiors.

But… during the Nurenberg trials, has it not been established that individuals cannot use this as their defense? That they are responsible for criminal acts even if they acted in good faith and under orders from their superiors?

Tax day protests

Politics No Responses »

Apr 162009

I’m watching news coverage of these tax day protests in America, and I am appalled.

First, I find it curious that when the Bush government built up what was, up to that date, the biggest U.S. budget deficit in history, these protesters were silent. Of course, those taxes were needed to wage an unnecessary war. But now, that the Obama administration is piling up unprecedented amounts of debt to save the national economy, suddenly they’re protesting? Isn’t that a little hypocritical?

Another point, however, concerns the nature of the protests. The signs they’re holding up, accusing Obama of socialism or Marxism. Now pray tell me, exactly how’s that different from when left-wing extremists held up images of Bush with a swastika on his forehead?

The difference is that on the left, such extremism is not the mainstream. On the (American, though not only the American) right, it is part of the mainstream now.

I used to consider myself a conservative and I used to root for the right. Maybe one day I’ll do that again. But first, the right will have to redefine itself in terms of something other than what they hate.

A quick way to lose your job

Politics No Responses »

Apr 092009

If your job is security related, one particularly rapid way to find yourself unemployed is treating confidential material carelessly. This is true even if you happen to be Britain’s counter-terrorism chief… talk about an oops moment.

Bob Quick's documents

I don’t know what Tamils want but I am against it

Politics, Transportation No Responses »

Apr 082009

I have no idea what Tamil protesters in downtown Ottawa want. Nor do I care.

But if they think that blocking traffic and effectively shutting down public transportation on a busy weekday afternoon in the middle of a spring snowstorm is a way to garner sympathy… well, perhaps it’s time to think again. Whatever their demonstration is for, I am against it.

Recovery?

Politics No Responses »

Apr 072009

Yes, according to CNN there are signs that an early and strong recovery may be on its way:

Signs of recovery

I tend to agree. I began to wonder weeks ago if things perhaps look a little bit brighter than the gloomy news suggest. I guess this will make Republicans unhappy… how can Obama fail if the economy recovers?

Obama in Prague

Politics No Responses »

Apr 062009

I’ve been watching Obama speaking in Prague the other day, and the background was eye-popping. It almost looked like Obama was on a soundstage… in the foreground, everything looked crisp and sharp, but the city in the background just vanished in thick fog. It almost looked surreal (or like an alien planet in an old Star Trek episode.)

Herdings cats

Canada, Economy, Politics No Responses »

Apr 022009

They did a group photo at the G-20 and our very own Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, was missing. According to a Canadian television channel, he was busy engaged in a discussion with an official. According to the BBC, he was in the toilet.

Stephen Harper

So they redid the group photo. Or tried to, anyhow. This time around, Berlusconi appeared to be missing… there was no word why.

Nonetheless, signs are that the G-20 meeting was (at the very least) not a failure, and perhaps even a modest success. I guess we’ll know in the next couple of days. But, if it is not just wishful thinking and real, meaningful decisions were made, then perhaps this is where the world changes to a track different from the one followed in the 1930s… instead of choosing protectionism, leading to a collapse of international trade, we’re choosing to keep the system of international trade robust and intact.

The BBC just updated their story: quoting a Harper press secretary, they’re now saying that Harper was indeed engaged in a conversation with an aide, he was not in the washroom.

The United States of Creationism

Education, Politics, Religion No Responses »

Mar 312009

When the Texas Board of Education votes, the whole US listens, as due to its size, Texas dominates the textbook market. And, sadly, the Texas Board of Education appears to be dominated by ignorant yahoos who are no better, only less violent (so far!) than their ignorant yahoo Taliban friends who blow up thousand-year-old statues and schools full of young girls just because the facts happen to disagree with their religion.

Get it through your incredibly thick, incredibly tiny heads, you incredibly stupid morons (and yes, I do mean it: show me a person from the Texas Board of Education who voted against the proper teaching of science, and I don’t care if she is a hard working mother of five who never meant any harm to anyone, I am willing to use the same words in her face, with the intend to offend, in the hope that I might get through): the Universe is 13.7 billion years old (at least; as a minimum, we know that there was a surface of last scattering 13.7 billion years ago.) Humans and apes descended from the same primitive life forms that have been on this Earth for at least about 3 billion years. The climate is changing, even if there may be legitimate debate about the extent to which this is caused by man, CO2 in particular, and whether or not a warming is indeed bad for us. If you want to hide from hard science, go and crawl back to your stupid little church and leave the Board of Education. Unless your true intent is to take Texas (and America) back to the Middle Ages, just like your little Taliban friends over there in Afghanistan.

