A very important column from Martin Wolf. One way to summarize his argument is to say that slow-motion bank runs are already in progress in the European periphery, and that these countries' banking systems are being sustained only by a process in which, say, Ireland's central bank borrows from the Bundesbank and then lends the funds on to Irish private banks to replace the fleeing deposits. Here are claims among central banks as of the end of last year:

Military coup possible in Greece

According to the CIA report, ongoing street protests in crisis-hit Greece could turn into escalated violence and a rebellion and the Greek government could lose control, said Bild. The newspaper said the CIA report talks of a possible military coup if the situation becomes more serious and uncontrolled.

Can our resident Greeks confirm if this is plausible with the current military?

I know that in Spain it's virtually impossible to imagine a coup now that the Civil Guards have been placed under Interior.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

Scientists in Erie, Pennsylvania, have found that minute concentrations of fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, are killing off microbial populations in the Great Lakes.

...

Killing off bacteria might seem like a good thing. Treating clean lake water with similar strength doses killed off E. coli and enterococcus bacteria, both of which can cause serious infections in humans.

Out in the Real World

PPP just completed a poll of Iowa Republicans and found one Jon Huntsman supporter. Not one percent. One. And he's a mildly conservative middle aged man who voted for Obama in 2008.

A very active Atlantic hurricane season is on tap for 2011, according to the seasonal hurricane forecast issued June 1 by Dr. Phil Klotzbach and Dr. Bill Gray of Colorado State University (CSU). The CSU team is calling for 16 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 5 intense hurricanes, and an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) 166% of average.

urk

Drew's been whimpering about the lack of rain so Ma Nature has provided:

... a surprise storm off the coast of Florida that is a threat to develop into a tropical depression later this week, after it crosses Florida into the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Masters goes on to predict:

It could develop into a tropical storm.  Or not.  It could develop into a hurricane.  Or not.  Either it will do one of those two things or it will do something else.  

Ah, life in a Universe governed by Sensitivity Dependence to Initial Conditions.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre