European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress.

first part of a four part series isn't it?

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:22:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Finally got round to watching the second episode, and the piece about Frebch secularism is cuttingly dismissive of "The special pleading and whining|" exhibited by religious heirarchies

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 07:53:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I had a 15minute conversation with a nice gentleman in Quiberon one time using exactly those strategies.

by asdf on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:59:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

The Swedish-speaking fishermen on the west coast of Finland could well speak non-Linear B proto-greek, for all I know. My Swedish is limited, but it was gobbledegook. My Swedish-speaking friend chatted amicably with Åke at the wheel of his boat when he took us to an island an hour away. That is a one hour conversation. I asked my friend ashore what he had been talking about with the fisherman and he said "I don't know, I couldn't understand a word."

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:50:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Two things (none / 0)

First, the chick on the right must be French. Check out how well she wields the cig and the wineglass in one hand.

Second, is the chick on the right suppose to be an idiot American?

Now where's the fun in that! - Megatron

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:54:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

afew:

The hard bit is understanding what the other one's saying ;)

yeah it's city talk. If you wanted to get up to speed with the vulgate, you could just watch some vulgar TV...

I'm sure I'd have the same problem with the way they speak down your way.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 03:16:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

In fact I meant the hard part about beginning to learn a language is less speaking (you can work out a basic sentence in your head beforehand), but following what is being said.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 03:59:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

But on the level of that conversation, which is almost content-free anyway, you only have to pick up a few keywords and mug along with it...

Les américains... putain... etc.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 04:50:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I found an old copper bracelet which I thought might be a useful thing to start wearing on my busted wrist. But it feels kinda funny, slightly pins and needles in the wrist joint (and no, it's not on too tight)

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:00:36 PM EST

Find an old diamond one and pay for some spa treatments for your wrist. Just a suggestion. :]

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant.

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:52:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Doing Our Part... (4.00 / 5)

... Supporting new DJ technology.

Seems Bono gave him his glasses.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:21:19 PM EST

On My Mind (4.00 / 4)

No chance to make diaries or even comments, but what's happening with Monsanto (getting sued in India and a host of other shit) and Dow (introducing another generation of 2,4D resistant corn, approved by FDA) tells me that we're really far beyond a global warming problem.

Healthy topsoil, clean water, humans eating right... not happening. I have the impression there are a whole series of very serious problems which this civilization is not prepared to resolve. because such solutions would undermine what this society is built on?

What i might be trying to say is that our whole range of interconnected environmental problems are really serious. Clicking "Like" is not the answer.

That, and my friends' response to Obama makes me depressed.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:30:17 PM EST

Re: On My Mind (4.00 / 4)

"In the Early Modern period (1340-1500,) Europe experienced the worst human disaster in its history when the Black Death (also known as the bubonic plague) hit in 1347, destroying a third of the population."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubonic_plague#Black_Death

It's happened before, and can happen again. And it can happen worse.

by asdf on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:34:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

oh yea and some. I think we're gonna be lucky to make 100 million in 2200

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:40:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

That's a 98-99% dieoff...

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:48:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

yea, thereabouts

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 01:05:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Simplification of a Complex System usually entails a population crash. I doubt the global human population will drop below one billion but these kinds of things are impossible to predict.

by ATinNM on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 04:05:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

We keep returning to the same topics every few months...

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 04:13:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Repetition is the sina-qua-non soul of saying stuff all over Yet Again.

Repeatedly.

by ATinNM on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 04:18:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Because we do not have a big enough population to think up anything new to talk about....

by asdf on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:10:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On My Mind (4.00 / 2)

Hmm. Actually, my main prediction for the future that I am really very confident about is that average global nutrition will be much better. - This is because several of the most economic climate change mitigation strategies involve increasing planetary biomass and agri/aqua cultural yields as a way of getting carbon sequestration to pay its own way. Biochar, ocean iron fertilization, and the ever increasing spread of highyield/low soil degredation (I dont mean organic farming, per se, but highly computerized and automated "conventional" farming that doses fertilizer and pesticides accurately enough that neither ends up in runoff or groundwater) agricultural and biotechnological advances likely mean that the one thing the future is not going to be short of under any circumstances is calories or protein. The protein will probably be more shrimp and mussles (because when you are creating artificial foodchains in the highsea areas that are currently micronutrient restricted, extracting the calories at the lowest possible foodchain step makes the most economic sense) than pork and beef, but both of those are key ingredients in some seriously tasty cusine.

by Thomas on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 04:12:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Have you ever studied or researched what goes on in a fish farm?

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 06:56:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yes, and that is not the kind of aquaculture I have in mind. Instead, you pick a large area in the high seas, and trigger a permanent algaebloom by seeding micronutrients (Iron, mostly), then either you have floating clambeds or a stock of shrimp to eat the algae. Fishfarming as done near shore involve feeding the fish directly - the idea here is to manage a (short) foodchain from photosynthesis to supermarket counter.

by Thomas on Sat Jan 28th, 2012 at 02:54:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I really like your future. I just don't think we are headed there. We have had a conceptual grasp on our main problems since the seventies. They are solvable. Yet we didn't do so then and we don't now.

Wait this is important. Someone is wrong on the Internet.

by generic on Sat Jan 28th, 2012 at 07:51:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

This seems appropriate:

from the Onion, of course.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant.

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:20:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Sources confirmed that if a death solution is not in place by Mar. 31, the U.N., in the interest of preserving the human race, will mobilize its peacekeeping forces and gun down as many people as necessary.

Shhh... don't let the teabaggers see this, they may think it's for real!

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:24:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Just prior to the mid-14th century collapse, Europe was boomin relative to the previous centuries. It took 150 years for it to recover in terms of population. Culturally and politically, evolution was quick already in the 14th century.

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:47:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On My Mind (4.00 / 4)

Haven't we known this since The Limits to Growth people were laughed out of the room in the 1970s?

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:37:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On My Mind (4.00 / 5)

I don't see anything improving when people won't even use toilet paper made from recycled paper rather than the soft, cushy type to help save the planet.

Hell, people won't even go for a daily walk even if it means it improves their health. They want a pill to fix everything for them.

People are basically not logical, so we, intelligent people (excuse the self-flattery) must find better ways to influence them.

by stevesim on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 01:08:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: On My Mind (4.00 / 5)

But Monsanto has huffed and puffed and given up on France. That is positive.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

by A swedish kind of death on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 01:59:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

very rarely does something so powerful break through my depression. visually stunning at the same time. i'll let this 5 minute teaser for the film speak for itself. wow.

recommend going to the site and watching in HD.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:04:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-angry-newt-gingrich-steps-up-attacks-on-rival-mitt-romney -20120126,0,96694.story

Weaving populism and rage against the Washington establishment into his remarks, Gingrich said Romney would not beat President Obama if he becomes the GOP nominee.
"We have to ultimately focus on beating Barack Obama, but we're not going to beat Barack Obama with some guy who has Swiss bank accounts, Cayman island accounts, owns shares of Goldman Sachs while it forecloses on Florida and is himself a stockholder in Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac while he tries to think the rest of us are too stupid to put the dots together to understand what this is all about," Gingrich said.
The former House speaker, also being slammed for working with Nancy Pelosi on climate change and for exaggerating his role under President Reagan, said the attack ads by Romney and his supporters are hurting him in Florida. But he said it was the denigration of his work with Reagan, contrasted with Romney's past support of Democrats, that prompted him to be so "blunt."
"To have his campaign take on a lifetime of work and lie about it, frankly I do find it infuriating. I think it is one of the most dishonest things I've seen in politics," he told reporters after the rally. "I mean at some level, there ought to be a sense of shame that a person would be this fundamentally dishonest."

This is not sounding much like a clown car any more.

by asdf on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 01:58:19 PM EST

there's a debate tonight and I doubt it'll go the distance cos one or other of them is gonna get a KO

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:07:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

tell it newt!

better than mudwrestling...

~Government budget deficits are not nearly as dangerous as the deficits we have created in vital and complex natural systems.~ Naomi Klein.

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:18:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

To have his campaign take on a lifetime of work and lie about it, frankly I do find it infuriating.

that's my job is the missing words?

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:28:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Newt Gingrich unloads on Mitt Romney heading into final Florida primary debate

Judging by the attack ads (see dKos) that Romney and Gingrich have released today in the run-up to the florida primary, tonight's debate is gonna be a humdinger.

One of those guys is gonna be carried out the ring

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:04:36 PM EST

Wow (4.00 / 2)

Daily Kos: Mitt Romney should be embarrassed by his latest attack ad ... because it sucks by Jed Lewison

Mitt Romney allies: Newt Gingrich must be stopped because he insulted Ronald Reagan by Jed Lewison

Gingrich Savages Romney on Goldman Sachs, Foreclosures, and Wall Street by TomP

At a Tea Party rally in Florida this morning, Gingrich let loose on Romney:
"Let's be clear, you're watching ads paid for with the money taken from the people of Florida by companies like Goldman Sachs, recycled back into ads to try to stop you from having a choice in this election," he said, via POLITICO's Ginger Gibson. "That's what this is all about."

