Saturday Open Thread

by Jerome a Paris
Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 11:12:12 AM EST

It's Saturday


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I registered at a certain web forum. Paraphrasing the email exchange that followed:

[DoDo],

Regrettably, your registration for the following forum was rejected: XY Forum

Greetings:
XY Forum Team.

Why?

Because of the email address!

What's wrong with it?

Maybe you think its double registration? Can't be: I find I did register once before four years ago, but that user ID no more exists according to the login page. So, what's the problem?

Greetings
[real name]

Please register again now!

It seems the idiot omitted the basic courtesy of giving the reason for rejection because he couldn't be bothered to actually check what's in his database... But, it seems the strategy of pestering admins until they say "just leave me alone" always works.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 12:02:44 PM EST

The first one is from speaker.gov; the second sent by email by Sterling Newberry.

Then there is this, from Dean Baker, who suggests that the real numbers are worse than those announced, given that the models used to determine jobs seem to imply that more jobs were created by new firms in recent months than in the same period last year...:



In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 12:16:20 PM EST


Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
by marco (cowannar at gmail punkt com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 01:06:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
LOL...

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
by DoDo on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 01:23:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Scary on the second chart, since by this point in the recession, you eyeball how the second derivative had turned positive.  There's also a consensus that we're not going to enjoy the kind of sharp snapping-back when recovery begins like we did in that cycle.  There's no obvious industry boom coming that I can see.  And Bernanke obviously can't do what Volcker did with interest rates.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 01:22:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Scary on the second chart, since by this point in the recession, you eyeball how the second derivative had turned positive.

I'm referring to the the Volcker Contraction and the Oil Crisis recessions, FTR.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 01:24:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Volcker Contraction = Reagan Economic Miralce?

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
by DoDo on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 01:25:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes, precisely.  The Great Myth of St Ronnie's Economy.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 01:28:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
CNN international: Volcker to head board of economic experts (November 26, 2008)
President-elect Barack Obama announced Wednesday that he is creating a new economic recovery board to provide a "fresh perspective" for his administration.

The board will be headed by Paul Volcker, who served as the chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 through 1987, serving under Presidents Carter and Reagan.

After his tenure there, Volcker worked in the private sector as an investment banker until 1996. Volcker also headed the investigation into the



Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:19:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Why the sigh?

I'm all for this, although I hate many of the others on the board.  Volcker and Summers are engaged in a power struggle right now, and you can count me as being on Volcker's side.  Whatever gets him more leverage over Summers is excellent, as far as I'm concerned.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:27:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Because of the "Volcker recession".

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:36:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm not following you.  What do you mean?

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:56:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Maybe I'm not making sense.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Feb 8th, 2009 at 06:17:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]


NGLS Launches an online NGO Consultation on the Commission of Experts of the President of the General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System

n the wake of the global financial and economic crisis, the President of the UN General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, set up a commission of experts chaired by Nobel Prize Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, whose mandate is to reflect on the causes of the crisis, assess its impacts on all countries and suggest adequate responses to avoid its recurrence and restore global economic stability. The "Commission of Experts of the President of the UN General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System" (hereafter referred to as the "Commission on Financial Reforms") will produce a report whose recommendations will be considered in the preparatory process leading to the UN Conference at the highest level on the world financial and economic crisis and its impact on development called for in the final document adopted at the 2008 Doha Conference on Financing for Development.

The Office of the President of the General Assembly has asked NGLS to consult with civil society groups across the globe and to compile their views into a single report that will be presented to the Commission as an official input to their deliberations. This on-line consultation - open to all civil society organizations - was set up to support this effort.


To accomplish this task, NGLS is undertaking a three-week online consultation (23 January - 13 February) organized around the Commission's four Working Groups themes (financial regulation; multilateral issues; macroeconomic issues and addressing the crisis; and reforming the global financial architecture). After the consultation period concludes, NGLS will prepare a compilation report to be submitted to the Office of the President of the General Assembly as part of the preparations of the Commission's second meeting in March.


The consultation is structured around the four themes of the Commission's working group sessions. These are : (1) Financial regulation; (2) Multilateral issues; (3) Macro-economic issues and addressing the crisis; and (4) Reforming the global financial architecture. NGLS has prepared a general description and lead questions to guide inputs under each of these headings.
After the online consultation closes, NGLS will have 10 days to compile a report to be submitted to the Commission secretariat by 23 February. The report will not be a "consensus document" among NGOs, but a compilation of civil society proposals to reform the international financial and monetary system. The report will list the organizations that have contributed to the process.
NGLS will post substantive submissions on this website. The website will remain active for several months after the release of the report in order to serve as a resource for further dialogue and information sharing.
Guidelines for submissions:
Before preparing the submission, please respect the following guidelines:
1.    Please use the attached form to cut and paste the submission. When ready, press the submit button on the bottom of the page. Submissions should be sent no later than 13 February 2009.
2.    Please distinguish between:
(a)    Broad principles - e.g. the need to democratize global financial governance
(b)    Specific proposals - e.g. a new global reserve currency, how it would work and what it would be used for.
3.    Length: Participants are invited to comment on one or more sub-themes. However, contributions under each sub-themes should not exceed 1,000 words.
4.    Overlap: Some issues inevitably overlap between themes: in such case insert the proposal under the most relevant theme heading and indicate its possible connections with (an)other(s).


In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 12:19:48 PM EST

A man joins a Trappist Monastery, where monks are not allowed to speak, except for three words every five years.

At the end of the first five years the man stood up and said;

"Need new shoes"

At the end of the second five years he stood up and said;

"Need new mattress"

After fifteen years had passed he stood up and said,

"I am quitting!"

The Abbot said;

"It's probably for the best. You've done nothing but complain since you got here."



Modern conservatives engage in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy: the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.Galbraith
by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 12:25:19 PM EST
I realized today that the only time my face gets anything near what might be called male cosmetic pampering is when I open the dishwasher, just after it has completed its cycle, and I get a steam facial.

I need more pampering.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 12:36:06 PM EST
you must do te washing-up more regularly then.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 12:51:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
What?

I love the smell of roast chicken in the morning!
by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 04:07:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
He got his first ever spa treatment today...

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:11:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
First time I ever heard a guy asking for more "pampering".  Sven is one of ET favorites but my reaction is eeeeeewwwwww.

I love the smell of roast chicken in the morning!
by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Sun Feb 8th, 2009 at 07:30:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]
What's wrong with a bit of pampering?
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Sun Feb 8th, 2009 at 07:37:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I have never in my 56 years used the word "pampering", and I would NEVER use it in reference to myself.

"I want to be pampered."  My reply (please forgive me, Sven):  What are you, a pansy?  Grow up!

Women, on occasion, deserve pampering.  Hell, they have to go through childbirth. Guys?  Please!

I love the smell of roast chicken in the morning!

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Sun Feb 8th, 2009 at 08:09:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
One of my ex-students, now in nursing school down in San Diego.  Even though she's just a student, she's landed a job working in a hospital that services a lot of war vets.

She says that those guys have balls of stainless steel.  You can jab them with a hypo or an IV and they don't flinch.  Their biggest problem ... years of alcohol abuse and cigarette smoking.

Why am I typing this?  Megan with her beautiful smile and great attitude, if any guy deserves pampering, it's those poor Vets who are usually treated like shit.  Pamper them!  Enough.

I love the smell of roast chicken in the morning!

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Sun Feb 8th, 2009 at 08:58:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
You are entitled to your reaction...

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Feb 8th, 2009 at 09:14:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
heh, i do the same after i open my pressure cooker!

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do." Jim Hightower
by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 09:52:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
ti_opinion - Terence Blacker: You don't have to be a twit... but it helps
On the subject of Eton: Boris Johson is THE twit. Of course he is right about music education, but so was Hitler on many things - that does not make Hitler or Johnson, nor Tatcher or Blair a great politician! What a bullying uneducated Eton bastard can one be to ask for City Bankers to give their bonuses to charity. Tax them Boris, and you do not need all the charities that seem to save this country. The more charities a country has, the poorer their people! Got it Boris? Or are your brains far too small for reason?

