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David Harvey: The political implications of population-resources theory
Introduction. David Harvey is one of the world's most influential geographers, and a highly-respected Marxist scholar. He is a Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY), Director of The Center for Place, Culture and Politics, and author of numerous books.
His most recent book, A Companion to Marx's Capital, was published this year by Verso. Videos of his renowned lecture series on Capital were recently made available on the website Reading Marx's Capital with David Harvey.
The following is an abridged section of "Population, Resources and the Ideology of Science," which originally appeared in 1974 in the journal Economic Geography, and which was subsequently published as chapter three of Spaces of Capital: Towards a Critical Geography (Routledge 2001).
This article is copyright by David Harvey, and is published here with his kind permission.
The Political Implications of Population-Resources Theory
by David Harvey
At the Stockholm Conference on the Environment in 1972, the Chinese delegation asserted that there was no such thing as a scarcity of resources and that it was meaningless to discuss environmental problems in such terms. Western commentators were mystified and some concluded that the Chinese must possess vast reserves of minerals and fossil fuels the discovery of which they had not yet communicated to the world.
The Chinese view is, however, quite consistent with Marx's method and should be considered from such a perspective. To elucidate it we need to bring into our vocabulary three categories of thought:
(1) Subsistence. Malthus appears to regard subsistence as something absolute, whereas Marx regards it as relative. For Marx, needs are not purely biological; they are also socially and culturally determined. Also, as both Malthus and Marx agree, needs can be created, which implies that the meaning of subsistence cannot be established independent of particular historical and cultural circumstances if, as Marx insisted, definitions of social wants and needs were produced under a given mode of production rather than immutably held down by the Malthusian laws of population. Subsistence is, then, defined internally to a mode of production and changes over time.
(2) Resources. Resources are materials available "in nature" that are capable of being transformed into things of utility to man. It has long been recognized that resources can be defined only with respect to a particular technical, cultural, and historical stage of development, and that they are, in effect, technical and cultural appraisals of nature.
(3) Scarcity. It is often erroneously accepted that scarcity is something inherent in nature, when its definition is inextricably social and cultural in origin. Scarcity presupposes certain social ends, and it is these that define scarcity just as much as the lack of natural means to accomplish these ends. Furthermore, many of the scarcities we experience do not arise out of nature but are created by human activity and managed by social organization (the scarcity of building plots in central London is an example of the former; the scarcity of places at university is an example of the latter). Scarcity is in fact necessary to the survival of the capitalist mode of production, and it has to be carefully managed, otherwise the self-regulating aspect to the price mechanism will break down.
Armed with these definitions, let us consider a simple sentence:
"Overpopulation arises because of the scarcity of resources available for meeting the subsistence needs of the mass of the population."
If we substitute our definitions into this sentence we get:
"There are too many people in the world because the particular ends we have in view (together with the form of social organization we have) and the materials available in nature, that we have the will and the way to use, are not sufficient to provide us with those things to which we are accustomed."
Out of such a sentence all kinds of possibilities can be extracted:
(1) we can change the ends we have in mind and alter the social organization of scarcity;
(2) we can change our technical and cultural appraisals of nature;
(3) we can change our views concerning the things to which we are accustomed;
(4) we can seek to alter our numbers.
A real concern with environmental issues demands that all of these options be examined in relation to each other. To say that there are too many people in the world amounts to saying that we have not the imagination, will, or ability to do anything about propositions (1), (2), and (3).
In fact (1) is very difficult to do anything about because it involves the replacement of the market exchange system as a working mode of economic integration; proposition (2) has always been the great hope for resolving our difficulties; and we have never thought too coherently about (3) particularly as it relates to the maintenance of an effective demand in capitalist economies (nobody appears to have calculated what the effects of much reduced personal consumption will have on capital accumulation and employment).
I will risk the generalization that nothing of consequence can be done about (1) and (3) without dismantling and replacing the capitalist market exchange economy. If we are reluctant to contemplate such an alternative and if (2) is not performing its function too well, then we have to go to (4).
Much of the debate in the western world focuses on (4), but in a society in which all four options can be integrated with each other, it must appear facile to discuss environmental problems in terms of naturally arising scarcities or overpopulation – this, presumably, is the point that the Chinese delegation to the Stockholm Conference was making.
The trouble with focusing exclusively on the control of population numbers is that it has certain political implications. Ideas about environment, population, and resources are not neutral. They are political in origin and have political effects.
