Overwhelmed by Python Infestation, Florida Embraces Cagey Solution Take Part (furzy mouse)
Tracing Arthritis to Bugs in the Gut? MedPage Today
Inside the outrageous world of child cage fighting: Tiny boys who are trained to attack each other in America’s baby MMA arenas Daily Mail. How long before death matches?
Typhoon Haiyan
Disaster in Tacloban, Philippines: Chasers document “ghastly” scene from typhoon WaPo (more chasers).
Over 100 dead in Tacloban and Ormoc: Leyte hit hard Phillipine Star
Philippine authorities expect ‘very high number’ of deaths after typhoon slams central region Ottawa Citizen (charts).
Typhoon Haiyan Kills 1,200 in the Philippines, Heads for Vietnam Weather Underground
‘No deal’ at Iran nuclear talks BBC
Exclusive: German parties reach deal on banking union – sources Reuters
US seeks $864m from Bank of America after mortgage fraud verdict Guardian
The Crisis as a Classic Financial Panic Ben Bernanke, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “Our continuing challenge is to make financial crises far less likely and, if they happen, far less costly.” Really? I would have thought the continuing challenge is to euthanize the rentiers.
Everyone On Wall Street Is Buzzing About ‘Optimal Control’ — The Janet Yellen Approach To Monetary Policy Business Insider
Swensen criticizes Wall Street Yale Daily News
Never Feel Sorry For A Man With his Own Plane Cassandra Does Tokyo
Washington Center for Equitable Growth Brad DeLong. Could be a four-way contradiction in terms; I guess we’ll find out!
Hillary Clinton is the most formidable presidential frontrunner in modern era Guardian (more). We’re handicapping 2016. Kill me now.
Obama hits the golf course where Caddyshack was filmed McClatchy. “[A]n exclusive atmosphere with some of south Florida’s foremost socialites,” “southern plantation style clubhouse.” Alrighty then.
Jeff Merkley Explains How Filibuster Reform Could Return to the Senate Slate. The time for that was Obama’s 100 Days in 2009. This is mere wankery.
For Obama, and Democrats, it’s crunch time Dan Balz, WaPo. Quack quack.
Liberal Dark Money Dominating 2014 Elections Open Secrets
Defeat of School Tax Stings Colorado Democrats Times
The ‘Establishment’ Fights Back Nooners, Online WSJ
ObamaCare Rollout
Implementing Health Reform: The Individual Market; Mental Health And Substance Abuse Parity Timothy Jost, Health Affairs. “I cannot imagine what, if any, administrative fix the President has in mind.” Note that Jost is a strong ObamaCare supporter.
Obama’s task in easing healthcare woes may be easier said than done Reuters. Pass the popcorn. Except for the excess deaths, of course.
Former HHS secretary visits Anniston, backs federal health reform The Anniston Star. Louis Sullivan: “The [Bush] plan had the similar concept of the health insurance exchange.”
AMA Analysis Lists States Where One Private Health Insurer Rules AMA
Capitol Community Mourns ‘Mr. Ivey’ Roll Call. Beloved cook at the Senate carryout. At 62. That’s young.
Social Security and Me: Ayn Rand, the Four Freedoms, the Road to Serfdom and the Leninist Strategy Angry Bear
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
David Sarasohn: Ron Wyden tries to listen in on the NSA The Oregonian. Article much better than headline.
Intelligence rebuff poses political dilemma for White House FT
White House considers civilian for NSA chief The Hill
A Fraying of the Public/Private Surveillance Partnership Bruce Schneir, Atlantic
If you think you’re being watched, you are Leonard Pitts, Press of Atlantic City
Flesh Love: Photographs of Vacuum-Wrapped Tokyo Couples Feature Shoot. There’ll always be a Japan!
