It's time to embrace American royalty (salon)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Foreigner admissions to U.S. grad schools are way down (techcrunch)
It’s happening: Lou Dobbs’ dream come true and Silicon Valley’s worst nightmare. We’re already seeing the reverse brain drain as smart immigrants take their US educations and experience building companies and creating technology back to their home countries. But now, xenophobia and the lack of any sensible H-1B visa policy is keeping the world’s brightest minds from coming to the U.S. in the first place.
It’s happening: Lou Dobbs’ dream come true and Silicon Valley’s worst nightmare. We’re already seeing the reverse brain drain as smart immigrants take their US educations and experience building companies and creating technology back to their home countries. But now, xenophobia and the lack of any sensible H-1B visa policy is keeping the world’s brightest minds from coming to the U.S. in the first place.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Why AT&T killed Google Voice (wsj)
Apple has an exclusive deal with AT&T in the U.S., stirring up rumors that AT&T was the one behind Apple rejecting Google Voice. How could AT&T not object? AT&T clings to the old business of charging for voice calls in minutes. It takes not much more than 10 kilobits per second of data to handle voice. In a world of megabit per-second connections, that's nothing—hence Google's proposal to offer voice calls for no cost and heap on features galore.
What this episode really uncovers is that AT&T is dying. AT&T is dragging down the rest of us by overcharging us for voice calls and stifling innovation in a mobile data market critical to the U.S. economy.
Tracking Dylan's talk
The Atlantic "makes a pilgrimage to Bob Dylan's hometown in search of the source of his bizarre accent."
The Atlantic "makes a pilgrimage to Bob Dylan's hometown in search of the source of his bizarre accent."
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
5000th Daily Jive post!!
since blogger started tracking posts. Site has been up since 1999, and on blogger since '02. Here's to another 5000!
Your pal,
Joe
since blogger started tracking posts. Site has been up since 1999, and on blogger since '02. Here's to another 5000!
Your pal,
Joe
Despite his intentions to the contrary, Barney Frank does indeed argue with a dining room table. (youtube)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Atlantic: How American Healthcare Killed My Father
Indeed, I suspect that our collective search for villains—for someone to blame—has distracted us and our political leaders from addressing the fundamental causes of our nation’s health-care crisis. All of the actors in health care—from doctors to insurers to pharmaceutical companies—work in a heavily regulated, massively subsidized industry full of structural distortions. They all want to serve patients well. But they also all behave rationally in response to the economic incentives those distortions create. Accidentally, but relentlessly, America has built a health-care system with incentives that inexorably generate terrible and perverse results. Incentives that emphasize health care over any other aspect of health and well-being. That emphasize treatment over prevention. That disguise true costs. That favor complexity, and discourage transparent competition based on price or quality. That result in a generational pyramid scheme rather than sustainable financing. And that—most important—remove consumers from our irreplaceable role as the ultimate ensurer of value.
Indeed, I suspect that our collective search for villains—for someone to blame—has distracted us and our political leaders from addressing the fundamental causes of our nation’s health-care crisis. All of the actors in health care—from doctors to insurers to pharmaceutical companies—work in a heavily regulated, massively subsidized industry full of structural distortions. They all want to serve patients well. But they also all behave rationally in response to the economic incentives those distortions create. Accidentally, but relentlessly, America has built a health-care system with incentives that inexorably generate terrible and perverse results. Incentives that emphasize health care over any other aspect of health and well-being. That emphasize treatment over prevention. That disguise true costs. That favor complexity, and discourage transparent competition based on price or quality. That result in a generational pyramid scheme rather than sustainable financing. And that—most important—remove consumers from our irreplaceable role as the ultimate ensurer of value.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Swiss Menace
NYTimes Paul Krugman on how Obama's healthcare plan would look less like Soviet socialism and more like the plan that Switzerland has in place.
NYTimes Paul Krugman on how Obama's healthcare plan would look less like Soviet socialism and more like the plan that Switzerland has in place.
If we were starting from scratch we probably wouldn’t have chosen this route. True “socialized medicine” would undoubtedly cost less, and a straightforward extension of Medicare-type coverage to all Americans would probably be cheaper than a Swiss-style system. That’s why I and others believe that a true public option competing with private insurers is extremely important: otherwise, rising costs could all too easily undermine the whole effort.
But a Swiss-style system of universal coverage would be a vast improvement on what we have now. And we already know that such systems work.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
North Korea's Dollar Store (vanityfair)
Office 39, North Korea’s billion-dollar crime syndicate, pays for Kim Jong Il’s missiles and cognac. Why did the Bush White House choose not to shut it down?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
I knew it. Bush was batshit.
Incredibly, President George W. Bush told French President Jacques Chirac in early 2003 that Iraq must be invaded to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible’s satanic agents of the Apocalypse.
Honest. This isn’t a joke. The president of the United States, in a top-secret phone call to a major European ally, asked for French troops to join American soldiers in attacking Iraq as a mission from God.
Friday, August 07, 2009
You do not have health insurance (baseline scenario)
That’s why, when shopping for insurance, you are supposed to look for a company that is financially sound – so they will be there when you need them.
That’s why, when shopping for insurance, you are supposed to look for a company that is financially sound – so they will be there when you need them.
If, like most people, your health coverage is through your employer or your spouse’s employer, that is not what you have. At some point in the future, you will get sick and need expensive health care. What are some of the things that could happen between now and then?
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Lowest of the low: Scary Republican "info"-graphic on healthcare reform (hosted, of course, by brownshirt provocateur foxnews)
Meanwhile, the wsj has seen the enemy in the Dem's difficult battle to win mindshare in overhauling our broken healthcare system, and it is us.
Meanwhile, the wsj has seen the enemy in the Dem's difficult battle to win mindshare in overhauling our broken healthcare system, and it is us.
Interesting NYTimes interactive graphic on how Americans of different demographics spend every minute of every day.
Further guaranteeing her unemployablity, a recent grad has sued her alma mater because she's unemployable.
She suggested that Monroe's Office of Career Advancement shows preferential treatment to students with excellent grades. "They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement," she said.
Obviously not an English major.
She suggested that Monroe's Office of Career Advancement shows preferential treatment to students with excellent grades. "They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement," she said.
Obviously not an English major.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Saturday, August 01, 2009
BBC Four doc on Tony William's Factory Records (Durutti Column, Joy Division, Happy Mondays)
(google video 90mins)
(google video 90mins)