Morning Reading

Morning Reading 5.8.2012

al-Jazeera Journalist Expelled from China . . .

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/05/08/china-expels-al-jazeera-correspondent/?mod=WSJBlog

http://chinageeks.org/2012/05/taking-the-easy-way-out/

. . . and foreign private equity firms?

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/05/08/the-quest-for-control-over-china%E2%80%99s-private-equity-sector/?mod=WSJBlog

Morning Reading

Turns out Mongolians in Arlington aren't all that rare:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/02/AR2006070200875.html

Comeback Special

US vs. China: Slow Jam the News - Isador's Fugue (Brian Glucroft)
http://www.isidorsfugue.com/2012/04/will-hu-jintao-slow-jam-news-like.html

Venture Capital is Sucking (your money) - Noahpinion (Noah Smith)
http://noahpinionblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/venture-capital-is-sucking-your-money.html

China China China

http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2012/04/video-children-travel-on-zip-line-across-abyss-to-and-from-school/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MiniTofublog+%28Ministry+of+Tofu+-+Featured+Articles%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

http://seeingredinchina.com/2012/04/16/the-lives-of-recent-chinese-graduates-does-a-university-degree-bring-a-better-life/

Morning Reading 4.13.2012

Morning Reading
Didn't even read this, but I imagine it will provoke an uproar from you
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/04/almost-20-of-3rd-graders-have-cell-phones/255655/

Details on China's internet outage - Wall Street Journal (Paul Mozur)
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/04/13/new-clarity-on-china-internet-outage/?mod=WSJBlog

Rules for Dining Out - The Atlantic (Tyler Cowen)
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/six-rules-for-dining-out/8929/

Faith Off!

http://kiddynamitesworld.com/jon-stewart-faithoff-easter-vs-passover/

Morning Reading 4.10.2012

Morning Reading
What does life in rural China look like - Seeing Red in China (Tom)
http://seeingredinchina.com/2012/04/10/what-does-life-in-rural-china-look-like/

Morning Reading 4.9.2012

Morning Reading
The impact of cities - Marginal Revolution (Alex Tabarrok)
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/04/new-cities.html

Lakes and Oceans - XKCD
http://xkcd.com/1040/large/

More saber rattling over the South China Sea . . . what could possibly go wrong? - Wall Street Journal (Brian Spegele)
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/04/09/chinese-general-philippines-faces-last-chance/?mod=WSJBlog

Bonus Evening Edition

What is the Vix signalling? - Vix and More (Bill Luby)
http://vixandmore.blogspot.com/2012/04/vix-premium-to-spx-historical.html

Ok, normally I don't actually care if you like what I post or not.  I try to get stuff you will like and keep out stuff you won't, but I actually will shed a tear if you don't think this is awesome . . .
http://ordak-ordak.blogspot.com/

Morning Reading 4.4.2012

Anonymous on the March - Josh Chin (Wall Street Journal)
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/04/04/anonymous-hacks-chinese-government-websites/?mod=WSJBlog

Meme Competition - (Scientific Reports)
http://www.nature.com/srep/2012/120329/srep00335/full/srep00335.html

Morning Reading 4.3.2012

Morning Reading
littleBits Ted Talk
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2012/04/the-littlebits-ted-talk.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AVc+%28A+VC%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Surprising Probability Estimate of the Day - Alex Tabarrok (Marginal Revolution)
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/04/surprising-probability-estimate-of-the-day.html

Morning Reading 3.30.2012

Morning Reading
I struggle in trying to decide if different cultures are really that different.  At the end of the day, we are all humans and have certain tenancies as a result.  I can't tell if this proves my point or proves it wrong, but it does something, that's for sure.  Perhaps unfair to judge from one video, but at the very least it seems Chinese men are better dancers than Chinese women, probably the opposite of the "West". - Ministry of Tofu
http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2012/03/videos-viral-chinese-song-inspires-queer-funny-dances-and-outdoor-workouts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MiniTofublog+%28Ministry+of+Tofu+-+Featured+Articles%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Is there a better example of a product that only comes from places where the people that use it want to go? iPad owners as a whole probably don't want to go to China, but tea drinkers probably want to go to all the places tea comes from (which are on the whole "exotic").  Is this actually true? - Uncornered Market
http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2012/03/tea-gardens-bangladesh-panorama/

