megaspora » 2008

Archive for June, 2008

In capitalism’s defence.

By: psr, 2008-06-25

There are plenty of anti-capitalism opinions reflected in print, the media and on the Internet. When I read such material, I feel the need to reply in the form of an article in this blog, but I can rarely find the time.

Recently, however, I came across another such article in the blog of a friend of mine (the English text is a Google translation from the Spanish original), which has motivated me to write back.

The above-linked article presents capitalism as the source of corruption, slavery, drug trafficking, real state speculation, and several more calamities and misfortunes. It also describes capitalism as a system consisting of robbery, oppression of people, exploitation of workers, all for the benefit of just a few people (the capitalists). It even …

2008-06-25 | Economy - General - Rights - World | Trackback | 1 Comment »

The Truth About CO2

By: psr, 2008-06-19

Rarely can one find mainstream media publishing data and information about the so called climate change when such data downplays the role of CO2, or contradicts the official discourse about its origins and its effects on climate.

My theory is that there are enough vested interests which need governments to promote the belief that human activity produces changes on Earth’s global climate.

However, there are other sources of information more robust and reliable, which often dismantle many of the catastrophic news broadcast by newspapers, television, cinema and radio, and throws much light on the stale topic. One example is the excellent spanish-language blog “co2” by Anton Uriarte (it is also linked from this page’s ‘blogroll’). For non-spanish speakers, another great resource for global climate information is Roy …

2008-06-19 | World | Trackback | No Comments »

Oil prices, carriers and the Spanish government

By: psr, 2008-06-14

ï»¿The recent increase in oil prices affects all transport. Air, ground and sea transportation, passenger and cargo alike, have seen their costs rising in the last few months.

Analysts have provided several theories on the causes behind the oil price hike. Some put the blame on the credit crisis in the USA, others blame oil producers, others point at the US Federal Reserve, and others remind us of the significant increase in energy demand. I am not going to analyze the reasons here.

This week Spain saw a strike by some truck drivers (apparently about 20% of them), demanding Government intervention to help their activity, after fuel price increases are rendering their business a loss-making operation. Their strike blocked major communication roads around the main …

2008-06-14 | Braindead - Economy - Europe - Spain | Trackback | No Comments »

Language, communication and freedom

By: psr, 2008-06-08

Language is often considered to be an aspect of culture. I dissent. First and foremost, language is a means of communication, but the diversity of languages certainly makes humans associate a particular language with a particular group of people. Humans feel identified with other human beings who speak the same language, while feeling more distant from those speaking a different tongue.

Culture or not, language is essentially what allows humans to communicate with other humans and it is therefore a catalyst for growth of the human spirit as language permits access to knowledge and to interaction and relation with other people. The use of language should therefore not be limited nor restricted in any way. This apparently elemental assertion has rarely been true throughout …