Historically it is depressing to look at the use made of the kind of sentence we have just analyzed. Once connotations of absolute limits come to surround the concepts of resource, scarcity, and subsistence, then an absolute limit is set for population.
And what are the political implications (given these connotations) of saying there is "overpopulation" or a "scarcity of resources"? The meaning can all too quickly be established.
Somebody, somewhere, is redundant, and there is not enough to go round. Am I redundant? Of course not. Are you redundant? Of course not. So who is redundant? Of course, it must be them. And if there is not enough to go round, then it is only right and proper that they, who contribute so little to society, ought to bear the brunt of the burden.
And if we hold that there are certain of us who, by virtue of our skills, abilities, and attainments, are capable of "conferring a signal benefit upon mankind" though our contributions to the common good and who, besides, are the purveyors of peace, freedom, culture, and civilization, then it would appear to be our bound duty to protect and preserve ourselves for the sake of all mankind.
Let me make an assertion. Whenever a theory of overpopulation seizes hold in a society dominated by an elite, then the non-elite invariably experience some form of political, economic, and social repression. Such an assertion can be justified by an appeal to the historical evidence. ….
If we accept a theory of overpopulation and resource scarcity but insist upon keeping the capitalist mode of production intact, then the inevitable results are policies directed toward class or ethnic repression at home and policies of imperialism and neo-imperialism abroad.
Unfortunately this relation can be structured in the other direction. If, for whatever reason, an elite group requires an argument to support policies of repression, then the overpopulation argument is most beautifully tailored to fit this purpose.
Malthus and Ricardo provide us with one example of such apologetics. If a poverty class is necessary to the processes of capitalist accumulation or a subsistence wage essential to economic equilibrium, then what better way to explain it away than to appeal to a universal and supposedly "natural" law of population?
Malthus indicates another kind of apologetic use for the population principle. If an existing social order, an elite group of some sort, is under threat and is fighting to preserve its dominant position in society, then the overpopulation and shortage of resources arguments can be used as powerful ideological levers to persuade people into acceptance of the status quo and of authoritarian measures to maintain it. The English landed interest used Malthus' arguments thus in the early nineteenth century.
And this kind of argument is, of course, even more effective if the elite group is in a position to create a scarcity to demonstrate the point.
The overpopulation argument is easily used as part of an elaborate apologetic through which class, ethnic, or (neo-)colonial repression may be justified. It is difficult to distinguish between arguments that have some real foundation and arguments fashioned for apologetic reasons. In general the two kinds of arguments get inextricably mixed up.
Consequently, those who think there is a real problem of some sort may, unwittingly, contribute strength to the apologists, and individuals may contribute in good faith to a result which, as individuals, they might find abhorrent.
And what of the contemporary ecology and environmental movement? I believe it reflects all of the currents I have identified, but under the stress of contemporary events it is difficult to sort the arguments out clearly. … Was it accidental that the environmentalist argument emerged so strongly in 1968 at the crest of campus disturbances? And what was the effect of replacing Marcuse by Ehrlich as campus hero? Conditions appear to be exactly right for the emergence of overpopulation arguments as part of a popular ideology to justify what had and what has to be done to stabilize a capitalist economic system that is under severe stress.
But at the same time there is mounting evidence (which has in fact been building up since the early 1950s) of certain ecological problems that now exist on a world-wide as opposed to on a purely local scale (the DDT example being the most spectacular).
Such problems are real enough. The difficulty, of course, is to identify the underlying reason for the emergence of these difficulties. There has been some recognition that consumption patterns induced under capitalism may have something to do with it, and that the nature of private enterprise, with its predilection for shifting costs onto society in order to improve the competitive position of the firm, also plays a role.
And there is no question that runaway rates of population growth (brought about to a large degree by the penetration of market and wage-labor relationships into traditional rural societies) have also played a role.
But in their haste to lay the origin of these problems at the door of "overpopulation" (with all of its Malthusian connotations), many analysts have unwittingly invited the politics of repression that invariably seem to be attached to the Malthusian argument at a time when economic conditions are such as to make that argument extremely attractive to a ruling elite.
Ideas are social relations; they have their ultimate origin in the social concerns of mankind and have their ultimate impact upon the social life of mankind. Arguments concerning environmental degradation, population growth, resource scarcities, and the like can arise for quite disparate reasons and have quite diverse impacts. It is therefore crucial to establish the political and social origins and impacts of such arguments.
The political consequences of injecting a strongly pessimistic view into a world structured hierarchically along class and ethnic lines and in which there is an ideological commitment to the preservation of the capitalist order are quite terrifying to contemplate. As Levi-Strauss warns in Tristes Tropiques:
"Once men begin to feel cramped in their geographical, social and mental habitat, they are in danger of being tempted by the simple solution of denying one section of the species the right to be considered human."
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4 Responses to David Harvey: The political implications of population-resources theory
john tons May 24, 2010 at 3:30 am #
Levi Straus's quotation is on the money but much of the article is in the same danger as those Christians who determine everything by what would Jesus do.
The young Marx wrote convincingly of the dangers of reification – the situation we are facing is essentially that.
If we consider the four propositions at the heart of the discussion:
Then I would suggest that these are not alternative conclusions but four things that need to be done.
We do need to make major changes to the ends we have in mind – this will take in the need to get away from the capitalist pre-occupation with economic growth. At the heart of that preoccupation is the necessity to keep people dissatisfied with what they have – so they keep accumulating useless goods reducing the natural resources.
The second proposition needs to be pursued regardless of whether there is a population problem or not; we have created a natural world which is essentially a prothesis – we are no longer part of nature but seek to stand outside it – again it is part of the capitalist ethic. One only has to see the nature of the advertising that companies like Nestle undertake in the developed world bottled milk is touted as superior to mother's milk – the message our technology is to be preferred over and above nature.
Again the third view is critical we need develop the capacity to create a global network of independent sustainable communities.
As far as population is concerned there is sufficient evidence that the way to tackle that is through lifting people out of poverty – capitalism will not do that; capitalism has an inherent tendency to blame the victim as can be the case here.
However, Marx was wrong in his discussions with Malthus – had he paid more attention to biology he would have realised that or perhaps had he discussed the issue with Concordet he would have had a more nuanced view of the problem of population growth.
The left needs to be part of this debate it is the one debate that cannot be conducted in terms of blaming the victim; we therefore need an articulate left wing willing to expose the weaknesses in the current social and economic organization that makes population growth such a problem.
Ian Angus May 24, 2010 at 2:36 pm #
This is not a response to John Tons' confused Comment. It may, however, help other C&C readers to understand why Mr Tons' advice to the left can't be taken seriously.
In all of his comments on C&C, John Tons presents himself as an advocate of progressive social change, but until a few months ago, John Tons was a coordinator of an Australian group called Conservatives for Climate and Environment.
In August 2009, that group changed its name to Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy Australia. I don't know if he is still a member.
Recently John Tons founded a population reduction party that is trying to attract 500 members so that it can run in Australian elections on a two point program: (1) Abolish baby bonus payments; (2) Reduce immigration.
Many words could be used to describe that program, but "progressive" and "left" aren't on the list.
john tons July 29, 2010 at 11:35 pm #
I have responded to article here because I was encouraged by Ian Angus's Comments policy – constructive discussion and debate so I am rather taken aback that the editor himself should have engaged in an ad hominem rebuttal of my arguments.
However, I will resist the temptation to respond in kind instead will abide by the rules of the site in responding to this criticism.
There are dangers in merely extracting data from the Net.
So lets start with Conservatives for Climate and Environment – had Ian been more familiar with left activism he would have been aware of strategies (usually employed by the Trots) to infiltrate organizations – my reason for supporting that group was to try and split the conservative vote at the election – a perfectly respectable left wing strategy.
And I am no longer a member of that group for if you had done your research you would have found out that Helen Caldicott and I founded the Zero Carbon Network some 5 years ago and this year I organized a public forum to destroy the credibility of the nuclear movement.
I can point to over 40 years involvement in left wing activism given I tend to prefer anarchist politics I regularly cross swords with marxists.
My PhD work is on Global Justice had Ian bothered to ask I could have provided the references on which my response was based – all either left wing commentators or marxist philosophers:Schweickart, D. (2002). After Capitalism. Oxford, Rowman & Littlefield. Porritt, J. (2006). Capitalism as if the World Matters. London, Earthscan.
As far as the comments about the population debate are concerned I have worked for much of my life in the area of migration policy as an advocate for migrants – Australia's migration policy does no one any favours. I discuss that here http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10544 but for those who want a view other than mine all you need to do is look at Richard Dennis's article here http://spgn.blogspot.com/ to see that there is nothing inconsistent with being progressive and left wing and supporting strategies to curb population growth.
Ian Angus July 30, 2010 at 8:35 am #
John Tons — You haven't identified any factual errors in my comment. If you do, I will apologize and remove them.
I stand by my statement that the program of the "population reduction party" you founded is neither progressive nor left. The fact that you include Optimum Population Trust patron Jonathon Porritt among "left wing commentators and marxist philosophers" places a large question mark over your ability to distinguish left from right.


