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Tuesday Open Thread

by Jerome a Paris
Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 10:48:07 AM EST

It's Tuesday. It's January

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Tuesday Open Thread | 76 comments (76 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Very cold here, but try and things run as usual.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 10:49:43 AM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

My broadband has frozen apparently, so it's iPhone only at the moment. Not good.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:35:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Mine goes off when it gets wet, yours' when it's cold. Interesting difference.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:38:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

That's strange, why does the weather influence your broadband?

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:48:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

The last time mine died the engineer said 'Yeah, well, the box at the end of the road floods when it rains so all of the cables are underwater.'

Maybe a better question is why broadband works at all, on a phone system that still uses Victorian cabling technology for the last mile.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:54:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Oh, so I guess the broadband works well here is, because the phonecable and electricity are underground.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 12:06:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Underground is where water gathers ;-)

If the job is done properly, there's no reason why the entire system cannot be weatherproofed. But in the rush to lay millions of miles of new competing cables over the last 10 years, I am sure some corners have been cut - especially in those countries that prefer lawyers over engineers.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 12:11:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Unless you put your Airport on the roof, the fault lies in the system that delivers broadband from your Internet Service Provider. All sorts of things can go wrong here, from somebody putting a spade through an optical cable, to all the switching needed to send and boost signals down wires and distribute it to end users. Damp and cold can affect those switches.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:59:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

The phone line is dead too. So, yeah, soggy cables or something.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 12:41:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Oh theres a whole range of stories to be told about that, ranging from Road mnders putting a JCB bucket through one of the main cables covering half of south Wales, to employees of a certain well known UK telecom company who cut through armoured optical data fibres to use as pull-throughs for new telephone cables.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:21:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Blooming cold here with a prospect of heavy (for South East UK) snow in the next few days.

Plus the usual threat of gas supplies running out, which seems to happen every time it gets cold for more than four days running. Probably something to do with how marvellously efficient our gas market is.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:37:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Even with another night ahead of -23 C down in the south of Finland, the depressed demand for energy by industry means the system can cope. We have even sold electricity to Sweden during the cold spell.

Hearing that I bumped the thermostat up a degree to 20 C. (my preferred temperature). If the other 5 million Finns do the same....

<blackout>

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:50:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Not so bad here.

The Met Office is threatening that the entire south of England will be blanketed by thick snow by this time tomorrow, but I think they're being a little dramatic.

Then again I did an emergency shop today, and at least some of the heating here is off-grid, so I'm ready for almost anything, as long as it doesn't last more than a week or so.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:57:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Left to his own Devizes (4.00 / 3)

We are on holiday again tomorrow with Loppiainen or Epiphany. Time take take down the decorations and say goodbye to Jul. Next up the Egg Celebrations.

Got 3 big bags of of split birch logs in the porch - just in case. And if the ice does really hit the windmill, I've got lots of huge oak Bilnås furniture from the Finnish Fifties. That'll burn nicely. Plus, I won't ever have to move it again. One 2 m upright cupboard with rolltop 'doors' is a 3 man job on it's own.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 12:06:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Left to his own Devizes (none / 0)

You could always burn the Fifties Finnish Furniture of Alliteration anyway.

Why wait for an excuse?

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 12:50:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Left to his own Devizes (none / 1)

Sadly a great deal of 'design' was destroyed in the Fifities by Finns who'd had enough of dismal austerity and formal tradition and suddenly wanted colour (hence Marimekko) and lightness.

