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The Economic and Financial Crisis
Economic problems are often trivialized as "bumps in the road" to divert from the systemic and structural contradictions of late stage capitalism. The economy should serve humankind, not vice versa. Investment is not speculation. Businessmen are not the only ones who understand growth and development. Lowering the taxes on the rich doesn't increase economic growth. Lowering taxes and wages leads to falling demand and long-term stagnation. Ernst Lohoff and Norbert Trenkle discuss the economic and financial crisis, fictitious capital and austerity.
Making Every Central Bank a Bad Bank: Ernst Lohoff and Norbert Trenkle Discuss the Economic and Financial Crisis – Part 1 of 3
Questions by Reinhard Jellen [1], Translated from the original German by Joe Keady [2], Originally published in: Telepolis [3] on August 1, 2012, Part 2 of this interview is here [4]; part 3 is here [5]
Black clouds on the horizon: With economies in Europe threatening to fall like dominoes and the end of the euro in sight, the political countermeasures [6] seem to be increasingly ineffective despite their absurd dimensions (Germany, for example, is currently committed to an overall liability [7] of € 644 billion [8]).
Every solution to the problem seems to discretely transform into an even bigger problem while exacerbating and deepening the economic, debt, and financial crisis even further. With the end of the final remaining financial bubble, namely sovereign lending, together with looming inflation, the current crisis [9] could make the period following Black Friday in 1929 look like a pleasant stroll on a bright Easter Sunday. The following is a conversation with Ernst Lohoff and Norbert Trenkle [10], whose book Die große Entwertung [11] (The Great Devaluation) locates the historical limits of the bourgeois economy in our time.
Richard Jellen: How does Marx help us understand the present crisis [12] better than other theorists?
Ernst Lohoff: To answer that, first we have to look at the conversation around the present crisis, which is characterized by a remarkable discrepancy. On one hand it's an established fact that this is a crisis of "historical proportions" and every couple of weeks there is a new summit meeting that ends with the most important heads of state announcing that they have just saved the global economy from destruction. On the other hand, the explanations that are being offered for this dramatic development are extremely meager. The official discourse around the crisis is being conducted at the level of an amateur plumber who fixes a pipe here and there while the basement fills with water. Every kind of finance-technological maneuver is being discussed, but nobody really knows what will come of them because there is no theoretically grounded analysis of the ongoing crisis process.
Meanwhile, economic theory's more thoughtful representatives are openly conceding the bankruptcy of their discipline. Harvard professor and former IMF [13] chief economist Kenneth Rogoff, for example, recently told the German business paper Handelsblatt [14] that the highly elegant economic models that have dominated academia for decades have, in practice, been "very, very unsuccessful. When the big shock came, they turned out to be worthless."
RJ: What caused that total failure?
EL: We think that it goes back to the very questions they're asking in the first place. The fundamental question of our crisis era is really quite obvious: Why does a society with absolutely explosive material productivity, one that can produce material wealth endlessly, have to conclude that it is apparently "living beyond its means"? We can find the answer to this question in Marx – provided that we read him critically and not along the interpretive models of traditional Marxism or the so-called Marx Renaissance that we're experiencing now.
Material Wealth vs. Abstract Wealth
Marx's Capital doesn't begin by contrasting capital and labor but with the "elementary form" of capitalist society: the commodity. Marx shows that the basic contradiction that explains capitalism's tendency toward crisis in general and the current crisis in particular is built into the commodity itself. It is the contradiction between two different forms of wealth: material wealth, as expressed in the production of goods, and abstract wealth, which is categorially represented as value and reified in the form of money.
Under the conditions of modern commodity production, meaning within a capitalist society, material wealth is only ever produced to the extent that it can also be represented as value, meaning to the extent that it contributes to the valorization of capital. So the production of goods is always a means to an external end: the end in itself of turning money into more money. Any time this end cannot be achieved because the valorization of capital has ground to a halt, material wealth also stops being produced. Goods are even destroyed because they can't be sold despite the fact that needs are left unmet on a massive scale. People have to live in tents while their houses sit empty, for example, simply because they can no longer pay off their credit.
RJ: What characterizes economic crises in bourgeois society in comparison with other eras?
Norbert Trenkle: Basically we can say that crises in capitalism don't arise from scarcity but from and amid abundance. This is a basic insanity that economics can't explain because it naturalizes the production of abstract wealth: It presents commodity production as a sort of innate form of human economy. For that reason, it doesn't pay any attention to the internal contradictions between the production of material and abstract wealth and it is blind to the deeper causes [15] of the ongoing crisis.
"Structural crisis in the production of real value"
RJ: What kind of economic crisis is the current one?
EL: Marx distinguishes between collective and particular crises, saying that, "In world market crises, all the contradictions of bourgeois production erupt collectively; in particular crises (particular in their content and in extent) the eruptions are only sporadical [sic], isolated and one-sided."[1] [16] No crisis in the history of capitalism has really deserved to be called a collective crisis so much as the one that has become manifest since fall 2008. It is an entire system of partial crises that mutually create, overlap, and build upon one another.
Above all, two main layers have to be looked at separately. First there is a structural crisis of real value production. This has been ongoing below the surface since the 1970s, has never been overcome, and in fact cannot be overcome because is it caused by the fact that productivity since then has been too high to keep the process of capital valorization going. Capital has to reproduce itself because otherwise it ceases to be capital and for that purpose a continuously growing workforce has to be utilized to produce commodities. But at the same time, competition is driving an unstoppable productivity race that at its core leads to the permanent replacement of labor with physical capital [17]. That is the fundamental internal contradiction in the capitalist mode of production that ultimately has to turn on the mode of production itself. Specifically, if productivity is so high that huge masses of labor power are made superfluous, that jeopardizes the very basis of capital valorization. That is precisely what is at the core of the fundamental structural crisis that the global capitalist system has found itself in since the end of the postwar boom.
RJ: What is the other essential component of the crisis?
NT: The crisis that we just described has been covered up by the bloat in the financial markets for decades. On the level of our entire society, capital accumulation went back into overdrive after the crises of the 1970s and the global economy managed to start growing again. That growth was no longer supported by actual production of value through the use of labor, however, but by explosive increase in capital within the finance industry. While the finance industry was circulating more and more property titles (debts, stocks, derivatives, etc.), it managed to transform the sleight of hand known as future value, meaning value that has not actually been produced yet and may never be produced, into abstract wealth.
But this reproduction of capital through anticipation of value, which has long since reached astronomical proportions, has itself fallen into crisis. Although the permanent increase in property titles, which capitalism can no longer survive without, is operating in the same way that it always has and is even picking up speed, that's only because that job is now being done by governments and above all by central banks. States drive up their debt and central banks guarantee private banks excessive credit at what amounts to zero interest while simultaneously buying up government bonds that no one else will buy. In fact we're slowly reaching the limits to this, the euro crisis [18] being one example.
"Central banks assume the risks"
RJ: How has the role of central banks changed over the course of the financial crisis?
EL: Above all, the term "fictitious capital" conjures the fictitious capital formed by actors in the private sector; commercial banks' claims against their borrowers; and stocks and bonds that are held by insurance companies, bond funds, or private investors. But to the extent that currencies have been removed from the gold standard, there is another actor that has become important in the creation of finance capital in the finance industry: the central bank. Monetary policy means nothing if not the influence of a currency's custodians' on the extent to which fictitious money capital is created. That can happen indirectly, for instance by setting minimum reserves that commercial banks are not allowed to lend.
But there is something else that is much more important. Central banks themselves are entering the financial and capital markets as market participants and accumulating fictitious capital. So-called "money creation" consists of central banks guaranteeing credit to commercial banks, which means buying payment promises. When central banks reduce the interest rates on that credit, it fuels the creation of fictitious capital. Increasing the prime rate has the opposite effect. That interest policy has been essential to overcoming previous crisis slumps in the era of fictitious capital. It even managed to jump start private accumulation of fictitious capital during the serious crisis of the New Economy at the turn of the millennium by drastically reducing the prime rate.
The real estate bubble, which also reignited the flagging real economy, was fed by cheap credit. But the current crisis looks different. To prevent the financial system from collapsing, the central banks have to successively take on more and more toxic assets and guarantee credit on a grand scale where no one else would do so in addition to maintaining a zero-interest policy that will provide the raw material for new bubbles. During the acute crisis phase in the fall of 2008, it only replaced the paralyzed interbank market. Ordinarily, international banks lend each other money that they aren't currently using at a moment's notice, but they were so mistrustful of one another after Lehmann Brothers went under that that form of liquidity dried up and the private banks only received credit from central banks.
What's even more serious than that short-term rescue action is the fact that the central banks have to buy up government bonds on a grand scale in the meantime to prevent the market for those securities from collapsing and setting off a chain reaction of government bankruptcies. But the banking crisis is still smoldering and the central banks are taking on the risks there as well in that they are providing distressed commercial banks with long-term credit that would obviously have to be written off in the event of bankruptcy.
Be it the Fed in the US or the European Central Bank, this is turning every central bank into a bad bank [19]. They're wildly pumping money capital into the banking system while the quality of their currency reserves is rapidly deteriorating because they are increasingly made up of unmarketable toxic assets. The last four years' worth of emergency purchases of payment promises may have prevented the financial system from collapsing, but they have only postponed the necessity of devaluation and, in doing so, nationalized it.
