_

On a door

2009-05-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

The door of a graffiti-covered building in soho swung open to reveal a scantily clad woman.

The Kills

2009-05-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Kills = The best $20 I've ever spent. Also, Alison Mosshart is gorgeous.

I went to see the Kills at the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia on Friday. They're possibly the most badass band around these days. This is the second concert of theirs' that I've seen, and they have an encore routine where they essential have hardcore sex on stage. Hey, recession times call for bargains; everyone wants their money's worth.

2009-04-28T09:19:00.001-07:00

JFK

First Gallery Exhibition

2009-04-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

The Kitao Gallery at Swarthmore College will be showing some of my works.
Dates TBD but after May 5th
Will announce the opening here

Crystal

2009-04-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

Photo series on crystal
In counterclockwise order
I used crystal and mirrors.

China circa 1990

2009-04-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

My father the frontiersman in China circa 1990
I absolutely love how the color palette of his clothing matches the barren Chinese landscape.

Giovanna

2009-04-15T17:03:00.001-07:00

She is so incredibly captivating.
The sartorialist always features her (on the right), but I have no idea who she is.

painting happens

2009-04-15T12:00:00.001-07:00

Tao of painting
Acrylic, India ink, latex enamel, and holy ash on canvas

part of some sort of series:
thelady

Hubert de Givenchy

2009-04-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

Givenchy and Hepburn

It's Spring!

2009-04-08T22:13:00.001-07:00

Faces

In high quality finally. Thanks to a friend equipped with a digital camera.

From Khyyam's Rubaiyat:

bar chehreh-ye gol shabnam -e nawruz khoshast
dar taraf-e chaman ru-ye delafruz khoshast
az dey ke gozasht har che guni khosh nist
khosh bash o zeday magu ke emruz khoshast

On the flower's face, the spring dew looks happy
On the side of the meadow, the loving heart looks happy
During the winter time how unhappy they were
Be happy! O don't look back to the winter, today looks happy

Rough translation because my Farsi isn't great. Nawruz is the Iranian new year, but happens during the spring time (vernal equinox I believe). Dey is the 10th month, which I translated as the winter to emphasize the contrast. I also added the punctuation because it doesn't exist in Farsi. Anyway, I love this poem and how it captures the mood of spring.

Guayasamín

2009-04-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

My friend introduced me to Ecuadorean artist Oswaldo Guayasamín. I saw some similarities between his style and mine (though mine is in a very nascent and amateurish stage). His work in a few words - very poignant and passionate.

Audrey Hepburn

2009-04-07T09:38:00.001-07:00

Via the impossible cool.

Artist Statement

2009-04-06T23:52:00.000-07:00

So very unexpectedly, I was selected as a featured artist for a publication at Swarthmore. I'm really excited and writing my 'artist statement' describing my work. The two paintings featured are Faces and Smiling Buddha. Here's a draft:

I paint whenever I feel the need to do. I stopped writing in my diary several months ago, I started painting instead. Each piece that I make is like a diary entry, a time stamp. I feel like I have a lot trapped subconsciously that I'm not entirely sure how to understand, interpret, or express in my daily activity. Painting allows me to bring these subconscious emotions out. I start whenever I feel inspired, which can be at odd times, and I strictly work from imagination. As I paint, I try not to control the direction of the work; it's constantly changing and evolving. Until I'm finished, I have no idea how the work will look. My goal is to let the painting paint itself. Once I'm done with a piece, I step back and analyze it to understand my state of mind at that point.

Looking at 'Faces', I see an expression of duality. The face on the right is docile, while the one on the left is angry. You can also see this in how some of the strokes are soft an blend together, while others are very discrete, linear, jagged even. It's also black and white. The basic idea is that the two faces are coming out of the same initial substance. I think this painting represents the face that I show to the outside world, contrasted with face inside, that's struggling with a lot of difficulties and reacting to them with anger and passion.

'Smiling Buddha' is similar to an extent - the 'smile' is not really a smile; it's an expression of power. I am taking Patterns of Asian Religions and I wanted to explore the idea of relic creation. In certain Buddhist cultures, the painting or 'opening' of the Buddha's eyes gives life, power, and deifies a Buddha painting or sculpture. I wanted to experience that. The whole painting is about taking a piece of paper and some colors and putting them together to make something powerful. I think that's why I am struck by it when I look at it. It's as if the Buddha gazes right through me. When I think I'm being really pretentious, I look at the painting and think, who am I kidding?

My therapist says that she wants me to be in relationship where the the picture paints itself. That's what I'm looking for in life, for all the pieces to fall into place without my trying to control them.

Heels

2009-04-04T00:03:00.000-07:00

First Friday
F.U.E.L.
249 Arch Street
Philadelphia

Lady

2009-04-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

End

Beginning

Rome

2009-03-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

Political graffiti from Rome

*These photos have nothing to do with my personal political inclinations. They are posted only for aesthetic purposes.

Smiling Buddha

2009-03-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Acrylic latex enamel

Heads

2009-03-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

Acrylic, Charcoal
still wish i had a better camera.

this is a better image than the previous one.

Ustad Amir Khan

2009-03-02T01:12:00.000-08:00

One of the most amazing Hindustani classical singers of the 20th century.

Woman and Man

2009-02-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

Birthday present for a friend
Still working on it
I really need to get a better camera
I use the iphone

Mircea Eliade

2009-02-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

Mircea Eliade was a Romanian scholar who helped develop the modern, secular academic discipline of religious study. His book The Sacred and The Profane is by far one of the most interesting and interestingly-written works that I have read in a while. It is impossibly confusing, but there's something really pleasurable in trying to tease out the meaning of its meandering, anecdotal text. He also happens to be one of those old school stylish guys that any young pseudo-intellectual would want to grown to be / look like.

!

2009-02-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

Ink

Vintage Model

2009-02-04T17:56:00.000-08:00

Vintage being a commonly used euphemism for "old" in the fashion world...

The Sartorialist's Florence subject is also the new lookbook model for Turkish designer Umit Benan's awesome fall winter collection recently shown at Pitti Uomo.

Umit Benan:

"Surfaces that appear to be rough, giving a hint of street wear, actually shield the soft underside of a duffel coat or a cashmere and wool cardigan. Showing the pieces mixed casually with jeans or a washed cotton short, or more formally with dressy clothes, Benan has captured, in humble proportions and thoughtful mixes, the spirit of the post-show-off era."
The International Herald Tribune

Wrapped in Florence:

Messing Around

2009-02-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

I'm drawing or painting every day now, trying out different techniques, and using art as my daily diary entry. Here I was experimenting with some textural elements, the emphasis is on flatness. Once again charcoal and India ink on newsprint

Faces

2009-02-02T15:12:00.000-08:00

Charcoal and India Ink on Newsprint

I'm starting to paint again, and finding it to be a great release.
I try to express my emotions, conscious or subconscious, through art. Whatever I make is a representation of my state of mind at the time of painting. It's more a time stamp than anything. Looking back at my work at some point in the future, I want to be able to understand myself better, to get a more complete picture of who I am (was).

Yohji Yamamoto

2009-01-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

Fall 2009

This guy wandered on to the runway while picking up his morning paper and baguette (I guess they tend to do that in Italy). I really like Yamamoto because his collections are totally reflective of his personal style. He puts what he wears on the runway, which I respect in terms of creative expression.

Kim Simonsson

2009-01-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

"white girl with tousled hair blows a big bubble of bubblegum made of silvered glass"

Nancy Margolis Gallery
523 West 25th Street, Chelsea

Helmut Newton

2009-01-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

I see Helmut Newton as the originator of art-porn or porn-chic (no, not Terry Richardson).
Christie's recently had an auction of a private collection with 16 photos by HN. Virtually all of them fetched a huge premium over their estimates. I guess that would make Helmut Newton way more profitable than the S&P 500

Bergstrøm over Paris went for an incredible 6 times what it was initally valued at:

And the priciest of the lot, Sie Kommen, Paris (Naked and Dressed) went for 60k more than the upper end of its estimate - a full 33%.

Other shots:

Central Park West

Tied-up Torso, Ramatuelle

Elsa Peretti in a 'Bunny Costume'

Christie's sale 2113 - Photographs from the collection of Gert Elfering

Lehmann Maupin

2009-01-12T11:24:00.000-08:00

I recently visited the Lehmann Maupin Gallery on 201 Christie St. Even though it is a small space with a limited collection, it has some very cool work and represents well-known artists like Juergen Teller. I really liked Mr.'s 35-minute short film "Nobody Dies," which can be succinctly summarized as a sexually frustrated, older geek's attempt to bring anime out of animation. Well, what does that mean? I was going to elaborate, but Cool Hunting's description is pretty much on the money:

" ... about a group of adolescent Japanese girls who partake in a paintball riddled war game of capture-the-flag.

Carefully toeing the line between perversion and commentary, the film is a continuation of the artist's investigation into the Otaku subculture and its fetishization of kawaii, or cuteness. Roughly half the film documents the everyday lives of these young girls while the second act features the group costumed in neon camo-garb (also designed by Mr.) and taking their game a little too literally. Throughout the film, the camera lingers suggestively on the girls, like the eyes of a shut-in comic geek, making for an altogether uncomfortable viewing. Which is likely the point."

Shots of adolescent (looking) girls in tight-fitting neon costumery and sexualized situations left me feeling a little repulsed and slightly surreal (can you feel surreal?); but on the whole the film was very interesting.

Upstairs were Tracey Emin's neon words: "Her Soft Lips Touched mine And Every Thing Became Hard." I lingered thinking about what that meant to me. At first, 'hard' seemed to mean complicated, difficult, painful; but after a few minutes 'hard' felt grey, jagged, bleak, cracking like dried clay - I pictured kissing someone who turned into stone and crumbled as the world collapsed around me. I then strolled grey, debris-filled streets alone with a blank expression. It was very alarming.

I also liked this painting:

Unfortunately I don't know the title or artist. Maybe I'll call the gallery to find out. To me it was like rubber-band man trying to break out of his plasticky, insanity-inducing, two-dimensional world - in other words: the life of a floundering, bourgeois, pseudo-intellectual philosophe in 21st century society.

www.lehmannmaupin.com

The Impossible Cool

2008-12-05T10:04:00.001-08:00

YSL

The Impossible Cool is a well-curated blog showcasing male beauty, dandyisme, and retro fashion in spectacularly decadent black and white. Other dudes featured include OSCAR WILDE. Someone put Alain Delon on there right away.
It's pretty awesome: theimpossiblecool.tumblr.com

KAWS x Kanye West

2008-11-30T22:06:00.000-08:00

After Takashi Murakami (Graduation), Kanye enlisted another fantastical artist, KAWS, to do the cover art for 808's and Heartbreak. KAWS' most recent collaboration was with Comme des Garcons. The art is very KAWS, but at the same time, the cover is very Kanye. This is sort of akin to Kanye's style: he wears every designer from Lanvin to BAPE, but he always looks like 'Kanye'. I even think the same extends to his musical composition. Even though I'm not a huge hip-hop fan, I like how he experiments beyond the mainstream. I particularly like love lockdown, and the quasi-hipsterish lmfao remix (which he didn't actually do, but still):

The Resource Curse in Middle Eastern Oil Producing States

2008-11-23T21:59:00.000-08:00

To most, the discovery of oil would appear to be the basis of great prosperity. However, the economies of most countries, in the Middle East and beyond, that have been endowed with resource wealth have historically underperformed in comparison to countries that were not as well endowed. Empirical evidence shows that countries in East Asia, such as Korea and Taiwan, have grown and developed at much faster rates than Middle Eastern oil-producing countries, in spite of having started with approximately the same development levels in the 1950s. Such examples have led to the advent of the ‘resource curse’ theory, an economic explanation for why resource abundance leads to underdevelopment. The ‘resource curse’ is a collective term for individual theories that demonstrate overdependence on a single resource to be the result of revenue volatility, destabilizing exchange rate effects known as the ‘Dutch disease’, crowding out effects, corruption and rent-seeking, and authoritarian rule. These consequences result from both exogenous and endogenous factors.

This essay will present the theoretical and empirical argument for the resource curse in Middle Eastern OPEC member states (excluding North African members). It puts forth that a wide range of literature identifies two factors associated with resource exploitation that contribute to underdevelopment: economic overdependence on a single sector, and state ownership of the resource. This paper will first present the negative consequences of overdependence, and then discuss state regimes’ inability to implement policies to distribute resource wealth in a socially optimal manner.

Evidence shows that economic development tends to be less successful in primary resource-based economies than in manufacture-oriented economies (Murshed 2004). Perala (2000) presents evidence that all but 6 of 42 developing countries suffering from growth failure – having a per capita income level in 1998 previously achieved between the 1960s and 1980s, can be described as having primary-resource based economies. Due to rising oil prices in recent years, the per capita incomes of the oil producing Middle Eastern economies have grown, however, development still lags far behind. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE rank 9, 46, and 16 in GDP per capita in purchasing power parity terms (IMF 2006). But, the same countries rank 46, 76, and 49 in the World Bank’s 2006 human development index. These statistics beg the question, why, contrary to common sense, would resource wealth result in economic underdevelopment?

Part of the problem of underdevelopment in these Middle Eastern states, stems from dependence on oil exports for an excessive portion of national income. The oil industry contributes about 45% of Saudi Arabia’s and Iran’s GDP, 50% of Kuwait’s GDP and to similar extents in all the Middle Eastern OPEC states (World Bank 2003). Such dependence on a single sector leaves national income vulnerable to volatility in resource prices. Oil and gas revenues, particularly due to the securitization of the energy market, can be subject to extreme price swings in short periods of time, caused by external factors. In fact, yesterday geopolitical concerns and worries about a weak dollar led crude oil to a new record high, past $97 per barrel, only to see prices slump today on a U.S. government report that oil inventories fell less than expected. Such price fluctuations make pursuing prudent government policy a daunting task. Increased oil prices can lead to a direct injection of large amounts of funds into exporting economies, leading to inflationary pressure and market distortion. Falling oil prices can slow growth, cause a withdrawal of investor confidence, and a potential recession. For instance, in 1986, when the price of oil fell from $28 to $10 a barrel over the course of several months, export revenues fell dramatically in the oil producing Middle East, unemployment soared, and economic growth slowed.

Price fluctuations can also have seriously destabilizing exchange rate effects when resource revenues make up a substantial portion of GDP. Known as the ‘Dutch disease’, a gain in windfall revenues from the export of a resource can result in a contraction in the output of non-resource sectors. A dramatic increase in the price of oil, as was brought about by OPEC countries in the 1970s, resulted in a massive current account surplus in exporting states. In a floating exchange rate system, incurring a current account surplus leads to currency appreciation, making the nation’s other exports less competitive. In OPEC countries, the result was a contraction in the non-oil and gas traded sectors (Stevens 2003). Inder Sud, director of the Middle East Department of the World Bank stated at the Middle East Forum in 2000, “Oil-producing countries have experienced the "Dutch disease": oil revenues have raised the prices of non-traded goods such as land and labor. At the same time, prices of traded goods - commodities that can be exported - are not very profitable. This vicious cycle has hampered some of the export-led efforts.” The specific contraction of the manufacturing sector in these countries, caused by Dutch disease, can be a source of “chronic slow growth.”

Dependence on a primary resource can also lead to the de-prioritization of investment in non-resource-orientated sectors, compounding the diminished competitiveness brought about by the Dutch disease. Unlike traditional crowding out, where government spending crowds out private investment, over allocation of saved private and government funds towards a single economic sector crowds out the funds available for others. Investment in the extraction of oil in OPEC Middle Eastern states has reduced the capital available for industrial and service-based sectors to develop. Moreover, the finite nature of oil, for example Saudi Arabia can only extract the resource for another 70 years (Mouawad 2005), would make continued lack of economic diversification crippling. Abdullah Alireza, Saudi minister without portfolio and member of the state’s Supreme Economic Council, has recognized the need to correct this issue: “The diversification of our national income and our economy away from oil is key to our well-being. It’s absolutely key,” (Herald Tribune 2005).

State ownership of oil resources in Middle Eastern OPEC states is another underlying cause behind economic underperformance. The reality of most oil producing states is one where revenue from exports accrues directly into the state treasuries. In Saudi Arabia, oil sales account for 90 percent of government revenue (Mouawad 2005). This inevitably results in a great degree of government intervention in the market. Stevens (2003) argues that resource and revenue control leads to these interventions being ill conceived.

Revenue gains from resources allow the government to have an abundance of funds at their disposal. Given that, with the exception of Iran and Iraq, none of the Middle Eastern OPEC countries are democracies, pressure to appease the public with direct injections of funds into the economy has been a popular policy. However, spending revenues too quickly leads to higher prices and increasing inflationary pressure, overheating, and exacerbation of the Dutch disease through currency appreciation.

Corruption and rent seeking have also characterized government involvement. The theoretical argument, simply stated, is that the availability of a large quantity of funds is likely to increase temptation for corruption and rent seeking on the part of the decision makers (Stevens 2003). Empirical evidence appears to support this, as all the Middle Eastern OPEC states rank very poorly on the Corruption Perceptions Index (Transparency International 2007). Corruption itself is known to result in negative income distribution effects in the economic sphere and undermine regime legitimacy in the political sphere. Iran, which ranks 131st on the Corruption Perceptions Index list, suffers from a particularly high degree of corruption, nepotism and income inequality – the richest 10 percent of Iranians account for a third of the national income and have a vested interest in the oil industry (Sherman 2004).

‘Rent seeking’ is another issue of concern that stems from states having access to windfall resource revenues. The term itself refers to the behavior of special interest groups attempting to acquire wealth from government transfers of funds. Rent seeking results in market distortions leading to income inequality. Auty (1998), as cited by Stevens (2003), argues that rent seeking distracts goals of long-term development toward maximizing rent creation and capture. Therefore, such behavior leads to lower income and growth along the steady state. Also, special interest groups benefiting from rent acquisition can form powerful lobbies, able to exert pressure on the. Examples include rent-seeking religious charities, advocacy groups, and other civic associations in the Arab world. Okruhlik (1999) goes one step further by stating that the Saudi Arabian state is itself a “functional extension of the ruling family.”