When the Swedish language daily Hufvudstadsbladet finally refurbished its offices a few years back, a treasure trove of 30's furniture found its way into the backs of vans and cars.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 02:34:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Well one weather site is predicting 10 days of similar, then a few days warmer, before another patch of ten days of cold weather, this time even colder.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:25:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

you energy hog, you!

here it's raining at medium strength, and the snow is melting, so every brook and stream is coursing copiously.

snow still here and there, but going pretty fast.

we'll be ok unless it all freezes hard.

it's more about keeping the air in the house dry than fighting the cold.

i'll be really surprised if i hear people whinge about lack of water this summer, the reservoirs must be brimming, and winter only half over. snow and insistent rain act more permeatively than hard rains, the whole hill and woods feel pregnant with humidity.

drip, drip, drip... another system heading our way, somewhat milder though, wheew.

just pulled a loaf of bread out of the oven, spelt flour with millet flakes, smells good.

going to bake a (homegrown) pumpkin tart later, with cinnamon and raisins, yum.

first some yoga, then dinner, a hot bath, and back to tele-blogging.

dreaming of spring...

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do." Jim Hightower

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 12:31:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Well now, this is the nice thing about the front range of the Rocky Mountains! It was sunny and about 45F (oh nuts, 7C) here today, calm and pleasant. We're expecting a low tonight of a few degrees below freezing, and a high tomorrow just above freezing with some light snow...

by asdf on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:21:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Spain's EU website hijacked by Mr Bean - Europe, World - The Independent

A hacker hijacked Spain's official website for its presidency of the European Union, inserting a large smiling picture of the comic character Mr Bean.
The supposed resemblance of the bumbling slapstick character played by British actor Rowan Atkinson to Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has been a running joke in Spain for years.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 10:50:17 AM EST

Safe havens in China and Ukraine (4.00 / 3)

Internet pirates find 'bulletproof' havens for file sharing
By Bobbie Johnson, guardian.co.uk

Internet pirates are moving away from safe havens such as Sweden to new territories that include China and Ukraine, as they try to avoid prosecution for illegal file sharing, according to experts.
For several years, piracy groups that run services allowing music, video and software to be illegally shared online have been using legal loopholes across a wide range of countries as a way of escaping prosecution for copyright infringement.
In the last year there has been a significant shift, say piracy experts, as the groups have worked to stay beyond the reach of western law enforcement.
The change is rooted in the evolution of "bulletproof hosting", or website provision by companies that make a virtue of being impervious to legal threats and blocks...
Research published last year showed that most bulletproof hosts are located in China, where criminals are able to take advantage of low costs and legal loopholes to avoid prosecution.

Just don't host any Tiananmen Square torrents, I guess.

by Magnifico on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 11:57:04 AM EST

The US Banking bailout notes (none / 1)

http://www.boomantribune.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2010/1/5/11916/80154

I think Al Giordano really got at the problem I have with the "progressive" critique of the Obama administration.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/3694/we-have-met-corporation-and-it-us

by rootless2 (redacted) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 12:31:41 PM EST

Re: The US Banking bailout notes (4.00 / 2)

Interesting, but somewhat concern-trollish.

What would happen to insurance workers? Probably unemployment. But in the wider picture, suddenly freeing up the many billions leeched from the economy by the insurance companies would make for a lot of new employment and business opportunities.

Saying 'We can't do that - it's going to cost Jobs™' is one of the standard right wing arguments - especially when the insurance corporations are already costing other people jobs, because of their culture and financial practices.

And yes, government managed health care would certainly better. It works in Europe, why can't it work in the US? It's not as if the US government isn't already managing a substantial national infrastructure, with varying degrees of success.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:03:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The US Banking bailout notes (none / 1)

So you think Giordano is making a "right-wing" argument in favor of preserving the private insurance industry?

That's nothing like his actual argument.

by rootless2 (redacted) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:12:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The US Banking bailout notes (none / 0)

I don't know what Giordano's doing. I'm not sure he does either, except to make the point that he's more progressive than people who aren't totally sold on the bill - which seems like a silly position to take on legislation that's flawed at best.

As someone pointed out in the comments, it was pressure from the kill-the-bill lobby that moved the bill to the left, to the minimal amount that it was moved. So if he's saying we should all hail his legacy anti-corporate grumpiness and accept that he thought of it all first - or whatever his point is - I confess I'm struggling to see how that's relevant to the immediate health care issue in the US.

Suggesting that everyone should go all anarcho-syndicalist overnight is no less unrealistic as a counsel of perfection than suggesting the bill should be killed outright, surely.

