The End of Empire

Awesome talk from Socialism 2012 conference from David Whitehouse.

I am impressed by him yet again. If you liked this, check out his stuff on China. Killer. 

You can also find all this stuff on iTunes under wearemany.org and Socialism 2012 

Where you can get the latest decrees from the High Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia!

For more information, check out this slightly benign introduction from the UN Development Program：

Saudi Arabia stands distinct from the rest of the Arab world in that the shari‘a courts have never lost their status as courts of general jurisdiction, and the Islamic shari‘a remains the fundamental basis of the legal system. This is not to say that other Arab states have no role for the Islamic shari‘a—far from it. The Islamic shari‘a is often accorded special constitutional status in the Arab world, it is taught in law schools, it informs vast areas of law (most notably personal status), and many countries strive to insure that their legal order does not violate any clear provision of the shari‘a. The result in these other countries is an amalgamated legal system (generally combining a civil law orientation with the Islamic shari‘a). Traces of a similar amalgamation or hybrid system can be found in parts of the Saudi legal order, but the foundation of the Saudi order is wholly shari‘a-based. 

For a more fun and vivid snapshot of the Saudi Arabian legal system, check out one of my earlier posts entitled Stupid Laws in Saudi Arabia. Now that I think about it, “stupid” doesn’t even begin to describe this oppressive, reactionary system.

“JAPAN OF old did not have a captive black population to use and abuse. So the Burakumin were created to fill that economic and social vacuum at the bottom of society. They are still there.”

…question being, in how many ways can a society (or certain acters) “create a class?”
enclosure policies in Britain created the modern working class. What happened before the state?