The Economic Dominance of ENTJs Priceonomics
The Dark Side of Mathematics Magic, Maths, and Money
All Can Be Lost: The Risk of Putting Our Knowledge in the Hands of Machines Atlantic
Russell Brand, the Posh Left and the Politics of Class Counterpunch (KK)
Up in Arms Tufts Magazine. There are 11 American nations, not one two three.
Antidote du jour (via):
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am i the only one that can’t read the TPP post?
Well I suggest you read Lambert’s PPT post again, its straightforward enough, or I’ll put it in summation for you if you like:
Be afraid, be f_cking afraid of both the Trans Pacific Partnership and its Atlantic equivalent, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
These constitute the largest attacks ever by the corporate and monied elites on what few rights and freedoms individuals and nation states have left.
If these two egregious alleged “free trade” agreements ever become law, stick your head between your legs and kiss your arse goodbye.
I’m raising these two pacts with leading politicians in my own country and posting about then in national newspaper and regional newspaper blogs – this really is the corporate-fascist global state incarnate and one we cannot afford to lose.
The worst part is that a majority of the 535 will sign on to this treasonous monster, all knowing full well which side of the bread their butter is on; certainly it is long past any illusion that they work for us.
“Everyone On Wall Street Is Buzzing About ‘Optimal Control’ — The Janet Yellen Approach To Monetary Policy Business Insider”
Shorter Buzz:
Maestro=Goldilocks Economy=Optimum Control=Goldilocks Economy
Do try to memorize all the words of our new, great helmsperson – the new secretary general of the central moni-buro standing committee of the BailOut Party of the Fourth Roma – and pass the new Optical Control… wait, that’s for the NSA…make that Optimal Control slogan to all the brainwashing organs, sorry, news media.
Too many typos. Need a cup of teaffee.
Bz Insider. Janet Yellen’s optimal control, or Wall Street’s? As Lambert says above, we wouldn’t want to dislocate any rentiers. 6% unemployment has always been the target to control inflation. Always. This is nothing new. It simply precludes full employment so somebody can take their profit; can rake it in. They call this inflation control! But what it is is is the impoverishment of 10 million people by denying them full employment. Period. Hey, we wouldn’t want the dollar to devalue…. SO why isn’t there another method to keep the dollar strong – like a strong economy? Since all the dollar is is money, which is a derivative of both natural and social resources, why on earth is 6% unemployment “the natural unemployment rate?” Who the hell benefits here?
We the hell should all be mad at the Big Government of the big corporations, for the big corporations by the big corporations.
Here’s another view of The Center for Equitable Growth:
http://www.thebaffler.com/blog/2013/11/dont_worry_income_inequality_doomsayers
Seriously, I”m feeling head-explody at the Colorado education reform piece. Who designs these freakin reforms? Institute a progressive tax system that raises the rate on the lowest bracket? Institute dramatic statewide changes to a traditionally locally-controlled government system? And build such a “liberal” coalition of tech geeks, union thugs, and gov’t bureaucrats that no on could vote for it? Can’t we just pay teachers more and expand pre-school/daycare for all?
That was some rhetorical ranting, but is this just TPTB overestimating their PR wurlizter powers, or is there actually an activist political class this near-sighted?
whoops, hit the wrong comment button, this isnt on point with the Center for Equitable Growth. Sorry.
But to continue, and tie in another link, if Brand or Kim Nicolini took a look at this set of reforms I can’t imagine they would support it as a whole.
Oh, I think The Center (and DeLong)would be right on board with this unholy alliance of reformers, teachers unions, and new Democrats. Hell, DeLong even has a post at the center’s blog with a must read from Ed Glaeser. The inequality problem in NY? — well, that isn’t going to be helped by expanding the safety net. This will just attract more poors. On the other hand, the monopoly that the city govt. has on primary schools is hindering social mobility for those at the bottom– social mobility being more important than improvement of their lot in the here and now.
So I will look forward to important papers that show the predicted positive benefits of immigration reform. Or universal pre-K.
