A.K.A. Physics Envy

EuroBank technocrat ducks hard questions

2012-01-22T16:35:00.000-05:00

Vincent Browne v The ECB - YouTube: ""

'via Blog this'

Random Academic Quote Generator

2012-01-20T15:29:00.000-05:00

Random Academic Quote Generator:

Generates random, bafflingly intelligent academic quotes. Impress your brainiac friends.

Sample:
"The morphology of poetry is undeniably unorthodox in its psychology."

For more BS , go to:

http://phrasegenerator.com/academic

'via Blog this'

Pay

2012-01-20T08:08:00.000-05:00

The Black Swan of Cairo

2012-01-19T10:25:00.000-05:00

Complex systems that have artiﬁcially
suppressed volatility tend to become
extremely fragile, while at the same time
exhibiting no visible risks. In fact, they
tend to be too calm and exhibit minimal
variability as silent risks accumulate
beneath the surface. Although the stated
intention of political leaders and economic
policymakers is to stabilize the system by
inhibiting ﬂuctuations, the result tends
to be the opposite. These artiﬁcially constrained
systems become prone to “Black
Swans”—that is, they become extremely
vulnerable to large-scale events that lie far
from the statistical norm and were largely
unpredictable to a given set of observers.

Europe: "You're either at the table or you're on the menu."

2012-01-17T10:47:00.000-05:00

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Art Cashin Explains Why The One Key Indicator That Matters For Italy Is Flashing Red | ZeroHedge

2012-01-12T10:44:00.002-05:00

Art Cashin Explains One Key Indicator For Italy Is Flashing Red | ZeroHedge:

A successful hedge fund manager of Greek heritage has relatives still living in Greece, several in Patras, the country’s third largest city and a key port on the west coast, facing Italy and much of the Mediterranean. Over the decades, immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and other poor nations would work their way to Patras. They would stay for days or weeks awaiting a chance to smuggle themselves on to a freighter headed for Italy. Once there, they could make their way north into Europe to find hope and opportunity and maybe a job.

Last week his relatives told him that things were changing. The immigrants still come to their way station of Patras. But now, after a couple of weeks in Greece, they are trying to hop ships going the other way. They are going back home. Life was better, or at least no worse, where they came from and they had friends and family for support back there.

'via Blog this'

OBAMA Signs Police State NDAA legislation

2012-01-07T15:17:00.000-05:00

From Henry Blodget

On New Year's Eve, President Obama signed into law a bill that eliminates one of the fundamental protections of the U.S. Constitution:

The right for people not to be detained indefinitely by the government without being formally convicted of crimes.

This erosion of the Constitution, which came in the form of new language in the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), allows the government to hold anyone suspected of being associated with terrorism indefinitely, without any form of due process.

'via Blog this'

Botanical - Educational plate - Cycad anatomy-757x1024.jpg (757×1024)

2012-01-06T19:07:00.000-05:00

Cycad anatomy-757x1024.jpg (757×1024):

'via Blog this'

Peter B. Medawar quotes | Quotations at Dictionary.com

2012-01-05T11:12:00.000-05:00

Peter B. Medawar quotes | Quotations at Dictionary.com:

"Considered in its entirety, psychoanalysis won't do. It's an end product, moreover, like a dinosaur or a zeppelin; no better theory can ever be erected on its ruins, which will remain for ever one of the saddest and strangest of all landmarks in the history of twentieth-century thought."

'via Blog this'

File-Sharing Recognized as Official Religion in Sweden | TorrentFreak

2012-01-04T21:39:00.000-05:00

TorrentFreak:

"Since 2010 a group of self-confessed pirates have tried to get their beliefs recognized as an official religion in Sweden. After their request was denied several times, the Church of Kopimism – which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols – is now approved by the authorities as an official religion. The Church hopes that its official status will remove the legal stigma that surrounds file-sharing."

Ideas: Quotes by Sir Peter B. Medawar

2012-01-02T11:09:00.000-05:00

Ideas: Quotes by Sir Peter B. Medawar: "Is the Scientific Paper a Fraud?

It is a common failing–and one that I have myself suffered from–to fall in love with a hypothesis and to be unwilling to take no for an answer. A love affair with a pet hypothesis can waste years of precious time. There is very often no finally decisive yes, though quite often there can be a decisive no. "

'via Blog this'

Interview with James Grant

2012-01-02T07:59:00.000-05:00

The Scourge of the Faith-Based Paper Dollar - WSJ.com: " Good deflation, he says, is "when prices fall as a result of productive processes and technical apparatus, that is called progress." Bad deflation is when merchants, drowning in debt and unable to get credit, dump goods at firesale prices. "The Fed refuses to make that distinction.""