And suggesting that a entirely parasitic industry can't be touched because it will cost jobs is a familiar right wing talking point. You'll have to ask him why he's using it, because I can't possibly explain it.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:36:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The US Banking bailout notes (none / 1)

I'll be back later - got to work - but I have to say that your misreading of Giordano gives me a lot of hope that similar misreadings of my comments are due to ideological blinders and not to my own lame writing style.

by rootless2 (redacted) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:42:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The US Banking bailout notes (none / 1)

The argument I see from him is "the system is broken, but it is too broken to fix itself, therefore we are screwed." Waste of time.

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 04:23:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The US Banking bailout notes (4.00 / 2)

Not at all. The argument is that the system is inherently broken, so partial reforms that actually help people are great and should not be discarded in the name of some supposedly "real" reform that will magically create an island of justice in the sea of exploitation. The idea that one can reform US health insurance as if the basic operation of the US economy did not favor corporate power is laughable.

Remember the context of the argument is that Moyers/Taibbi/Hamsher etc. are arguing that a health reform bill that improves lives of tens of millions should be discarded.

by rootless2 (redacted) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 04:32:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The US Banking bailout notes (none / 1)

Giordano's points are quite simple. (1) The health bill actually will help a lot of poor and working class Americans - something that the critics don't seem to care about as part of their general disinterest in poverty and working people. (2) Capitalism is systematically unjust and arguments that the personality of government employees or corporate executives cause it to deviate from natural justice are, at best, shallow. (3) The theory that a defeat that will actually hurt tens of millions of the supposed constituents of the Democratic party will have positive political implications makes zero tactical sense and certainly does not lead to a stronger force for popular power. (4) The shallow and essentially right wing political analysis of the critics leads them to consider the rise and fall of the stock market as a indicator of something essential - as if the people who thought Pets.com was worth billions have the intellectual authority to decide the meaning the health bill. In fact, it's amazing how much faith the American "progressives" have for "the market".

by rootless2 (redacted) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 04:00:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The US Banking bailout notes (none / 1)

I'd add that the problem of unemployment is a lot more mild than many who make that argument would have us believe. It isn't like the insurance industry would disappear overnight with a public option. You'd probably lose some jobs here and there, and eventually they might all be gone (decades down the road), but we're not talking about dumping millions on the labor market immediately.

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

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 05:34:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The US Banking bailout notes (none / 0)

" It isn't like the insurance industry would disappear overnight with a public option."

But what Giordano argues is:
"Would single-payer and public-options still be preferable? Yes, but with the proviso that the improvement would be at the margins, and they, too, would create new problems to solve. I have yet to see a single-payer health proposal, for example, that honestly admits that removing insurance corporations altogether would cause hundreds of thousands of Americans that work for them to become unemployed."

Single payer is not the same as public option.

by rootless2 (redacted) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 07:38:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Double huh? (none / 1)

the Bloomberg article you link to exactly proves that the PPIP was a gift to the banks. Not to those who bought the repackaged assets from the banks;
Giordano says that if you're not a communist, you're not allowed to criticize corporations? Right.

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

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 02:49:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Double huh? (none / 0)

The Bloomberg article claims that the PPIP caused prices to go up in anticipation which may or may not be correct, but the rise of prices is something that has actually delayed PPIP purchases. On the other hand, Krugman and Atrios argued that PPIP would purchase assets at above market rates - something that has not happened. In fact, the entire operation of PPIP is completely different from the claims of Krugman and Atrios about how it would work. There claim that investors would be able to and interested in using expected value strategies was silly and has turned out to be not correct.

Giordano argues that from a socialist point of view, the claim that we should abandon a reform that would help tens of millions of poor and working class citizens on the evidence of stock market moves makes no sense.

by rootless2 (redacted) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 04:07:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Double huh? (none / 1)

prices went up because of PPIP - and the banks that were bailed out are even buying more of these assets. This is exactly what was predicted. They are going up in the expectation of PPIP purchases.
whether we like it or not, market prices give us an idea of market sentiment on new bits of information. The fact that HC insurance cos are up by more than the overall stockmarket suggests that markets expect (rightly or wrongly) the reform to be beneficial to these companies' profit prospects. A socialist would have a system where companies are not evaluated on the basis of their expected profit flows. But nothing says that a socialist can't use the information provided by the current system in it analyses?

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

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 05:16:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Double huh? (none / 0)

I'm sorry, but that's exactly NOT what was predicted. What was predicted was that investors would overpay for the assets, using government money to reduce their risk. This has not happened. What has happened is that the private not subsidized market has recovered and some of the people Bloomberg quotes claim this is in expectation of PPIP purchases. But that article makes clear that the result of the price increases - in fact the reappearance of a market for these asset classes - has been that PPIP purchases have been curtailed. So the massive purchases of worthless junk paid for by FDIC dollars that Atrios/Krugman predicted did not happen. In fact, if PPIP can be credited, it revived the market with only a tiny expense in taxpayer funds.

As for market prices, market sentiment tells me nothing at all about the positives or negatives of the reform bill. The stock market does not have magical powers and frankly, whether the insurance companies stocks go up or down doesn't mean anything to me. What's important about the health bill is that it actually provides important benefits to many people and that it increases the political power of the union/obama coalition that forced it through congress over the bitter objections of the insurance companies. What kind of useful information can be obtained from
this kind of stock movement?
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=AET#chart2:symbol=aet;range=6m;compare=unh+^dji+^gspc;indicator=v olume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

by rootless2 (redacted) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 07:34:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Y2.01K bug (4.00 / 6)

2010? Das ist ein Problem! | Süddeutsche | 4.1.10

Zahlreiche Besitzer von Bank- und Kreditkarten haben in den vergangenen Tagen nicht mehr mit ihrer Karte zahlen und auch kein Geld mehr abheben können.
Grund dafür seien technische Probleme mit Computerchips auf den Geldkarten, teilte der Zentrale Kreditausschuss (ZKA) mit, in dem die fünf Spitzenverbände der deutschen Kreditwirtschaft zusammengeschlossen sind. Die Computer-Software auf Chips eines bestimmten Produktionstyps habe Probleme bei der Verarbeitung der Jahreszahl 2010 gehabt. Deswegen seien die betroffenen Karten, die auf der Vorderseite mit goldenen Chips ausgestattet sind, nicht mehr von Geldautomaten oder den Lesegeräten von Händlern akzeptiert worden, erklärte der ZKA.

Summary: Many German credit cards with a chip inside stopped working in 2010...

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 12:58:07 PM EST

Microfinance becomes consumer lending in Bosnia (4.00 / 4)

Microfinance meltdown in Bosnia
By Phil Cain, aljazeera.net

A market-led lending scheme some hoped would be the driving force behind economic revival in Bosnia after the civil war ended in 1995 is facing meltdown.
Its harshest critics say the scheme is not only in crisis, but that it has done more economic harm than good...
Microfinance loan portfolios grew at 80 per cent plus a year for the five years leading up to 2008 and fewer than 2 per cent of loans were more than a month in arrears. By the end of 2008 there were 390,000 loans on the books, together totalling over BAM 1 billion ($770m).
The original goal of the sector was development, but the profit motive fuelled the boom...
"The people who worked there saw their own 'main chance' and became less and less concerned with development," says Milford Bateman, a consultant.
"They had done a lot of good, but they totally went away from their development mission," says Selma Cizmic of Mikro "LIDER", a non-profit microfinance organisation...
These loans were increasingly spent by borrowers on consumer goods rather than the modest business assets for which they were intended. Rather than equip a hairdresser, buy a van or a cow, they now more often than not went on weddings, cars or TVs.
"The clients were aware that there are many microfinance lenders offering loans and wherever they could go they could get it. They were attracted by the possibilities and rushed into it without thinking," says Cizmic.

