patrick.net

actually, i don't know why they don't enforce really tough penalties on people writing, distributing and using spambots treated as tho they were malicious viruses -- not sure what stage the anti-spam legislation is at now... an international policing operation recently busted the actual physical operations of some of the pharmaceutical mailing firms... i choose option 3 for spammers...

DS,

In a perfect world with omnipotent and disinterested rulers, I would go with path 3. But since previous efforts at high level of government control tend to horribly wrong, I think I'll tough it would with path 2.

Interestingly, tho, given ostensibly ‘free market’ conditions, people naturally steer towards making themselves as comfortable and secure and wealthy as possible, i.e. price fixing, monoplies, duopolies, cosy arrangements, fooling most of the people all of the time, etc — so a free market of perfect competition and consumer choice is just as utopian or dreamlike as a worker’s paradise, but a lot less honest and a lot nastier in motivation. and it is tipped towards over-consumption and low sustainability…

I generally agree with the former statement, but not the latter conclusions. How is competition and consumer free choice inherently "less honest" and "a lot nastier" than socialism/communism ? Isn't greater freedom/more choices/better products a good thing for workers (or anyone)?

Considering the kind of governments and outcomes that "pure" anti-capitalist socialism has produced, I don't buy that it's necessarily the lesser of two evils vs. unfettered capitalism.

Why don't I ever see birth control pill spam or colon exam spam? That would be a semi useful spam, at least. It's the monotony of breast enlargements and male enhancement spam that really bugs me.

I think spammers automatically fall under policing action and commons problems, so they would be taken care of under option 2. Option 1 would probably resort to private networks and very very elaborate spam filters.

Ooh.. spammers...

I like to think option 3 would include the death penalty for spammers, and option 1 would simply put bounties on their heads. Option 2 would be less bloody, unfortunately.

"I like to think option 3 would include the death penalty for spammers, and option 1 would simply put bounties on their heads."

LOL! I never thought of it that way. But who would contribute to pay the bounty hunters?

LOL! I never thought of it that way. But who would contribute to pay the bounty hunters?

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"

(special Nerd points to anyone who knows the movie....)

(courtesy of google)

Ughh, Robocop?

The good news is, urbandictionary thinks it predates Robocop.

Picture a PayPal tip jar on Mr. Goodcat's personal website, every person with a clogged inbox adding some pocket change to the sum.. Oh yes, the numbers could add up very quickly.

tchah...too easy...;-)

Consider yourself 'nerded up level 2 p0wnd!'.

But since previous efforts at high level of government control tend to horribly wrong, I think I’ll tough it would with path 2.

i suggest option 2½, which of course doesn't exist in the construction we've been presented with. i repeat, fabian socia1ism ≠ totalitarian state socia1ism. but, there is a spectrum of possibilities not represented in the options above, where 1 and 2 are almost indistinguishable in any real world implementation, and are not teleological or social policy driven, and the gap between 2 and 3 is vast...

option 2 seems to produce all the gripes and pathologies that this blog likes to chew over...

speedingpullet,

Man, only level 2 nerd! I started a post with a picture of Lady Jessica the bene gesserit (before she turned bene gesserit traitor, blah blah blah) for gawdsakes!

It would be sad if Congress decided to further regulate realtors. What this market needs is to break up realtors as a cartel and push home buying towards large hourly fee based companies (preferably ones that can do everything in-house from financial counseling and taxes, to home inspection and document preparation).

ajh,

Draws won't work, but storage bins could work (for a while, did I mention my boyfriend has a five year backlog of his college paper and magazines that he refuses to throw away?). My problem goes beyond my boyfriend's packrat tendencies, he also likes to have papers covering every surface because he claims its easier to find stuff that way. He seems to subscribe to Sherlock Holmes's method of document archiving.

draws = drawers

a dyed in the wool Utilitarian would HAVE to go for number 3 — greatest good for the greatest number…

Why? I am a Utilitarian and I think number 1 and 2 are not necessarily bad, since #3 needs to work against human nature to realize it potentials. I do not believe human nature can be defeated.

The outcome of this housing bust will be a “new beginning” to housing regulation and accountability for the unethical practices that belie this current industry... The end result will be a more efficient and credible housing market.