'via Blog this'

The Psy-Fi Blog: Forecasting A Financial Earthquake

2011-12-31T10:17:00.000-05:00

Forecasting: "Financial forecasting is simply testimony to the relentless stupidity of human beings, who seem to be endlessly gullible. Without this gullibility the majority of the securities industry would collapse, because there’s virtually no evidence of any skill in forecasting from anyone."

'via Blog this'

How Doctors Die - Slashdot

2011-12-29T15:47:00.000-05:00

"Dr. Ken Murray, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at USC, writes that doctors don't die like the rest of us. What's unusual about doctors is not how much treatment they get when faced with death themselves, but how little. For all the time they spend fending off the deaths of others, they tend to be fairly serene when faced with death themselves because they know exactly what is going to happen, they know the choices, and they generally have access to any sort of medical care they could want. 'Almost all medical professionals have seen what we call "futile care" being performed on people,' writes Murray. 'What it buys is misery we would not inflict on a terrorist. I cannot count the number of times fellow physicians have told me, in words that vary only slightly, "Promise me if you find me like this that you'll kill me."' Feeding into the problem are unrealistic expectations of what doctors can accomplish. Many people think of CPR as a reliable lifesaver when, in fact, the results are usually poor. If a patient suffers from severe illness, old age, or a terminal disease, the odds of a good outcome from CPR are infinitesimal, while the odds of suffering are overwhelming."

'via Blog this'

Diversity?

2011-12-28T18:58:00.000-05:00

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2011-12-25T12:19:00.000-05:00

The Gift

2011-12-25T09:26:00.001-05:00

Based on a story by O. Henry

Vijay looked at the wall calendar. He crossed off February 27th with a red marker. His wife Rashmi had been gone for one hundred and eighty seven days. She had gone back to India from Florida, after her father died; Vijay knew she had to go. But then Rashmi's family had asked her to stay for six more months. Whenever Vijay brought up the subject of her return, she was vague.

"When?" he said.

"Vijay, I must consider my obligations."

"All right, all right, I'll call you on our anniversary."

He thought, what if she has decided to stay in India. I need to send her a photograph, so she will always have the image of her Vijay. She'll look at the photograph and our son. She will say, "Yes, my Vijay" three times and all would be right.

Vijay made his dinner in the microwave. He thought, Rashmi would scold him for eating frozen dinners. He washed the food down with bottled iced tea.

After dinner, Vijay checked the mailbox again. He put the key in the box labeled "Mr. and Mrs. V. Singh." He turned the key. The mailbox was empty. Vijay thought, I can't check the mail five times a day.

He stood by the front door and looked out at a beige cat walking a gray fence. He thought, tomorrow is one day closer to the anniversary. And he was afraid. Stop it, he said to himself. He went into the bedroom and checked the money he had saved for her gift.

Expenses were more than he had calculated. He had only eighteen dollars and seventy cents to buy a present for Rashmi. Many a happy hour he had spent planning and thinking about buying her a fine anniversary present. He thought, I'll get an antique frame and I'll put a picture of her Vijay in it.

He walked toward the bedroom dresser and looked in the mirror. Rashmi used to say she loved the sparkle in his eyes. He looked. He saw eyes, but no sparkle. They looked healthy enough. He sighed.

If Rashmi loved his eyes, he loved her hair. He thought, had the Queen of Sheba lived in the next apartment, Rashmi would have let her hair hang out of the window just to show up Her Majesty's jewels and gifts.

He put on his old brown jacket and hat and left the apartment. He almost fell on the stairs. He thought, stop dreaming, pay attention.

Vijay remembered a shop along his way to work, Antiques and Sentiment. He walked the three blocks, stopping in front of the shop. He looked in the window, searching. Finally, he went inside. A short red haired older woman in black heels said, "Can I help you? I am Mrs. Roja, the owner."

Vijay said, "I need a special gift for my wife, an antique frame, I think."

"What is this gift for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you been a bad boy?"

"Oh no, nothing of the sort."

"I believe you," Mrs. Roja said. "So you want something romantic? I have a fine frame that I bought at an estate sale."