by Magnifico on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:17:36 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

BRASILIA, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Brazilian Air Force would prefer to buy its next-generation fighter jets from Sweden, putting it at odds with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's preference for French planes, media reported on Tuesday.
The deal, which could initially be worth more than $4 billion, has sparked fierce competition among aircraft manufacturers.
An Air Force report presented to Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said Sweden's Saab (SAABb.ST) had presented the best overall project among the three finalists, Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper reported on Tuesday. The U.S.-made Boeing (BA.N) F18 was runner-up in the report, and France's Dassault Aviation (AVMD.PA) placed last with its Rafale jet. The Brazilian government said last year that it was in the final stages of talks to acquire the Rafale.
Accused by critics of cutting short the bidding process, the government insisted no final decision had been made. Lula said he would have the final word and that his decision would be political and strategic.
Brazil has signed a strategic defense agreement with France worth billions of dollars, including the local assembly of helicopters and conventional and nuclear-powered submarines. Brazil is seeking a generous technology transfer offer and local assembly as part of a contract to buy 36 jet fighters. The deal could eventually rise to more than 100 aircraft.
Saab's Gripen NG jet had a lower purchase and maintenance cost and would allow for more technology to be transferred to Brazil, Folha cited the Air Force report as saying. Unlike the Rafale, which is a finished product, the Gripen NG would be developed with Brazilian participation, the Air Force said according to Folha.
The Veja news magazine reported this week that Jobim told friends there might not be a decision on the deal before he steps down in April to run for public office in October general elections.

The Brazilian industry and Embraer have also sent out pro-Gripen sounds.

:: ::

And yes, it's cold here as well, -15. 100 km to the north in the inland it's under -40. Ugh.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:20:18 PM EST

If you haven't made your mind up, yet - (4.00 / 9)

this chart might be helpful:

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:35:01 PM EST

Hummus (4.00 / 4)

I'm not certain that hummus should be the deciding factor...

Telegraph: Israeli village stirs up hummus war

An inexpensive, nutritious and tasty dish, hummus is the great leveller in the Middle East, enjoyed by rich and poor, by Muslims, Jews and Christians and by Israelis and Palestinians.
"It is something we have in common. Something all of us love," says Shooky Galili, an Israeli journalist who runs the Hummus Blog that seeks to "give chickpeas a chance".
But hummus is also the root of heated disputes that rattle friendships and create animosities.
Lebanon, which has technically been at war with Israel since the Jewish state was created in 1948, recently sought to have the European Union register the popular dip as a Lebanese specialty.
The Lebanese Society for Industrialists claims that Israeli businesses are robbing them of tens of millions of dollars in potential earnings by exporting packaged hummus made using traditional Lebanese recipes.
This drew outrage, derision and bemusement in Israel.
"Hummus can't be owned by anybody. It's like saying someone owns bread," says Galili, who calls himself "The Hummus Guy".

Everything is political in the Middle East, even hummus.

by Magnifico on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 02:53:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hummus (none / 1)

I was checking the origins of paklava recently (a friend made some) and discovered it is a marker for the old Ottoman empire.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 03:32:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Now wait one damn minute! (4.00 / 2)

Why does not worshiping a God coupled with not being wealthy or insane lead to being an atheist? Where's agnosticism? And where do the phases of the moon come in? And why is my life on a 7 year sine wave cycle? Huh? Huh?

I love the smell of roast chicken in the morning!

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 03:02:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 7)

From the Onion Via Twitter

BREAKING: Terror Attack Failure Costs Detroit 10,000 Construction Jobs

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:43:37 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

More accurately:

BREAKING: Terror Attack Failure in Detroit Costs Phoenix 10,000 Construction Jobs.

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

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 05:39:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Javno.hr: What was Ivo Sanader thinking?

