My favorite economist-columnist wins the Nobel prize in economics! That is great news -congratulations, Mr. Krugman! I'll have to add his blog on my page... I read it every day and especially in these difficult financial times it is so relevant.
--- T
Paul Krugman
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Not About the Financial Crisis
October 10, 2008, 1:43 pm
Not about the financial crisis
By Paul Krugman
The crisis isn’t the only scary thing going on. Something very ugly is taking shape on the political scene: as McCain’s chances fade, the crowds at his rallies are, by all accounts, increasingly gripped by insane rage. It’s not just a mob phenomenon — it’s visible in the right-wing media, and to some extent in the speeches of McCain and Palin.
We’ve seen this before. One thing that has been sort of written out of the mainstream history of politics is the sheer insanity of the attacks on the Clintons — they were drug smugglers, they murdered Vince Foster (and lots of other people), they were in league with foreign powers. And this stuff didn’t just show up in fringe publications — it was discussed in Congress, given props by the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, and so on.
What it came down to was that a significant fraction of the American population, backed by a lot of money and political influence, simply does not consider government by liberals (even very moderate liberals) legitimate. Ronald Reagan was supposed to have settled that once and for all.
What happens when Obama is elected? It will be even worse than it was in the Clinton years. For sure there will be crazy accusations, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some violence.
The next few years are going to be very, very tough.
I just wrote about the same thing last night - in Finnish. We are going to go through some really tough times in the next few years. No matter who wins the election.
--- T
Not about the financial crisis
By Paul Krugman
The crisis isn’t the only scary thing going on. Something very ugly is taking shape on the political scene: as McCain’s chances fade, the crowds at his rallies are, by all accounts, increasingly gripped by insane rage. It’s not just a mob phenomenon — it’s visible in the right-wing media, and to some extent in the speeches of McCain and Palin.
We’ve seen this before. One thing that has been sort of written out of the mainstream history of politics is the sheer insanity of the attacks on the Clintons — they were drug smugglers, they murdered Vince Foster (and lots of other people), they were in league with foreign powers. And this stuff didn’t just show up in fringe publications — it was discussed in Congress, given props by the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, and so on.
What it came down to was that a significant fraction of the American population, backed by a lot of money and political influence, simply does not consider government by liberals (even very moderate liberals) legitimate. Ronald Reagan was supposed to have settled that once and for all.
What happens when Obama is elected? It will be even worse than it was in the Clinton years. For sure there will be crazy accusations, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some violence.
The next few years are going to be very, very tough.
I just wrote about the same thing last night - in Finnish. We are going to go through some really tough times in the next few years. No matter who wins the election.
--- T
Congratulations, Mr. Ahtisaari!
“The origins of my career as a peace mediator can be found from my childhood years. I was born in the city of Viipuri, then still part of Finland. We lost Viipuri when the Soviet Union attacked my country. Along with 400,000 fellow Karelians I became an internally displaced person in the rest of Finland,” he said.
“With my mother I moved from one household to another before settling in the eastern part of Finland, in the city of Kuopio. This experience, which millions of people around the world have gone through, provided me with sensitivity, which explains my desire to advance peace and thus help others who have gone through similar experiences as I did,” he said. [NYT]
“With my mother I moved from one household to another before settling in the eastern part of Finland, in the city of Kuopio. This experience, which millions of people around the world have gone through, provided me with sensitivity, which explains my desire to advance peace and thus help others who have gone through similar experiences as I did,” he said. [NYT]
Onnea, Mr. Ahtisaari!
Loistava juttu, etta Suomen oma Ahtisaari voitti rauhan nobelin! Onhan siita jo tavattomasti aikaa kun joku Virtanen ja Sillanpaa voittivat nobelit omilla tahoillaan. Ahtisaaren valinta ei ollut poliittinen siina mielessa kuin moni muu nykyaan. Se oli kunnianosoitus kovasta (usein taustalla) kaytavasta diplomaatin tyosta.
Alla oleva lainaus on Hesarin sivuilta.
--- T
Maailmankuvaltaan Ahtisaari määrittelee itsensä sekä idealistiksi että realistiksi. Lisäksi hän löytää itsestään joustavan pragmaatikon.
"Jos ei olisi idealisti, niin kuka ihmeessä tässä vielä 68-vuotiaana juoksisi pitkin maita ja mantuja?" hän kysyy.
"Toisaalta idealismi ei sinällään paljon auta, koska sitten jää sellaiselle julistukselliselle tasolle. Realismi edellyttää, että pystyy analysoimaan tilanteita. Se vaatii tiukkaa älyllistä rehellisyyttä."
Entä muiden näkemys? Entiset ja nykyiset työtoverit aina Namibian-ajoilta presidentin nykyisen toimiston Crisis Management Initiativen henkilökuntaan kuvailevat Ahtisaaren neuvottelijanominaisuuksia samansuuntaisin sanankääntein.