"The question is not if there will be inflation but when."
RJ: How likely do you think it is that inflation will set in?
NT: Monetary stability is threatened from two sides: On one hand, the central banks are feeding more and more money capital into the banking system. As long as the banks and their customers reuse that money capital as capital, meaning as long as they buy property titles or invest it productively, there are no serious consequences for monetary stability. That changes, however, when it flows into product markets and is treated merely as extra money against the commodities that are being traded. Once that happens on a large scale because of a lack of capital investments, the bloat in the financial superstructure will have to be transformed into a currency devaluation, which means inflation. At the same time, as we've already indicated, sooner or later this will lead to an open devaluation of monetary reserves. So a hyperextended supply of money will be met with reduced demand.
In this context, the question is not whether there will be inflation but when it will start and just what course it will take. So far inflation, at least here in Germany, has been limited to precious metals and real estate, which function as safe investments in the world of material goods. In everyday life this is already apparent in the form of increasing rents. But it can hardly stop at that.
Incidentally, in a way that means a return to the state that the global economy was in before fictitious capital really took off. In the 1970s, the central capitalist countries were marked by a phenomenon that economists called "stagflation:" Weak growth was accompanied by annual inflation of around 10%. But the dimensions have really slipped in comparison with the proportions of that period. Weak growth may lead to a manifest depression and inflation to hyperinflation. Postponing crisis has a price.
In Part II [4] of this interview, Ernst Lohoff and Norbert Trenkle comment on fictitious capital and the consequences of austerity.
[1] [20] Marx, Karl: Theories of Surplus Value, Part II, pg. 725, Prometheus Books, 2000.
The Economic Crisis and Fictitious Capital: Ernst Lohoff and Norbert Trenkle Discuss the Economic and Financial Crisis – Part 2 of 3
Questions by Reinhard Jellen [2], Translated from the original German by Joe Keady [3], Originally published in: Telepolis [4] August 2, 2012, Part 1 of this interview is here [5]; part 3 is here [6]
While both neoliberal [7] and Keynesian [8] theorists prefer to interpret the crisis as a problem of supply- or demand-side valorization, Ernst Lohoff and Norbert Trenkle claim that the bourgeois economy suffered a heart attack with the onset of the IT age when the increasing replacement of human labor with technology crowded exponentially larger numbers of people out of waged labor than it took in while retaining labor as the fundamental source of profit. It is a change that they say can only be compensated with speculative capital, or what is known as "fictitious capital." The quantity of property titles traded on the financial markets whose value can only be realized in the future but that are traded as capital in advance, such as derivatives, futures, options, etc., has increased dramatically in recent years and exceeds the value produced by the real economy many times over.
But this displacement of accumulation from production into the sphere of speculation does not eliminate the valorizationproblem. Instead, it moves the problem to a more profound level – with all the more serious consequences. If faith in the realization of future value should collapse because it is foreseeable that the real-economy basis that the property titles correspond to has eroded then, in the view of the authors of Die große Entwertung [9] (The Great Devaluation), the entire chain letter-style system will also collapse. Part 2 of our conversation with Ernst Lohoff and Norbert Trenkle about the economic and financial crisis.
Reinhard Jellen: What caused the present crisis?
Norbert Trenkle: When we look at the causes, we have to distinguish between the two major layers of the crisis. The base level crisis of the valorization of value is, as has already been said, a result of the acceleration of productivity development, which makes labor increasingly superfluous. The third industrial revolution [10] is playing a critical role in that. While there were also powerful drives toward rationalization in earlier phases of capitalist development, for instance in the 1920 and '30s when Fordist [11] production methods were introduced, new sectors of industrial mass production were also opening up at the same time and they required massive additional labor. That expansion of commodity production into new fields compensated for the rationalization [12] effects so that ultimately even more labor what used than before.
But in the third industrial revolution, this compensation mechanism isn't working anymore because restructuring the production process based on information technology means shifting a society's productive power to the level of knowledge [13] or, more precisely, to the application of knowledge to production. The foundations of capital valorization [14] are called into question as a result because this leads to an absolute displacement of labor power across every sector of value production that can no longer open up new industries to make themselves competitive.
RJ: So what is fictitious capital and what is its role in the current crisis?
Ernst Lohoff: Fictitious capital is essential for understanding the second layer of the crisis. It is a term that Marx introduced as distinct from functioning capital. He showed that capital doesn't just transform the production of potatoes, steel, textiles, etc. into commodity production in the course of its development but that money capital itself also becomes a tradable commodity.
"Claim to
future value"
What happens in that process is astonishing. The initial capital suddenly gains a dual existence as a result of the sale. On one hand, the initial capital is now held by the borrower or the company issuing the shares, but at the same time the creditor or the shareholder holds a mirror to the initial capital, namely a property title (loan, share, etc.) that represents a momentary claim. This doubling is no mere fiction, as the term "fictitious capital" may seem to suggest. It doesn't just exist in people's minds. It acquires an objective social existence in the form of securities as long as the certified claim appears to be redeemable. That is a claim to future value and it represents capitalist wealth in exactly the same way as the value that is squeezed out of the functioning capital of labor.
This kind of increase in capital through preliminary capitalization of future value was marginal to the point of irrelevance to the long-term development of capital accumulation in Marx's time, but over the past 30 years it has become an actual source of capitalist wealth. In order to maintain capitalist production despite the fact that labor is being made increasingly superfluous due to gains in productivity, larger and larger portions of future, fictitious value have been pumped into the present. As a result, the structural crisis of valorization has been postponed for the time being.
RJ: And where is that getting snagged?
EL: Unfortunately, a system based on anticipation of future value production can only function like a chain-letter system and as such it is squeezed from two sides: On one side, the longer this insane form of capitalism keeps reprocessing itself, the faster the toxic assets of a capitalist future that has already been consumed will pile up skyward. The debts of the past cannot disappear without consequences. Either they have to be refinanced or social capital will be destroyed through the nullification of fictitious capital.
"The debts of the past cannot disappear without consequences"
On the other side, the rising tide of ever newer property titles can only find a market if it somehow seems plausible that the promise to pay and the profit outlook on the part of borrowers and other property title sellers can be fulfilled. When that cannot be guaranteed anymore, the bubble bursts and there appears to be a "financial crisis" when in reality the only thing that has failed is the mechanism that has allowed the structural crisis of valorization to be postponed for decades. If you understand that, you know that the current crisis is far more dramatic than it is perceived to be. It is a systemic crisis in the strictest sense of the term: a crisis that genuinely calls the capitalist system of wealth production into question.
RJ: What will be the consequences of the austerity policies that are being implemented by the financial and political classes as a solution to the crisis?
NT: Two things have to be kept separate when we talk about austerity policies. Austerity in the sense of setting official goals, specifically as a path toward budget consolidation, is a Fata Morgana. So new debt will have to continue on its own because states have been left with no option other than to continuously pump untold billions into the banking and finance system in order to postpone its collapse for as long as they possibly can. They do this because there will be catastrophic consequences if they don't. But these billions can't come from real value creation. They can only be raised by repeatedly anticipating future value.
"The consequences for most of the population are devastating"
So states have to do everything in their power to ensure their creditworthiness and to do so as if they were in a position to consolidate their budgets over the long term. And that is exactly what they are demonstrating through brutal austerity policies with respect to every social sphere that is considered pure ballast from the perspective of fictitious capital: welfare systems, public services, education, etc. The official version of this story is actually quite revealing in the distinctions they are making between sectors that are "systemically relevant" and "not systemically relevant." The fact that the consequences for the majority of the population and for material wealth production are devastating needs no further explanation. It's enough just to look at Greece and Spain, where what is being implemented is exactly what sooner or later will threaten the countries that haven't been quite as seriously affected by the consequences of the crisis yet.
RJ: Why are they opting for this policy of impoverishment?
NT: They're not doing it, for instance, to create a "sustainable" society or to avoid leaving excessive debts for "our children," as the self-righteous, pathetically insincere political jargon puts it. They're doing it just to continue the accumulation of fictitious capital. The price of that keeps getting higher, however, because this is no longer a matter of keeping the abstract-wealth production machine running by sucking in future value even as that machine is ground to a halt by high productivity. Above all else, what has to be prevented instead is the collapse of the towering mountains of irredeemable payment promises. For that reason, most of the newly created fictitious capital flows back into the financial sector directly and less and less of it enters into circulation in the real economy.
"Towering mountains of irredeemable payment promises"
Consequently, demonstrative austerity policy is reaching a point where it is becoming counterproductive even for the narrow-minded purpose of accumulating fictitious capital. Where it is taken to its extreme, as in Greece and Spain at the moment, it is leading directly toward economic depression – and that also affects the banking and finance system. That is slowly dawning on the hardliners among the German and European austerity tsars. For that reason and, of course, because of the massive protests, new growth and stimulus programs are now being discussed, but it remains to be seen whether or not those programs will be implemented in time, before the deluge starts. Hopefully they will be given that they might at least slow down the impoverishment drive.
Of course even in the best-case scenario this would only create a delay because those programs are subsidized by the same fictitious capital. It follows, then, that their supporters, such as France's new President Hollande, are not challenging austerity as such at all. They just want to give it a slightly different form. They're also chasing after the illusion of a balanced budget and are ultimately willing to demand that the populace make every possible sacrifice for that fiction. From that perspective, we can expect loads of cruelty from a possible red-green governing coalition in Germany in the coming year.
