news from late june 2012

• Everybody in my neck of the woods - the news blogosphere - is talking about health care after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, Thursday. NPR's Planet Money points out their work with This American Life in past broadcasts both, 'More Is Less' and also, "Someone Else's Money" - and PM adds another chapter today 29june12 for this friday's podcast.

• Clark and Dawe are hilarious  and also, on eurocrisis here and on the US bail out of 2008

• Most South and Central American countries are having difficulties of different kinds. In Paraguay a coup threw out their president which is not much different than what happened in Honduras three years ago. A report from the guardian.
• Assad declares Syria in a civil war, even downs Turkish jet; Russia and Iran both still support the regime but Qatar, the Arab League Nations and american rhetoric (at least) is backing the resistance.Fatster has eleven links lists and more. There's so much going on...
• A Plea for water - that most basic of elements necessary for survival - is made by those in the West Bank: their wells, they say are all poisoned

• Barclay's fined half a billion for manipulating interest rates attached to the LIBOR on estimated $100 trillion in loans from 2005-09. It's called 'Skimming'.

• An article from digby: June 20, 2012, it's short:

"Cheaters always Prosper", by digby:

In response to Chris Hayes' new book about the meritocracy, Karl Smith at Forbes writes this:
There is a lot I want to say, but I want to make sure I say that there is a more elemental reason why meritocracy produces a corrupt ruling class and it is this:

Cheaters may almost never win but, given equal opportunity and a large enough competition, the winners are almost always cheaters. Why? Well, no one cheats because they think if that even if they get away with it they will be worse off. No, they cheat because if they get away with it they will be better off. Cheaters are taking a gamble. Even if the system is pretty good and the odds are stacked against the cheaters, if there are enough players then some of the cheaters will get away with it, nonetheless. When they do they will gain an advantage. Now, imagine that life is a series of such competitions played over and over again. Each time some people will cheat and some will get away with it. Each time some will gain an advantage. If the competition is immense, say it encompasses a country of 300 Million or a global population of 7 Billion, then by the Law of Large numbers some cheaters will be lucky enough to get away with it every single time. This means every single round they gain an advantage and slip ahead of the pack. After enough rounds the front of the pack is completely dominated by cheaters.

That certainly explains Wall Street.

Also, aristocracy. 

Speaking of Hayes, 

Dday hosted a fascinating discussion about the book with him this morning on Firedoglake. Check it out.

• this all should be tied to this article from marketplace two Friday's ago. The one real must read article here. Is Jamie Dimon warning us about the fiscal cliff we're headed for? Made me think hard about that 'deficit cliff' we're heading for at the beginning of 2013 - massive cuts in federal services and defense too, a return to the pre-Bush tax cuts. The 'sequestration', you may remember, from the 'Supercommittee' that both houses of Congress created after the 'deal' between Reid and McConnell, Boehner and Obama. That. If that isn't reversed, unemployment is going to jump with major losses of gov and public sector employees and those businesses that support them... and a whole lot more than just chili sauce.

• Oh yes, but can't forget Jamie Dimon's cufflinks on the occasion in June when he answered questions before Congress. Some people say he got them from someone in the White House.