Cultural Axioms:


From the perspective of our own belief systems the world may seem clearly cast in concrete......

........but if we take a slightly different viewpoint then the world suddenly appears to be very different to what we are used to seeing.....


---------------------------------------------------------------

City Fads and Rural Needs

From: Trevor
To: various friends...
Subject: Local sentiments....
Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2016 14:13:53 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Hi,


Fatima forwarded me the message below:

"Dauis Folks Protest Over Planned Restaurant, Spa At Protected Area"

I thought it was a good example of how local (economic) issues also represent a clash between different cultural (aesthetic) and social class values.

The people are not "backward" in resisting "modern society" -they simply have different values -and these values are generally not accepted as valid within "global" society....

"City" values are totally different to "rural" values.... and it is important to understand this -if one is to understand anything about the world today.....


Greetings, and best wishes,
trevor



Begin forwarded message:


Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2016 11:33:57 +0800
From: Fatima Lasay
To: Trevor Batten
Subject: Dauis Folks Protest Over Planned Restaurant, Spa At Protected Area

Concerned Dauis residents have vented their ire by signing a protest letter against the proposed construction of an ambitious restaurant and wellness spa along the shorelines of Barangay Poblacion facing the city of Tagbilaran which they said is a protected area.

The protesters said they are against the plan on two grounds: legal bases and moral responsibility for the common good.

“We, the undersigned stakeholders and concerned citizens of the Municipality of Dauis, wholeheartedly declare our vehement objections to a proposed project: restaurant and wellness spa, represented by a certain Zarah Dejaresco from the City of Tagbilaran,” according to a letter addressed to Barangay Poblacion Council and copy-furnished to Dauis Mayor Miriam Sumaylo, the Sangguniang Bayan, PENRO (Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office), CENRO (Community Environment and Natural Resources Office), and PAMB (Protected Area Management Board).

In their signed manifesto, residents cited Municipal Ordinance No. 03, series of 1991, entitled “An Ordinance Prohibiting New Construction of Residential, Commercial and Industrial Bldg or Any Kind Regardless of Type Along The Shorelines of the Municipality, Most Especially The Shorelines Facing The City of Tagbilaran.”

Residents further cited Proclamation No. 2152, series 1981, entitled “Declaring The Entire Province of Palawan and Certain Parcels of Public Domain and/or Other Parts of the Country As Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserves.”

They also quoted Executive Order No. 426 entitled “Declaring The Panglao Island Protected Seascape,” delineates the areas that have been declared as mangrove forest reserves and specifically declared the mangroves which are located at Poblacion, Dauis. The town of Dauis is one of the two towns, the other is Panglao town, forming part of the 80.5 sq km Panglao Island.

“Beside the legal mandates, we as concerned stakeholders are impelled by our moral responsibility for the common good,” the aggrieved residents said in the letter. “By this, we mean the critical issue of survival of life since the targeted project site is a substantial source of livelihood for the fisherfolks not only in Barangay Poblacion but the neighboring barangay as well.”

The protesters noted the planned restaurant site is a good breeding ground for bangus and danggit.

“During bad weather, this area is a buffer zone against strong winds that has become a refuge or safety area for small fishing boats,” the residents said.

The issue of possible outbreak of environmental pollution was also cited in the protest letter.

The residents appealed to members of the barangay council to “live out your commitment as a public official elected to serve the common good.”

Clarifying that they are not anti-development per se, the residents explained that it is unacceptable to them that the project site is a government-declared protected area.

According to the protesters, that as an island town, “we want to preserve the beauty, the serenity and rusticity and peace which is our cultural heritage.”

Dauis residents concluded their manifesto with a borrowed prayer from Pope Francis which says: “Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.”



---------------------------------------------------------------

Getting the Nuances Right

From: Trevor
To: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Cc: rchops
Subject: Viewpoint: Why Hindu groups are against California textbook change
Date: Fri, 27 May 2016 09:47:39 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Hi Mark,

Viewpoint: Why Hindu groups are against California textbook change
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36376110>

"As someone who has researched the global Hindu right, yet is opposed to its politics, as an Indian in the US, and as a parent, I find that the debate, as it has been framed in the media, neglects underlying issues of crucial importance."

Funny, I often have a similar feelings whenever I read media coverage of something of which I feel I have personal interest or experience.

I also wonder how one can teach such complexity to schoolkids -without dangerously over-simplifying and creating new dogmas.

<quote>
"The question of caste is more complicated. Removing all references to caste from the textbooks would constitute a consummate act of symbolic violence, echoing the brutal history of violence enacted upon Dalits by caste Hindus over centuries.

Ironically, it would conform to that most American of habits: historical amnesia about America's own forgetting of its violence against its Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Sikh, or African-American populations."
<unquote>

It is my personal belief that "cultural systems" (concerning values and beliefs) should be considered as Formal Systems: With (unprovable) axioms, logical conclusions and derivable theorems. This would then permit the underlying conceptual "geometry" of the system to be examined. It would also show the degree of compatibility or incompatibility between geometries (as between, for example, Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries). Perhaps illustrating the futility of arguing about the absolute validity of systems that only have validity within their domain of application.

If this technique was applied to our own "western" culture -I'm sure it would reveal just how aggressive, intolerant and destructive western culture truly is. Although some other cultures may be just as bad.


Which brings us back to "Goedel" -the impossibility of "universal" systems and the inevitable paradoxes that arise out of any complex system.....

...and how did western culture manage to dump "Mathematics" as a foundation for thought and beauty?


It is my belief that the OECD and its drive for global uniformity is liable to commit cultural genocide -despite its probably liberal intentions. Colonialism, in all its forms, has generally not done well for the colonised people.

Why should the modern form be different?


Greetings,
trevor


---------------------------------------------------------------

What is Global Competence?

From: Trevor
To: Andreas Schleicher
Cc: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Subject: Pisa tests to include 'global skills' and cultural awareness
Date: Wed, 25 May 2016 20:04:43 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Andreas Schleicher,

Pisa tests to include 'global skills' and cultural awareness
<http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36343602>

It seems to me that there is a paradox here: True "global competence" would probably comprehend diversity such that it would not be able to unify it in a comprehensive (value) system.

In a truly diverse system, there would presumably be room for viewpoints that are likely to be an anathema to the OECD.....


Suppose, for example, that somebody saw the UN development goals (or even the OECD) as a scam which did not benefit humanity but only the global business community?

Would that illustrate "global competence" -or only a lack of it?


Understanding the system does not automatically mean that one would embrace it.....

It seems to me that you are imposing your views on the world in ways which you would condemn in others if they acted similarly to you.



Yours sincerely,
trevor batten
<tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Front Line Fears

From: Trevor
To: Kevin Connolly
Cc: Various friends....
Subject: EgyptAir crash fuels fears and theories
Date: Sat, 21 May 2016 19:35:29 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Kevin Connolly,

EgyptAir crash fuels fears and theories
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36340194>

<quote>
Egypt sees itself as a regional power in the front line of a war against global jihadism and its strong-man President, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, portrays himself as the hammer of political Islamism at home.

Privately many Egyptians appear to worry that might make their country an obvious target for jihadists - the fear being that a long-bubbling Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula might escalate elsewhere in Egypt.

You do not find those fears reflected in the mainstream media, which sees its role in Mr Sisi's Egypt as cheerleading for the state where possible and downplaying criticism when necessary.