I don’t expect a lot on the lines of take back some of the stolen wealth from the rich and redistribute downward. Or f*** the trade pacts.
This Center was founded because some third way Dems decided this inequality thing had legs and thought how could they best capitalize on it without upsetting their sponsors.
That thing had the stench of trojan horse.
Endorsed by Gates and Bloomberg? Good sign to head the other way.
America’s baby MMA or Pankration arenas…
That’s a new one on me.
According to Wikipedia, Pankration was a combat sport introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC. This event had separate divisions for both men and boys. It was founded as a blend of boxing and wrestling but with scarcely any rules. The only things not acceptable were biting and gouging of the opponent’s eyes.
The Greek philosopher and poet Xenophanes described the pankration as that “new and terrible contest of all holds.”
Cage Fighting Kids?
Children’s pankration is one of the fastest growing sports for young kids.
We ARE becoming like Greece!
Barbaric?
Many defend it.
Do its purported lessons of discipline and confidence outweigh its risks?
It’s a tough regime covering pankration’s many disciplines, including wrestling, jujitsu and kickboxing.
Orthopedic and Sports Medicine physicians say children are not skeletally mature even at 14 years of age. Young bodies are not meant to endure such harsh regimes. Injuries mean that surgery will be different than for adults because reconstruction would affect their growth.
What makes a nightmare sports parent? Parents trying to live vicariously through their children.
The weigh-in picture of a buffed up 7 year old nicknamed “The Beast” reminded me of the beauty pageant pictures of JonBenet Ramsy. From the article:
ISTM that you can love your kids 100%, or you can just want them to win, but not both.
Gotta win.
Gotta beat them all.
Never anything about sharing.
* Share the planet with seaweeds? Hell, no! We kill them. We eat them!
We’ve had kids boxing, wrestling, and doing martial arts forever. I don’t think it’s the sport, per se, that is the problem. It is indeed the parents and their hyper-competitiveness. I don’t have a problem with kid’s MMA, necessarily, like I don’t have a problem with kid’s Karate. If done intelligently with appropriate safety equipment, I don’t think it’s any worse that a lot of other things kids do (stick fighting was big with me and my friends…no helmets).
But anytime we see a ripped seven-year-old, or a toddler made up like a super-model, I think we should call it what it is: child abuse. The parents are sick (as in mentally ill) and they may well pass it on to their kids.
If you get a kid to see the world a certain way, its brain is plastic enough to make that world view a part of its hardware.
That’s why kids are given money to buy things or are told they need money to buy things.
(I also think pushing kids into spelling bee contests – or the Chinese character dictation contests – is dangerous. But that’s just me.)
Amending my comment after actually reading the story: No head protection?!? WTF?? What regulatory body signed of on that?
Kids MMA need be no more damaging than Tae Kwon Do, but the TKD kids wear f-ing head-gear. This is truly insane (and ALL of those parents should probably be heavily fined, if not locked up…ditto for refs, and promoters/organizers and regulators).
Not to mention the chick in the ultra-tight short-shorts. A clear red flag that this is about the parents, not the kids. Nothing like giving little johnny an up-close anatomy lesson. (God, am I an old prude or what)
It’s a full “home version” of the TV sport, complete with the accoutrements, nicknames, costumes, and bimbos. I am sure the little manufactured drama vignettes are right in there too.
How soon will we learn about the seven year old with ‘roid rage and the eight year old caught blood doping?
PS: this is nothing like eight year old karate.
As kids, if we didn’t have a pingpong table, my brother and I would have been wrestling 24/7 –if we could have. Nothing wrong with that.
Little League? Yeaaah.. no thanks. Kids activities are degenerated by type A idiot parents living vicariously through their children.
Perdón, corporal, but what aisle are the Obamaphones in?
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/09/venezuela-seizes-stores/3486581/
Just another sunny day in the Shopper’s Paradise …
How do you do an entire story about price controls and never offer up even one example of a price?
