In the Seventh Year

I have always liked reading Roger Cohen's perspective on things (he's a Brit with the International Herald Tribune). He does his best to look back on the seven years since 9/11: In the Seventh Year

Playing with Fire II

Well, after the undersea methane article, it was worth noting that scientists at CERN in Switzerland researching subatomic particles are about to fire up their new supercollider. The downside? A small but finite chance it could create a large black hole which will swallow up the earth: Legal bid to stop CERN atom smasher from 'destroying the world' The big day is supposed to be September 10. A slightly funnier article from the New Yoke Times opinion page: Digging Ourselves a Black Hole

Playing with Fire

An interesting article from Forbes about vast amounts of methane trapped under the sea floor: Energy's Most Dangerous Game The only downside to tapping it is the possibility of ending life as we know it on earth.

James Galbraith's 'Predator State': damning, incisive

A review on UT Professor James Galbraith's new book from the Austin American Statesman:
James Galbraith's 'Predator State': damning, incisive
The UT professor and son of a famous economist denounces the 'free market' that has created a vulture-like capitalist culture

Anthrax

The 2001 Anthrax attacks on the east coast of the US just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks has long been an unusual mystery for many reasons. Among them:

• The very unusual choice of weapon: high grade anthrax spores
• The timing related to 9/11: one week later
• The bogus ties to Saddam Hussein in Iraq: press reports of bennonite in the anthrax connecting this to Iraq's chemical and biological weapons programs
• The location: on the east coast of the US, near US government biological weapons labs
• The victims: two relatively obscure US senators in the minority party as well as media outlets, not well-known or powerful international leaders.
• The lack of fatalities: notes in the letters warned the victims and, somewhat bizarrely, even recommended specific medical treatments. Except for postal workers and others accidentally exposed, the attacks were relatively harmless, by design.

All of this indicates not a major foreign terrorist organization, but someone looking to very publically frighten US citizens. After a seven year investigation, the prime suspect has been cleared and won a large damages award. Shortly after this verdict, another suspect has committed suicide. Both worked in the same government weapons lab pinpointed by new DNA techniques as the source of the anthrax. All we need now is an Oliver Stone film on ths subject.

How I Didn’t Dismantle Iraq’s Army

An interesting Letter to the Editor in the New York Times. It concerns L. Paul Bremer III's article 'How I Didn’t Dismantle Iraq’s Army' on the decision to disband the Iraqi Army, largely viewed as a major blunder in the US occupation of Iraq. The 'letter' is in the form of a video by filmmaker Charles Ferguson that interviews high-level participants that refute much of what was published by Bremer. It seems some of the Neo-Conservatives who instigated and prosecuted this war are trying to rewrite history.

The Big Mac Index

The Economist has its Big Mac Index out again.

The Shock Doctrine

A short film by Alfonso Cuaron based on Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine".

Supreme Court Rules That Individuals Have Gun Rights

The conservatives at SCOTUS have overturned Washington D.C.'s ban on handguns. But they do recognize that guns are not appropriate in some places ... such as their own offices. Your office (and school and church, etc.) is another matter, it seems. I also wonder what is a 'firearm'. Are RPGs allowed? Bazookas? It would seem so. From Supreme Court Rules That Individuals Have Gun Rights:

Scalia said nothing in Thursday's ruling should "cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings."

Supreme Court Rules That Individuals Have Gun Rights

The conservatives at SCOTUS have overturned Washington D.C.'s ban on handguns.

George Carlin R.I.P.

It occurs to me that our fiercest social critics in America today are comedians. Today we lost our Solzhenitsyn, George Carlin. Here is my favorite bit of his from Gulf War I. It could easily apply today, by just changing the names. Wait. You don't even have to change the names ....

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up, or Can You?

I can't resist one more on the alleged Oil Bubble. This one is from Ben Stein, who I enjoy occasionally. He is one of those unrepentant ex-Nixon staffers, so there is only so much of his writing I can take seriously. And of course, he is something of a comedian to begin with. You Can’t Make This Stuff Up, or Can You?