But the fears are nonetheless real - most Egyptians firmly support the idea that their country should be a strong regional power but there is a genuine anxiety about the price tag such a role might ultimately carry.
<unquote>

That seems like a good summary of the situation.


However, what a bizarre situation it is:

Can one imaging a major European country, with a powerful Muslim supported leader, struggling to become a regional power by fighting against western global imperialism?

 
The winners may always try to write the dominant narrative -but logic is not always on their side.

I assume by "mainstream media" you mean Egyptian mainstream media.... although your description often seems to fit BBC reports too.



Best wishes,
trevor batten
<tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Paper Facts

From: Trevor
To: Jonathan Head
Cc: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Subject: Philippines election: Populism, celebrity and ugly realities
Date: Sun, 8 May 2016 10:52:56 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Jonathan Head,

Philippines election: Populism, celebrity and ugly realities
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36223755>

Thanks for a reasonable account of the Philippines. However, I'd still like to to make a few comments.


"Official statistics show that poverty has stayed at more or less the same level for the past decade, despite economic growth averaging 6%. Ask a motor tricycle driver or a day labourer how much the past four elections have changed their lives, and they will nearly all tell you: not one bit. If you look at how they live, you can believe them."

Indeed. But why stop at one decade? Go back a little further -and I suspect one might find that the time of Marcos (on many levels) was a "Golden Age" compared with now.


"On paper, outgoing President Benigno Aquino has performed well - better, certainly, than his two predecessors. Foreign direct investment has quadrupled, and the budget deficit has fallen. Spending has increased on infrastructure, schools and rural development. Middle-class Filipinos who have good jobs or businesses feel better off."

 Yes, journalists and other "pros" live of off paper.... but people don't.... Not even paper money, which only has a notional value.

However, politicians thrive on spending money.... it requires even more infrastructure, provides status and a great chance for kickbacks.... The social effectiveness of the spending doesn't really seem to matter. Look at the US, GB, the EU, at Greece and Spain, etc...

Government spending makes the global middle classes feel better off and the global media support their class companions -so those that populate the system apparently have problems understanding the realities of daily life that go beyond the various bits of paper -and middle class values and aspirations.

Then comes the revolution, and the media report the problem in terms of a conflict of "democracy" and "human rights"... forgetting that the poor might also like a say in things -and that perhaps their human rights should also be respected.


For example, if you stir up a proxy war in Syria -and then try to link arms with Turkey to protect you from the stream of "migrants" caused by your own attempts at hegemony. By definition, your opponents are evil -and when they speak honestly about your complicity this is only more evidence of their unreasonableness.

Every "developing country" in the world is essentially faced with the same dilemma: Take part in a rigged race for survival within the international global socio-economic system (a race one can never win) -or oppose that system and be systematically destroyed by those who cannot accept any challenge to their hegemony (possibly because this is the only way they can keep an unsustainable system going).

Indeed, perhaps Britain is no different -a UK friend writes:
 "Your elections sound about as concerning as ours will be; we seem to have the option of being lap dogs to usa, or dictated to by angie m!!"



"The problem is that President Aquino started with the Philippines far behind its neighbours, and the changes he has brought are incremental, rather than revolutionary. Had the constitution allowed it, he might have been able to turn his modest successes into a story alluring enough to win another term of office."

 No, had he been an effective leader -had he challenged his own family with regards to hacienda Luisita <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacienda_Luisita>, for example, then perhaps he might have been worth a second term.

 Again, on paper (for the international community) he sounds nice -but in practice (like Obama?) a not very effective term of office for the people outside the global middle class.


"But in a reaction against the monopolisation of power by Marcos in the 1970s and 80s, Mr Aquino's mother, Corazon - who led the movement that overthrew Marcos - also oversaw a new constitution which limited presidents to a single term."

So how many times is this myth going to be repeated?

Actually, I know somebody who was imprisoned by Marcos and went on hunger strike. The son of a civil servant, he met his wife in prison. He has written a chapter in a book regarding his experiences. He admits to being a member of the Communist Party at that time. One reason for Martial Law was a bomb explosion during a rally. The CP were blamed. The person I know, admits that he was shocked to hear (from inside the party) that the CP were indeed responsible. This part of the story seems to be often forgotten. The simple phrase "dictator Marcos" neatly dismisses him.

The murder of Ninoy has never been cleared up either.... The situation is much, much, more complex than journalistic myths allow.

In order to understand Marcos, I suspect you will have to unravel the complex relationship with the US at the time. Post-Vietnam, the US was retreating somewhat from the area. An independent but loyal ally was useful. This was a golden opportunity for the Philippines to stand up and become independent (at last) -without causing a total schism.

Post-Marcos, the country has returned to an almost vassal status regarding the US. I'm sure the "People's power" is bullshit.... It was a political "coup" that brought the country firmly back in the US sphere. Just the same as it has functioned around the world ever since .

In Manila, I have personally lived in a social housing system (BLISS) set up under Marcos. It has been slightly corrupted by a middle class takeover -but it is clear that the original must have been far superior to anything since.

You might also like to check out the origins of several large companies here. It seems to me that the Marcos/anti-Marcos relationship is a thread that goes right through both business ownership and political alliances.

It is clearly tragic to have your kids killed by police -but it is also tragic to have your kids killed by criminal thugs. Outsiders tend to forget that almost everybody has a family -and relationships can be complex, Some families, for example, might have a rebel brother killed by Philippine Armed Forces -and another brother in the army who was killed by the rebels (of which his brother was one). Taking sides,is then easier for outsiders than insiders -one can imagine.

Take a good look at the rule of law here.... How many serious cases just dissolve into seemingly childish disputes without any clear proof on either side? You mention Binay -but not the way his popularity has collapsed under the accusations against him. What about the legal conclusion of the Maguindanao massacre <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguindanao_massacre>? If Aquino was a truly good president -how come that mess has not been cleared up yet? So, how can one support the rule of law when the laws are ineffectual and perhaps the system corrupt?

And do you really believe that the international (business) community does not profit from the situation here?



"But after holding out so much promise when it was born 30 years ago, that democracy has delivered little of substance to most Filipinos, and they cannot be expected to care too much if it is put at risk."

Yes, I can agree with that conclusion.

However, it is perhaps also important to realize that "democracy" is both a construct and a weapon of the so called "international community". Your conclusion applies probably not only to the Philippines -but to all the countries that are not in the top rank within the self-appointed international community.



Best wishes,
trevor batten <www.tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Dissonant Power Relationships

From: Trevor
To: Peter Day
Cc: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Subject: Can a computer really recruit the best staff?
Date: Sat, 7 May 2016 17:33:49 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Peter Day,

Can a computer really recruit the best staff?
<http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36129046>



It is my personal belief that if BBC reporters listened to Leon Bagrit's  1964 BBC Reith lecture (or read the text published by Pelican Books Pelican Books in 1966) then they would understand better what is happening today.

My personal notes are here: <http://tebatt.net/SAT/COGITATIONS/UPcursorLecture/BagritAutomationAge.html>


Unfortunately, the rise of the personal computing (and the PC) socially transformed the computer from an algorithm based machine -with deep philosophical implications regarding the way we think and communicate -into a silly consumer plaything which alienates the user from the principles of the machine they use.

Subsequently, BBC journalist's current knowledge is built on the foundations of a period of ignorance -because (like many professional IT specialists) they are not old enough to have experienced the original situation.


