Information Theory of Economics

This is finally a base economic theory that I can ascribe to more fully.  I have long thought that there is a "true value" or commodity of real value behind the economy, but I had never thought to ascribe it to knowledge.  This seems to have some validity, but knowledge may just as easily be denominated in a unit of "real value" as is every other intrinsically valuable commodity.

Nevertheless, this is a good read.  I am thinking about buying this fellow's book, but we will see.

NSA Encryption Backdoors: Undermining Freedom

Being a conservative, I often fall on the side of the government on these kinds of issues, but the topic of the NSA creating backdoors around all of the common Internet security protocols is, quite frankly, unacceptable.

The NSA is willingly sacrificing everything that we hold dear to protect us.  They are obliterating the very thing that we cherish.  No amount of protection is worth throwing away the trust, privacy, and security that is necessary on the Internet to do any manner of serious business.  The gall of the NSA to decide that it has the authority to simply throw out the Constitution and every other established right in America is sickening, and the programs supporting this effort should be unfunded immediately.

We are becoming that which we fear, and I do not like it one bit.

Facebook Depression

I found a curious article on the usage statistics of Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, and a short analysis of the phenomenon known cursorily as "Facebook Depression" that commonly plagues people who are hooked on social media.

I believe very much that Facebook Depression is a real and dangerous phenomenon, and is the sole reason that I keep Facebook at arm's length now.

Shaky banks

My mother found an article by an blogger that she follows regularly regarding the shaky, and conceivably illicit activities that the larger banks in America do with their depositors money.  The things on the list include buying stock, infrastructure, commodities, etc.  Ellen Brown is exactly correct when she says that this is "a 'macro' risk indeed – not just to our economy but to our democracy and our individual and national sovereignty."  I think that now is the time to begin moving what little long term savings I have away from FDIC-insured banks into more stable banks.

It is a sad day when FDIC insurance is the least stable entity of all the financial entities.  For more on the FDIC instability read here and here.

I have posted the full text of Ellen Brown's article below but you can read the original version on her blog here.

History of Jewish Occupational Position

I found a curious opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.  The subject matter of the article is the, not merely survival but, continued success of Jewish people throughout the past few millenia.  This particular author gives religious-reasoned necessity to read and write as an important factor.  While I absolutely agree with this thesis, I suspect that the truth of the matter is far more complicated.  It does lend credence to the Old Testament/Torah, through which repeatedly God states in no uncertain terms that He will bless His chosen people.

Inflation? Is the CPI accurate?

John Mauldin had a good piece today on the definition of inflation.  Inflation is one of the critical, yet elusive, economic parameters that is studied today.  Mauldin seems to think that the current CPI is accurate despite the fact that they leave out food and fuel.  I tend to disagree, as food and fuel make up a huge portion of any living person's monthly expenses.

O, if only we were lithovores..  then perhaps the CPI would be more accurate.

The Measure of Obama

Most of you know I am no fan of Obama, and I have previously called him narcissistic, but this is perhaps a more accurate representation of him.   He is no great president, not a leader, or a uniter, or any of the things that he promised.   He is not a religious man, or even a spiritual man.  He believes only in his own goodness and seeks only to magnify and glorify himself.

2011: A visual diagram of the European debt crisis

I just recently found this visual representation of the European debt crisis.  I imagine the data is old but the overarching trends in borrowing are similar.

My country is different!

Below I have transcribed a copy of John Mauldin's latest "Thoughts from the Frontline".   I have edited it to remove some of the personal/sales touches that he adds to his letters, but you are free to read the original version.

This is an absolutely pivotal article that begins to distill the underlying structural elements that we observe in the world financial and economic crisis, and give you an idea of how to protect yourself from the insanity that has, is, and likely will be, propagated by central bankers.  It is the latest iteration of my quest to become the "little priest in Germany" who avoided the German mark crisis in the late 1910's.

Hurried Pace of Modern Life

And to think what these people would say if they could see Twitter.   I think they would roll over in their graves.

http://xkcd.com/1227/

Death for life

Someone sent this to me in a mass mailer.  Since, I do not send out mass mailers as a matter of personal decency, I will instead preserve and disseminate this via my blog.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ

 and the American Soldier;

 one died for your soul,

the other for your freedom.

Thank a soldier today for their offer to maintain your freedom.

Azerbaijan: An oft forgotten nation

Stratfor published an interesting piece regarding Azerbaijan.  There are a few key points that I want to highlight.  First, he points out that America is adolescent in its use of the global power that it wields now by being the last major economic power still standing well enough.  Between partisan politicking and a general idiocy regarding the rest of the world, America has crippled itself in terms of foreign policy.  Second, he makes a point regarding the Western idea of avoiding nepotism (the hiring of family and friends), as "neither universally shared nor admired."   His final key point is one regarding the "Arab Spring" and the fantasy of the Western media of portraying the rebels as liberal people seeking freedom and democracy, when the small fact of the matter is they seek neither freedom nor democracy.