In the early 90's recession I'll bet everyone on MemeStreams could have predicted a telecom boom. Three and more years ago MemeStreams was predicting a housing crash. If there was an opportunity for growth, you'd think someone here would be tuned into it. I'm not. With gas prices back to normal I don't see the boom in green technologies and urbanization that many people imagine. Political will doesn't create economic opportunity. It comes from pent up demand. The only thing I think we have pent up demand for right now is retirement savings.

Among critics of American-style capitalism in the Third World, the way that America has responded to the current economic crisis has been the last straw. During the East Asia crisis, just a decade ago, America and the I.M.F. demanded that the affected countries cut their deficits by cutting back expenditures—even if, as in Thailand, this contributed to a resurgence of the aids epidemic, or even if, as in Indonesia, this meant curtailing food subsidies for the starving. America and the I.M.F. forced countries to raise interest rates, in some cases to more than 50 percent. They lectured Indonesia about being tough on its banks—and demanded that the government not bail them out. What a terrible precedent this would set, they said, and what a terrible intervention in the Swiss-clock mechanisms of the free market.

The contrast between the handling of the East Asia crisis and the American crisis is stark and has not gone unnoticed. To pull America out of the hole, we are now witnessing massive increases in spending and massive deficits, even as interest rates have been brought down to zero. Banks are being bailed out right and left. Some of the same officials in Washington who dealt with the East Asia crisis are now managing the response to the American crisis. Why, people in the Third World ask, is the United States administering different medicine to itself?

Wall Street and the Third World | vanityfair.com

With complex but politicised subjects such as global warming, for example, scientific experts who stress uncertainties lose out to activists or lobbyists with a more emphatic message.

Humans prefer cockiness to expertise - life - 10 June 2009 - New Scientist

Her colleagues and legal opponents in the early 1980s draw a picture of her as a zealous prosecutor whose experiences combating crime have made her, according to experts who have studied her legal decisions, something of a law-and-order judge, especially when it comes to police searches and the use of evidence.

In two major rulings after she joined the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in 1998, she held that evidence could be used to convict a defendant even though police had violated his rights in seizing it. Sotomayor said that because the police and prosecutors acted "in good faith," the evidence need not be thrown out.

In 1999, Sotomayor upheld the crack cocaine conviction of a New York man despite what she called a "mistaken arrest." Last year, Sotomayor spoke for a 2-1 majority that upheld a man's child pornography conviction, even though she agreed an FBI agent did not have probable cause to search his computer.

"I think her experience as a prosecutor balances out her liberal tendencies," said New York University law professor Kenji Yoshino.

What liberal tendencies?

I honestly think the left has fallen in line behind Sotomayor because they blindly support the decision making of their party without critical consideration. I can see almost no area in which liberal political interests would be served by her nomination. Conversely, the right must criticize her because Obama must be wrong, although I cannot see how their interests would be harmed through her nomination. Conservatives are intentionally making assess of themselves with ugly racial slurs so that they can simultaneously stoke the rationalizations of their flock while ensuring that they loose the debate.

During the Bush years the Democrats have paid a lot of lip service to ideas about freedom and civil liberties that they do not actually support. Guantanamo and the Patriot act have been inflated to fun house proportions precisely because the "outrage" is intended to serve a marketing purpose. The debate about the former, worldwide, is now totally focused on the irrelevant question of whether or not the physical place is open or closed, instead of the critical question of what policies the place operates under.

I was greatly disappointed when Obama spoke to the muslim world of closing Gitmo, instead of speaking to the strength of our legal traditions in applying habeas corpus to those prisoners. He presents an argument which is vapid and seeks to avoid the fundamental issues in favor of glam and symbolism.

Perhaps we've entered a phase where glam and symbolism are what America does best. Freedom is no longer our greatest export. Its Hollywood.

Now the critical question for the myth makers becomes whether they can implement the authoritarian policy preferences of the Democratic party without causing suspension of disbelief among their progressive followers. They seem to be doing a great job so far.

Sotomayor is remembered as a zealous prosecutor - Los Angeles Times

iRobot ConnectR allows you to virtually visit with family, friends, and pets any time you want. Using proprietary iRobot Virtual Visiting software, a PC, and the robot's audio and video, you can access ConnectR via the Internet and drive the robot around your home to see, hear and interact with whomever and whatever you want.

Whether working late, traveling, living afar, or just checking in, ConnectR is the ideal way to stay connected and involved when you can't be there in person.

My friend Cameron once suggested robots like this could be used to travel. Hire a robot in a foreign city and drive it around with your virtual reality headset to see the sights... No need to risk air travel.

iRobot: Communication Robots

Jeff Moss, aka “Dark Tangent” and the former hacker behind the annual DefCon hacker confab in Las Vegas, has been appointed to the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council (HSAC).

Hacker ‘Dark Tangent’ Joins DHS Advisory Council | Threat Level | Wired.com

My first thought was "weird." My second thought was "cool..."

Tim Ferriss: The Barefoot Alternative: Vibram Five Fingers Shoes

Louis CK on Conan

YouTube - Everything is amazing, nobody is happy...

Atlanta’s employment growth will remain negative for a total loss of 110,500 jobs in calendar year 2009. The calendar year 2010 will see 13,000 job losses. In 2011, 47,300 jobs will be created.

Dhawan: Look to 2011 for economic recovery - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

This animated map provides a striking visual of employment trends over the last business cycle using net change in jobs from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on a rolling 12-month basis.

Don't miss this short animation which provides a clear view of job growth and contraction across the USA in the past few years. You can mouse over the regions for job loss numbers. I don't know about Munich, but Atlanta has certainly been hit hard. The job losses here meet or exceed that of much larger cities. I didn't realize it was that bad here.

The Geography of Job Losses