Finally, Wantchekon (1999) presents empirical evidence that forms a connection between natural resource dependence, authoritarian governments and socio-political instability. Wantchekon’s study finds that a one percent increase in resource dependence as measured by the ratio of exports to GDP approximately leads to an 8 percent increase in the probability of authoritarianism. Indeed, Freedomhouse’s 2006 Freedom in the World survey assigns “Not Free” (the lowest) ratings to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar and UAE and a “Partly Free” rating to Kuwait.

The wealth of literature on the subject points to the resource curse, stemming from overdependence on oil revenues and state ownership of oil resources, as a source for the economic underdevelopment in Middle Eastern OPEC states. Kuran (2004) argues that this is compounded by religious and historical mechanisms, resulting in institutional stagnation.

The fact that oil-producing developing states have universally been plagued by the resource curse points to a deeper connection between resource abundance and underdevelopment. Luong and Weinthal find a “direct relationship between the discovery of oil, its development for export, and the emergence of a rentier state, which “procures revenue from external sources and then redistributes it to the population as a form of social and political control.” All African petrostates or resource dependent countries have authoritarian governments or have experienced a very slow process of political reforms (Wantchekon 1999). Similarly, oil-producing states in central Asia have been associated with the problems of the resource curse.

Norway is the single outlying example of an oil producing state that has avoided the resource curse. Norway effectively locked away its oil wealth in an‘oil fund’, a permanent offshore investment vehicle that cannot be accessed by citizens. In this way, the volatility of oil price fluctuation cannot impact the domestic market, while resource wealth accrues for future generations. Moreover, political groups cannot manipulate or distribute the oil revenues. While Norwegian policies have been effective in controlling the resource curse, voters’ desire to access oil wealth has led to substantial political pressure (Listhaug 2004). Similarly, Canada, after the recent discovery of its oil sands, has attempted to implement measures akin to the Norwegian system. However, the locking away of oil wealth remains an unpopular policy. To mitigate the resource curse, Middle Eastern OPEC countries should take up such policies in a gradual manner to stabilize oil revenue injections. Wealth from the oil sector should be progressively used to fuel investment in the secondary and tertiary sectors – manufacturing, capital-intensive industry and service provision. This will lead to lessened economic dependence on oil and develop an economy that will continue to function after oil depletion. The example of growth in Asia also points to the necessary prioritization of human capital development and technological progress, factors that tend to go hand in hand.

Bibliography

Carapico, Sheila. "NGOs, INGOs, GO-NGOs and DO-NGOs: Making Sense of Non-Governmental Organizations." Middle East Report. MERIP. .
Corruption Perceptions Index 2007. Transparency International.
"Country Profile: Iran." New Internationalist. Aug. 2004. .
Curran, Jeanne, and Susan Takata. "An Economic Perspective: Economics – as Much as Religion – May Explain the Middle East Crisis." 2002. California State University. .
Gruen, George E. The Oil Resources of Iraq: Their Role in the Policies of the Great Powers. Columbia UP.
Kuran, Timur. "Why the Middle East is Economically Underdeveloped: Historical Mechanisms of Institutional Stagnation." The Journal of Economic Perspectives 18 (2004): 71-90.
Listhaug, Ola. A Mild Resource Curse: the Impact of Oil Wealth Dissatisfactions on Political Trust in Norway. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim and Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO. 2004.
Listhaug, Ola. A Mild Resource Curse: the Impact of Oil Wealth Dissatisfactions on Political Trust in Norway. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim and Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO. 2004.
Luong, Pauline J., and Erika Weinthal. Prelude to the Resource Curse:OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES IN CENTRAL ASIA AND BEYOND. Yale University and Tel Aviv University.
"Middle East: Economic Growth and Decline." Global Perspectives. .
Mouawad, Jad. "Saudi Arabia Works to End Its Dependence on Oil Revenue." International Herald Tribune 13 Dec. 2005.
Murshed, S M. On Natural Resource Abundance and Underdevelopment. World Development Report 2003: Dynamic Development in a Sustainbable World. World Bank, 2003.
Murshed, S M. When Does Natural Resource Abundance Lead to a Resource Curse? Environmental Economic Programme. 2004.
Okruhlik, Gwenn. "Rentier Wealth, Unruly Law, and the Rise of Opposition: the Political Economy of Oil States." Comparative Politics 31 (1999): 295-315.
Richards, Alan. The Political Economy of Economic Reform in the Middle East: the Challenge to Governance. RAND Project: "the Future of Middle East Security". 2001.
"Statistics of the Human Development Report." Human Development Reports. 2006. UNDP. .
Stevens, Paul. "Resource Impact - Curse or Blessing? a Literature Survey." Journal of Energy Literature 9 (2003): 3-42.
Sud, Inder. "Spurring Economic Growth in the Middle East: What Needs to Be Done?" Middle East Department At the World Bank. Middle East Forum, New York. 6 Sept. 2000.
Wantchekon, Leonard. Why Do Resource Dependent Countries Have Authoritarian Governments. Yale University. 1999.
World Economic Outlook Database. International Monetary Fund. Washington, DC: IMF, 2007.

Avery pummeling guys—interspersed with shots of Marc Jacobs' S/S 2009

2008-11-04T13:50:00.000-08:00

"I certainly admire a nice purse", I also like to "make the opposing team's life miserable"

"I guess I'm bored, I like to see emotion out of people...I do it probably more for my own humour than anything" - I'm glad I'm not the only one

Interviewer: You're dating someone and at the very beginning they show up with a bag that's maybe a little off or something, how much is that a tick off in your mind?
Avery: "I'm not really that superficial. Or maybe I am that superficial, I'm still trying to figure it out."

According to Material Interest:

The Freudian heart of the matter: "It's probably my desire for dress-up that brings me back to the whole women's clothing thing." After watching the clip's footage of Avery pummeling guys twice his size—interspersed with shots of him at Marc Jacobs' S/S 2009 show—we're inclined to agree with whatever the guy says.

Blondie: Heart of Glass

2008-11-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Once I had a love and it was divine
Soon found out I was losing my mind
It seemed like the real thing but I was so blind
Mucho mistrust, love's gone behind

Drunk on the Wine of the Beloved

2008-10-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

"Wash the tarnished copper of your life from your hands;
To be Love's alchemist, you should be working with gold."

"Even though, to pious, drinking wine is a sin,
Don't judge me; I use it as a bleach to wash the color of hypocrisy away."

Two excerpts of two poems by Hafez from "Drunk on the Wine of the Beloved", translated by Thomas Rain Crowe. The first is from "School of Truth", and the second is from "I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again."

I was reading through my diary and found these two fragments, which I thought pair well together.

Fontainebleu Hotel Corp. v. 45 25 (spelled out), Inc.

2008-10-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

Judges are hilarious:
In this case Eden Roc hotel in Miami sued Fontainebleu hotel for building additional floors which (supposedly) blocked air and light from its beach, thereby cannibalizing business (in malice). The ensuing decision, which overruled a temporary injunction on further construction is one of the funniest I've ever read. Among the materials presented included...wait for it..."studies on the simple mathematics of the sun."
Enjoy this excerpt:

We see no reason for departing from this universal rule. If, as contended on behalf of plaintiff, public policy demands that a landowner in the Miami Beach area refrain from constructing buildings on his premises that will cast a shadow on the adjoining premises, an amendment of its comprehensive planning and zoning ordinance, applicable to [**7] the public as a whole, is the means by which such purpose should be achieved. (No opinion is expressed here as to the validity of such an ordinance, if one should be enacted pursuant to the requirements of law. Cf. City of Miami Beach v. State ex rel. Fontainebleau Hotel Corp., Fla.App.1959, 108 So.2d 614, 619; certiorari denied, Fla.1959, 111 So.2d 437.) But to change the universal rule - and the custom followed in this state since its inception - that adjoining landowners have an equal right under the law to build to the line of their respective tracts and to such a height as is desired by them (in in absence, of course, of building restrictions or regulations) amounts, in our opinion, to judicial legislation. As stated in Musumeci v. Leonardo, supra [77 R.I. 255, 75 A.2d 177], "So use your own as not to injure another's property is, indeed, a sound and salutary principle for the promotion of justice, but it may not and should not be applied so as gratuitously to confer upon an adjacent property owner incorporeal rights incidental to his ownership of land which the law does not sanction."

The Next Economist Cover

2008-10-10T21:40:00.001-07:00

Wall Street is still having fun #2 - I got an email from a friend in private equity with this attachment. Looking at the email thread, looks like a lot of bankers and other finance nerds are forwarding this around. Good fun, bad market! I myself am looking into a career as a philosophy professor, who would have thought.

Blue Balls

2008-10-10T09:33:00.001-07:00

I'm glad someone is still having a good time at Wall Street. Or maybe he or she means that the bull's balls have turned blue because the market is squeezing them so tight - I'll be corny and call that a "bear hug."

Rationality

2008-10-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

I have a new idea, and I came up with it while sauntering across a rather deserted patch of grass in the cold, also thinking about the intellectual busy-ness with which I mounted my cycle with little sleep and little food, rode at full speed for 15 minutes, then dismounted and ran for 10 minutes to make sure that I got to tutorial on time. Mostly it was because I didn't want to upset my tutor, but partly also because I wanted to learn. It was a great time.

Rationality - My opinion is that rationality is a social construction. Reason is simply one of many methods by which to analyze the world around us and to undertake decisions. Because rationality is constructed, I believe that in its use as a method of analysis, it is fundamentally subordinate to emotion, which is innate (to human beings and perhaps to all living things). The philosophical greats, from Socrates to Locke and their drinking buddies, overemphasized the use of reason. Locke even went so far as to say that human beings are born with some concept of rationality. That is simply not true. We are born with emotion, raw and unbridled. It is this emotion, this gut instinct, this intuition, by which we should analyze and come to decisions. I think that society ought to stop wondering what the most 'reasonable' action is, but should rather do what feels 'right'.

There may be some questions to what I have said:

-How do you define reason / rationality, and what are their differences?

-Why do you seem to be using reason to make a rational argument against the supremacy of rationality?

-By 'right' do you imply that human beings have fully inherent and fully developed emotional mechanisms for analyzing the world and coming to decisions?

To these questions, I respond: read that paragraph, understand the idea, and think about how you feel about that idea.

The Plight of Mediocrity

2008-09-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in political theory class listening to idealistic, conformist-liberal brats speaking, when I thought of a new approach to analyzing the way society rewards individuals. I believe society rewards unusualness. That is, people who don't conform to the norm, both in positive and negative ways, receive some sort of overcompensation (beyond their relative contribution to society). For example, the exceptionally intelligent, beautiful, strong, captivating, etc. will have better chances of success. They have attributes which generate "awe". Then, there are those who are unusually poorly-endowed mentally, physically, emotionally etc. who fall into society's safety net. For instance, those with disabilities qualify for various forms of assistance, and the poor and unemployed can claim forms of state support. They have attributes which generate (crudely) "sympathy".

What becomes of the individual who is unexceptional in either way? They face society's great burden - to support the others. Their lives becomes vehicles by which the privileges of the have-alls and the have-nothings are sustained. For instance, it is the middle class upon which the tax burden falls in the contemporary United States. Unusually wealthy individuals and corporate entities pay very little, while enjoying similar benefits. The unusually poor cannot afford to contribute much, yet benefit from the state's welfare programs, largely funded by middle class tax-payers. Yet another example set is formed by athletics and by the exhibition of human rarities. The multi-million dollar salaries of basketball players are in a large part sponsored by the average individual watching the sport (live or otherwise). The flip-side of this coin is the fact that so-called "freakshows", popular in the early-mid part of the previous century, provided a livelihood for individuals who would have otherwise remained unemployed. There are numerous other such examples that I do not want to spend time delving into.

The more important question is why does society reward unusualness? I believe that this is the result of two fundamental human reactions: the desire to be what one is not, if 'what one is not' is seen by society as positive, and the desire to change what one is not, if 'what one is not' is perceived as negative. The assumption that a young child intently observing birds wishes that he could fly, is the simplified underlying premise behind the first part of this argument. Adult humans (unfortunately disillusioned) realize that they cannot be what they are not, hence vicariously satisfy this desire through observing exceptional members of their own species. Adults try to support especially disadvantaged individuals because altruism is socially observed as just. Do all 'average people' give to the mendicant? No, but society as a whole tends to. As described in the previous paragraph, the emergent result of both actions is similar.

Then, is systematic overcompensation morally right? This is a mere observation, and I prefer not to normatively analyze the world. Certain philosophers would argue that justice and morals are not absolute in their definition, but are determined by the way society behaves. Therefore, society's collective act of unequal compensation would be deemed morally right. A Rawlsian distribution paradigm approach would argue that only equality is just.

Just some thoughts and a poorly constructed argument, but I find this interesting nonetheless.

Recession

2008-09-03T22:15:00.001-07:00

Recession
This is a recent photo that I took in New York. I used a composite technique, and some very basic editing. I wanted to capture the rawness of the U.S.'s current economic woes. We hear quite a lot about turmoil in the financial markets, yet the urban reality which tends to be overlooked is that more people are sleeping on the street than in the past, shops are closing, buildings are poorly maintained, cars aren't as common, and jobs are harder to come by. But I think there is beauty in the optimism of the woman's gait.

Tomoko Sawada

2008-08-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

She took a series of photographs of herself in booths with different costumes. I feel that the real impact lies in how each photo seems to convey an individual story, yet on a closer examination each face seems similarly (and somewhat frighteningly) plastic.

Naoya Hatekayama - from the mid 90s

2008-07-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

River - Beauty in something so disgusting? I find the series very visually stimulating, and in particular like the contrast of the murky water and pale cherry blossom tree (from 1993-1994):

Blast: Powerful and almost otherworldly - I think this series is truly a testament to man's power over nature, which isn't necessarily good (from 1995):

These series, and quite a lot of Hatekayama's work can be seen at:
L.A.Galerie Lothar Albrecht

Miwa Yanagi

2008-07-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Miwa Yanagi's work (requiring quite elaborate set ups) depicts morbid, disturbing, and sexual takes on children's fairy tales.

Gelatin silver prints:

Rapunzel

Gretel

Little Red Riding Hood

Erendira

For the full collection see: http://www.wohnmaschine.de/fairytales.0.html

Recent Japanese Photography

2008-07-19T13:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to the International Center of Photography, where I saw the 'Heavy Light' exhibit of recent photography and video from Japan. I had never had any exposure to the genre and was really taken aback by how awesome of the artists were. In particular, I liked Hiroh Kikai, Miwa Yanagi, Tomoko Sawada, and Naoya Hatakeyama. I the next few posts I will put up their photos here

Hiroh Kikai: Very cool monochrome shots of people in the asakusa area of Tokyo. His work really exhibits emotion

Tatoo artist with his son

Performer of the Butoh Dance

Blind Envy and Faith - Major Philosopher

2008-07-05T11:38:00.001-07:00

Movin’ on
Hand me a falling star
And I’ll dowse it out
With all I know so far
And I’m calling all
Major Philosopher’s
To take a poll that what
I want is not absurd

It’s a mountain hybrid
Major Philosopher look
What I did
It’s a crazy island state
Look what I did
Oh

Walking out
On my sensibilities
And I’m cutting down
My sense of security
Now you can see
This existing deformity
And I don’t care
What you think it’s what
I need

It’s a mountain hybrid
Major Philosopher look
What I did
It’s a crazy island state
Look what I did
Oh

Maybe it’s a little big
In my mind and
Maybe you just can’t
See it yeah
Maybe it’s a little big
In my heart and
Maybe you just can’t
Be there no

It’s a mountain hybrid
Major Philosopher look
What I did
It’s a crazy island state
Look what I did
Oh

Corruption and the Black Economy in India

2008-06-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

The Indian black economy is immense, lucrative, widespread, and has grown significantly since independence. According to Kumar (2001, 2), the black economy has grown from about 3% in the mid-50s to 20% by 1980, to 35% by 1990, and 40% by 1995. As a percentage of GDP and at almost $1 trillion in absolute terms, the black economy is larger than both the industrial and agricultural sectors. Corruption is pervasive from the lowest to the highest levels of public administration, public enterprise, bureaucracy, judiciary, law enforcement, and elected leadership. According to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2007 report, 25% of survey respondents had to pay a bribe to obtain government services, over four-out-of-five believe that political parties are corrupt, and more than 70% expect the level of corruption to increase in the coming three years.

The documented history of corruption in India can be traced to late 18th century British East India company rule. The first governor-general of India, Warren Hastings was notably impeached on accounts of corruption in 1787. Though he was acquitted in 1795, his lengthy trial brought various aspects of illegitimate company activity to light. Brian Smith of Georgetown University (2008) writes, "too much ill-gotten wealth had made its way home from India; too many of Hastings' compatriots and defenders were in the House of Commons". The East India Company laid the foundations of both a corrupt bureaucracy and a parallel economy. During World War II, this black economy experienced a surge (Financial Express, 2007). When large quantities of products and resources were allocated to the war effort, the general public experienced acute shortages of daily necessities. Scarcity, government controls, and private hoarding stimulated the growth of the parallel economy. Even though in both periods the black economy made up only a small fraction of its present size, the institutional and social practices that would facilitate its rise were developed then.

The most significant growth in the black economy occurred during and after the 1960s. Until this time, Gandhian and Nehruvian politicians who had been part of the independence struggle had largely administered the government. As their careers ended, officials who lacked their idealism, and were more likely to engage in corruption and rent-seeking practices, entered the government. According to Sondhi (2000), the keynote of this "great divide in the history of public administration in India" was amorality.

