Various web links I found to be of interest recently:
Three Atlantic writers debate the merits of the Iran nuclear agreement.
Peter Beinart, David Frum, and Jeffrey Goldberg -- July 17, 2015
A reasonable and sensible discussion of pros and cons of the Iran deal.
But still they only talk about problems trusting Iran
and forget about problems trusting the United States as
I have pointed out.
Video of a debate between Paul Krugman (New York Times) and Steve Moore (Heritage Foundation) at FreedomFest 2015.
Some commentary about it:The going rate for a stolen identity is about twenty bucks.
Though the transactions are usually illegal, marketplaces on the dark web function much like those on the popular internet. Prices for stolen identities vary based on factors like quality, reliability, robustness, and the seller's reputation.
(Dis)Honesty -- The Truth About Lies is a documentary feature film that explores the human tendency to be dishonest. Inspired by the work of behavioral economist, Dan Ariely, the film interweaves personal stories, expert opinions, behavioral experiments, and archival footage to reveal how and why people lie.
If You Buy The Stuff No One Else Likes, You Just May Be A "Harbinger Of Failure".
In a study published in the Journal of Marketing Research, researchers
identified particular kinds of consumers whose preferences can predict
products that will flop, calling those folks "harbingers of failure,"
reports the Chicago Tribune.
"Certain customers systematically purchase new products that prove
unsuccessful," wrote the study authors. "Their early adoption
of a new product is a strong signal that a product will fail."
This Commerce Department report from 1948 shows how disastrously, off-the-charts wrong forecasters can be.
If you had to make a list of America's most important developments during
the 20th century, the baby boom would be in the top 10.
And it was totally unpredictable.
...
What's more, the report's projection of total U.S. population wasn't
just a little off; it was disastrously, off-the-charts wrong.
The baseline 1948 forecast predicted 163 million people would live
in America by the year 2000. In reality, it was 282 million.
That difference -- 119 million people -- is the equivalent
of missing three Californias, or 14 New York Cities.
By Mark Spitznagel and Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The G.M.O. experiment, carried out in real time and with our entire food and ecological system as its laboratory, is perhaps the greatest case of human hubris ever. It creates yet another systemic, "too big too fail" enterprise -- but one for which no bailouts will be possible when it fails.
I am not convinced by their argument. Scientists are not economists and they do not function in the same manner.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia shown to be the hypocrite he is.
For more evidence see The Incoherence of Antonin Scalia by Richard A. Posner.
On Monday, July 20, Richards-- a native of New Zealand--won the
French-language world Scrabble championship.
He does not speak a word of French.
...
Richards reportedly memorized an entire French dictionary
in the two months leading up to the competition.
In-depth charity research.
Thousands of hours have gone into finding our top-rated charities. They're evidence-backed, thoroughly vetted, and underfunded.