@John, let's hope so. That would certainly be the ideal outcome.

What this market needs is to break up realtors as a cartel and push home buying towards large hourly fee based companies (preferably ones that can do everything in-house from financial counseling and taxes, to home inspection and document preparation).

Amen. RC's long been arguing in favor of exactly that --a fee-based model where you walk into a bank, go to the REO kiosk and browse their catalog of properties. Tour your picks, make your selection, apply for financing, get inspection --bam, 1-stop shopping. Hopefully all for a lot less than the 8-10% chunk each RE transaction takes out of your ass now.

Drawers won’t work, but storage bins could work (for a while, did I mention my boyfriend has a five year backlog of his college paper and magazines that he refuses to throw away?). My problem goes beyond my boyfriend’s packrat tendencies, he also likes to have papers covering every surface because he claims its easier to find stuff that way. He seems to subscribe to Sherlock Holmes’s method of document archiving.

i'm glad to know it's not just me then...

politicians don't like to worry about real estate prices too much, because they are pretty sure the market is ultimately self-limiting -- prices will always be contained due to the fundamental of salaries and wages. there may be some tulip boom pain once in a while, but they're better off keeping out of it so they can't get the blame if something goes wrong with their interventions...and now we are seeing a price correction and high inventory, although it's hard to know how far down prices will come...

they don't worry too much about conventional market failure, and see their role as providing residualised public housing for the bottom end only as a welfare state necessity...

however, that's not to say it couldn't all change using generous state land grants, price covenants, and not for profit developers... as per the example of Bridge Housing in SF, for instance..

We certainly are learning about how astoundingly bad government can be lately…

speaking of which, dubya has taken a shellacking from hugo chavez and mahmoud ahmadinejad in the un recently -- they are interesting times when a claimed born again christian is accused of being the devil...

Comrades, the graphic Patrick chose clearly illustrates how the masses must fight against domestic reactionaries and Yankee Imperialists and their running dogs.....

*slap* I've got to stop spending so much time reading that little red book my son sent me from China..

At least Chavez never sanctioned torture, diverted tax dollars to private military contractors or attacked another country without provocation. Plus, it is fair to say that Chavez has done more for the poor in the US (subsidized heating oil for poor new yorkers) than Bush has done (diddly squat).

I say this partly in jest. But seriously, for all his faults I think Chavez (or even Castro for that matter) is probably less toxic than Bush, Cheney et al.

"Of course, you don’t see cronyism or nepotism with the Bush-Lockheed Martin-Texaco-Halliburton revolving door cartel in the free wheeling open market US of A… "

This precisely why we do not want to give the government more power. It is odd that you justify adding more economic power to the government by using examples of a government abusing its existing power.

If the banks could not sell housing loans to gov agencies designed for this purpose, and the banks had to take the risks themselves, there would have been no housing bubble. Down payments would have been required and borrowers would be qualified. Gov interference created the environment for the speculator and FB.

HARM,

The "catalog, one stop shopping" model you introduced is pretty much what *George has feared for some time. Major banks getting involved in retailing RE would basically spell the end for small, independent local shops. On one hand this would a tragedy. The Walmart effect if you will.

On the other hand, NAR, CAR, legions of largely unregulated MB's have proven difficult if not impossible to regulate. The proof here sir is in the pudding.

Take for instance a newly minted rookie realt-whore fresh out of "boot camp". They studied (not much granted) and covered their chapter on ethics and no sooner than they get their first sale than some "senior broker" or branch manager is showing them how "the system" really works! What appraisers to avoid, how to get around inspections, which MB's to use to get marginal clients to qualify. I could go on but you get the idea.

The REIC will fight the "new beginning" tooth and nail. In the end, they will lose. Their half hearted effort at self regulation has failed miserably. Their self serving charter will become the focus of the FB/homeowners ire. At that point all of the economic reasons and well intentioned (but faulty) tax policies won't matter in their minds. Only getting back at those "that put them in this position" will matter.

It's not only the end of the housing boom, it's the end of the Cartel (TM).

Bush is a terrible president, weak leader, and has hired some of the worst foreign policy advisers since the 1800s.

