Monday Open Thread

by In Wales Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 11:07:44 AM EST

It is Monday

Monday Open Thread | 57 comments (57 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

How do you do?

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 11:07:58 AM EST

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

Not so bad. Yer self ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 11:35:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

Bad ears but otherwise ok thanks.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 11:57:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

What???

by asdf on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 02:10:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

My internet connection is dreadfully slow today, every refresh is taking a minute or so. So I'm reading and will probably watch a bit of football later

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 11:55:27 AM EST

Austerity everywhere, (4.00 / 4)

giving way to industrial action at my workplace:

Members of the Brotherhood of Exempt Non-Teaching Employees (HEEND) of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) took over the Office of the President of the University, Miguel Munoz, demanding that his administration attend to and continue negotiations toward the final stages of the labor agreement.

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

by maracatu on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 12:54:53 PM EST

Re: Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Twitter / Lawrence_Miles: First page of "Doctor Who

First page of "Doctor Who and the Crusaders", 1965. Dear God, what kind of nightmare future has this girl chosen? http://twitpic.com/9xx6b6

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

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 01:00:25 PM EST

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

LOL

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 01:06:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

While I don't like the headline, I do like the sound of this:

But how the coming US energy independence will affect global politics is an open question. Mr Diwan expects a more isolationist approach from Washington, with less at stake in the Middle East.

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

by maracatu on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 01:18:09 PM EST

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

One can but hope...

by altoid (tom.casadecampanas AT gmail dotcom) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 01:35:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

With the slow destruction of their economy, they just won't be able to compete with China for finite resources.

Horse power, that's energy independence

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 01:55:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

When Romney wins, he's going to do "the opposite of Obama" on all things Middle East. Not sure how to translate that into an actual policy...but isolationism is sort of the opposite of engagement...

by asdf on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 02:14:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Why should that be the one thing that Mitt tells the truth about?

"I said, 'Wait a minute, Chester, You know I'm a peaceful man...'" Robbie Robertson

by NearlyNormal on Wed Jun 20th, 2012 at 12:28:40 PM EST
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Re: Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

And all that will take is to poison drinking water over few thousand square miles here and there.

Such a deal.

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 04:22:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

Even with our corrupt global governments, the chance remains that further regulation of fracking will make it too expensive to reach the levels of amurka. Or other "side effects," or externalities.

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

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 05:27:54 AM EST
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Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

i hope you're right, maybe greater population densities will help disfavour it right in the bud.

iirc, the inroads started are in eastern europe.

they should be using that research tech to work on ways to channel/pipe the runaway methane coming up in siberia.

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 06:31:50 AM EST
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Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

Burning water

by das monde on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 06:40:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Finally surfacing... (4.00 / 9)

...after several weeks of fairly intense effort. The Bonk Expo is open. Visitors appear to like it. Attendance slow, but it will pick up after Midsummer. 2 new digital cinemas open in the same complex then, and a major music festival should raise the numbers.

Just working on the media. Doing a live radio interview tomorrow.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 01:38:53 PM EST

Re: Finally surfacing... (none / 0)

I'd love to visit, but do visitors get the joke ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 01:53:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Finally surfacing... (none / 0)

When we had an exhibition at the Finnish Embassy in Washington DC, the Daughters of the Revolution pissed themselves and happily admitted it. The Spin Meisters were bemused, if not hyperventilating.

I found this significant and rewarding. To bullshit the bullshitters is extremely satisfying. I won't deny El Jankee an understanding of irony (or any of the other stances to narrative), but it was clear to me that art and sociopathy are not close companions.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 02:33:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Finally surfacing... (none / 1)

8 year-olds get it immediately. I can't answer for the people who are fucked up.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:53:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Finally surfacing... (none / 0)

The average post-Piaget 8 year old is highly attuned to the difference between what we call reality and what we call non-reality. It's a matter of survival - in their perception.

8 year olds are game professionals.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:59:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Finally surfacing... (none / 1)

Sadly, we seem to lose contact with the values of 'game'.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 04:01:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

On the phone with a vendor stumbling around trying to explain why their system, promised to be on line on 1 April, will now not be ready until June 28th.

by asdf on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 02:16:20 PM EST

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

They're late or you are ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 02:22:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Well, that is of course the question. We say they are, because their stuff isn't connected and running yet. They say we are, because we didn't give them the information they needed in time. Reality is it's just a typical project where there are too many cooks.

by asdf on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:55:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

Fiore: Great Latvia Success Story

Fiore: Great Latvia Success Story Wednesday, June 13, 2012
An animated editorial cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winner Mark Fiore.