Today, corruption pervades the political leadership, the bureaucracy, law enforcement and the judiciary. Some of the most prominent causes have been patron-client relationships and communalism in the democracy, excessive bureaucratic administration and low wages at the bottom rung of public sector employment, ineffective punitive and combative measures, and a social environment conducive to corrupt practices.

Since the sixties, a new brand of electoral politics has seen leaders succeed who cater to specific regional, caste, religious, or linguistic communities as well as distinct private lobbies. In order to be reelected in a divisive environment, officials hand out benefits to private supporters and client communities. Nepotism in the allocation of government contracts and the siphoning-off of public sector funds occur on a large scale. For example, public sector real estate plots are taken over by individual politicians who then sell them at preferential rates to family members, campaign contributors, and other supporters in a process that is called "writing down". Democratic corruption is further compounded by rampant electoral malpractice, which undermines the legitimacy of the participatory process. Vote buying and voter coercion, political thuggery and warlordism are commonplace. Corruption exists throughout the political realm from the local district level, to the state level, to the national level, to the Prime minister's office - as Sondhi (2000) writes, "the scams and scandals of the nineties revealed that among the persons accused of corruption were former Prime Ministers, former Chief ministers, and even former Governors."

During the sixties the development of a second factor also impacted corruption. Private sector wages and relative social prestige, particularly at the lower levels, grew faster than those of the public sector, generating incentive for corruption. According to The Times of India, the monthly payscale for police constables in 2006 was between Rs. 3,050 and 4,590 (aprox. between U.S. $72 and $108) in the state of Maharashtra. Even in India such wages are too low to guarantee a dignified life, forcing constables to turn to bribes. Therefore, it is common for well-off individuals to buy their way out of arrest. Additionally, the colonial legacy of an extensive administrative network facilitates the spread of corrupt activity in the bureaucracy, judiciary, and law enforcement. According to Sondhi, "the British had designed this legal system to strengthen a regulatory colonial administration...It has built in provisions for delays, prolonged litigation, and evasion. Its provisions are ideally suited to the promotion of corruption at all levels."

Insufficient wages are generally characteristic of the lower levels of bureaucracy, and hence most simple government services require bribing to be obtained. Many bureaucrats see their salaries as pocket money, while their actual incomes are determined by illegitimate means. Even in prestigious civil services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) that require entrance examinations, salaries are significantly lower than private sector alternatives. Corruption income is often taken into account when bright individuals choose the civil services over the private sector.

Observing this problem from a broader perspective: widespread corruption has generated social attitudes that no longer view it as morally wrong, but as normal. High degrees of corruption in the police and judicial system, and among elected officials have contributed to a collective disregard for the rule of law. "People often approach someone known to them for favors which they know are not legally due to them. Jumping the traffic lights or a queue or getting the benefits not due to one has become part of social ethos" (Sondhi 2000). A vicious cycle has been created where corruption has found social acceptance, and this attitude leads to an even greater number of officials becoming corrupt. Thus, rising corruption is a consequence of its own universality.

The consequences of corrpution, and particularly its economic impact, are powerful. In theory, countries where talented people are allocated to rent-seeking activities tend to grow more slowly (Mauro 1995). Mauro finds that if the integrity and efficiency of bureaucracy in developing countries were to be improved, their investment and GDP growth rates would rise significantly. Controlling for GDP per capita, he concludes that corrupt governments spend less on education, and therefore achieve lower levels of human capital formation. According to Mauro, if corruption in India was reduced to Scandanavian levels, investment would rise by 12% annually and GDP would grow at an additional 1.5%.

The Indian black economy has resulted in an immense loss of tax revenue. If it accounted for 40% of GDP in 1998-99, the loss of direct tax revenue at the prevailing rate would amount to at least Rs. 200,000 crore, or 47.5 billion U.S. Dollars (Kumar 1999, 5). According to the BBC (2004), only 2 million of India's billion people pay taxes, just 2% of the population. The government therefore suffers a perennial shortage of funds and public services languish. To make matters worse, public services and public enterprises are themselves extremely corrupt - the Public Works Department and the State Electricity Boards that are responsible for the provision, maintenance, and distribution of infrastructure and energy respectively, are among the most corrupt departments in India. "In the capital city of Delhi itself the transmission and distribution losses in the power sector are estimated to be over 50%, out which almost 30% is attributed to theft which is done with the connivance of the electricity board employees" (Sondhi 2000). Due to corruption, public sector enterprises appear to be inefficient and making large losses. In 1991, they lost over Rs. 30,000 crore, or $7.1 billion due to corruption; if not for illegal activity, profit margins would have been 30% as opposed to the reported 5% (Kumar 1999, 4)

Black incomes also form a major tax on investment. Rather than being spent and injected into the economy, they tend to be mostly saved. Furthermore, these savings tend to be concentrated in areas that do not further investment. Black money tends to be laundered in destabilizing speculative bubbles such as real estate and gold, or deposited outside the country. Income from corruption constitutes a significant leakage from the economy, amounting to a tax on investment of almost 20 percentage points (Sondhi, 2000).

Given the magnitude of corruption and its consequences, it is imperative that the problem is dealt with immediately. The government has already developed a number of agencies to deal with the problem such as the Prevention of Corruption Act (1947), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Administrative Vigilance Division (AVD), and Central Vigilance Comission (CVC). However, a number of these agencies are corrupt themselves, while others lack the expertise to function effectively. I believe that a carrot and stick approach must be used to combat corruption. That is, the monetary incentive for corruption must be removed, while adequate punitive measures are simultaneously implemented. Corruption has lead to a vicious cycle where it keeps tax revenue low, thus keeps public sector wages low, and therefore perpetuates itself. The government must bear the initial cost and incur a deficit to raise public sector wages and make them more comparable to the private sector, while strengthening anti-corruption bodies. Theoretically, a higher salary should make an employee content and the increased probability of prosecution should deter their corrupt practices.

Electoral reform is also necessary to restore faith in a free democratic process. Instituting stricter poll monitoring policies and replacing the inkblot voting technique with newer technology would better safeguard against malpractice. Allocating a fixed election budget for each party a-la the European Union would set somewhat of a barrier against rent seeking and patron-client politics.

The media and civil society are important entities that should also be urged to expose corrupt practices. In the past, the media has exposed numerous profile cases, such as the Tehelka scandal, however less sensational corruption is left unreported. According to Kumar (1995), media entrepreneurs have interests that require favorable policy decisions and journalists have to be careful not to hurt these interests. Independent organizations however, have been more vigilant in their watch over corruption. Guhan and Paul (1997) state that the Public Affairs Center in Bangalore has developed innovative instruments, such as the report card methodology, to track down and expose corruption in the public services.

The primary obstacle to implementing stricter controls over corruption is the general social climate. If society continues to accept the normality of corruption, politicians will not be pressed to implement counter-measures. The costs of corruption can be fundamentally raised through the democratic process. Voting against corrupt politicians will ensure that those in power will reduce their own illegal practices and take steps against corruption to garner votes. But until social attitudes change, necessary legislation will not be implemented to deal with the problem.

Works Cited
Aidt, T. S. "Economic Analysis of Corruption." The Economic Journal 113 (2003): f632-f652.
Biswas, Soutik. "Reforming India's Maddening Tax System." BBC News 5 July 2004. .
Guhan, S., and S. Paul. Corruption in India. New Delhi: Sage, 1997.
Guhan, S., and S. Paul. Corruption in India. New Delhi: Sage, 1997.
Khan, Mushtaq H., and Jomo K.S. Rents, Rent-Seeking and Economic Development. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000.
Kumar, Arun. The Black Economy in India. New Delhi: Penguin Books Ltd., 1999.
Mauro, Paolo. "Corruption and Growth." The Quarterly Journal of Economics 110 (1999): 681-712.
"Pay Hike for Maharashtra Police." The Times of India 17 Oct. 2006. .
Smith, Brian. "Edmund Burke, the Warren Hastings Trial, and the Moral Dimension of Corruption." Polity 40 (2008): 70-94.
Sondhi, Sunil. Combatting Corruption in India. University of Delhi. Prepared for the XVIII World Congress of International PoliticalScience Association, August 1-5, 2000, Quebec City, Canada, 2000.
"The Parallel Economy in India." Financial Express 2 May 2007. .

Frank Sinatra is my favorite.

2008-06-23T05:19:00.000-07:00

Recent shots

2008-06-19T05:03:00.000-07:00

Shoot for a German photographer, one is a bit messed up here though.

A Balancing Act - Solve Sundsbo

2008-06-10T10:17:00.001-07:00

This is so cool!

2008-06-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Feeling good - Nana Simone

Set off to some sweet animation - just typographic and black and white but well done with really funky design elements

Song info

Tonight

2008-06-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

Under whose spell shall he fall
Before he agonizes over her inevitable farewell tonight?

Unlock these rusty chains--
A languishing prisoner longs to lie in slender arms tonight.

The orange light dwindles,
Love's passionate flame mind's fantasy ignites,

Tear down the thick moldy wall--
Freedom brightly dawns inside a vessel tonight.

Tom Ford in London - "I'm insane about lighting" and Damien Hirst

2008-06-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

This video is pretty cool because you get a tour of a part of Tom Ford's London house. I think at times that he is pretty tacky, and you can see that in the video. However, I like how articulate he is, and I do share some of his taste in art. I really like the painting he had commissioned for his entrance and am also a big fan of Damien Hirst and the White Cube. Unfortunately, the only pieces of art I currently have in my room are Velvet Underground and Jimi Hendrix posters.

Self Portrait as Surgeon, Oil on Canvas, 2006

(Coincidentally, was at the White Cube)

This is my favorite Hirst piece. I have never seen an oil on canvas work quite so photographic. The portrayal of the intricacies in the tubing and hospital equipment is absolutely phenomenal. I love how Hirst plays with morbid realism. In my opinion this painting is exactly as morbid as it is real. Would you want to be operated on by that guy? Probably not, because he looks like he'd eventually want to preserve you in formaldehyde.

10 crazy things I want

2008-05-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

5 days away from my birthday, I thought I would make my list of 10 tastefully over-the-top things that I want my parents and friends to buy for me. I will add two things to the list each day.

Watch: Patek Philippe grand complications 5970 R

I have a very similar watch, but this is probably the most beautiful thing that has ever kept time. Does anyone really care about its chronograph with 30min counter, perpetual calendar with day and month in aperture and date and leap year by hands, moon phases and am/pm indicator, and seconds subdial? No, I didn't think so.

Buy it now on ebay for $169,500

Car: 1964 Aston Martin DB5

Famously used in Goldfinger, Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale (remember that car that Daniel Craig wins in poker and drives away with the guy's wife in? yeah.)

Originally sold under 5,000 pounds - I wonder why I was not born in the 40s, so I could actually drive one of these in my 20s.

Est. $1,500,000 - $2,500,000

Right, so I started this a while ago and couldn't come up with 8 more ridiculously over the top objects that I wanted. How about concepts that you can't put a price on, which are infinitely more difficult to attain:

Love - I really wish I could buy this, then I'd totally go through with the whole business tycoon thing

Barack Obama for president - To be honest, I've become quite disillusioned with the political process, and also fairly apathetic and therefore don't know a great deal about his policies. However, I like that he represents a change of precedent (no pun intended).

Spiritual union with something higher - I'm fairly agnostic so I don't know if anything higher exists. But, when I used to meditate (a lot seriously), I felt like I was in touch with a collective consciousness. I felt that each time I was reaching deeper into this understanding, but something always pulled me back. I no longer meditate or pray these days. I think I needed a break, and I'll resume my spiritual journey at some point in the (probably near) future.

People that understand me - No one seems to understand me, and it really upsets me. I always get the feeling that my friends are only scratching the surface, and that makes me feel like all my friendships are temporary.

Getting over all my insecurities - Impossible? I hope not.

A closer relationship with my parents - I always feel strangely uncomfortable around them. I hope that changes.

Something superficial - Double Breasted Suit: Tom Ford

Come on, this is so me. I really want a classic double breasted suit that is modern enough to deal with my skinniness.

Upwards of $10,000

10) Happiness: I think the premise behind all the desires listed above is the search for happiness. The objects, no matter how cool, probably won't keep me happy for very long. The other things will definitely keep me happy for a longer period of time. But, I'd like to be happy, and happy forever. I think I've covered my discontent with a veil of superficial happiness.

Love and Spirituality in Ecstatic Sufism

2008-05-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

During the 12th and 13th centuries, Islam witnessed continued intellectualization. Ahmad Ghazali (d. 1126) established some of the central doctrines of the ecstatic school of Sufism. His treatise on love exalts complete devotion to the beloved linked with the ideas of the qalandar – the wandering libertine mystic, and ’ayyar – the rogue or brigand[1]. In a three-way relationship, he views love, the lover, and the beloved to all be the same divine essence. The true lover loses himself in the love of his beloved, and begins to think of himself as his beloved, while his base self and human attributes pass away in fana’, or annihilation. Ghazali’s conceptualization of the relationship between love and spirituality from a liberal perspective influenced a great deal of subsequent Persian literature. A potential example is Rumi’s Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi, the title of which itself means "the work of Shams of Tabriz”, Rumi’s beloved. As legend goes, Rumi no longer thought of his own self as being distinct from that of Shams, and therefore viewed his own work as also that of his lover. Poems from The Divan by Hafiz of Shiraz, written in the 14th century, further articulate some of Ghazali's ideas:

“But thou that knowest God by heart, away!

Wine-drunk, love-drunk, we inherit Paradise,

His mercy is for sinners; hence and pray”[2]

“All my pleasure is to sip

Wine from my beloved’s lip;

I have gained the utmost bliss –

God alone be praised for this”[3]

In both poems Hafiz emphasizes the connection between love, sin, and spirituality. In each instance, Hafiz attains a higher state of being through love and wine drinking, acts that are treated as the same in the second poem. Hafiz's references to sin have been seen as reactions to the orthodoxy of the religious establishment in his time (by E. Herzig). The interrelatedness of sin and love, though libertine in essence, could have also served to make the statement that one can achieve a spiritual connection without having to dogmatically follow institutionalized faith.

I had lunch with a very special person today. She seeks to help others understand themselves better, and in doing so performs a great service to society.

I said to her,"if I had just one moment of selfless love, I would be able to transcend my petty current state and achieve lasting happiness. Just for a minute, I want to completely lose myself in someone else".

She replied, "the connection you're looking for with someone exists all the time, between every individual. We're unable to access it mostly because of our own spiritual inadequacies. You should seek to love everyone and if you're love is genuine and you realize that connection, you will be happy. This could take a lot of time, but I see that you're looking inside, and trying to identify your internal difficulties, and that is the first step."

Introspection>Love>Happiness

(Wine drinking?)

[1] Julian Baldick, Mystical Islam (London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 1989) 66.

[2] Gertrude Bell, The Hafez Poems of Gertrude Bell. (Ibex, Inc, 1995) 18.

[3] A.J. Arberry, Fifty Poems of Hafiz. (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1947) 50.

Alaiia

2008-05-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

Louboutin - personal favorite

I was re-reading the Azzedine Alaiia article in the last issue of Paradis magazine, which is my favorite periodical ever. The man is remarkable, and the shoot of some of his very interesting couture(ey) designs really caught my eye. I scanned my three favorite shots. I wonder who the model is, because I have a conception of an ideal woman in my mind who looks very similar. This ideal woman also speaks five languages, and can tell how many years aged a given piece of parmigianno-reggiano is without reading the label.

Two poems by Omar Khayyam

2008-05-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

Two poems that I really enjoyed:

Du ruzeh kuzeh-gari raftam dush

Didam do hazar kuzeh, guya va khamush

Nagam Yaki kugeh baravard khamush

"Ku kuzegar va kuzekar va kuzefarush?"

Two days ago I went to the potter's workshop

There I saw two thousand clay jugs, speaking and silent

One jug that had been silent began speaking-

"Where is the potter and the jug-buyer and the jug-seller?"

Essentially, this poem is alluding to an existential quandary that many of us experience. The clay jugs ("kuzeh") are an oft-employed motif for people - clay comes from the Earth, to which we will eventually return. The speaking jug's question may be interpreted as: Where have I come from? (the potter) Where will I go? (the jug-buyer) How will I reach my ultimate end? (the jug-seller)

Iin yek do seh ruzeh nobat-i omr guzasht

Chun aab bajuyabar va chun baad bedasht

Har giz qam do ruz mara yaad nigasht

Ruzi ke niamedast va ruzi ke guzasht

In these one, two, three days an entire lifetime has passed

Like running water in a stream, like wind through the air

Never will I remember two days:

The day that is yet to come and the day that has already passed

Here, I think Khayyam is simply telling the reader to live in the present, not dwelling on the past, which has already happened, or the future, which is yet to happen. The imagery of the second line as well as the general melody of the words are beautiful.

Adios

2008-05-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

I've been going through a bit of a weird phase lately. I felt great for several weeks, fantastic top of the world really. But, I feel a bit depressed now, primarily because I'm never satisfied with what I have, what I am, and with the present. No matter how much I achieve, I can never live up to the expectations that I have of myself. I am brutally self-critical. To compound matters, I've been reading lots of Persian poems by Khayyam and Hafiz, who were probably intellectually frustrated in a similar way. Being talented at (too) many things appears to lead to a periodic sense of extreme cockiness and vain narcissism, followed by or combined with self-dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction with the world.

The final two lines of one of Khyyam's famous rubai's have the following jist:

All his life Bahram the brave ("gur" in Persian) chased the gazelle (also "gur")

But, in the end, the grave (also "gur") finally caught Bahram-Gur

(side note: amazing wordplay.)

Like the hero Bahram, I feel like I'm chasing something that I am unable attain, and finally death will catch up to me without my having attained anything. I think I am chasing lasting inner bliss.

