“Madagascar’s Pierced Heart” and other links…
Robert Draper: “The forest was unpoliced and filled with organized gangs, a free-for-all of deforestation spurred by the collapse of Madagascar’s government in March of 2009 and by the insatiable appetite of Chinese timber procurers, who imported more than 200 million dollars’ worth of rosewood from the country's northeastern forests in just a few months. One rosewood cutter Remon knew had been robbed of his harvest by forest thugs who told him, ‘There’s 30 of us, one of you.’ And he’s just heard that two men were decapitated with a machete over a timber dispute a few days ago.”
“Social change in Japan: When the myths are blown away”
The Economist: “The biggest challenge is demographic: Japan is growing older as its population declines. This creates economic and social upheaval. The number of workers to support each pensioner has fallen from ten in 1950 to four in 2000; it is estimated to fall to two by 2025. No less than 70% of the country’s social-security budget goes to the elderly and only 4% is aimed at child care, reinforcing the low birth rate. The traditional Japanese family of breadwinner and housewife which the government has long tried to preserve is an anachronism: in 55% of married households both spouses work. As the country ages and grows poorer, this has led to a surge in petty crime, such as shoplifting by the elderly.”
Wikipedia.org Moment: “Regulatory capitalism”
Article: “Neo-classical economics is widely espoused by financial analysts and business leaders as a doctrine that gives rise to decreasing amounts of regulation in commercial activities, and often business lobbying efforts will seek to replace regulation with market driven forces. Sometimes, however, contemporary situations (endogenous technological change, for instance) give rise to problems that can’t be easily reconciled under the neo-classical framework.”
“White America Has Lost Its Mind”
Steven Trasher: “What was going on? Had decades of sucking down so much high-fructose corn syrup not only made Americans incredibly obese, but also messed with white brain chemistry to the point that some sort of tipping point had occurred? ” See also: “Regarding Fructose as Poison” here in the kinté space.