Vijay looked at the delicate frame. The wood was carved into elaborate curves. It reminded him of Rashmi's hair.

Mrs. Roja said, "I have a soft spot for romance. I'll let you have it for fifteen dollars."

Vijay thought, fifteen dollars will leave only three or four dollars for the photograph. "Is that the best you can do for a sad heart like mine?"

"Come on now. Fifteen dollars is a good price," Mrs. Roja said.

"OK."

Mrs. Roja wrapped the frame in pale red tissue paper and put it in a red shopping bag. Vijay paid the bill and left.

Outside, Vijay poked his hand into the bag to make sure the frame was still there.

At home, he took the frame out and leaned it against the wall, across from his favorite chair. He sat, clasped his hands behind his head and looked at the frame.

He thought, I'll ask Sunshine to take the photograph; he's always talking about digital cameras. Sunshine was his nickname for his friend; he didn't know his real name. He called him Sunshine because the sun was shining whenever they met. But Vijay didn't have his friend's phone number. Two days later, Sunshine came by the shop where Vijay worked.

"Here I am and no sun today."

"I need a favor," Vijay said. "I need you to take a romantic photograph of me to send to my wife in India."

"I am always in favor of romance, even when the couple is married," Sunshine said.

"My life is no joke," Vijay said.

"OK, Vijay. Don't get upset."

"I can only pay you three dollars and seventy cents. I spent the rest on a frame"

"Three dollars and seventy cents will hardly cover my expenses. Next week, I'll come by when I have time. "

"Thanks."

Sunshine came by three days later with his camera. He said, "Ready?"

Vijay pointed to his scuffed shoes.

"The shoes won't show," Sunshine said.

They went out to the street and he posed Vijay in front of a tree. At first Vijay was stiff, but after ten shots, he began to relax.

"Now you look like a Hollywood leading man," Sunshine said.

Two days later, Sunshine came back with three small prints. He said, "I want you to pick one or two out, so I can blow them up for the frame."

"Is this how I look?" Vijay said.

"Yes, you look fine. You're not bad looking."

"Can't you fix my shoes in the photo?"

"That will take hours. This job was going to cost only three dollars and seventy cents."

Vijay looked at Sunshine.

Sunshine said, "OK, I'll do this for love. I can't be doing it for money."

"Yes. Sunshine. You are doing it for love."

They both laughed.

Sunshine retouched the photograph and came back to the shop the next week. Vijay agreed the shoes looked good in the photo.

Vijay sent the framed picture off to India the next day.

Sunshine stopped by to see Vijay every other day.

"How did it go?" Sunshine said. "Did she like the photograph?"

"Nothing yet."

After ten days, Sunshine saw Vijay again. "Well?"

"I don't think I will ever understand women," Vijay said.

"What do you mean?"

"She liked the frame, and she said I looked handsome."

"Good."

"Yes, but she wanted to know about the shoes in the photograph. The ones you retouched. She said, 'Where did you get the money for those fancy shoes?' "

2011-12-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

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Bank Fraud Prosecution Continues to Drop under Obama

2011-12-14T08:09:00.000-05:00

The Big Picture:

Barry Ritholtz - November 16th, 2011, 11:45AM

In such a target rich environment, how on earth is it possible that Bank Fraud prosecutions are dropping? It is an outrage!"I bitched about this when George W. Bush was President, and I will continue until we get someone in the White House who understands what the RULE OF LAW actually means . . ."

Nice Threads

2011-12-13T11:04:00.001-05:00

BALANCE SHEET RECESSION

2011-12-12T17:45:00.002-05:00

Richard Koo:

The key difference between an ordinary recession and one that can produce a lost decade is that in the latter, a large portion of the private sector is actually minimizing debt instead of maximizing profits following the bursting of a nation-wide asset price bubble. When a debt-financed bubble bursts, asset prices collapse while liabilities remain, leaving millions of private sector balance sheets underwater. In order to regain their financial health and credit ratings, households and businesses are forced to repair their balance sheets by increasing savings or paying down debt. This act of deleveraging reduces aggregate demand and throws the economy into a very special type of recession.

http://pragcap.com/the-world-in-balance-sheet-recession

Happy Holidays

2011-12-12T10:58:00.001-05:00

Teachers Don’t Like Creative Students

2011-12-12T08:02:00.001-05:00

"One of the most consistent findings in educational studies of creativity has been that teachers dislike personality traits associated with creativity. Research has indicated that teachers prefer traits that seem to run counter to creativity, such as conformity and unquestioning acceptance of authority (e.g., Bachtold, 1974; Cropley, 1992; Dettmer, 1981; Getzels & Jackson, 1962; Torrance, 1963)."