Now you can be great success like Latvia!

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 Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 02:42:06 PM EST

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Excellent!

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:27:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Question for US ET'ers (none / 0)

Any idea how long it usually takes the bank to give you a cashier's check for your down payment on a house? If I just walked into my bank and asked them to give me one for it, would they be able to same-day?

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

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:04:48 PM EST

Re: Question for US ET'ers (4.00 / 4)

They should be able to write a cashier's check in about ten minutes.

If not, get another bank.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:13:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Question for US ET'ers (none / 1)

They debit your account and make the check. It shouldn't take any time.

If you are not convinced, try it on someone who has not been entirely debauched by economics. — Piero Sraffa

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:18:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Question for US ET'ers (4.00 / 9)

No no no no.

First they check to see how many gold ingots the bank president has "laid" this morning. Then they debit your account for twice the amount, use half of it to buy derivatives, borrow that amount back from another bank on the interbank market, reaccredit that to your account.

Only then do they make the check.

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:37:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Question for US ET'ers (none / 0)

And then, if the bank in question is Wells Fargo, you may get things like this

Norman and Oriane Rousseau were one more couple pushed by a huge, greedy bank to the brink of homelessness. On Sunday, desperate and with nowhere to go, Norman Rousseau shot himself.
[...]
In May 2009 the bank claimed the couple had missed their April payment. They proved they had made a payment in person at the bank, using a cashier's check and that the check had been cashed by the bank. The bank then claimed they had ordered a stop payment on the check, even though a cashier's check payment cannot be stopped.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:44:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Question for US ET'ers (4.00 / 4)

That is what people get for being stupid and having their money in a bank instead of a Credit Union!

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:49:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Question for US ET'ers (none / 1)

That's for sure.

The last time I had a bank account was about 35 years ago, until I recently wanted a safe deposit box. The nearby CU didn't have one, so I went to a bank. Yep, banks are still as screwed up as they were in the 1980s.

by asdf on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 03:57:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Question for US ET'ers (4.00 / 2)

Yeah, Florida State has a credit union -- "Free Shoes when you open a new checking account!" -- that we're both eligible to join as alumni. Thinking we may do that, but I don't want to dick around with moving banks until this house thing is done.

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

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 04:25:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Spain went through, but they were really very poor with no cutting edge. And the substitution of torres was simply bizarre. Yes the guy who replaced him eventually scored but a team that weren't creating chances should have resulted in a change to the creatives, not the weapon.

Croatia had a damn good shout for a penalty and had at least one other really good chance which should have been converted.

spain have to improve or they're coming second

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Jun 18th, 2012 at 04:47:45 PM EST

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Second? That's optimistic.

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

by eurogreen on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 12:57:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

I mean, I'm not saying England could beat them. But maybe the Ukraine could.

[insert emoticon here]

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

by eurogreen on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 12:59:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

No, Spain were poor and clueless only by their own standards, compared to nearly everyone else they're still out of sight.

What we saw last night was the limits of tiki-taki football. Arsenal have done that loads of times, but I thought it was just them. It seems with every system there comes a point where you need a player who can break out and do something different which forces the opposition onto the back foot.

Croatia are a really good team, yet had to work extremely hard to contain spain and create a couple of chances. There just aren't that many good teams at the euros. Germany and mabe Portugal on a good day are the only teams left capable of troubling them.

In last night's mood, Germany will beat 'em, hence second.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 02:51:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Greece will take Germany out next Friday, so first. :)

If you are not convinced, try it on someone who has not been entirely debauched by economics. — Piero Sraffa

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 04:08:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Objection! Assuming facts not n evidence. Namely that Spain will defeat their next opponent.
Very much an arbeitssieg - pardon my german - against Croatia.

by IM on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 05:03:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Taken.

If you are not convinced, try it on someone who has not been entirely debauched by economics. — Piero Sraffa

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 05:27:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Objection sustained.