Compounding matters further, I've been listening to Hotel Costes' latest album (no. 10). The song "Adios" by Zimpala, is beautifully depressing jazz/electro/trip-hop. Here are the lyrics as I heard them, followed by an English translation:

rompio mi corazon He broke my heart

cuando dijo adios when he said goodbye

sin razon without a reason

una triste manana a sad tomorrow

queria quedarme I wanted to stay

muere mi corazon que diria My dying heart that would say

oh, queria quedarme oh, I wanted to stay

le quiero, le odio I love him, I hate him

me ha dejado He left me

adios mi amor... Goodbye my love

Basically, I want to take a vacation from being myself for a little while and become someone else, so that I can truly appreciate being myself.

Photography

2008-04-24T06:10:00.001-07:00

Before coming to back to England, I unfortunately ventured out to North-Eastern Pennsylvania. I'm sure some of you will ask, "What were you thinking?" When I studied there, I always thought the grass was greener on the other side; now I actually know that it is. Well, that's besides the point. Back in India, my grandfather gave me his old Soviet-made Zorki 4 camera. With it I photographed the saving grace of PA: beautiful cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, the reel got overexposed after a bit of an accident and I salvaged as much of it as I could. The two pictures I got (I believe) have some very cool effects. Enjoy...

Also, try this drink, it's amazing:

1 measure vodka
3 measures tonic water
4 to 6 1 cm chopped green chili rounds
Squeeze of lime
(you can also add a slice of cucumber if you like)

I call it liberation.

"I hate to complement you because you don't deflect compliments like normal people do; but, I was at Nobu last night, and I could totally see this being served there. Also, I tried their chocolate fondant and yours is better."
-My friend
Thanks i guess...

If you want something non-alcoholic, put slices of cucumber in your water. It's so yuppie, but so good.

Aao Huzoor

2008-04-15T06:33:00.001-07:00

The first song is the original song by Asha Bhonsale and O.P. Nayyar. The second is a remix by spiritual lounge artist Karunesh titled "Punjab". I really like the soothing nature of the remix, and it always puts me in a calm, sensual mood.

Wikipedia, and the Global Spirit album insert: "Karunesh was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. His brush with death prompted him to rethink his life and embark on a spiritual journey of sorts, and in 1979 he traveled to India. His accident also prompted him to choose music as a career instead of graphic design."

Lyrics (So beautiful):

Aao huzoor tumko, sitaron me le chaluun ...
Dil jhoom jaye aisi, bahaaron me le chaluun
Aao huzoor aao ...

Translation:

Come sir, let me take you into the stars
My heart spins, let me take you into the gardens of spring
Come sir, come

(Yeah, it probably sounds better if you know the language)

Thoughts from India

2008-03-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that I am in India these days. Much is said about India becoming a superpower in the not-so-distant future. However, the situation on the ground, in my opinion, doesn't lend itself to such a degree of optimism. The majority of the people here do not have access to clean running water, basic healthcare, electricity, and proper education among other necessities. Even in my grandparents' relatively decent neighborhood, power has been cut three times TODAY!! Imagine what life must be like for the common person. The country needs to cover the basics before it can be expected to move into higher levels of development.

Rant over.

One of the most interesting books I've read in the last two weeks has been The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Never have I found the moral degradation of an individual quite so fascinating. I think each of us has a bit of Basil Hallward, Dorian Gray, and Lord Henry in our personalities (well at least I do).

I found this exchange between Lord Henry, a corrupting influence who himeself will never be harmed, and a Lady particularly striking:

L: 'It has development.'
LH: 'Decay fasninates me more.'
'What of art?' she asked.
'It is a malady.'
'Love?'
'An illusion.'
'Religion?'
'The fashionable substitute for belief.'
'You are a sceptic.'
'Never! Scepticism is the beginning of faith.'
'What are you?'
'To define is to limit.'
'Give us a clue.'
'Threads snap. You would lose your way in the labyrinth.'

You may hate him, but I can't help but want to be him.

Speaking of pictures, I recently made a drawing I call Prisoner of the Self; it's most accurately described as surrealist and cubist. It's essentially a man in a tuxedo, sitting on a chair, trapped in crystal boxes. I'm planning on turning it into a full painting when I have some proper time on my hands. It would take me hours to explain where the inspiration comes from.

My spiritual guru here says that it would be best to do something creative with my life. You may laugh in my face, but when he looks into my eyes I feel that he can see what is called "The Self" in the Bhagvad Gita, and knows my future to some extent. Maybe art, fashion, writing, something abstract is my true calling. Speaking of the future, a soothsayer met with my mother here (apparently his predictions have a good track record) and said that I would be with a woman with beautiful hair and eyes. What does that mean? Haha

Photos to come soon. I'm having loads of fun playing cricket on the street.

The Lamentation and Death of Farhad

2008-03-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

Leaf from a dispersed manuscript of the Khamsa at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Nizami, arguably the greatest romantic Persian poet, wrote Khusraw and Shirin in the 12th century. It is a masnavi, or long epic, of 7,000 couplets written in the hazaj hexameter. Khusraw and Shirin is part of Nizami's Khamsa, or quintet, which also includes the more famous Layla and Majnun.

Unlike other poets of the time, Nizami was well-off enough not to have to follow a panegyric style of composition. Rather he explored a diverse range of philosophical themes. Khusraw and Shirin in particular contains several sufi mystic ideas, such as the manifestation of love for God in love for a person. F.I. Abdullaeva (incidentally my tutor) believes that Shirin, the queen whom the poor sculptor Farhad falls in love with, is simply a vessel for his love of God. She argues that it is not Shirin that he is actually in love with, rather he is in love with God, and his love is simply manifested in this particular form. Similar to sufi songs, which may superficially be interpreted as romantic ballads, Khusraw and Shirin represents a devotion to God that pervades an individual's (or mystic's) entire existence. When Farhad is cruelly told that Shirin has died, his purpose in life also ends. One may interpret Nizami's idea as, "without God, what is man?".

(A small fragment of Khusraw and Shirin)
The Lamentation and Death of Farhad:

"O'er my sad heart the fowls and fishes weep;
For my life's steam doth into darkness creep.
Why am I parted from my mistress dear?
Now Shirin's gone, why should I tarry here?
Without her face should I desire to thrive
It would serve me right if I were boned alive!
Felled to the dust, my cypress quick lies dead:
Shall I remain to cast dust on my head?
My smiling rose is fallen from the tree:
The garden is a prison now to me.
My bird of spring is from the meadow flown,
I, like the thundercloud, will weep and groan.
My world-enkindling lamp is quenched for aye:
Shall not any day be turned to night today?
My lamp is out, and chilly strikes the gale:
My moon is darkened and my sun is pale.
Beyond Death's portals Shirin shall I greet,
So with one leap I hasten Death to meet!'
Thus to the world his mournful tale he cried,
For Shirin kissed the ground, and kissing died"

E.G., Browne, A Literary History of Persia Vol. 2: From Firdawsi to Sa'di, (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1906) 406
(One of my favorite books)

I had a dream, I think it means something

2008-02-27T09:58:00.001-08:00

One morning I took a pill. Like the matrix, this pill was supposed to reveal reality and destroy the world's illusions.
Nothing happened.

That night, I was slightly drunk and I was walking back home with my roommates. We were part of a larger group. We were chatting. I like walking back with friends that I live with. I'm always slightly insecure about walking home alone inebriated. This is probably because when I was 6, I was the weakest kid on the block. I used to get picked on by the bullies. But that's where I learned diplomacy. I started sharing all my toys, giving away the chocolate that my dad got me from abroad, and I turned my enemies into my friends. But, that insecurity never left. Even though I'm 6'2 and athletic, I always watch my back. I haven't been in a fight since the fifth grade when I broke a kid's arm. I cried about it, I shouldn't have hurt someone so badly. I still feel remorseful about that, but that's another story...

So we were walking, and I'm talking to two friends that I live with. We fall behind the rest of the pack. We're chatting about life, and I get kind of insecure and want to join up with the larger group. I run ahead to see where they're going for a second. I turn around to find my friends, they're gone. I think it's really weird, why would they leave? I was kind of scared.

A beautiful girl walks up alongside me from nowhere. We were surrounded by trees. The sky was starry. The night was dark and beautiful. Our eyes meet and she gives me an inviting smile. I want to talk to her. But part of me pulls me back. Why? I'm scared; not that we wouldn't get on, but that I would like her. Why was I scared? I smile back politely, and run off to join the rest of the group, I regret my decision, and I look back to find her. She's disappeared. Damn.

I ask my friends who I don't live with about what happened to the friends that I live with. They're say "whatever, they probably stopped for a minute somewhere". The part of that watches my back kicks in again. I space out for a minute looking at the moon. I shake myself out of the weird trance. I turn around and a couple of kids from our group have disappeared. Guys where did you go? The rest of us are still among trees and grass. We keep walking, I don't want to sound scared, so I don't ask anyone where my friends went. I'm silent. It's silent.

I space out again. I space out a lot. The trees are beautiful. Why hasn't the pill affected me. This sucks. I will never know what enlightenment is. I'm so pretentious. Fuck! I shake myself out again. There's no one around me. When I'm alone and it's night and I live in a shitty neighborhood, I go into hyper-alert mode. This is my defense mechanism. When this happens, I become totally badass, completely unlike myself normally. No one can touch me.

Something pulls me from behind. I feel like it's taking my shirt off. I shiver. I'm suddenly flying. I'm in the trees, not above them. I grab on to a branch. The thing stops. It lets go of me. I'm no longer flying. What a relief. The branch starts cracking. Shit. I fall.

Buaaaahhhh. I spit the pill out and the water I took it with. A voice says, "YOU COULDN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH, THIS IS YOUR FATE." I'm in a comfortable chair. I feel depressed. I don't like rejection. I've learned to deal with it, but I hate rejection. I space out for a brief second. I snap back into it. I turn to my left. The beautiful girl from the night before is sitting in another comfortable chair beside me. Our eyes meet. I smile invitingly. I bring my hand close to hers. We kiss slowly; tentatively; sweetly.

Then I realize: this is reality, the illusion is gone. We are so caught up in our own fears and insecurities that sometimes we don't let ourselves go spontaneously. We're so caught up with controlling our lives and giving them structure that we forget that we need to let ourselves drift. Don't be afraid. Let whatever happen happen. I guess in the dream I was exposed to some of my fears, and might have been able to get over them as a result. If we shy away from our fears, we will never be able to overcome them. Let fate carry us through life. Collectively, as human beings, we are far too risk averse. We're naive if we think we have full control over our lives. There are too many things that you just can't control, so let yourself go. That just might be what the reality the pill was supposed to do in the first place.

Weird dream...

Michael Kors stole my look and put it on the runway

2008-02-10T15:01:00.000-08:00

The man knows where to find inspiration. Obviously, he must have been at the same holiday party as I was.
Positives: I definitely like the tailoring for the show. The suits and formal wear are definitely the highlight. Traditionalist-rake is what best describes the theme.
Negatives: Kors should stay away from shades of brown, including camel etc., because it doesn't seem like he can use these colors without coming off tacky.
The modern dandy dressed-up cool bohemian look is definitely in.

The Face of Love by Sanne Sannes

2008-01-29T09:07:00.000-08:00

I've been looking at The Face of Love by Dutch photographer/late 60s cult-figure Sanne Sannes.

Sannes described his approach like this: "There are many men who'll never see a woman in ecstasy. They change from one thing to something else completely different. Human emotions are my subject matter. I photograph people. They're what interest me, obsess me. I want to know what pushes them to do what they do. I don't look for them in the street; I don't do random photography. I direct them and record the moment they open up and become naked. I chose the most emotionally charged moments, the point of no return. I'm fanatically zealous!"

Photographer Anna Beeke posed for Sannes and describes him as a "voyeur and provocateur, adding that he was like a boy who'd got old too soon and was never free of the obsessions that preoccupied him"

Indeed, for many older men, there's a fine line between being sensual and becoming a pervert. Photographers, I believe, most often make this transgression. (And, may I add, it's not just with women.)

If those quotes don't make you want to read the book, you might want to get your hormone levels checked. Sannes' innovative techniques make for some really amazing images.

Read more about it in Paradis Magazine Issue #3 (page 277)

Desire - Deepak Chopra and Demi Moore

2008-01-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

I was listening to Buddha Bar II, and stumbled upon Desire. It's a melodious recitation by Deepak Chopra and Demi Moore to tabla, drums and ambient synth. The lyrics are rather profound and spiritual, and brought me to ask myself: "is this what being in love is?" If so, I don't think I've ever been in love.
Listen, read and judge for yourself.

The essence: love is selfless, spiritual, uncontrollable, and destined

A lover knows only humility, he has no choice.
He steals into your alley at night, he has no choice.
He longs to kiss every lock of your hair, don't fret, he has no choice.
In his frenzied love for you, he longs to break the chains of his imprisonment, he has choice.

A lover asked his beloved,
Do you love yourself more than you love me?
Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live for you.
I've disappeared from myself and my attributes,
I am present only for you.
I've forgotten all my learnings,
but from knowing you I've become a scholar.
I've lost all my strength, but from your power I am able.
I love myself...I love you.
I love you...I love myself.

I am your lover, come to my side, I will open the gate to your love.
Come settle with me, let us be neighbors to the stars.
You have been hiding so long, endlessly drifting in the sea of my love.
Even so, you have always been connected to me.
Concealed, revealed, in the unknown, in the un-manifest.
I am life itself. You have been a prisoner of a little pond,
I am the ocean and its turbulent flood. Come merge with me,
leave this world of ignorance. Be with me, I will open the gate to your love.

Trade Liberalization and Economic Growth: China's Example

2008-01-27T12:53:00.000-08:00

I thought I would finally write an essay again. This one includes a bibliography because readers pointed out that I should include sources to back up what I say.

In light of the rapid development of economies in Asia, the relationship between trade liberalization and growth has received a great deal of attention. Studies have analyzed the effect of international trade on economic development; however, none have established a causal relationship between liberalization policies, trade and growth that is free of criticism. This essay seeks to discuss the benefits for economic growth from liberalization and international trade in the context of Chinese reform. First, it will first address the theoretical benefits of unrestricted trade, as presented by the neo-classical comparative advantage model. Second, it will discuss China’s liberalization policies and the effect of international trade on its economic growth. Finally, it will present what can be learned from the collective case of developing countries pursuing liberalization strategies during the 1980s and 1990s.

Theory:

That openness to international trade can lead to increased economic growth is a popular belief in contemporary economic thought. The theoretical conceptualization of the benefits of unrestricted trade may be traced to David Ricardo’s 19th-century principle of comparative advantage. The principle states that each country should specialize in the production of those goods and services with the lowest opportunity costs. Countries should trade surpluses of these products in the international market for others that would be relatively more expensive to produce domestically. In doing so, trading economies benefit from being able to consume beyond what they could in the absence of imports. In the neo-classical conception, this leads to a system whereby societal welfare and global GNP are maximized through international trade.

This principle has some important theoretical implications for economic growth. First, increased trade volume can itself yield a positive impact on national income. Second, given relative opportunity costs, developing countries will concentrate on the production of labor-intensive goods, while importing capital-intensive products. The importing of advanced products leads to the diffusion of new technologies into the domestic market. This factor, harnessed through reverse engineering and the import of foreign equipment, can exert a significant positive effect on economic growth.

Independent of the comparative advantage principle, foreign trade, in theory, can yield other important benefits for economic growth. Lardy (1995) states that outwardly oriented economies are more likely to achieve higher rates of savings and investment, and greater efficiency in the use of investment resources in comparison to their inward-looking counterparts. That is, import substitution policies will result in an allocation of resources that is inherently inefficient. Second, international competition may stimulate technical development and efficiencies. In the case of the East Asian ‘tiger’ economies, the World Bank argues that the promotion of exports led to rapid productivity growth, driving high levels of national income growth.

China's as an example:

Since the commencement of economic reforms towards the end of the 1970s, China has enjoyed accelerated levels of trade and economic growth. Over these years, China has experienced an average annual GNP growth rate of over 9 per cent. In terms of purchasing power parity, the nation’s economy has become the second largest in the world. In particular, China’s open-door policy has facilitated a dramatic 128% average annual increase in total trade between 1978 and 1993 (Lardy 1995).

This rise in China’s foreign trade, and the benefits it has had for economic growth, are the results of successful reform policy implementation. The overall thrust of the strategy was a drive away from import substitution and toward export promotion. Prior to reform, two characteristics marked China’s international trade policy: trade restriction and exchange rate control. Reforms decentralizing foreign trade, rationalizing the foreign exchange system, and creating special economic zones were undertaken to address these issues.

In the decade between 1979 and 1990, the number of firms permitted to engage in foreign trade was raised from only a dozen to over 8,000 (Lu 1995). After the passing of the foreign investment law in 1979 and the establishment of special economic zones the following year, the number of foreign-invested firms engaging in export activities expanded dramatically. By 1990, over 174,000 foreign-invested enterprises enjoyed international trade rights.

Foreign exchange reforms, allowing exporting enterprises to retain an amount of their foreign currency earnings, were first debuted in 1979 under the retention scheme. In 1986, a swap, or secondary market for foreign exchange was introduced. By 1993, 80% of foreign exchange earnings were priced at the swap rate. Finally, in 1994, the official and swap exchange rate markets were unified and a managed float system was created. These reforms, among others, facilitated the free availability of foreign exchange for use in trading activities.

The effects of China’s reform policies had a great impact on the growth of the nation’s economy. Immediately after currency market integration in 1994, exports grew over 30% and in the first eight months of 1995, by 37% (Lu 1995). China realized a distinct comparative advantage in the production of labor-intensive manufactured goods. Imports primarily came from capital-intensive or relatively advanced service sectors. Kou and Lou (1999) state that advanced technology imports and management skill acquisition from developed countries have greatly improved productivity in agricultural and industrial sectors and China’s competitiveness in international markets. China’s export growth pattern is also very similar to those of the high-performing economies of East Asia identified by the World Bank. Though it is very methodologically difficult to isolate these effects, China is likely to be experiencing similar total factor productivity improvement.