"Reilu, suora tyyppi." "Hirveän tasapuolinen." "Ei kaihda sanomasta asioita riittävän yksinkertaisesti ja selkeästi." "Pyrkii rehelliseen tilanneanalyysiin: tilanne on nyt tämä, ja tämä ei tästä muutu." "Tietää, missä on sudenkuopat, mihin pitää laittaa energiaa, millä asialla ei ole väliä ja missä pitää laittaa kova kovaa vastaan."
Alla oleva lainaus on Hesarin sivuilta.
--- T
Maailmankuvaltaan Ahtisaari määrittelee itsensä sekä idealistiksi että realistiksi. Lisäksi hän löytää itsestään joustavan pragmaatikon.
"Jos ei olisi idealisti, niin kuka ihmeessä tässä vielä 68-vuotiaana juoksisi pitkin maita ja mantuja?" hän kysyy.
"Toisaalta idealismi ei sinällään paljon auta, koska sitten jää sellaiselle julistukselliselle tasolle. Realismi edellyttää, että pystyy analysoimaan tilanteita. Se vaatii tiukkaa älyllistä rehellisyyttä."
Entä muiden näkemys? Entiset ja nykyiset työtoverit aina Namibian-ajoilta presidentin nykyisen toimiston Crisis Management Initiativen henkilökuntaan kuvailevat Ahtisaaren neuvottelijanominaisuuksia samansuuntaisin sanankääntein.
"Reilu, suora tyyppi." "Hirveän tasapuolinen." "Ei kaihda sanomasta asioita riittävän yksinkertaisesti ja selkeästi." "Pyrkii rehelliseen tilanneanalyysiin: tilanne on nyt tämä, ja tämä ei tästä muutu." "Tietää, missä on sudenkuopat, mihin pitää laittaa energiaa, millä asialla ei ole väliä ja missä pitää laittaa kova kovaa vastaan."
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Amerikan sielu
On vaikea taysin kasittaa mita Amerikassa on tapahtumassa. On meneillaan sukupolvemme tarkeimmat presidentinvaalit. Barack Obama on jo melko varma voittaja muutama viikko ennen vaalipaivaa - ellei tapahdu jotain "aivan odottamatonta" kuten terroristi-isku omassa maassa... Mutta jos Obama voittaa, taalla on odotettavissa todella levotonta: aarioikeistolaiset sora-aanet jo huutavat Obaman paata vadille. McCainin kannattajat ovat uhkailleet tappavansa Obaman, silla han on "sosialisti", "muslimi", ja ehka jopa "ulkomaalainen syntyjaan" joka tuhoaa Amerikan.
Pelottelu on saavuttanut kiihkean vaiheen: suut vaahtoavat radiossa, televisiossa, netissa ja McCainin Ja Palinin vaalitapahtumissa. Jos taas McCain voittaa (jollain ihmeellisella tavalla), suuri osa kansaa tulee olemaan niin pettynyt, etta se aiheuttaa levottomuutta. Talouden luhistuminen on saanut kansalaiset niin vihaisiksi ja pelokkaiksi, etta McCainin voitto tuntuisi kestamattomalta, silla han on Bushin kaksoisolento.
Vaalivilppi on todellinen uhka Amerikassa. Tuhannet, jopa miljoonat aanet jaavat ehka laskematta, silla kulissien takana yritetaan poistaa koyhien ja vahemmistojen aania listoilta.
Minua on alkanut pelottaa, etta vaalien jalkeen Yhdysvalloissa tulee tapahtumaan aseellisia kapinoita tai mellakoita - voitti kumpi ehdokas tahansa - niissa tullaan taistelemaan Amerikan sielusta.
--- T
A Lone Voice in the Wilderness
The New York Times has a well-written analysis of Alan Greenspan tenure as the Federal Reserve chairman. He was called "the Oracle" and was revered by all - hence hardly anybody questioned his knowledge or authority regarding regulation. One person, Brooksley E. Born, tried to introduce more regulation as she saw the perils of the derivatives market, but she was stopped forcefully by those who were enjoying the money-ride.
--- T
NYT: In 1997, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal agency that regulates options and futures trading, began exploring derivatives regulation. The commission, then led by a lawyer named Brooksley E. Born, invited comments about how best to oversee certain derivatives.
Ms. Born was concerned that unfettered, opaque trading could “threaten our regulated markets or, indeed, our economy without any federal agency knowing about it,” she said in Congressional testimony. She called for greater disclosure of trades and reserves to cushion against losses.
Ms. Born’s views incited fierce opposition from Mr. Greenspan and Robert E. Rubin, the Treasury secretary then. Treasury lawyers concluded that merely discussing new rules threatened the derivatives market. Mr. Greenspan warned that too many rules would damage Wall Street, prompting traders to take their business overseas.
He [Alan Greenspan] had a way of speaking that made you think he knew exactly what he was talking about at all times,” said Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa. “He was able to say things in a way that made people not want to question him on anything, like he knew it all. He was the Oracle, and who were you to question him?”
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