‘Viagra in a Condom’

2011-12-11T11:58:00.004-05:00

By Trista Kelley
Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- A new condom that aims to enhance erections may also lift earnings and buyout prospects for unprofitable U.K. drugmaker Futura Medical Plc.

Durex condoms made by partner Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc will contain a dose of Futura’s Zanifil gel inside the tip, boosting blood flow within the penis. The product results in firmer, larger and longer-lasting erections for men who may find wearing condoms challenging.

“It’s essentially Viagra in a condom,” said Mahony, who owns shares of Guildford, England-based Futura. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Reckitt tries to either buy the whole company or buy that royalty stream out at some point.”

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-10/-viagra-in-a-condom-may-make-futura-a-target-for-reckitt.html

The quick fox jumps through

2011-12-11T10:56:00.001-05:00

From J. Ptak

2011-12-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

http://longstreet.typepad.com/books/

Chocolate is love?

2011-12-11T10:49:00.001-05:00

Post Card

2011-12-08T07:46:00.001-05:00

Post Card

2011-12-08T07:46:00.000-05:00

Post Card

2011-12-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

Apple to Samsung: Don't Make Thin or Rectangular Smartphones !:)

2011-12-06T07:58:00.001-05:00

Samsung could’ve avoided this lawsuit altogether if it had a square (or perhaps triangular or round) smartphone and tablet instead, chosen a color other than black for the front, and/or designed thicker devices with a more cluttered look instead.

U.S. District Court judge denied Apple’s request to halt sales of the competing Samsung products. The infringement issue was too close to call, the court ruled, despite Apple’s claim in its brief that Samsung had "so many different design choices" it could have used instead.

'via Blog this'

Post Card

2011-12-06T07:44:00.000-05:00

Man exploits Man

2011-12-05T09:34:00.001-05:00

"Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite."
Galbraith"

Post Card

2011-12-05T07:43:00.000-05:00

Post Card

2011-12-04T07:43:00.000-05:00

Post Card

2011-12-03T07:42:00.001-05:00

View from the Top

2011-12-03T07:40:00.000-05:00

Landscape

2011-12-02T07:39:00.000-05:00

Leon Cooperman's scathing letter to President Obama.

2011-12-01T08:54:00.001-05:00

In the three page letter, Omega Advisors Founder Cooperman calls Obama's policy decisions "profligate and largely ineffectual" and calling Obama out for using a political rhetoric that promotes the ideas of class warfare.

To frame the debate as one of rich-and-entitled versus poor-and-dispossessed is to both miss the point and further inflame an already incendiary environment. It is also a naked, political pander to some of the basest human emotions - a strategy, as history teaches, that never ends well for anyone but totalitarians and anarchists.

Rather than assume that the wealthy are a monolithic, selfish and unfeeling lot who must be subjugated by the force of the state, set a tone that encourages people of good will to meet in the middle. When you were a community organizer in Chicago, you learned the art of waging a guerilla campaign against a far superior force. But you've graduated from that milieu and now help to set the agenda for that superior force. You might do well at this point to eschew the polarizing vernacular of political militancy and become the transcendent leader you were elected to be.

http://www.thestreet.com/tsc/common/images/pdf/Omega%20Advisor1.pdf

Dead Sea

2011-12-01T07:38:00.000-05:00

Failure?

2011-11-30T09:56:00.001-05:00

Landscape

2011-11-30T07:36:00.001-05:00

Yes, Dear.

2011-11-28T17:22:00.019-05:00

Lindsay McCrum's Chicks with Guns explores the connection between women and guns through portraits of female gun owners at home.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/chicks-with-guns-photos-lindsay-mccrum-2011-11?op=1#ixzz1f2m3Mfx2

Debt Slave Radical

2011-11-27T21:28:00.002-05:00

2011-11-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

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Bird Print

2011-11-25T20:14:00.001-05:00

China : Smart Education Reform ?

2011-11-22T08:55:00.000-05:00

China announced it would phase out college majors with a bleak employment outlook, according to China Daily.
For any college major with an employment rate of less than 60 percent for two consecutive years, enrollment quotas will be reduced and the major eventually phased out.

