Links 8/15/08

Pill use ‘affects partner choice’ BBC

Fatter Britons ‘mean wider school chairs and bigger coffins’ Telegraph

Western oil demand set for biggest fall in 25 years Times Online

How Wall Street’s watchdog may be muzzled The Independent. A good summary with some perceptive quotes.

The Great Illusion Paul Krugman

The US and the Former USSR Compared Econospeak. Overstated and guaranteed to annoy some readers.

The Decline of the American Empire Nouriel Roubini. In case you missed this, very much worth reading. While most of his lower-level observations have been made by others, the synthesis is valuable indeed.

Marxism, Opiate of the Japanese Masses? International Political Economy Zone

Antidote du jour:

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6 comments

  1. Anonymous

    I like the higher res blow-ups. Animal pictures have a salutary effect on the soul. They’re a good counterpoint to the demonic on-goings of Wall Street. You have no idea how the crap that place spews sounds to 98% of the population. Hopefully the Wall will come tumbling down and EVERY money manger will be fired. We need real jobs, real wealth creation and none of the Ivy BS artists that skim others hard labor. Spoiled brats
    all of them.

  2. Yves Smith

    Apologies for the picture formatting. For some reason, I can’t enlarge them in the blog (and I think this one has enough pixtels that it would still look good).

  3. doc holiday

    The domestication and industrialization of squirrels in the early second millenium, came about as a result of a prolonged and lingering period of deflation, which began with the generalized and fuzzy concept known as The Ownership Society — one of many catastrophic policy blunders associated with The 2001 Bush Administration.

    Squirrels in the twenty first century were thought to be carriers of bubonic plague and various diseases; however, this misconception was eventually disproved by various forensic studies sponsored by The American Wool & Squirrel Fiber Exchange (AWSFE).

    The various laser confocal scanning microscope studies from AWSFE demonstrated that Squirrel hair or fur is very similar to the fleeces of wool fibers, but has an amazing 2000 bends per inch!

    Squirrel wool is separated into grades based on the measurement of the wool's diameter in microns. These grades may vary depending on the breed or purpose of the wool. In general, anything finer than 25 microns can be used for garments, while coarser grades are used for outerwear or rugs. The finer the wool, the softer it will be, while coarser grades are more durable and less prone to pilling.

    Squirrel wool is extremely fine with with many grades available between 10 to 17.5 microns. Ultrafine Merino wool is about 25 microns and very costly, which is the reason that squirrel wool has become an indispensable economic driver for The Post Bush Ownership Society.

    The fledgling AWSFE industry has been compared to The DotCom Bubble, with more than 1 million different corporations currently spinning wool derivatives on every stock exchange around the globe, with a combined net worth of $35 Trillion USD.

    See Also: http://www.icebreaker.com/site/index.html

    See Also: Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) is a deficiency of calcium in a squirrel’s diet. It is caused by an improper diet wherein seeds, nuts, and corn are the major, or only, components of a diet. The condition will kill the squirrel. This is not a theory – it is common because some people ignore the warnings, do not follow the dietary instructions, give the animals a diet high in seeds, nuts, and corn, and low in calcium bearing foods. In addition to bone development, calcium is needed for all organic functions, including heart, respiration, blood circulation, muscle, and eyesight. Do not think you and your squirrel will be the exceptions if you feed a diet composed of seeds, nuts, and corn. This deadly diet is often sold in stores under the descriptor “Squirrel Feed”.

    http://www.squirrel-rescue.com/squirrel-diseases.htm

    Also Related: Noam Chomsky:
    1. Throughout history, Adam Smith observed, we find the workings of "the vile maxim of the masters of mankind": "All for ourselves, and nothing for other People." He had few illusions about the consequences. The invisible hand, he wrote, will destroy the possibility of a decent human existence "unless government takes pains to prevent" this outcome, as must be assured in "every improved and civilized society." It will destroy community, the environment and human values generally — and even the masters themselves, which is why the business classes have regularly called for state intervention to protect them from market forces.

  4. PureGuesswork

    It is a little irritating when bloggers link to Nouriel Roubini, saying stuff like this is “worth reading,” and then you find that the link is to a page giving the first few sentences of this must read analysis and a lot more sentences soliciting you to subscribe to Roubini’s service. Please don’t link to things which, for the average reader, do not actually exist. Roubini’s analysis, as wonderful as it might be, does not exist for any who do not pay him.

  5. Chris

    It all depends on your POV. If the upright creature in the coat is making the handout, that’s one thing. If on the other hand the squirrel, a frugal creature whose plentiful savings get it through the toughest winters, has taken pity on the profligate upright, then it must be totally different.

    Anonymouse:
    Your spelling adds an extra chuckle. “Manger”: we asses confuse the green and the green, but “fired” wouldn’t fried be better if manger was manager?

  6. Dave Raithel

    RE US/USSR compared (takes one to a time and place inhabited by C. Wright Mills): What’s overstated?

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