Back to the first point, would US press (or Americans in general for that matter) call someone a "chubby girl"?  Perhaps so. - Ministry of Tofu
http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2012/03/facebooks-zuckerberg-on-vacation-in-shanghai-netizens-chatter/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MiniTofublog+%28Ministry+of+Tofu+-+Featured+Articles%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Morning Reading 3.27.2012

Morning Reading
Is China still a Police State? - Seeing Red in China (Tom?)
http://seeingredinchina.com/2012/03/26/china-is-still-a-police-state/

Sorry if I haven't posted other articles about this, but the Chongking drama is really getting out of hand:
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/03/27/chongqing-mystery-who-was-neil-heywood/?mod=WSJBlog

Nokia stores selling non-Nokia phones? - Isidor's Fugue (Brian Glucroft)
http://www.isidorsfugue.com/2012/03/nokia-stores-selling-variety-of-phones.html

Morning Reading 3.26.2012

Morning Reading
In case you haven't been keeping up with these . . . - Book Dedications (Wayne Gooderham)
http://bookdedications.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/a-literate-passion-letters-of-anais-nin-henry-miller-1932-1953-ed-by-gunther-stuhlmann/

Debating a Hard Landing - Patrick Chovanec (Patrick Chovanec)
http://chovanec.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/debating-a-hard-landing/

Calculated Risk on Propublica on Fannie and Freddie (Meta) - Calculated Risk Blog
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/03/propublica-fannie-and-freddie-principal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CalculatedRisk+%28Calculated+Risk%29

LAZY LATE EDITION!

http://www.isidorsfugue.com/2012/03/inside-android-store-in-zhuhai-china.html

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/855802805/lowline-an-underground-park-on-nycs-lower-east-sid?ref=popular

Morning Reading 3.21.2012

Morning Reading
What is interesting about this picture? - Isador's Fugue (Brian Glucroft)
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rsVFBUPOwF7yr88YFu7rb3zwmJ7SucfefVqDx3bjXfA?feat=embedwebsite

I love Amazon
http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-buys-kiva-systems-775-million-2012-3
http://www.businessinsider.com/we-are-what-we-choose-2010-6
http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-makes-ordinary-control-freaks-look-like-stoned-hippies-says-former-engineer-2011-10
http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-visionary-2011-4

Morning Reading

Morning Reading 3.19.2012
Bike marathon . . . bike-a-thon?  I guess you have to bike that far to get anywhere in LA - The Atlantic (Nate Berg)
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2012/03/la-unofficial-late-night-bike-marathon/1521/

Another reason Mark will complain about technology.  The old fashioned way works better? - Time (Maia Szalavitz)
http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/14/do-e-books-impair-memory/?iid=hl-main-lede

Apple, China, and the Truth.  I am sure you read lots of stuff on this, but I liked this one the best because of the spin it puts on it - New Yorker (Evan Osnos)
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2012/03/mike-daiseys-mistakes-in-china.html

The Daisey-ian response
http://mikedaisey.com/audio/prologue.mp3

So who attacks who first?
China v. Japan
North Korea v. South Korea
China v. Taiwan
United States v. China
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577288983989668016.html

Morning Reading 3.13.2012

Morning Reading
How big is Atlanta's airport? - Atlantic (Mark Byrnes)
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/03/scenes-above-atlantas-massive-international-airport/1465/

The perfect loaf of bread?  For some perhaps - Lifehacker (Alan Henry)
http://lifehacker.com/5892768/bake-bread-in-a-coffee-can-for-perfectly-round-evenly-baked-loaves-with-little-crust

Rough pre-game meal at the Olive Garden - Yahoo! (Chris Chase)
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/entire-arena-football-team-cut-during-pregame-meal-190741599.html

China v. South Korea? - Wall Street Journal (Jeremy Page)
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/03/13/china-south-korea-in-row-over-submerged-rock/?mod=WSJBlog

Where has Chinese taxpayers' dollars gone? - Ministry of Tofu
http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2012/03/video-where-has-chinese-taxpayers-money-gone/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MiniTofublog+%28Ministry+of+Tofu+-+Featured+Articles%29

Morning Reading 3.12.2012

Morning Reading
A Train Journey from Iran to Turkey - Uncornered Market (Audrey Scott)
http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2012/03/iran-turkey-train/