Discussion and Extrapolation:

The theoretical benefits of international trade, coupled with China’s liberalization success together pose the question: does trade liberalization policy generally have a positive effect on economic growth?

Empirically, evidence points to a positive relationship between the pursuit of open-door policies, trade growth and economic growth. After 1980, developing countries that have pursued tariff cuts and other trade liberalizing measures have enjoyed trade growth and economic growth greater in magnitude than developed and non-liberalizing counterparts. Dollar and Kraay’s seminal 2004 study presents evidence that, over the 20 years leading up to 2004, trade among such economies doubled from 16% to 33% of GDP. Aggregate annual economic growth rates for the group grew from 3.5% in the 1980s to 5.0% in the 1990s. The growth rates of rich countries slowed over this period, while the annual growth rates of non-globalizing poor economies were lower in the 1990s than they were in the 1970s.

While the conclusion that trade liberalization can lead to increased trade and economic growth appears to be clear, it must be looked upon with caution. China and all the liberalizing economies of the 1980s and 1990s also pursued fiscal adjustment, stabilization policies, capital market reform, and the strengthening of property rights. Isolating the effect of trade liberalization and exchange rate reform, as was performed by China, is very methodologically difficult. Though studies such as Sachs and Warner (1995) state that trade policy openness exerts a positive effect on growth, Rodriguez and Rodrik (2000) criticize their econometric methodology. Therefore, we may conclude that trade liberalization can have positive effects on economic growth; however, it must occur in tandem with other reforms as well.

Works Cited

Dollar, D, and A Kraay. "Trade, Growth, and Poverty." The Economic Journal 114 (2004).
Frankel, J, and D Romer. "Does Trade Cause Growth?" The American Economic Review 89 (1999): 379-399.
Koo, W W., and J Lou. "Role of International Trade in Chinese Economic Development." Review of Development Economics 3 (1999): 98-106.
Koo, W W., and J Lou. "Role of International Trade in Chinese Economic Development." Review of Development Economics 3 (1999): 98-106.
Lardy, N. "The Role of Foreign Trade and Investment in China's Economic Transformation." The China Quarterly 144 (1995): 1065-1082.
Lu, W. Reform of China's Foreign Trade Policy. Department of the (Australian) Parliamentary Library. Parliamentary Research Service, 1995.
Rodriguez, F. and Rodrik, D. (2000). ‘Trade policy and economic growth: a skeptic’s guide to the cross-national evidence’, in (B. Bernanke and K. Rogoff, eds.), Macroeconomics Annual 2000, Cambridge
MA: MIT Press for NBER.
Sachs, J.D. and Warner, A. (1995). ‘Economic reform and the process of global integration’, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, no. 1, pp. 1–118.
Winters, L A. "Trade Liberalization and Economic Performance: an Overview." The Economic Journal 114 (2004): f4-f21.

Heath Ledger dies by overdose

2008-01-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

His epitaph should be the following poem from Omar Khayyam:

At dawn came a call from the tavern
"Oh drunken mad man of the cavern
Arise; let us fill with wine one more turn
Before destiny fills our cup, our urn"

I would say there are far worse ways to go.

Rudaki

2008-01-22T06:49:00.000-08:00

Beautiful. great glasses, scarf, sweater. She is a great example casual elegance - very chic. The appreciation of beauty is one of the most popular themes in Persian poetry. Though this one is not about that, it is one of the most stylistically interesting poems I have ever encountered. The question and answer technique creates the impression of two friends talking about one of their encounters with a lover the night before. That this photo was taken in Paris, put in me in a romantic mood as well.

Amad bar-i man. Ki? Yar. Kay? Vaqt-i sahar
Tarsanda. Zi ki? Zi khasm. Khasm-ash ki? Padar.
Dadam-ash. Chi? Busa. Bar kuja? Bar lab-i tar.
Lab bud? Na! Chi bud? 'Aqiq. Chun bud? Chu shakar.

She came. Who? My beloved. When? At dawn.
She was frightened. By whom? By her enemy. Who was her enemy? Her father.
I gave her...What? A kiss. Where? Her sweet lips.
Were they lips? No! What were they? Carnelian. Like what? Like sugar.

By Rudaki, regarded as the first great Persian poet. There are two reasons why I have started reading Persian poetry: first, getting the chance to work with my fabulous tutor Firuza, and second, poems like these.

Sartorialist in my neighborhood

2008-01-16T02:45:00.000-08:00

The sartorialist likes to photograph around my neighborhood a lot these days. Unfortunately, since I've let myself go and dress like a bum/lumberjack, I've not been asked. :( The only thing wrong with this picture is that she's wearing a coat like that when it was like 60 degrees out. Nonetheless, I think she's gorgeous, and her style is really creative - notice the play with proportion. Though the flannel pseudo-poncho is the highlight, little things like the gold accents on her gloves or the vintage boots are also cool. I also feel that she has an air of intellectual nonconformism about her, which I really like.

Thoughts about the world

2008-01-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

Before I resume writing about China's economy, or get started on Hafez's Divan for my Persian poetry class, I decided to ramble a little about some of the philosophical ideas that I have been thinking about lately.

As I was sitting beside my window, reading and watching the boats pass by with infinite sluggishness, I began thinking about the world in new ways. Looking out of my window, with a birds-eye view of manhattan, I felt that everything was planned; orchestrated in a perfectly ordered fashion. The people, the cars, the airplanes, and reality itself, appeared as though it were being pulled by some invisible thread. I like to call this thread "destiny". Where destiny is dragging all of us, I am not sure; but that this thread exists, I am certain. In Shantaram, it is said that the universe is tending towards some ultimate complexity, called "God". I don't know if this is true, but, here is what I think about God and the universe:

I see the universe as an elaborately constructed illusion. In Hindu philosophy, what is observable is termed "maya", or magic. I believe that there are only two possible origins of the observable universe: it is either a construction of our own mind, or the work of some external power. Which of these is correct, I cannot determine. Still, I think that what we don't observe is what truly exists. At this point, with my limited knowledge and experience, I feel that my concept of what really exists only includes destiny. I think that the origin of the observable universe, and the reality that cannot be observed, are intertwined and inseparable. In some religious philosophies, these two ideas are collectively termed, "God".

I believe that the enlightened one is the person who understands what truly exists and its origins. Therefore, some may say that he or she is the one who understands God. If we look to the example of the enlightened Buddha, we find that he never revealed his enlightenment in his teachings. Instead, what he put forth were guidelines that, if followed, would keep people happy. I believe that he is the originator of the concept of "ignorance is bliss". I think that there are only two potential motivations for his doing this: either profound truth, even if revealed, could never be comprehended by the average person, or that enlightenment would lead to complete disillusionment with the world, making the person worse off than they initially were. It would take a person with immense mental fortitude to both comprehend the truth and survive the disillusionment.

My outlook towards life is also based on these ideas. The past has already happened; though it often has a bearing on the present, it is unchangeable, and so is it is useless to dwell on it. The future is predetermined, therefore, I don't worry about it. Enjoying the present is essentially all I care about. I have been reading the Bhagavad Gita and have become acquainted with the concept of "dharma" - or duty. I find it my duty to do whatever I have to in the present to unravel the mystery that is my future.

Just some thoughts.

La Moustache

2008-01-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

I recently watched Shoja Azari's K, a film comprised of three stories based on Franz Kafka's work. It was very weird, over-the-top, abstract, and film noir-esque (only in style). I wasn't a huge fan. I followed it up by watching another Kafka-inspired ridiculous feature, La Moustache.

It is about a man who shaves his moustache after many years. However, when no one notices, he starts losing his grip on reality. His wife then tells him that he never actually had a moustache in the first place. At this point, it appears as though he has a very feeble grip on sanity. After a string of events, he runs off to a village in China and regrows his moustache. After spending many months there and getting acquainted with the locals, his wife appears in his room. She talks to him as if, for all this time, they had been on vacation together. Even stranger, her comments about his moustache allude to him never having shaven it at all. After her quip about shaving for a change, he gets rid of his moustache. She finally notices.

Apparently, the movie isn't supposed to be taken literally. Rather, it appears to be a schizophrenic metaphor for a mid-life crisis. Weird. Very french.

I really liked it, watch it. It took home an award at Cannes.

Bringing in the new year with my main man Masaharu Morimoto

2008-01-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

I got back to New York just in time to get funky with Masaharu for new year's. I was really excited if you can't tell. He's like the nicest guy and my friend had a long conversation with him about the red and yellow beet iron chef episode. People I noticed that were also in attendance: Dutch international soccer star Edgar Davids and his not so hot wife/gf, and supermodel X with fugly photographer guy Y.

Out and about

2007-12-21T22:34:00.001-08:00

Went out with someone tonight - Hidden in a nondescript Japanese restaurant without any signs directing to it, Angel's Share offers some of the best cocktails in the city. The menu is extensive and drinks offer complex flavors, well-blended, delicate and not overpowering. The decor is quaint and romantic and the service is great. The rules are awesome too: no groups of more than 4 people, no loud conversation and no shouting, no standing, single guys trying to pick up women is seriously taboo. Try something from the seasonal menu.

Same song in Spanish

Junto a ti, al pasar las horas oh mi amor
Hay un rumor de fuentes de cristal
Que, en el jardin, parecen hablar
En voz baja a las rosas

(With you, the hours pass oh my love
There is a rumor of crystal fountains
That, in the garden, appear to speak
In a low voice to the roses)

Paris

2007-12-19T21:45:00.000-08:00

(The balcony of my room in Paris, looking out onto the street)

There is something so inherently romantic about this city and I want to be back. My favorite French song, Aranjuez Mon Amour, it's darkness notwithstanding, gives me an insatiable desire to make love along a bank of the Seine whenever I listen to it. haha just kidding, but not really :)

Aranjuez Mon Amour

Mon amour, sur l'eau des fontaines, mon amour
Ou le vent les amènent, mon amour
Le soir tombé, qu'on voit flotté
Des pétales de roses

Mon amour et des murs se gercent mon amour
Au soleil au vent à l'averse et aux années qui vont passant
Depuis le matin de mai qu'ils sont venus
Et quand chantant, soudain ils ont écrit sur les murs du bout de leur fusil
De bien étranges choses

Mon amour, le rosier suit les traces, mon amour
Sur le mur et enlace, mon amour
Leurs noms gravés et chaque été
D'un beau rouge sont les roses

Mon amour, sèche les fontaines, mon amour
Au soleil au vent de la plaine et aux années qui vont passant
Depuis le matin de mai qu'il sont venus
La fleur au cœur, les pieds nus, le pas lent
Et les yeux éclairés d'un étrange sourire

Et sur ce mur lorsque le soir descend
On croirait voir des taches de sang
Ce ne sont que des roses !
Aranjuez, mon amour

L'avventura

2007-12-18T18:57:00.001-08:00

I've been watching a lot of old films lately. Michelangelo Antonioni's L'avventura from 1960 was one of the best. I found it a refreshing insight into how seemingly simple life was two generations ago, yet how complex relationships could become. It tells the story of a wealthy, stlyish, oversexed man, frustrated by a lack of satisfaction from past relationships (Gabriele Ferzetti), trying to develop and cement something new with an irritatingly complex and unresponsive woman, Anna.

Ferzetti is unbelievably magnetic. He's not the best looking, but women are drawn to his powerful virility. When Anna disappears after throwing a tantrum while on an island vacation, he falls in love with her much simpler, and undeniably more beautiful, best friend (Monica Vitti). Monica Vitti - see picture - is absolutely gorgeous in that very 60s-vogue-blonde, black and white chic kind of way. Their love, guilt-filled at first, turns her into the complex kind of woman that Ferzetti was troubled by in the first place.

The film is a character study, a film lovers' film. It pioneered the use of long takes and empty frames. Existential themes from post-second world war thought, such as the feeling of 'modern alienation', are central but not overpowering. I came away from watching this with a feeling that life is inherently uncertain, yet, is fully predetermined. I felt that, as people, it's really hard for us to grasp the big picture.

Wikipedia says L'avventura won the Prix le Premier Regard at Cannes in 1960. You should check it out.

Hot stocks

2007-12-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

The only way I can bankroll an extravagant lifestyle is through good investments.

The world markets tumbled today. I was really happy. Not because I was short, but because I believe I have been presented with a great buying opportunity.

The Indian markets have been up 5 weeks straight. Today, they traded down 3.5%. INP, barclay's India fund was down 12.5%. Notice a disparity? I deepened my India position.

The Russian market has been down for the last several days. Yet, Russia has the second-highest PEG ratio in the emerging world. RSX, the Russia fund, is a good investment and will provide exposure to the benefits of revenue accruing from rising oil prices. I bought RSX.

The Singapore market was down almost 3% today. It has the highest PEG ratio in the world, and is probably the most under-valued of the Asian markets. Additionally, Singapore may help diversify away some risk associated with big (potentially overhyped and overheated) countries like China and India, where I already have investments. I bought ESW.

Was the experience of European colonialism generally negative for the Middle East?

2007-12-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

The answer to this question is an unequivocal yes. The actions of colonial powers in the interwar periods resulted in the kind of social and political strife that continues to this day in the Middle East. Britain and France’s poorly thought-out division of the former Ottoman Arab territories and their ill-conceived imperial ruling practices generated long-lasting communal tension and political instability. Historical examples of the British mandates of Iraq and Palestine and the French mandates of Syria and Lebanon will be used in support of this statement. At the end of the interwar period and nearing independence, none of these 'countries' had experienced communal unity, sustained peace, or (with the exception of Lebanon) functioning representative political systems. Each mandate state constituted a quasi-imperial-possession, conflicting internally.

Division of Ottoman Territories:

When the Ottomans joined the central powers during World War I, the allied powers planned a partition of the Ottoman territories in the event of victory. The Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 was an initial plan for the division of Ottoman territories between France, Britain and Russia. Sykes-Picot had major implications for Arab-West relations and made European governance particularly unattractive to the Arabs. As they were discussing the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, the British, through High Commissioner Henry McMahon’s correspondence, promised the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein ibn Ali, that a revolt against the Ottoman empire in its Arab territories would be rewarded by the creation of a unified Arab state between Egypt and Persia. It was this double-sided game that led Husein’s son Faisal to fight the Ottoman Empire in Syria with the inspiration of T.E. Lawrence, otherwise known as Lawrence of Arabia.

At the end of the war, Britain had over a million troops in the Middle East and Prime Minister David Lloyd George had grand imperial plans to replace the Ottoman Empire in the region (Fromkin, pg. 385). Moreover, the Middle East was Britain’s lifeline to India. In a correspondence between the foreign department of the government of India to the British India office it was stated, “what we want is not a united Arabia, but a weak and disunited Arabia, split up into little principalities so far as possible under our suzerainty – but incapable of coordinated action against us, forming a buffer against the powers of the West.” (Fromkin, pg. 106) At the end of the war, when it became known that Britain and France had their own territorial ambitions for the Middle East, a sentiment of betrayal and antagonism for Western rule took hold in the Arab lands.

The British Mandate of Iraq:

When the Ottomans surrendered in 1918, Britain was in possession of the provinces of Basra, Baghdad, and Mosul in Mesopotamia. As Cleveland remarks on pg. 201 of A History of the Modern Middle East, “these provinces did not constitute a political community in any sense of the term. They were among the most ethnically and religiously diverse Arab regions of the Ottoman Empire, and their amalgamation into a single country posed exceptionally difficult obstacles to nation building.” The Ottoman system of rule in the provinces had been very decentralized and concentrated mostly in the major cities. The countryside was granted a high degree of autonomy and was governed by tribal confederations.

Britain’s main goals for the mandate were to protect imperial links to India and Iraqi and Iranian oil interests. Little or no consideration was given to the development of Iraq itself. “Decisions were made with little knowledge of, or concern for, the lands and peoples about which and whom the decisions were being made.” (Fromkin, pg. 399) Mandatory rule had three important negative consequences in Iraq: the exploitation of oil resources without local benefit, the preeminence of a single sectarian group, the development of the military as a political actor that would continue right up to 2003.

After Britain tried to impose a direct form of governance in Iraq, tribal uprisings in the Euphrates in June 1920 resulted in the death of some 10,000 Iraqi tribesmen and 450 British soldiers. In an attempt to realize their goals for the state without having to engage in a costly system of direct rule, Britain made Faisal, Sharif Hussein’s son, the king. Faisal was a foreigner with no real ties to Iraq. Under his rule, Iraqi oil fields were brought into full imperial exploitation. The cash-strapped Iraqi government became compelled to sign a 75-year concession with the firm that eventually became the Iraq Petroleum Company. The concession allowed Iraq to receive modest royalties by volume, but excluded the nation from corporate ownership. The fact that Iraq’s most vital natural resource fell into the hands of outsiders at the this time remained a point of contention long after the mandatory system had ended.

Despite this, Faisal proved to be an effective administrator, balancing the voices of the people of Iraq and British pressure. But his untimely death in 1939 essentially removed the monarchy from the forefront of Iraqi domestic politics and government fell into the hands of former Sunni-Arab Ottoman officers from the Istanbul War College. The officers perpetuated the old Ottoman system of rule by the notables and the top-heavy social order. Their infighting led to a high degree of political instability and governments lasted no more than a few months at a time.

In response to the political bickering of the Ottoman era politicians, the most prominent opposition came from younger military officers. These officers were also mostly Sunni and adhered to nationalist and pan-Arabist ideologies. Cleveland discusses the example of general Bakr Sidqi who “protected the national interest by engaging in a systematic massacre of members of the Assyrian Christian community.” (Cleveland, Pg. 206) The army led 6 coups from 1936 to 1941, a pattern that would continue into the future. The British in effect created a state where civilian politicians and the military were distinct actors. Moreover, the unchecked rise of the Sunni officers in a nation where they were not the majority laid the foundations for the current sectarian conflicts in Iraq.

