THE GEORGIST NEWS

    WEB EDITION
    Volume Twelve, Number Ten, April 1, 2010

    Merry Fool's Day and Tax Day, along with Earth Day. As the
    northern hemispheres goes green, your cohorts have been pushing up new
    shoots. Enjoy the read. And if you know anyone who'd happily be a
    reader, please put them in touch.
    
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    CONTENTS:
     1. News: Geo-location apps to star at South by Southwest
     2. Numbers: Land prices smash records in Beijing property frenzy
     3. Good Press: High Traffic Sites Get the Words
     4. Movement Progress: New article and Webcast interview
     5. Letters: Oz Newsletter; SCI, ICEHG, Jock Coats
     6. Obituary: Memorial service notice from The Harriss Family
     7. Likable links: Stiglitz; City Solutions
     8. What You Can Do: Fix wikipedia; Sign petitions; Get book;
        Attend conference
     9. At the Margin: Quips and Quotes
    10. Publication affairs: Contributors, About the Georgist News
    
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    2010 Conference Theme Announced
    by Sue Walton, March 10, 2010
    
    Announcing the CGO conference brochure is now online at:
     www.cgocouncil.org
    Sign Up now!
    
    If you blog and will be attending, please contact Sue Walton, our
    Administrator, we'd like to link your blog to our website.
    
    Attention: CGO member organizations, all member reports must be sent
    in electronic form only to the Administrator by 6/25/10. Only those
    reports which are sent will be distributed.
    
    An online survey is being developed on "the state of the Georgist
    movement" and encourage every member organization to ask board
    members, contributors and others associated with their organizations
    to complete this survey. We will announce when the survey is ready for
    completion.
    
    Questions: please contact: Sue + Scott Walton at sns at swwalton.com
    
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    1. News: Geo-location apps to star at South by Southwest
    
    Does sex sell? Not always, or at least not as much hoped for. But
    location still always does. The more things change...
    "Sex.com goes on auction block"
    http://www.progress.org/2010/internet.htm
    
    To keep up with the latest in the world of economic justice, try
    visiting the daily news site, the Progress Report, where such articles
    appear.
    
    To establish a shared frame of reference for a discussion about how to
    solve economic issues with friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers,
    try sending them the progress.org link, see how it goes.
    
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    2. Numbers: Land prices smash records in Beijing property frenzy
    
    Want all the current indicators in one place? Periodically, The
    Progress Report publishes just such a digest. To give readers greater
    breadth, depth, and the most salient facts, many articles at the
    Progress Report are not single articles but compilations on one theme,
    offering a compendium of data on one sector:
    
    Rulers around the world capture the worth of Earth, either
    indirectly via kickbacks or directly via ownership.
    "11-Year-Old Spends $44 Million in Dubai"
    http://www.progress.org/2010/stateown.htm
    
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    3. Good Press: High Traffic Sites Get the Words
    
    The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania - Forum, January 29, 2010
    http://www.lppa.org/smf/index.php?action=printpage;topic=34275.0
    
    Political Forum.com, February 8
    http://www.politicalforum.com/budget-taxes/38069-fairtax-49.html
    
    City-Data.com, February 9
    http://www.city-data.com/forum/great-debates/890132-taxation-2.html
    
    Reddit
    http://tinyurl.com/yf3g79m
    
    Guy Fawkes' Blog, February 11
    http://order-order.com/2010/02/11/tories-rebut-labour-mumsnet-campaign/
    
    Smart Taxes Network, February 13
    http://smarttaxes.org/2010/02/13/the-new-marshall-plan-for-europe/
    
    All had posts urging taxes to recover rents and dividends to share
    them, read by - at least many thousands (some sites say how many
    replies) - if not millions (most sites don't say how many viewers).
    
    More endorsements of Georgist ideas from all media appear throughout
    the month at The Progress Report.
    