His strange behavior and accusatory statements are the reason why the HDZ party revoked his membership on Monday evening. It is hard to believe that a politician who made HDZ so popular after the nineties and who won the election twice, would commit such political suicide and strip himself of all privileges.
...
He failed to see that the situation has changed. He (finally) was no longer desirable in the party or the government. Media reports that he had a secret plan to use Luka Bebic to overpower the Parliament and claim its presidency, from today's perspective, seem to be true. They probably planned to activate Sanader's parliamentary mandate, allow Bebic to retire and name Sanader his successor. After the cowardly way in which he left the government, this rewrd would have been more than generous. It would have been likely to succeed had Sanader not made a suicidal move on Sunday.
...
Perhaps he wanted to assume party's leadership to stop all investigations and scandals that sprang like mushrooms after the rain since he left. Perhaps investigation by Tomislav Karamarko and Mladen Bajic came too close to Sanader, particularly issues surrounding the Hypo Bank. If it is true that the former Chairman of the HPB Board, Josip Pretog will be a witness, this may be a bad news for Sanader. It is rumored that he is also involved with controversy surrounding Fimi-Media company and the owner, Nevenka Jurak.

Bizarre...

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 01:54:09 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

The award for Most Erratic God Falling From Grace goes to him...

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

by DoDo on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 03:21:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Those whom the Gods will destroy first they make mad?

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 06:18:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

One of the little blood vessels in the white of my eye burst on sunday night so I have one bright red eye. I've had this once before so I'm not too bothered, but my eyes feel very tired and not quite right, as if my glasses need adjusting.

should I be concerned ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 02:34:04 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Exactly the same thing happened to a colleague of mine before Christmas, also for no apparent reason. Dr only said to be concerned if it happens again soon after or if she started feeling ill.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 04:50:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

You can always call NHS Direct?

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 04:51:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

I've just had a mild heady feeling for about 4 days, like I'm gonna get a migraine tomorrow, but it doesn't come.

I'd suspect a blood pressure issue but it's perfectly normal

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 05:14:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

It's a PDF and I'm having trouble copying any text out of it, but if you haven't already read this excellent piece by James Galbraith on the state of the economics scene, you should:

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/TA09EconomistGalbraith.pdf

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 02:53:51 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Should be the whole of it in your mail

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 03:12:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Thanks!

The two groups share a common perspective, a preference for thinking along similar lines. Krugman describes this well, as a "desire for an all-encompassing, intellectually elegant approach that also gave economists a chance to show off their mathematical prowess." Exactly so. It was in part about elegance--and in part about showing off. It was not about ... the economy. It was not a discussion of problems, risks, dangers, and policies. In consequence, the failure was shared by both groups. This is the extraordinary thing. Economics was not riven by a feud between Pangloss and Cassandra. It was all a chummy conversation between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. And if you didn't think either Tweedle was worth much--well then, you weren't really an economist, were you?

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 03:37:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

It is therefore pointless to continue with conversations centered on the conventional economics. The urgent need is instead to expand the academic space and the public visibility of ongoing work that is of actual value when faced with the many deep problems of economic life in our time. It is to make possible careers in those areas, and for people with those perspectives, that have been proven worthy by events. This is--obviously--not a matter to be entrusted to the economics department themselves. It is an imperative, instead, for university administrators, for funding agencies, for foundations, and for students and perhaps their parents. The point is not to argue endlessly with Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The point is to move past them toward the garden that must be out there, that in fact is out there, somewhere.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 06:47:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Of course, there were exceptions to these trends: a few economists challenged the assumption of rational behavior, questioned the belief that financial market can be trusted and pointed to the long history of financial crises that had devastating economic consequences. But they were swimming against the tide, unable to make much headway against a pervasive and, in retrospect, foolish complacency. --Paul Krugman, New York Times Magazine, September 6, 2009
A men.
While normal ecclesiastic practice places this word at the end of the prayer, on this occasion it seems right to put it up front. In two sentences, Professor Paul Krugman, Nobel Laureate in Economics for 2008 and in some ways the leading economist of our time, has summed up the failure of an entire era in economic thought, practice, and policy discussion.
And yet, there is something odd about the role of this short paragraph in an essay of over 6,500 words. It 's a throwaway. It leads nowhere. Apart from one other half-sentence, and three passing mentions of one person, it 's the only discussion--the one mention in the entire essay--of those economists who got it right. They are not named. Their work is not cited. Their stor y remains untold. Despite having been right on the greatest economic question of a generation--they are unpersons in the tale.

