Re: <nettime> history lesson

[Kimberly De Vries <cuuixsilver@gmail.com>]

On 1/21/07, Brian Holmes <brian.holmes@wanadoo.fr> wrote:

>I read in the New Left Review an article by a guy named R. Taggart
>Murphy called "East Asia's Dollars." He says this:
>
>"There is no secret about the identity of the biggest dollar holders.
>They are the central banks and other Financial institutions of Japan,
>China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
>Emirates. If the dollar is going to crash, one or more of these places
>is going to have to change its stance towards the American currency.
>They display such a seemingly reflexive commitment to accumulating and
>retaining dollars that some commentators have described the current
>global financial order as ???Bretton Woods II??????a continuation by other
>means of the dollar-centred international order that prevailed in the
>postwar decades. The label does not itself explain why these states
>behave as they do. But it suggests that, for whatever reason, they have
>motives other than maximizing returns on their foreign-currency
>holdings; that they have a vested interest in the continuation of a
>US-led ???nancial system." (1)

I suspect that China is soon (if not already) going to be in a
position to take a much firmer stance against American policies with
which they disagree.  On the one hand they've just demostrated their
own anti-satellite capabilities, are sending people to the moon, and
generally proving they've caught up in technology, on the other, if
anyone in Washington starts promoting any real action against them,
they have the US on a pretty strong economic choke chain, especially
given the insane levels of our national debt.  --I don't actually buy
into the paranoid fears of a "dragon rising," however I do wonder what
the people behind the US china policy are actually thinking.

>>It may be that the American public needs educating about its
>>own passive role in generating this nightmare.
>
>I think they do (or we do!) and I also liked Kimberley de Vries' idea
>that we oughtta actually do something with all the discussion on the
>subject. But what? An open letter to the Americans on the eve of their
>(our) next godawful election? I lay at bed last night (Ok, I'm a little
>feverish) thinking about the chances of a nettime-organized bot-net
>revolution massively spamming the US population with the most finely
>tuned and clearly worded explanation ever dreamable of why the whole
>world-system is sick and what can be done about it.... Tactical
>economics anyone?

I'm not sure spamming everyone would accomplish what we want, but
hitting a lot of news outlets might, not to mention political leaders.
Because some newspapers, like the NY Times, now only let paying
subscribers read their op ed columnists, these statements against
Bush's policies and questioning the war (among other things) are now
only reaching a narrower, wealthier readership.

On the other hand, letters sent from "regular" people is visible for
free.  --the economic distinction here bears investigating as well,
but that's another topic...

So, yes, let's do something.  Whom exactly shall we try and reach?

Best,

Kim


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