Blogging Over Thyme
http://www.bloggingoverthyme.com/
This is the girlfriend of one of the other students in Sara's class.  She is in culinary school and writes about it.  It is new to me and I honestly haven't read more than a couple of posts, but I am going to try to start from the beginning and thought you might enjoy it too

High Speed Rail in China - Seeing Red in China (Tom ?)
http://seeingredinchina.com/2012/03/12/high-speed-railway-collapse-in-hubei-a-tragedy-averted-by-luck/

Capital Gains from My Favorite Economist - The Economist (Scott Sumner)
http://www.economist.com/economics/by-invitation/guest-contributions/proper-tax-rate-capital-income-zero

Morning Reading 3.8.2012

Morning Reading
Tarp Charts
http://dealbreaker.com/2012/03/tarp-charts/

http://homepage.eircom.net/~odyssey/Quotes/Popular/TV/Westwing4.html

Morning Reading 3.7.2012

Morning Reading
How cool are these!?!?!?
http://blog.makezine.com/2012/03/06/night-biking-gloves/

Morning Reading 3.5.2012

Morning Reading
Gentrification from a decidedly positive viewpoint - David Lida (David Lida)
http://davidlida.com/?p=1672

An interesting editorial from the Editor of Caixin
http://topics.scmp.com/news/china-news-watch/article/The-rise-of-Chinas-state-capitalism-is-not-a-point-of-pride-but-a-reason-for-worry

Propublica on the Financial Crisis and Banking Sector (didn't read it yet)
http://www.propublica.org/article/fed-shrugged-off-warning-let-banks-pay-shareholders-billions

The National People's Conference in China is in full swing:
http://chovanec.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/chinas-politics-in-rare-bloom/
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/03/05/china-npc-2012-the-reports/?mod=WSJBlog
http://english.caixin.com/2012-03-01/100362616_all.html
http://english.caixin.com/2012-03-05/100363875.html

Morning Reading 3.1.2012

Morning Reading
This is meta - Finding la Mancha (Mark "Moccasin" Eisinger)
http://findinglamancha.blogspot.com/2012/02/wednesday-february-29-2012-can.html

USA! USA! USA!
http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2012/03/italy-0-usa-1-match-highlights.html

Light Rail and Congestion - The Atlantic (Eric Jaffe)
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/02/does-light-rail-really-alleviate-highway-congestion/1358/

Elephant on the Tube - The Atlantic (Samuel Medina)
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2012/02/elephants-and-whales-london-tube/1359/

Boxpark (I think I posted something on this before, but I think it is pretty cool) - And it Feels Like Coming Home (Rachella)
http://anditfeelslikehome.blogspot.com/2012/03/boxpark-pop-up-on-steroids.html

$35 "Computer" - A VC (Fred Wilson)
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2012/03/raspberry-pi.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AVc+%28A+VC%29

Ahhhh

Forgot to add this excellent link:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/travel/jodi-ettenberg-on-her-life-as-a-long-term-traveler.html

I have been following this woman for around a year so it is cool that she is in the NY Times now . . .

Morning Reading 2.27.2012

Morning Reading

Canadians want Irish workers, not American ones (lower wages?) - Irish Times (Martin Wall)

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0226/breaking9.html

China Fact of the Day - Marginal Revolution (Tyler Cowen)

http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/02/china-fact-of-the-day-6.html

I expect that most people will read this differently, and I respect that, but this sure does make it seem that the free market can even do art funding better than the government.  Possibly bad that they have to monetize everything, rather than just doing, but is that the worst thing in the world? - TPM (Carl Franzen)

http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/kickstarter-expects-to-provide-more-funding-to-the-arts-than-nea.php

The hotels of Mexico City - David Lida (David Lida)

http://davidlida.com/?p=1912

Be Still, Warren Speaks

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2011ltr.pdf

Hong Kong a World Away for Many Chinese - NBC News (Bo Gu)

http://behindthewall.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/14/10407103-hong-kong-is-still-a-world-away-from-mainland-china-for-many

Morning Reading 2.24.2012

Exciting news ahead of the Apple announcement in March

http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2012/02/picture-of-the-day-iphone-gas-stove/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MiniTofublog+%28Ministry+of+Tofu+-+Featured+Articles%29