As you say:

"Just ask the people who work in the power pyramid who they need to get their job done. This simple question will produce an organisational map of relationships utterly different from the way the top people think their business operates."


So, I'd like to suggest you try a similar experiment: Talk to people who were computer specialists before 1984 (sic) -and talk to people who got into IT after 1984 -and try comparing the maps....

I think you will find it just as revealing as the situation that you describe.

Perhaps it would also be even more interesting to compare these two maps with the way the general public think about IT and computers....


From my experience, I'd say that the commercial companies are exploiting systems that are operate on principles that are virtually the opposite of everything that the public has been conditioned to believe.

The level of cultural and social ignorance created since Bagrit gave his speech must surely make people like Kim Jong-un green with envy.


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten <www.tebatt.net>



---------------------------------------------------------------

Employment Dilemma

From: Trevor
To: Karishma Vaswani
Cc: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Subject: In the Philippines people are hoping for jobs at home as well as abroad
Date: Fri, 6 May 2016 14:51:52 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Karishma Vaswani,

In the Philippines people are hoping for jobs at home as well as abroad
<http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36206608>


"Levi tells me that generations of Filipino families have been torn apart because of the poor economy here. She also says that young people need to feel hopeful about the future to stay."


The families get torn apart because the global media system does everything possible to encourage people to have unreasonable aspirations -so they can be exploited as both consumers and cheap producers....

The "poverty" is caused by chasing the "western dream".... After being conditioned not to appreciate the natural abundance of a tropical climate -but to strive for western life styles based on a fictitious economy built with virtual currency.....


...and then, the system can be infinitely exploited, by journalists and "development" workers -who document and support the aspirations that destroy the country.

Brilliant -but totally evil.



Yours sincerely,
trevor batten <www.tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

The White Woman's Burden

From: Trevor
To: Damian Zane@
Subject: Barbie challenges the 'white saviour complex'
Date: Mon, 2 May 2016 20:37:18 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Damian Zane,

Barbie challenges the 'white saviour complex'
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36132482>



Personally, I suspect that Kipling was being satirical in his poem "The White Man's Burden" -which was, I believe, written specifically with reference to the "Spanish-American war" and the Philippines. A warning the US obviously chose to ignore.

By missing the irony -one propagates attitudes that Kipling presumably opposed.


I'm also rather suspicious of NGO's (and professionals) in general. By working away at parts of the problem -and coordinating only in ways that suit the organisations or professions concerned, I'm sure they can guarantee a nice income for themselves for as long as they wish to continue in the same job.

I'm sure their lack of coordination, and disregard for all "non-professional" will only perpetuate the situation indefinitely -because real solutions would be beyond their scope.


Unfortunately, it seems that already, the real message of "Barbie Saviour" is ignored -while the images are apparently even integrated into training schemes that perpetuate the problem.

"But Mr Bows adds that he is now using some of the Barbie Savior pictures during the induction process to disabuse new volunteers of those ideas."


I guess few people would actually give up a promising and rewarding career just because it harms people.



Yours sincerely,
trevor batten <www.tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Bin Laden's Legacy

From: Trevor
To: Frank Gardner
Subject: Does Bin Laden's death leave a lasting legacy?
Date: Mon, 2 May 2016 17:12:08 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Frank Gardner,

Does Bin Laden's death leave a lasting legacy?
<http://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-36127770>


Yes, it surely does -but it doesn't get a mention in your article:

Bin Ladin's legacy is that it is now fully apparent, for all to see, that American global vigilantism has taken over from the rule of law.


Personally, I'd think, that if one wanted to combat global terrorism then the execution of a suspect (who under US law is supposed to be innocent until proved guilty) must be about the most stupid thing anybody could ever do: Simply because it reduces both sides to the same level.....

...and I was told in my youth that two wrongs do not ever make a right.



From your own article, it seems that assassinating him was also a strategic error because it has removed an opponent of IS.


But I guess logic doesn't really matter, when one is fighting a propaganda war. It's just that the public always have to pay the price of their leaders screw ups.....

....but I suppose in a democracy that is a just result.


However, misleading the public with propaganda only ruins the chances of the public ever making a wise decision: So the spiral to hell continues -fueled by dubious politicians and their propagandists.


At times like these, I am glad not to be a young person.

The death of bin Laden was possibly a watershed moment -but not one to be proud of.


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten


---------------------------------------------------------------

Social Status and Educational Values

From: Trevor
To: Hannah Richardson
Subject: Popular schools make parents face 'oversubscription criteria'
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2016 13:35:08 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Hannah Richardson,

Popular schools make parents face 'oversubscription criteria'
<http://www.bbc.com/news/education-36045406>

"There is a well-known link between education attainment and social advantage".

From personal experience, I suspect that the above mentioned link has more to do with the social status (and power) that the education system gives to itself and those associated with it -than it has to do with the actual value of education in providing practical problem solving skills.

Rather similar is the way there can be a high correlation between IQ and employment success -simply because employers use IQ as a criterion for employment opportunities. This does not necessarily prove any relation between IQ and Intelligence -because the criteria for judging "intelligence" are rather weak if the IQ system is not used. How then does one measure "intelligence" in an "objective" way?


Unfortunately, current academic pressures seem so focused on "performance" and "money" that many academics seem unable or uninterested in serious exchanges with non-academics that do not directly further their career prospects. Without the time and freedom to look sideways (or backwards) one cannot always see clearly forward.

Considering that the foundations of science (for example) and most professions were laid down (by definition) by armatures -perhaps society should be a little more aware of the logical dangers inherent in any (professional) epistemic community based tautology.


I live in a rural area. If one looks at the intelligence required by people living under marginal economic conditions in order to survive -then one might suspect that their levels of creative intelligence in the real world may well be far higher than those of educated people living within the artificial worlds found in cities.

Unfortunately, the educational and social values of the "educated" city people seem to play an exceedingly important role in the denigration and destruction of rural cultures worldwide.


If one looks at the recent rise in educational opportunities -and the recent rise in global problems -one might well conclude that "education" is more of a problem than a solution.

Indeed, by "teaching" people standardised strategies, that may not be universally viable, or may be outmoded -education may well reduce the ability to observe and to make intelligent judgements on the basis of data instead of pre-programmed responses.


The evaluation of any social system is probably more biased and subjective than we ever realise.... and we may be paying a high price globally for not realising this.


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten <www.tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Keeping up with the Jones'

From: Trevor
To:  Various friends....
Subject: How to kiill people and old traditions?
Date: Sat, 9 Apr 2016 09:49:30 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)

The end of the Spanish siesta?
<http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35995972>


"People want to work but they also want a life," says Casero, president of the National Commission for the Rationalisation of Spanish Schedules.



-Actually, why people want to work is a mystery to me....
Money is the cause of poverty as far as I can see...


"As individuals we have to try to make a point of saying no to work-related tasks during family time, but you get looked down on for doing that.

......For many years Consuelo Torres's job with a multinational telecommunications firm kept her in the office until 7pm, obliging her to drive around during her unwanted two-hour lunch break to deposit her four children with carers for the evening."


Haha, that is really funny -and shows just how stupid multinational telecommunications firms really are...and how even dumber people are to allow then to dictate their lives!


"And at lunchtime too, there is a focus on proper cooking with fresh ingredients here. That food takes time. If you're going to do that for a family meal, you might like a little rest afterwards."
The body's natural timetable"


-Ah but think of the economic benefits to the fast food companies....


