Comments on: Essential Research: 57-43

By: William Bowe

William Bowe — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:40:37 +0000

By: fredn

fredn — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:24:12 +0000

In 2009 the population of Europe was estimated to be 830 million, the USA’s 300 million. It’s no longer about the states of Europe, it’s about Europe.

By: Psephos

Psephos — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:16:59 +0000

The European powers were, even in the 19th century, fairly small countries in terms of the world’s population. They were able to establish domination over much larger non-European populations because (a) they were the first to discover the enormous wealth-generating power of capitalism, particularly banking and trade, and (b) they were able to exploit the resources of the Americas, then very thinly populated and open to settlement and exploitation.

These circumstances are not going to be repeated. Now that the whole world has been drawn into the international system of capitalist production and trade, rich but relatively small countries like Germany, France and Britain, even Russia and Japan, will inevitably lose their places as leading powers to larger countries. The three largest countries are China, India and the USA, and they will soon become, and will remain, the world’s dominant powers. The US will lose some of its relative dominance to China and India as the latter two grow richer and more powerful, but a country with 300m people, a whole continent to occupy, a huge lead in technology and enormous military strength (not to mention vast “soft power” as the world’s dominant culture), is not going to cease to be a world power within the next century (unless they elect more Republican morons as President.)

By: Grog

Grog — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:12:02 +0000

They’re obviously cracking under the stress, vera

By: Grog

Grog — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:11:24 +0000

Well if you don’t like reading about Jackson’s death head to the West – from the News.com. sie, the most read story on each paper is Jackson, except for Perth Now.

Their top story?

“Gossip Girl’s nude pix leaked”

http://www.news.com.au/

By: vera

vera — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:10:51 +0000

Check out the photo here
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/police-question-rudds-advisers/1551531.aspx

By: marktwain

marktwain — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:08:23 +0000

I know it, Adam, I just don’t understand why people blame the media for giving them what they want. Perhaps you, a purveyor of the “swine flu is a myth” meme, could enlighten me.

By: fredn

fredn — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:04:12 +0000

OzPol Tragic
Posted Friday, June 26, 2009 at 6:21 pm | Permalink

Lists the changing economic powers.

Other then; the top dog changes; I’m not sure of your point. It would seem to support my view that anyone who assumes the USA is going to remain a first order power is ignoring history.

Do note all but the last were European powers, and that the European have finally worked out how to run the whole serbang as one.

By: Bushfire Bill

Bushfire Bill — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:03:36 +0000

Well, MJ’s death didn’t surprise me. For a few seconds – between sleep and awakening this morning early as I heard it on the radio – I wondered whether it wasn’t just another publicity stunt. The guy had “dead before his time” written all over him from long ago.

Nice music, good dancer, but hardly the stuff of “world mourns”.

My sympathies go out to the poor truckie who – about 500 metres from the scene – copped a stray bullet fired by an over-testosteroned person of the idiot persuasion and died immediately. That is not only bad luck (and I heard that too about a “once in a lifetime event” but it didn’t hit home until polyquats brought it up – well spotted poly) but very, very bad cess to all concerned. To think that an innocent man, going about his business, not the slightest bit interested in what a bunch of “South-Western Sydney” gorillas get up to should pay with his life for just being there, fills me with anger and outrage.

MJ, thanks for the boogie, but I’m just not interested enought to delve into your sorry, sad life any further.

By: scorpio

scorpio — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:03:16 +0000

What’s the bet that Insiders will also run a section on MJ too to take the heat off Turnbull.

Insiders will be the major political outlet this weekend with probably a handful of second hand/inaccurate, stories in the Sunday papers.

Can’t resist reproducing this one from JtI. Most people will get it and I hope the rest get over it and realise where it is directed.

I’m sure others have noticed the jokes are flying thick and fast across the emails this morning at poor Michael Jackson’s expense. Mostly not very tasteful. But one I did see was a gem:

“Ex Labor Party leader Kim Beazley is expected to make an announcement soon paying tribute to the late Jackson Browne”.

http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/jacktheinsider/index.php/theaustralian/comments/afp_caught_up_in_the_bloodletting/P25/