RJ: n your book, you write that, "Sooner or later there must come a point when the level of productive power is longer compatible with the capitalist form of wealth." But aren't there always tendencies that counteract a crisis while it is ongoing or else afterwards?
EL: Marxian crisis theory links two elements together. On one hand, Marx supports the theory that capital is heading toward an insurmountable historical limit due to the development of productive power. On the other hand, he also examined the course of periodic crises that interrupt the progression of capital accumulation over and over. In his crisis theory, both of these elements are bound together in that the basic problem of capitalism, the subordination of material wealth production to the sorry objective of valorization of value, always appears during those periodic crises.
"A Buddhist way of understanding crises"
Even more so than in other areas of society, the discussion on the left is dominated by a marked tendency to downplay the present crisis. Accordingly, the problem of periodic crises is viewed in isolation and the possibility of a historical limit is simply crossed out. The result is a kind of Buddhist way of understanding crises according to which crises are nothing more than pure "self-correcting crises." The come and go for all eternity and ultimately they only strengthen capital. This also comes up in Marx – where he has something entirely different to say about the periodic crises. "The crises are always but momentary and forcible solutions of the existing contradictions. They are violent eruptions which for a time restore the disturbed equilibrium."[1] [15] For him, the overarching element is the constant intensification and accumulation of new contradictions.
Our argument in the book directly picks up directly on the Marxian idea of a historical limit and places it in the third industrial revolution. The fact that the destruction of capital in times of crisis restores the profitability of the surviving capital and can therefore become the starting point for a renewed accumulation drive is not a reference to the problem of the historical limit but strictly to periodic crises. It assumes that a new drive of self-sustaining capital valorization can start after the overcapacity has been corrected. But that is exactly what is fundamentally ruled out under the conditions of the third industrial revolution.
Part III of this interview can be found here [6].
[1] [16] Capital, Vol. III, pg. 249. International Publishers, New York: 1967.
Neoliberalism Turned into the Godfather of the Finance Industry: Ernst Lohoff and Norbert Trenkle Discuss the Economic and Financial Crisis – Part 3 of 3
http://www.krisis.org/2012/neoliberalism-turned-into-the-godfather-of-the-finance-industry-ernst-lohoff-and-norbert-trenkle-discuss-the-economic-and-financial-crisis-part-3-of-3 Questions by Reinhard Jellen [2], Translated from the original German by Joe Keady [3], Originally published in: Telepolis [4] August 6, 2012, Part 1 of this interview is here [5]; part 2 is here [6].
During the Keynesian era, the state established itself as an active supporter of economic life through direct and indirect interventions. However, the basic inconsistency between material output and its abstract and crisis-prone valorization in the bourgeois economy was never questioned. As a result, the fundamental dilemma remained: an increase in productivity with unchanged or stagnant rates of accumulation accompanied by a tendency to cut jobs and the increasing erosion of the basis for real accumulation.
When the Keynesian recipe stopped having a positive effect on private investments in the late 1970s, it was replaced by neoliberalism, which guided untapped investment capital into the speculative sphere of the finance industry. This led to the real economy's growing dependence on the impulses of the financial markets, which negatively impacted its economic base, in turn causing periodic bubbles in unfunded financial securities. Since the New Economy and the housing bubble burst, the extent of the crisis has gradually become clear with the erosion of public finances. Part 3 of the conversation with Ernst Lohoff and Norbert Trenkle, authors of Die große Entwertung [7] (The Great Devalorization). [Translator's note: The book is excellent and I would highly recommend that an English-language publisher in the critique-of-capitalism biz find a decent translator and get that thing out there. Just saying.]
Reinhard Jellen: You link the respective victories of Keynesianism [8] and neoliberalism [9] with various phases of the economic valorization [10] dynamic in capitalism. Can you explain that?
Norbert Trenkle: Keynesianism's relative success during the postwar boom era was linked to specific structural conditions that were beyond its reach, meaning that it had not and could not have created them. Keynesian regulatory and redistribution policy was entirely functional as long as mass industrial employment expanded and acted as the engine for a self-sustaining boom in the valorization of capital. The expansion of welfare systems and an increase in real wages [11] not only contributed to social pacification but also stabilized the economic upswing because it strengthened mass consumption. The expansion of public infrastructure was at least as important. Without that, ubiquitous industrialization and the commodification [12] of everything in society could not have functioned. Cars would not have been able to drive without a dense network of roads, electrification of households required a sufficient supply of electricity, and a good, wide-ranging education system was necessary for educating a skilled labor force.
So the state took on a central role and that fed the idea that it was also in a position to keep economic development running, to guide it, and to stabilize it over the long term. But when the postwar Fordist [13] boom came to an end, that turned out to be an illusion because, to the extent that valorization of capital ground to a halt as more and more workers were laid off due to the rapid increase in productivity, it was not just the financing sources for state activities that ran dry. Even more serious was the fact that it could not manage to start a new surge in self-sustaining valorization of capital despite massive credit-financed stimulus and growth packages.
From our perspective, there is nothing remarkable about that because, while the state can intervene in the market's mechanisms to a certain extent, it has no access to the basic process that is driven by the internal contradiction of capitalism. To put it another way, Keynesianism was helpless in the face of the across-the-board rationalization that followed the third industrial revolution, which ultimately eroded the foundations of valorization of capital. Every attempt to lead the real economy out of stagflation failed miserably.
That was the deeper reason for neoliberalism's victory. While it did not have a plan for revving up valorization of capital either, it laid the groundwork for the economic dynamics to be shifted to the "finance industry" and consequently for the crisis to be postponed for the next three decades. The critical factors here were, on one hand, consistent liberalization of the financial markets and, on the other hand, the Reagan administration's increase of the national debt, which in a way served as financing for the postponement of fictitious-capital accumulation on an enormous scale. The destruction of Fordist structures through the disempowerment of unions, etc. did the rest because at the same time the privatization of the public sector opened up new fields for financial investment, for example the transformation of state pension systems into private life insurance.
RJ: What role does the IT revolution play in all of this?
NT: In the same way that Keynesianism backed up the expansion of industrial mass production, neoliberalism became the godfather of the "finance industry." It is an irony of history that it simultaneously helped the third industrial revolution [14] break through as a result. By itself it would have suffocated on its own productivity. But the accumulation of fictitious capital created the leeway that was necessary for a broad installation of information technology. It was possible to temporarily override the powerful rationalization [15] effects that brought about a massive displacement of living labor from the core valorization sectors by taking on future value. The result, however, is a progressive erosion of value production that is only really becoming noticeable in its full scale now in the crisis of fictitious capital.
RJ: In your book, you compare economics to an "art school that prescribes an eraser as the only instrument of portraiture." What do you mean by that?
Ernst Lohoff: That leads us back to the question from the beginning of part one of the interview. Economics, regardless of which school, cannot understand the crisis because it obliterates the basic distinction between the two forms of wealth: material and abstract. The opening chapters of economic theory books always say that the purpose of economics is the satisfaction of needs and the optimal provision of goods to people and that only the market economy under conditions of advanced division of labor can achieve that.
So the market economy is described as functioning according to the principle of the simple exchange of commodities just as it would in an idealized village marketplace where shoes are exchanged for pigs and eggs for balls of wool. This systematically cuts out what is actually completely obvious, which is that under capitalist conditions, what is produced is only what will turn money into more money and that the goal of production is the reproduction of abstract wealth and the commodity is simply a medium for keeping this self-referential system in operation. To put it differently: economics uses the eraser right at the level of its basic assumptions and erases what is specific about the capitalist mode of production. It is no wonder, then, that it is incapable of recognizing the causes of the crisis.
RJ: You regard the personified criticism of speculators and bankers as anti-Semitic and racist mechanisms. Why is that? The criticism directed at bankers since 2008 has not been built on anti-Semitic cliches, unlike in the 1920s, for instance, when caricatures were laced with anti-Semitic images. Or have I missed something?
NT: For starters, we fundamentally distance ourselves from any personified criticism, which is currently out of control in every possible form. The crisis of fictitious capital is also a crisis of the euro. And how is it being addressed? It is because of the "lazy Greeks" who allegedly squandered "our hard-earned money." This personification doesn't just insanely overlook the fact that a society has been impoverished in the middle of abundance simply because all wealth has to be forced through the needle eye of commodity production. What is worse is that the rage over this miserable state is projected toward specific, constructed collective subjects so that now it is in fact open season on them.
Open season on collective subjects
Placing the blame on bankers and speculators is by itself "only" one such personification. But there is a hint of something else within that and it is usually an unconscious thing. That particular personification is largely congruent with a basic model of anti-Semitism that constructs an opposition between "constructive" capital and "money-grubbing" capital – and the latter is identified with "the Jews." We can see that model again today in the widespread idea that the real economy has been destroyed by some greedy speculators and what matters is that they are put in their place.
That does not mean that everyone who lashes out against bankers and speculators is an anti-Semite. What it does mean is that this projective model of processing the crisis is completely compatible with the anti-Semitic mania. It's no coincidence, then, that the metaphorical language drifts in that direction again and again, for instance in the notorious term "locusts," which German Social-Democratic politician Franz Müntefering popularized, positioning himself as a critic of capitalism. The phrase "they attack us like locusts" comes from the Nazi propaganda film Jud Süß and anyone who wants to be like these greedy pigs needs no further explanation. Other images recur as well, such as the popular depiction of finance capital as an octopus with the world in its tentacles. This one also turns up in an almost identical form in the Nazis' anti-Semitic propaganda. We need to be extremely careful about this. There is still a taboo in Germany about transitioning into open anti-Semitic agitation, but the tendency is becoming noticeable and it is very dangerous.
