decomposability

"a true system is 'decomposable' into subsystems...that interact with one another. individuals in one subsystem do not have to interact with individuals in another subsystem on the same level." e. o wilson_____________this fits in pretty well with joseph tainter's view that collapse is not a descent into chaos ( although increased violence is probable ) but rather a simplification of complex systems as a reaction to the diminishing returns of increased complexity...subsystems that can operate independently could cushion the event depending on how much direction actually came from the center and how well the subsystem could re-adapt itself to local conditions and limits in terms of self-support rather than those of meeting the center's needs._______________"in their dynamics, hierarchies have a property, near-decomposability, that greatly simplifies their behavior. near-decomposability also simplifies the description of a complex system and makes it easier to understand..." robet a. simon___________how interconnected are the subsystems? even if individuals in subsystems need not interact the subsystems in a complex organization do...and how many of these interactions are controlled ( or even monitored ) by the center? does the center's use of "near-decomposability" simplify the system or just simplify the center's understanding of the system? do some of the subsystems' interconnections subvert the center's control? probably...people are always looking for a better deal...cooperating subsystems could fission off and become competitors of the center...human cognition has its limits and causality in non-linear...made up of literally billions of decisions and actions undertaken by individuals on a daily basis...even the best informed among us can have only the most general idea of what's actually going on...i can't help but think that simon's "near-decomposability" only simplifies the center's understanding of the system..the system remains interconnected, complex, and non-linear...that simplification of understanding is only an invitation to hubris

welcome to oligarchy

it's been a while since anything has prompted me into a caustic response...the presidential race is such an obvious joke that it is, for the most part, beneath comment...it does, however, represent the final death of what small piece of representative democracy the framers of the constitution were forced to throw in to make the whole deal go over and assure the continued existence of a government safe for the elite ...that death will be the fulfillment of the vision of hamilton and company...and so..in a small way this screed does tie into that...today.s n y times "t" style magazine is all about what the the issue title names "the greats"...that clown in the photo is karl lagerfeld...a fashion designer and a great either because he has a fashion sense that draws the elite like moths to a flame...or because he's worth $125 million...along with old karl ( who is on only some of the magazine covers...i got lucky...the rest of the "greats" grace the others )there's rihanna...songstress extraordinaire and culture baron worth $140 million...then there's quentitn tarantino who's some sort of film maker and who holds $90 million in assets...we have the artist ( not the actor ) steve mcqueen who is worth $30 million ( who says you have to starve for art ? )...then there's the writer johnathan frazen worth a paltry $10 million...carmen almon is an artist whose net worth i cannot find but given mcqueen's i bet it''s comparable...and then there's the chef jeong kwan...who is also a buddhist nun and so probably not nearly as wealthy as the others...at least presumably...so what do the "greats" have in common beyond the obvious wealth held by some? they all do things that pander to the pretensions of the elite eager to enhance their wealth with some sort of cultural status..it certainly explains the wealth held by these people...anything to help the appearance of the nouveau riche wall street extortionists polish the tarnish...that the n y times is an elitist newspaper is beyond question despite their denials...that wealth rules and that most wealth defends itself against the mob is equally true...it has been so since beyond 1789...that's only when it became official policy in this nation...let the slime ball whore politicians deny it...even bernie sanders is of the system...it's just his rhetoric that makes him unelectable...fuck these people.

international luxury conference

"Hosted and moderated by New York Times fashion director, Vanessa Friedman, and award-winning New York Times journalists, the International Luxury Conference addresses the most critical challenges — and unexpected opportunities — in today’s luxury battlefield. Rigorous analysis and lively cross-border debate among top C.E.O.s, prestigious economists, technology mavericks, entertainment and sports icons, and artists will provide crucial insights, fresh ideas and new strategies for winning the hearts and minds of luxury consumers. ​To participate in this unprecedented event — where you will join interactive sessions led by global experts, dine in the spectacular Chateau de Versailles and connect with luxury influencers from around the world — please request an invitation today."____ http://www.luxurybeyondproduct.com/ _______ i have been perusing the four pound behemoth sunday new york times at a leisurely pace...and a good thing too or i might have missed this howler...they are hosting the "international luxury conference" in france ( where the fuck else? ) at some pile called the"chateau de versailles" to discuss the" luxury battlefield"...sponsoring a conference aimed at strategizing ways to relieve the wealthy elite of as much lucre as possible is just another nail in the coffin of their non-elitist stance...and who is this group of "jet set" grifters? ceos from gucci, addidas, chanel..an"artist" a "film maker" a "professional polo player"(!) and style predator victoria beckham...and i had to laugh like hell at "prestigious economists"...still chuckling over that one...this is a long haul from peoria...in reality it is a lang haul form most of new york beyond that rarefied atmosphere in parts of manhattan where wealth scoffs at the rest of us and the kids call the nanny "mom"...the "winning [ of the ] hearts and minds of luxury consumers" is tops on the agenda and one wonders what "luxury beyond product" actually means...my best bet it that is a groveling sycophantic approach that repels the elite but drags them back with status goods with a hefty price tag to insure everyone knows how much luxury it really represents...shrewd as wealth may be in the game of speculation ( with other people's money whenever possible...QEII? ) they are suckers for ostentation..( just have a hard look at the whore moron trump as he makes an ass of himself all the way to trump dc ) and nothing says ostentation like price...so there is a grifters' conference in france in november ( 17-18 )and my firm contention is it isn't going to be cheap to attend either...you can go to the url above and "request an invitation" but you'd better be prepared to present your bona fides and fork over some filthy lucre...you have to spend money to make money...rip n y times credibility...this ices you as being whores in waiting.