"Modern life can ride roughshod over our internal clock. We want to believe we can do whatever we want at any hour of the day or night if we need to, be it having dinner at 11pm, or flying to New York at 4am, with no ill-effects. However, millions of years of evolution have given our bodies a finely-tuned internal clock."


Who cares about biological clocks (or anything else) when there's money to be made....


:)
t


---------------------------------------------------------------

Them and US

From: Trevor
To: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Subject: Amnesty highlights 'disturbing rise' in global executions
Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2016 21:15:43 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)



Amnesty highlights 'disturbing rise' in global executions
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-35971623>

"The US carried out the fifth highest number of executions last year but the total of 28 was the country's lowest since 1991."


Presumably, this refers to legally performed executions within US state prisons.

But how many people were executed extra-legally by drones operating beyond US borders in possible infringement of national sovereignty of the country in which the execution happens?


Eye problems with splinters and beams?

What interesting times we now live in.


greetings,
trevor



---------------------------------------------------------------

Electronic Brains, Smart Bombs -and Pretty Dumb People

From: Trevor
To: Robert Fisk,
Subject: MO* Magazine Interview
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2016 11:36:23 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)



Dear Robert Fisk,

Have just seen your video interview:


Video interview Robert Fisk: ‘Bombing people to solve a problem has never worked’
<http://www.mo.be/en/video/video-interview-robert-fisk-bombing-people-solve-problem-has-never-worked>

As a result I wished to thank you for unraveling some of the complexities of the situation.

Unfortunately, I also share your apparent pessimism with regards to western attitudes.


My personal hobby horse has been the (ab)use of computers in society. Particularly the way a formal machine has been "deformalised" to become either a military/commercial secret or a consumer toy.


Just for interest try watching:


The Information Machine
Creative Man and the Data Processor
by Charles and Ray Eames 1957

10 MINUTES.  COLOR.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smzsl8sIoOA>

I think it is obvious what we have lost -if one compares this "thought machine" with modern ideas based on the computer as a "communication machine".

The idea that "programming" (and "language") are synonymous with "coding" is, to me, beyond understanding.


Indeed, the link with your closing remarks in the interview has to do with this subtle relationship between syntax and semantics.

I once asked an Orthodox Christian Priest (of Dutch origin) what he thought the main difference was between Eastern and Western Christianity. He replied that the east was based on ritual -while the west was based on belief.

This confirmed my suspicion that while western culture was primarily semantically based (we believe in truth, honesty, democracy, etc..) the rest of the world was more syntactically orientated (or at least had a more integrated approach).


Your remarks on the Middle East not wanting (a discredited) democracy -but desiring justice instead -seemed congruent with my views: Justice may sound like a semantic concept -but it cannot be realised without delving into the syntax of the situation (how can one even separate the two in this context). I suspect my cultural theory is consistent with your comments regarding the impossibility of our society understanding the causes of injustice in the ME.


So, it would seem that our "political" problems are actually "cultural" problems.... and of course, they will remain intractable until this is realised, and hopefully dealt with.



Your closing comments also reminded me of this description of the post-WWII world -in a book already published (in America) in 1943:


LIN YUTANG
 "BETWEEN TEARS AND LAUGHTER"
THE JOHN DAY COMPANY NEW YORK

"Soap is plentiful. That is a positive achievement of American
democracy. The striking thing is that there is at the same time
a complete absence of a philosophy of peace. To give soap to
Hottentots, while American soap-makers at home make more
money, is not the road to peace. But that is the highest intel-
lectual level we can rise to. On the proposed Utopian plan to
sell soap to four hundred million Indians there is always com-
plete agreement, and even some degree of enthusiasm. On the
proposal to give India freedom, there are many reservations,
hesitations, rationalizations, and beating about the bush, and
not a trace of enthusiasm. If the Allies ever give back India's
freedom, it will be with a feeling of "just-too-bad, there Vnoth-
ing-else-you-can-do" despondency. Under such circumstances,
it is easy to be a spiritual prophet and denounce like Savonarola
the materialism of this age. It is no distinction at all. Just some
common sense will enable anyone to see this point. The strange
thing is, common sense is so uncommon. We have been awed
into silence by the economist, all of us. That is all. "
<http://www.tebatt.net/PROJECTS/PROJECT_HOMEFARM/Inspirations/tearsandlaughter.html>


Apparently, Yutang's book lost him the friendship of Peal S. Buck....

Finally, from Leon Bagrit's 1964 BBC Reith Lectures:

 
The Age of Automation
<http://www.tebatt.net/SAT/COGITATIONS/UPcursorLecture/BagritAutomationAge.html>

<quote>
......I hope it is clear from the examples that I have given, that automation is not simply a matter of "hardware", of machines. In none of the cases I have mentioned could one simply buy a computer and use it effectively. The successful application of automation demands a combination of right equipment for the purpose -that is to say, hardware -and adequate thought and intelligence -software. a computer system can be disastrous, if the firm or institution which has invested in it lacks the outlook and the understanding to handle it.......

....... The real problems of education are going to center on the need to develop people capable of living the fullest possible lives in an age of plenty. We shall have to produce men and women who are able to understand the significance of the past, who are in the stream of current ideas and can make use of them, and who have the quality of imagination that is capable of foreseeing and welcoming the future.........

......I suggest we shall find it impossible to consider anybody as adequately educated if he or she does not understand at least some science. neither shall we be able to recognize as an educated man, a technician or a scientist, however distinguished, who has failed to develop a substantial interest in the humanities and the arts, or who shows no evidence of being aware of the significance of society and his part in it.  We ought, in other words, to be making  a determined effort to produce better balanced people.......
<unquote>



Indeed, from personal experience, I'd say that governments, educators, intellectuals and companies have conspired together to implement exactly the opposite strategy to that declared as essential by Bagrit.

Rather than closing the gap between science and the humanities, and between the syntax and semantics of technology, the modern economy seems based on commercially exploiting consumer ignorance with regards to technology. I cannot think of any greater issue underlying the current global socio-economic and political disasters which seem to appear with increasing frequency.


Apparently, it is the "wisdom" to balance means and ends that seems to be the forgotten element that is missing in our global technology and money based society....

Turning the computer into some magic genie that fulfills all our wishes without us ever understanding how -is surely an important factor in the decline of our social and cultural intelligence.


So, keep up the good work -and stay fit, which at our age is most important.



Good luck and best wishes,
trevor batten
 <www.tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Backyard Logic

From: Trevor
To: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Cc: Jonathan Marcus
Subject: Karadzic verdict vital to Bosnia's future
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2016 13:13:08 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Hi Mark,

Karadzic verdict vital to Bosnia's future
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35880781>



Why does the Karadzic verdict matter?

"It matters," says Mr Pervanic, "because if he, as the leader, was not held to account, it would be a signal to future generations that you can start a war, cause the deaths of tens of thousands of people, and it'll be fine. Nothing will happen to you."



Another good article by Allan Little, who is difficult to contact.

However, I would suggest that unfortunately, his closing statement could also be applied to the Western allies who, starting with Serbia went on to dubious and disastrous interventions all across the Middle East -no doubt helping the rise of IS.


Maybe the verdict is not so important (can we really prove that he was personally responsible?) as the vitally important process of developing an international legal framework through which national leaders (including those who have persistently intervened in other country's internal affairs around the world) can be called to justice.