The Oil Nonbubble

An opposing view from Paul Krugman of the New York Times. He thinks the run-up of oil from $25 a barrel to $125+ (and purportedly heading for $200 if you believe Goldman-Sachs) is all normal supply and demand: The Oil Nonbubble

Soros: Financial Crisis Stems from 'Super-Bubble'

A good audio interview with George Soros on NPR: Soros: Financial Crisis Stems from 'Super-Bubble' (7 minutes) .

Chemist Who Discovered LSD Dies at 102

I thought the good Dr. Hoffmann passed away long ago. What is less well known is that he was searching for, and found, perhaps the only cure for migranes: Chemist Who Discovered LSD Dies at 102.

Italy posts income details on web

I believe other countries (more or less) do this, but it could be interesting in Italy, where so much economic activity is under the table: Italy posts income details on web

Airline fuel bets

I have been wondering about another recent 'free market' phenomenon. We see airlines going out of business due to fuel prices. Airlines use futures to try to hedge agains changes in the price of fuel. But it has become a large and dangerous game.

Rumor has it that Southwest Airlines gets their jet fuel at prices reflecting the equivalent of $50 a barrel oil due to shrewd (or lucky) futures purchases. Other airlines were not so fortunate. These financial instruments were originally used to protect against risk, now they seem to force huge gambles. Airlines that bet the right way on fuel prices win, the ones that bet the wrong way quickly go out of business. And it is a bet, and you are forced to play (no bet is still a bet).

This is the effect of a 'free market' as it is defined today by Wall Street. But is this efficient? Or good? Should massive industries be forced to make these kinds of bets on a continuing basis? In parallel I'll note that there was a similar effect in sub-prime mortgages, though more voluntary. People won and lost billions on similar bets. Have derivatives made Wall Street less of a bank that makes investments and more of a casino that makes bets? If so, should they be taxes and regulated like casinos?

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Worries

Nudism goes upscale: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Worries

Japanese Pay Less for More Health Care

An NPR audio (6 minutes) on how Japan delivers perhaps the best healthcare in the world at approximately half the cost of the US: Japanese Pay Less for More Health Care

Memo to Petraeus & Crocker: More Laughs, Please

Dick Cavett, the 1960s talk show host, has been writing a pretty good blog on the New York Times web site. Today he takes on the mil-speak of General Petraeus: Memo to Petraeus & Crocker: More Laughs, Please

Subprime Shock Doctrine

Is the 'subprime' crisis another 'Shock Doctrine' event? It seem the hedge fund guys who brought you this mess are now buying up the distressed properties in the aftermath: Taking The Credit Crunch Private

Our Confusing Economy, Explained

A good audio program from NPR that explains the current 'subprime crisis': Our Confusing Economy, Explained

State Department Employees Fired For Snooping Obama Passport

One big problem with databases: maintaining privacy. The biggest threats are not just 'hackers', but insiders. This is seldom considered, even as large databases of personal information are gathered, particularly in the US. This instance was relatively harmless, and one even wonders how the

Just Tell Us Whom You Want to Win

A New York Times review of the new book on the mathematics of elections by William Poundstone: Just Tell Us Whom You Want to Win. Poundstone has written a few popular treatments of math subjects over the years that I have enjoyed, including Prisoner's Dilemma and The Recursive Universe.

The Myth of the Surge

A sobering article from Rolling Stone about recent events in Iraq: The Myth of the Surge

'Severe' jobless problem in China

From the BBC: 'Severe' jobless problem in China

... 20 million new workers entered the labour market each year, chasing only 12 million jobs.

'Severe' jobless problem in China

From the BBC: 'Severe' jobless problem in China

... 20 million new workers entered the labour market each year, chasing only 12 million jobs.

Supreme Court Inc.

An interesting article on the pro-business slant of the current Supreme Court: Supreme Court Inc.

Oil Price increases caused by DoE?

