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john birchall

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  1. So, a 'liberal',something which is now a term of almost immediate distrust to many Americans has lost the race for the White House. This did not suprise me and being in Brussels on the morning after the result was known was a sombre experience. However, fifty five million US voters did support Kerry. Of this total 88% of all registered 'blacks' supported the Senator, whilst a similar number of whites supported Bush. In winning Bush recorded the lowest percentage vote of any war time President and was not that high in the 'popular vote' statistics either. Alas, as Lyndon Johnson said as he signed the Civil Rights Act ' I have just handed the South to the Republicans for the next three generations'. We have to accept that race, fear and not just of the Muslim faction played a large role in the election and for many outside the eastern strip and its western counterpart their way of life was under threat. Gone is the strategy once used by Nixon that Republicans win when they target the middle ground-no Bush has firmly left 'thinking conservatism' behind. In the Uk we are at least saved this threat and it will be interesting to see how Howard reacts. I doubt if Hilary Clinton or any other non-Southern candidate will win back the White House for the Democrats ( who started as the party of slavery) in 2008. No, the urban, white working class vote and growing parts of its rural equivalent have changed to the Republicans and promises which most don't trust on health reform and economic advantage will not bring them back. So, the man who blatantly lied about Iraq has beaten a party that dared not really take him on regarding the moral highground post 9/11 and attack his record both at home and overseas. We now have confirmation of what many of us thought and that is that the US is more isolationist and preseumably arrogant than it has been for some time. Perhaps our only comforting thought is that we are not French! John Birchall www.johnbirchall-economist.com
  2. Yes, I would be interested in helping colleagues further their use of IT. In recent years I have developed much of the topical sections that allowed Bized to become a well-used site and then moved onto the development the first web-based learning system for business education. I also build the majority of the EU Virtual School Economics and Business Section. John Birchall www.johnbirchall-economist.net
  3. Alas, I can remember where I was when the news of JFK's death came through - Cub Scouts! It was the only time I saw my parents really interested in politics. Since then I have kept an open mind on a man who seemed to offer so much. Ironically, the current democrat candidate has the same initials. Though I am an economist I write on current issues and have collected quite a large collection of interviews with people on the topic of Kennedy and his supposed legacy. John Birchall www.johnbirchall-economist.net
  4. Coming soon to the EU Virtual School (Economics) will be a fully supported course in Global Awareness. I trust that this is useful to colleagues, when it arrives! John http://www.johnbirchall-economist.net/
  5. Coming soon on EU Virtual Schhol (economics) will be a fully supported EU Enlargement Challenge Game. Resource suggestions will form part of the lesson plans. Hope it is useful, when it arrives! john http://www.johnbirchall-economist.net/
  6. I very much doubt if VS will repond. Pity but not unexpected. John
  7. Melvin, I have started to put quite a lot of materials and useful links on my site www.johnbirchall-economist.net. Also you might find the Virtual School useful, a link exists on my site. I am keen to build collaboration and communication across EU states, so please contact me whenever you want. Best wishes, John http://www.johnbirchall-economist.net/
  8. You might like to visit www.globalwitness.org which specialises in tracing how much money is raised from resource exploitation and how much is actually recorded. The majority of its work concerns the developing world. John www.johnbirchall-economist.net
  9. I have recently been using the following. They are quite good and you might like to pay them a visit. It would be nice if some of our visitors suggested other sites we could visit. www.socialstudies.com/economics. www.jpec.org/humanities www.spot.colarado.edu www.investopedia.com/university/economics www.digitaleconokmics.com Best wishes, john Birchall www.johnbirchall-economist.net
  10. Alas, we seem to agree on the sad state of the VS. I have written considerable amounts of material for the site and produced almost no repsonse. Is this because everything is in English? I have also offered to work with my French and German equivalents and try to build connections with the two single largest markets that exist within the EU. To my suprise VS seems disinterested in traffic figures and response levels! I did enjoy a few days of dialogue with some Italian teachers but that has now stopped. I just wonder if all the costs and individual work is really worth it? John www.johnbirchall-economist.net
  11. sorry I did not realise where you had first seen his work. I feel that in essence he is correct but he does tend to reduce the inequalities caused by MNC'c to a minimum. Best wishes, John www.johnbirchall-economist.net
  12. Cigarettes have been causing the same problems since the times of James 1! Where do you tax in a post Thatcher era - that is we have been told that we should not pay high rates of tax? Franco kept booze and fags cheap for the workers, whilst the UK talks of freedom to select what you want. I was in Birkenhead yesterday and I would not want to increase the tax on booze and stand for election! I do beleive that more repsonsible behaviour towards drink, especially amongst the young will favour higher taxes. I would also like to see brewers pay for alcoholic dry out centres and something toeards the high cost of drink related RTA's - a policy once put forward by Robert Kilroy Silk!! john www.johnbirchall-economist.net
  13. The forum recently received a boost in traffic from Italy but it is beginning to wane. We are on VS, then Economics, then Community and a join sign comes up. I have tried to get BOTH France and Germany on board but that is VERY diffcult. John www.johnbirchall-economist.net
  14. Dear Dalibor, I am pleased that what I wrote introduced you to one of your fellow countrymen. I do not agree with all he says but our exchanges of correspondence have been most constructive. Indeed, he has written a small piece for me for a seminar I am holding in Sierra Leone this April. We are discussing development strategies and Johan's ideas deserve considerable attention. I can only hope that in a society such as yours that he is encouraged to speak and write, for only then will those opposed to his ideas be able to fully grasp the complexities of what he says. Best wishes, John www.johnbirchall-economist.net
  15. John and others, It's amazing what a difference a few days can make. I finally made contact with Italian students from Verona and now we have a large number of disccussions taking place. Most contain more philosophy than anything I have experienced in UK! Indeed, I am kept rather busy answering everything. Alas, I have not been able to entice either French or German participation. I did have to work hard producing powerpoint presentations, weekly news, analysis of current affairs and other features and then the visitors had something to look at and use. So, at last some good news but like others I am always amazed by the lack of concern amongst those at VS regarding traffic and real involvement. I'll stop there as I might say something that will annoy those in Brussels!! John www.johnbirchall-economist.net
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