How long can the US, for example, claim the absolute right to intervene globally whenever its interests are threatened -while remaining inviolate with regards to external interference it its own affairs?

If Assad is guilty, then he too should have been be charged -but then so should Bush and Blair. Not just those who upset the NATO allies for some reason....


The true inheritance of Serbian intervention is not something to be awfully pleased with, I suspect....



But who is the idiot that created this headline?

The Middle East is now Europe's backyard
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35883464>


The Middle East is supposedly the center of western civilisation -it was (and is) the bunkering station for the (UK and US) Imperial Empires -and we are the (failed) architects of its current political structure....


So how come it is only "now" our backyard?


With such levels of denial there is no hope at all of ever solving the current problems. Somehow, the article seems to admit but dismiss the fact that it has always been our backyard -perhaps even our birthplace....

"Should traditional views about freedom of expression be changed in the light of European countries' changing social make-up?"


Haha -ultimately, freedom of expression has only been for those thoughts that we apparently don't mind hearing..... The right for national or cultural self-determination has never been included. Lin Yutang told us that in 1943.....
<http://www.tebatt.net/PROJECTS/PROJECT_HOMEFARM/Inspirations/tearsandlaughter.html>


Here's a nice Viewpoint (below)  -but western (Catholic and Protestant) Europe hasn't even recovered from its medieval isolation from (Orthodox) eastern Europe -so how on earth could we ever reach out and understand Muslim society? Our "free expression" (and the right to be listened to) clearly doesn't refer to them....

Viewpoint: Don't drink bombers' deadly cocktail
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35882366>



If we forget (or deny) our own history -how can we ever remember or understand other people's?


A Rubic's cube built of our own smoke and mirrors....

What a mess!
 

greetings,
trevor



---------------------------------------------------------------

The Revolting Bourgeois

From: Trevor
To: Wyre Davies
Subject: Brazil crisis: There may be bigger threats than Rousseff's removal
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2016 11:00:22 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)

Dear Wyre Davies,


Brazil crisis: There may be bigger threats than Rousseff's removal
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35859874>

The almost exclusively white, middle class demonstrators who have been demanding the removal of President Rousseff and the jailing of Lula have a long-held enmity towards the Workers' Party and its left wing economic policies. A small minority of protesters at anti-government events also openly call for a return of military rule.

This is still, despite the gains of recent years, a country with deep divisions between rich and poor, black and white.

At pro-government rallies, the crowds are mixed-race and largely from working-class backgrounds - people who have benefited in recent years from those innovative welfare polices.

They denounce calls for the president's impeachment as nothing more than an attempted coup against a democratically elected government.



Just wanted to say I appreciated your article.

With the BBC so often promoting the global Middle Classes and their entrepreneurial spirit -it is good to be reminded how much a traditional class war seems to be behind so many global geopolitical games.

Despite the idea that class warfare is supposedly over.....


Best wishes,
trevor batten <www.tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Ideas and Implementations

From: Trevor
To: Katya Adler
Subject: Migrant crisis: There's a deal, but implementing it won't be easy
Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2016 13:56:25 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Katya,

Migrant crisis: There's a deal, but implementing it won't be easy
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35850280>



Nice piece.

Pity to see the nice ideals of the EU unraveling before one's very eyes.....


I still believe one of the problems was the way cultural differences were ignored.....

.....and of course the way national politicians were able to destroy the system, while using that same system as both a platform and a scapegoat for their own partisan politics.


It seems I may have been wise to move out of Europe when I did.


Best wishes,
trevor
<www.tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Snow's "Two Cultures" problem is still there!

From: Trevor
To: Andreas Schleicher
Subject: China opens a new university every week
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2016 13:22:19 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Andreas Schleicher,

China opens a new university every week
<http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35776555>

You say:

"In 2013, 40% of Chinese graduates completed their studies in a Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) subject - more than twice the share of US graduates. So the graduates who are the cornerstone of economic prosperity in knowledge-based economies are increasingly disproportionately likely to come from China and India."

Personally, I suspect this is reflects the most pernicious, disastrous and tragic logical error currently underlying contemporary culture with regards to a technology based society. 



From Leon Bagrit's 1964 BBC Reith Lectures:

The Age of Automation
<http://www.tebatt.net/SAT/COGITATIONS/UPcursorLecture/BagritAutomationAge.html>


<quote>

......I hope it is clear from the examples that I have given, that automation is not simply a matter of "hardware", of machines. In none of the cases I have mentioned could one simply buy a computer and use it effectively. The successful application of automation demands a combination of right equipment for the purpose -that is to say, hardware -and adequate thought and intelligence -software. a computer system can be disastrous, if the firm or institution which has invested in it lacks the outlook and the understanding to handle it.......

....... The real problems of education are going to center on the need to develop people capable of living the fullest possible lives in an age of plenty. We shall have to produce men and women who are able to understand the significance of the past, who are in the stream of current ideas and can make use of them, and who have the quality of imagination that is capable of foreseeing and welcoming the future.........

......I suggest we shall find it impossible to consider anybody as adequately educated if he or she does not understand at least some science. neither shall we be able to recognize as an educated man, a technician or a scientist, however distinguished, who has failed to develop a substantial interest in the humanities and the arts, or who shows no evidence of being aware of the significance of society and his part in it.  We ought, in other words, to be making  a determined effort to produce better balanced people.......

<unquote>



Indeed, from personal experience, I'd say that governments, educators, intellectuals and companies have conspired together to implement exactly the opposite strategy to that declared as essential by Bagrit.

Rather than closing the gap between science and the humanities, and between the syntax and semantics of technology, the modern economy seems based on commercially exploiting consumer ignorance with regards to technology. I cannot think of any greater issue underlying the current global socio-economic and political disasters which seem to appear with increasing frequency.


As far as can I see, many modern IT specialists, have very poor skills regarding abstract thinking. Although widely quoted, many professionals seem to be aware that the classical definition of Information (It's the difference that makes a difference) was coined by the British anthropologist Gregory Bateson <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Bateson>.


Surely, nothing could demonstrate better than this definition the (often culturally ignored) importance of the interaction between syntax and semantics -and the importance of early non-technical contributions to modern technology.

James J. Gibson <http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/ecopsyc/perils/> is another example. I'm sure that top-level computer specialists understand the importance of non-technological input -but on a cultural level it seems this is generally denied -and the "Two Culture" problem seems to be perpetuated, with artists (and others) being encouraged to play with technology (and find new technological applications) but without actually understanding the nature of the process they are promoting.


In my view, Douglas Hofstadter's book "Goedel, Escher, Bach" is the most important contribution to the arts in the age of computers -and yet this book probably remains virtually unread among our cultural literati.. Even the growing number of artists who use the computer for their work seem unaware of its implications. Indeed, the general importance of Goedel's theory seems to be underestimated -in an age where people still seem unable to understand that the computer is not just a passive tool -but a positive agent for change wherever it is used.


Our education system has failed miserably in this respect -and I do not feel that such expensive and popular projects as ZKM <http://on1.zkm.de/zkm/e/> or ISEA <http://www.isea-web.org/> have anywhere near fulfilled their potential function. Simply because the focus has not been on understanding the importance of semantic/syntax interaction in modern technology -which, in implementation, is generally more of a linguistic and cognitive problem than a purely technical one.


