Asides

Russell Brand writes surprisingly well on the causes of the London/UK Riots: Why am I surprised that these young people behave destructively, “mindlessly”, motivated only by self-interest? How should we describe the actions of the city bankers who brought our economy to its knees in 2010? Altruistic? Mindful? Kind? But then again, they do wear suits, so they deserve to be bailed out, perhaps that’s why not one of them has been imprisoned. And they got away with a lot more than a few fucking pairs of trainers. ...

Obama is the Democrats’ Nixon: Thus Obama took office under roughly the same political and economic circumstances that Nixon did in 1968 except in a mirror opposite way. Instead of being forced to manage a slew of new liberal spending programs, as Nixon did, Obama had to cope with a revenue structure that had been decimated by Republicans. Liberals hoped that Obama would overturn conservative policies and launch a new era of government activism. Although Republicans routinely accuse him of being a socialist, an honest examination of his presidency must conclude that he has in fact been moderately conservative to exactly the same degree that Nixon was moderately liberal. ...

From Longform.org, a story of a fire in an abandoned warehouse - The Perfect Fire: The message that there might be people inside was relayed over the fire-department radios. Brotherton and Lucey walked back across the roof to the AB stairs, tromped down one flight, and started searching the top floor for people. Routine. At 6:22, only the thinnest haze of smoke hung in the corridors. More than two dozen men were in the warehouse, looking either for homeless people or flames. Each man had a tank strapped to his back filled with oxygen compressed to forty-five hundred pounds per square inch–enough for thirty minutes of relaxed breathing, half as long humping through a burning building–and connected to a plastic face mask. But the air was so clear that no one had bothered to put his on. ...

Found this fascinating and yet frustrating bit of insight into market psychology: “The price you pay is always wrong. If you sell then by definition you are lowest price in the market. If you buy, then your bid is the highest… [P]rice is what you pay while value is what you hope and pray for.” That… is just depressing to think of. And why you have to take emotion out of major purchase decisions. ...

Following the recent massacre at a US Army base in Texas by a psychologist gone crazy, (emphasis mine) The Pentagon has responded… by deciding to screen all United States defence services for staff who are unstable and potentially violent. Pause for effect. You’re looking for people who are potentially violent… in the Army. (sauce)