RJ: What political and theoretical practices concretely arise from your theoretical model?
NT: Well for one thing a totally fundamental rejection of austerity. It is just completely insane to claim that we have lived beyond our means and have to tighten our belts in the face of enormously high levels of productivity. The opposite is true. If we were to make full use of the possibilities of modern productive power, every person in the world could have a good life and would only have to spend a fraction of their lifetime producing material goods.
The compulsion to produce abstract wealth
The only reason that doesn't happen is because the company, of course, obeys its compulsion to produce abstract wealth, because it adheres to the notion that material wealth is only recognized insofar as it represents "value." And this is not simply a kind of missed opportunity or a possibility that went unnoticed. Adherence to the logic of value production at the current state of productivity is simply catastrophic because it leads to the exclusion of enormous numbers of "superfluous" people who are sacrificed at the altar of the systemic imperative to maintain the flow of fictitious capital from the future into the present.
But if we free ourselves from the seemingly obvious idea that goods can only be produced as commodities, then whole new perspectives open up. Specifically, we could ask how and in what form the existing potential could be meaningfully used for the general welfare without having to think about financial viability, marketability, or profitability. Instead, we would have to assert the perspective of material wealth and concrete needs. This already happens in the practices of social-movements, for instance when evictions are prevented because people don't see why anyone should have to live on the street or in a tent simply because they can't pay their mortgage or their rent anymore or when people just say no to privatization of public agencies in cultural or social spheres. Those are first steps that point in the right direction. When they are linked with a radical critique of the form of abstract wealth, whole new perspectives of social emancipation open up.


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For the November Gallery Inspired Challenge here: http://www.scrapbook.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/1581935/post/new/#NEW. I had Michelleroz's Beach Baby http://www.scrapbook.com/gallery/image/layout/3771829.html chosen for me by KelseyMel, and the twist is "novels".
My somewhat nebulous attempt at the twist is in the journalling behind the photo. It is all about the story of my friend's 3-year restoration on her 19th century house, from no foundations, rising damp and rain coming through the roof, to its present liveable state, and her plans for the future. I hope that is close enough!
$15.90 $13.51

subset: commoncrawl


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Today's Pop Hit is a daily series where Pop Candy readers submit their product recommendations:
Today's Pop Hit: Original oil paintings and prints by Steven J. Bejma
Recommended by: BIG BUSINESS in Cleveland
Because: I attended the 2011 Cinema Wasteland Convention in Strongsville, Ohio. Cinema Wasteland is three days of films and fun celebrating the drive-in era of horror and sci-fi movies. The convention floor is full of horror-related items that go from tasteful to totally obscene. I've always been a fan of the Universal Monsters since I saw the films when I was little and was so happy to see these great prints of oil paintings by artist Steven J. Bejma.
I loved his work so much I had to get four prints to put in my pop culture room. The prints join my Grindhouse, Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Star Wars, Pop Candy San Diego, and Kick-Ass posters.
It'll cost ya: $5 for a print, $500 for an oil painting.
Find it: http://www.etsy.com/shop/classichorrors and http://www.graphicsbyartman.com/artman/home/home.html>
Do you have a submission for Today's Pop Hit? Send it to email@example.com, and look for it on the blog!
Whitney has been writing about pop culture for USA TODAY since 1999, when Pop Candy began as a weekly column. Her interests include music festivals, mustaches, Lost, comic books and Andy Warhol. She lives in New York City. More about Whitney | E-mail Whitney


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text:
I am Virgil.
Virgil is the shortened, anglicized version of Publius Vergilius Maro. Some people spell it Vergil.
I also answer to "hey you."
I am a proud member of Ravenclaw House.
I love writing historical fics, poetry, and song parodies. I'm a sucker for the pairings Lily/Sev and Harry/Luna.
I'm currently working on an extremely epic historical fic called "Ascendio," and it's about the adventures of Anne Boleyn. I've done a ton of research for it and I've tried to keep it as historically accurate as possible, so please read it!
~A few of my favorite things~
Harry Potter character: Severus Snape
Harry Potter book: Deathly Hallows
Harry Potter quote: "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth would that mean that it is not real?"
Book (excluding Harry Potter & The Bible): Looking for Alaska by John Green
Food: Scottish strawberries (other strawberries are okay too)
Candy: Sour Patch
Music: John Williams
City: Edinburgh, Scotland
Poet (excluding Homer): William Blake
Subject in school: Latin
I've been noticing this story again and again on the "Most Recent" page for ages - but being the procrastinator that I am, I've only just started reading it. Now I'm dreadfully behind - what a shameful thing for a Ravenclaw to admit! Well, I sadly don't have time to read all of your chapters in one night, so I suppose I'll have to do a few each day.
I love your beginning. The prologue really hooked me in - it was just vague enough to be intriguing without being too confusing, but it left me begging for more. You introduce Lottie and the concept of Muggle camps really well. I've always been fascinated by the what-ifs of alternate universe, especially when Voldemort wins, but I far too often shy away from creating long and intricate plots from those what-ifs. It is way too daunting for me. You are very brave! *applause*
I really like the school that you have created - Alsemore. It's obvious that you put a lot of thought into the Founders and teachers, and all of the logistics of getting the Muggle-borns adjusted. It makes sense that there would be a separate class for dueling and a class for Occlumency/Legilimency. The character Lottie is quite interesting - she certainly has quite an attitude, and I'm curious to see how her relationship with Andrea will pan out.
The whole premise of this plot is great. I can't wait to read more!
Author's Response: Oohh a new reader! This is so exciting!
Thank you for all of your kind words! I'm glad my frequent updates have caught someone's attention haha. (All credit goes to my beta for that--she's such a star.) I'm nearly finished updating the entire story, so you'll have a finished product soon.Thanks so much for the review!
Ah! This story keeps on getting more and more intense ^_^ wow. Really good chapter!
Author's Response: Thanks so much for the review!
I keep on liking this story more and more! I have to use all the will power I've got to not use all my free time reading this... I really should work on my own long-term fic, haha.
Lottie is certainly growing on me as a character. You've created her in such detail, and her personality is definitely memorable. She really shines in that scene with the Death Eaters outside the castle - and there are plenty of other hints that make me think that in time, she'll probably be a really good spy.
Author's Response: Thanks! Hahah I'm so excited to have someone hooked!
Lottie is really a unique character, yeah. She's not a typical Potterverse hero, which I was really interested in creating.Thanks for the review!
Hey, so my email told me that I got a message from you on the beta boards, but I'm having issues with my beta boards account (I can't log in for some reason! :( it's so sad!) so, uh, this is the only way I could contact you. Sorry. What did the private message say?
Anyways, I really like this fic - Ginny/Neville is an uncommon pairing in fanfic, but you write it beautifully. I like how you express the way Ginny loves Neville because he "brought her peace" - you have a really good point there.
This fic is such a pleasure to read :) you write Snape so well!! He's so in-character (usually when I try to write Snape, everything starts to run into mushy Sev/Lily fluff) and your sense of humor is wonderful. It's just so great to read good Snape fanfic, because it's hard to find - Snape is a really difficult character. Your portrayal of his attitude is just so incredibly spot-on. I can't wait to read more! ~Virgil
Author's Response: Well, it was meant to be a birthday present for Chante', but I'm glad so many other people are liking it too!
Wow! It seems like you've constructed quite an intricate plot here, and your writing style is excellent as well. I really want to know what happens next, so keep updating!
Author's Response: Thanks Virgil. Mmm, it is a bit of a convoluted plot ... but I shall keep going. Glad you're enjoying it. ~Carole~
I love this song (and this fic... just btw... haha) I love Harry/Ginny (well I also loveeee Harry/Luna but that's just the little voices in my head.) "Sometimes, it make me feel mental, but ironically it keeps me sane." I can totally relate. And "Who knew that throwing things in rage at bathroom mirrors could be such good therapy?"
Author's Response: Ah yes, I hear those voices sometimes too. It's quite alright. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. Also, thanks so much for commenting on my fic. It made me smile :)
I really like the way you characterized James in this piece. Often, in fanfiction, he is portrayed as a stereotyped Gryffindor who isn't afraid of anything; I enjoyed reading this because it was a breath of fresh air, portraying the lionhearted James Potter as somebody a little more vulnerable.
Author's Response: Yeh, it did feel good to make James a little more human!
Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy as the godparents? This is going to be interesting >.
Author's Response: Yes they are, I'm not sure who else could be since Professor Snape is good friends with them. Stick around you never know maybe you'll like it.
I like these. My favorite is the one about Narcissa. Just one thing about the chapter title - I think it should be "The Malfoys" - no apostrophe.
Author's Response: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I'm glad that you told me which one was your favorite. Thanks again!
Oo goody a twin fic! I love twins. They're just so amazing. :D Update! I'd like to find out what happens to Carina...
One formidable Longbottom grandmother and two mischievous Weasley twins teach Rita Skeeter a very public lesson...
UK English, canon ish , humour.