So, it would seem the choice is clear: Either we continue to separate an understanding of technology from an understanding of the humanities and social/linguistic processes -and continue to invest in increasing social inequality through the use of technology for repressive control and indoctrination purposes.... Or we learn to integrate our knowledge and understanding in procedural ways that actually promote human quality of life by promoting social and cultural equality and mutual understanding.

"It aint what you -but the way that you do it -that's what gets results...."



If the rising "third World" makes the same mistakes as we have made -then the future is less than rosy, I fear....

Surely, "knowledge" does not just imply "technological knowledge" -and in any case, is generally rather useless unless applied with wisdom....

Apparently, it is the "wisdom" that seems to be the forgotten element that is missing in our global technology and money based society....


Sir Leon Bagrit (13 March 1902-22 April 1979) was a leading British industrialist and pioneer of automation.

Born to Russian-Jewish parents in Kiev, Sir Leon studied at the University of London, formed his own company in 1935, and for many years headed the revamped firm of Elliott-Automation Ltd., which, outside the United States, was the largest computer manufacturer in the world.

He was a member of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, 1963-1965 and the Advisory Council on Technology, 1964-1979. He was a director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 1962-1970. He founded the Friends of Covent Garden, and chaired it, 1962-1969. He was Reith Lecturer, 1964.

The Bioengineering department of Imperial College London was named the Sir Leon Bagrit centre in his honour in 1991, after the Bagrit Trust provided funding for it to be built.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Bagrit>



Yours Sincerely,
trevor batten <tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Colonialism and "Good Governance"

From: Trevor
To: Kevin Connolly
Subject: Battle of ideas at heart of fight against Islamic State
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2016 10:40:03 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Kevin Connolly,

Battle of ideas at heart of fight against Islamic State
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35714703>


You say:

"Developing better political structures, creating jobs and making cities more liveable are challenges that would tax the powers of the best-governed countries on Earth like the democracies of Europe and North America.

And in the Middle East, with its long history of colonialism and dictatorship, there is no home-grown tradition of good governance and no deeply-laid foundations of a civil society on which to build one."



However, isn't it so that the "best governed countries on Earth" are also responsible for the "long history of colonialism and dictatorship"?


As you quote:

"But in Syria it is clear that Russia, the United States, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia all have different interests and objectives that make co-ordination difficult."


So the problem is not really a Middle Eastern problem -but one caused by the traditional geopolitical "Great Game".


Perhaps if all the money spent on invading Afghanistan and Iraq -as well as the destabilisation of Libya, Syria etc... was spent on economically developing the area -freely, in ways consistent with local culture and non enforced western values and markets, then the problem might indeed be less intractable.


Bizarre is the fact that the solution was apparently already published (in America) before the end of WWII:


LIN YUTANG , 1943,
 "BETWEEN TEARS AND LAUGHTER"
THE JOHN DAY COMPANY NEW YORK


"Soap is plentiful. That is a positive achievement of American
democracy. The striking thing is that there is at the same time
a complete absence of a philosophy of peace. To give soap to
Hottentots, while American soap-makers at home make more
money, is not the road to peace. But that is the highest intel-
lectual level we can rise to. On the proposed Utopian plan to
sell soap to four hundred million Indians there is always com-
plete agreement, and even some degree of enthusiasm. On the
proposal to give India freedom, there are many reservations,
hesitations, rationalizations, and beating about the bush, and
not a trace of enthusiasm. If the Allies ever give back India's
freedom, it will be with a feeling of "just-too-bad, there Vnoth-
ing-else-you-can-do" despondency. Under such circumstances,
it is easy to be a spiritual prophet and denounce like Savonarola
the materialism of this age. It is no distinction at all. Just some
common sense will enable anyone to see this point. The strange
thing is, common sense is so uncommon. We have been awed
into silence by the economist, all of us. That is all. "
<http://www.tebatt.net/PROJECTS/PROJECT_HOMEFARM/Inspirations/tearsandlaughter.html>



Apparently, such simple honesty cost Yutang his reputation as a "good" Chinese scholar in America -and lost him the friendship of PEARL S. BUCK.


It seems that even in the best-governed countries of the world simple, honest, common sense is not only not common -but virtually forbidden....

Which, I guess, means all our future hopes are now on the victims of our own greedy bad behaviour.....

Let us hope that battered children do not always make battering parents....


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten



---------------------------------------------------------------

Self-destructive Orthodoxy

From: Trevor
To: Jim Muir
Subject: Islamic State group: The full story
Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2016 14:39:09 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Jim Muir,

Islamic State group: The full story
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35695648>


As an non-specialist, I would judge your article as being first class. Congratulations on encapsulating the complexities so clearly.


Indeed, it would seem that the absolutist drive to destroy all forms of Islamic heresy may well be the weakest link for IS -and perhaps eventually lead to its self destruction as its basic need for expansion creates more enemies everywhere.

On the other hand, it seems that it was also America's expansionist dreams of moral supremacy that appear to have largely created the problem in the first place. On that score the positions seem somewhat symmetrical as the various US (proxy) wars against communism, drugs and terrorism have also been savage and costly for others.


To be honest, the basic analysis resulting in a belief of the destruction of the Muslim world by foreign imposition seems difficult to argue with. It is clearly part of the "Great Game" played by all major powers.


So, perhaps solving the problem may not be restricted to limiting the ambitions of IS -but also our own ambitions too.

Personally, it seems like an act of suicide to me -trying to impose an unsustainable global consumerist socio-economic system by force on the entire planet.


And the problem was already mapped out in 1943:


    BETWEEN TEARS AND LAUGHTER
    LIN YUTANG
    THE JOHN DAY COMPANY NEW YORK, 1943
   <http://www.tebatt.net/PROJECTS/PROJECT_HOMEFARM/Inspirations/tearsandlaughter.html>

Perhaps the real problem is us -and the rest is just a reaction to our own intransigence.



Best wishes,
trevor batten


---------------------------------------------------------------

More Backyard Problems

From: Trevor
To: Damian Grammaticas
Subject: Europe's migrant crisis: Tricky business to resolve
Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2016 13:26:09 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Damian Grammaticas,

Europe's migrant crisis: Tricky business to resolve
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35760115>


Surely, the answer lies in a more responsible attitude to the civil war in Syria.... and to stop treating the Middle East as an Arabian version of America's (and Europe's) backyard....

Now it seems that the EU has degenerated into the humanitarian version of shooting fish in a barrel..... and seems to have more concern about how the heavy artillery are going to damage the barrel and allow fish to escape -rather that have any concern for the poor fish trapped by western policies.

The west seems to have lost any claims to moral superiority which it may have had.


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten



---------------------------------------------------------------

Hype and Hyperbole

From: Trevor
To: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Cc: Fatima Lasay
Subject: Meet the BBC's disgusting and misleading Hyperbole
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2016 20:34:16 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Hi Mark,

Maybe politics and defense are such sensitive and subjective issues that it is difficult to provide "objective" and rational proof of misleading propaganda.

However, with something less strategically important the task may become a little easier:

From my personal experience I would say that the BBC article on Morton Subotnic is a cultural example of the disgusting level of misinformation to which BBC reporting generally seems to have sunk.

Not even Subotnic's own webpage makes the claim that he is anything more than one of a number of pioneers.

I hope this email manages to finally convince you of the consistent poor reporting on the BBC in general -which is particularly misleading when dealing with so called "technology" in a cultural or commercial context.


