Month: January 2009

Michael Mandel believes that China may very well be hit the hardest by the global recession:

The question now is whether China, and more generally the trade surplus countries of East Asia, are going to play the role of the U.S., as acted out in 1929 and the years that followed…I think there’s a very good chance that by this time next year, the economic damage in China will be worse than in the U.S.

And that could lead to the biggest political impact of the downturn: we could have very serious unrest in China. Even Russia, with a bit of luck.

Another reader writes:

In my work I interact and assist folks from TSA, Homeland Security or other consultants supporting them.  On a couple of occasions I have been in meetings with such folks and have made the mistake of making a joke about the absurdity of 24.  I was met with unamused stares which communicated that I was no longer to be taken as a serious person.  Something one often hears from these folks is "if you knew what I know….." — they take 24 quite seriously.

The the impotence of proofreading. Sounds like Matt Yglesias’s blog sometimes reads (and I’m not perfevt either):

Armchair Generalist didn’t like Hillary Clinton saying that: "The gravest threat that America faces is the danger that weapons of mass destruction will fall into the hands of terrorists." He grits his teeth:

I’m much more worried about the violence caused by drug wars on the southern US border, the current nukes in the hands of Pakistan, India, and Israel, and availability of firearms in DC than terrorist WMDs. But I guess I’m strange like that – you know, worrying about real threats instead of imaginary ones. Just once, I would like to hear a senior government official say, "Terrorism is a grave concern, one that requires international cooperation to face down and defeat. However, the United States of America will never collapse due to the efforts of terrorists, even if they obtain and use weapons of mass destruction. We are too strong and resilient a society for that to occur."

I’m all for understanding that we will never be able definitively to end the threat of terrorism in a free society. But firearms in DC more threatening than terrorist WMDs? I live in the District in a not-so-great area and I’m with Clinton in this one.

Several Israeli groups are now concerned that what is going on in Gaza goes beyond warfare.

A reader writes:

When my wife and I heard about that now fabled dinner on NPR this morning, she reacted at once: What a wonderful idea!

She is a lifelong Dem of the liberal persuasion, working class born and bred, Chicago resident for years, a lover of the rough and tumble, a radical feminist, a pacifist, a believer that both Bush and Cheney, along with Rumsfeld, Wu, Gonzales [et al] should be in the Hague for war crimes.  She came late from the Hillary Clinton campaign, and still hasn’t quite forgiven Obama. She is also a pragmatist, and her response was spontaneous and not changed with a chance to think it over.  Indeed, what she said next was affirmative: he’s a brilliant politician, and I hope we all learn from him.

In other words, liberals are liberal, open, willing to consider change.  Why are you guys on the right so surprised?

Safa Joudeh, a girl in Gaza:

The heavy bombardment came as Israeli tanks pushed farther into Gaza.  They’re not very far off now, only about a five minute drive away.  We’re afraid, because the Israel military has been warning that it will implement phase 3 of the assault: a full scale invasion that entails bringing their tanks into the streets of Gaza, backed of course, by the Israeli Air force: destruction at a point blank range.  In such an event, the over 900 people already dead will constitute only a portion of the civilian losses, and the already disfigured streets of our city will be turned to dust.

(Photo: Palestinians cover their faces following artillery shelling from Israel’s border with Gaza on the centre of Gaza City, early on January 14, 2009. By Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty.)

Karen Day finds an unusual website:

Pretty Loaded is a curated archive of preloading screens and animations, proving that those few seconds, or minutes, can serve as what they call "short-attention-span-theater."

The digital landscape is constantly changing, and with faster connections the loading time is thankfully shrinking. However, Pretty Loaded views this otherwise useless short time as an opportunity. They highlight creativity in the field by featuring this dissipating art form and also encourage other creative agencies to add to their infinite loader.

I was skeptical and then I found myself lost in the site. It’s a good time-waster.

Credit indicators are looking much better.

Lots of emails from readers asking about the chat with the president-elect this morning. It was totally off the record and I’m a stickler for those rules. I can say, however, the following: it’s hard to express the relief I feel that this man will be the president soon. I realize that’s what I feel above all else: relief.

I may disagree with him at times, and criticize him at times, but his great gift is showing that he does not expect people to change their convictions in order to find common areas of agreement. That’s the challenge he’s presenting all of us with, wherever we come from ideologically. The challenge is as real for a Krugman as for a Kristol, for Rick Warren as well as Gene Robinson.

As I’ve said repeatedly for the last two years, we’re lucky to have him.