What does the effing TV cost in Venezuela? What does the TV cost at the border? What does a comparable TV cost in the US? Japan? UK?
If there is no intent to describe the “price controls” in the context of PRICE, what is the point?
While it doesn’t offer up any context for “price” it lays on a very thick layer of 3rd order, presented as fact, neo-liberal economic doctrine-
Venezuela and capital controls are bad. Look! They’re giving away TV’s! Obamaphones! Your tax dollars at work!
+100
You do know ‘obamaphones’ were instituted by Reagan right?
Right?
And anyway Haygood, why would we care exactly about Venezuela? Why do you even come to this site?
An Obamaphone? What is an Obamaphone?
An Obamaphone speaks the same language as Obama, but looks differently e.g., Bill and Hilary Clinton or Mike Bloomberg.
Handicapping 2016:
The number I want to see is the against vote on the left. how big, and especially how strong. Limousine liberalism may have reached the end of its free pass.
Not likely. The Dem party still has at least one ace up their sleeve: Run a female candidate at the top of the ticket. Progressives will suck it up and vote for her, regardless of qualifications or merit. It doesn’t particularly matter who it is. I can already hear the “glass ceiling” talking points writing themselves. “Is she manly enough to nuke China? Here’s what our viewers have to say” and so on. Get used to hearing them for the next 3 years. Ugh…
I doubt the GOP will run anyone other than Boring Old White Male. Again, identity is meaningless. They’ll be vaguely against everything Obama did, and they’ll start at 45% of the vote (but spend millions struggling for that last 6%). Same old same old. Its pretty much the Dems’ race to lose. They’ll figure out to keep it a tight race, though. The last time they had a supermajority (2008), they had trouble coming up with excuses as to why they couldn’t pass left-of-thatcher legislation. They won’t make that mistake again.
(The real reason of course being that there is only one party, the money party, and they profit handsomely from maintaining the appearance of incompetent, ineffectual government. Hence the professional wrestling blue vs. red gimmickry.)
This will be my first presidential season actively campaigning against the dems from the left. In 2008 I gave them a chance with Obama, dunno why in hindsight. Last season, I was happy to campaign for Warren, vote Stein, and stay quiet on Obama. If Hillary gets the nod, she will not get the benefit of ambivalence Obama did. And it has little to do with her, much more to do with the discussions I’ve had with wealthy voters in my area.
I hope many more young people take to offensive in this upcoming election season. It could be an Occupy level moment if done right.
Warren, really? Just saying.
She probably wouldn’t be too different than Obama.
I’ll tell ya … the field didn’t lose anything when she entered, Scott Brown presented the possibility of a real political problem until he lost that race (Romney’s “sensible policy” stances without the obvious .001% status problem), and at least there was the 2 income trap.
If it takes a little bit of campaigning for Warren to get her other canvassers to realize the contradiction of opposing capital punishment but supporting drone strikes, it’s worth it to me.
George, you must be a playright; your script is flawless. But this time, instead of a tone-deaf vulture capitalist Mormon, the role of Snidely Whiplash for GOP paper villain could be played by anti-Castro ex-Cubano Marco Rubio, maybe even Shrub the Third, Jeb. Democracy theater is great fun.
I can tell you the outcome now.
The Dems lose big.
Obamacare is going to kill the party. Trust me. The more digging I’m doing, the awfulness is so multi-faceted that people won’t fully understand how terrible it is until it’s been in place for a couple of years. This is going to snatch defeat of out of the jaws of victory (in the form of Tea Party driving itself and Republicans into the ditch this year).
For instance: you get coverage even if you have preexisting conditions. That is going to prove to be meaningless in many, if not most, cases, due to cost of plans (as in how much you pay between premiums and deductibles before you see any benefits) plus narrow networks will mean in many cases specialists you need aren’t covered at all.