    If you note an article you want the world to read, send it to us,
    we'll reprint it, and since we get over a million readers a year (the
    first Georgist website to achieve that plateau), then major search
    engines such as Google will find it yet again. Utilize the news site
    that exists to serve you.
    
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    4. Movement Progress: New article and Webcast interview
    by Scott Baker - Author, Community Activist, IT Director, Common
    Ground - NYC, March 19, 2010
    
    I wrote a new Georgist article on Op Ed News: Have Conditions in the
    Laboring Class improved from Henry George's Time to our Own?
    My introductory article was moved to here:
    http://tinyurl.com/ydphwsj
    
    In addition to that, I was also interviewed on Max Keiser's webcast
    show:
    http://tinyurl.com/ybzsf4q
    
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    5a. Letter: Latest Oz Newsletter
    by Karl Fitzgerald, k2 at earthsharing.org.au, March 28, 2010
    
    In the Earthsharing Australia email newsletter of March, read about
    "Urgent Lobbying call; Media Wars, Speed Renters", and more. To see
    it, write the e-ddress above.
    
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    5b. Letter: New powerpoint - saving communities
    by Ed Dodson, ejdodson at comcast.net, March 16, 2010
    
    My latest slide show is up. To see it, on the web go to authorstream.
    Next hit the "BROWSE" button on the home page, then enter "Edward
    dodson" in the search line. All of the Powerpoints I have so far
    developed will come up.
    
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    5c. Letter: IHG Director's Blog Comments Jan-Feb 2010 by Paul Martin,
    Director of the IHG Managua Nicaragua, ceihg at ceihg.org, March 11,
    2010
    
    Available are my comments posted Jan-Feb, 2010 to online articles such
    as on Truthout.org (posted as "HG"), or to the IHG blog
    (econsolucnica.blogspot.com), as well as my comments posted to my
    Facebook page or my own personal blog (paulmart10.blogspot.com). Most
    of the posts are good Georgist propaganda, some are more my own
    personal opinion. All are best taken in the context of the article and
    the other readers' comments to which I am responding.
    
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    5c. Letter: Landlines
    by Ann LeRoyer, March 30, 2010
    
    The April 2010 issue of the Land Lines quarterly magazine (vol.22,
    no.2) is now posted on our Web site
    http://www.lincolninst.edu/pubs/1769_Land-Lines--April-2010
    
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    5d. Letter: UK based Georgist academics
    by Jock Coats, jock.coats at altoxford.org, March 15, 2010
    
    William O'Brian at Warwick University's Law department describes
    himself as a "left-libertarian" and a Georgist. Anyone know of him?
    
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    6. Obituary: Memorial service notice from The Harriss Family
    by Nadine Stoner, March 20, 2010
    
    A Celebration of the life of C. Lowell Harriss, 1912-2009, will be
    held Sunday, April 11, 2010, from 10:00am to 12:00 noon. The location
    will be at the Kellogg Center, 15th floor of the International Affairs
    Building, 420 West 118th Street, Columbia University in the City of
    New York. RSVP to econ-rsvp at columbia.edu or to Martha Harriss (212)
    666-9005. Gifts in honor of Lowell Harriss may be sent c/o Leah Cohen,
    Columbia University, 622 West 113th Street, New York, NY l0025.
    
    For those who did not get a chance to sign the funeral home's one line
    guest register, you may send sympathy cards to:
     The Harriss Family
     23 Village Lane
     Bronxville, NY 10708
    
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    7a. Likable link: Stiglitz forced to mention George to roomful of
    non-Georgists by David Harrell, March 1, 2010
    
    Stiglitz spoke at the International House auditorium. I didn't really
    pay attention to the attendance, beyond noting that the room and
    balcony were packed. I spoke to him briefly before the lecture, told
    him I work with the HGS in Chicago and handed him one of our
    attractive postcards. He expressed mild surprise that Henry George
    Schools still existed, but aside from that, didn't seem very curious
    about what we were up to and volunteered no information about how
    George figured in his scheme to save the world economy. His mention of
    Henry George came afterward in the Q+A, and only because I
    specifically asked. At most, he may have mentioned "resource rents"
    once during the lecture. http://cis.uchicago.edu/events/wbh/
    