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R Airlines (, offiziell Skyview Airways Co., Ltd.) war eine thailändische Charterfluggesellschaft mit Sitz in Bangkok und Basis auf dem Flughafen Bangkok-Don Mueang. Seit Jahresende 2017 ruhte ihr Betrieb, weil sich das Unternehmen einer Überprüfung durch die thailändische Luftfahrtbehörde unterziehen muss und im Februar 2018 stellte die Fluglinie den Betrieb ganz ein.

Geschichte
R Airlines wurde im Jahr 2012 gegründet, ursprünglich um Urlauber aus China und Südkorea im IT-Charterverkehr nach Thailand zu fliegen. Die Betriebsaufnahme sollte im Herbst 2012 mit zwei geleasten Boeing 737-400 erfolgen. Zudem wollte die Gesellschaft mit einer gemieteten Boeing 777-200ER Charterdienste zwischen Frankfurt und Bangkok-Don Mueang anbieten, was nicht realisiert wurde. Im November 2012 übernahm R Airlines eine geleaste Boeing 737-400, die aber zunächst nicht zum Einsatz kam.

Am 24. Januar 2013 nahm die Fluggesellschaft ihre ersten Charterflüge zwischen Bangkok und Gaya, Bihar, Indien auf, mit thailändischen Mönchen und Touristen aus Changchun.

Flugziele
R Airlines bot von Bangkok neben Chiang Mai in Thailand Macau an.

Flotte
Mit Stand Februar 2018 besaß R Airlines keine eigenen Flugzeuge mehr.

In der Vergangenheit wurden Airbus A319-100, Airbus A320-200, Airbus A321-200 und Boeing 737-400 betrieben.

Siehe auch
 Liste ehemaliger Fluggesellschaften (Asien)

Weblinks

 Webpräsenz der R Airlines (englisch)

Einzelnachweise

Ehemalige Fluggesellschaft (Thailand)
Gegründet 2012
Unternehmen (Bangkok)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
Music industry seeks access to private data to fight piracy
· Plea to Europe to widen scope of anti-terror laws
· Civil rights fears over phone and email records
Bobbie Johnson
Sat 26 Nov 2005 04.32 EST
The music and film industries are demanding that the European parliament extends the scope of proposed anti-terror laws to help them prosecute illegal downloaders. In an open letter to MEPs, companies including Sony BMG, Disney and EMI have asked to be given access to communications data - records of phone calls, emails and internet surfing - in order to take legal action against pirates and filesharers. Current proposals restrict use of such information to cases of terrorism and organised crime.
"The scope of the proposal should be extended to all criminal offences," says a letter to European representatives from the Creative and Media Business Alliance, an informal lobby group representing media companies. "The possibility for law enforcement authorities to use data in other cases ... is essential." The attempt to pressure MEPs comes as they prepare to vote on an extension to the period for which data must be held by telephone networks and internet service providers. The plans, championed by the British government, would harmonise and extend the broad range of policies across the continent.
The Home Office says such moves are necessary in order to assist proper investigation of suspected terrorist activity. But if successful, it would mean communications companies would be obliged to keep information on phone calls, emails and internet use for as long as three years.
"It is not for us to get involved in the wider issue of national security," said a spokesman for international music industry association IFPI, parent body of the CBMA.
If the demands were met by European legislators, it would open use of such private information across any number of criminal cases. "Even the Bush administration is not proposing such a ludicrous policy, despite lobbying from Hollywood," said Gus Hosein, a senior fellow at Privacy International.
The music industry has already pursued a large number of cases against illegal downloaders, but the letter claims that wider access to private information would be an "effective instrument in the fight against piracy" and help secure more legal actions. Critics say it is simply a case of litigious industries attempting to gain access to protected data by the back door.
The proposals, to be put to the vote on December 13, have already faced censure. More privacy-conscious nations such as Germany have voiced concerns about long-term data retention, and telecoms companies say they cannot afford to keep more information about their customers.
"The passing of the data retention directive would be a disaster not just for civil liberties and human rights in Europe," said Suw Charman, director of digital rights campaigners, Open Rights Group.
The music industry has been waging war against illegal filesharing for some time, with film companies closely behind. An Australian court this week ordered Kazaa, one of the biggest file-swapping services, to filter out copyrighted music from its systems or face closure. Last week the British Phonographic Industry announced its latest batch of cases against illegal downloaders, taking the total number of UK actions to over 150.
Such prosecutions already rely on voluntary data supplied by internet providers, but the music industry would like it made compulsory. At the same time, the legitimate digital download industry continues to grow at a startling pace.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Lewis Hamilton regained the lead in the world drivers' championship on Sunday when he claimed one of the most memorable victories of his career by winning a rain-hit German Grand Prix for Mercedes after starting from 14th on the grid.
The defending four-time champion took full advantage of a heavy downpour during which title rival and fellow-four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari crashed out of contention to produce a master-class of technical and tactical racing in treacherous conditions.
His victory came just three days after Mercedes had announced he had agreed a blockbuster two-year contract extension with the team and leapfrogged him 17 points ahead of Vettel in the championship.
His team-mate Valtteri Bottas came home second, 4.5 seconds behind the Englishman, ahead of fellow-Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari to deliver Mercedes' first one-two finish at a German Grand Prix.
It was Hamilton's fourth win this year and the 66th of his career, the triumph lifting him to the top of the drivers' title race and putting Mercedes back on top of the constructors' championship.
Dutchman Max Verstappen finished fourth for Red Bull ahead of German Nico Hulkenberg of Renault, Romain Grosjean of Haas, Sergio Perez and his Force India team-mate Esteban Ocon.


