Don't listen to the crowd, they say "jump."
the most important lesson of economics is that no one has ever washed a rental car. An excellent point, but the problem is worse than that: Without an incentive to preserve, many of us will gleefully destroy.
the EU has reached a deal to bail out Cyprus, but unlike the prior proposal, there will be no tax levied on anyone.
Insured deposits under 100,000 Euros will be safe and transferred to a new “good” bank, but the losses will be concentrated on the larger depositors who will be stuck at the “bad” bank. And in a move eerily reminiscent of the maneuvering to get Obamacare passed, the deal is structured to avoid calling it a tax (which would require parliamentary approval).
The hallmark of the inferior being is not hypocrisy, or the mere appearance of hypocrisy. Everyone with ideals fails to live up to them at some point or another. One's failure to live up to a standard is not at all the same thing as denying the standard applies to oneself. The hallmark of the inferior, the sure sign of the self-admitted inferior, is the individual who demands others live up to standards that he refuses to accept for himself.
If you do not hold yourself accountable to the same standards you apply to others, you are not only an anti-equalitarian, you are a self-declared and admitted inferior to those to whom you hold to those higher standards.
Late last night, after markets closed for the weekend, following an extended discussion the European finance ministers announced their "bailout" solution for Russian oligarch depositor-haven Cyprus: a €13 billion bailout (Europe's fifth) with a huge twist: the implementation of what has been the biggest taboo in European bailouts to date - the impairment of depositors, and a fresh, full blown escalation in the status quo's war against savers everywhere.
Specifically, Cyprus will impose a levy of 6.75% on deposits of less than €100,000 - the ceiling for European Union account insurance, which is now effectively gone following this case study - and 9.9% above that.
...
Congratulations Cyprus savers - you were just betrayed by both your politicians, and by Europe - sorry, but you are the "creeping impairments" in the game known as European bankruptcy. And so is anywhere between 6.75% and 9.9% of your money, which you were foolish enough to keep with your banks (where at least you were compensated with a savings yield of... 0%).
More importantly, as of this morning Europe has finally grasped that there is a 6.75% to 9.9% premium to holding physical cash in your mattress rather than having it stored with your local friendly insolvent bank.
Luckily Cyrpus is so "small" what just happened there will never happen anywhere else: after all in Europe nobody has ever heard of "setting an example". Or so the thinking among Europe's unthinking political elite goes.
And congratulations Europe: just when people almost believed you things are "fixed" you go ahead and prove to the world that you are as disunified (because size doesn't matter in a true union), as confused, as stupid and as broke as ever.
Don't worry, it can't happen in the US. (/me rolls eyes) Via Europe Does It Again: Cyprus Depositor Haircut "Bailout" Turns Into Saver "Panic", Frozen Assets, Bank Runs, Broken ATMs | Zero Hedge.
The beautiful wife of a millionaire Long Island real-estate mogul got a judge to rip up her prenup -- a rare, precedent-setting decision that could influence countless marriages to wealthy people.
Elizabeth Petrakis, 39 -- sometimes acting as her own lawyer -- got a an appellate panel last month to toss the agreement she signed with Peter Petrakis, 41, four days before their lavish 1998 wedding.
The prenup stipulated that Peter, who parlayed a string of smoke shops into a $20 million commercial real-estate empire, would keep everything in his name if they split up.
But Elizabeth argued for seven years that Peter coerced her signature, threatening to call off the wedding even though her father had already paid $40,000 for the reception.
I find this horrifying. If she didn't want to get married under a prenup, she should not have signed it. It's not coercion to present someone with a contract (although I will allow that waiting until a few days before the wedding was a high-pressure tactic). Via Mangan's: Prenups no longer valid?.
The boozing gene can be traced back 10 million years to the common ancestor humans share with chimpanzees and gorillas, new research claims.
It is believed these ancient forebears were the first to pick up fruits fermenting on the ground after they developed a lifestyle away from the trees.
Individuals able to stomach the boozy fruit would have survived better in this new environment than those who could not, programming the ability into their descendants' genetic codes.
The theory could explain why humans, chimps and gorillas are able to digest alcohol, while our tree-dwelling cousins like orangutans cannot.
