Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge has provided a link to a very good article at Gold Switzerland: With most of the world’s major economies as well as the financial system bankrupt, there is only one solution that can save the world economy. Like in the Greek tragedies, Deus ex Machina is now the only way that …
Category Archive: History
Nov 18
On Government Spending and Debt
Recently, the discussion in Europe about the need for austerity programs and higher taxes has continued to use the original Euro currency agreement, which allowed governments to run deficits of 3% of GDP. This was foolish from the beginning, but is especially foolish now that the governments of Europe find themselves nearly bankrupt. How does …
Sep 29
On Math in the Schools
The teaching of mathematics in our public schools is in a terrible state and Margaret Wente has done a point of explaining one of the key reasons why: An alarming number of elementary-school teachers are so uncomfortable with math, they can’t teach it properly. This means that more and more students are arriving at university …
Aug 15
Book Review : Reckless Endangerment
In Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenstern and Joshua Rosner, both of the New York Times, do a reasonable job of exposing some of the greed and corruption that led to the financial collapse of 2008 and the Great Recession which America finds itself unable to recover from even three years later. I found the exposé of …
Jun 16
Little Ice Age, redux?
At the American Astronomical Society (AAS) conference this week, three papers lead to the conclusions that Solar Cycle 24 is very weak and that Solar Cycle 25 may not really happen at all. This is bad news for our climate. The problem with a “quiet” sun, lacking sunspots, is that when it has happened before …
Mar 20
On Fukushima, Part 2
I had another thought on the Fukushima incident that I think is interesting. A number of years ago, I read an interesting book called “To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design“. While a short book with only a few detailed case studies, it does lay out how failures are a …
Mar 18
On Fukushima
The Fukushima incident raises a number of questions about the design and operation of nuclear facilities. Most notably: How is it that no one had considered the possibility of a subduction earthquake followed by tsunami in that location? Why were the emergency generators located in the “wash zone”? However, as bad as this incident is, …
Mar 17
On Earth Hour
Everyone should read Earth Hour: A Dissent, by Ross McKitrick. He makes some very good points. The greatest is right at the beginning and closing: I abhor Earth Hour. Abundant, cheap electricity has been the greatest source of human liberation in the 20th century. Every material social advance in the 20th century depended on the …
Feb 02
On Egypt
I do not claim any particular knowledge of the situation in Egypt. However, I find this commentary, written by an Egyptian who appears to have been paying attention to the changes in the that most ancient nation over the past years. Interesting that the great conclusion of this was that the apparatus of the state …
Jan 06
Tolerance in the Muslim World
I find it frustrating that extremist Muslims and Islamist governments complain about western voices being anti-muslim in the West, and using the instruments of liberal democracy to try to prevent being “insulted”, while at the same time condemning, attacking and persecuting non-muslims in their own countries. If Muslims want to be treated as equal partners …