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- HOW BANKS PREPARED FOR A U.S. DEFAULT. (2)
- GREECE’S ADVANTAGE IN THE CHICKEN GAME. (2)
- Nick: That makes sense. It reminds me of the stories Pater Familias would tell me about how in Boston the person with...
- Dick Weisfelder: Greece seems to me to be playing a game that Karl Deutsch called “underdog.” While one...
- FOOTBALL PLAYERS DELIBERATELY CAUSING CONCUSSIONS? (3)
- Nick: It was my understanding that boxing gloves were to protect the puncher’s hands and not the...
- Dick Weisfelder: Remember the Roman arenas? Bare knuckled boxing? Such injuries were taken as natural and accepted in...
- Mary Jane Schaefer: This isn’t about football. Or even sportsmanship. Well, it is about sportsmanship. But what...
- A 25 % CHANCE OF A EURO DEFAULT? (1)
- Nick: The fact that this has gone on for so long is pretty perplexing. The Economist is referring back to articles it...
- DECIDING WHAT KIND OF PATIENT YOU ARE. (1)
- Dick Weisfelder: One can be very open to new technology, but also risk averse. The recent debates about how to...
- THE EUROZONE—A CHICKEN GAME WHERE EVERY MEMBER CAN BLOW IT UP? (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: This is not a matter of chicken. These are all turkeys.
- PLAYING WITH MATCHES NEAR A GASOLINE TANK. (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: Why would the French care? As long as they take down Britain?
- NORWAY’S CHRISTMAS BUTTER SHORTAGE. (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: Christmas with a butter cookie shortage–in Scandinavia. This isn’t even Scrooge. This...
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Monthly Archives: October 2007
THE WITCH’S HOUSE.
THE WITCH’S HOUSE. When I was in elementary school, one of the houses was known to all the kids as “the witch’s house.” It was an ordinary house. In fact, the only thing unusual about it was that it was … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
MY NIGHT WITH A CELEBRITY.
MY NIGHT WITH A CELEBRITY. I know what it is like to be a celebrity. At least I know what it is to be the escort of a celebrity. Back in the early days of the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
THE NOTORIOUS DOCTOR CRIPPEN AND DNA.
THE NOTORIOUS DOCTOR CRIPPEN AND DNA. Dr. Crippen has a claim to being the most notorious criminal of the last century. His name was used by a major publisher of detective stories, Crippen & Landru. Why was he so celebrated? … Continue reading
Posted in History
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JOURNALISTS AND SOURCE GREASERS (REVISITED).
JOURNALISTS AND SOURCE GREASERS (REVISITED). Almost a year ago, I posted here about some of the problems that arise when journalists rely on anonymous sources. Not only does the reader not know what the source’s agenda is; he can never … Continue reading
Posted in History, Journalism
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THE MARKET REVOLUTION IN AMERICA 1815 TO 1846–GOOD OR BAD?
THE MARKET REVOLUTION IN AMERICA 1815 TO 1846–GOOD OR BAD? I think most economists assume that the economic growth in the United States in the nineteenth century was a good thing. I know I do. Greater material prosperity and greater … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History
3 Comments
DOWNTOWERING AND KARL MARX.
DOWNTOWERING AND KARL MARX. This wikipedia article has the following quote from Karl Marx: “A house may be large or small; as long as the neighboring houses are likewise small, it satisfies all social requirement for a residence. But let … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
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RELATIVE INCOME VERSUS ABSOLUTE INCOME.
RELATIVE INCOME VERSUS ABSOLUTE INCOME. Kids, there is a vigorous debate among economists about the importance of relative income versus absolute income. This article discusses the difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty. The European Union uses a poverty threshold … Continue reading
NEW WORDS—“DOWNTOWERING.”
NEW WORDS—“DOWNTOWERING.” The Financial Times noted on October 23 that highly paid expatriate bankers in Hong Kong in the late nineties used the word “downtowering.” If a banker was unsuccessful, his housing allowance was cut and he would be forced … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
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“GIANT WRESTLING BABIES.”
“GIANT WRESTLING BABIES.” The Economist for October 13 has an article on scandals in the world of sumo. There are allegations of abuse of young trainees—perhaps even murder—in addition to recurrent claims of match fixing. (FREAKONOMICS featured a statistical analysis … Continue reading
MUSSOLINI, THE INFLUENTIAL–JOURNALISM.
MUSSOLINI, THE INFLUENTIAL–JOURNALISM. The title of the article by the great Murray Kempton that I posted on yesterday was “A Genius of Journalism.” Kempton professed a perverse pride that Mussolini shared Kempton’s profession. Kempton pointed out that journalists made up … Continue reading
Posted in History, Journalism, Politics
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