The counter argument on China

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/02/24/crisis-what-crisis-how-to-beat-back-the-china-bears/?mod=WSJBlog

More from Michael Pettis

http://www.economonitor.com/blog/2012/02/when-will-china-emerge-from-the-global-crisis/

Psychological Poverty Trap?

http://www.haaretz.com/business/the-psychological-poverty-trap-1.414260

What can't computers do?

http://www.mining.com/2012/02/19/rio-tinto-invests-us518-million-in-autonomous-trains-for-pilbara-iron-ore-rail-network-in-western-australia/?utm_source=digest-en-fe-120223&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digest

Morning Reading 2.23.2012

Morning Reading

Tuktuks!
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/02/21/southeast-asias-three-wheeled-vehicles/

There is some other interesting stuff on Global Voices you may enjoy

Morning Reading 2.21.2012

Morning Reading
Why Don't Americans Riot Anymore - Emily Badger (The Atlantic)
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2012/02/what-dont-americans-riot-anymore/1274/

The Jazz District Authenticity Problem - Brandon Reynolds (The Atlantic)
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2012/02/kansas-city-jazz-district-authenticity-problem/1284/

Hollywood by the Numbers - Horace Nayeri (Asymco)
http://www.asymco.com/2012/02/07/hollywood-by-the-numbers/

Humans Can Hibernate - (Irish Times)
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0219/breaking6.html

For the Beard in Your Life
http://imgur.com/ovNwF

Switcheroo
http://sincerelyhana.com/projects/switcheroo

The World's Most Interesting Man - Margalit Fox (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/us/john-fairfax-who-rowed-across-oceans-dies-at-74.html?_r=3&pagewanted=all?src=tp

Chinese Inflation - Editorial Board  (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204909104577232852381561544.html

Morning Reading 2.15.2012

Morning Reading
Aging is an unfortunate reality, but this is a really cool way of showing it - Marginal Revolution (Alex Tabarrok)
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/02/the-age-of-reason.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+marginalrevolution%2Ffeed+%28Marginal+Revolution%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Was it really a good idea to give full military honors to the VP of China? - WSJ (Nathan Hodge)
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/02/15/xi%E2%80%99s-pentagon-visit-long-on-ceremony-short-on-substance/?mod=WSJBlog

Standup Economist - Greg Mankiw's Blog (Greg Mankiw)
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2012/02/latest-from-standup-economist.html

Morning Reading 2.13.2012

Morning Reading
Yum! - Uncornered Market (Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott)
http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2012/02/carnes-asadas-market-oaxaca-mexico-panorama/

For all the economists looking to express their love this coming Valentine's day . . .
http://fosslien.com/heart/

Cats in Guangzhou, something we wouldn't no anything about without the internet - Isidor's Fugue (Brian Glucroft)
http://www.isidorsfugue.com/2012/02/store-cats-in-guangzhou-china.html

Volatility ETF's examined - Institutional Investor (Steve Rosenbush)
http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Article/2975865/Markets-Trading/The-Upside-and-Down-of-ETFs-that-Index-Volatility.html?ArticleId=2975865&single=true

So, uh, this could be bad - Reuters (Richard Pullin and Koh Gui Qing)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/us-china-debt-idUSTRE81C07420120213

A story about the Washington Post in the New York Times, how meta - New York Times (Jeremy Peters)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/business/media/the-washington-post-recast-for-a-digital-future.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

Morning Reading 2.10.2012

Morning Reading
I couldn't let this one just fly by.  This is a good example of the valuable services that can be provided online on the cheap now - The Next Web
http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2012/02/06/this-popular-icelandic-website-that-helps-avoid-incest/

China has a huge number of citizens overseas, many of whom are in dangerous areas.  The government is going to have to start protecting them if they don't want more to get taken hostage - Wall Street Journal (Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins)
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/02/10/chinas-new-challenge-protecting-its-citizens-abroad/?mod=WSJBlog

Fake Rhino attempts fake escape? - BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16950361