In this post I demonstrate how you can rapidly extend Microsoft CRM with custom screens in minutes, rather than hours or days.
I will demonstrate a custom Lead Qualification screen by using a custom Ribbon button that pops a CRM Dialog and I will share a couple of tweaks that smarten up the user experience.
However, this screen sits outside CRM's supported extensibility model and sometimes fails to meet requirements. When you hit this scenario you can attempt an unsupported customisation to the screen, you can build a replacement screen, you can use form fields and plug-ins to manage the requirement or you can use a Dialog. In this post I will demonstrate the Dialog solution and provide some guidance on how you can improve the user experience.
Here's my scenario. I have Leads for both existing Customers (Contacts) and for non-customers. I want users to be able to qualify or disqualify leads. When they qualify them I want the system to create an Opportunity against a Contact record. For non-customer Leads, the Contact record should be auto-created.
If the user selects "Convert Lead" an Opportunity is created, the Lead status is updated and the Lead form is refreshed. If the Lead referenced an existing Contact then the Opportunity will be attached to that Contact, otherwise a new Contact is created.
If the user select "Disqualify Lead" the Dialog will prompt them for a reason and then update and close the Lead and refresh the Lead form.
The advantage with this approach is it is a more controlled user experience. We are not exposing the user to options we don't want them to select and not asking them to perform any double keying. And by creating a ribbon button and adding some jscript to auto-refresh the CRM form we get a much nicer user experience then an out-of-the-box Dialog experience.
Next, the Dialog needs to take action.
I needed to pass the Lead record's GUID to my function so you will see I registered a CrmParameter in my ribbon definition. "PrimaryItemIds" will give you the GUID of the current record.
This function receives the Lead record's GUID as a parameter (thanks to the ribbon definition) and combines that with the CRM Server URL (which is derived via Xrm.Page.context) and with the GUID of the Dialog definition (which is hardcoded) and then pops that URL. It uses window.showModalDialog() and window.location.reload(true) to automatically refresh the Lead form when the Dialog closes.
Now I have hardcoded the GUID of the Dialog in my function. A better solution would be to have that housed as a parameter and read at runtime. Check out this post for an approach you can follow to implement that.
That's it, I hope someone finds this useful.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged crm, dialog on April 3, 2012 by Gareth Tucker.
First, thank you very much for publishing this post, it is very useful.
instead of using hard-coded entity name and dialog GUID i suggest to pass them as parameters.
i'm adding two additional parameters.
Thats all, in this way i can reuse the webresource.


