This Administration is not merely incapable of learning, but seems insistent on doing the wrong thing with a vehemence. The invasion of Iraq was a violation of international law (the fig leaf of UN Resolution 1441 in the run up to the invasion has not impressed the experts), an attack on a country that posed […]
Read more...The popular image of universities dominated by left-wing, granola-head faculty who endeavor to corrupt youth with political correctness and relentless questioning of authority is hopelessly out of date. In fact, as article by Michael Gould-Wartofsky in the current Nation, “Repress U.” tells us, higher education has become active in not merely discouraging radical thought, but […]
Read more...Many in the security and public policy arena implicitly and often explicitly argue that greater security requires that we give up some, or a lot, of our privacy. Yes, it is necessary and a good thing that we have to take off our shoes to board an airplane. In Ars Technica, Jon Stokes says that […]
Read more...If there was any pretense that this country was anything other than a plutocracy, today’s Supreme Court decision should have dispelled that illusion. Banks and other vendors, meaning folks like auditors, now can operate more confidently in serving corporations at the expense of investors thanks to today’s ruling. To give you an idea of how […]
Read more...Ooh, I am ill. The Financial Times seems to have scooped this story (I don’t see it on Bloomberg). In keeping with Greenspan’s tutelage at the knee of Ayn Rand, he has exercised his right not to be constrained by propriety or other rules that govern little men and has gone and sold himself to […]
Read more...I call your attention to this Wall Street Journal story, “Countrywide Draws Ire of Judges,” for three reasons. First is Countrywide schadenfreude. I freely admit to having what may be called a bias. I have read and been told enough about Countrywide to be persuaded that it is a corrupt organization, even if it manages […]
Read more...Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has the reputation of having a sharp mind (and occasionally sharp tongue) and it shows in this Financial Times comment piece. The article makes a two pronged attack against the rightward economic drift of the last 30 years, noting that deregulation has not been the panacea […]
Read more...Why is it that no one in America seems able to say what Willem Buiter, a professor at the London School of Economics, sets forth at his blog at the Financial Times, namely, that we Americans are far too timid in dealing with right wing extremists? Does being liberal in America mean you can’t point […]
Read more...Asking good questions is half the battle in advancing knowledge, and a clever and timely piece by Andreas Georgiadis and Alan Manning of the London School of Economics does just that. The post looks into why rising income inequality isn’t strongly correlated in democracies with more concerted efforts at redistribution. After all, as wealth becomes […]
Read more...A refreshing article in the Financial Times by Samuel Brittan reminds us that some celebrated economists envisioned continuing progress as leading not to ever-escalating levels of consumption, but to a society where improving productivity and technology would provide higher quality goods and more leisure. The French hew to that ideal (as Paul Krugman has pointed […]
Read more...John Hockenberry, former Dateline correspondent, describes in the MIT Technology Review how the networks’ preoccupation with hanging on to their viewers has gotten in the way of reporting news. News programs, at least as exemplified by NBC, where Hockenberry once worked, go to considerable lengths to find affirming emotional narratives and avoid upsetting or challenging […]
Read more...An article in Asia Times, “Shopping ‘zombies’ offer US hope,” supplies middling analysis (the author believes the depth of the subprime mess has been dimensioned, which means the bad news has already been reflected in prices. That’s a long winded way of saying that now is a time to buy. That perspective is not shared […]
Read more...The Privacy & Human Rights Report examines privacy policies and practices in 70 countries. Produced annually since 1997, this is far and away the most comprehensive survey of this sort, running to 1,100 pages with over 6,000 footnotes. Summary of key findings: The 2007 rankings indicate an overall worsening of privacy protection across the world, […]
Read more...A 2002 article by Michael Prowse in the Financial Times addressed the question, “Is Inequality Good for You?” Normally, discussion of that topic involves issues of equity and efficiency. Those of a liberal bent contend that unequal societies undermine the legitimacy of authority. Those on the right argue that people are unequal, therefore results will […]
Read more...Yesterday, I took advantage of this (hopefully) quiet week to share some things I have come across that affected how I view the world. I can’t recommend strongly enough that you view the four-part 2002 BBC documentary, The Century of the Self. Creator Adam Curtis said, “This series is about how those in power have […]
Read more...