In 1940, a loose alliance of patriotic officers known as the Four Colonels attempted to free Iraqi foreign policy from British sway. Given the impressive German military and the precarious situation of the British army, they attempted to assert full independence from Britain. They staged a coup in 1941 and brought Rashid Ali al-Gaylani to the premiership. Within 3 months of his appointment, Britain and Iraq entered into conflict due to Rashid Ali’s pro-axis orientation and the denial of expansion of a supply base in Basra. Britain marched its troops from Palestine across Transjordan and by the end of May 1941, the Rashid Ali revolt was defeated. A pro-British ruling coalition of Nuri al Said and the Hashemite regent prince Abd al-Ilah was established, which ruled in an authoritarian manner until 1958.

Ultimately, after the interwar period the British left Iraq without control of its major natural resource and potential source of wealth, political instability marked by Sunni military involvement and finally a pro-British authoritarian leadership that would not benefit the Iraqi people at all. In fact, the young officers who staged a “revolution” in 1958 claimed that they were only carrying out the unfinished business of 1941.

The French Mandate of Syria:

With the withdrawal of British support, French forces drove Faisal from Damascus in 1920 and assumed control with a large military unit and a complex hierarchy of French civilian administrators. France’s interests in Syria were largely to protect investments in railways, commercial exchange, and port facilities that its corporations had undertaken towards the end of Ottoman rule. Politically, France also sought to balance Britain’s power in the region, and to add to its North African possessions to truly assert itself as a Mediterranean power. The French form of rule in Syria developed a system that did not truly allow a representative form of government to take root and incorporated divide and rule policies. At the end of the interwar period, Syria was left without institutions of self-government and no territorial unity. Syria inherited an assurance of political instability from French colonialism.

France initially imposed a top-down ruling system in Syria. Decisions came from the high commissioner for Syria and Lebanon, headquartered in Beirut. Assumption of political and administrative responsibility by the local population was discouraged. “Instead of encouraging the formation of indigenous administrative institutions to prepare Syria for independence, the French created conditions that would prolong their rule.” (Cleveland, pg. 213)

Moreover, the French encouraged religious, ethnic, and geographical differences between Syrians, fragmenting the population and sowing the seeds for sectarian conflict. The French divided Aleppo and Damascus into separate states, then divided the Alawite and Druze minorities into separate geographical units stressing their distinct regional-compactness. The Druze and the Alawites were effectively turned into a political afterthought. Syrian domestic politics became the realm of the elite class of urban Sunni Muslims who had held power during Ottoman times. Post-independence instability can be in part traced to the French disintegration of Syrian cultural identities during this period.

In 1925, anti-French sentiments finally culminated in a revolt. After the governor tried to restructure Druze political relationships and landholding structures, the entire state of Jabal Druze went into revolt. The uprising succeeded in driving the French from the province. The success of the rebels led some of the political leaders of the cities of Homs and Damascus to support them. This led to a nationwide resistance movement. On October 18th, 1925 the French bombarded Damascus for 48 hours and killed as many as 1,400 people. Some 6,000 Syrians died by the end of the revolt in 1927.

After the revolt, the French decentralized their rule of Syria to an extent. However, instead of allowing a truly representative body to be created, they allowed the Ottoman-era Sunni elite to continue to dominate politics. The dominant political entity to emerge was the National Bloc. The party framed itself in popular anti-French ideals, but presented themselves to the French as necessary intermediaries to control the nation’s hostile population. Their goals, however, were to perpetuate the existing socio-economic and political relationships responsible for their wealth and power. The French imposed a constitution on Syria. “Neither the political leaders nor the population at large gained a stake in the preservation of the French-imposed parliamentary system.” Moreover, France’s power to veto any legislation that was passed turned Syrian politics into a joke.

In 1936, after Leon Blum’s leftist coalition came to power, Syria nearly achieved a degree of semi-independence. It was offered a treaty to potentially decentralize rule further. However after the coalition lost power in 1938, the high commissioner suspended the Syrian constitution, dissolved parliament, reestablished autonomy of the Alawite and Druze regions, and to add insult to injury, ceded Alexandretta to Turkey (a region that Syrians strongly viewed as part of their territory). After twenty years of French colonialism, Syria had no independence, no institutions of self-government, and no territorial unity.

The French Mandate of Lebanon:

France viewed itself as the self-proclaimed protector of the Maronite Catholics of Mount Lebanon and had a moral duty to continue its religious and educational activities in the region. However, France made the mistake of adding territories that would transform the character of Lebanon and create a deep sectarian divide.

The final state of Greater Lebanon was realized with the adding of the coastal cities of Tripoli, Tyre, Sidon, Beirut and the fertile Biqa valley to the Ottoman administrative unit of Mount Lebanon. With the exception of Beirut, Muslims dominated the rest of these territories. Territorial tampering diluted the Maronite population to about 30% of the new state. In the former Ottoman Arab territories, like Lebanon, individuals were principally affiliated to their religious identities. This resulted in the development of two distinct sectarian opinions of what Lebanon was.

The Maronites viewed Lebanon as a distinctive Christian homeland and wanted to build their state as a Franco-Mediterranean society, the character of which was European, not Arabic. However, the Muslims who involuntarily became part of Lebanon, had different expectations. They saw Lebanon as being part of the greater Arab and Muslim worlds. As Cleveland writes, “The nature of the existing political culture and the geographical distribution of the various religious communities posed problems for the creation of a cohesive national system of government.” (pg. 220)

In 1926, surprisingly early for mandate states, a constitution for Lebanon was approved that allowed for one chamber of deputies, elected on the basis of religious representation. The president was elected by the chamber and had the right to appoint the Prime Minister and appoint the cabinet. After eleven years of the highest posts being dominated by the Maronites, Emile Edde appointed the Sunni Muslim Khayr-al-Din al-Ahdab as his prime minister in 1937. This established a confessional political precedent that would continue into the 1980s.

Lebanon, a Frankenstein amalgamation of peoples, was strangely the first of the mandate states to truly have a functioning government. While the political system had a unique way of reconciling the Maronite and Muslim beliefs, the way the state had been created continued to foster a sectarian divide. Moreover, the Shia, a significant minority, was locked out of political progress. The French legacy of ethno-religious tension would manifest itself in one of the most brutal civil wars of the 20th century and the development of the Lebanese Shia Militia, Hezbollah.

The British Mandate of Palestine:

The mandate state of Palestine was a small strip of Southern Syria, about as big as the American state of Massachusetts. The origins of the Palestine mandate predate the post-war settlement to the rise of political Zionism. A belief developed in the English cabinet that Jewish groups in the United States and Russia had the ability to influence those nations’ attitudes towards entering the war. Chaim Weizmann, a prominent intellectual and Zionist spokesman in London, maintained the question of institutionalized Jewish immigration to Palestine before the British government and helped convince the cabinet that fostering Zionism was in the nation’s imperial interests. The culmination of the Zionist efforts was the Balfour declaration. Written by Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a prominent banker and Zionist, the declaration informed him that the cabinet had a approved “the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish People.” Along with the Skyes-Picot agreement, the Balfour declaration became another element of the post-war grand plan for the Ottoman Arab territories that the Arabs themselves had no say in. Ilan Pappe writes in The Modern Middle East, “In Palestine an outside national movement employed colonialism with the aspiration of reidentifying the country as a Jewish homeland whatever the price.” (pg. 20)

The British capture of Jerusalem in 1917 detached Palestine from Ottoman Administration. In 1922, the newly created League of Nations gave formal sanction to the British Mandate of Palestine, and alarmingly made Hebrew one of the official languages. By the end of the interwar period, a lack of a representative national government and unchecked Zionist immigration resulted in a conflict between the Arabs and Jews that has yet to be reconciled.
The British government appointed Herbert Samuel, a Jew and ardent Zionist, as high commissioner to Palestine. While Zionism was officially supported, Britain attempted to play a balancing act between Zionist and Arab interests. They proposed a constitution in 1922 calling for a council of elected Muslim, Christian and Jewish representatives. When the plan was rejected by the Arabs, the British offered them an advisory council consisting of 10 Arab and 2 Jewish representative nominated by the high commissioner. This plan was rejected as well because the Palestinians did not want to accept the Balfour declaration as official policy. As a result, decisive power remained in the hands of the high commissioner and his officials alone. Therefore, Palestine never realized any representative form of national government incorporating both Arabs and Jews. The two communities became progressively more cut off from each other and developed their own forms of government. A wedge was driven between the Jewish and Arab communities.

Zionist immigration and land acquisition constituted the core of the communal differences between the Arabs and Jews. The Zionist objective was to build up the Jewish population through unrestricted immigration. Crops were needed to sustain the increasing Jewish population, whereby came the policy of land acquisition. Moreover, upon acquiring land, Jews tended to dismiss the Arabs tenants. Communal tensions most prominently manifested themselves as the Wailing Wall disturbances of 1929 and the Great Revolt of 1936-39, both caused by dislocation caused by immigration and land transfers. After the disturbances of 1929, a royal investigation discerned that the main source of tension was the widespread fear that continued Zionist immigration would result in a Jewish-dominated Palestine. Despite the recommendations of the investigators to end the practice, the “Black Letter” of 1931 allowed Jewish immigration to continue unimpeded.

During the Great Revolt, the 1937 Peel commission report was published, calling for termination of the mandate and partition of Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states. Arab violence was renewed at the announcement and the British district commissioner for Galilee was murdered in October. The ensuing revolts saw Palestinian rebels capture large swathes of land. The Jews fought against the rebels in a pseudo-civil war and engaged in retaliatory terrorist attacks against the Arab population. Britain brutally crushed the rebels with an overwhelming force of 20,000 troops. In March 1939, 3000 Arabs, 2000 Jews and 600 British had lost their lives. Convinced that they needed to restructure their policies towards the mandate, Britain announced a white paper the same year that unequivocally stated that it was not “part of their policy that Palestine should become a Jewish State.” Jewish immigration was restricted to 15,000 a year for the next five years at the height of the Nazi massacres.

In effect the British had accomplished nothing during the interwar years in Palestine. They had created a state with no representative national government and communal tension that had turned into violence. Despite the curtailment of Jewish immigration in 1939, the Arabs still did not have an independent state. Moreover, the reversal of Zionist policies cut off a crucial lifeline of escape for Jews from Nazi Germany. Thus, none of the parties involved benefited from British policies.

Discussion:

European colonialism was negative for these Mandate states in different ways during the interwar period. While Britain and France realized their geopolitical goals, the populations of the states they had taken over from the Ottoman Empire suffered. Iraq suffered from political instability, natural resource exploitation, the rise of the military forces as political players, and was left with a pro-British authoritarian dictatorship. Syria suffered from ethno-religious fragmentation, the lack of a representative form of government, and most tangibly, loss of territory. Lebanon suffered from being created without any foresight, leading to the eventual disenfranchisement of the Muslim majority in a Maronite Catholic-dominated state. Finally, Palestine suffered from Zionist immigration indoctrinated by the Balfour Declaration, resultant violent communal tension, and the lack of any sort of cooperative representative government system. Towards the start of the Second World War, British policies succeeded in alienating both Arab and Jewish populations.

Marc Jacobs - Cameltoe

2007-12-14T12:05:00.001-08:00

Recently Marc Jacobs had a costume party, he dressed up as a cameltoe. What a guy.

Having to grow up

2007-12-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

After two years of college, I still have no idea what I want to truly do. I think I want to wander about life like Herman Hesse's Siddharta, embrace my humanity, and eventually achieve enlightenment in the most unexpected of ways. Maybe I want to live like Jack Kerouac - write interesting things that were never appreciated and die young of liver cirrhosis. 2007 is the 50th anniversary of the publishing of On the Road. Kerouac originally typed the book as one long paragraph on rolls of paper that were taped together to form a long scroll. Maybe that means something.

"What is our personal calling? ...Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don't all have the courage to confront our dream.
Why?
...We are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible."

-Paulo Coelho (introduction to The Alchemist)

On a lighter and much funnier note, if you've ever been into Indian guys, check out video:
(I must admit that most of what he says is unfortunately true; a lot of us are frighteningly disgusting)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTvh8pv2jSw

I actually wear this shirt

2007-12-11T22:41:00.001-08:00

It's growing on me. Made a couple of friends some. the black rectangle - some offensive graffiti on that wall (this was in a brooklyn warehouse basement). I finished my cover letter and applied for a job, I feel like such a sell out. Which reminds me, check out the leveraged sell out, even though I hate his guts, he is probably the funniest man ever. http://www.leveragedsellout.com/

Also, it's probably a good thing that the girl that borrowed my glasses sat. night never returned them. I look and feel normal again.

2007-12-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

Sunday Sun - upscale Cheap Monday

2007-12-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

This stuff is soooo cool. If you want to impress me, buy me something from them. :)

“Global warming is a problem caused by the rich and paid for by the poor”

2007-12-07T11:32:00.000-08:00

(A recent presentation - some of the ideas are rather new and interesting, but believe me they were the fruits of lack-of-sleep-induced hallucination. I'm really not that smart).

The distribution of the causes and effects of greenhouse gases vary across states and populations within states. China, due to its heavy reliance on coal, recently overtook the U.S. as the world’s largest source of such pollution. The reality of the world is such that some countries pollute more than others. But, the consequences of pollution are not geographically constrained; one nation’s pollution may contribute to a climatological disaster in another. Within states, some individuals are more likely to pollute than others. However, all individuals suffer the resultant negative externality. First, this essay will examine the income variation of the causes and effects of pollution within states. Second, it will explore the distributional inequity of global pollution generation.

The prompting statement acknowledges global warming as a problem and assigns its blame to the rich and its consequences to the poor. This essay will break down the terms “rich” and “poor” into two levels of analysis in a global context. "Rich" and "poor" are adjectives that apply to states themselves and to the populations within individual states. Firstly, this essay finds that it is valid to place the blame for global warming on the rich at the intra-state level, while all suffer the consequences. Secondly, this essay finds that the blame for global warming at the inter-state level can be placed on industrial economies and un-industrial economies with well-endowed natural resources, while poor countries suffer disproportionally.

First, I present some background about global warming. "Global warming" is a term referring to the increase of Earth’s near-surface average air and ocean temperatures. Scientific consensus identifies global warming as a real phenomenon caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, released by human activity. Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, are so named because they trap solar radiation inducing a greenhouse effect, causing the Earth to warm up. Sources of greenhouse gases include the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, which lead to higher CO2 concentration levels, livestock and rice farming, which generate atmospheric methane, specialized fertilizer use, causing nitrous oxide emission, and the use of CFCs in refrigeration systems (Wikipedia: Greenhouse Gases). Environmental problems caused by global warming include, but are not limited to, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, more intense hurricanes, and disruption of natural habitats, which may result in the extinction of various plant and animal species.

For simplicity’s sake, the outlook examining intra-state pollution distribution will assume an economy without international trade and countries that do not feel the effects of pollution emanating from others. In this simple world, emission of greenhouse gas results in a negative externality within the country. Let us assume that a single product, automobiles, is produced in this economy. First, the production of automobiles relies on heavy industrial machinery that results in a release of considerable pollution into the atmosphere. The social cost of the pollution and its implications for global warming are not accounted for in the private cost of the automobile. The difference between the marginal private and social costs is referred to as the externality. The consumption of automobiles, i.e. driving them, also produces external costs for society in the form of CO2 emissions. Economic agents, not involved in the private market transaction between automobile producers and drivers, involuntarily incur a social cost. Additionally, the polluters themselves suffer reduced air quality as well. Therefore, the externality model shows that the sources of pollution are limited, while the effects are not discriminatory and suffered by all.

The primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions are power stations, industrial processes, transportation fuels and agricultural byproducts. Widespread use of power and transport fuels is mostly concentrated among the affluent in most states. 1.6 billion people in the world did not have access to electricity in 2002, 50% in South Asia and 35% in India alone (IEA World Energy Outlook 2002). The case of rich countries, like the U.S., is no different. Paul, Ballew, chief economist of J.D. Power & Associates stated in 1996, “about 15 million new cars were sold in the U.S. last year. Probably 10 million of them are sold to the top 30 percent households,” (Edmondson and Du 1996). Therefore, the fact that the poor do not have easy access to products that generate high levels of carbon emissions (like electricity or automobiles), largely preclude them from being major forces of global warming.

Similarly, industrial processes and agricultural byproduct usage are concentrated among large, affluent corporate entities. The top five corporate air polluters in the US, according to the University of Massachusetts political economy research institute’s Toxic 100 survey, have an average current market capitalization of 217.4 billion dollars. A company with a market capitalization of 10 billion is generally considered as “large cap” by investors. Agribusiness is another leading source of pollution. A report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization found pollution from industrialized livestock production to be one of the top three contributors to climate change (FAO 2002).

While this evidence points toward a pollution cause-effect distribution where the affluent pollute and all of society collectively suffers the consequences, the poor also engage in polluting activities that lead to negative externalities. Some poor individuals in developing countries, despite having enough to eat and enjoying good health, may still be resource poor. Such individuals may pursue measures to extend their natural resource base as a means to improve their livelihood. A relevant example of this activity is the conversion of forestland into farmland, which has occurred at a rapid pace in the case of the Amazon in recent years (Reardon and Vosti 1995). Deforestation, along with carbon-dioxide emissions is a leading cause of global warming. Therefore, placing all the blame of global warming-causing pollution on the affluent sector within a country is erroneous. However, the combined magnitudes of greenhouse gas emissions emanating from power plants, industrial processes, transportation fuels, agricultural byproducts (incl. livestock) and fossil fuel retrieval outweigh those from land use by approximately seven and a half times (Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research 3.2 Fast Track Project 2000).

