Author Archives: Harry Katz

Thomas Friedman: Rescue the Rescue

Good column yesterday by Thomas Friedman of the New York Times on the bailout plan.  He does a good job explaining the interconnectedness of Main Street and Wall street.  I particularly liked this: "We’re all connected. As others have pointed out, … Continue reading

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Credit Crisis Explained

I used to think I had a pretty fair grasp of economics and finance.  The subprime lending crisis which has now mushroomed into a full-scale credit meltdown has disabused me of any such notion.  It’s also shown pretty conclusively that no … Continue reading

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Richard Wright, Pink Floyd founding member, dies at 65

Richard Wright, keyboardist and founding member of Pink Floyd died today at his home in England after a brief battle with cancer.   The LA Times published an obituary here.  I think the band said it best themselves in Time from … Continue reading

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Let astrology help you find the perfect dog

This article purports to help you select a pet dog based upon your Zodiac sign.   It’s unbelievably stupid.  I mean, nowhere in the article do they even mention the dog’s Zodiac sign and how that might influence compatibility with its … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Post-American World

The Post-American WorldBy Fareed ZakariaW. W. Norton & Co., New York, 2008 Despite its apocalyptic-sounding title, Fareed Zakaria’s latest book, The Post-American World, is actually quite optimistic. Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International, and former managing editor of Foreign Affairs. … Continue reading

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What Makes People Vote Republican?

An intresting essay over at The Edge by Jonathan Haidt about the moral considerations that differentiate Democrats from Republicans.  This is a long essay but well worth the read.  Here are a few exerpts that make some of Haidt’s key … Continue reading

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Ambient awareness

Very interesting artilcle on the effects of social networking by Clive Thompson in the Sept. 7, 2008 Sunday New York Times Magazine.  The article describes how services like Twitter and Facebook facilitate "ambient awareness" about a large group of people … Continue reading

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Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech

A brilliantly crafted and superbly delivered oration delivered in Denver tonight.  Transcript here.

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George Carlin (1937-2008)

Lots of tributes pouring in for comedian George Carlin who died on Sunday, June 22 at the age of 71.  Carlin was one of the first comedians I ever heard about as a kid, along with Bill Cosby and Cheech … Continue reading

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Fareed Zakaria

Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, and former editor of Foreign Affairs, spoke this evening at Seattle’s Town Hall about his new book The Post-American World. He spoke for about 35 minutes and then took questions from the audience.  Here’s … Continue reading

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