News from Nowhere

Approve the EU Constitution, or you're a Nazi...

Mon, 09 May 2005 12:32:53 GMT

I haven't blogged for so long, out of laziness more than anything else, but I couldn't contain myself on this one. An article from telegraph.co.uk features some hilarious claims by Margot Wallstrom, a senior European Commissioner:

Margot Wallstrom, a Swede and the commissioner who must sell the draft constitution to voters, argued that politicians who resisted pooling national sovereignty risked a return to Nazi horrors of the 1930s and 1940s.
Mrs Wallstrom, vice-president of the commission for institutional relations and communications, was speaking in the former Jewish ghetto of Terezin in the Czech Republic.
She blamed the Second World War on "nationalistic pride and greed, and international rivalry for wealth and power". The EU had replaced such rivalry with an historic agreement to share national sovereignty.
Her fellow commissioners also issued a joint declaration, stating that EU citizens should pay tribute to the dead of the Second World War by voting Yes to the draft constitution for Europe.

Struggling to find any actual reasons to vote 'yes', the commissioners have been reduced to preposterous scaremongering. If there were any lingering suspicions that Mrs Wallstrom is still connected with reality, they are dispelled by the icing on the cake:

The commissioners also gave the EU sole credit for ending the Cold War, making no mention of the role of Nato and the United States.

History has never seemed so plastic.

Microsoft's accounting package angers rivals

Wed, 16 Feb 2005 16:49:49 GMT

In a recent article at telegraph.co.uk, we are told that

Microsoft could face another showdown with the European competition authorities after revealing plans to bundle a new product range into its Office suite in an effort to crack a new market.
Orlando Ayala, head of Microsoft's small and mid-sized business division, has confirmed the group's move into accounting software for small businesses, which will pitch it head-to-head with Sage and Intuit, the market leaders in the UK and the US respectively.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Ayala said versions of Office with small business accounting software would be launched in US shops within the "next six to 12 months". A UK roll out would follow soon afterwards.
"The experience is about walking into a retail store where you will see on the racks one version of Office designed for accounting to manage the finances of a small business," he said. Rivals have reacted badly, fearing that Microsoft could abuse the dominant position of Office – which Microsoft says is installed in 600m computers around the world – to gain access to the market for small business accounting software.
Paul Stobart, Sage's UK and Ireland managing director, said: "I would be very surprised if we weren't to bring it to the authorities' attention as we would with any unfair competition. Microsoft will have to think carefully about how they do it. If they do bundle, they are leveraging a quasi-monopoly position in one market to give a very strong foothold in a new category for them in accounting software.''

It sounds to me as if Microsoft's rivals are scared and want to use political means to hamper the activities of would-be competitors.

NationStates

Wed, 09 Feb 2005 17:01:39 GMT

I have recently been introduced to the NationStates website.

NationStates is a free nation simulation game. Build a nation and run it according to your own warped political ideals. Create a Utopian paradise for society's less fortunate or a totalitarian corporate police state. Care for your people or deliberately oppress them. Join the United Nations or remain a rogue state. It's really up to you.

I've created a state called 'The Free Land of Freedopolis'.

The Free Land of Freedopolis is a small, socially progressive nation, notable for its complete absence of social welfare. Its hard-nosed, hard-working population of 10 million are either ruled by a small, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.
The tiny, pro-business government devotes most of its attentions to Law & Order, with areas such as Social Welfare and Religion & Spirituality receiving almost no funds by comparison. Income tax is unheard of. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Soda Sales, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Beef-Based Agriculture industries.
Voting is voluntary. Crime is a major problem. Freedopolis's national animal is the cat and its currency is the dollar.
Freedopolis is ranked 1820th in the region and 40,824th in the world for Nudest.

I am pleased to report that my state's civil rights are excellent, its economy is thriving and its political freedoms are good, though I have only been playing for a few days. My state is not a member of the UN.

2005 Index of Economic Freedom

Fri, 21 Jan 2005 08:16:41 GMT

A comment on a post at Samizdata.net has introduced me to the 2005 Index of Economic Freedom.

Published jointly by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, the Index has presented a portrait of economic freedom around the world and established a benchmark by which to guage a country's chances of economic success.