Very well-characterized and humorous as well! diarrita skeeter.... haha.
Author's Response:
Hello Virgil,
thanks very much! Poor Rita's name was just asking for a very unflattering makeover - although, at least now, it suits her more!
Thanks for R & R-ing,
Kara's Aunty :)
Good first chapter! I'm itching to find out what happens next...
Author's Response: thanks for the review! i pretty much have the next chapter done, it just needs some tweaking. i hope to put it in sometime next week when school isnt so busy.
"and Harry's mood swings"
I actually lol'd. No, really, I'm getting weird looks from my sister.
Author's Response:
Hello Virgil,
it is a bit cheeky, isn't it? If Voldemort knew about this song, I'd be one of of those murdered Muggles he was trilling about...
Thanks for R & R-ing,
The title of this fic caught my eye because I was a Muggle for Halloween (just to avoid spending money on a costume, but still) and I think it's really cute. A couple of minor grammatical mistakes - your vs. you're, etc. but overall *totally awesome*!
Author's Response: Thank you! I must have missed those errors; I'll have to go back and fix them. ~Lexi~
*has an ohsnap moment*
Author's Response: Thank you! I'm very flattered!
Is this really your first fanfic? Nicely done. I've always wished Sev/Lily could have happened. -tear-
Author's Response: Thank you!! As for Sev/Lily, I feel the same way :'(
You say you know everything about Harry Potter.
You say you know everything about the year he speant searching for Horcruxes throughout England.
You say you know everything about what was going on in Hogwarts that year; how his friends Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and (ex)girlfriend Ginny Weasley kept up the inner-school rebellion against the Dark Lord and his legions.
You say you know, but you really don't. Do you know of me? Of how I was thrown into the mess unknowingly; blindly; of how I found myself compelled to asist the side of good, and not the side of evil? How, throughout this process, I learned more about myself, magic, and the world than I ever thought possible? How we despaired, laughed, cried, mourned, loved, smiled, and kept breathing through it all? How, when it seemed victory was ours, it was taken away?
Do you really know?
Neville/OC, with some hints of R/Hr and H/G.
I like your style of writing. I'm interested to see how this develops :D
It's Christmas time in magic land! A look at the Christmas celebrated in two very different households.
[poem. two very different homes]
aw, very touching.
Author's Response: Thank you! =D I'm glad you liked it.
I had always suspected that Mrs. Norris was an animagus O.o good one-shot! ~Virgil~
Author's Response: Thanks! As I read through the series, I was always curious about the bond between Filch and his cat. Her name just led me to believe that there had to be more to the story. I can't wait for JKR to write the encyclopedia already! I will be interested to see what she was thinking about, concerning these two.


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East Rutherford, NJ - May 5th, 2012
Main Card
Diaz vs Miller
Koscheck vs Hendricks
Palhares vs Belcher
Barry vs Johnson
Hathaway vs Krauss
Gaudinot vs Lineker
Castillo vs Cholish
Denis vs Bedford
Massenzio vs Vemola
East Rutherford, NJ - May 5th, 2012
Main Card
Diaz vs Miller
Koscheck vs Hendricks
Palhares vs Belcher
Barry vs Johnson
Hathaway vs Krauss
Gaudinot vs Lineker
Castillo vs Cholish
Denis vs Bedford
Massenzio vs Vemola
Let's update the final card:
Nathan Diaz vs. Jim Miller (lightweight 5 rounds) (FOX)
Josh Koscheck vs. Johny Hendricks (welterweight) (FOX)
Rousimar Palhares vs. Alan Belcher (middleweight) (FOX)
Pat Barry vs. Lavar Johnson (heavyweight) (FOX)
Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Johnson (lightweight) (FUEL TV)
John Dodson vs. Tim Elliott (flyweight) (FUEL TV)
John Hathaway vs. Pascal Krauss (welterweight) (FUEL TV)
Louis Gaudinot vs. John Lineker (flyweight) (FUEL TV)
Danny Castillo vs. John Cholish (lightweight) (FUEL TV)
Dennis Bermudez vs. Pablo Garza (featherweight) (FUEL TV)
Roland Delorme vs. Nick Denis (bantamweight)
Mike Massenzio vs. Karlos Vemola (middleweight)
Personally, I'm expecting the whole night to be carried by the top two fights, if they deliver. I'm picking Jim Miller to win, probably by TKO. Apart from the Henderson loss, Miller has looked great and I just don't see him falling into the Diaz trap that Cerrone did. Diaz is a good fighter but I think he gets overhyped and I don't see him having enough to stop Miller or finish him. Koscheck didn't look good against Mike Pierce and I thought he was a little lucky to get the split-decision win. He is obviously a top-level wrestler, probably better than Hendricks from a technical standpoint but not by much. But if you hit him with the right punch and hit him hard enough, he will go down, and if Paulo Thiago can flash KO Koscheck, Hendricks very well could knock him out cold. Koscheck isn't that sharp standing up and he'd do well to stick to what is probably his best advantage, wrestling. I expect Koscheck/Hendricks to go one of two ways; Koscheck wrestlerapes Hendricks to win by decision, or Hendricks KO's Koscheck early on.
Weigh-In results:
Nate Diaz (156) vs. Jim Miller (156)
Johny Hendricks (170.5) vs. Josh Koscheck (170.5)
Alan Belcher (186) vs. Rousimar Palhares (186)
Pat Barry (244) vs. Lavar Johnson (253)
Tony Ferguson (154.5) vs. Michael Johnson (156)
John Dodson (126) vs. Tim Elliott (125)
John Hathaway (169) vs. Pascal Krauss (169)
Louis Gaudinot (126) vs. John Lineker (127)*
Danny Castillo (155) vs. John Cholish (155.5)
Dennis Bermudez (145.5) vs. Pablo Garza (145)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Roland Delorme (135) vs. Nick Denis (135)
Mike Massenzio (184) vs. Karlos Vemola (185)
* - Fined $1,200 for missing weight
Any members in the area who want to go, there are plenty of tickets still available from $35 to $599 on StubHub.
Prelims underway. We got thwe TUF Runner-Up with many strong takedowns against Garza already. Allthough all in all, he's losing the ground battle...
The EC: Good for Business.
Mike Massenzio vs. Karlos Vemola
Massenzio made a few takedown attempts in the first round and these dictated the fight and won him the round. Both men started swinging in the second round and Vemola appeared to get rocked by a punch but he ended up getting Massenzio on the ground, going for a couple of submissions, before getting Massenzios back and, with no hooks, getting a rear naked choke in 1:07 of the second round.
Nick Denis vs. Roland Delorme
Delorme took some punches and then some nasty knees while Denis had his head and the referee rushed in and almost stopped it. They exchanged more punches standing up before Delorme rocked Denis and stalked him down and hit a few more stiff strikes before getting Denis down and manoeuvring into a rear naked choke, almost from the side, and Denis tapped out at 4:59. This was a hot fight and hopefully at least gets shown on Fuel.
Pablo Garza vs. Dennis Bermudez
Most of the first round was Bermudez in top position controlling the action but Garza using his long legs to threaten with submission attempts and a lot of upkicks. They did exchange submission attempts and the highlight was the slam/takedown from Bermudez that got the fight to the ground. The second round was mostly Bermudez in top position and using strikes to keep busy and prevent Garza from going for submissions. We also saw another nice slam from Bermudez. The third round was more of the same. Bermudez got the back of Garza near the end of the fight and was working for a choke as the fight ended. Not a captivating fight but it showcased Bermudez as being a tough Featherweight.
John Cholish vs. Danny Castillo
A lot of clinching and then mostly stand-up for the rest of what was an uninspiring first round. The second round saw some tentative strikes punctuated with attempted takedowns and a lot of circling around. There was a nice slam at the end but that was as exciting as the second round got. The highlight of the equally dull third round was Cholish going for a flying heel hook right before it ended.
John Lineker vs. Louis Gaudinot
Rock em' Sock 'em for most of the first round with both men just letting the fists fly, before it got to the ground with Gaudinot in top position. Lineker went for a heel hook but it came to nothing. More wild striking in the second round, and Lineker appeared to land more of the strikes, before the fight went to the ground with Gaudinot in top position and punishing Lineker. Gaudinot manages to sink in a tight guillotine and Lineker gets choked out with seconds to go.
Pascal Krauss vs. John Hathaway
Scrappy punching and a big knee from Hathaway are the highlights of the first round. Krauss did get top position near the end but I'd say Hathaway took the first round. The second round was mostly standing with Hathaway getting in some nice strikes. He was in top position for a short period but nothing of note was really achieved. Hathaway dominated the third and didn't really show Krauss any respect with some of the chances he took. Hathaway landed some big shots and he was clearly fighting with the idea to do enough to win without putting himself in any real danger.
Timothy Elliot vs. John Dodson
We had lots of wild and undisciplined striking the first round but neither fighter was getting too reckless and this was another great showcase for the speed of the lighter weight divisions. Elliot got poked in the eye late in the first round and it took a couple of minutes to settle. The second round saw Elliot pull out spinning kicks and cartwheels and both guys cranked up the pace and were again going all out but Elliot got in the harder shots. More of the same hard pace in the third round but Elliot was again getting in the better and stronger shots and at the end was holding Dodson by the leg, with both standing, and really landing some big strikes. Dodson takes it 29-28 but I thought Elliot won.
Michel Johnson vs. Tony Ferguson
There was more disciplined striking from these two. Johnson dropped Ferguson last in teh first round but Ferguson almost returned the favor. They didnt do much in the second round. Johnson got in some big strikes but that was about it as far as action goes; most of the round was both men circling each other. Round three was more circling and feints thrown with Johnson getting in a few nice strikes but it was a rather boring fight overall.
Pat Barry vs. Lavar Johnson
This was two grown men beating the shit out of each other. Each blow thrown was done so with bad intentions. Barry pulled out some ground work but it soon got back to a standing position and Johnson kicked and punched the shit out of Barry some more and Barry was doing nothing but covering up and when he got knocked down the referee stepped in. Not a technical classic but this lived up the hype of being a slugfest.
Pat Barry vs. Lavar Johnson
This was two grown men beating the shit out of each other. Each blow thrown was done so with bad intentions. Barry pulled out some ground work but it soon got back to a standing position and Johnson kicked and punched the shit out of Barry some more and Barry was doing nothing but covering up and when he got knocked down the referee stepped in. Not a technical classic but this lived up the hype of being a slugfest.
Alan Belcher vs. Rousimar Palhares
The first round was the groundwork version of the slugfests earlier in the night. Belcher and Palhares got tied up, Belcher even had Palhares in position for the 'banana split' and then almost for the twister. Their legs got intertwined and it became a battle for the leg of Belcher; Palhares wanting the heel hook, Belcher looking to get free. It was great. Belcher got free, got top position, and pounded Palhares into oblivion and the referee stopped the fight. This was a fantastic fight.


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Mistake QuotesWe all make them, let these mistake quotes encourage you to accept, learn and move on from the mistakes you have made. Be encouraged by the words of others regarding errors you have made.
"We all make them, the difference is what we do after we make the mistake, how we see the mistake - a learning experience or a failure." Catherine Pulsifer
Experience |
"Most people claim that they feel like they're trapped in a rat race, without an exit. While we can all feel this way from time to time, it's important to know that there is a way out." Debeena Harris, Mindfulness
Words of Encouragement |
"You make mistakes. You try to learn from them, and when you don't, it hurts even more." Aretha Franklin
Making Mistakes |
"A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new." Albert Einstien
Famous Quotes |
"Most people tend to move on from their mistakes without looking back, but this just deprives them the opportunity to carry out the crucial exercise of understanding what went wrong." Rupert Johnson, Build for Success
Opportunity |
"It's okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers - they help us to learn." John Bradshaw
Teacher Quotes |
"The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one." Elbert Hubbard
Fear |
"So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because that's where you will find success. On the far side of failure." Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Success |
"Your capacity to learn from your mistakes and move on will be key to your ultimate success and achievement." Amy E. Dean
Achievement |
"There are no mistakes, no coincidence. All events are blessings given to us to learn from." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Blessed |
"Mistakes can help us to fine tune our skills, learn better ways of doing things, and get our priorities straight." Angela Agranoff, Overcoming Guilt and Shame
Motivation |
"The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything. Do not be afraid to make mistakes providing you do not make the same one twice." Theodore Roosevelt
Graduation |
"Never ever believe that each task must be done perfectly. We are humans and we all are bound to make mistakes, whether a few or many, little or big, or rarely or frequently." Lindsay J. Hallie, Positive Thinking
Believe |
"People have the right to make their own decisions, even if they're making a mistake." Scott Curran, From God to You
Decisions |
"Many a people habitually raise fingers on others, but how many dare to point fingers on themselves when they have committed a mistake, whether intentional or genuine?" Amit Ahlawat, Seven Ways To Sustained Happiness
Happiness |
"We make our mistakes, we fall yet we learn something new and we rise again. That's the design of humanity, this is our destiny." Angelina Talpa, Love Yourself
Destiny |
"So what if you make mistakes? That's what it means to be human and that's how you learn to become better." Amy Pendergrass, Productivity: Stick It!
Take Action |
"I used to give myself an incredibly hard time inside my own head. If I made a mistake it wasn't just a question of noting and adjusting. No. My mind would be off; criticizing, prophesying doom and failure and generally beating myself up." Jenny Clift, The Music Inside
Failure Quotes |
"Mistakes are a sign of trying, and it is always better to try and fail than to fail to try." Robert Washington, Inner Peace and Happiness In 14 Steps
Thomas Edison Mistake Quotes |
"Mistakes arm you with new knowledge that you can bring to the situation." Tom Meitner, Living with Intent: How to Choose Joy and Success, and Change Your Life in 7 Days
Knowledge |
"One of the most common mistakes individuals make is attempting to cram in so many "relaxing" activities that they only become more stressed and exhausted." Jamaal Watson, Stress Management
Relaxing |
"By failing, a lesson can be learned. One can learn to avoid the mistake that caused the failure." Glen Mizrahi, Simplicity: 1,000 Ways To Reduce Stress and Simplify Your Life Starting Today
Stress |
"Learning to stand on your own feet comes by making right decisions and by overcoming mistakes." Robert Mitchell, Transition: Life's Unavoidable Reality: A Guide to Successfully Navigating Change
Quotes about Overcoming |
"Holding a mistake over someone's head does not rehabilitate them." E'yen A.Gardner, Husband Rules: A Guy's Playbook on How to Win in Marriage
Marriage |
"The moment we learn to forgive ourselves for mistakes and look forward is the moment when we will better manage our emotional state." Nicole Smith, Success: How to Become Successful in Life, Effective Steps to Success
"I don't forgive people because I am weak. I forgive them because I am strong enough to know that everyone makes mistakes." Author Unknown
Forgiveness |
"Despite the best of intentions, nonprofits will make mistakes, and those mistakes can cause harm to clients or participants." Mario Morino, Leap of Reason
Possibilities |
"The biggest mistake in executing change successfully is to switch into a program without encouraging enough excitement and sense for importance of this issue to the employees." Max Cesar King, Make Winners!
Change |
"A strong leader is one who is open to criticism and welcome feedback. And why not, he or she is only a human being, bound to make mistakes." Daniel Transon, The Leadership Challenge
Leadership |
"If you make a mistake, be big enough to admit to the mistake. People will think much better if you make an admission after a mistake." Keith Boyer; Matt Riley, Psychology and The Art of Persuasion Box Set
Peoples Expectations of a Coach |
"Recognise your own shortcomings and be prepared to learn quickly, including from your mistakes. If you don't jump into the deep end at some point, you will never learn to swim." George Ilian, Richard Branson: The Life and Business Lessons of Richard Branson
Funny Quotes about Life |
"A moral dilemma may occur because of a prior personal mistake. The predicament of the situation is self-inflicted." Oyvind Kvalnes, Moral Reasoning at Work
Work |
"Honesty and maturity are two key factors that separate those people who can successfully change their lives and those who are destined to continually repeat the same mistakes over and over again." Sarah Devnil, Build Healthy Habits For Fun And Profit
Honesty |
"Being able to spot mistakes and communicate clearly on how to improve is a core managerial skill that will enhance employee performance efficiency." Steve Gold, Elon Musk: The Business & Life Lessons Of A Modern Day Renaissance Man
Communication |
"Stop flogging yourself over the past mistakes and hurtful memories of the past." Kellie Sullivan, Confidence: 5O Cool Ways To Express Yourself Daringly, Embrace Vulnerability While Being Kind To Yourself
Memory |
"People who work for a living make mistakes. Always remember this. People who pride themselves on making no decisions or any mistakes probably are not very valuable to you." Steven Rosenthal, The Ten Commandments of Supervision
Top Ten Quotes |
"Probably the biggest thing you can do for yourself when you are trying to learn a new skill is give yourself permission to be imperfect. You are going to make mistakes when you first start, and you may find that you goof up in embarrassing times, but that is no reason to not see it through." Adrienne Stevens, Psychology: 15+ Special Techniques to Learn Any Skill or Subject in 20 Days
Did We Fail |
"Self-development will help you better yourself, and it�ll allow you to make way fewer mistakes, helping your business to grow and survive." Monica Bell, Passive Income
Thoughts on Personal Development |
"Your ability to understand and direct kindness over yourself over failures and mistakes is an important matter." Mia Conrad, Self-Compassion
Kindness |
"Don't put other people down - a big mistake that a lot of opinionated people make is always putting those around them down." Emma Jones; Zach Raymond, Influence and Persuasion
Influence |
"One of the biggest mistakes executives make is thinking they can steamroll diversity and inclusion initiatives." Serilda Summers-McGee, Change the WorkGame
Common Traits of a Coach |
More Mistake Quotes:
Words of Wisdom | Inspirational Quotes | Quote of the Day | Quotes by Topic | Thought For The Day |
Contact Us | About Us | Disclaimer | Disclosure | Motivational Links |


text:
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In Sankt Johann-Alpendorf, we write Skiing with a capital "S"!
5 top ski regions, 25 amazing ski resorts, 270 modern ski lifts and 760 kilometres of well-groomed slopes – yours to enjoy in the Ski amadé - Austria biggest ski region.
With just one ski pass you have access to:
- Salzburger Sportwelt
- Schladming-Dachstein
- Großarl Valley
- Gastein
- and the Hochkönig
Sankt Johann-Alpendorf is just an hour's drive from Salzburg – the City of Mozart – and a popular resort within "Salzburg's Sports World". Other must see resorts are Wagrain, Flachau, Zauchensee, Flachauwinkl, Kleinarl, Radtstadt, Altenmarkt, Filzmoose and Eben.