Interesting presentation to the US Senate Homeland Security Committee claiming that oil price rises starting in August 2007 were caused by -- the US Department of Energy (!) Seems they are re-filling the strategic reserves: http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/STMTVERLEGERPhilip0.pdf

Keeping Iraq in the Dark

There was a good New York Times article on the ongoing effort to get power restored in Iraq. It seems the situation is even more bizarre than your might think. Check out: Keeping Iraq in the Dark by Glenn Zorpette. There was a longer and more technical article by the same author in IEEE Spectrum: Re-engineering Iraq

Iraq contractor indicted in cash smuggling case

A small local story that didn't get much attention. One wonders how much US currency is floating around Iraq and what is happening to it. This guy seems like a small operator. You have to wonder what the big boys are doing: Iraq contractor indicted in cash smuggling case

Land of the Free

While the numbers has been disturbing for at least two decades, the US prison population reached a new landmark recently: 1% of the adult population. And it's still growing. It has become a strange sort of business in some communities where prisons are big employers. One local in a small Texas town was quoted as saying "We lock up half the people and pay the other half to watch them": U.S. Imprisons One in 100 Adults, Report Finds

The Conscience of a Liberal

I've been enjoying Paul Krugman's The Conscience of a Liberal blog. Since Krugman is an academic, it tends to be more factual data than opinion, which is fine by me.

Web Site That Posts Leaked Material Ordered Shut

A test of the First Ammendment in the Internet Age: Web Site That Posts Leaked Material Ordered Shut

Putin vows 'arms race' response

I guess the 'Cold War' is back on: Putin vows 'arms race' response Just as the US Military was questioning all that spending on bombers and missiles in the War on Terror.

Study: Healthy People Cost Governments More

The key to reducing healthcare costs: free doughnuts and cigarettes? Study: Healthy People Cost Governments More

Lame-Duck Budget

The NYT really takes President Bush to task for his 2009 Budget: Lame-Duck Budget

The First Paragraph:

President Bush’s 2009 budget is a grim guided tour through his misplaced priorities, failed fiscal policies and the disastrous legacy that he will leave for the next president. And even that requires you to accept the White House’s optimistic accounting, which seven years of experience tells us would be foolish in the extreme.

Surveilence Nation

From CNN: a new $1B FBI database of our 'physical characteristics' is on the way: FBI wants palm prints, eye scans, tattoo mapping

Internal Surveillance, External Risks

I've enjoyed the regular back page article Inside Risks in the Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery (CACM) for a number of years. These short articles discuss various risks usually related to computer and information security. The December 2007 article by the equally fascinating collection of authors Steven M. Bellovin, Matt Blaze, Whitfield Diffie, Susan Landau, Jennifer Rexford, and Peter G. Neumann (Google them to see who these folks are, if you don't know them already). The article is especially insightful about the risks of government wiretapping and how things can (and have) gone wrong with such systems. The upshot is that someone may be listening in, and it may not be who you think it is: Internal Surveillance, External Risks

Depleted Uranium Munitions

The US military has been using all sorts of bombs and bullets with highly radioactive U-238, mostly in Iraq. I was interested in what this all means for both soldiers and civilians. There are many sites talking about this issue, but most seem to be out of the mainstream. But there is a 2001 article in Counterpunch, which is always provacative. It claims nearly half of all Iraqis in places like Basra will get cancer from these munitions. And this was just from Gulf War I. Dirty Bombs, indeed: DU: Cancer as a Weapon, Radioactive War

Free Lunch

Another NPR article that caught my eye:

David Cay Johnston on How the Rich Get Richer
Investigative reporter David Cay Johnston explores in his new book how in recent years, government subsidies and new regulations have quietly funneled money from the poor and the middle class to the rich and politically connected.

CIA Agent-Turned-Critic Philip Agee Dies

I generally don't listen to National Public Radio, but I ran across this article about the recent death of Philip Agee: CIA Agent-Turned-Critic Philip Agee Dies He seemed to travel freely around the world, in spite of losing his US passport. An interesting story.