The full document can be downloaded here as a PDF file. At 428 pages long, it contains a wealth of information and analyses, and is a showcase of evidence for the merits of economic freedom. China is mentioned in the foreword:

The world economy continued to rebound in 2004 from its early-decade recession, despite the body blows of terrorist threats and war, trade disputes, sharply higher oil prices, and the vagaries of a closely fought U.S. presidential election. The world trend toward economic liberalization seems likely to continue as well, notwithstanding a few political worries.
One paradox of this progress is that it is being led by the People's Republic of China,the world's fastest-growing large nation. The avowed Communist country continues to liberalize its economic regime and adapt to World Trade Organization rules. China remains low on our economic freedom list at 112, but that is 16 spots better than a year ago and continues a longer positive trend.</p>
In some areas, such as textiles, China has created an almost perfect free market, with private companies able to discover, and respond in an instant to, changes in global demand and fashion. This, and not cheap labor, is the reason China is poised to grab even more market share when the global textile quota arrangement expires at the end of 2004. If Beijing ever fixes its state-owned enterprises, and especially its archaic financial system, its competitive position could be even stronger.

It's pleasing to see Hong Kong at the top of the table. Even though it's somewhat expensive to stay in Hong Kong on a foreign teacher's salary, I love visiting Hong Kong very much. It oozes wealth, choice and freedom.

Once again, Hong Kong is the poster economy for economic freedom around the world. With a duty-free port, simple procedures for starting businesses, minimal capital controls, and a transparent, fair rule of law, Hong Kong has earned its place as a trading and financial hub.

The report reminds us that economic freedom breeds prosperity, in spite of many people believing the opposite.

'Made in China'

Wed, 05 Jan 2005 12:15:13 GMT

This little nugget of information is appearing with ever more frequency and in ever more surprising places. Two years ago, my mum bought me a Kodak digital camera from amazon.co.uk. It was 'Made in China', and now I have brought it home. This Christmas, I received a Christmas card from my grandparents. It was 'Made in China' too; ironically, students and teachers at my school had been told that they shouldn't send Christmas cards because "they are a waste of paper". Today, as I was sitting on my collapsible toilet seat doing what all good people must do from time to time, the label on my boxer shorts caught my eye. My underwear was 'Made in China'.

China is rapidly becoming the workshop of the world, and cheap Chinese imports look set to make life increasingly difficult for manufacturers in other countries. In the short term, textile manufacturers will have to come to terms with intense Chinese competition, with the WTO's recent scrapping of the Multifibre Arrangement, a 30-year-old textile quota system. In an article in the Telegraph, we hear that

The ending of the Multi Fibre Agreement on Dec 31 will have "devastating consequences" for workers in countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Cambodia, according to Christian Aid. It is feared that many of their jobs will go to China.

However,

Supporters of the change say scrapping the MFA will increase competition and efficiency, delivering lower prices to the West.

Furthermore,

The greatest beneficiary of the policy change will be China. Its exports to America in unregulated areas such as baby clothes have been growing at rates above 500 per cent in recent years.

There will be greater competition in other areas too. In a recent Guardian article we learn that

Distributor Visionary Vehicles has signed a deal with China's Chery Automotive to import the company's cars into the US, promising prices 30% lower than comparable models on the market.

We are also told that

The US business has long been wary of China with its far lower labour costs. Chery is the country's eighth-largest carmaker and sold 90,000 vehicles in its home market last year.

Whether US businesses have any real cause for concern, only time will tell.

New Year's Resolutions

Sun, 02 Jan 2005 11:52:32 GMT

Everyone needs a fresh start once in a while. Here is mine.

There are several things I want to do this year to make my life better. Last week, I took part in the school's annual road run. Although the event was more of a jog, with much stopping and starting, it reminded me that running is a straightforward way of exercising that I can do quite well. I've also noticed that the abundance of cheap and delicious Chinese food is beginning to take an unhappy toll on my previously unshakeable waistline. I want to leave China with a broad mind, not a broad stomach, so my first resolution of 2005 is to go running at least three times each week. I did it before. I can do it again.

My second resolution is to dedicate myself to studying Mandarin Chinese. I've tried to do this several times before, with little success. I know that when I return to the UK next summer, a firm grounding in Mandarin can be one of the few things of real value that I take back with me. Time is marching on, and if I don't do something about this now, I will miss my chance and have very little to show for my time here. I want more than some good memories. Of course, a vague commitment to 'dedicate myself to studying' is no resolution at all, so this year I have resolved to spend half an hour every day studying Chinese. Half an hour is not a long time, so I've no excuses for not succeeding.

No set of New Year's resolutions would be complete without a promise to achieve something impossible, so my third and final resolution is that I will try to be honest. While I'm at it, I'll also try to drink less coffee, look down on fewer people and be kind to beggars.

The people at Adidas speak the truth: "Impossible is Nothing".