Why is Mitt Romney suddenly attacking Newt Gingrich? Juanuary 18, by Jed Lewison

...
The only sort of scenario that I could see seriously challenging Romney's inevitability would be if the Iowa Republican Party's final certification of their caucus results (due by Friday) shows Rick Santorum actually won and if Newt Gingrich manages to pull off a miracle victory in South Carolina. That would turn the Romney trifecta narrative (wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina) on its head (suddenly he'd be one for three, winning only in his backyard of New Hampshire). But even if that happens he still would have Florida as a backstop, right? Other than Romney, no other Republican campaign can afford to compete there, right?

(heh)

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:42:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Wow (4.00 / 2)

More: Video Of "When Mitt Romney Came To Town." Gingrich PAC Attack Movie. by TomPFollow

And Rubio asks Gingrich to pull ad by ontheleftcoastFollow

Senator Rubio gets it, the ads Romney and Newt are throwing at each other are going to hurt the eventual nominee. And Gingrich actually pulled the ad. The Republicans have noticed they're making Obama's job easier. Maybe they've been watching the rise in popcorn sales. Whatever it is, they're actually worried about November. Damn, my popcorn tastes a little extra special this morning.

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:54:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Wow (none / 1)

When did Michael Moore go to work for the Gingrich Super PAC?

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 03:31:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Wow (none / 0)

Twitter / @Mickeleh: Bob Dole: In my run for th ...

Bob Dole: In my run for the presidency... the Dems greeted me with a number of negative TV ads, and in every one of them Newt was in the ad.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 07:24:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Better version (none / 1)

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 03:33:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Thoughts on Schumpeter and Romney (none / 1)

From 8:45 to 9:00, an example of why Francois Hollande shouldn't be letting himself be advised by economists who are fans of creative destruction.

Here's Schumpeter on democracy. I'm sure Romney and Hollande would agree with that, too:

Schumpeter expounded a theory of democracy which sought to challenge what he called the "classical doctrine". He disputed the idea that democracy was a process by which the electorate identified the common good, and politicians carried this out for them. He argued this was unrealistic, and that people's ignorance and superficiality meant that in fact they were largely manipulated by politicians, who set the agenda. This made a 'rule by the people' concept both unlikely and undesirable. Instead he advocated a minimalist model, much influenced by Max Weber, whereby democracy is the mechanism for competition between leaders, much like a market structure. Although periodic votes by the general public legitimize governments and keep them accountable, the policy program is very much seen as their own and not that of the people, and the participatory role for individuals is usually severely limited.

This Depression is turning out to be a politically very interesting time...

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 04:21:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

and the guy they carried out was Newt, who seems to have imploded. Aside from a few good moments from Santorum, Mitt Romney spent most of the debate doing the happy dance.

As meteorblades said, with Newt's candidacy dying, the TeaParty dies with him

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 03:17:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

But those negative ads against Romney ensure he's dead in the General election.

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 05:45:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

anyone have a hard time not seeing merkel in bondage gear every time she's on tv?

how high mistress? stomp me i deserve it, i have not worked hard enough!

~Government budget deficits are not nearly as dangerous as the deficits we have created in vital and complex natural systems.~ Naomi Klein.

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:23:18 PM EST

That joke is getting a bit old, though.

The Europa Discordia cartoon was the first real innovation in Merkel iconography in months...

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:26:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 7)

This is a very difficult topic to put a frame on.

For example, recently my mind has been tending towards comparing Germany and Southern Europe, with Britain and India in the time of Empire.

The dominant power sets up a trading system that deindustrialises the other areas and then uses poor economic performance of those areas to justify repressive measures.

This is not that inaccurate (although history rhymes more than repeats) but it's bound to seem unfair to those in Germany, as there was no initial thrust to empire, it's merely economic logic of a flawed eurozone system at work.

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:41:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Can the following from Adam Smith about the Bengal Famine be applied to Greece?

This, perhaps, is nearly the present state of Bengal, and of some other of the English settlements in the East Indies. In a fertile country, which had before been much depopulated, where subsistence, consequently, should not be very difficult, and where, notwithstanding, three or four hundred thousand people die of hunger in one year, we maybe assured that the funds destined for the maintenance of the labouring poor are fast decaying. The difference between the genius of the British constitution, which protects and governs North America, and that of the mercantile company which oppresses and domineers in the East Indies, cannot, perhaps, be better illustrated than by the different state of those countries.

Does the European Union enjoy a genius constitution, or does it enable mercantile oppression and domination?

Is this all a bit farfetched?

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 03:02:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

One point is that "genius", as Smith uses it, means character or spirit (of the two systems of governance he compares).

So "a genius constitution" is hardly justified as a term. Asking if (whatever set of laws, constitution or not, prevailing in the EU) "enables" oppression within its purview doesn't parallel Smith's comparison of a constitution and a mercantile company in two different parts of the world.

