“’Poor beggar.’
Not because he was dead but because he had lived!”
How to survive a iceberg polar bear plunge (and why you shouldn’t do one). “But is it good for you? Herrera says swimming has numerous cardiovascular benefits, but the only potential ‘benefit’ you get from doing it in cold water is that extra layer of fat
Dirty Money Scientific American
Eddie Obeid mugshot revealed ahead of former MPs move to Cooma jail
A building linked to disgraced former Labor minister Eddie Obeid's family has been damaged in a suspicious fire, the second blaze at the same Sydney property in just over a week.
Police and firefighters received multiple calls from witnesses just after 6pm on Tuesday to say flames were coming from the unoccupied Bellevue Reception Centre, on Restwell Street in Bankstown Suspicious fire damages building linked to Eddie Obeids family
Airbnb faces $400m lost bookings in London crackdown Financial Times. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch
WSj via FastCompany – “There’s no need to panic—the rich are doing fine. According to new data from the Internal Revenue Service, income reported on tax returns for the 400 wealthiest individuals rose 20% in 2014, the Wall Street Journal reports. The significant income boost reveals what many of us already suspected: The rich are getting richer. Worth noting is that the country as a whole has been grappling with broad-based wage stagnation for decades.”
- Related from WSJ – Rex Tillerson Holds as Much as Half a Billion Dollars in Assets – Trump’s pick for secretary of state faces challenge of quelling concerns over potential conflicts of interest…In a nine-page letter accompanying his 38-pagefinancial disclosure, Mr. Tillerson outlined the ways he would try to avoid conflicts if confirmed.”
$2,000,000,000,000 in Proceeds of Corruption Removed from China and Taken to US, Australia, Canada and Netherlands Duhaime’s Anti-Money Laundering Law in Canada. From 1995-2013. Sydney real estate to continue to rise and rise ...
Map of World Billionaires by Country and Origin Barry Ritholtz A cat may look at a monarch, and so I suppose a blogger can make suggestions to nouveau riche ... Stop buying Superyachts - “Superyachts magnify billionaires’ worst traits”
Millennial princes snatch at power in Gulf Reuters
Finland introduces basic income for unemployed Aljazeera (margarita). Note this is a workaround to address disincentives in the Finnish social safety system.
‘Routine’ Jobs Are Disappearing Wall Street Journal
Colombia – Inviting NATO to Fight “Organized Crime” – A Menace for Latin America Vineyard of the Saker (Chuck L). Talk about mission creep, on multiple fronts
How Art Auctioneers Get Buyers Riled Up Enough To Pay Tens Of Millions For One Painting
“With such astonishing sums of money being tossed around, one might assume that art buyers are making
cool, levelheaded decisions, especially when they’re in a room full of people they know and are trying to impress. This is often not the case. To the contrary, scientists see mounting evidence of ‘auction psychology’.” Here’s how it works.
cool, levelheaded decisions, especially when they’re in a room full of people they know and are trying to impress. This is often not the case. To the contrary, scientists see mounting evidence of ‘auction psychology’.” Here’s how it works.
Brexit
Big loss to the upcoming #Brexit negotiations. Not many Brits know the ins and outs of Brussels better than Sir Ivan.@aledwwilliamsLondon-based regulator for EU drugs fears staff exodus Financial Times
DeBlasio’s New York: The selling of the mayoralty
Sometimes the point of a sentence is to jar, sting, or offend - to jar, sting, or offend. In that case, nothing performs quite like profanity. So why use a euphemism?... Calling Spade and Shovel
`I Must Live With These Mysteries'
“No; I merely want to make a philosophical point, namely that the world is, and ever will be, full of insoluble or unsolved mysteries, whatever our pretensions to absolute understanding.”
China is on a massive bitcoin buying spree Boing Boing
‘The Wealthy Would Never Steal’ — A Credo for Trump’s Party New York magazine
Writing without a Face: On “Frantumaglia”
“Public libraries have had another bad year. They are like churches and local railways. People like having them around, and are angry if they close. But as for using them, well, there is so little time these days. The latest Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy figures on library closures are dire. In the past five years 343 have gone. Librarian numbers are down by a quarter, with 8,000 jobs lost. Public usage has fallen by 16% and spending by 14%. Book borrowing is plummeting, in some places by a half. The admirable children’s laureate (and cartoonist) Chris Riddell said during the latest campaign for libraries in November that, “if nurtured by government, they have the ability to transform lives. We must all raise our voices to defend them.”…Ever since the days of Alexandria, the library has been the palace of the mind, the University of All. The internet has removed its monopoly on knowledge, but cannot replicate its sense of place, its joy of human congregation. The Victorian tycoon Andrew Carnegie, first great patron of public libraries in Britain and America, dreamed of one in every town and village. His vision awaits renaissance.”
Whenever Ferrante is forced to communicate about her work, her communication is laced with an intense self-surveillance. The book is restrained and self-protective, and I find myself protective of her as well
