Recession?

Apparently, a majority of U.S. states are now officially in a recession:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=6075580&page=1

I'm not sure what to make of this--usually, when the mainstream press starts calling a recession, we're in its middle or late stages, not the beginning.

Anyway, the above chart isn't sad or tragic--we've become somewhat desensitized to recession calls. If you want to see something really sad, read up on Mattie Stepanek. Keep the Kleenex nearby before you make the jump:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=6069915&page=1

Scott Burns on Financial Nitwits

Scott Burns raises an interesting and terrifying issue--what happens when all those ARMs adjust upwards? I see an "uh oh" in the future...

http://assetbuilder.com/blogs/scott_burns/archive/2007/08/10/the-nitwit-sector.aspx

Also, if financial services is 20% of all market value, what is going to replace it as its percentage shrinks? I don't see any killer apps on the horizon--do you?

Peggy Noonan on Sarah Palin

Peggy Noonan, one of my favorite columnists, has broken party lines and questioned the Republican Party's VP choice:

http://www.peggynoonan.com/article.php?article=438

Talk about a true maverick.

The Two-Headed Monster

Denis MacShane, in this quarter's WQ (Autumn 2008, p. 51), reminds us that we desperately need a third party:

I'm reminded of President Julius Nyerere's joking retort decades ago to American visitors who criticized his one-party state in Tanzania. The United States is a one-party state, too, he would say, but since America is so big, it takes two parties to do the job.

Touché.

The Three Ideals?

Joshua Kucera had a good line about Greenlandic culture in the Autumn 2008 WQ edition:

Both Danish and Greenlandic cultures "value communitarianism, egalitarianism, and emotional restraint."

It's not as poetic, but to me, it sounds substantively better than France's "Liberté, égalité, fraternité."

Bruce Schnei­er on Terrorism

I don't usually like Jeffrey Goldberg's articles, but this one is hilarious and tragic at the same time:

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security 

I couldn’t believe that what Schneier was saying was true—in the national debate over the no-fly list, it is seldom, if ever, mentioned that the no-fly list doesn’t work. 

Gotta love Bruce Schnei­er's honesty and intelligence. Here is his blog: 

http://www.schneier.com/ 

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/10/me_helping_evad.html

PinDebit Blog on Visa

The PinDebit blog (pindebit Blog) has a great article on Visa:

http://pindebit.blogspot.com/2008/10/it-all-about-visa-forbes.html

They apparently liked my post on Visa:

http://pindebit.blogspot.com/2008/10/visa-1st-annual-sh-meeting-called-non.html