Why Technology Hasn't Saved Us From Inflation (but still can)

"I have a piece in the Aug 11th issue of Newsweek International, but Newsweek's website does such a poor job with magazine content that it's practically unfindable (it's actually on the seventh screen of this series of perspectives from economists and other experts). So here it is:
Unleash The World's EngineersChris Anderson believes that the price-cutting power of technology can still bring nations relief if only bureaucrats will allow it to.

Technology can be a powerful deflationary force. Thanks to Moore's Law (the remarkable ability of computer technology to double in power for the same price, or halve in price for the same power, every 18 months) if you want a 50 percent discount on an electronic gadget, just wait 18 months. Or turn a service into software, and it's just a matter of time before it is free.
But technology has been unable to offset some of the crucial supply issues around energy and food, both of which are at the core of today's inflationary quandary. Nuclear power was supposed to bring electricity too cheap to meter, but our electricity bills have never been higher. The green revolution was supposed to bring an endlessly bountiful harvest, making hunger a thing of the past, but we now have rice shortages and corn nearly tripled in price over the past year. And for all of our virtual connection via cell phones, video-conferencing and e-mail, we've increased our driving and flying to such an extent that we've outstripped global oil-production capacity, driving energy prices to all-time highs.

What happened? Were we wrong to think that technology would deliver us from rising prices? Well, yes, but it's not technology's fault. We mostly have ourselves to blame for standing in its way.

Why are agricultural yields not keeping up with population growth? In large part because the European Union essentially banned genetically modified crops both on its own soil and in imports, thus exporting its technology-blocking regulations to trade partners in Africa and elsewhere.
Another reason food is so expensive is that fertilizer prices are also near all-time highs. That's because the feedstock for much fertilizer is natural gas, and we don't have enough of that, either. Not because we can't get it out of the ground using high-tech tools, but because we can't get it where it's needed. Of the last 53 applications to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) ports and processing facilities in the United States, 50 were denied because of objections from the communities near where they would be located. Meanwhile we haven't built a natural-gas pipeline from Alaska in part because of similar environmental concerns.

The shortage of natural-gas-transportation infrastructure is also in part responsible for our high electricity prices, as is the multidecade virtual moratorium on new nuclear power plants after Three Mile Island. Meanwhile, policies putting high import tariffs on foreign ethanol (to protect American corn farmers) have raised the price of gas, while a refusal to follow California's lead on car efficiency standards has allowed national gas demand to grow faster than supply.

All this said, I believe today's inflation will ultimately speed the adoption of technologies that can fight it. The higher prices get in the atoms economy, where things get more expensive every year, the more incentive there is to move goods and services to the bits economy, where things get cheaper. How high will airfares have to get (think they're high now? Just wait for new carbon taxes to kick in) before you invest in good videoconference gear and skip the flight altogether? How high will gas prices get before you decide to work a few more days a week from your fully wired home office, or skip the mall and shop online from home? The best way to lower energy prices is to cut demand.

In a world where seemingly everything is getting more expensive, the price of digital technology continues to fall and the differences between those two economies are growing. If getting rich was the incentive to go digital a decade ago, saving money may be an even stronger motivation this time."

Chris Anderson - Long Tail

Gratis Vs Libre

"In English the word "free" is fraught with ambiguous meaning, which is why the open source world has to make the distinction between free as in speech vs. free as in beer. In Romance languages, such as Spanish, French or Italian, the twin meanings munged into the English word "free" are split between two words, one derived from the Latin "libre" (freedom) and the other from the Latin "gratis" (zero price).

In these languages, "libre" is usually an alloyed good, while "gratis" is often considered a marketing gimmick.In English, marketers take advantage of the ambiguity to use the positive connotations of freedom to help past suspicions over the truth of the pricing meaning.

But that still leaves the question: what's the derivation of the English word "free"?It's actually fascinating: "free" comes from the same Old English root as "friend".

The path is this:
[They both come] from the Old English freon, freogan "to free, love." The primary sense seems to have been "beloved, friend, to love;" which in some languages (notably Gmc. and Celtic) developed also a sense of "free," perhaps from the terms "beloved" or "friend" being applied to the free members of one's clan (as opposed to slaves)."

The sense of "given without cost" is from 1585, from notion of "free of cost."

Chris Anderson - Long Tail

Swim baby swim

Após o bronze, Cielo diz: "vai ser minha melhor prova nos 50 m"!

Vai garoto!

Hackers @ Georgia

While Russian jets continue to bomb Georgian territory, Russian hackers have also attacked Georgian websites.

