openDemocracy

The '60s Begin to Fade as Liberal Professors Retire

Das kann ja ein Fahranfänger, das is ja fahrschulreif, was sich da Lewis Hamilton der Youngster in der F1 geleistet hat. Während der Safetyphase beim Tanken in der Boxengasse, fuhr Hamilton seinem Widersacher Kimi

Wolf - Scare + Solution is the trick fo Bali Two things are needed. The first is convincing evidence that the true risks are larger than many now suppose. Conceivable feedback effects might, for example, generate temperature increases of 20°C. That would be the end of the world as we know it. I cannot imagine a rational person who would not seek to eliminate even the possibility of such outcomes. But if we are to do that, we must also act very soon. The second requirement is to demonstrate that it is possible for us to thrive with low-carbon emissions. People in the northern hemisphere are not going to choose to be cold now, in order to prevent the world from becoming far too hot in future. China and India are not going to forgo development, either. These are realities that cannot be ignored.

The other problem is that the language on the Council site is much about marketing - marketing to us. That's understandable because these are marketing guys and it's also likely true because this is being run by a leader in the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, a group whose existence and name has given me the willies. It implies that they can manage our mouths when, indeed, that's the one thing that we, the customers, are fully in charge of. If they truly realize that we, the customers, are in charge, then that changes the way you comport yourself in this conversation. Again, you listen more than you speak.

"It's not like we're a stroke of brilliance," said John Sateja, senior vice president for information products at Consumers Union, the nonprofit group that publishes Consumer Reports. "We had no choice. We have no advertising, so we had to survive on what readers pay." The organization does more than just survive. Consumers Union reports that its publications--Consumer Reports and a few much smaller ones--generated $208 million in revenue in the year ended May 31, with an operating margin of about $28 million.

Liberalism is a paradoxical creed, in the sense that its prescriptions are mainly negative: It is mainly concerned with what the state may not do to its citizens, and what citizens may not do to each other. As Mr. Walzer writes in "Liberalism and the Art of Separation," one of the key essays in the book, "liberalism is a world of walls, and each one creates a new liberty." The wall between church and state is the best known of these, but as Mr. Walzer points out, liberalism is also responsible for erecting walls between the state and the market, between the church and the university, and between public and private life.

"When a sheep is ailing," said Socrates, "we generally blame the shepherd, and when a horse is vicious, we generally find fault with his rider. In the case of a wife, if she receives instruction in the right way from her husband and yet does badly, perhaps she should bear the blame; but if the husband does not instruct his wife in the right way of doing things, and so finds her ignorant, should he not bear the blame himself? [12] Anyhow, Critobulus, you should tell us the truth, for we are all friends here. Is there anyone to whom you commit more affairs of importance than you commit to your wife?" "There is not." "Is there anyone with whom you talk less?" "There are few or none, I confess." [13] "And you married her when she was a mere child and had seen and heard almost nothing?" "Certainly." "Then it would be far more surprising if she understood what she should say or do than if she made mistakes." [14] "But what of the husbands who, as you say, have good wives, Socrates? Did they train them themselves?" "There's nothing like investigation. I will introduce Aspasia to you, and she will explain the whole matter to you with more knowledge than I possess. [15] I think that the wife who is a good partner in the household contributes just as much as her husband to its good; because the incomings for the most part are the result of the husband's exertions, but the outgoings are controlled mostly by the wife's dispensation. If both do their part well, the estate is increased; if they act incompetently, it is diminished. [16] If you think you want to know about other branches of knowledge, I fancy I can show you people who acquit themselves creditably in any one of them."

Unlike Pay Per Post, the company doesn't waste a lot of time trying to spin their business into something socially acceptable. People pay them to pollute big social sites and get traffic, and they're ok with being slammed for that. As long as they make money. The whole operation is complete with founder pseudonyms (Ragnar Danneskjold, Vasili Taleniekov), proxied whois records, and a clandestine PayPal Account. The service is bringing in the new year with a new pricing model. In '08, Diggs and Stumbles will be increased to $2 per vote. Users will be paid $1 for their votes. You can also earn 20% of the earnings of any friends you refer, and 10% of the cost of advertisements from any advertisers you refer.

The big point Mr Davey makes is that we would all be happier if we lived frugal, natural community-bound lives. I agree that some of us would. But many of us most definitely would not (I for one). Among the types of human being are those with fierce ambition and restless desires. If you stick them in closed communities they will soon organise the village to wage war on the next one. Thus rose the feudal estates and territorial despotisms of old. So, no, I do not believe in the return to Eden. It is one of humanity's oldest myths. But it is just that - a myth. Of course, Mr Davey may prove right that the challenge of replacing fossil fuels is one we are unable to meet. If so, at some point, our civilisation will collapse. It will not be fun. Of that I am sure.

"Wealth is like an orchard", says the Mexican philanthrocapitalist Carlos Slim, "you have to distribute the fruit, not the branch", presumably because the branch, tree and forest all belong to him.

The future of philanthropy lies in joining the wave of open source peer-production that is enriching public assets, says Mark Surman.

Wenn man beim Nachbarn wunderschöne blühende Büsche und Hochstämmchen sieht, wenn man sieht, das diese sogar ihre Farbe verändern, dann ist eines gewiß. Es sind Wandelröschen, die sogenannten Lantana Camara-Hybriden.