Unprecedented power grab

Economy, Politics No Responses »

Mar 242009

Republican lawmakers in America are concerned: they think that the request of the Obama administration and its treasury secretary for additional powers represents an unprecedented power grab. Being a libertarian at heart, I share their concerns even as I recognize the necessity for unprecedented government intervention at a time of unprecedented crisis.

But, it is difficult not to notice of the hipocrisy. The same lawmakers did not appear to be nearly as upset when the Bush administration grabbed unprecedented powers… not in the economic arena, mind you, but in the area of safety and security, directly impacting the personal freedoms and liberties of not just Americans, but also foreign nationals on American soil, such as Canadian Maher Arar who was deported to Syria for torture and unlawful imprisonment. If only Republican lawmakers were as eager to guard constitutional freedoms back then!

A pox on FOX

Politics, Religion No Responses »

Mar 232009

My god. Is this really what the “fair and balanced” network thinks of Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan, and the 117 Canadians (including a civilian diplomat) who died there?

I wonder why Canada even went there to fight. After all, it wasn’t Canada that was attacked on 9/11. Fortunately, I know that not all Americans are as dumb as these clowns… what is troubling is that way too many Americans DO watch FOX and believe that it presents an unbiased view of the world.

The video responses to this clip are interesting, too. One is an “adults only” propaganda piece warning us about Islam’s plans to take over the world. Oh my, I am so afraid, there are Muslims everywhere!

Killer minister

Aviation, Politics No Responses »

Mar 182009

In 2002, a tragic accident occurred over the skies of Europe, as a Russian passenger liner and a DHL cargo plane collided, causing the deaths of some 70 people, including the family of a certain Vitaly Kaloyev, a Russian architect working in Barcelona at the time.

Two years later Kaloyev killed Peter Nielsen, the air traffic controller that he believed was responsible for the death of his daughter. He was duly convicted and spent some time in prison. He was eventually released in late 2007 after winning an appeal on the grounds that his mental state at the time of the killing was not taken properly into account. He returned to Russia where many greeted him as a hero.

This is where things turn bizarre. Not long after Kaloyev’s return, Russia went to war with Georgia. One outcome of this war was the declaration of independence by the state of South Ossetia. Nationalists feelings were high on both sides of the intra-Ossetian border. And Vitaly Kaloyev was named deputy minister of housing in North Ossetia.

I can understand Kaloyev’s feelings. I can even understand why he killed Nielsen, even though Nielsen was himself a victim of incompetent management and bad organization. What I don’t understand is how a convicted killer can be named to such a high-profile public position. I think it speaks volumes about the politics of the region.

Phony outrage

Economy, Media, Politics No Responses »

Mar 172009

This phony, populist outrage over the AIG bonuses is really becoming ridiculous. They make it sound as if AIG’s top executives just took the bailout money as bonuses and ran with it. But that’s nonsense. First of all, the bonuses in question amount to barely 0.1% of the bailout that AIG received. Second, there are managers and there are managers… the ones getting these bonuses, are they the top level managers responsible for AIG’s demise, or are they the managers running, say, a successful branch office of AIG insurance?

Of course answering these questions might require some investigative journalism, some thinking, some hard explaining… not the kind of stuff the soundbyte journalism of the cable news universe likes. Glad I am not going to be home tonight, as I will not even accidentally watch the populist tripe of Lou Dobbs on CNN as he, no doubt, will take his turn at expressing outrage. Now if instead of spewing indignation, he actually took the trouble of locating a typical AIG executive who received a bonus and sat him or her down for a meaningful interview… of course I am quite willing to bet that this is not going to happen, not on CNN nor anywhere else… with the possible exception being BBC News.

Oops, wrong button

Politics No Responses »

Mar 072009

During the Bush administration, we were used to dumb mistakes, but just because Bush is gone does not mean dumb mistakes have come to an end. Such as giving the Russian prime minister a gift, a button labeled “reset”… except that the mistranslated label actually carried a word that meant quite the opposite. Whatever one has to say about Condoleeza Rice, at least she spoke some Russian…

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