elitism is a subjectivist position

a ways back the new york times ran an editorial titled "priced out readers" in which it denounced its reputation as an elitist newspaper...it was a fair shot at propagandizing the paper's alleged populist stance but their actions continue to belie their position...today's paper is over four pounds of elitist pretension including ( but not limited to ) a t magazine "men's style" issue that weighs in at over a pound...aside from the obscene amount of money this behemoth generated for the times through advertising the aim is in some doubt as far as the ass of citizens is concerned...most "men: in their right minds wouldn't wear ( or could afford to wear ) most of this stuff and besides...every feminist i knows insists men have no style...so why bother...for me though, the center piece of this utterly disconnected issue is the gigantic fold out of headshots of the main cast members of yet another film about fucking steve jobs and his apple swindle...a goad towards a "must see" film about the rightness and wholesome goodness of venture capitalism, technology, and the human need to further splinter its already shattered attention span with more novel gizmos that make other people wealthy...yep...the nyt is a "paper for the people"...as long as your people are those of wealth

the vilest of all traps

"my mind revolts, in many instances, against the constitution of the united states. indeed i am afraid it will turn out the vilest of all traps that ever was set to ensnare the freedom of an unsuspecting people" william maclay from his journal of the first congress 14 june 1789________________________________________________________________________"it is with difficulty that i refrain from giving the most severe language to some of our senators. king vapored this day at a most unaccountable rate. the opponents to the constitution were blind...the business was now complete. we need not care for opposition. henry of maryland joined with him; said the constitution of the united states implied everything; it was a most admirable system. thus did the heroes vapor and and boast of their address in having cheated the people in establishing a form of government over them which none expected." william maclay journal entry 14 february 1791_______________________bill was a veteran of pennsylvania politics as well as the french and indian wars and served in the continental army...this marks him out as both a radical ( pennsylvania = radical...unicameral legislature...no upper house in that state...then there's the pennsylvania line mutiny...find that in your history books ) and as a member of the cadre of political operatives who wrote and , ostensibly, believed in, the declaration of independence and its focus on the individuals right to political self-determination...that as opposed to the cadre of second tier political operatives who framed the constitution and had the living shit scared out of them by shay's rebellion and, more so, by what the voters of massachucetts did after the rebellion was quashed by, among others, elitist students from goddamned harvard...the authors of the federalist papers were not writing in support of the political will of the masses as a beacon for legislative action...no..they were all about a glib disenfranchisement with a veneer of democracy that, in the end, reflected the political will of the elite as the "will of the people"...the political system we celebrate today is still functioning in that way..." that damned ass" hamilton would be pleased..so would jay and "his littleness" madison...i will celebrate the declaration...i will continue to denounce the constitution and fereral politics as the ponzi scheme to feed the elite that it is...quantitative easing for whom? fuck these people.

irony, coincidence, or just the way things are?

i bought a used copy of "dragnet nation: a quest for , privacy, security, and freedom in a world of relentless surveillance" by julia angwin ( a pretty good read so far coming as it does from someone who was a staff writer for the yellow rag called the wall street journal )from better world books for about eight bucks...published in 2014, this particular copy was " withdrawn" form the boulder public library ( why? multiple copies? dead wight on the shelf? too hot a topic for a public library? ) after about a year there...it has the official "withdrawn" stamp in it and a heavy duty binding and an institutional dust jacket..a superior product...anyway i was skimming through the book and ran across the patch-like device in the back cover...i took it for some sort of magnetic device used to trip a sensor if someone was trying to swipe the book from the library...it's my book now so i figured i could remove it if i wanted and i was curious to see just what was under there...so i peeled it off and , being the curious great ape i am, i held it up to the light...something of a surprise...not exactly a magnetic device...more of a printed circuit...wonder what could energize it...wonder what it was for...surely not some sort of transponder...high tech overdue book tracking? or just some sort of device to tell the circulation desk what's on the shelf? don't know...but it's taped up to a window in my office at work..it isn't riding around with me anymore.....6-20-2015...okay...it's a radio frequency identification tag used to scan books in and out and prevent book theft...not readable at any great distance...just another organizational tool to see what's where and who has what..buy books at used book stores for cash would be one solution...it's still not going back into my book.

anticipatory

"union leadership" may not be an oxymoron but stuff like this makes me wonder...i received a ponderously worded letter of explanation about this "non-binding" straw poll ( mentioned at the bottom of this more succinct post card covering the same subject ) so possible candidates for the job of business agent that is opening up can "test the waters" and see if it might be worth the effort of actually running...someone has obviously jumped the gun as this sign appeared today planted outside the plant...not bad placement really since we are a union shop and all but the ( now ) "red twelve" would be eligible to vote...but there are a few issues here...first i am told by someone more knowledgeable in these things that the placement of this sign on an interstate highway's right of way is illegal and that the highway department will...eventually, this is a bureaucratic institution...remove it and, possibly, fine the offender...secondly what's gorski's first name? if indeed this is legitimate and not some practical joke ( albeit an involved and reasonably expensive one...but that sort of thing doesn't matter to the scum sucking lame useless and self-absorbed fucks who perpetrate them ) it should turn up at the "straw poll" but why anticipate the eleventh? name recognition? well...attention whores are all about being first...and nothing says "whore" like running for office..one last thing...i'd say i hate to harp on a point be we all know that would be a lie so let's drop any pretense and cut to the chase...when i was in an industrial union we had shop stewards and grievers...in the thirty-five years or so that i have been in the craft union i find myself mired in we have had "business agents" what's that say? the union is run like a business and local leadership had more in common with management than with rank and file...been said before...that there is precious little advocacy for workers has been pointed out as well...so my last question is who does gorski have a "backbone" to stand up to? management or rank and file...i believe i know the answer...success in the craft union world is all in how it's answered.