Monday, July 27, 2020

Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots

“Always remember... Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots.”
Ziad K. Abdelnour,
Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics

Since Adam and Eve humans created psychopaths in societies everywhere history does not repeat itself it rhymes with Alien behaviours
Infidelity, bullying, callousness, malice — Dickens’s demons were not secret. In his fiction, they appear in plain Latitude East sight 


AI Unveiled: another propaganda service for Defence, big business and the Coalition 

Is AI Group just a front for big business and foreign weapons manufacturers? Michael West reports on the rise of government and business propaganda outfits who are suddenly mute when the subject turns to the delicate matter of who funds them.

Continue reading 


"We're new to this, we're not used to paying tax," offered convicted drug boss Michael Ibrahim in one of more than 1000 calls he made from jail to his mate George Alex, who has been an undischarged bankrupt since 2011 over debts to the ATO. . .
Adrian Metly, 42, a convicted criminal who has changed his name from Radwan Zraika, was arrested at the syndicate's nearby headquarters. Other Gold Coast arrests included Mark Bryers, 62, Gordon McAndrew, 58 and Kevin McHugh, 69.





7,000 Aussies dob to ATO, Fair Work over JobKeeper rorts


Sally Rooney on the culture of college debate




Marketing Is the Original Behavioral Economics

Showing that behavioral economics is just marketing wine in new bottles


Why did Chinese rulers stay in power for so long?  And China’s floods are getting worse


 Russian elite given experimental Covid vaccine since April?


 “There is little relationship between the opioid crisis and contemporaneous measures of labor market opportunity.


We show that occupational licensing has significant negative effects on labor market fluidity defined as cross-occupation mobility.”


WSJ.com – Letter to publisher Almar Latour cites concerns about Opinion section’s accuracy and transparency – “A group of journalists at The Wall Street Journal and other Dow Jones NWS 0.24% staffers sent a letter on Tuesday to the paper’s new publisher, Almar Latour, calling for a clearer differentiation between news and opinion content online, citing concerns about the Opinion section’s accuracy and transparency. The letter, signed by more than 280 reporters, editors and other employees says, “Opinion’s lack of fact-checking and transparency, and its apparent disregard for evidence, undermine our readers’ trust and our ability to gain credibility with sources.” The letter cites several examples of concern, including a recent essay by Vice President Mike Pence about coronavirus infections. The letter’s authors said the editors published Mr. Pence’s figures “without checking government figures” and noted that the piece, “There Isn’t a Coronavirus ‘Second Wave,’” was later corrected.



How Extremophile Bacteria Living In Nuclear Reactors Might Help Us Make Vaccines Forbes 

Experimental Blood Test Detects Cancer Up To Four Years Before Symptoms AppearScientific American



Is the class divide in happiness growing?

Seton Hall is looking to make acquisitions: M&A in higher ed will grow

Henry Farrell praises negativity

Common cold exposure provides partial protection against Covid-19, and is very different across children and adults

You can buy a ruby-encrusted bottle of Cabernet that’ll be turned into jewelry when you finish the wine

 100 most influential economists?  Good to see EV winner Jennifer Doleac make the list

 The Economist is now on the “bat brigade,” recommended, good to see other people following up on these leads (you read it here first)