April 2009
53 posts
Churchgoers more likely to back torture →
azspot:
The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new analysis.
More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 percent of people who “seldom or never” go to services agreed,...
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Could Pakistan Dissolve Altogether? →
Thomas Barfield:
There will probably be an independent Pashtun state, unlikely to join with Afghanistan, because for all the lip service Afghans give to Pashtunistan, they can count. If they were part of this state, they would be a minority, and that’s probably not a good idea from their point of view. There could be an independent Baluchistan. That’s Pakistan’s major gas...
“The year 1990 was particularly tough when it came to trying to score something...”
– Dmitry Orlov: Social Collapse Best Practices (via josephweisenthal)
This is funny… for now.
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“[A] pandemic is not considered inevitable.”
– W.H.O. - Avoid Mexico, Travelers Are Told, as Swine Flu Toll Mounts
Comforting.
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“The spectacle of Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson running roughshod over Kenneth...”
– Jonathan Weil, One Nation, Under Banks With Justice for No One
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“The first case was seen in Mexico on April 13. The outbreak coincided with the...”
– Mexico’s Calderon Declares Emergency Amid Swine Flu Outbreak - Bloomberg.com
Um… (via josephweisenthal)
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Do you wish you could follow any blog in your...
superamit:
I frequently come across blogs (maybe once a week) that I find interesting, look for the follow button in the top-right corner, and am disappointed when it’s missing. (And then don’t follow the blog at all.)
I’m sick of Net News Wire and Google Reader. I want to read more things in the Tumblr dashboard.
Here’s the blog I found today. Not followed. Will probably never see again. :(
...
“…with Fox News running all these “anti-tax tea parties” how trivial it would be...”
– David Brin (via azspot)
“Maybe my next book will be Kanye West Was a Neuroscientist. He’s making use of...”
– Rhodes Scholar Jonah Lehrer (Matt’s cousin) in a past Wired Q&A; prior to explaining “you’re just a massively distributed parallel network.” Curious fellow. (via boutofcontext)
As far as I know, not really my cousin. This reminds me that I need to finish reading Gödel, Escher, Bach.
“I have now lived through three major episodes in my life where the political...”
– Charles Pierce (via azspot)
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Reports of the death of Ray Allen’s game have been greatly exaggerated.
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“The potential for a national bank run is real. The Federal Deposit Insurance...”
– Laurence Kotlikoff
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The Panic of 1825 →
I couldn’t resist that title. If you’re interested in finance, this is the story of “the birth of central banking as we know it” written by Brad DeLong with help from E.M. Forster and it’s well worth a read. via RCM.
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“The irony of these protests is that federal revenues as a share of the gross...”
– Bruce Bartlett (via azspot)
I have tried not to pay attention to exactly what Rush, et al, are saying to get people riled up, but if these protests are about current tax rates and not the ways in which the money is spent and debt taken on, this is going to get much worse. As previously noted, tax...
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“I know this is the right time.”
– John Madden, retiring after nearly 30 years in the broadcast booth
“Xinhua does not suggest that the cetacean force may have been part of a...”
– The Lede Blog: China Reports Dolphins Foiled Pirate Attack
Your parenthetical aside of the day, badass Navy...
mikehudack:
katiebakes:
(Sniper teams generally count down from five and fire in unison on the T in “two.”)
The rest of that article is almost as interesting.
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“Part of the problem is that boring banking would mean poorer bankers, and the...”
– Paul Krugman More on boring banking.
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“The Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a...”
– NYTimes
“[I]t became apparent to me that there had been some major policy failures in...”
– Dylan Ratigan
Is he the anti-Tucker Carlson?
Watchspiegelman:
Rachel Maddow’s teabagging opus. Possibly the most amazing thing ever broadcast on television. And by “possibly” I mean “this is.”
With special guest Ana Marie Cox. Everything she’s done over the course of her life was preparation for this moment.
Completely agree.
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“This one is looney tunes prime time material. Populist champion for the people,...”
– Zero Hedge, Barney Frank Declares War On Moody’s I’m happy to report that there is a new entrant in Congress’ ignorance competition.
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“While the outlays can be explained by the massive TARP spending and other...”
– Zero Hedge: US Deficit Reaches $1 Trillion For First Half Of 2009
Wow. I’m pretty surprised by how much worse that implies economic activity was in March than in October through February.
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How Geithner's PPIP plan will turn the entire US... →
Let’s say you are a bidder for Bank A. You know your banking asset is worth $50, and you also know the asset Bank B has is worth $50. You call your buddy up, the trader at B, and make a deal. Happens all the time. You go to bid, and you bid $80 for B’s asset. Then you wait. If B doesn’t come through, you are screwed out a lot of money. And hey, isn’t this wrong? Well, you are pretty sure one of...
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A Visual Guide to Inflation →
This is really well done.
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Being Poor Is Getting Harder →
azspot:
Eight states are proposing that people get tested for drugs before receiving government assistance. Proponents say it’s a health issue but, as demand for these programs surges, it surely sends a different kind of message. Meanwhile, a bill in the Tennessee Legislature would cap lottery winnings at $600 for people on public assistance. Considering that poor people play lotteries way out...
Should President Obama have the power to shut down... →
Looks like Senators John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) have been inspired by 24.
Six pieces of bipartisan legislation I'd like to...
spiegelman:
The Kind Blunt Price Act for Marijuana Regulation Proposed by Ron Kind (D-WI), Roy Blunt (R-MI), and Tom Price (R-GA) The Green Honda Deal Act for Hybrid Tax Credits Proposed by Gene Green (D-TX), Mike Honda (D-CA), and Nathan Deal (R-GA) The Dicks Johnson Weiner Act for Cockpit Security Proposed by Norman Dicks (D-WA), Sam Johnson (R-TX), and Anthony Weiner (D-NY) The Berry Fudge...
“The future is here. It’s just not widely distributed yet.”
– William Gibson (via simko) One of my favorite quotes.