The second issue of concern for this essay is whether rich countries contribute to global warming to a greater extent than poor countries. To successfully address this, prior assumptions that international trade does not exist and that the effects of global warming emanating from one country are not felt by others must be taken as invalid. Now, the existence of international trade and a world where the consequences of global warming-causing environmental degradation are felt by all peoples are assumed. (Sigman (2002) finds that pollution effects can affect non-source nations.)

The world today consists of economies at various degrees of industrialization and per capita income. For the purposes of the essay, the existence of only three categories will be assumed – post-industrial, industrialized/industrializing, and unindustrialized economies. A post-industrial economy is taken to be one that has passed the industrial phase and enjoys a well-educated population and high per capita income and maintains strict regulations on pollution. Industrial/industrializing economies will be taken as having a wide range of per-capita income levels, strong labor force and capital endowments, and weak restrictions on pollution. Un-industrial economies will be taken to have low per capita income levels, weak restrictions on pollution, and can be divided into economies that are resource-rich and resource-poor.

A comparative advantage model of international trade involving these four types of economies will now be observed. The principle of comparative advantage, developed by Ricardo in 1817, states that when countries trade, specialization will occur in the product of lowest opportunity cost. The post-industrial economy will specialize in services, information, and research. The industrial economy will specialize in capital and labor-intensive goods. The resource-endowed un-industrial economy will specialize in the primary sector – agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining etc. Finally, resource-poor un-industrial economies tend to import heavily, with domestic production primarily geared toward subsistence. Given these specialization structures, environmentally intensive forms of production become concentrated in industrial and well-endowed un-industrial economies. Moreover, the fact that these economies generally have less stringent pollution restrictions than pos-industrial economies will encourage the relocation of polluting industries (Copeland and Taylor 2004). This phenomenon has been termed the “pollution haven effect”. Therefore, highly polluting industrial activity along with environmentally intensive primary production is concentrated in these countries. Grossman and Krueger (1993) develop an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) – an inverse U-shaped relationship between a country’s per capita income and its environment. This means that very poor economies are generally incapable of polluting, while relatively poor, middle-income, and relatively economies disproportionately pollute. Again, very economies characterized by very high incomes tend not to pollute because of stringent regulations and specialization away from polluting industries.

However, these simplistic models make numerous assumptions that cannot be relied on to exist in the real world. Firstly, comparative advantage assumes perfect competition and, full employment, perfect resource mobility and constant opportunity cost of production between goods. Secondly, the EKC assumes also assumes full employment and nonpositive profits in each industry. Moreover the model assumes that firms choose the emissions intensity that minimizes production costs – often times it is impossible to gauge this measure exactly. Moreover, while the EKC may hold for environmental quality in general, effects may be different when studying greenhouse gases specifically.

But, these assumptions are necessary to make analysis more manageable and evidence shows that they do not have a significant effect on the results. Indeed, industrial economies such as the United States, Japan and Russia and the United Kingdom rank among the worst polluters on a per capita basis. Similarly, resource-endowed economies centered on primary production also rank highly on the list – Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia (World Resources Institute 2003). As most of these states have neither very low nor very high per capita incomes, the EKC appears to hold empirically.

In a global context, it can be said that poor countries suffer the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions to the greatest extent. This is largely a consequence of the inability of poor countries to effectively deal with catastrophes stemming from global warming. The externality theory demonstrates that pollution from consumption and production results in an undesirable cost to society. The consequences of global warming include, but are not limited to, rising sea levels, increased scarcity of water in dry areas and flooding in wet areas, extreme weather conditions, more forceful hurricanes, disappearance of ecosystems, and the spread of tropical diseases. Rich countries have the infrastructure to deal with these consequences without widespread suffering – levies will be built to mitigate rising sea levels, vaccinations are readily available etc. However, increased incidence of droughts in Africa or flooding in South Asia, disease epidemics in the developing world or another devastating hurricane in the Caribbean will lead to an immeasurable amount of suffering. Therefore, poor countries suffer the consequences of global warming to the greatest extent, simply by virtue of the fact that they are not adequately equipped to deal with them.

In conclusion, this essay identifies affluent economic agents as the primary sources of global warming within individual countries. Secondly, this essay finds that worldwide contributions to global warming come most from industrial economies and un-industrial economies with well-endowed natural resources. Finally, this essay stipulates that poor countries will suffer the most due to global warming because of their inability to deal with the resulting climatological consequences.

Rianne ten Haken

2007-12-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

Rianne ten Haken for dsquared fall 06. Right up there on my favorite supermodel list.

Dying fashion trends alive and well?

2007-12-06T08:33:00.001-08:00

She resuscitated two dying trends in one fell swoop - the 70s flare pants and the double-breasted jacket with shoulderpads. She also looks like an 80s and 90s runway fembot. But she pulls it off really well. Its all about what you can look good in. (photo courtesy: Sartorialist). On a side note, apparently chocolate heightens feelings of affection. I have been eating a lot lately and you should too. Spread the love, eat chocolate!!

Professor

2007-12-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

Apparently someone likes to take candids while im teaching at the Zoolander center for kids who cant read good and want to learn how to do other stuff too. lol

I made the shirt

2007-12-04T15:11:00.001-08:00

hahahahah it came out terribly and the cross-eyes are photoshopped so they look weird, but hilarious nonetheless

Economic Development in Bangladesh: A Case of Opposing Factors

2007-12-03T07:03:00.000-08:00

The case of economic development in Bangladesh is one of puzzling dilemmas. Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 after fighting a bloody war of separation from Pakistan with the military support of neighboring India. Immediately after independence, the Bangladeshi economy was in dire straits. In the following 37 years, the international community poured billions of dollars of aid into the country. USAID alone provided more than $5 billion in development assistance since 1971. However, while Bangladesh has made commendable progress in certain areas, in spite of international aid flows, it remains one of the world’s least developed countries. This essay will discuss two opposing phenomena that have been salient to Bangladesh’s contemporary development situation. First, it will observe the negative effects of corruption, which have effectively stifled the benefits of international aid inflows. Second, it will discuss the significant positive effects that microfinance institutions have had on development and poverty reduction.

Prior to discussing these effects, this essay will present an overview of the current circumstances of the Bangladeshi economy, emphasizing both the shortcomings and the achievements. Bangladesh’s 2005 purchasing power parity GDP per capita was $2,130, ranking 144th in the world (IMF). However, more than half of the population, approximately 70 million people, lives on less than one dollar per day ($365 per year), highlighting an extremely high degree of inequality. About 3 million children receive no schooling and the adult literacy rates place among the lowest in the world. Maternal and child mortality is tremendously high, as only 27% of all mothers receive adequate pre-natal care. Gender discrimination is widespread, particularly affecting women in rural, low-income households. Bangladesh also suffers from particularly severe environmental degradation and resource depletion.

Yet, Bangladesh has experienced some positive development achievements as well. Over the last 10 years, the economy has grown at an average rate of 5% annually. The nation is now nearly self-sufficient in rice production, has eradicated polio and reduced the fertility rate by 50% (USAid 2005). During the 1990s, the infant mortality rate was halved and life expectancy rose to 61 years from 56. The development of microfinance institutions, such as the Grameen Bank, has contributed to the reduction of moderate poverty by 17% and extreme poverty by 13% between 1991 and 1999. The nation’s economy, while having several drawbacks, is not in as dire a condition as suggested by some.

Historically, Bangladesh’s principal impediments to development has been, corruption, poor governance, and lack of rule of law. According to surveys conducted by Transparency International, Business International, Political Risk Services and the World Economic Forum, Bangladesh consistently ranks as one of the most corrupt nations in the world (Transparency International). The World Bank attributes an estimated 2-3% GDP loss to corruption each year. The discrepancy between the international aid inflows and the amount actually received by development programs has also been stark. According to Chowdhury (2005), only 25% of aid has ever reached the poor.

Corruption can be loosely defined as the transfer of resources aimed at public ends into private hands. A few individuals with access to public resources, thus, accrue large amounts of wealth at the expense of the poor. In Bangladesh, corporate and bureaucratic tax evasion and bureaucratic theft are the most common sources of high-level corruption. On a lower level, theft of items from public facilities, such as medications from clinics, has also been a major contributing factor. Additionally, public employees, such as teachers and doctors, have high rates of absenteeism and prefer to provide their services privately (Transparency International). Theory states that corruption can have a detrimental effect on economic growth and development. To illustrate this effect, first consider the following fiscal budget deficit equation:

D = g – t – Ya

Here, the deficit is defined as government spending (g), less tax revenue (t) and international aid (Ya). The assumption is made that government revenue comes from only two sources: tax revenue and international aid.

In the case of corruption (c), this becomes:

D = g – (t + Ya ) + c

The equation demonstrates that corruption detracts from the tax revenue and international aid. The result is a reduction in useful funds available for the government to spend. Now, corruption (c) will be implemented into the simple equation (built for Rao 2007), explaining the long-run growth rates of per capita income, per capita capital stock, and human capital:

g^(t+Ya-c) * s^(a-t) * q^[1-(a-t)]

Here, g remains government spending, while s represents savings and q represents investment in human capital. As we can see in the exponent of g, corruption exerts a negative effect on growth rates in three vital economic areas.

As the poor have been suffering the ills of corruption, they have also been experiencing the widespread benefits of microfinance. Bangladesh has been home to some of the pioneering institutions in microfinance, such as the Grameen bank. In fact, in 2006, the bank and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, jointly shared the Nobel Peace Prize. Microfinance is a term referring to the provision of financial services, such as credit and insurance, on a very small scale to poor individuals. Microfinance institutions’ strategies such as collateral-free group-based lending and mobilization of savings have helped attract a broad usage base, while mitigating loan default risk. Additionally, such institutions have offered specialized support for women, whose traditional, gender-specific roles do not facilitate financial activity.

Ftom a theoretical standpoint, Microcredit allows the poor to consume beyond their means and to take entrepreneurial initiatives, positively affecting economic growth. Given Bangladesh’s high propensity for suffering severe seasonal flooding and other devastating environmental issues, microinsurance secures the property of poor individuals, which is often not valuable enough to be insured by mainstream commercial financial services. From a macroeconomic perspective, microinsurace presents a safeguard against large losses of GDP in the event of an environmental disaster. To further the microfinance initiative, governments and donor programs have provided substantial funding. In 1996, the World Bank provided the PKSF, an intermediary for wholesaling microfinance, a loan of $115 million. Due to the market (non-state) operation of microfinance institutions, higher levels of oversight and accountability form a barrier against corruption.

Empirically, microfinance has had a very important impact on poverty reduction in Bangladesh. Between 1991 and 1999, data on consumption and the consumption poverty line demonstrate that moderate poverty declined by 17% and extreme poverty by 13%. Microfinance was found to account for about 40% of the overall reduction of moderate poverty and even more in the case of extreme poverty. On an aggregate basis, microfinance was proven to reduce moderate poverty by 1.0% and extreme poverty by 1.3% annually (Khandker 2005).

In conclusion, Bangladesh is both one of world’s most corrupt nations and one of its pioneers in the provision of microfinancial services. Looking to the future, sustained development necessitates the revamping of government institutions to counteract widespread corruption. A campaign against corruption must stem from improving the democratic system of governance and rule of law, increased public accountability for officials, and eradication of the “status quo of cronyism and patronage that determine social benefits and power relations” (USAid 2005). Bangladesh can look to Hong Kong and Singapore’s effective anti-corruption bureaus as examples. Safeguards for press freedom and a non-politicized civil society are crucial for improving public accountability. For enhancing the democratic system, the example of Thailand’s voter education program may be observed.

While anti-corruption programs, if effectively implemented, will leave more funds at the disposal of the government, the allocation of these funds towards particular areas of concern is important. Greater investments in education and healthcare are needed, particularly targeting women. While NGOs and microfinance institutions have had a positive impact in this regard, the government must take a leadership role. Education and treatment spending must be channeled toward dealing with the growing incidence of HIV/AIDS. Finally, Bangladesh must thwart its rapid environmental degradation by investing in cleaner technology and protecting its remaining natural resources.

Polaroids?

2007-12-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

Does that look like a straight-A oxford student? I think so.
Quite literally, I will be publishing my first book towards the end of summer, it will be titled something along the lines of "general essays on economic development"
Maybe one day I'll be a good enough writer to impress gorgeous older women that can cook irrespective of my physical appearance, much like Salman Rushdie.
jk

Random Security Checks + They say food is the way to a man's heart; I have evidence to say that chocolate is the way to a woman's heart

2007-11-30T21:51:00.001-08:00

So I just got into New York, and between Heathrow and JFK I managed to be randomly selected for 'additional screening' 5 times - that was at every security check. Now, I found it entertaining and smiled all through it at how funny racial profiling can be.
I was thinking, "do I look like a terrorist to you?"
What could I possibly do, yell across a trading pit "hey Osama buy 50,000 Google, it's got great fundamentals!"?
Or better yet, in the words of Vidur Kapur, "Beg Al-Qaeda to let one Hindu in so I can be their fashion police. Lose the white turban, Osama!!... Labor day is over!!!"

---

After our last two champagne/bellini/cocktails + fondant sessions, I thought I would post the recipe for my chocolate fondant. I essentially got it from tasting Gordon Ramsey's at London Bar. He garnished his with sea salt though, which tastes about as disgusting as it sounds.

What you need:
300g 85% cocoa chocolate - essentially three regular sized blocks. Get Valrhona, its the best (it's a bit pricey though, but if you use Cadbury's, I will personally bitchslap you)
200g Butter, or butter substitute
250g Sugar, get unrefined sugar
6 eggs, use only 2 yolks, it's less rich, but you'll feel less guilty the morning after
1/4 cup flour
Secret ingredients: lime, blackcurrant concentrate, famous grouse

-Preheat oven to 250*F, or 170something*C
-Melt the chocolate with the butter over water
-Beat the eggs with sugar and add flour
-Fold in the chocolate butter stuff
-Mix it well
-Add juice of half a lime
-Add some blackcurrant concentrate depending on how you feel
-Pour the mix into muffin tray w/individual cups - make sure you grease them
-Add 1-2 shots of famous grouse to each individual cup
-Put the tray in the oven for about 8-10 mins
The goal is to watch until the outside is just about solid
The inside will remain liquid
If you can pull off the inside/outside textural difference well, you'll come off as as sophisticated. If done poorly, no one will eat it and you will be laughed at.
(I don't know how you can screw up with taste if the main ingredients are chocolate, butter, and sugar)
From past experience, I posit that chocolate (well-done of course) is the way to a woman's heart. One of my major vices is chocolate as well, so ladies take note :)
Btw If you're wondering what my other vices are, well, lets just say they wouldn't make for polite conversation

Padma and I doing a little cooking

2007-11-28T04:40:00.000-08:00

what else looks good together besides all that food?

Is the nature of leadership in Israel and Turkey basically the same as in the democracies of Europe?

2007-11-28T04:26:00.000-08:00

Often, the leaderships of Turkey and Israel are compared to those of Europe. Prior to introducing the topic, the question itself begs two other important questions that will set the context of this essay. First, what do the terms “leadership” and “democracy” imply? In democratic systems, the idea of the executive is so intertwined with the overall system of governance that one is unable to differentiate between the two. Second, one must question what we mean by “Europe”. Democratic leadership variation, while existing among all states part of the European continent, is particularly pronounced between members and non-members of the EU.

If we are to compare the governments of Turkey and Israel to those of the liberal democracies of the EU, they fall short in several respects. This essay will demonstrate that these shortcomings are primarily the result of the ubiquitous exclusion of minorities from the political realm. Furthermore, specific to Israel is the lack of reconcilement of the ethnic Jewish state and the western liberal constitution. Specific to Turkey is the intervention by military leaders in politics to restore the secular Ataturkian ideal. In comparison to non-EU member states, this essay will show that, in some respects, Israel and Turkey have better-developed democratic systems.

The concept of leadership in a democracy is intertwined with all aspects of government. Aspects of leadership cannot be fully compared unless systems of governance themselves are compared. To qualify this statement, I will present a three-tiered conceptual definition to build up the idea of democracy, providing points of comparison between EU member states, Israel and Turkey, and EU non-member states. At an initial level, I will first explain the role of the electorate in democracy. At a secondary level, I will present the idea of a parliamentary system. Finally, at a tertiary level, I will explain the concept of liberal democracy.

At its most basic level, democracy is a political system for establishing leadership through free and fair elections. In the prevailing definition, representative democracy bestows the responsibilities of leadership on the candidate who wins a majority of the electorate’s votes. Inherently, voting rights are extended to all citizens of eligible age. As will later be put forth, Israel and Turkey exclude significant portions of their citizenry from the political process. Thus, leadership in those countries cannot be discussed without highlighting this fact.

In parliamentary and senate democracies present in all EU member states, Turkey and Israel, leadership is divided into two levels incorporating a system of checks and balances. A parliamentary democracy is one where popularly elected parliamentary representatives appoint executive leadership. Leadership is subject to the constraints of an elected legislative body. In a senate democracy, the electorate selects the executive, who also remains subject to the constraints of elected representatives. Additionally, elected representatives in both systems have their own legislative power, subject to constraints of executive leadership. Therefore, in such a system, leadership is divided between an executive and popularly elected representatives, each with degrees of law-making power subject to the other’s approval. Thus, again, comparison of executive rule alone, and not the entire political process, would exclude an entire level of leadership.

Finally, in a liberal democracy, leadership at both the executive and representative levels is subject to the rule of law. A constitution, as is present in Turkey, Israel and all EU states, establishes constraints on the degree to which the will of the majority can be exercised at the expense of minority rights. The nature of constitutional liberal democracy does not allow for the separation of leadership from government itself. Comparing leadership alone would ignore this fact.