This has caused serious problems for Georgian news media and internet publications, including Georgian Times’ tri-lingual Internet web-page. Updated news can not be posted to the web-site, keeping a large part of the population under an information vacuum.

On the 8 of August hackers attacked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia website. Therefore, the Foreign Ministry of Georgia had to disseminate information through various news agencies. As mentioned, internet publications and news agencies were not or are not operating at full capacity either.

Internet Portal Georgia Online is publishing a special announcement with regard to the existing situation as well.
According to the announcement disseminated by the leadership of the website on 8 August: “Today they broke into and fully destroyed analytical resources of Georgia Online. Additionally, web-portal of the Legitimate Government of Abkhazia http://abkhazia.gov.ge/~ was destroyed”.
The IT specialists estimate that it is possible to restore only the site of the Abkhazian Government.

According to the statement, “the analysis of the incident has indicated that they have deleted the bases and archives of the sites had highly valuable information bases”.

It is clear that Russia has declared war against Georgia not only in military terms but in its news mediums as well.

According to the management of Georgia Online, the attack to the site followed the publication of news based on an informed source that “the Kremlin has issued an order not to cite the announcements of Georgian news media” related to the developments in the Tskhinvali Region.
“At the time Georgian police forces were protecting life and security of Russian peacekeepers at the risk of their own life, Russian news media spread information about Georgian police forces undertaking targeted bombing of checkpoints of Russian peacekeepers.”

According to the announcement made by Georgia Online, “Russian news media have repeatedly been accusing Georgia Online and other media publications in Georgia (operating in the thick of events) of bias. Apparently, the Kremlin is very concerned about the professionalism of Georgian independent news media, especially given Russia’s open and direct aggression against Georgia. For the Kremlin the presence of alternative, uncontrolled news media in Georgia is unreasonable.”

Nino Japaridze

Citing Poor Conditions, China Refuses To Send Delegation To Olympics

BEIJING—In an 11th-hour move that shocked the international athletic and political communities alike, the Chinese Olympic Team announced Wednesday that it will not be attending the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing due to "shocking, shameful, and ultimately dangerous environmental conditions" in the host city.

"Given the unconscionably bad environmental state of the area in and around the site of the 2008 Summer Games, we cannot in good conscience allow Chinese athletes to compete in China," said Olympic committee spokesman Sun Weide. "We deeply apologize to China for the bitter disappointment they will feel at not being represented in these Games. However, we place the blame squarely on China for their failure to prepare a suitable venue for international competition."

"Frankly, it seems to me that in terms of air quality, water purity, and general contamination, Beijing is barely even capable of supporting human life, let alone strenuous activities such as team sports, swimming, and long-distance running," added Weide, who has lived in Beijing all his life. "We can only hope our refusal to compete in this city will result in real change for its long-suffering residents."

Weide's sentiments were echoed by other high-ranking members of China's Olympic athletic community.
"China's Olympic athletic community should be deeply ashamed of itself," said Zhang Tianbai, deputy director of the PRC's Athletic Sciences and Education Department and director of China's Olympic Committee. "When factories have to be shut down for a month beforehand just to clear the air, when automobile traffic is artificially thinned to reduce smog, when thousands of uniformed men have to dredge the river mere days before the regatta, in a city that is supposed to be the pride of a nation and the athletic center of the world for two weeks—disgusting is not too strong a word."
Director Tianbai joined Li Furong, vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, in calling for the immediate resignation and possible indictment of the entire Chinese Olympic Committee.

The 639 athletes chosen to represent China were informed Wednesday night that they would not in fact be competing in Beijing. Although all were shocked at the suddenness of the decision, most took the news stoically.
"I was very much looking forward to making China proud," said 100-meter hurdling champion Liu Zhang, who had expected to defend his gold medal in Beijing. "But, if I am honest, China should be ashamed of itself."
"I shall regret this for the rest of my life, but I think the current conditions Beijing are currently worse than the ones I encounter in my polluted, petroleum-fume-choked home town," said Rockets center Yao Ming, easily the team's most prominent athlete. "Which is Beijing. Things have gotten even worse since I moved."

"It brings me great sorrow to say this, as I had hoped that Chinese athletes would return from Beijing triumphant, having demonstrated our nation's greatness on a global stage," Hu Jintao, president and paramount leader of the People's Republic of China. "However, China's blatant disregard for its responsibility to the basic health, welfare, and safety of its Olympic participants has forced us to withdraw China's athletes for their own protection, and I urge the Olympic teams of all other nations to do the same."

China's Olympic team will spend one last night in their Olympic quarters before returning Friday to Beijing, where they will resume training for next year's Pan-American Games.

I wanna be president.

