Archive for December, 2009
The benefits of walking a dog
December 17th, 2009On a rather stressful day, I really enjoyed reading this article on the benefits of walking a dog. Here is a snippet on how walking a dog helped people in an assisted living home:
To the surprise of the researchers, the dog walkers showed a big improvement in fitness, while the human walkers began making excuses […]
Shmuley Boteach on Tiger Woods and Infidelity
December 15th, 2009“IN TRUTH, men have affairs not for physical reasons but for emotional ones. They cheat not out of a sense of confidence but out of a state of brokenness. Not out of a sense of how desirable they are but out of a sense of what failures they are. And this is especially true of […]
English Court and Israel
December 14th, 2009I’m honestly stunned by this. A court in Britain issued an arrest warrant against former foriegn minister Tzipi Livni? What jurisidiction do they have? How is this possible? I am totally stunned by this.
Here is the link: Tzipi Livni Arrest Warrant
Rotating Devaluations
December 14th, 2009Some prescient thoughts from Andy Xie, courtesy of Barry Ritholz:
The bottom line is that, regardless of what central banks say and do, there will be a lot more money in the world after the crisis than before. After a debt bubble bursts, there are two effective ways to deleverage: (1) bankruptcy, or (2) inflation. Governments’ […]
Is China like Dubai?
December 11th, 2009Wow. Must read editorial by Edward Chancellor on the parallels between China and Dubai. Here is the best part:
Dubai’s ambitions weren’t merely domestic. Dubai World and its subsidiaries, with their assumed government backing, went on a debt-fuelled global buying binge. Dubai’s economy expanded rapidly in the boom. But much of this growth came from construction […]
Climate Conference is a Joke
December 9th, 2009‘Ms Jorgensen reckons that between her and her rivals the total number of limos in Copenhagen next week has already broken the 1,200 barrier. The French alone rang up on Thursday and ordered another 42. “We haven’t got enough limos in the country to fulfil the demand,” she says. “We’re having to drive them in […]
The Demographic Implications of China’s One Child Policy
December 8th, 2009“But social experiments always have unintended consequences. In the case of China’s One Child Policy, these consequences are now becoming evident, and are no less breathtaking in scale than the dreams entertained by the coercive visionaries in Beijing who set this scheme in motion. Inexorably—and by now inescapably—a host of new and unfamiliar demographic problems […]
A Hebrew Speaking Dog, A Rabbi and Montana
December 7th, 2009There is a great story in the New York Times about a Montana policeman asking a rabbi for help with his Hebrew speaking police dog. Here is the link:
Rabbi and Hebrew Speaking Dog
Living the American Dream
December 4th, 2009Below is the link to a wonderful story about two friends of mine, Abe and Leon Presser. I’m honored to know them and to have learned by following their example.
Story about Abe and Leon Presser
Alice Schroeder Interview
December 4th, 2009Jeff Matthews just posted a lengthy, yet excellent interview with Alice Schroeder, who wrote the book Snowball about Warren Buffett.
Jeff Matthews Interview