'via Blog this'

UnionLeader Editorial: Glib, clueless disaster of a President-.New Hampshire

2011-11-22T08:49:00.001-05:00

"Listen to President Obama today and he will lay blame on everyone but himself. His only plan will be to spend more money that we don't have.

"Four years ago, primary voters here tried to tell the nation that this wet-behind-the-ears socialist wannabe was the wrong man. (They picked Hillary Clinton in the primary.)"

Term limits for the real world

2011-11-20T22:28:00.001-05:00

Kathyet-

Limit all US politicians to two terms.
One in office
One in prison
Illinois already does this.

Need to Create? Get a Constraint | Wired Science | Wired.com

2011-11-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

Need to Create? Get a Constraint
By Jonah Lehrer
One of the many paradoxes of human creativity is that it seems to benefit from constraints. Although we imagine the imagination as requiring total freedom, the reality of the creative process is that it’s often entangled with strict conventions and formal requirements. Pop songs have choruses and refrains; symphonies have four movements; plays have five acts; painters still rely on the tropes of portraiture.

Officials In Brussels Are Threatening To Cross A Line That Will Set Off Panic

2011-11-19T10:32:00.003-05:00

From Bruce Krasting:

A move is being made in Brussels to “force” the Swiss government/banks to transfer all of the assets of Greek citizens back to the Greek banks.

The Swiss government/banks are obligated to cooperate with EU tax authorities when there is evidence of tax fraud. But that is not what this is about. The people in Brussels and Bern know that. The fact is that the Greek tax system is so screwed up that there simply are no taxes levied on certain types of income/capital (the shippers). No doubt, some of the Greek cash that is in Switzerland is there because of tax avoidance. But the vast majority is simply safe haven money.

The word “Repatriation” sounds nice enough but really it means “Theft and expropriation”. There will be nothing voluntary about this. There will be little (if any) due process.

If this happens (the folks in Brussels are pushing hard) a very dangerous precedent will have been set. Flight capital will have been made illegal. Where might this go?

-It will go to Spain very quickly. After that it will go to Italy where there are truly huge fortunes outside the country. I see a development like that as being a lights out event.

-It will come to the USA. EU residents have tons of assets here.

-Money that is subject to forced repatriation back to countries with weak banks and bankrupt governments will seek the last remaining safe haven, gold. If governments go so far as to repatriate money, they would also not hesitate to make gold ownership illegal. That too would be a lights out event.

The technocrats in Brussels are trying to institute capital controls. They have put a gun to the Swiss government to achieve their objectives. They will likely succeed. The fear of broader capital controls and more repatriation will spread like wildfire. The fact is, capital flight is a very reasonable response in our current environment. Capital controls that either stop or reverse it will undermine confidence and create a panic. Those officials in Brussels have no idea what they are unleashing.

http://www.businessinsider.com/brussels-capital-controls-jefferies-2011-11

Watch Nigel Farage Dance On The Euro's Grave | ZeroHedge

2011-11-18T08:35:00.001-05:00

Nigel Farage has the temerity to question the stupidity of the Eurozone leaders from day one. Now, he has every right to gloat in the European parliament.

Click video image below to play.

Liberals and Conservatives on the Rule of Law

2011-11-17T17:29:00.000-05:00

--------------------

Conservative Politically:

Hayek, F.A. The Road to Serfdom

To create conditions in which competition will be as effective as possible, to prevent fraud and deception, to break up monopolies— these tasks provide a wide and unquestioned field for state activity.

------------------------------

Liberal Politically:

Bank Fraud Prosecution Continues to Drop under Obama
By Barry Ritholtz In such a target rich environment, how on earth is it possible that Bank Fraud prosecutions are dropping? It is an outrage! I bitched about this when George W. Bush was President, and I will continue until we get someone in the White House who understands what the RULE OF LAW actually means . . ."

American education, parody version | Credit Writedowns

2011-11-17T11:37:00.000-05:00

American education, parody version | Credit Writedowns:

Before Photoshop

2011-11-15T09:46:00.000-05:00

Book: Rahm Emanuel Dumped Tons Of Freddie Mac Stock Days Before It Collapsed

2011-11-14T14:48:00.000-05:00

Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is the latest lawmaker to get caught up in allegations of insider trading while a member of Congress.
Then-Rep. Emanuel reportedly sold up to $250,000 in Freddie Mac stock on February 21, 2003 days before it dropped by 10 percent — and weeks before it was publicly revealed that the entity was under criminal investigation for inflating earnings."