One might think that bad political reporting is more important.

Perhaps it is -but I suspect that the continuing destruction of the real history of technology in a cultural context is also politically and commercially motivated -and perhaps even more pernicious because it is more subtle.

By destroying an appreciation of formal systems -one systematically destroys the cultural tools that allow the public to evaluate opposing claims reasonably.


Below, for comparison, is the intro to the recent BBC Subotnic article -and the results of a few internet searches.

In a historical context (dating back to 1748) Subotnic is but one of a whole load of people -each contributing in their own way -with none being able to claim the title given by the BBC in their advertorial for him.



I thought news media were supposed to provide information -not just commercial edutainment at public cost.

Perhaps soon we will be reading the claim that Cameron is the founding father of global politics.


Oh happy daze,
trevor


============================

 

Meet the 'founding father' of electronica
<http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35607200>


Morton Subotnick is a living legend in the field of electronic music, but in the early 1960s he was just a young, classically-trained composer living in California and looking for a new sound. During a period of great upheaval in American society and the arts, he recognised that newly-developed technologies could change the way music is made.



============================

About Morton Subotnick

Morton Subotnick is one of the pioneers in the development of electronic music......
<http://www.mortonsubotnick.com/about.html>


----


ELECTRONIC MUSIC HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
<http://www.indiana.edu/~emusic/elechist.htm>

1902 Thaddeaus Cahill sets up the Telharmonium or Dynamaphone, a 200-ton array of Edison dynamos that produced different pitched hums according to the speed of the dynamos. The electrical output was "broadcast" over telephone lines.
<http://www.indiana.edu/~emusic/elechist.htm>

----

120 Years of Electronic Music
<http://120years.net/>


1748  The Denis D’Or “Golden Dionysis”, Václav Prokop Diviš. Czech republic

 The Denis D’or, the “Golden Dionysis”, was an early one-off  keyboard instrument built by the  Czech theologian and pioneer of electrical research Václav Prokop Diviš (1698 – 1765). Described as an ‘orchestrion’ because of its ability to imitate the sounds of wind and string instruments, it is often described as the first electronic musical instrument, yet, due to lack of detailed historical documentation and conflicting contemporary reports this claim remains uncertain. Several accounts describe the instrument as an electro-acoustic instrument where the strings are vibrated using electro-magnets:


1759.  ‘Clavecin Électrique’ . Jean-Baptiste Delaborde, France.

Built by the Jesuit priest Jean-Baptiste Delaborde in Paris, France, 1759, the Clavecine Électrique or the ‘Electric Harpsichord’ is one of the earliest documented  instruments that used electricity to create musical sound. . Despite it’s name The Clavecin Électrique was not a stringed instrument but a carillon type keyboard instrument using a static electrical charge (supplied by a Leyden Jar, an early form of capacitor invented by the Dutch scientist Pieter van Musschenbroek of Leiden around 1745) to vibrate metal bells – The mechanism  based on a contemporary warning-bell device (1). This method allowed the player to create a series sustained notes from the bells, similar to an organ:

<http://120years.net/clavecin-electrique-1759/>


----

My own involvement started in 1972 -when I first moved to Holland to study at Sonology in Utrecht (now in the Hague)


Institute of Sonology
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Sonology>


Background

The institute was founded at the University of Utrecht in 1960 under the name STEM ("Studio for Electronic Music") as a successor to the former studio for electronic music at Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven. In 1964, Gottfried Michael Koenig became the studio's artistic director. The studio grew under Koenig's leadership, and in 1966 an annual international electronic music course was founded which exists to this day.[1]

In 1967 STEM was renamed as the "Institute of Sonology". International attention increased in 1971 with the purchase of a PDP-15 computer which was used to develop programs for algorithmic composition and digital sound synthesis.[2] During the early years of the institute a series of landmark programs were developed there, including Koenig's Project 1, Project 2,[3] and SSP,[4] Paul Berg's PILE,[5] Werner Kaegi's MIDIM/VOSIM,[6] and Barry Truax's POD.[7]

 
Koenig studied church music in Braunschweig, composition, piano, analysis and acoustics in Detmold, music representation techniques in Cologne and computer technique in Bonn. He attended and later lectured at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse (Darmstadt music summer schools). From 1954 to 1964 Koenig worked in the electronic studio of West German Radio (WDR) producing his electronic compositions Klangfiguren, Essay and Terminus 1 and wrote orchestral and chamber music. Furthermore, he assisted other composers, including Mauricio Kagel, Franco Evangelisti, György Ligeti (Artikulation), Herbert Brün and Karlheinz Stockhausen (with the realization of Gesang der Jünglinge and Kontakte).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Michael_Koenig>

 
1951 Studio established in Cologne -- NWDR (Nordwest Deutsche Rundfunk). Karlheinz Stockhausen most influential.
RTF primarily concerned with manipulation of acoustic sound sources (Musique Concrete). NWDR studio equipped with electronic sound generators and modifiers (Electronische Musik).
<http://www.indiana.edu/~emusic/elechist.htm>


============================


---------------------------------------------------------------

Upsetting the Locals

From: Trevor
To: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Subject: How IS has been making enemies in Afghanistan
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2016 18:13:41 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Hi Mark,

How IS has been making enemies in Afghanistan
<http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35595446>

by Sayed Abdullah Nizami.



At last some sensible reporting from the area. Obviously, the BBC needs more "local" reporters writing about the Middle East. Generally they do seem to make more sense than the propaganda biased native British ones -especially the propaganda "experts" working for various US/UK brainwashing "Think Tanks".

So when do we get the real story regarding Syria?


Although its quite bizarre that this principle of local reporters doesn't seem to work when it comes to British politics. The whole "referendum" business is a disgrace -with regards to both politics and reporting. Clever, how in the "Information Age" essential matters get reduced to the most trivial level.


So, any idea why the British government needs to cut back so much on those expensive migrants? Could it possibly be to pay for the military and political destruction of non-compliant regimes? Thus causing even more refugees that need to be beaten back like cockroaches?

Sending eviction notices to migrant camps in France also exhibits the same logic....

Attack the symptoms -but leave the causes invisible and untouched -because they are apparently the basis for our so called economic success.


Thank god I got out years ago.... Rural life here in Bohol seems quite civilized in comparison. Perhaps that's because national politics (and media) seem so irrelevant outside the big city....


Good luck, best wishes,
:)
trevor



---------------------------------------------------------------

Terrorist, Toady or Saviour?

From: Trevor
To: Adam Easton
Cc: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Subject: Informant claims unlikely to alter Polish view of Walesa
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2016 22:02:24 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Adam Easton,

Informant claims unlikely to alter Polish view of Walesa
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35607181>


Is it not likely that, like Mandela or Ang Su kyi, Walesa could not have done what he did without some form of dialogue with those in power?

Isn't it time to stop pretending in the foolish myth of "People Power" and admit that such "revolutions" (including the revolts against Marcos and Estrada and the collapse of Eastern Europe) could not have happened without, at least acquiescence if not complicity, of the national security services involved?


Or are such things too close to the bone when it comes to western involvement in destabilising regimes in places such as Ukraine and Syria?

It seems to me that we desperately need a global "Truth and Reconciliation Committee" to sort out such matters before the current Middle Eastern situation gets out of hand and we end up in yet another global civil war situation.