Boris' friends from the Tories pay less tax then low income earners, they pay less tax then what low income earners give to charities.

Charities do not work, tax the rich! Let's hope that one day this country will understand this and join the rest of Europe, rather than being buried in poverty.


If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 02:11:50 PM EST
a bullying uneducated Eton bastard

Hah! If you've had to rub shoulders with this kind of unfortunately-human, you know that that is neither strident hyperbole nor "extremism". Just a sober appraisal of reality.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 05:00:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Tax them Boris, and you do not need all the charities that seem to save this country. The more charities a country has, the poorer their people! Got it Boris?
See Jerome's Why I don't do charity (Nov 24th, 2006).

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:10:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
oh dear. Frederic Jameson is still alive. I can't be certain. I've only just discovered online New Left Review (path = Counterpunch/Janette Habel/Castro's Socialism in Crisis).

So yeah Fred's covered all the bases of Doom.

::

"Sandblasting Marx"
"A Marx revival seems to be under way, predating the current disarray on Wall Street, even though no clear-cut political options yet seem to propose themselves. [1] Sensible opportunists have welcomed any sign of sympathy for Marxian positions, without wanting to alienate the new converts (or returning fellow-travellers). The big ideological issues--anarchism, the party, economic planning, social classes--are still mainly avoided, on the grounds that they remind too many people of Communist propaganda. Such a reminder is unwanted, not so much because it is accompanied by the memory of deaths and violence (memory is fragile in postmodernity) as simply and less dramatically because such topics now appear boring." This guy is such a treat ...

"The Politics of Utopia"

"Fear and Loathing in Globalization"

"Future City"

"Globalization and Political Strategy"

"The Brick and the Balloon: Architecture, Idealism and Land Speculation"

"Marx's Purloined Letter"

"Marxism and Postmodernism"

"Introduction to Borge"

"Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism" ...

::

Contents are by subscription, GBP 34 p.a. But a Che Guiverra's biopic is now pay-per-view by cable, two installments, just USD 7.99.

I used to agree that ISP would reduce search costs, that was the technology's greatest contribution to mankind. Every year and every subscriber added since I've fewer reason to believe that's true.

What a grumpy day.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 03:37:08 PM EST
For those of you who might be interested, I did a diary over at BoomanTribune about my trip to DC for the Obama inauguration.  Stop by.  
by Maryb2004 on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 03:44:06 PM EST
Bring it here...
by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 04:37:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I thought about it but it's so ... American.
by Maryb2004 on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:06:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I may not be American but he's still my Emperor :-P

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:07:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
That's just the setting - the story is very human.  And then there's Mig's point...

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:19:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Wow, Maryb!  What an amazing diary - I loved it!  And I second de gondi - please do cross-post it here!!

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 05:05:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Thanks Izzy!  I remembered shoe blogging for you :)

OK, I can cross post it.  I just thought it was too American.  (My only other experience doing a diary here being after my Italy trip.)

by Maryb2004 on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:08:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I saw that!  You greatly cheered my day!

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
by Izzy (izzy at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:20:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&v=Us-TVg40ExM&gl



Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.

by metavision on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:01:12 PM EST
Fabulous.

Skennah Kowa
by Crazy Horse on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 06:20:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I am a lazy traveler of the "less is more" school. Today I'm too lazy to even drag myself to the beach. I am sitting in the hotel lobby working on emails and trying to get an idea of what I want to do for a month in Northern Thailand.

The full moon party is in two days. Apparently there are 10 stages including psytrance and drum n' bass stages so I'm set for the night.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Sat Feb 7th, 2009 at 11:46:51 PM EST
Oh forgot to mention my "to do" list for back home thus far:

  1. study massage further
  2. buy a motorcycle
  3. take yoga classes (I'm probably going to start this in India)

To be honest I may just go back to my old job when I get back. Unless the whole business unit disappears it looks like the job will still be there for me. Working in the wind industry is a long term goal but it isn't going to make my life worth living so it won't get top priority.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Sun Feb 8th, 2009 at 12:02:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]


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