"The cause of, and solution to, all life's problems." Via Scientists trace the boozing gene: Taste for drink 'originated 10million years ago in common ancestor of humans and chimps' | Mail Online.
Slevin was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in New Mexico in 2005. But he was never convicted, never tried, never even saw a judge. Yet he spent almost two nightmarish years in solitary confinement with treatment that devastated his physical and emotional health. Once you read this, you'll never look at our justice system quite the same way again.
After Steven's arrest on suspicion of DUI and driving a stolen car, he was placed in solitary confinement because because officers felt he might be "suicidal."
There, he was essentially forgotten about by the legal system. He was given no health care. His toenails grew so long they curled around his feet. He developed bed sores. A fungus grew on his skin after being denied showers. He lost a ton of weight. His hair grew long and shaggy -- he looks like he just got off a desert island. He descended into madness. And his dental problems grew so severe that he was forced to pull out one of his rotting teeth by himself.
Eventually, after 22 months, Steven was released after all charges against him were dismissed! Not only couldn't anyone prove he was drunk driving, but his lawyer says the car wasn't stolen -- it was a friend's car. Now the poor man has lung cancer and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
At least Steven was just awarded one of the largest civil rights settlements in history. He was awarded $15.5 million, but the county is appealing. Appealing??! Give this man every penny!
Yet another example of why government powers need to be reduced, not expanded. Via Man Left in Solitary Confinement for 2 Horrific Years ... for Suspected DUI (VIDEO) | The Stir.
In a recent Al-Jazeerah interview, Richard Dawkins was asked his views on God. He argued that the god of "the Old Testament" is "hideous" and "a monster", and reiterated his claim from The God Delusion that the God of the Torah is the most unpleasant character "in fiction". Asked if he thought the same of the God of the Koran, Dawkins ducked the question, saying: "Well, um, the God of the Koran I don't know so much about."
How can it be that the world's most fearless atheist, celebrated for his strident opinions on the Christian and Jewish Gods, could profess to know so little about the God of the Koran?
As the title says, criticism makes you an assassination target. I wonder if he'd be as fearless regarding the Jewish and Christian God if the Jews and Christians had a credible recent history of killing their critics. Via Facing uncomfortable truths | The Jewish Chronicle.
I get that many (but not all) women, and many (but not all) men, in the PHP community are upset by the Web & PHP Mag "Enhance Your PHPNess" shirts as an example of sexism. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't; note that the women in the photo were the magazine editor and the relationship manager, not random booth babes being exploited for their bodies instead of their minds. (Please spare me your postmodern explanations of how male privilege has been internalized by these strong independent women who are oppressed by the patriarchy; it's not the point of this article.)
The point of this article is as follows: Denouncing it on the Internet is nice and all, but I suggest that the Web & PHP Mag folks won't really care unless it hurts their income stream. Hell, the publicity alone must be huge for them.
If you are really committed to your position against Web & PHP on this issue, I look forward to you boycotting their website, magazine, and conferences. Don't submit to speak for them; hell, submit with a note saying you refuse to speak there. Don't engage any money-making venture of theirs until they issue a public apology that satisfies your sense of outrage.
If you don't back your words with non-violent action, then all you have done is talk. Talk is nice, but I submit that it would be hypocritical of you not to act as well.
But if you back your words with actions, won't that hurt the women who are running the company? Hm, I suppose it might at that. What's a white knight to do? Decisions, decisions.
One week after announcing plans to dilute its whiskey, Maker’s Mark has changed course. The Kentucky bourbon company released a statement Sunday reversing its decision and apologizing for disappointing its loyal fans with the decision to reduce alcohol content to keep up with rising global demands.
“We’re humbled by your overwhelming response and passion for Maker’s Mark. While we thought we’re doing what’s right, this is your brand you told us in large numbers to change our decision,” the statement from president Bill Samuels Jr. and his son and chief operating officer, Rob Samuels, said.
In light of this I am considering taking up religion again, as this could be considered "proof" (heh) of a benevolent God. Via Makers Mark Reverses Decision to Water Down Whiskey | TIME.com.