'via Blog this'

Postcard

2011-11-14T09:48:00.000-05:00

Charles Darwin the economist - Robert H. Frank - Los Angeles Times - RichardDawkins.net

2011-11-13T07:48:00.001-05:00

Darwin or Adam Smith "Smith did not claim that markets always channel greed in socially productive ways. For him, the remarkable thing was that they often appeared to. Although his account of how that happens lacks the generality that many of his most enthusiastic modern disciples ascribe to it, it will endure as one of mankind's most impressive intellectual achievements.

Consider his description of product design improvements or cost-reducing innovations. The entrepreneurs who introduce them hope to steal sales from rivals. They often succeed spectacularly in the short term, which pressures rivals to mimic the innovations. The ultimate beneficiaries of this competition, Smith explained, are not businesses but consumers, who enjoy ever better products at ever lower prices."

'via Blog this'

Hey, 99%, Check Out Michael Moore's Lakeshore Vacation Mansion In Michigan

2011-11-12T18:29:00.000-05:00

Poster

2011-11-12T12:19:00.001-05:00

Card

2011-11-11T12:18:00.004-05:00

Post Card

2011-11-10T12:17:00.001-05:00

Post Card

2011-11-09T12:20:00.002-05:00

Why the Euro is screwed

2011-11-07T12:28:00.002-05:00

“Understanding Modern Money” Randall Wray;

"…As currently designed, the EMU will have a central bank (the ECB) but it will not have any fiscal branch. This would be much like a US which operated with a Fed, but with only individual state treasuries. It will be as if each EMU member country were to attempt to operate fiscal policy in a foreign currency; deficit spending will require borrowing in that foreign currency according to the dictates of private markets.”"

'via Blog this'

Transfer the money out of Wall Street

2011-11-06T20:55:00.000-05:00

Conservative free market entrepreneurial capitalist Karl Denninger notes:
If you have an account at a BANK, go move it to a CREDIT UNION.
You know, a place that you own and is a mutual association of people?
Yes. One that you own. Where the fees assessed go to provide services to.... you, not to feather the nests of bank executives and stockholders.

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/real-capitalists-move-our-money-big-banks-credit-unions

eyes fixed on the yo-yo

2011-11-05T18:28:00.002-04:00

Alan Abelson

"Do you know what investing for the long run but listening to market news everyday is like? It's like a man walking up a big hill with a yo-yo and keeping his eyes fixed on the yo-yo instead of the hill."

The President’s Taxes

2011-11-04T14:19:00.003-04:00

At Steven Landsburg

"So the Obama position seems to be that a) the rich ought to meet obligations over and above what the current tax code requires; b) the Obamas are rich, and c) the Obamas choose to meet no obligations over and above what the current tax code requires.

It’s almost enough to make you begin to doubt his sincerity."

'via Blog this'

Eurocrats in Action

2011-11-02T18:45:00.001-04:00

Video from http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/11/hilarious-video-of-eurocrats-in-action.html shows Eurocrats in action, ripping off taxpayers and inadvertently running into walls to escape the lights of the camera. The video is in German but has English subtitles. Please click arrowhead below to view video.

Doctor Zhivago (1965) - Memorable quotes

2011-11-01T22:24:00.000-04:00

Doctor Zhivago (1965) - "Komarovski: There are two kinds of men and only two. And that young man is one kind. He is high-minded. He is pure. He's the kind of man the world pretends to look up to, and in fact despises. He is the kind of man who breeds unhappiness, particularly in women. Do you understand? "

'via Blog this'

Amazon's Kindle Fire Will Become To the Video Industry What the iPod Was To the Music Industry?

2011-10-31T20:28:00.002-04:00

Amazon's Kindle Fire Will Become To the Video Industry What the iPod Was To the Music Industry:

'via Blog this'

published on utility poles in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.

2011-10-30T21:49:00.002-04:00

http://longstreet.typepad.com/thesciencebookstore/2011/10/greasing-the-turtle-stack-derridas-10-second-sentence-generating-machine.html

Not horrible, just bad

2011-10-29T20:33:00.001-04:00

"Michael Santoli says In the new issue of Barron's:
Sometimes, when enough folks are positioned for the world to end rapidly, the mere suggestion that it might occur gradually is enough to energize the bidders."

