Wind Map

Ever wondered what the wind would look like if you could see it in action from above?

A new project posted online by a pair of Google computer scientists, called simply Wind Map, has to be seen to be believed. “It can be quite hypnotizing to watch the gusty trails blast across the American continent, skitter over the Sierras, get roughed up by the Rockies, and whoosh over the great plains on its way to Canada,” writes Chris Taylor. Wind Map is the brainchild of Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg, the co-leaders of a Google’s ‘Big Picture’ visualization research group in Cambridge, Mass.

President Snow

Are “The Hunger Games” realistic? Yes and there are ample historic examples. The Soviet Union operated on that basic premise for decades.  Specifically various regions (Districts) operating a very monolithic economy with all planning and distribution through a central authority or city (Moscow).  Such a system inherently breaks down if not for the sheer inefficiency of such economic models causing the collapse from the center out.  Or from the  abuse of power of the central authority causing moral decay and eventual collapse of production.

The whole colonial model of England in New England, Holland with the Dutch East and West Indies Companies and the French in Africa and South East Asia are great examples.

What about Tributes, you say?  Slaves for one and Roman Games, “For those about to die, we salute you!”.  Parallels to Communist Party membership and hence privileges the normal folks of the district would not get, that parallel is strained.   But the Victors did get to share in the wealth abet with some guilt.  As President Snow said, “offer hope, but don’t deliver it”.   “I don’t like underdogs”, said  President Snow.

Capitol City practices “extractive economies”, the outlying districts use unskilled labor for one commodity only, the technology or equipment to add value to that commodity that are not located in the districts. Emigration to other districts in search of better opportunities are banned, as are exploitation of the apparently bountiful resources of the surrounding forest.  Keep the masses down and make them dependent on the Capitol City.   All this is very much in line with the Colonial Model Exploitative economies of the 1500′s, 1600′s and 1700′s.  As well as limiting educational opportunities.

Oh, and to those who say, you’ll be confused if you don’t read the book before seeing the movies.  Not so, especially if you know history.

I enjoyed the movie.  It tells a story.  Very little special effects, the story doesn’t need it.  Worth seeing.  3 Thumbs up from the Mainstreet movie critic.

I give you the US GDP to US Debt chart. In all it’s glory.

USA GDP to Debt

Not Good Company

In a word, No. Because the US has an economy, whereas as one Greek Poltico put it, “all we have is olives, sun and ruins”.

But we are in very bad company.  Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain are known as the PIIGS of Europe, economies so bad they are very likely candidates for European Central Bank bailouts.  Which is what has been happening to Greece.  Essentially the deal forced on the Greeks for getting bailed out, sentences the  Greeks to debt slavery for decades.  The Greek young recognizing the depth of the problem are leaving.  Mostly for Germany and German language lessons are on the rise in Germany.

Yes, the Greeks borrowed their way into this problem, but someone on their own free will lent the Greeks the money, knowning at some point the Greeks would start floating belly up under debt payments.

When your debt is 136% GDP to Debt, nothing good comes of it.  The USA is just at 100% and climbing fast.  So far we have gotten away with it because we are the USA, the largest economy in the world and the dollar is the reserve currency of the world.  As long as this continues we can live on borrowed time.

The largest debt holder of US debt is us, we the American people hold most of our debt, again thanks to being the reserve and large economy in the world.    Other holders are the British, Canadians, Japanese and Chinese.

The graph is by way of Senator Sessions.

Had to happen.

Attorney David Anziska tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia that he plans to file class action suits against 20 more law schools in the coming months, and is looking for a global settlement of his allegations that schools misrepresented employment statistics of their graduates. The law schools deny the allegations.

Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia interviews the former Commissioner of the SEC of the much maligned Dodd-Frank bill.

Roberta Karmel told Bloomberg Law on Tuesday that Dodd-Frank financial reform isn’t strong enough to stop another financial crisis.

“This is not a recipe for strong regulation,” said Karmel, who is now a professor at Brooklyn Law School. “We not only did nothing to change the balkanization of the regulatory system; we actually made it a little bit worse by creating FSOC [the Financial Stability Oversight Council].”

“We have to eliminate the problem that comes along with too-big-to-fail: that of socializing losses and privatizing profits,” Karmel told Barron’s. “Such a system is antithetical to any notion of the capitalist ideal.”

Some critics say that the Dodd-Frank Act, signed into law by President Obama in 2010, is unlikely to enact tangible change within the financial industry. Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, the inspiration behind a rule to prevent banks from making risky bets with their own money, said in September that Dodd-Frank is “nowhere near what we need.”

