jastram.de Blog - USA

Senate Comittee Result of Goldman Sachs Inquiry

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Fri, 27 May 2011 17:39:37 -0400

This is a really scary report regarding Goldman Sachs' actions during the financial bust. But the fact that such an inquiry takes place gives us hope. Now, let's hope that some people will go to jail. A great read!

What is the opposite of competition?

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:04:58 -0500

For Europeans the answer is "solidarity", for Americans it is "monopoly" (from the Economist: Charlemagne - Single Market Bargianing):

"A FEW times a year, Charlemagne has the luck to teach students at a European management school in Paris. It is an enlightening experience (for your columnist, at least). One popular question has been why some European Union policies are so contentious in places like France, notably the commitment to an internal market based on “free and undistorted competition”. After a while, the penny dropped. If you play word association, it turns out that for many in a Parisian classroom, the polar opposite of “competition” is “solidarity”: ie, the useful rigour imposed by competition is overshadowed by the pain caused as society divides into winners and losers. For Anglo-Saxon liberals, the instinctive opposite of “competition” is “monopoly”: ie, the pain of competition is justified by a quest for fairness, even before getting to arguments about efficiency and companies’ long-term fitness."

US-Border Authority turns conference speaker away

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:01:09 -0400

A scary blog entry, and important information for anybody who is speaking at US conferences.

Spin!

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:09:15 -0400

Germans don't like McCain. Still was it really necessary to print this picture (right)? But what is particularly interesting was the subtitle:

In the Rheinische Post the descriptionwas "McCain making faces at Obama" (unfortunately, I found this only in print, not online).

In Hamburger Abendblatt, it was described as "Obama tripping".

In both cases, the picture was the same, it was provided by Reuters.

How others see the USA

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 04:06:49 -0400

"Still not loved. Now not envied" - that's the tag line of this Article on the world's opinion on America (in the Economist, for a change a free-for-all). Interesting tidbit: America is the number one destination only for Indians - many more people would prefer to immigrate to Australia.
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Sell your house NOW!

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Fri, 17 Jun 2005 15:21:25 -0400

Sell your house, unless it stands in Germany. For a while now the Economist warned about the real estate bubble. Now they claim that it's about to burst, probably a year from now. Read their free leader - the detailed article (not free) is much more detailed and full of scary statistics. Here's the essence of their message:

"If weaker house prices push the economy towards recession, the awkward truth is that America's policymakers will have much less room to manoeuvre than they did after the stockmarket bubble burst. Short-term interest rates of only 3% leave less scope for cuts. In 2000, America had a budget surplus. Today it has a large deficit, ruling out big tax cuts.

The whole world economy is at risk. The IMF has warned that, just as the upswing in house prices has been a global phenomenon, so any downturn is likely to be synchronised, and thus the effects of it will be shared widely. The housing boom was fun while it lasted, but the biggest increase in wealth in history was largely an illusion."

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ACLU Sues Rumsfeld

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Wed, 02 Mar 2005 16:46:11 -0500

The American Civil Liberties Union claims that "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld bears direct responsibility for the torture of detainees in U.S. custody", and sued Rumsfeld and other top officials.
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Economist calls Bush "incompetent"

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Thu, 28 Oct 2004 20:39:58 -0400

Maybe there is still hope for the elections - the Economist endorses Kerry and calls Bush "incompetent" on the cover of their magazine.
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MIT Student wins "Miss Massachusetts" Title

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Wed, 21 Jul 2004 21:47:19 -0400

Unbelievable but true - an MIT Student, Erika Ebbel, won this year's Miss America contest - and is now preparing for the Miss America competition.
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MIT vs. RIAA

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 05:26:59 -0400

The 1998 Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows copyright holders to issue subpoenas! Now the RIAA is trying to do that, and, according to the Boston Globe, at least MIT and Boston College are challenging that.
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Dinner with Noam Chomsky

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Tue, 15 Oct 2002 00:20:08 -0400

Several months ago, I went to a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. One of the items auctioned off there was a Dinner with Noam Chomsky. I won the bid, together with another guest at that event. And past Wednesday, we finally went out for dinner.
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Chomsky on 9-11

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Mon, 28 Jan 2002 05:55:56 -0500

Chomsky on 9-11

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Lessons the Soviets learned in Afghanistan

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Sun, 23 Sep 2001 17:09:31 -0400

Lessons the Soviets learned in Afghanistan

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Foreign Affairs background on Terrorist attack

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Mon, 17 Sep 2001 15:07:09 -0400

Foreign Affairs background on Terrorist attack

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Finally: Roadtrip 2001

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Sat, 08 Sep 2001 22:54:51 -0400

Finally: Roadtrip 2001

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