'via Blog this'

Want To Defeat The Banks? Stop Participating In The System! - zerohedge

2011-10-28T10:20:00.000-04:00

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-want-defeat-banks-stop-participating-system

The only practical strategy for combating the tyranny of centralized systems has been and always will be decentralization. Individuals must stop relying on the rules of a rigged game to see them through to the truth. This means that while mass protests are certainly a powerful tactic for voicing concerns on an international stage, they accomplish little to nothing in the way of meaningful change in the long run unless they are backed by individual actions to break away from dependency upon a poisoned political and economic framework.

The common assumption amongst Americans is that nothing can be done without mass action resulting in “compromise” from leadership. That the healing of our cultural dynamic is a “top down” process. That one person alone has little at his disposal for bettering the world. In fact, it is always self aware and self sustaining individuals who build better societies, not angry mobs without understanding or direction. Individuals blaze the path that the rest of the world eventually follows, and they do this through one very simple and effective act; walking away.

Student loan debt will exceed $1 trillion

2011-10-27T07:35:00.000-04:00

A Dysfunctional System That Bankrupts A Generation | ZeroHedge:

By Wolf Richter www.testosteronepit.com

Tuition has done it again: up by 8.3% for universities and by 8.7% for community colleges, according to the College Board. Tuition increases are outright ridiculous. Much of it will be paid for with student loans (though grants, scholarships, other aid, and tax credits will cover some of it). Student loan debt will exceed $1 trillion by the end of the year—a stunning amount. But unlike other debt, it cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy.

Run on Greek Banks Started

2011-10-25T21:01:00.000-04:00

Paul Ronzheimer (eg zt. Athens)

Athens - It's depressing scenes from a country close to bankruptcy!

Monday morning, 7.40 clock in the district of Athens, .We, the BILD reporters are witnesses .... in front of a branch of the "National Bank of Greece" is a snake, .... right after the opening at 8:00 on the clock switch. Pensioners Evagelos Dimitros (73): "I come here to immediately pick up my pension € 300. Who knows what else happened today. My money is safe only when it is at home. "

'via Blog this'

I don't know.

2011-10-25T08:18:00.000-04:00

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11957

Oh, you hate your job?

2011-10-24T09:40:00.002-04:00

“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar.”

Drew Carey

“Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night”

Dave Barry

"You can't have everything... where would you put it?"

Steven Wright

“You know the good part about all those executions in Texas? Fewer Texans”

George Carlin

Suburbia views

2011-10-23T09:30:00.000-04:00

College OTR: U-Dub and Miami Dance Majors: Screw Unemployment And Join The New Lingerie Football League

2011-10-22T10:21:00.000-04:00

Screw Unemployment And Join The New Lingerie Football League:

Dance majors, there’s finally a career waiting for you after college. Don’t scoff, these lovely ladies will be making more than $40,000 per year. And no experience necessary: League spokesman Kyle Bolin says 85 percent of the women in the league have college degrees and 90 percent have never played football in their life. All it really takes is a little athleticism and a whole lot of sexiness.

'via Blog this'

Need to fax, but no machine handy?

2011-10-20T19:09:00.000-04:00

Fax is obsolete. Full size images of documents sent as to email attachments are better in every way.

But don't argue with these fools. Fax them their documents for free.

http://www.gotfreefax.com/

Suburbia Aerial views

2011-10-19T09:32:00.000-04:00

Expert is one who agrees with the position you find culturally congenial.

2011-10-17T08:03:00.000-04:00

Why "Scientific Consensus" Fails to Persuade - National Science Foundation:

Would you advise your friend that the scientist seems like an "expert"?

"What it depends on, a recent study found, is not whether the position that scientist takes is consistent with the one endorsed by a National Academy. Instead, it is likely to depend on whether the position the scientist takes is consistent with the one believed by most people who share your cultural values."

Useless

2011-10-15T17:16:00.003-04:00

Do you know the story about the guy who lands his balloon in the middle of a huge field?

A bearded guy in a tweed jacket and chinos comes running up and says, "Can I help you?"
The guy in the balloon says, "Can you tell me where I am?"
The bearded guy says, "You are apparently in a balloon in the middle of what appears to be a giant field."
The guy in the balloon says, "You must be a PhD or nobel economist."
The bearded guy says, "Incredible, how did you know?"
The guy in the balloon says, "Because what you just told me is totally accurate and totally useless."

'via Blog this'