Many thanks to John McVey for his financial contribution.
On June 22, 2011, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke reflected that he did not "have a precise read on why this slower pace of growth is persisting." Gilles d'Aymery worked diligently to explain the whys, but got sidetracked by editing issues and other matters, so you'll have to wait for the explanation. But in the meantime, we are re-posting his three-part series on why the economy is not coming back. Published in 2010, his analysis stands pretty solid. Perhaps readers could send a copy to Mr. Bernanke at the Fed. It's never too late to teach and to learn! There is still much to learn from the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, particularly as it pertains to the torture we profess not to commit (one cannot help but think of Abu Ghraib). Michael Barker presents Part I of a series on one of the best known psychological experiments ever performed.
Turning to culture, Paul Buhle reviews Kim Scipes's book that recuperates the evidence of intelligence activities among American labor's elite for the last half century or so and offers some guidelines for understanding its deeper significance, while Peter Byrne takes on, in his typical amusing style, the ego-sodden exchange between Michel Houellebecq and Bernard-Henri Levy in their book, Public Enemies: Dueling Writers Take On Each Other and the World. Jan Baughman provides an otherwise humorous account of Swans publishers' ongoing struggle to have the Sunday New York Times delivered to their rural home -- perhaps a symptom of the demise of print journalism, or just bad customer service. New contributor Jana Hill describes her return to the neighborhood of Overtown, Miami, whose honesty and dirt she finds ravishing. Next we're off to the theatre, first with Charles Marowitz for Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, which takes a break from hilarity with its high degree of snob appeal; and next with Femi Akomolafe and the more somber Surprising Europe, along with Femi's interview of its subject, Ssuuna Golooba, who emigrated from Uganda to the Netherlands for a better life, only to find himself, like most African immigrants, in a bewildering and hostile environment. Then we turn to Part II of Raju Peddada's series on inattentive children in which he examines some of the famous examples of those whose potential could never be accurately prognosticated.
In the French corner, Marie Rennard writes a short love story between an American and a French woman (not what you'd think); Christian Cottard considers the happiness that comes from the simple things like water, honey, and stars; and Simone Alié-Daram explains the concept of resilience. We close with the poetry of Claudine Giovannoni & Guido Monte, who describe the questions about the fate and the internal human power to fly without wings, and your letters on Harvey E. Whitney, Jr.'s The State of Education in America, and confirmation from Italy and France that conditions are no better there.
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Gilles d'Aymery: The Economy Is Not Coming Back: Part I: A Short History of the Maelstrom
(First published on September 20, 2010) Part I of this three-part analysis reviews the historical making of the deepening economic crisis, from the feudalism era, to rise of the entrepreneurial class, to the contemporary indebtedness of the masses. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: The Economy Is Not Coming Back: Part II: The Reasons it Won't
(First published on October 18, 2010) Part Two of this series on why the economy is not coming back takes a look at the reasons why it simply can't. More...
Gilles d'Aymery: The Economy Is Not Coming Back: Part III: The Reasons it Shouldn't
(First published on November 15, 2010) Part Three of this series on why the economy is not coming back takes a look at the reasons why it simply should not. The profound and intensifying environmental and ecological crises militate in favor of not having the economy come back to the shape and form it had. More...
Michael Barker: Challenging The Stanford Prison Experiment (Part I of III)
Part I of a three-part series on the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, one of the best known psychology experiments ever undertaken. More...
Paul Buhle: Kim Scipes's AFL-CIO's Secret War
A review of Kim Scipes's book that recuperates the evidence of intelligence activities among American labor's elite for the last half century or so, and offers some guidelines for understanding its deeper significance. More...
Peter Byrne: The Big Schmooze Mail Call
Peter Byrne takes on the ego-sodden exchange between Michel Houellebecq and Bernard-Henri Levy in Public Enemies: Dueling Writers Take On Each Other and the World. More...
Jan Baughman: Help Wanted: A rural struggle with The New York Times delivery
The otherwise humorous account of Swans publishers' ongoing struggle to have the Sunday New York Times delivered to their rural home may be a symptom of the demise of print journalism, or just bad customer service. More...
Jana Hill: The House That Man Built
A reflection on the author's return to Overtown, Miami (Florida). More...
Charles Marowitz: Midnight In Paris
Woody Allen's latest film Midnight in Paris takes a break from hilarity with its high degree of snob appeal aimed at the intelligentsia. More...
Femi Akomolafe: Surprising Europe
The author examines the harsh reality of African emigration to Europe and interviews Ssuuna Golooba, a Ugandan who left for the Netherlands and whose life is featured in the documentary Surprising Europe. More...
Raju Peddada: A Parent and Teacher Conference Part II
Second part of Raju Peddada's considerations about his own son as a study in understanding and coping with inattentive children. More...
Marie Rennard: Non Dit
L'existence...une affaire étrange, dit l'auteur de cette sensible nouvelle d'amour silencieux entre deux femmes. More...
Christian Cottard: Deux jours entre autres...
Une nouvelle sur le bonheur des choses simples, l'eau, le miel, les étoiles. More...
Simone Alié-Daram: Un mot à toutes les sauces : La résilience
Une explication du concept de résilience par une femme savante. More...
Claudine Giovannoni & Guido Monte: Fliegen Ohne Flügel
Monte and Giovannoni describe the questions about the fate and the human interior power 'to flight without wings. More...
On Harvey E. Whitney, Jr.'s "The State of Education in America," and confirmation from Italy and France that conditions are no better there. More...
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