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And smart and tough and rich and caring and…

This Chart says it:

Tyler Cowen calls this a must read and I totally agree.

Talk about stoking fury. Public sector workers’ pensions (defined benefit) have always been an economic fantasy, and they will eventually die. But how do you index their wages? How is this dataset constructed?

Fundamentally, public sector workers are not part of the economy and so do not react to the same economic constraints that force companies to hold down wages. That’s my view, at least. I can imagine an ideological firestorm brewing on this point.

Lots of detailed descriptions of the equipment involved. Good read.

You get a feel for the immensity of these kinds of operations.

Bad Publicity.

And labels like “Conservative” and “Liberal” need to be time stamped.

and I quote:

“Do you want to go upstairs and…cuddle?”

What kind of a pickup line is that? Beta.

He’s a delight when he’s at his best. That is, not talking about domestic “progressive” political priorities.

Here is one, two and three must-reads on the Greek crisis.

Silly title? Sure

Symbion pandora, as they called the new creature, is a tiny animal with a complex body and a bizarre life cycle. It still baffles biologists 15 years after it was formally described, and the latest work on its nervous system isn’t helping matters.

more here

In a new study reported in the journal Consciousness and Cognition, the researchers found significant benefits for novice meditators from only 80 minutes of meditation over 4 days (Zeidan et al., 2010).

more here

Or maybe not:

Here are two positions most any politician can take, yet few ever do:

1. “If elected, every month I will impanel a new random jury of voters in my district.  I will inform them in detail about my upcoming decisions, and will ask them for their choices.  Then I will just do what they say.  In this way I can assure you that won’t act on my own interests or those of my cronies or donors; I will act as would random informed citizens from my district.”
2. “I promise that, if elected, I will do X, Y, and Z.  But I don’t just make promises; I show you I am committed to keeping my promises.  My word isn’t my only bond; my house is also my bond.  I have contracted with ABC law agency; they will give my house away to the first person that can prove that I have broken any of these promises.”