Socialite Paris Hilton is getting even with John McCain, after he used her image last week in an ad mocking Barack Obama as an international celebrity.

Hilton released a Web video of her own Tuesday saying her inclusion in McCain’s ad must mean she’s running for president.

"So thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude," Hilton says in the ad, while sitting outside in a skimpy, leopard-print bikini. "And I want America to know that I’m, like, totally ready to lead."

The tongue-in-cheek video is laced with age-based insults. Hilton may not be known for her trenchant wit, but the two-minute spot is a satirical blend — part "Daily Show," part "Legally Blonde."

In it, Hilton lays out her point-by-point energy proposal, after reading an article on where to get the best tan. She muses about painting the White House pink, and then signs out with a semi-traditional campaign disclaimer.

"I’m Paris Hilton, and I approve this message — because I think it’s totally hot."

The Web video was posted on the site Funny or Die, after Hilton’s representative and her mother both criticized McCain’s campaign for using her image in his ad.

After getting a chuckle from the video, McCain’s campaign released a statement.

"It sounds like Paris Hilton supports John McCain’s ‘all of the above’ approach to America’s energy crisis - -including both alternatives and drilling. In reality, Paris Hilton may have a more substantive energy policy than Barack Obama," spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

Click here to see the full Paris Hilton ad.

Make a profit.

Vai ficando complicado.
Os preços das "comodities" aumentam e a bolsa sobe por causa da Vale e da Petro. Mas, isso é ruim para o globo. Os EUA que não entram na queda anunciada e a poluição da China junto com inflação global que vem em alguns países com a alta dos churos e a bolsa cai.

"Enough" for Economics 101.

Amorim, pede para sair. II

Eu falei primeiro. Mas, a Veja agora me acompanha.
Está lá o mesmo título em Economia, página 134.

O sócio da FARC ainda falou outra grande asneira:
"Deus queira que não seja preciso outro 11 de setembro."

O Brasil perdeu uma grande chance de negociação, confundiu os portenhos e ainda não fechou com a India.

Lembro que o nome da representante americana é Susan Schwab, obviamnete filha de judeus.

Amorim, saiu derrotado e humilhado.

Gil não fez

Serei justo.

A sua popularidade aumentou a pasta do seu ministério.

Mas, o básico não foi feito: reformar a lei de incentivo a cultura.

Impedimentos da Lei Rouanet

NÃO PODEM RECEBER APOIO DO PRONAC as propostas:
- que não tenham finalidade predominantemente cultural;
- culturais, cujo acesso seja restrito a certos grupos sociais (ex.: propostos por associações e clubes, voltados para seus associados, restritos aos funcionários de uma empresa etc), ou cujos produtos delas resultantes sejam destinados a coleções particulares. Os produtos culturais devem ter utilização, exibição e circulação públicas, conforme art. 2º da Lei 8.313/1991;
- que prevejam a realização de feiras ou exposições de produtos predominantemente comerciais, não-culturais;
- que tenham como objeto festas populares fora do calendário oficial tradicional (carnaval fora de época, festa julina e outras), com objetivo nitidamente comercial ou voltadas para público restrito;
- de cunho essencialmente religioso, com objetivos proselitistas, ou de auto-ajuda;
- de natureza sectária, isto é, vinculadas a seitas;
- de ofensa aos direitos de um grupo social, ou com conteúdo que estimule o preconceito;
- destinadas à restauração, conservação e/ou manutenção de edificações que não sejam tombadas pelo poder público, em qualquer nível, ou que não tenham valor histórico ou cultural referendado pelo Ministério da Cultura;
- destinadas à construção e/ou reforma de edificações sem finalidade cultural;
- para construção de espaços culturais ou bens móveis cujo proprietário será pessoa física, ou pessoa jurídica, com finalidade lucrativa;
- que tenham como objeto ou que incluam no orçamento a aquisição de imóvel;
- que incluam no orçamento a aquisição, por pessoa física, ou por pessoa jurídica com fins lucrativos, de bens de capital, ou seja, aqueles que vão se agregar, em caráter permanente, ao patrimônio do titular da proposta cultural, a não ser que se justifique pelo princípio da economicidade, e que o proponente apresente termo de compromisso declarando a destinação dos bens, para instituição pública ou privada sem fins lucrativos, quando concluído o projeto, declaração de anuência da entidade beneficiada e três orçamentos obtidos no mercado (ver detalhamento em Apresentação de Propostas Culturais - Incentivo Fiscal);
- que não contenham estratégias para promover a ampliação do acesso aos produtos culturais resultantes, e o fortalecimento das cadeias produtivas locais, conforme o artigo 27 do Decreto 5.761/2006.