The ski carousel Alpendorf/Wagrain/Flachau offers days of fantastic skiing. But for a new experience or if you are new to the sport, we also recommend visiting Sankt Johann's popular Hahnbaum slopes, known around town as the "Sankt Johanner".


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James Lyon of St. Johns County, Florida, was arrested for allegedly having sex with his neighbor's dog.
According to the neighbor, James abducted one of his dogs and brought it in inside his trailer for a certain amount time. He told authorities, "My two dogs were outside running around, it started to storm so I went to go grab them. I found one, but I couldn't find the other. I searched everywhere for her and then after a while I seen James carrying my dog out of his trailer."
The neighbor asked James what he was doing with his dog, "Why are you carry my dog out of your trailer?"
"I found your dog in my shed." James responded.
"Well why you taking it out of your trailer then?" the Neighbor asked.
"I gave it some food it looked hungry." James said.
When the neighbor brought the dog back into the house he noticed the dog was acting weird and quickly suspected something was wrong, and the thought that James may have harmed his dog crossed his mind. "My dog just didn't seem right, she was whimpering and had trouble walking. The first thing I could think was James f#cked with my dog…And I was right." He told reporters.
Yes he was.
The neighbor took the dog to the veterinarian to be examined. After a thorough examination it was determined that the dog was recently sexually abused. And after some crafty DNA testing it was determined that James Lyon sexually abused the dog.
James was arrested and charged with animal cruelty and sexual activity involving an animal. James Lyon is no stranger to the law and is no stranger to being accused of committing unusual sexual crimes. In fact, in 1998, Mr. Lyons was convicted of attempted sexual battery and sexual act with a child, subsequently serving 13 years in prison. Moral of the story : good fences make good neighbors, and if your neighbor is a convicted sexual predator then real high fences make good neighbors.
Full Story:Jacksonville News
Side note: Florida passed a law in 2011 making it illegal to fornicate with animals.
*slight dramatization


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InfinitFocus Photographer
DNikaModel Female Dallas, Texas, US
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For Profit Schools
Leonard Mayo was at his wit's end. The public school where his son Joshua attended second grade was one of Philadelphia's best, but Joshua hated it. "He was not being challenged, and when my wife Lisa and I would ask about after-school activities or a gifted and talented class, the teacher would say there was nothing," says Mayo, 30. In despair, the couple looked at private schools and found a first-rate one nearby. But the $10,000-a-year tab was daunting on Mayo's salary as a telecom company account executive. And Joshua's brother, Jared, then 4, would start school as well in another year.
The couple had just decided to make the sacrifice when they heard about a school in nearby Bensalem that promised the best of both worlds: a high-quality education usually found at private school but at no cost. Something called Mosaica Academy Charter School was set to open in
September, 1998, a strange hybrid that was publicly funded, and therefore free, but run by a private, for-profit company called Mosaica Education Inc.
The place itself hardly looked innovative--it was housed in an abandoned, 60-year-old public school--but it had jettisoned many of the trappings of public schools. Starting in kindergarten, Mosaica students use the company's proprietary curriculum, which immerses them in the development of civilizations over four millennia. There is no teacher's union, the school day is almost two hours longer than at the public school, and the academic year is 20 days longer. The school had no track record yet, but intrigued, the Mayos took the plunge and enrolled their sons. Today, two years later, "Joshua is learning things in fourth grade that I was learning in eighth grade," says Leonard. Mosaica's fourth-graders advanced twice as much on national tests as the national norm last year, and the 500-student school has a waiting list of 400.
Mosaica is a harbinger of what proponents believe will be a revolutionary force in U.S. education: for-profit companies that run publicly funded schools. In the past few years, more than a dozen new school-management companies have sprung up from nowhere (table). They offer widely differing approaches, but all promise to make a buck while doing something that 15 years of school reform has largely failed to achieve--namely, better educate America's children.
GROUND FLOOR. Right now, for-profit schools are just a blip on the screen: They teach some 100,000 students at about 200 schools out of America's 53 million children in kindergarten through 12th grade. But they're growing faster than a hungry 2-year-old. In two years, Boston-based Advantage Schools has shot from $4 million in revenues to $60 million. In the five years since it opened its first four schools, Edison Schools Inc. has jumped from $12 million to $217 million in revenue. It now runs 79 schools in 16 states.
Advocates have even grander visions of the future. By 2005, New York-based Edison Schools alone will be managing 423 schools with 260,000 students, giving it revenues of $1.8 billion, predicts Michael T. Moe, analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co., which helped Edison raise $122 million in an initial public offering last November. By 2009, for-profits could capture as much as 10% of the $360 billion the U.S. now shells out annually on K-12 schooling, estimates Moe. Proclaims Edison founder and CEO H. Christopher Whittle: "In 20 years, 20% to 30% of U.S. public schools will be run by for-profits."
If even half of these claims come true, it would dramatically reshape U.S. education. Years of reform efforts have wrung change from the public schools, but it has come at a glacial pace. If for-profits turn out to be a viable alternative, they could begin to give parents real school choice for the first time, accelerating the pace of progress.
Big-name investors are subscribing to this vision, lured by the prospect of getting in on the ground floor of an entirely new industry. From J.P. Morgan and Fidelity Ventures to Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures, a host of backers are sinking millions into the new school companies in the belief that for-profit education is poised for explosive growth. "This is a breakthrough business opportunity," declares Michigan industrialist J.C. Huizenga, who has invested "upwards of $50 million" in National Heritage Academies. Adds Legg Mason Inc. analyst Scott Soffen: "In the near term, you're going to see growth not unlike the Internet."
What's driving the fervor is the belief that competition--driven by the profit motive--can deliver the quality education so many American parents are clamoring for. "We're on the brink of fundamental change," declares former U.S. Education Secretary and onetime Republican Presidential candidate Lamar Alexander, who is on the board of Leeds Equity Partners III, an investment fund specializing in emerging education companies.
STRUGGLES. Despite the almost-messianic rhetoric, though, it's far from clear that for-profit schooling will live up to expectations. Indeed, the companies make dramatic claims. Edison and Advantage both pledge to have most students eventually doing college-level work by the 11th grade. But so far, students at some of these schools are still performing poorly on tests. And because many schools have been open only a year or two, "the jury is still out on whether they improve academic achievement" in the long run, says Brookings Institution education expert Tom Loveless.
The very idea of making money from educating schoolchildren also raises hackles. The education Establishment argues that many goals of public education will be compromised by companies whose primary motive is a quarterly profit. Already, they cite examples of for-profits cutting extracurricular activities and turning away the severely disabled. "Educating children is very different from producing a product," argues Bob Chase, president of the National Education Assn., who predicts that for-profits may be just another school reform "fad du jour."
Even the mainstream business community is largely skeptical. Groups such as the Business Roundtable have stayed focused on trying to improve public schools from within, while well-known CEOs, like IBM's Louis V. Gerstner and Boeing Co.'s Phil M. Condit, have thrown their clout in with the nation's governors to set high new standards for student achievement. It's not so much a political stance as a practical choice; under even the most optimistic scenarios, public schools will educate 70% to 80% of Corporate America's future workers for the foreseeable future. With the New Economy already sending companies scrambling for skilled workers, corporate leaders figure they had better try fixing public education first.
Nor have for-profits yet proved that they can make real money. Their basic contention is that public schools have built up a tremendous bureaucratic overhead that can be dramatically slashed. But so far, few companies are profitable. Edison, which in fiscal 1999 lost $49 million on revenues of $133 million, has seen its stock slump nearly 25%, to 14, since its November IPO. And on Jan. 3, Scottsdale (Ariz.)-based Tesseract Group Inc.--which pioneered the concept of for-profit public schools in 1990, when it was known as Education Alternatives Inc.--said Nasdaq was threatening to delist its shares. The company is trading for less than 1, down from a 1993 high of 49, after large losses.
Still, despite the obstacles, for-profits may have come along at just the right time to have a shot at success. Poll after poll shows that education is a top concern for Americans. It's little wonder why. In December, the National Education Goals Report conceded that the U.S. has fallen far short of the aims governors had set a decade ago for 2000. The high school graduation rate hasn't improved at all. And U.S. 12th-graders came in 15th out of 20 developed countries on international math tests, and 12th in science. No surprise that many parents are ready to try almost anything not run by the local school bureaucracy.
GUINEA PIGS. Such concerns have opened the schoolhouse door to profit-making education companies. In response to parental demand for more choice, the states have created charter schools, which are typically started by groups of parents and teachers. They apply for a charter, usually issued by a school board, university, or state agency, and receive tax dollars, but they may then operate independently of the rules that govern most public schools. Charters draw little of the political controversy that is sparked by vouchers, another school reform program that gives parents public money to help send their children to private schools. Minnesota passed the first charter-school law in 1990, and the concept has now spread to 36 states. The number of charter schools has soared to 1,700 from fewer than 100 in 1994; it will reach 3,000 by 2002, according to U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley.
The charter school movement, in turn, has fueled for-profits. The first for-profit contracted directly with a school district when Dade County, Fla., hired Educational Alternatives, now known as Tesseract, in 1990 to operate a troubled Miami public school. Soon, the company won new contracts in Baltimore and Hartford. But after repeated clashes over everything from funding to hiring, the contracts were canceled. "We were the guinea pigs who showed what wouldn't work," recalls Tesseract Chairman John T. Golle.
