Tag Archives | US

Something to ponder.

By on March 9, 2012 in General Discussion, Human Behavior, International affairs, Politics

The “Iranian_American” entry in Wikipedia contains the following statement: “ The U.S. Government and other sources estimate that the numbers of Iranian-Americans are close to 2 million.” Today’s online news has the following information: “ A 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb designed to smash through some 200 feet of concrete before exploding is a “great weapon” that could be [...]

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Krugman in action

By on February 17, 2012 in General Discussion, Human Behavior, Politics

Arkady is on record saying that Paul Krugman is his favorite pundit (or at least social commentator). Leroy also likes Krugman and tows the Krugman line on stimulus and monetary easing (that if anything Obama didn’t spend enough on his stimulus and Bernanke’s ZIRP has been good medicine for what ails the economy). I am [...]

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America Dreams Small Dreams

By on February 13, 2012 in General Discussion, Human Behavior

I’ve commented in the past about the way America has gone from being the location of nearly all the grand structures of the world to almost none of them.  At one point in history, it may have been possible to find within our borders the world’s tallest sky-scraper, longest bridge, longest tunnel, deepest mine, most [...]

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The Prison industry

By on February 3, 2012 in General Discussion, Human Behavior

For those of you who ignored (for whatever reason) my thread on America’s food industry (based on the Rogoff article), here’s another one to ignore: Gopnik’s New Yorker article on the origins and character of America’s prison-industrial complex: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/01/30/120130crat_atlarge_gopnik There are some interesting observations here. Mass incarceration on a scale almost unexampled in human history [...]

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Why manufacturing has moved abroad.

By on January 26, 2012 in Economics, General Discussion

The New York Times has a very good long-form article about manufacturing moving to China (in particular the iPhone)   http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=1   It covers a lot of ground and many perspectives, and is well worth the time.  It provided me some perspectives I hadn’t really considered.  Specifically, it discussed the way supply chain conveniences are [...]

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Negotiations 101

By on November 16, 2011 in General Discussion, Human Behavior, Politics

On nearly all political topics, the best I can be is a smart but naive observer offering amateur insights from the sidelines.  I’ve never held elected office and I’m no real expert in most of the topics that dominate public discussions (Constitutional Law, science, military strategy, foreign relations, economics, sociology, etc.)  But the one place [...]

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US vs. Cuba

By on October 1, 2011 in Economics, General Discussion

The United States and Cuba enjoy the same overall life expectancies according to the CIA. Men in Cuba live a bit longer than men in the US; with women the opposite holds true. But the bottom line is the health care systems in both countries deliever the same basic results. However, Cuba spends far less [...]

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