The question of too-big-to-fail banks, he said, has “not yet been convincingly settled.”

Amazing Tech Needs Amazing Taxpayer Dollars!

Ponder the concept of tech so amazing that it must get Federal loans.   Considering the track record of Federal government giving loans and the following exchange between Energy secretary Steven Chu and Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and you just might cringe.

Sen Al Franken:

And it’s really…I’ve been there and it’s just an amazing tech. In the Spring of 2010, the DoE promised the company it would receive a $72 million loan guarantee under the 1703 Program to build a new manufacturing facility that would create 160 manufacturing jobs and 200 construction jobs in southern Minnesota. It’s now been two years since SAGE has been notified that it will receive a loan guarantee and the deal has not yet been closed. While the Department of Energy prolongs closing the deal, time and money are running out for SAGE. There are high-tech manufacturing construction jobs at stake here. It’s been going forward with the project assuming they get this loan guarantee but they’re running out of time and they may have to sell themselves to a French company. My first question is that the SAGE loan guarantee was going to be submitted to the credit committee on August 23rd, but it was stopped. Why is the Department of Energy continuing to delay closing and executing the SAGE loan guarantee?

Because maybe, and just maybe the Federal DOE thinks its a bad investment.  And they are probably right, if it was a great investment in amazing tech, there would be hundreds of lenders lining up to loan them money.

But seriously, what is this amazing tech?  Its glass as in window glass that darkens or lightens at the flip of a switch.

Maybe for Al Franken its amazing tech….or maybe it’s just amazing because it’s in his state.    But I think its amazing that Sen Franken is so shameless in shrilling for tax dollars and if they don’t get the money (our money) they just might have to ….gasp….sell themselves to a French company….the horror…. a fate worst than death.   Well I have dealt with French companies and they are really quite good business people.  Most people in business, successful businesses are.   And those in Government, typically aren’t, because its not their money.

If you go on Sage’s website you will find most of the installations are Colleges and Government buildings.  Very few privately funded installations.  And does that not tell us something?  Amazing tech so amazing and so expensive that only tax payer funded installations go past the planning stages.

This is what passes for “creating jobs” and election campaigns.    Sure, sell it to the French.

President George Washington - Resigning

Why?  Because he stepped down.  At a critical point in the new Republic, when traditions had not yet been solidified, he voluntarily gave up power and went home.

A tradition that held till Franklin Roosevelt, who couldn’t give up power, only after he died in office did he go home.  After that we passed an amendment limiting Presidents to two terms, just like George Washington.  Good enough for George good enough for all that follow.

Giving up power voluntarily was rather unusual in that time period.

He wasn’t the deepest thinker in the bunch, but consider the crowd, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Adams and Hamilton.  He lead through actions, and if you could pick one of the most critical junctions in American history, and there are many, the act of resigning and going home was and is to this day game changing.

We honor General George Washington for all he did, and what he didn’t do.   Compare his actions to those in the city that bears his name and reflect.  Maybe they should be more like George.

http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GGGB1YR:IND

2 year Greeks are at 207% down from over 400% earlier this month.

The trick is can you collect?  Will the bonds be around long enough for the first dividend?

Part of the Euro bailout includes a “haircut” of Greek Bonds, some say as high as a 70% haircut, hence the hugh risk premium bond traders are putting on the Greeks.

No Needle, No Service

Walk into your Doctor’s office and refuse to let your kids get vaccinated and they just might say, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.  In a recent study 30% of 133 Connecticut Doctor’s have asked patients to leave their practice after they had refused to have their children vaccinated.  This is up from 6% just a few years ago.

The reasoning is clear, these patients take a lot of time, time the Doctors don’t have as they try to see more patients in less time.  The arguments presented by these patients are largely non-scientific nor data based, making a rational discussion difficult and the outcome not certain.  Additionally they are finding if this is an issue, other issues are likely to arise making this family particularly needy and costly.   If you have ever heard the leading anti-vaccine spokesperson Jenny McCarthy speak on vaccines you get the point.   There is even a website detailing the body count she has caused.

Second, allowing such patients in their offices risks exposing other patients who may not be able to get the vaccine for legit medical reasons such medical complications.

There is a social compact when we get vaccinated, we are not only protecting ourselves we are protecting others and those who can’t get vaccinated.  It is their right to refuse, but as long as Doctors are free business people they are free to refuse also.