Another great Russell Brand interview:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/11/04/russell-brand-revolution-_n_4213849.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
I love that he is obviously very aware of his position and is obviously hip to the dangers of narcissism and hero-worship that being in his position creates. Also love that he gracefully walks back one of his statements (“you have to pay your taxes”) in response to questioning from an audience member. He really is a breath of fresh air…and hilarious.
white-house-considers-civilian-for-nsa-chief
There should never be anyone other than a civilian running any agency in the US Govt that is not the Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force.
Otherwise, the military has control over an area of the govt where US civilians are affected, which is unconstitutional, and leads to a situation we have today, where the NSA feels it is unassailable even by the Congress.
Noonan: “How does the Republican Party right now step in to help? What can it offer people who are suffering from the dislocations?”
That is, of course, what can the Republican Party do to help itself? Suffering? A close election, a drain on the war chest, extra campaign stops, that’s how their suffering will be measured.
white-house-considers-civilian-for-nsa-chief
There should never be anyone other than a civiliann running any agency in the US Govt that is not the Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force.
Otherwise, the military has control over an area of the govt where US civilians are affected, which is unconstitutional, and leads to a situation we have today, where the NSA feels it is unassailable even by the Congress.
The question is whether a recently retired general not a civilian who can, if professional athletes are any models, un-retire anytime?
Well, usually generals don’t retire until they’re too old to perform. “Unretiring” at 70 years old is probably not good. We really don’t want to repeat the experience of the first two years of the Civil War, with senile Winfield Scott, the hero of the War of 1812, in charge. That’s why they instituted pensions for career soldiers. Of course we see examples of politicians continuing in office until they’re 90, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.
Re: former HHS secretary visits Anniston
Yves, I know you point out the similiarities between the two parties plans. But I want to discuss what the former secretary was doing at this facility. The dental insurer is building facilities to handle dental issues for children on Medicaid. To me, this sounds like “one care room for rich, another for poor”. One hospital in my area is building a new ER to handle ppl on medicaid (poor ppl) that is supposed to be more efficient. What they are really doing is building separate rooms for ppl without insurance or cheap insurance. Then, those folks with expensive policies get treated different than those ppl with poor policies. That way, insurers and hospitals can save money on Medicaid, since they know they will continue to get less money from those programs. But ppl with expensive policies, the insurers and hospitals can soak the policies for every penny possible.
The haves. & the have nots. That is what health care reform is about.
“AMA Analysis Lists States Where One Private Health Insurer Rules” AMA
Propaganda.
In fact, note: Single Insurer = Single Payer
A single payer, even if it’s an insurer, has a much higher ability to set prices than multiple payers do. This is as true on a state level as it is on the federal level. This is the REAL reason the AMA has their panties up in a wad over this. They don’t like the fact that they don’t have as much pricing control in states with a single insurer as they do in states with multiple insurers.
[And please remember, people, with MERs now in place, the only way insurers have of increasing profits is by increasing cash flow. If they screw people on benefit obligations, they can no longer put that money in their own pockets.]
Seems like you’re only looking at one side of the coin, here. The monopolist insurance company (from the providers’ viewpoint) is also a monopsonist from the consumer’s point of view. One would expect, therefore, that these companies will be well placed to squeeze both sides of the transaction, reducing payments to care-providers and increasing prices to consumers (and therefore subsidies to these companies).
The AMA may well be run by self-interested d-bags, but that doesn’t make the ACA OK. The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend (so to speak).
Doh…monopsonist to the care providers (single buyer) and monopolist to customers (single seller). Anyway…
If you think you’re being watched, you are.
Message to the NSA – Try to be not medieval. Try to be modern and use some quantum principles.
Number 1 – the Heisenberg Uncertain Humans Principle. When the all-observing state measures a human-citizen, it changes that person. So, the state can never know what it’s getting.
Gun nuts eat their own. Fundamentalists purging their ranks for the sake of purity. Heat up some popcorn.
