Concrete Achievements

Blog

  • Early insider trading

    From Aristotle’s Athenian Constitution:

    As soon as he was at the head of affairs, Solon liberated the people once and for all, by prohibiting all loans on the security of the debtor’s person: and in addition he made laws by which he cancelled all debts, public and private. This measure is commonly called the Seisachtheia [= removal of burdens], since thereby the people had their loads removed from them. … It so happened that, when he was about to enact the Seisachtheia, he communicated his intention to some members of the upper class, whereupon,… these persons borrowed money and bought up a large amount of land, and so when, a short time afterwards, all debts were cancelled, they became wealthy; and this, they say, was the origin of the families which were afterwards looked on as having been wealthy from primeval times.

  • Or is he the English Mart Laar?

    An otherwise mundane article about David Cameron’s visit to Sweden contains this description of the Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt.

    He has been dubbed the “Swedish David Cameron”

    Is it just me, or does that sound like the dubbing of a British newspaper? Maybe I’m wrong, and Swedish voters are so familiar with the cut-and-thrust of British politics that the Leader of the Opposition is a recognised political benchmark from Stockholm to Skane.

  • Sod the Mediterranean diet, just take a nap

    The Washington Post reports that regular naps could reduce heart disease mortality by 30%.

  • Blandlands

    Aaron Valdez is blogging a series of action-free videos of suburbia, which is really atmospheric and thoughtful: Blandlands. Reminds me of Frank Breuer’s photographs of warehouses and logos.

  • Model railway sex

    The Register 9 February 2007

  • TV station idents

    A great selection of old TV station idents, recreated in Flash, here.

  • Right like me

    An American writer tries to live for a week with only right-wing media sources. Link.

  • Business-class flying pickets

    A German firm is renting out photogenic youths to protest
    organisations, to swell the numbers at their marches and
    demonstrations. One critic quoted in the 25 January 2007

  • In need of an asylum

    I’ve often wondered whether the Express and the Mail are cynical or stupid in their coverage of asylum seekers and immigration. A strong voice for the ‘stupid’ lobby comes from a Committee hearing in Parliament, at which the editors of those two soiled organs gave evidence. The Express’s editor, one Peter Hill, as reported in the Guardian brought forth the following description of asylum seekers

    hundreds of thousands of people many of whom hate this country; people who want to destroy this country, people who want to become suicide bombers.

    Disturbingly, Express readers also believe that the number of immigrants in the country is three times higher than the actual level (7%). Frightening stuff.

  • Madness, just madness

    US columnist slams the Weather Channel as part of the great liberal conspiracy (via MeFi).