Israel’s air strike on Syria was quite extensive, signaling a sharp change in the character of the civil war. It is unclear what reaction Syria might take since Assad has his hands full with the rebels. Israel’s intention is to disarm Hezbollah, but, given that it struck Syrian government facilities, it suggests that Israel is siding with the rebels. The US is also inching forward with arming some of the rebels, so it appears as if there is a faction among the rebels with which the Americans and the Israelis feel comfortable. But this is a close game–some of the rebel groups are adamantly opposed to Israeli and US interests. These are games within games.
Rioting is breaking out in Bangladesh, as Islamist groups are protesting in favor of laws that adhere more strictly to the Koran. The protesters are pushing for stricter blasphemy laws and greater separation between men and women. The government responded to the violence with a massive police presence, but the violence, in tandem with the protests against the sweatshops making clothing for export, has placed the government in a precarious position.
Generally speaking, technological innovation during industrialization has almost always led to an increase of overall jobs, even as it destroyed jobs. The tradeoff was always difficult to make, particularly if one was working in a job that was made obsolete. At least, however, there was some comfort in knowing that those who had a degree of mobility (the young) had greater employment opportunities because of innovation. The recent trends, however, are a little more worrying: technological innovation seems to be reducing the overall number of jobs, and limiting the new jobs to people who had very high levels of skill. This change, if accurately characterized, will mean that economic growth will not be tied to more jobs, a difficult condition for economies that use employment to provide incomes. Perhaps a change in the way we think of the function of labor is in order.
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