Wasn't the end of the Cold War supposed to stop such insanity? How come the US always seems to manage to win the war but loose the peace?

Can the rest of the world afford to continue picking up the tab for a dysfunction global superpower -including the myths that it propagates?


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten <tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Good Rebels and Bad Rebels

From: Trevor
To: Bridget Kendall
Subject: Is Syria's 'truce' worth the paper it's printed on?
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2016 14:18:13 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)



Dear Bridget Kendall,

Is Syria's 'truce' worth the paper it's printed on?
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35561834>



You say:

"The United States, Europeans, and their allies find themselves caught in the middle. They want to intensify their air campaign against what they see as the main threat in the region, the so-called Islamic State (IS)."


In the context of your article, this strongly implies that the destruction of IS is the west's main objective -and that the removal of Assad is a demand from Syria's neighbouring countries -which unfortunately complicates matters.

This is patently untrue: Not only are Saudi Arabia and Turkey western allies -the UK and France have been demanding the removal of Assad right from the beginning.

To obfuscate this is to to condone western complicity in the resulting genocide.


Are you not honestly sickened by the hypocrisy of media reports that emphasise the problems caused in the west by a flood of refugees -and by repeated images of personal suffering which are in fact the result of western European geopolitical strategies?

I certainly am -and I'd hoped the BBC was above such base propaganda.


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten


---------------------------------------------------------------

With God on Our Side -You Are Just the Fool on the Hill!

From: Trevor
To: Fawaz A Gerges,
Subject: Syria war: Tide turns Assad's way amid ceasefire push
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2016 14:03:06 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Fawaz A Gerges,

Syria war: Tide turns Assad's way amid ceasefire push
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35562943>

You say:

"Time and again in the past five years, the Assad regime has been guilty of hubris, monstrous miscalculation and underestimation of the complexity of the struggle.

What Mr Assad does not grasp is that the very survival of Syria as a unified state and society is at stake."



Could you please explain how your specialist expertise leads you to such a comforting conclusion.

From news reports, I'd say it was exactly the opposite: From Afghanistan and Iraq the US, right up to the current crisis in Syria, have constantly created disasters by their over confident attempts to reshape the middle east in their image. Indeed, your article underlies their failure.

Assad, on the contrary, seems remarkably aware of the stakes. He has also blamed outside interference from the beginning -which, from the constant stream of news reports from the area -seem difficult to deny.

So, how, apart from partisan wishful thinking -can an "expert" come to the conclusion that you do in your article?


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten


---------------------------------------------------------------

Goal Differences:

From: Trevor
To: Mark Mardell - World this Weekend
Subject: Goal differences:
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2016 21:14:13 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Hi,


Thought this was a pretty good overview:

Goal differences:
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-95a417ab-0982-4512-b550-20d68fd53f87>

Why are the UK's hopes for Europe not the same as other countries', asks Allan Little


My personal impression is that Britain has sabotaged the EU to support US hegemony.... but perhaps that is just my paranoia. Clearly, it is not a "European" country -just as the Philippines are not an "Asian" country...

Certainly Britain has functioned as a bridgehead for the Americanisation of Europe -which I personally see as a disaster -especially since moving to the Philippines.

However, perhaps the EU "ideological drive" has caused the system to ride roughshod (as ideology always does) over cultural sensitivities -but I also suspect that the council of ministers have always played a dirty game -pretending that that are not really in charge so they can blame the others.

I also noticed that policy changes often seemed to be introduced simultaneously in different countries -with each national leader pretending it was a purely national issue....


Pity, the EU could have been a nice project.... Maybe it will be -if the UK leaves....

Britain and the Commonwealth might have made a good alternative once -but I don't see them wanting us back.... China?


Good luck with it all....

:)
trevor


---------------------------------------------------------------

Time for "Truth and Reconciliation"?

From: Trevor Batten
To: Jonathan Marcus
Subject: How President Putin is getting what he wants in Syria
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2016 12:34:07 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Jonathan Marcus,

How President Putin is getting what he wants in Syria
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35539897>



Perhaps if we had had more realistic accounts like this nearlier, then the situation wouldn't have escalated so disastrously as it has now.


Surely, anybody not blinded by western propaganda could have seen years ago -with the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq -that western geopolitics were immoral, illegal, irresponsible and downright stupid.

Banking systems collapse, the global economy remains an unsustainable pyramid scam -and the price of geopolitical supremacist interference is increasing death and destruction on all sides -and no doubt recruiting even more terrorists.

So isn't it enough already?


Time for "Truth and Reconciliation"?

Recognition of mutual differences and a return to respect for rule of law, self-determination and national sovereignty?

Or are the Ferguson City police going to continue trying to run the rest of the world?


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten


---------------------------------------------------------------

The Game of Moral Obligations

From: Trevor Batten
To: Mark Lowen
Subject: Turkey uses refugee crisis to up the ante
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2016 18:10:28 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Mark Lowen,

Turkey uses refugee crisis to up the ante
<http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35521242>

<quote>
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini: "Turkey has a moral if not a legal duty to provide protection to those fleeing persecution."

... Johannes Hahn, the EU's enlargement commissioner: "The action plan with Turkey was agreed more than two months ago, and we're still not seeing a significant decline in the number of migrants. Turkey could do more."
<unquote>


Nice of the EU to be so concerned about Turkey's moral obligations.... but I don't suppose they have considered removing all aggravating involvement by EU members (and their allies) in the Syrian civil war.


How about a real Peace Conference -in which all parties are involved. One which looks for some kind of compromise for all parties regarding the future of Syria -and then looking for ways to implement it.


Supporting selected opposition groups and setting up impossible pre-conditions are ways to prolong the war -not end it.

Bombing Syria and paying somebody else to clean up the mess must surely be the most immoral and inhumane "solution" one could possibly imagine.


It seems that our political leaders, with their illusions of self-righteousness, have lost all sense of reality and are now either completely insane -or as evil as that which they claim they are opposing.

God help us all...


Yours sincerely,
trevor batten


---------------------------------------------------------------

Blowing in the Wind.....

From: Trevor Batten
To: Matthew Wall, Mark Mardell - World this Weekend, Sean Coughlan
Cc: Fatima Lasay
Subject: How blockchain tech could change the way we do business
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2016 11:21:26 +0800
X-Mailer: Sylpheed 3.2.0 (GTK+ 2.24.20; i486-slackware-linux-gnu)


Dear Matthew Wall,

How blockchain tech could change the way we do business
<http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35370304>

"We might not understand blockchain too well just yet, but it seems like its influence could be profound."


Isn't that a recipe for disaster?

The Sorcerer's Apprentice?
 <http://tebatt.net/SAT/COGITATIONS/UPcursorLecture/BagritAutomationAge.html>

 If it's so damn secure -then how do Bitcoins get nicked?


Sounds to me like the next best thing since the last screw-up.

Don't you think we should understand things a little better before becoming dependant on them?

Does "Technology reporter" have to be synonymous with "irresponsible"?


Happy Daze,
trevor batten
<tebatt.net>


---------------------------------------------------------------

Key issues

Monologues on the  Problematic Nature of Modern Life

Getting the Solutions Together?

Internet, Industrialisation and Social Engineerering

Our Letter to some Seed Companies




Project Land
Project Home Farm


 
Trevor Batten
 <trevor at tebatt dot net>
 Baclayon 2016
 home