If the point is to say that the current organisation of the EU permits oppression and domination by one member state over another, then the Smith quote doesn't seem apt to me.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 04:13:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

How to fake subtitles (none / 0)

From Daily Kos: French-Speaking Mitt Romney Attack Ad Targets SC Voters. by tjwalker

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 02:51:09 PM EST

Re: How to fake subtitles (4.00 / 2)

"And he speaks French, too" ... is that suppose to be an insult?

Now I've got to watch these clowns tonight, first time in my life. Might have to break out the wine, first time in over a year.

Now where's the fun in that! - Megatron

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 03:16:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Fantastic version of 'In my room'.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 03:08:50 PM EST

Words fail me. Thanks.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant.

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 04:34:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

For some reason the prospect of Newt and "The Swiss-Mitt" beating the shit outta each other tonight ... makes me smile.

Here's a happy-happy song, befitting my mood:

by ATinNM on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 04:21:17 PM EST

Here are some of those guys practicing with live grenades:

by das monde on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 10:25:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Well, the open thread was a nice way to finish a long day that included spilling coffee on my laptop keyboard. Fortunately, I have the ancient pc for backup (and had backed everything else up to portable hard drives) but I still had to look up how to take out the laptop keyboard, and take it out, so I could use my wireless keyboard in its place. At least the coffee didn't get down into the serious "works" of the laptop.

Felt like an idiot kid.

Going to bed to dream about Paris.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant.

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 04:39:51 PM EST

throwing coffee onto a keyboard is very common. if you put sugar in your coffee, throw the keyboard away cos it's already dead. If not, you can clean it.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:01:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

You KNOW I use sugar. Maple syrup, actually. I'm screwed. Thank gawd for the standby wireless keyboard.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant.

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:07:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

What is it about sugar?

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:09:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

As it dries the sugar recrystallizes between the contacts. At best they get flaky, but mostly they're DOA. Sugar/not sugar was the first question we asked when such an incident was reported cos it made such a difference

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:28:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

How about natural sugars? If you spill juice or milk, does it kill the keyboard, too?

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:32:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

umm, dunno, never happened. But orange juice is acid and that'll be pretty destructive

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 02:41:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Big storms rolling in from the west. Tonado watch and everything.

I'm just glad we're getting rain.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:10:04 PM EST

Croatian National Bank PRESS RELEASE, 26 January 2012: Bank reserve requirements increased from 14 to 15 percent (via google translate)

Croatian National Bank Council adopted today a decision to reserve requirement ratio of banks increased from 14 to 15 percent, and introduces the extraordinary reserve requirement calculation 27th January 2012. year.
...
The withdrawal of excess liquidity from the system is undertaken to stabilize the exchange rate against the euro, or stopping depreciation pressures, and the extraordinary bill introduced to the effects of increasing rates as soon as possible impact on exchange rate stabilization.
The central bank will continue to monitor developments in the money and foreign exchange markets, and - if deemed necessary - to take measures to combat excessive exchange rate fluctuations, unfounded on real economic developments.

This in the middle of a deep recession. I guess any exchange rate fluctuations are "unfounded" since the only "economic development" is the commitment to keep the exchange rate pegged to the Euro.

See also The Brussels Consensus: economic disaster in EU candidate countries from November 12th, 2010.

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 05:40:06 PM EST

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 06:11:09 PM EST

Re: Fun in Retirement (4.00 / 6)

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting.
Well, for example, the other day, George and I went into town shopping.
When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.
We went up to him and I said, 'Come on, man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?'
He ignored us and continued writing the ticket.
I called him an "a--hole" . He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn-out tires.
So Bev called him a "s--t head". He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.
Then he started writing more tickets. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote.
Just then our bus arrived, and we got on it and went home.
We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age.

"Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 06:33:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

It's Okay To Be Smart * Mind-Melter of the Day It turns out that if you...

It turns out that if you divide 1 by 998,001 you get all three-digit numbers from 000 to 999 in order.
Except for 998.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Jan 26th, 2012 at 08:33:26 PM EST

Excel (none / 1)

=1/998001
0,00000100200300400501000000000

Microsoft only knows how to count up to five. Am I surprised?

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 03:32:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

well yes (none / 0)

998,001 is 999 squared, so that does not seem very surprising

Wind power

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 03:58:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: well yes (none / 0)

The real reason is that 999 = 1000 - 1 so that

1 / 999 = 1 / (1000 - 1) = -1 (1 + 1000 + 1000000 + 1000000000 + ...)

LOL

tens of millions of people stand to see their lives ruined because the bureaucrats at the ECB don't understand introductory economics -- Dean Baker

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Jan 27th, 2012 at 05:52:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]