Having established definitions for democracy and areas of comparison between countries, the statement “democracies in Europe” must be questioned. The question implies that leadership in all democracies in Europe is essentially the same. Empirical research abounds to prove the contrary. European democracies vary in a great number of ways. Within the EU, compound polities such as Germany, Spain, Belgium and Italy and simple polities like Britain, France and Greece can be differentiated on an authority diffusion basis (Schmidt 2004). More important to the context of this essay, is that political competition, leadership constraints and minority rights vary to a great deal between EU member and non-member states. EU member states generally provide good examples of the classical democratic definitions previously provided. Political comparison to EU member states, thus, can be taken as a proxy for comparison to the ideal definitions of representative, parliamentary and liberal democratic systems. Most EU non-member states in Europe can be said have been under totalitarian communist rule, and either remain under authoritarian rule or are imperfectly functioning democracies. Unsurprisingly, the distribution of these states has a strong geographical bias towards Eastern Europe. While there are formerly communist countries now part of the EU, the political prerequisites for membership impose a certain degree of democratic uniformity. Therefore, such Eastern European states that have become members of the EU also significantly differ in political processes from those that have not. Then, the use of the term “Europe” for comparison is unwarranted. This essay will compare Turkey and Israel’s democratic leaderships to EU member states and EU non-member states separately.

Prior to making comparisons, the democratic characteristics of Turkey and Israel must be elaborated in light of the definitions that were previously made. Subsequent comparisons to EU-member states will qualify the usage of the adjective “imperfect”. Turkey can be said to imperfectly adhere to prior representative, parliamentary, and liberal definitions. Universal suffrage was established in 1933 for individuals at least 18 years of age. 550 members of the unicameral National Grand Assembly are elected to four-year terms, and have the constitutional authority to elect a prime minister through a vote of confidence. The largely ceremonial head of state is also appointed by the parliament. Executive power rests with the prime minister, while legislate power is exercised by the National Grand Assembly.

According to our definitions, Israel can also be referred to as an imperfect example of a representative, parliamentary, liberal democracy. While no explicit constitution exists, the Basic Laws of Israel serve as a proxy. Membership to the 120-member unicameral parliament, the Knesset, is determined every four years by elections. Universal suffrage is, in theory, the right of all citizens. The parliament elects a member supported by a majority to exercise executive power as the Prime Minister. As is the case in Turkey, the elected president is largely a ceremonial role.

In some ways, Israel and Turkey’s democratic leadership can be thought of as similar to that of the EU member states. Representative, parliamentary, and liberal systems all exist to degrees. However, in comparison to EU states, Turkey and Israel’s democracies have substantial shortcomings in the areas of full electorate participation and minority rights protection. Additionally, the military in Turkey has had a historical habit of intervening in politics at the expense of the democratic establishment. Turkey’s democratic shortcomings are, among a host of other issues, used to support the argument that it should not become a member of the European Union.

In Western European democracies, citizenship is the only prerequisite for full participation within the social and political framework of the state. The granting of equal opportunity to all citizens is the underlying principle of the system. Leadership at both the executive and representative levels is elected without the exclusion of any citizens on any basis. Israel and Turkey have both been unable to reconcile their ethno-nationalist identities with their democratic responsibilities. Both states have systematic measures excluding ethnic minorities from exercising power in the political realm. In Israel, being Jewish, above holding citizenship, is the basic requirement for the enjoyment of full membership within the system. The Arab minority in Israel, which makes up approximately 20% of the state’s population, is largely underrepresented in political leadership. Of the 120-member Israeli Knesset, only 12 members are Arab, or a representation figure of 10%. Therefore, Israeli Arabs have access to leadership benefits only to an extent of half their population figure. Moreover, the access of Arabs to political representation is also unequal. The Druze are afforded much greater privileges than other Arab groups due to their historical military intervention in support of Israeli Jews. Among the Arab leadership in the Knesset the Druze are considerably overrepresented. Majalli Wahabi of Druze descent, the current deputy speaker of the Knesset, briefly became Israel’s acting President in February 2007. No other member of non-Druze Arab descent has even held either position.

Similarly, in Turkey, exclusion of the Kurdish minorities from representation in the political leadership has been systematic and indoctrinated. Like Israel, Turkey came into being in its present form in the aftermath of the First World War. Following the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, Ataturk, father of the Turkish nation, established the state on a Turkish ethno-nationalist basis. As a result, being Turkish, rather than simply being a citizen, is the yardstick measure for access to full benefits of political participation. Like the Arab minority in Israel, the Kurdish population in Turkey constitutes an estimated 20% of the total population¬¬. In the National Grand Assembly of 550, Kurdish representation numbers 24. At a rate of 4.36%, Kurds are five times underrepresented in the leadership and no Kurd has ever been a head of state. Historical armed conflicts with Kurdish populations and current military tensions with the PKK in the Kurdish autonomous region of Northern Iraq have heightened anti-Kurdish sentiment. Social attitudes serve as evidence that this precedent of underrepresentation is unlikely to change.

In their constitutions, Western European democracies set forth the rights of minorities and constrain the extent to which the will of the majority may be exercised. Checks on the power of the majority are legally binding at both representative and executive levels of leadership. Inalienable individual rights for all citizens, including minorities, are established in the constitution and cannot be denied by any majority-elected leadership. Constitution and legislation in Israel and Turkey are significantly different from Western Europe in this vein. In fact, a constitutional amendment in Israel denies the extension of equal rights to minorities. The 1985 amendment to the Knesset Basic Law designates Israel as the state of the Jewish people only, to the exclusion of all other state parties. Lists, or political parties, that do not recognize the preeminence of the Jewish people in the Israeli state risk being outlawed if they seek representation in the Knesset, the legislature of Israel. As stated by Rouhana and Ghanem, Israel “excludes ethno-national groups who do not belong to the dominant ethnic group from the national goals of the state and offers the dominant group preferential treatment anchored in the state’s legal system.”

In Turkish legislation, the recognition of distinct minority groups itself is prohibited. The Southern Kurdish minority have been historically termed “mountain Turks” in legislation. The words “Kurd” and “Kurdistan” were banned and replaced by Dagli Türkler, `mountain Kurd' and Dogu, 'the East' (Hassanpour). The use of the Kurdish language was banned in schools, official settings and non-music broadcasts through Article 26 of the 1982 Constitution. The ban was repealed in 2002 as Turkey embarked on reforms targeting future EU ascension. Therefore, granting of a distinct identity for the Kurds is blatantly non-existent and was actively suppressed by the Turkish legal and political systems.

In Western European democracy, an existential separation between military and the leadership exists. In such countries, the military exists to serve the government. This is not the case in Turkey, where military leadership has historically been as salient to politics as democratically elected leadership. Unlike Western European armed forces, the Turkish military owes allegiance to the Ataturk and his ideals for a secular democratic state in the abstract. Ataturk, himself a military officer, insisted on the development of secularism to counter, what he believed were, anti-modern strains in Islam that impeded development (Kinross 1964). Since the establishment of democracy in Turkey, the military has acted as the custodian of secularism often at the expense of democracy. Since 1960, the military has toppled four elected governments. Additionally, the threat of military involvement has lead to entrenchment of a secular ruling elite, to the exclusion of more devout, and often poorer, Muslims. The recent presidential approval of Abdullah Gul, an observant Mulsim, has once again stirred up democratic tensions in Turkey. Military disapproval without intervention in this scenario posits a potential change in precedent.

Prior to comparing Israel and Turkey to non-EU member states, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland must be excluded from the discussion. These three countries, while not part of EU, exhibit the similar democratic characteristics that EU member states do, rendering comparison redundant. Non-EU member states in Eastern Europe include Belarus, Moldova, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Russia. In many ways, Turkey and Israel adhere closer to the previously established levels of democratic leadership than these states. The Russian constitution lacks the checks constitutional checks and balances on leadership and bestows the president with the power to issue decrees that subsequently become law. As a result, the Russian parliament remains relatively weak. Additionally, elections are competitive essentially only for places in parliament and President Putin has been increasingly criticized as being undemocratic. Leadership in Israel and Turkey experiences a healthy degree of leadership turnover, and as the rise of the Turkish conservative AKP shows, elections have seminal impact on policy. Belarus is another example of an Eastern European country that has compares unfavorably to Turkey and Israel in democratic leadership. President Lukasheko has continually tampered with the nation’s democratic process. His 1996 amendment to the 1994 constitution diminished executive constraint and afforded him the power to remove members of parliament. Parliamentary and presidential elections in 2000 and 2001 respectively have been marred by corruption and, according to human rights watch, were not free.

In conclusion, this essay compares the democratic leadership of Turkey and Israel to that of European democracies. Comparison to EU member states can serve as proxy for comparison to the given definitions of democracy themselves as EU membership prerequisites impose such a high degree of democracy. In comparison to these states, Turkey and Israel both experience shortcomings, stemming from lack of minority representation in politics and exclusion of minority rights from legislation. Therefore, this essay states that the use of the term “imperfect”, with respect to Israel and Turkey’s democracies, is warranted. There is no indication that this systematic mistreatment of minority groups will end in the foreseeable future. Additionally, the military in Turkey has historically maintained a high degree of intervention in civilian politics to preserve secularism at the expense of democracy. For having such democratic shortcomings, among other reasons, Turkey’s ascension to the EU is hotly contested. In comparison with Eastern European non-EU states, Turkey and Israel have democracies that more closely adhere to the definitions. While some may be argue that the examples presented are not of ‘democracies’ in the conventional sense, all the Eastern European states mentioned have embarked on democratization drives and have implemented versions of electoral representation, parliament, and liberalism. Ultimately, it is concluded that the leadership of Turkey and Israel is neither the same as EU member states nor non-member states.

Hall in Oxford can be so nice

2007-11-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

My lovely friends and I, plus a bit of wine.

Does the granting of economic freedom result in greater political freedom and increased protection of human rights?

2007-11-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

an old presentation revived and turned into an essay in my spare time

Introduction:

The issue of economic freedom is one that is far more controversial than political freedom. To many, the facets of economic freedom do not constitute ‘rights’ in the same way that civil and political rights do (for the purpose of this proposal, I will use the term ‘political freedoms’ to encompass civil and political rights). That is, for example, the right to free speech is fundamentally different from the right to choose your occupation. Proponents of the central allocation of resources often say that economic freedoms are inherently harmful, and that the government should control individual actions in the market. Oppositely, those who believe in laissez-faire believe that the individual should be allowed to conduct his or herself in the market in whichever way he/she perceives best. In the world today, there are no examples of absolute laissez-faire or complete central allocation. Rather, governments vary in their degrees of market intervention. This essay presents a proposal to investigate a quantitative relationship between the economic and political aspects of ‘freedom’. To accomplish this, statistical analysis using measures of economic and political freedom will be employed. Economic freedom will be judged using the "economic freedom index" in Gwartney et. al (2000), while the civil and political rights aspects constituting political freedom will be measured using Freedomhouse’s "freedom in the world" survey rating scores.

Literature on the puzzle:

20th Century economists, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman and Ludvig von Mises have written at length about the idea that “liberties in the political and economic spectrum are complementary and mutually dependent.” In Capitalism and Freedom, Friedman addressed the dual role of free economic arrangements in the promotion of a free society in promoting both political freedom and ‘total freedom’ (as he calls it). Using the example of post Second World War “control of arrangements order” in Britain, he shows how free economic pursuit makes up an integral part of our notion of essential personal liberties. The order indoctrinated by the Labour party made centralized allocation of individuals to occupations the law. Even though, this does not constitute a violation of any international human rights covenants, I am sure most, if not all, of us would feel this that is a grave violation of personal liberties. Therefore, the notion of our right to economic freedom is so natural and so ingrained in our beliefs of liberty that we can hardly separate it from what we call ‘freedom’. Friedrich Hayek stated, “liberty of the individual can only be obtained when the latter is free to exploit his productive capacities…without the interference of state.”
His work also addresses how economic freedom can be viewed as a means to the end of political freedom: “competitive capitalism promotes political freedom because it separates from economic power from political power and in this way enables one to offset the other.” Peitsinis Charilaos of the Institut Hayek articulates this in a slightly clearer manner: economic freedom allows the individual to earn independently of the state, and thus allows him to question, express dissent, and even combat this institution. History provides ample evidence for this argument, as there has never truly been a society that has sustained a high degree of political freedom, without also having a great degree of economic freedom as well. Examples ranging from the golden ages of Greece and Rome to the United States’ tremendous prosperity in the 1990s solidify this argument.
However, it would be foolish not to observe the rather recent instances where a high degree of economic freedom was not associated with political freedom, total freedom or the provision of human rights. Notorious examples include the repressive regimes of Russia under the Tzars, Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and Spain, and possibly today’s Sudan. Similarly, the astounding economic prosperity of China after it pursued economic freedom has not be associated with proportional increases in political freedom and in the provision of human rights.

Thus, History provides us with the following three outcomes for an association between political and economic freedom: 1) for political freedom to be sustained at length, economic freedom must also exist, political freedom cannot exist without economic freedom (totalitarian socialism), 2) economic freedom can exist without political freedom, 3) both exist.

Possible outcomes from historical evidence:

1) Neither political nor economic freedoms exist. > totalitarian socialism
2) Economic freedom exists only. > fascism
3) Both exist. > capitalist liberalism

Operationalization of Economic and Political Freedom:

For quantifying economic freedom we will use the ‘economic freedom index’ developed in 2000 and 2001 by James Gwartney and Robert Lawson in The Concept and Measurement of Economic Freedom, while the former author was the chief economist of the joint economic committee of the U.S. congress. I believe that this is the best existing measure for economic freedom because it is multifaceted unlike most others, which are limited to indicators such as the black market premium on foreign exchange. Nevertheless, this measure is not free from criticism. It is deeply rooted in modern libertarian ideology and assumes that the principal role of government should be limited to the enforcement of property rights and contract obligations, provision of a stable monetary system, freedom of floating exchange, and the limited provision of essential public goods like law enforcement and national defense. Therefore, the scope of this measure is limited and can be subject to dispute as suggested by Carlsson et. al in Economic Freedom and Growth: Decomposing the Effects.

Quantitatively, Gwartney et. al’s index consists of seven categories measured on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is the highest degree of freedom.

These seven categories, whose detail is beyond the scope of this presentation include:

1) The size of government
2) Economic structure and the use of market
3) Monetary policy and price stability
4) Freedom to use alternative currencies
5) Legal structure and security of private ownership
6) International exchange – freedom to trade with foreigners
7) Freedom to exchange in capital markets

Measuring Political Freedom:

For measuring political freedom we will use the freedomhouse freedom in the world survey ratings. This measure has been covered rather extensively so I won’t go into as much detail on its intricacies. The methodology of the survey is grounded in basic standards of political and civil liberties derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The authors of the survey claim that it “does not maintain an culture-bound view of freedom”, however the U.N.’s definitions of political freedom are essentially rooted in Western Liberalism. So, even this measure is not free from bias.

Quantitatively, 192 nations and 14 territories are given a rating from 1 to 7, with 1 indicating the highest degree of freedom, and 7 the least. Countries are also classified as Free, Partly Free, or Not Free by the survey.

Methodology:
Hypothesis:
Ho: Economic freedom has no association with political freedom
Ha: Economic freedom has a significant association with political freedom

For actually using these measures to conduct statistical tests for association, there are several approaches. But for our purposes, I will detail the simplest and most straightforward one: linear regression. Variables in political science rarely follow a non-linear relationship; therefore, a regression will be suitable. I will run a regression with political freedom as the dependent variable (Y), as measured by Freedom House, and economic freedom as the independent variable (X). Once the test is conducted, we will derive a coefficient for the correlation between the two variables. We will then conduct significance tests to test the probability of finding an association with the magnitude, as large or as small, as we did.

Subsequently, we can disaggregate the effects of economic freedom on political freedom for more policy relevant results. We can run multiple regression analysis using each of the seven categories of economic freedom to find their individual correlations with political freedom. Another possible test would be to disaggregate both the effects of economic freedom and political freedom, ala Cherif, and find the correlations between each individual measure that we use for economic and political freedoms.

Conclusion:

I have presented a proposal that I believe will be very significant for studying associations between economic freedom and political freedom, by which I generally mean civil and political rights. From historical evidence and theory I have reason to believe that the two occur simultaneously in a large number of instances, with a minority of cases of economic freedom without political freedom. However, I do not want to overemphasize or overestimate the consequences of the study. Finding a strong positive association between the two does not mean that the granting of economic freedom results political freedom. We have seen that the IMF and World Bank’s structural adjustment agreements advocating liberalization have not necessarily helped poor countries. But, what I hope this study will establish is that the two freedoms are complementary and complexly interrelated. For a truly free society to exist, both forms must simultaneously occur.

Rue Des Mauvais Garcons

2007-11-27T02:44:00.000-08:00

I was in Paris this weekend and I ran into this street. It means "street of the bad boys". you know how we roll. :p

2007-11-26T20:47:00.001-08:00

Yor T's ain't ballin' Henry Holland

2007-11-24T10:16:00.000-08:00

Soo, Henry Holland has become quite popular for his "innovate wordplay" in bold 80s-esque style on t-shirts. My friend was on HH's runway for London fashion week this year and he would vouch to say that I could be better designer than Henry Holland. I think that his rhymes are pretty cheesy and his t-shirts are overpriced for what they are. In response, here are my designs, which will soon be on my own t-shirts in lots of different colors. To add insult to injury, I'll give these away for free, so if you want one, ask in a couple of weeks.

Agyness Deyn

2007-11-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

I like indie style

US government defines democracy?!

2007-11-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/whatsdem/

Apparently the US government publishes documents defining democracy. I find sections titled "Government of the People", "Human Rights...", "Democratic Ethics...", "Elections", and "Rule of Law" just slightly oxymoronic. Propaganda? You be the judge.