However, i suspect Spain can easily turn it up a notch in the K.O. round, especially against more balanced teams who play to score, who are not sitting back in 4-5-1 or even as Croatia did sometimes in a 4-6.

Like Germany, Spain are saving some gas in the tank.

Did you all notice the matchwinner from Lars Bender, replacement for the yellow-carded Jerome Boateng? ("I had to score, otherwise i would have had to sprint back 80 meters to my position.")

in other news, i certainly have mixed emotions about Germany Greece on Friday. Who wulda thunk it?

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

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 06:24:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

I still think Spain is the best team and then Germany and/or Italy. Both Italy and Spain looked shaky yesterday though.

by IM on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 06:45:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

On a good day France must be a co-favorite, and we also know that tournament K.O. rounds can produce one-off upsets.

england should take Ukraine tonight, even if Shevchenko is 90%. France through with Sweden. But which will play Spain or Italy?

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

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 07:11:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

France should come first either on points or on goal average, and then lose to Italy on penalties.

Spain will have to deal with Ukraine or England.

As for the one-off upset, I'm betting on Greece upsetting Germany.

If you are not convinced, try it on someone who has not been entirely debauched by economics. — Piero Sraffa

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 07:16:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

France will beat Italy (none / 0)

I'm betting on a reverse Materazzi, with the French players teasing the Italians with "how much do I have to pay you to let us win? ... how much do I have to pay your sister? ..." etc. until one or more of them loses their rag and get sent off.

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

by eurogreen on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 08:51:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: France will beat Italy (none / 0)

Hah, yes.

and a strong back 4, and Lloris, Lloris and Lloris are a click better than aging Buffon. I like Nasri's play, and if Menez, Ribery and Benzema are on, advantage Tricolor, no? Plus they have something to prove as a team.

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

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 09:09:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Wouldn't bet on Greece upset. And few know how much I know about Socratis anchoring the Greece defense, having watched him as best player all season at Werder. we saw what happened to Greece when he was missed on those shit cards, losing to Tschechien 2-1.

They will stand deep, and 'Schland will still crack it. if it's 0-0 or 1-1 going late or extra time, watch for Schürrle and Reuss (who hasn't even played yet) to add to Klose. And Özil will likely wake soon, and when he's on, there is no capable defense.

that said, that's my rational mind, there's a part of me which wants an upset. Though i'd rather see 'Schland in the finals. trying to keep politics out of the Cup and all.

'Schland 3-1 or 3-0.

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

by Crazy Horse on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 09:21:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

A think a lot depends on Del Bosque realising that Torres is still not at his best. If Spain would start with Llorente (for example) instead, then I think they would start to look more threatening on goal.

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 05:36:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

Here is an old Soviet animation "How Ukrainian Cossacks played football". Guess what: they played Swedish (?) knights, French musketeers and English gentlemen. Euro 2012 or 1612?

If you have time only for highlights and goals, here is a shorter version under some random musac.

by das monde on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 10:16:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Median income changes in the US (none / 1)

Anti-Naked Capitalism people will love this (not by Yves herself):

The recent Federal Reserve analysis of the effects of the Great Recession on household wealth and income was a doozy, showing that median income dropped 7.7% and median net worth fell by 38.8% from 2007-2010. But that may not be the whole truth - the Fed might actually be leaving a very significant group of people out of the sample - the top 400 wealthiest people, or the 0.0000035%.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 06:51:27 AM EST

Re: Median income changes in the US (none / 1)

scuse me??? those 400 people aren't going to move the median a whole lot...

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

by eurogreen on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 08:29:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Median income changes in the US (none / 0)

If they give it away, or are taxed at a very high rate, they certainly might. But that's not what he meant....

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 11:11:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Median income changes in the US (4.00 / 3)

Did the Federal Reserve Survey on Wealth Exclude the Top 400 Wealthiest People in America? « naked capitalism

You might say that the exclusion of 400 people isn't significant; after all, it's just 400 people. How big a difference could that really make? Well, it turns out, as of 2011, that the top 400 people in America own more than the entire bottom 60% of Americans. So this is not a trivial exclusion.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 12:10:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Median income changes in the US (none / 0)

The actual report includes both mean and median, so that his criticism of the report may be correct, as is my criticism of his criticism....

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Tue Jun 19th, 2012 at 05:01:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Monday Open Thread | 57 comments (57 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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