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Prima Toys launches Fortnite Battle Royale figurine collection
No one can dispute the fact that Fortnite: Battle Royale has become a gaming phenomenon and it's easy to see why gamers everywhere, including South Africa, have become obsessed with it. With 200 million registered players worldwide and counting, the game is huge! It has catapulted numerous online gamers to celebrity-status fame and it has entered pop culture to become a household name.
Now, following on this phenomenon, gamers and fans will be thrilled to know that Prima Toys has launched a brand new range of Fortnite: Battle Royale figures. The range is available now, so if the game is your passion, head to your nearest toy shop or retailer quickly, because these toys are sure to sell out fast! Chiquita Patrizi, spokesperson for Prima Toys is excited to be bringing South African fans a new range of figurines that will be accessible to not only the diehard fanatics but also to children who enjoy collecting action figures.
"Nothing could have prepared the online gaming universe or popular culture for the success and sensation that is Fortnite. In light of this, we are extremely excited to be bringing the very accessible Fortnite Battle Royale range to collectors and gamers across South Africa. The figurines are highly-detailed, articulated and feature swappable accessories. Fans will love them!" says Patrizi.
The Prima Toys range by Moose is unique because it is a continually expanding universe that includes all the favourite skins. Each highly detailed micro-collectible figure stands at just over 5cm and has been sculpted in action pose with 2 to 3 points of articulation. Each figure includes a stand and two swappable accessories, ranging from weapons to Back Bling.
So, what can fans expect? The first wave of 16 figures will include fan-favourite skins like Skull Trooper, Drift, Brite Bomber, Carbide, Omega, Ragnarok and more! Fans can also be on the lookout for Diecast, a limited-edition figure… only 1000 exist! The collection will grow to 100 figures over the course of the year.
Here are a few important details:
The Battle Royale Collection is a line of 5cm collectible figures.
Figures are sculpted in action poses with 2-3 points of articulation.
Each figure will come with a stand and two swappable accessories, ranging from weapons to Back Bling.
The Fortnite Battle Royale collection will feature a wide range of figures to collect, growing to 100 characters over the course of 2019.
The first wave of figures will also include fan-favorite skins like Skull Trooper, Drift, Brite Bomber, Carbide, Omega, Ragnarok, and more.
Look out for the limited edition Diecast figure because only 1000 exist worldwide.
Ideal for ages 8 years and over.
Available at toy stores and retailers countrywide.
R129.99 for a single pack
R249.99 for a 2 pack
Another range of figurines, standing at 12cm high and featuring various points of articulation, will be available mid-June. Make sure to keep your eye on the toy shelves!
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Scoop: Joe Crowley registers to lobby for musicians
Hans Nichols, author of Sneak Peek
Joe Crowley. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc.
Former Rep. Joe Crowley is registering to lobby for his first client — a coalition of recording artists fighting to finally get paid when their work is played on the radio.
Why it matters: Crowley is a New York Democrat who was on track to become House speaker until he lost a primary to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. Now, by registering to lobby, it's unlikely he'll join the Biden administration in any capacity.
When he was ousted from Congress two years ago, Crowley joined the international law firm Squire Patton Boggs. There had been political chatter about him joining the administration in some capacity.
"I have always had a history of standing up for the little guy," Crowley told Axios about his plans to lobby for music performers.
"FM and AM radio is playing their music but not paying for it," he added. "There are thousands of artists who are struggling to make ends meet — and COVID has only made the situation worse."
The big picture: Streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora pay performers a royalty every time a song is played on their platform.
Radio stations in the U.S. are only required to pay the songwriter and publisher of a song — not the artists performing it.
For example, Willie Nelson receives royalties for his hit "Crazy," which he wrote, when it's sung by Patsy Cline on the radio. Her estate does not get compensated.
The theory behind the arrangement is that radio gives performers free advertising to drive ticket sales at concerts.
Between the lines: With concerts on pause during the pandemic, and music festivals only starting to return, artists and the Recording Industry Association of America are redoubling efforts to challenge the old radio rule.
Crowley — a musician who played in a funk fusion band called Coast to Coast in college — has been retained by musicFIRST.
It's preparing for an intense lobbying campaign on behalf of the artists.
The other side: Radio stations call any additional fees for performers a tax, and the National Association of Broadcasters has long organized efforts in Congress to keep the status quo.
"Broadcast radio is the principal means by which listeners discover new artists," according to a "Dear Colleague" letter circulated by Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) and Steve Womack (R-Ark.).
"Free music for free promotion has benefited both (the radio and music industries) for nearly a century and continues to do so today."
Sep 1, 2021 - Podcasts
Federal intervention in the school masking debate
The ongoing battle among local, state and federal officials over COVID precautions in schools continues. The U.S. Department of Education has now launched a civil rights investigation into five GOP-led states that have banned mask mandates in schools.
Plus, the return of evictions in America.
And, Amazon steps into the live audio business.
Guests: Axios' Ben Montgomery, Linh Ta, Felix Salmon and Sara Fischer.
Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Hope King, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Dan Bobkoff, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Sabeena Singhani, and Ben O'Brien. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.
Florida school districts face mask free-for-all after judge strikes down DeSantis' ban
U.S. Education Department launches probe into Iowa's mask mandate ban
The return of evictions
Scoop: Amazon quietly building live audio business
Transcript (6 min. read)Arrow


Home sales in Kansas totaled 2,228 units in February, up 0.5 percent from the same month in 2018. Year-to-date, 4,257 homes have sold, down from 4,385 over the same period in 2018. The median price of homes that sold in February was $158,250, compared to $159,500 in February 2018. Homes that sold in February were on the market an average of 72 days and sold for 96.9 percent of their asking prices.