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    7b. Likable link: Solutions to government fiscal crises
    by Josh Vincent, Executive Director, Henry George Foundation
    USA/Center for the Study of Economics, February 16, 2010
    
    What can a city (or state) do about a budget gap? See what
    Philadelphia can do... Cities and states will have to ask that
    question for at least the next five years (bets accepted). Is there a
    right way, a wrong way or a third way? What our sister site's -
    OurCommonWealth - editor Barbara G Maloney wrote, tied in all aspects
    of this vexing question.
    http://www.ourcommonwealth.org/news/philadelphia-budget-gap-solution
    
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    8a. What You Can Do: Fix Wikipedia Entry for HG
    by Josh Vincent, Executive Director, Henry George Foundation
    USA/Center for the Study of Economics, March 29, 2010
    
    I fixed what I could. Follow the link and fix what you can. Thanks.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_George
    
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    8b. What You Can Do: Utilize Petition and Newsletter
    by David Brooks, davidsb1 at bigpond.com, March 24, 2010
    
    Please look at http://petition.prosper.org.au/
    And give it your consideration and perhaps sign it.
    
    Also, I trust you enjoy reading the Guardian newsletter.
    Please write for a copy.
    
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    8c. What You Can Do: Sign Petition
    by John Burns, March 25, 2010
    
    There is a petition at Downing St to get LVT implemented. Anyone can
    sign on-line: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/TaxLess4more/
    
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    8d. What You Can Do: See Good New Book
    by Phil Anderson, March 21, 2010
    
    As the next cycle unfolds, the geographic area that will see the
    biggest boom will be the region(s) where stock markets enter into all
    time new highs. The earlier this happens in the real estate cycle, the
    bigger the likely boom. The places to look for that; clearly China and
    India. Also Brazil. We don't actually need to have an opinion as to
    how regions will perfom in the coming several years, the region's
    stock markets will tell us. If you have read through Secret Life of
    Real Estate and Banking, you should then be able to immediately see
    through the limitations in the banking system.
    
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    8e. What You Can Do: Attend AMI Conference
    by
    
    The 6th Annual AMI Monetary Reform Conference will be at Roosevelt
    University in Chicago. A great lineup of speakers is taking shape now,
    including some surprises. The Conference will focus on what
    participants can do to make a difference. The normal registration fee
    of $395 is reduced to $225 for early registrations postmarked by April
    30th. (Please see the registration form at
    http://www.monetary.org/2010conference.html.)
    
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    9. the Margin: Quips and Quotes
    
    "The Declaration of Independence, the words that launched our nation
    - 1,300 words.
    The Bible, the word of God - 773,000 words.
    The Tax Code, the words of politicians - 7,000,000 words - and
    growing!" - Steve Forbes
    
    There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but
    there must never be a time when we fail to protest. - Elie Weisel
    
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    10. Publication affairs: Contributing to this issue
    
    Along with those acknowledged above with each blurb,
    
      Editor: Jeffery J. Smith
      Assistant Editor: Caspar Davis
      Archivist: Stewart Goldwater
      Owner: Robert Schalkenbach Foundation
      Founder: Adam Monroe
    
    Send your news and other interesting material to the Georgist News,
    jjs at geonomics.org or gn at progress.org. The deadline for the next
    issue is the 25th of this month.
    
    The Georgist News, a project of Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, is an
    email newsletter brought to you free of charge. Its purpose is to keep
    you updated on the latest news, citations, events, and initiatives of
    relevance to people who, like Henry George, seek a world free from
    special privilege and the causes of poverty.
    
    Do you know someone who'd enjoy reading the GN? Please forward them an
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    it's free. Thanks.
    
    The Georgist News is also available online: www.Georgist.com/
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    The Georgist News, Volume Twelve, Number Ten, April 1, 2010