Ahmadinejahd denies the Holocaust occurred and believes the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to be factual. He has repeatedly called not only for the extermination of Israel, but also of all unrepentant Jews, which means all of them in context.

Chavez is documented to use tactics like kidnapping and torturing wives and children of political enemies. Didn't he also arrest pretty much every domestic reporter who dared write or speak anything critical of him? And he uses Cuban security because he's under constant threat of internal assassination because of his strongarm tactics with his own military.

I'm not so sure there's a moral equivalency here, but I do agree that they all three suck. We are living in a time with absolutely no leaders. That's the real problem.

Randy,

True, all three suck. But the reason I might give Chavez the edge over Bush has to do with context. Chavez is the leader of a small country with a history of political instability and dictatorships. Bush is President of a large, overwhelmingly powerful country with a long history of open, democratic institutions and expanding civil rights. Yet they wind up at around the same place.

Bush has tried to undermine the press through covert propaganda campaigns, he has undermined the political process through a variety of means (see Florida, '00, Ohio, '04, etc.), he has sanctioned torture, alienated the world community, started a war without provocation, etc., etc... Chavez has basically acted like a thug who is trying to hold on to power. Sort of like a gang leader/mafia don.

Hard to say who is worse, but I think you need to consider the context. Otherwise, you would have to say that Jefferson was a worse president than Bush because he had slaves. At least Bush doesn't have slaves. But within his historical/political context Jefferson was quite progressive.

Take your pick It's the lesser of three evils. I will say that it was funny as hell to see the UN general assembly applaud when Chavez was trashing Bush. It is evident that the world hates GB's arrogance he does have a aura of unapproachability. That "my way or the highway" thing. It's pretty clear he is not well thought of in alot of the world. He has undone thirty years of diplomacy. Hopefully we don't have to endure this much longer mid term elections coming up. I think the GOP is done in 08 alot of folks are pissed off economically and are sick of Iraq.

Glen

I certainly agree that Bush is a much greater disappointment in proportion to the damage caused. I was referring to the tendency people have to drawing moral equivalency to character. I also don't think that comparing people across time/eras is at all relevant.

But Bush has given us all the legacy of decades of global instability, when he had a golden opportunity of unprecedented global solidarity laid before his feet. Bush & his team continually compare the situation now to WWII. Ok. Compare Bush's leadership to the heroic leaders of WWII. That's the difference: how a leader responds to crisis and how a politician responds to crisis. One engages in strategy, plans for victory, builds solidarity across partisan divides, strengthens alliances, and does what is in the interest of the people. The other figures out how to win the next election, grabs for more power, and tries to get more of his own party entrenched, all while driving a stake of fear through any hope of broad cooperation.

Who are our alternatives? I see absolutely no one on the horizon for 08. McCain? He is too principled, and will get eaten alive by his own party. Didn't they run the anti-McCain-because-he-has-a-black-love-child ads during the 00 primary? Hillary? Give me a break. Is it even worth it to vote anymore anyway? Unless you live in one of 2-3 states, your vote is mathematically and statistically irrelevant.

Sellers are bitchin' and moanin' about "pushy" buyers. Waah, waah!

http://www.forbes.com/business/commerce/feeds/ap/2006/09/19/ap3028315.html

When I was in school in Japan I literally had Japanese students laugh and say very derisively “Clinton is your President!”

what about the outgoing japanese president!!?? he loved elvis....

Different Sean Says:

what about the outgoing japanese president!!?? he loved elvis….

What do you mean? Did you see Koizumi's Elvis impersonation when he visited Graceland? That guy is cool! The shrub is just a dork.

SFWoman,

I believe there are ample mistranslations to both extremes. I try to cross-compare US & UK reported stories with what I read in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and on FAZ.net. There has been no shortage of outrageous "missed translations" which were picked up in Farsi - German translations but ignored by Farsi - English translations. Of course, the Germans are a bit keen to counter any Holocaust deniers, for obvious reason.

You'd think that US/UK MSM would at least pick up mainstream Euro reports of stuff Amadinejahd has said, especially since it would help Bush's "cause". But the 20-odd times he's proposed rounding up all the Jews (note, not all the Israelis, but all Jews) and relocating them to Germany have been all but missed in English MSM. He also has stated that every Jew is a Zionist, all Zionists should be killed, and anyone who doesn't actively work to exterminate Zionism and Zionist peoples is "Satanic" (no direct translation). Oh yea, everyone in the US and Europe is either a Zionist or a Muslim, except surprisingly, the Russians.