"We have decided to focus on return... we need a certain level of return no matter how the market condition is" is how the general manager of Japan's Teachers' Mutual Aid pension fund justifies their plan to push JPY100bn (of their JPY600bn) into riskier assets from J-REITs to hedge funds. As Bloomberg notes, the firm is adopting a new strategy designed to counter a decline in the value of traditional equity and bond asset classes. Notably, following last week's Illinois pension-fund target return markdown, the Japanese fund targets only 3-5% thanks to QE8 and two decades of repression and stumble through. Even achieving these targets means throwing out the 'risk' side of the equation as they push into foreign bonds (cue next European sovereign bond rumor) and chase momentum in Tokyo real estate (TSEREIT up 19% YTD). Haven't we seen this picture before - and it didn't end well?


Herberth Motorsport is out front in the Hankook 24 Hours of COTA with the race stopped for the overnight intervention.
The No. 911 GT3 R of Robert Renauer, Alfred Renauer, Ralf Bohn and Daniel Allemann moved into the lead when a collision sidelined Black Falcon's No. 2 Mercedes-AMG GT3 from the lead.
Black Falcon had led the race since lap 17 but collided with the PROsport Performance car shortly after darkness fell, and was forced into the pits for two hours while repairs were carried out.
The German team's second car runs in second position, four minutes down on the Herberth Porsche.
SPS automotive performance is the highest-placed A6-Am team in third overall, ahead of the PROsport Mercedes which leads the Championship of the Continents.
The GT4 class lead is held by the RHC Jorgensen/Strom BMW M4 GT4 of Daren Jorgensen, Brett Strom, Gerard McLeod and Danny van Dongen, which also runs tenth overall.
RENNtech Motorsports had led the class for a while but lost a seven-lap lead to a broken oil pipe.
R-Motorsport started the race from overall pole but a heavy impact with the tire barriers dropped the No. 620 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 down to 17th position.
The race gets back underway for its final 11.5 hours at 8 a.m. local time.