So far, for-profits are proving adept at marketing to dissatisfied parents. Advantage lures desperate urban parents with school uniforms, strict discipline, and a rigorous curriculum that tells teachers exactly how to teach each lesson. "Their philosophy was exactly what I wanted," says Darlene Vandreuil, whose two children attend Advantage's Abbey Kelley Foster school in Worcester, Mass., where students take Latin beginning in the third grade.
By contrast, Beacon Education Management's middle school in Chelmsford, Mass., is geared to a suburban clientele. It aims to stimulate students to think by scrapping most textbooks in favor of hands-on projects. Recently, students studied a nearby lime quarry, learning to survey it and prepare detailed maps.
"FIRST-RATE." Edison has the most comprehensive approach. The company made a splash in 1992 by hiring former Yale University President Benno Schmidt Jr., now Edison's chairman, to lead a $40 million, three-year effort to develop its program. Edison's schools combine challenging curriculums--such as the highly regarded Success for All reading program--with a rigorous schedule that keeps kids in class 28% longer than the average public school. Starting in third grade, students are given a computer and modem to take home, so they can use "The Common," Edison's intranet, which features a virtual library and other resources. "Edison is a really first-rate company," says Deputy Education Secretary Mike Smith.
Because for-profits are still public schools, some of the experimenting has led to politically charged confrontations that true private schools don't encounter. For example, Michigan-based National Heritage Academies (NHA) is appealing to parents with discipline and traditional values. Every month, students study a different virtue, such as generosity, prudence, and fortitude. Many parents love the results. "This is like the school where I went; it's safe, it's wholesome, there's a healthy atmosphere," says Kim Vander Sluis, a stay-at-home mom with two children at NHA's Vanguard Charter Academy outside Grand Rapids, Mich.
But other parents see a religious school that has no right to taxpayer dollars. For Jeff Seaver, a parent with two kids at Vanguard, the last straw came when he attended a school "moral focus retreat" at which a Baptist minister delivered what he describes as a revivalist sermon. Seaver is now suing NHA for violating the Constitution on church-state grounds.
MULTIPLY THIS. For-profits are also tearing up the rule book on hiring. Michigan's largest for-profit, Leona Group, tapped a former General Motors Corp. marketing manager, Rod Atkins, to be principal of its Voyageur Academy, a Detroit elementary school. Atkins got the job after serving on the school's board, which includes managers from GM and Ford Motor Co. He has no previous teaching experience and hardly acts like a traditional principal. Last year, he fired a kindergarten teacher for poor performance, which almost never happens in unionized public schools. And after discovering many kids were having trouble with multiplication tables, "we decided to put everybody in lockdown from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m." for additional work, he says. When parents arrived to pick up their kids, Atkins told them to come back later. They said "fine," he recalls.
Most for-profits claim such methods are producing impressive results. "After one year, we're showing 10% to 15% gains" on student test scores, says Advantage CEO Steven F. Wilson. National Heritage says its students have been advancing the equivalent of 1.4 grades in a year. Some educators remain dubious. "Each of these developers pulls out its best school and says that's what is happening," says Harry Levin, director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Columbia University's Teacher College. Until rigorous studies are done over more time, he cautions, such claims can't fairly be judged. Still, many educators concede that parents often are more involved in for-profit schools, something studies show is key to improved performance.
Of course, for-profits can't solve all of the obstacles that can be thrown in the way of learning. The problems plaguing many U.S. schools go way beyond the classroom. Despite all the public concern, most students in affluent and even many middle-class areas get a reasonably good education. The real disasters lie in urban areas, especially low-income ones. Better teaching methods and fewer bureaucrats won't necessarily overcome the difficulties students bring to school from drugs, crime, and broken homes. For-profit schools face "the same kind of problems as public schools in very tough areas," says American Federation of Teachers President Sandra Feldman.
The challenge for the private companies is that parental demand for choice is the most urgent in the worst-off schools. Initially, critics feared that for-profits would try to "cream" the best students away from public schools. But that hasn't happened. In the suburbs, parents already pay a housing premium in areas with good schools. But in the big cities, parents are screaming for options. "That's why Advantage is going exclusively after the urban market," says CEO Wilson.
BETTER PAY. Another rap against for-profits: inexperienced teachers. Despite the stock options and merit pay that many for-profits offer teachers, the companies often pay less than public schools, where low salaries have long impaired recruiting. Take Edison's Boston Renaissance, a K-8 school that serves 1,150 mostly low-income, minority youths in Boston. When it opened in 1995, "we started with a significant number of inexperienced teachers," many of whom soon left, says David Knapp, chair of the school's board. And while Edison sent students home with computers, "people didn't know how to use them, and they lived in areas where there's vandalism and theft, so only one-third were returned," says Tom Wesner, a private-school principal who taught at Renaissance for three years. By 1998, most of the school's students were failing the state math test.
That year, Edison brought in Roger Harris, a respected Boston middle-school principal, to run the place. To help recruit experienced teachers, Harris shortened the school year to 191 days from 205, boosted salaries by 7%, and begun offering multiyear contracts--all moves, ironically, that make it more like a public school. Teacher turnover has dropped, and test scores have begun to improve.
Posting profits, though, is still a problem. Many for-profits charge hefty management fees, about 12% of a school's revenues in the case of Philadelphia's Mosaica, for example. To cover the fee and still run the school, they expect to spend less on administration. Sure, public schools are less efficient than Corporate America, but "claims that half of school spending is wasted on administration is hyperbole," warns Edison's Whittle. He figures the average district spends about 27 cents of every dollar on its central office. As Edison expands, Whittle says economies of scale will help him slice that to just 8 cents. In Edison's case, most of the savings will be plowed back into the classroom. That would leave Edison with a slim 7% profit, concedes Whittle, who is counting on explosive revenue growth to fuel Edison's stock.
But this model allows no funds for building new schools. Whittle figures such capital costs can eat up 20% of the annual funding for-profits receive. Typically, for-profits get the same per-child operating budget as public schools but no capital funding. To cope, many use buildings public schools would never consider. Advantage's Abbey Kelley Foster school, for one, is housed in an old tool-and-die factory, which cost Advantage just $2.5 million to refurbish.
HIGH HOPES. Charter Schools USA, just two years old, is pioneering what CEO John Hage calls "second-generation charter schools" that rely on clients to pay for school buildings. Ryder Systems Inc. agreed to pay $4 million to build Charter's new elementary school, which opened last fall across the street from the trucking company's South Florida headquarters. In exchange, the children of Ryder employees get preference. Ryder CEO M. Anthony Burns says the school is a way to make Ryder "a preferred employer." The problem: The scheme only works because Florida law allows the school to give Ryder employees first crack at slots in the school. Not all states do. And the idea could prove controversial, since it amounts to private parties buying rights to attend a public school. Ultimately, the growth of for-profits could be stunted unless politicians were willing to give them access to taxpayer-backed bonds and other capital sources enjoyed by public schools.
Meanwhile, many for-profits are cutting corners elsewhere. Few offer a school-lunch program or bus transportation for students in outlying towns. Expensive extracurricular programs such as sports are limited. And most aren't equipped to handle students with severe special education problems, which public schools are obligated to serve. "It is a lot more expensive to educate a child who is disabled or emotionally troubled," says Education Secretary Riley.
Many for-profits say it's this very cost consciousness, plus strong revenue growth, that is bringing them close to profitability. "We can break even with just 30 schools," says Beacon President Ronan--a number he expects to reach within two years. But Merrill Lynch warns that Edison may not make money until 2004, when it will be running nearly 300 schools. Still, such rapid expansion has prompted Merrill to give Edison its highest "buy" rating, arguing that Edison "can grow both its revenues and earnings at nearly 70% [a year] for the foreseeable future."
"WE'RE HEMORRHAGING." The more they succeed, the more many educators worry that for-profit charters are draining money from the public system. "We're hemorrhaging," moans James Caradonio, superintendent of the Worcester (Mass.) school district, which includes schools run by Edison and Advantage. He figures he'll lose $1.6 million this year to the for-profit schools. And in Grand Rapids, 351 students have been lost to charters. "If we continue to lose students, it will jeopardize the current public schools," complains Sue Maturkanich, president of the local teacher's union.
Advocates say that's the point: For-profits--and the charter-school movement in general--are causing the kind of fiscal pain that forces some public systems to adapt to parents' needs. In Lansing, Mich., which has lost 10% of its enrollment to charters--half run by for-profits--and to Michigan's interdistrict choice program, the public schools have instituted all-day kindergarten, an honors program in middle school, and a "community school" in cooperation with Michigan State University. And in Mesa, Ariz., where 1,200 students have defected, the public schools are now offering an early-kindergarten program and have opened an alternative high school. The city is even taking out print and movie-theater ads to get the word out.
Clearly, the for-profit industry is already a force in the reshaping of U.S. education. And even as the debate rages over the schools' effectiveness, they continue to catch on, district by district. It's not impossible to imagine the day when school boards will offer families a menu of choices among for-profit, nonprofit, and traditional public schools. Of course, the for-profits will have to deliver on their grandiose promises for that to happen. But if they come close, U.S. education could be in for a revolution.