Anyone who is not a conformist to the fundamentalist line, is automatically a LIBRUL.
I like how these guys talk so much about ‘freedom’ and ‘individualism’ even though theyre such unabashed conformists.
In the Art of War, it is recommended that we channel gun nuts into our military and police.
It’s the least resistant way of tackling the problem.
Sent them off overseas and into non-violent protest crowds.
I think we are doing that.
Tracing Arthritis to Bugs in the Gut? MedPage Today
Could it be that we are seeing the glimpse of research that connects the mass consumption of GMO foods to all sorts of emerging and expanding disease/ health epidemics?
They are hard at work, with scientists educated here and taken from the smartest immigrant families abroad – it’s a team effort – to engineer foods that will make minds ‘neoliberal compliant.’
Don’t laugh.
It’s possible, with science. All things are possible, or almost all things, for those who believe in science.
Science? We don’t need no stinking ‘Science’!
We got our church!
Who knows? Maybe one day it’s possible to be reborn again for believers of science.
Just don’t throw away all your body parts.
Could local currency be the future of money? One Brooklyn-based rebel seems to think so — and a surprising number of people are “buying” the idea
Sounds like a good idea.
We have to make sure the empire doesn’t strike back…little towns issuing currencies and recognizing North Korea (unconstitutional, but the CIA will make sure some towns do).
Bonus antidote:
Completely paralyzed doberman learns to walk again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXnDvkLXb_k
This will make you smile.
You should love this.
http://patrick.net/forum/?p=1230886
Government Big Ears
Las Vegas is installing “Intellistreets” light fixtures capable of recording conversation
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/11/government-big-ears.html
thousands of technologically recorded, computer-plumbed logs of people talking about what they had at the buffet.
wow, scintillating. the things we waste energy on. then again, that whole place is like telling the universe we’re too stupid to survive.
…and explain to me how you know where they are placed???
because….I am an internationally renowned super-sleuth a la Clouseau?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbUD7FRStbY
as a long time Peter fan…thanx for turning my teeth grind into a giggle’)
HeY NsA…You’ll NEVER get it ALL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2SdGedCs88
Cough… mate~
The Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_zo0FiNheI
skippy… the DailyVinyl highly recommends – Kingdom of Rust & Winter Hill by Doves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHwhJqsXRfM
PS… Kingdom of Rust indeed – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPoMNmKW8CQ
Woodard’s article stops just short of the obvious conclusion: let it break up. The USA has no reason to exist. It’s a parasite, not a state.
The smaller the fragments, the safer the world will be. Eleven would be a good start. Let the warlike bits see how far they get in a world in which full sovereignty depends on rights and rule of law, and Russia has Iskanders. Cut the beltway drones sucking federal tit down to size.
Au contraire; the State IS a parasite.
The source for that “Economic Dominance of ENTJs” post is a website (careerassessmentsite.com) that, unless I’m missing something, says absolutely nothing about where the stats in its “infographic” come from. Somebody at the website could have polled 100 of his neighbors.
Sometimes links are just for fun!
finally, sont skunks le pew.
deskilling and the brain. that’s exactly what i’m talkin’ about! we have gone beyond the diminishing returns of automation at this point, on many things. in fact we should be teaching folks how they did it before computers (and getting them passably competent) before rewarding them with the ease of having the machine do so much for them.
Brand seems to be playing the Scarlet Pimpernel, both sides at once. the lower-class version, of course.
Nice one by Kim Nicolini. Very good frame of Identity Politics vs Populism.
Russell Brand is a long time coming. It’s been a very long arc from the days when Neal Cassady preached Cayce, while being beat and hippie– he was never political. The drugs, the sensatory excess, has went on for decades before the brightest have turned their excess energies on themselves, healed the vibration, and gained a voice ripe for political expression that confronts power based on materialism with a power based on a higher truth for sake of equality. It’s about time we get some jesus people throwing down on bankster tables.