dagblog - Comments for "[World Needs] JAMAICA: INFRASTRUCTURE CASE STUDY"

A fascinating BIF subplot is

artappraiser — Sun, 07 Nov 2021 10:16:59 +0000

In reply to [World Needs] JAMAICA: INFRASTRUCTURE CASE STUDY

A fascinating BIF subplot is that it not only involves a lot of money, it’s structured to create an unusually large amount of discretionary authority rather than formula-based grants.

Will Secretary Mayor Pete use that power wisely? https://t.co/Y6eHD5i35l
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) November 6, 2021

“Finally, infrastructure week,” a beaming President Biden told reporters. “I’m so happy to say that: infrastructure week.”https://t.co/BRSxHWgyeG
— POLITICO (@politico) November 6, 2021

Guess who just bought a major

artappraiser — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 07:31:53 +0000

In reply to [World Needs] JAMAICA: INFRASTRUCTURE CASE STUDY

Guess who just bought a major cog of current U.S. infrastructure?

With Acquisition of California Port, China Broadens Influence on US Commerce - AMAC - The Association of Mature American Citizens https://t.co/yBjvBYF4lS holy s..t @MSNBC @CNN @USATODAY @nytimes @WSJ @WhiteHouse
— Russel L. Honore' (@ltgrusselhonore) November 4, 2021

edit to add: the General retweeted this reply to his tweet:

This should not be a partisan issue - Blue vs Red. Ports are critical infrastructure. I don't care if it's China or a European country, foreign companies should not be contracted to manage or control key facilities.
— Mark Keller (@MWKeller) November 4, 2021

A Guy Called LULU — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 17:16:09 +0000

In reply to [World Needs] JAMAICA: INFRASTRUCTURE CASE STUDY

Orion, the video by Dr. Lennon reveals a thoughtful and caring person with empathy and compassion for the common people of Jamaica and I am confident for other peoples as well. He sees the IMF as a power structure that pays off for the powerful at the expense of the poor and needy. I agree. Thanks for the post.

Power does indeed corrupt but it is also true that in a vicious feedback circle, “corruption”, which is not necessarily illegal, can often come first and can be sold as charity or a helping hand. This is a very common way to achieve or enhance power, especially economic power which pays off handsomely for those who wield it and a sociopath does not care who is hurt in the process. Speaking of the power brokers who create the economic situation in Jamaica, Dr. Lennon says at about the 8:45 point in his talk that "These people are not normal". Not to simply bicker but to make a point, I would argue that those people are completely normal at the strata of power and wealth and legal corruption that the sociopathic power brokers occupy. And, the way the world works makes it much more likely that the people who achieve the higher, more effective strata of power are much more likely to be people who can act comfortably with a social pathology towards a different socio-economic strata of humanity and to do so in a way which often transgresses into psychopathy. Bruce Cockburn, in a song from about 25 years ago, makes Dr. Lennon’s same point about the IMF in a more graphic way.

It's written by someone who

PeraclesPlease — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 11:36:09 +0000

In reply to just to keep in mind when

It's written by someone who seems to give a shit, while many of us long ago lost the sting and passion of this issue. I'm floored however by the diatribe against abstracting people - as if this isn't a basic tool for understanding nations and movements? Probably all of us have a quaint pseudo-correct notion of what constitutes a Russian, an Aussie, a Chinese, a Brazilian... it's what makes the Indian guy on The Simpsons so hilarious and insulting at the same time. Of course Jewish struggles and survival techniques in the late 1800's were quite different at a time when Sweden's standard of living was worse than Botswana's is today. (see "Factfulness")

I don't know if it all needs to be so complex - like people scratching an itch instead.

Yes, as Mario says, useful

A Guy Called LULU — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 05:31:15 +0000

In reply to just to keep in mind when

Yes, as Mario says, useful analysis requires engagement. A good article by Johnathan Cooke describes a pretty successful effort to set the rules of engagement.