Morning Reading 2.8.2012

Morning Reading
An interesting insight on a "microtrend" that I have just been picking up on myself: women are getting more successful, men are stagnating or getting worse.  Good for workplace and income equality, probably bad for marriage markets.  It seems like our economic equality is moving faster than our views on gender roles and I wouldn't be surprised if the next couple of decades are rough on young successful women.  Look at DC: lots of young, attractive, stable, upper-middle class woman; not a lot of similar men.  There are either going to be a lot of mismatched relationships, imported rich men (China? Women are in short supply there . . . arbitrage opportunity), or single ladies.  Buyer's market for single stable men in the district. - Marginal Revolution (Tyler Cowen)
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/02/from-whence-comes-this-sudden-wave-of-economic-determinism.html

Uh oh, people don't trust the Eurozone banks - Alea (Alea)
http://alea.tumblr.com/post/17262775869/eurozone-deposits-overnight-agreed-maturity

A nice long report on global liquidity.  Didn't read it yet, but it looks interesting - Bank of International Settlements
http://www.bis.org/publ/cgfs45.pdf

Morning Reading 2.3.2012

Morning Reading
Just for Mark (note: wax seal optional)
http://shop.paperfinger.com/collections/custom-made/products/love-letter-transcription

Why do people pay so much money to consultants - Overcoming Bias (Robin Hanson)
http://www.overcomingbias.com/2012/01/why-so-much-consulting.html

Morning Reading 2.2.2012

Morning Reading: Facebook Edition
Facebook files their S-1 in anticipation of an IPO.  It is worth a gander for the amazing usage rate facts alone (92 million daily users . . . that is 92,000,000 people using their website EVERY DAY! . . . . . oh and wait, that was in the first quarter of 2009, now the average daily user figure is 483,000,000 DAILY.  It should be noted that this is "users" not "people" because of corporate accounts.  Still outrageous.)
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000119312512034517/d287954ds1.htm

Stainless steel is overrated.  So are granite countertops.  I am more upset about the "kitchen bubble" than the "housing bubble", although they went/go hand in hand - The Atlantic (Megan McArdle)
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/02/how-did-stainless-steel-appliances-get-so-popular/252385/

Morning Reading 2.1.2012

Morning Reading
Excellent collection of Chinese "Friendship Projects".  I can't help but think this is a far more effective foreign policy than the American role of stepping in when war comes.  China gets to be the "fun dad", the US is the "mean mom".  Be sure to read the comments at the end, always interesting to see the issues that concern the netizens - Ministry of Tofu
http://www.ministryoftofu.com/2012/02/photos-generous-gifts-to-less-developed-countries-from-china/

Continuing the discussion of ISM seasonality . . . they are making historical revisions - Calculated Risk Blog
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/02/ism-seasonality.html

Continuing aftermath of cadmium spill in Southern China - Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/01/31/photos-china-struggles-to-clean-up-cadmium-spill/tab/slideshow/

Rapid iron ore capacity expansions in Australia still needed?  Bonus "Australia in a picture" in this article: a kangaroo on iron ore boulders - Wall Street Journal (Robb Stewart)
http://blogs.wsj.com/dealjournalaustralia/2012/01/31/chinas-slowing-no-worries-for-aussie-iron-ore-miners/

Continuing the discussion on the Catholic Church not covering birth control in their health insurance (a little bird tells me that a certain Catholic institution in DC does offer employees an alternate option from "Catholic care", but students are tied in and possibly others).  For me, the question is not of right or wrong here, it is: how much freedom over medical freedom are you willing to give up for government management of healthcare?  Difficult questions like "does the Catholic Church have a right to pursue its values through its health insurance" only get messier when you substitute the "Federal Government" for "Catholic Church" in that statement.  How many people can say that they feel well-aligned with the values of the US Federal Government? - The Atlantic (Megan McArdle)
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/01/should-the-church-have-to-dispense-birth-control/252321/

A book review that doubles as a criticism of much of current coverage of China.  Interesting throughout.  But it does beg the question of why we feel so comfortable with our stereotypes of some countries and so vehemently challenge others.  Possibly due to the incredibly complicated relationship the US has with China . . .
http://chinageeks.org/2012/01/book-review-why-china-will-never-rule-the-world/

The Efficient Markets Hypothesis lives - TheMoneyIllusion (Scott Sumner)
http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=12801

Afternoon Reading

Afternoon Reading
Discussion of relative tax rates of rich and middle class - Megan McArdle (The Atlantic)
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/01/how-rich-is-warren-buffetts-secretary/252056/