Boxing Day….how did this year wind down to it’s final embers so rapidly? 2009 has been a bit of a roller coaster, in the States some of the optimism that came with the election last November was rapidly replaced by the political truths that it’s a country very divided at present. In Britain it seems Gordon Brown is now the lamest of lame ducks (based on the media). Now that I don’t live in England any longer it’s hard for me to gauge – is the faith lost in the labour party as complete as it appears? Are the general public clamouring for a return to the Conservatives, or was it simply because Labour sold everyone out? Your input is encouraged!! Things don’t look a lot better in Europe either to be fair and I think the vast majority of people will welcome a new year and new decade perhaps more fervently than usual. My primary interest in school was economics and while understanding how markets work is somewhat handy – this decade has taught me that nothing will substitute for confidence. At present confidence is horribly lacking, but for the most part I mostly know only people in England, Ireland, North America and Australia. Is it the same everywhere? Things have been bad before of course, but a recovery usually involved returning to a process not unlike whatever brought us into the mire. This time it’s very different, a global market is not sentimental or forgiving and the West (in particular the US) hasn’t worked out how to grow an economy that is entrenched in the service sector, when currently nothing would help the economy more than having something (other than technology) that it could export, or reduce imports. Many of the contractions seen here in the last decade mirror what occurred in Britain and France in the 1980′s when manufacturing was all but eliminated and the regional impacts of the recession(s) were very pronounced.

I don’t proclaim to have any answers but I think a real sea change in thinking is needed so that education, infrastructure and local manufacturing are all given the adrenalin needed to make the next decade less reliant on borrowing and property investment being people’s main paths to stability. In true terms can the West reduce their addiction to consumerism while taking on board the higher taxation needed to create a more stable society? I fear the answer is no as long-term thinking and planning are seen as irrelevant by so many. If the boon of the 1990′s was properly invested however don’t you think that the last few years would been much less painful? Food for thought but hardly a happy message to start off 2010. I’m hopeful that education and investment in the green economy can provide legitimate dividends, if health care is taken away from a profit making (lawsuit buffered) enterprise and seen as a basic right that might help also. I was just reading some analysis for the next decade and it got me thinking….bloody thinking always does this eh? I’ve been reading a book this week that shared this horrible fact; per capita the US has 3 to 8 times more lawyers per person than much of Western Europe, when will people equate that to being an inflation causing fact that adds to the cost of all products by default. There’s a lot to fix but reducing litigation (especially in the medical field) would be a huge step forward. There’s more to 2009 than politics and the economy of course so I’ll try and review my favourite albums of the year in the days ahead too!

Alright, I’m sure you didn’t come here to read all that so back to The Clash. (I’m not trying to give the blog more politics….just allow me to to ramble from time to time).

This makes for better reading as the Scotsman reviews the Joe Strummer memorial concert at King Tut’s the other night. I never went to King Tut’s when in Glasgow but heard it’s a good venue. Anyway it sounds a splendid time was had by all as the assorted bands blistered their way through some Clash classics for the assembled diehards. They also label the audience as primarily over 40 males….don’t know what they mean!

Interesting interview with Ari Up of the perennially overlooked Slits appears on the Clashmusic site (no..it’s not what you might hope – clashmusic that is). The paths that crossed with The Clash are many and the sheer indulgence within other music forms is what keeps their music sounding fresh. 2009 has seen them back in the public eye once more so that’s got to be a good thing.

Carbon Silicon, image courtesy GLK photo

Finally Mick Jones and Tony James bring you a very enjoyable Christmas Video Diary from the Carbon Silicon site. Looks like the boys were having a great time along Oxford Street in the snow, popping into HMV, Selfridges and Starbucks (whoops) along the way. A few bevvies were consumed and a merry time was had. The video is below and the link to the story on their official site is here. I love that Tony James has a love of technology which suggests we might hear more frequently from the band in the New Year.

That’s all for now….oh…well done today Chelsea….!