Jahi is a living person and has been a living person on earth since her conception within her mother. Jahi's heart is beating 100,000 times a day, a rate similar to most persons on earth. Her heart beat is initiated in her heart just like yours and mine. Your heart beat does not begin in your brain either. Jahi's pulse and blood pressure are normal and strong. Jahi digests her food, puts out urine and has bowel movements just like the rest of us. Jahi's temperature is 98 with only a blanket to help keep her warm. Her body metabolism keeps her temperature warm just like yours. Her natural thermostat to control her temperature is in her hypothalamus, which is part of her brain. You have such a thermostat in your brain also.
The only machine used to treat Jahi is a ventilator to push air into her. Jahi pushes the air out. The ventilator is effective only in a living person. The ventilator does not make Jahi's heart beat.
Why does Jahi have to prove she is living? Do you have to prove that you are living? A recent CNS story included a comment about "a complete lack of blood flow to the brain." Of course the result of the test and other tests indicate that Jahi has a serious problem, but does a test that does not demonstrate blood flow to Jahi's brain indicate that Jahi is dead? For an example of someone who had a similar test result, see Zack Dunlap on the Internet. You can see the test showing no blood flow to his brain. Because he had a relative in the ICU, treatment of Zack was continued; Zack can be seen and heard in an interview.
The CNS article includes "absence of any electrical activity of the brain." When I began my study of these issues in 1975, I found a report in the literature of a man who had flat brain waves for 39 days, then made complete recovery. At that time my patient, Joseph, had flat brain waves "consistent with cerebral death." When I read the report, I was astonished. What is the neurologist reporting? I continued to treat Joseph. Eventually he did get off the ventilator; in school his grades were excellent and Joseph participated in sports. Joseph now is married and has 3 children. Did absence of electrical activity on the EEG indicate that Joseph or Jahi is no longer on earth? Joseph and Jahi are living persons on earth.
The CNS story includes "absence of cranial nerve response." It is only a few, not all, reflexes of the brain stem that are tested. An example of the difference between a reflex and a function is a reflex of the leg is demonstrated when the knee jumps when tapped with a reflex hammer. The reflex is present, but a function of the leg is to walk.
The only function of the brain that is clinically evaluated is the "ability of the patient to breathe on her own." Yes the vital activity of Jahi's breathing is supported by a ventilator. The apnea test was done by the consulting neurologist, who took away the ventilator for 9 minutes. Try holding your breath for even one minute. No breath to Jahi for 9 minutes! Multiple times! During that time carbon dioxide increased in Jahi's brain. That causes the brain to swell. The test was done for Jahi to make her prove that she could take a breath on her own. When she did not take a breath, that confirmed that the ventilator should be removed. Imagine being unconscious and not fed for weeks and having to prove you could take a breath or that would be the signal to finalize your existence on earth.
I have been at the bedside of Jahi. Jahi is alive. Those who claim Jahi is dead are not using common sense. Jahi has serious problems, but she is not dead.
Jahi was starved for 3 weeks. Yes, during those 3 weeks Jahi was given sugar and salt in her vein, but no vitamins, no protein and no fat. How could she get better? Jahi needed the tracheostomy so she could be treated outside of an acute care hospital. To write "there would be no moral obligation for a hospital or physician to perform any procedure on a corpse such as placing a feeding tube or trying to stabilize the bodily functions that are kept working using mechanical means" is sad, shallow and misleading. Jahi is a living person that continues to have the hundreds and thousands of reactions, known and unknown, continuing in her, similar to what is going on in you and you. And, a machine is not doing any of these.
Does Jahi belong in a body bag because she can't show that she can take a breath deep enough for someone to see? Should Jahi's blanket be called a pall? (Pall is the name of the cover that is placed over the coffin a Catholic Funeral Mass.) Should Jahi have been transported in a hearse? Jahi is alive with a beating heart, blood pressure, pulse, and respiration, albeit on a ventilator. Her food is digested, absorbed and having bowel movements. How long Jahi will live on earth is not known, and it isn't known for any of us.
Once again, declarations that a patient is "brain-dead" of themselves do not mean the patient is not alive. The term "brain-dead" is a very equivocal one and opens the door to practices, which are unjust and thus immoral. "Brain-dead" is not a synonym for real death. The so-called new questions "brain-death" raises have been answered in the past on the basis of sound Christian moral principle and apply to Jahi and Marlise.


We eat our berries at meals and in our banana nice cream (blended frozen bananas & berries). We eat everything else at supper, paired with some type of bean dish (burgers, lentil loaf, falafels, baked beans, etc.) and maybe some potatoes (fries, hashbrowns, mashed). YUM!
What are you harvesting? Check out what others are harvesting at Our Happy Acres.
Has anyone overcome their local racoons? We are hoping to set up more electric fencing this week. Happy Gardening!
This entry was posted in Garden and tagged lettuce, raspberries, spinach, strawberries on June 6, 2016 by newbiegardengirl.
It is still alternating steamy and cold here. It's good you still are harvesting spinach with those conditions. And those strawberries are beautiful. Time to do something about the raccoon (although they are smart ).
they are TOO smart. we are now putting double electric fencing and tarp to keep the grass down under the fencing. we'll see. i'll check the camera in the next few nights. i'm running out of ideas..other than just fence in EVERYTHING (including the top!).
Those berries look so good! I can't wait for our strawberries to start up – lots of flowers on them this year, so I'd better get that netting up otherwise the birds get to them first.
Your strawberries look delicious! I can imagine why the raccoons want to steal them. I haven't had to deal with raccoons yet, but last summer I had a melon eating opossum that would taste test several melons before deciding which one to eat.. drove me crazy!
It's been hot and steamy here too. I can't believe you still have spinach. Mine was bolting some time ago. Those strawberries make my mouth water!
i may have one more harvest. most are bolting. next up: seed saving! 🙂 oh, and they keep from bolting so long because i plant them under the apple tree to keep them cool and shaded longer!
I love how big your garden is and you grow a stupendous amount of food from it. Your hard work really pays off. It's terrible about the critters getting your strawberries.
There's just winter squash and wax melons left to plant in our summer garden.
I have heard that mint is the way to go…racoons dont like mint! Maybe spray some mint essential oils on them!?
My family recently discovered falafel balls (for spaghetti, but like like them plain as a snack, too) and falafel chips. Delicious!
The birds got all but two of my strawberries this year. They eat them before the berries even turn red!
our cat used to take care of the birds beautifully. now that we have the electric fencing up for the raccoons, our cat doesn't go into the garden and the birds are getting our strawberries as well 😛 ahhhhhhh. driving me crazy.