It's okay being an unperson, Krugman claims to be one.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 06:47:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

State Department closes the stable door (none / 1)

From TPM.

The State Department says it has revoked the U.S. visa of the Nigerian man suspected of trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight over Detroit on Christmas Day.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 04:01:17 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Adulthood begins with the acquisition of your own corkscrew.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 04:44:30 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

If you lose your corkscrew, do you get your youth back {hopeful} ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 05:08:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

just a second childhood.

by rootless2 (redacted) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 05:12:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

So how many corkscrews has LEP lost?

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 05:19:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

No, that's just a sign of senility.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 06:20:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

I broke mine.

This is worrying.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 04:23:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Goes without saying there are loads of various versions at my place, should i send one?

Skennah Kowa

by Crazy Horse on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 03:33:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

I have to say the biggest dissapointment of returning to work is that midday naps are out. They were such a natural part of life while traveling. Ironically if I had a car down here I could make it happen...

you are the media you consume.

by MillMan (millguy at gmail) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 06:14:33 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Come in Vietnam to work - here, such midday naps are customary !

Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères

by linca (antonin POINT lucas AROBASE gmail.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 10:19:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Tell your boss about power napping:

Power nap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The National Institute of Mental Health funded a team of doctors, led by Alan Hobson, M.D., Robert Stickgold, Ph.D., and colleagues at Harvard University for a study which showed that a midday snooze reverses information overload. Reporting in Nature Neuroscience, Sara Mednick, Ph.D., Stickgold and colleagues also demonstrated that "burnout" irritation, frustration and poorer performance on a mental task can set in as a day of training wears on. This study also proved that, in some cases, napping could even boost performance to an individual's top levels. The NIMH team wrote "The bottom line is: we should stop feeling guilty about taking that 'power-nap' at work."^[3]

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 04:37:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Without undue unauthorized disclosure, I'm certain some of great experts on this subject post and comment right here on ET.

Skennah Kowa

by Crazy Horse on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 03:31:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

I'm sure it's because I produce them on a daily basis, but it baffles me how seemingly-intelligent people will swallow all sorts of bullshit about government statistics.

There's no conspiracy. The measures haven't changed markedly in 70 years.

Still, there are dipshits out there asserting that Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan or Zombie Thomas Jefferson waved his hand at some point and created a magical lower unemployment calculation.

Idiocy.

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

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Tue Jan 5th, 2010 at 06:38:42 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

They actually did in the UK. The Thatcher administration was very good at changing their definitions to keep "unemployment" down. They were the ones who took people who were unemployed due to long term sickness and disability out, which has now returned to haunt the government lately.

It may be some transatlantic transpolant.

Besides which, everyone knows that 78.2% of govt statistics are hooey

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 03:58:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

They didn't change the calculation method, they shifted people from one category to another. Long-term unemployment in the UK was swallowed up by Incapacity Benefit entitlement (still is, to a considerable extent).

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 04:19:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Oh I cant find it but I remember a diagram that showed during the 1980s that showed over fourty changes in definitions (Seperate to the campaign to persuade people to change over from unemployment to sickness benmefit)that in every case apart from one had resulted in a reduction of the unemployment numbers. These recalculations supposedly cut unemployment numbers by about 1.5 million to 3.5 million

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 08:41:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Or it might be a Eurostat harmonization move.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 05:26:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

I've walked into work in the snow just to find out that our boss has called a snow day. How unfair.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 05:00:05 AM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

At least you had a nice walk in snow! Have you had your camera with you?

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

by DoDo on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 07:36:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Of course! I took it to the park with me.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Wed Jan 6th, 2010 at 11:06:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Tuesday Open Thread | 76 comments (76 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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