The talk of the web
ISSUE #5 - Tuesday, 30th September 2008
- David Brooks, The New York Times
"Revolt of the Nihilists"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/opinion/30brooks.html
DJR's gist: Is this the end of the Republican Party as we know it? Brooks here displays a damning analysis of House Republicans, whose obsession with short-term populism is, in his view, not only going to come back and bite them in the arse, but potentially fracture their party in two. "[L]et us recognize above all the 228 who voted no — the authors of this revolt of the nihilists. They showed the world how much they detest their own leaders and the collected expertise of the Treasury and Fed. They did the momentarily popular thing, and if the country slides into a deep recession, they will have the time and leisure to watch public opinion shift against them."
Brooks suggests that these people could "go down in history as the Smoot-Hawleys of the 21st century" and, in the short-run, could well be damning for John McCain. Which means the Republicans can expect losses across the board come November, and in the medium-term expect very little political clout.
- Bjørn Lomborg, The Times
"Global warming: why cut one 3,000th of a degree?"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article4849167.ece
DJR gist: Lomborg, a professor at the Copenhagen Business School, launches a poignant attack on current populist governmental policies with regards to climate change. Rather than blindingly expensive mickey-mouse projects which will make no difference - like the ones currently being suggested - Lomborg instead advocates a fundamental change of tack, instead pursuing research into revolutionary carbon-free technologies (think fusion power...?)
- Alan Cochrane, The Daily Telegraph
"Will Tory government hasten end of United Kingdom?"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/09/30/do3005.xml
DJR gist: The Tories are very much an English party. They have essentially zero presence in Scotland, and at best a fringe presence in Wales. With the SNP in power north of the border, the election of a Tory governement in Westminster could well give Alex Salmond the very firepower he needs to push through Scottish independence. Frankly, I'm all for it, and if I were David Cameron I'd be supporting it two. Eliminate Scottish MPs, and all of a sudden the Tories are looking even stronger in any Westminster election. Plus it'd be bye-bye Gordon Brown...
- Certain Ideas of Europe, The Economist
"Too soon to be smug"
http://www.economist.com/blogs/certainideasofeurope/2008/09/too_soon_to_be_smug.cfm
DJR gist: As is to be expected, critics of capitalism and the free market have emerged from the woodwork from all directions, claiming they told everyone so all along. The fact that a lot of them actually did still doesn't hide from the fact that lots of other commentators appear to have changed creed in the space of a week. Anyway, The Economist retains its usual angle on such matters and points out what is surely blindingly obvious - it is far too early to be making any sort of prediction about where this story is going.
- Robert Vamosi, CNET News
"How 'carders' trade your stolen personal info"
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10789_3-10053523-57.html
DJR gist: 'Carders' are the clowns who use hacking techniques to get hold of all sorts of personal information about internet users - most prominently credit and debit card details. While once upon a time this was done "for fun" and for the "glory" of it, things have taken a turn for the worst, with criminal organisations now funding hackers to get details for them. This CNET report illustrates how openly information can be obtained on various websites, how big a problem identity fraud is, and how important ID protection is in stopping it.
- Reuters
"Ferrari head says F1 humiliated by Singapore race"
http://f1.uk.reuters.com/f1/news/India-357320-1.php
DJR gist: In what must be one of the most spectacular illustrations of sour grapes ever recorded, Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo has made the outlanding claim that the Singapore GP was "humiliating for F1" and that the track was a "circus". Somehow I doubt he'd have been saying so if Ferrari hadn't cocked things up quite so spectacularly on Sunday.
- Melbourne Herald Sun
"Iranian minister admits fake Oxford degree"
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24427515-663,00.html
DJR gist: Depending who you believe, either some practical joker has dressed himself up as a representative of Oxford University and given this Iranian an honourary doctorate for his "managerial and executive experience and for submitting a thesis to Oxford University via a person who had opened an affiliate office in Tehran in English-language affairs". OR, Ali Kordan has had his bluff spectacularly called by, amongst others, that wily scoundrel Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
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