“”People should know what we do to create these products and what cost we pay,” said Bai Bing as she perched on a bed in her ward.”
A terrific, and terrifying, article over at The Guardian. Via DM.
The excellent Mindi Schneider, friend and comrade, sent me this missive from her base in China. Since Mindi doesn’t yet have a blog of her own, I only seemed right to share her thoughtful analysis here. I know she’s knee deep in translations at the moment, but I’m hoping that if y’all comment, Mindi’ll be able to join the discussion. So, without further ado:
In moments snatched between reading, working on the next book, calming a two-month-old, and sleeping, I’ve been chipping away at this site. There are a couple of new bits and pieces.
You’ll notice that the archives now stretch back to 2004, when I first started blogging over at Class Worrier and where David Kalal developed a whole line of designer thongs for me. Ahem.
Credit: aharoni. Via BK.
Yes, actions speak louder than words. Although I’m fond of the written word, little comes from words alone. Interpreting the world isn’t the same as changing it. But words can help. Particularly when they channel a passion for change. And particularly when they make you laugh. Two pieces have come my way that check all the boxes. The first is from Sean Boudoin, the wordsmith whose jokes out-Colberted Colbert (or would have, had I the chance to deliver them). He has a new column at The Nervous Breakdown that looks like it’ll be required reading. Check it out here. The second is a terrific piece from William Greider, whose book Come Home America is on my bookstand, and about whom I’ll be praising in more detail soon. For now, though, here’s his piece about Larry Summers entitled, accurately I think, Professor Pants On Fire.
Following up on previous posts, here’s an editorial from the good people at Scientific American, who see a strong similarity between contemporary marketing of fatty foods and the misdeeds of the tobacco industry. More below the fold. Keep Reading »
Just in case you were wondering, the volcano in Iceland is an anarchist. A fine article from the Reykjavík Grapevine.
A fascinating academic article has been circulating recently, comparing the energy it takes to run a conventional farm with that required on an organic one. If you’re interested in the ‘real’ costs that go into your food, then the cost and benefits of energy use should certainly be high up there. And this study delivers. What makes it particularly good is the resolution of the information – over 1.25 million data points over six years, from the Land Institute’s Sunshine Farm. What they find is that organic farming is more energy efficient than conventional farming, when all variables are taken into account.
On 7th April, Alan Greenspan appeared before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, to explain what happened. He testified that he “was right 70% of the time and wrong 30% of the time.” That’s great. He spends 70% of his day asleep, eating, pooping, and commuting. It’s hard to screw these things up. Which suggests that the screw-uppy 30% was limited to those parts of the day when he was sitting in front of a desk making monetary policy.
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