Iran imposed a ban on the network and its reporters Monday after CNN misquoted the president as speaking of developing "nuclear weapons" when he actually referred to "nuclear energy."

Funny. It was directly translated in German press as Kernteilmaterialien, which roughly means "nuclear component materials".

Is Farsi that ambiguous?

This precisely why we do not want to give the government more power. It is odd that you justify adding more economic power to the government by using examples of a government abusing its existing power.

i am suggesting govt should deliver affordable housing through a variety of means. the measure of their success woudl clearly be that they deliver housing at much less than market rates. this would be very easy to measure, i would think. if they couldn't do it, then it would be obvious and self-defeating.

once, under the new deal, this would have been possible. given the way fema responds to crises like new orleans, perhaps it's not possible any more -- perhaps too many americans are too corrupt and indifferent and economically self-interested to deliver a workable solution... altho NYC has committed to creating 165,000 affordable places over the next 10 years...

Another MSM pity story about sellers unable to unload - talk about deer in the headlights!

http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/22/real_estate/help_home_for_sale_young_ballanco/index.htm?postversion=2006092212

The MSM routinely portrays disfavored foreign leaders as loopy or dangerous if they meet two criteria: (1) leader of a country with large oil reserves; and (2) openly hostile to the US.

I am not saying that Amadinejad, Chavez or Saddam Hussein, for that matter, deserve our respect. But we should at least think critically about the views spoonfed to us by the MSM.

Why do dangerous and oppressive regimes like Musharef in Pakistan, the Saudi royals and Putin get a pass from the MSM? They are apparently just much better than Chavez and Amadinejad at playing us for fools. And Bush and his cronies fall right into the trap every time. Amateurs.

"We're planning on starting a family someday," says the 30-year-old Young, who builds simulation software for a defense contractor. "We wanted a bigger home - with a pool."

The new house cost $562,000 so they were really counting on profits from the old place to help. They had paid $167,000 for their current four bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, 2,861 square foot contemporary that they bought new, on the last day of 2002.

i see, this 30 year old is 'planning on starting a family someday' (nothing happening yet), so he, right now, needs a much bigger house than his current 4 br, 2½ bathroom mcmansion, one that costs 4 x his original house. you see, each and every new infant will require at least 3 bedrooms to spread out in... that's assuming he survives the economic darwinism test first... what a wanker...

DS:

Culture often comes from the top of an organization, and works its way downward. Maybe it's just a case of "like hires like", but it's a very real phenomena. An administration that is interested only in profits and playing soldier is not going to be effective on the domestic front.

At the root of the issues most have with "big business" and others have with "big government" is usually corruption. That makes it easy for defenders on either side to say "it's only a few bad apples, the system itself is fine". (Or is that used only for communism?)

Hence, regulations, the bandaid solution. It means that we don't /need/ to punish the guilty, because now there's a Regulation. Eventually, enough regulations add up that people can say "look at how much all these unnecessary regulations are costing us", and then deregulation happens. (Wonders when SNL will run their old "we're the phone company" skit again.)

The solution to regulation is proper enforcement of existing laws, which mean tackling corruption on the government side. My suspicion is that this is best done by placing competing interests in a position to police each other. (Wait... isn't that a recipe for gridlock?)

Why do dangerous and oppressive regimes like Musharef in Pakistan, the Saudi royals and Putin get a pass from the MSM?

a) Threat of escalation of nuclear war over Kashmir.
b) Threat of loss of 90% of Europe's and Japan's crude, probably resulting in very unfavorable results.
c) How can you threaten Russia, the only nuclear, modern military with largely self-sufficient resources other than the US? Didn't that scenario already play out the last half of the past century?

I don't think Bush's cronies are dumb, or amateurs. To the contrary. I think they are overconfident professionals who've lost touch of pragmatic reality. Most of their strategy looks stellar on paper. Just doesn't work out so well in practice.

Is Farsi that ambiguous?

i dunno. i had dinner with two iranian women tonight, i'll ask them ;)