Hayek: The Back Story

"George Orwell . . . conceded that Hayek 'is probably right' about the 'totalitarian-minded' nature of intellectuals but concluded that he[Hayek] 'does not see, or will not admit, that a return to `free` competition means for the great mass of people a tyranny probably worse . . . than that of the state'. "
"How relevant is the book to Glenn Beck’s America? In his 1960 essay 'Why I Am Not a Conservative,' Hayek observed, 'Conservatism may often be a useful practical maxim, but it does not give us any guiding principles which can influence long-range developments'.”
( Hayek: The Back Story By JENNIFER SCHUESSLER, Published: July 9, 2010)

Is he a comedian?

Who's Glenn Beck? Is he a journalist-turned or preacher-turned comedian? http://nyti.ms/9T0qkL

"With a mix of moral lessons, outrage and an apocalyptic view of the future, Mr. Beck, a longtime radio host who jumped to Fox from CNN's Headline News channel in early 2009, is capturing the feelings of an alienated class of Americans. " http://nyti.ms/9T0qkL

Could you describe the exact characteristics of the "alienated class of Americans?" What do they want and do not want? Does the "alienated class of Americans" belong to the vanishing middle class or not?

Der Spiegel: US middle class vanishing http://bit.ly/brvoBF
The Erosion of America's Middle Class http://bit.ly/dDsqPj

I found the following analysis by Ross Douthat interesting. I hope that Beck's "Restoring Honor" is not related to the anti-Islam hysteria and anti-government rhetoric of some "fundamentalists."

"It[Beck's `Restoring Honor`] was a long festival of affirmation for middle-class white Christians — square, earnest, patriotic and religious. "
"For a weekend, at least, Beck proved that he can conjure the thrill of a culture war without the costs of combat, and the solidarity of identity politics without any actual politics. If his influence outlasts the current election cycle, this will be the secret of his success."
http://nyti.ms/aFglnr

Take a look at this. "Glenn Beck's 'Honor' rally: What you missed" http://bit.ly/aBkrSK

Can he be called a comedian? Someone said, "Although he is entertaining, he is serious in the content he reports. He is great!" I don't think he is entertaining. http://bit.ly/aKNVgT

"Mr. Kohn also distinguished the latest recession from previous ones. 'It didn’t begin with the Fed slamming the brakes on the economy,' he said. 'It began when the economy collapsed under the weight of the housing bubble — and then you had the panic over losses that resulted from the bubble’s collapse'.” http://nyti.ms/a8yL6f
I don't know how he is going to comment on this as an "opinion journalist," if he is not a comedian?

"Banks, mortgage brokers, rating agencies, and homebuilders all acted badly. "
"Without clear government ground rules, capitalism becomes anarchy and cronyism."
---"What Kind of Capitalism?" Peter Dreier http://huff.to/cvAtaC

Facebook

I wonder if "Tweetbook" will be sued by Facebook. @ChiBreakingBiz: Facebook sues social media site with ‘book’ in name http://trib.in/9JgtsG

"Facebook Trying To Trademark 'Face' and 'Book,' Eventually Taking Away All Nouns" http://bit.ly/acFHL4

Facebook says, "All your face belong to us." http://bit.ly/92seaB "Mark Zuckerberg told an audience in January that privacy is dead."

An unanticipated side effect?

"an unanticipated side effect" RT @TIME: Is your iPhone killing your creativity? | http://su.pr/222ISt

"Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime" http://nyti.ms/deZK9d I have known that downtime is necessary, especially for me.

I feel Ray Bradbury is a great writer. In his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953), Guy Montag's wife has the little Seashells in her ears.

What you see is . . . .

"Japan's national identity has been tied up with economic primacy . . . " http://bit.ly/dy5ElT What you see is what you have in your mind.

"Japanese salarymen"

"Japanese salarymen" are today "wussy, unambitious 'grass-eating men'."--http://bit.ly/bMsck9 This isn't the real, root cause of the crisis.

I hope that grass-eating animals are not going to be driven to extinction by carnivorous animals.

"When you look at Japan’s declining share of world GDP, and even its relative decline in per capita GDP, the biggest single cause is the declining number of working-age Japanese."
Paul Krugman, "Japanese Demography" http://nyti.ms/dimk7c

I suppose all "wussy, unambitious 'grass-eating men'" in Japan are relieved to read Paul Krugman's comment.

A small ship

When I had my house built, I did not regard it as a castle. I hoped it was a small ship. But it is wrecked on a reef.

My small ship has been wrecked on a reef, but it cannot be moved like a mobile house. Anyway, I --or we--still have no definite destination.

Road to Nowhere

"America Goes Dark" By PAUL KRUGMAN http://nyti.ms/aFThWE "It’s the logical consequence of three decades of antigovernment rhetoric . . . "

Take a look at this funny and sad(?) video. Talking Heads - "Road To Nowhere" http://bit.ly/d5tlAo

"When we give millionaires more money instead, . . . most of that money will just sit idle."-- "America Goes Dark": http://nyti.ms/aFThWE

"Interaction-Canada: or how "feel good" public spending is unstoppable . . . " Is he referring to every government? http://bit.ly/clPRSW

Take a look at this: "Millions of Americans are losing their jobs, their homes and their hopes for the future."(http://nyti.ms/9EYJGB)

"A lot of the people who want monetary tightening start from a prejudice — just dislike the idea of easy money . . . ."-- Paul Krugman http://nyti.ms/bIGwbV

A minimalist robot

What an interesting and sad experiment! "A minimalist humanoid robot." I have liked minimalist design, but . . . .

Yes, it reminds us of Casper the Friendly Ghost.

"The uncanny valley is a hypothesis regarding the field of robotics."(http://bit.ly/7tHzMg) I didn't know this interesting hypothesis.

I talk with my mother once a week on the phone. She was born in 1920 and lives in my hometown that is more than a thousand kilometers away from where I am living now.

"Suggestions for you"

If you click "Who to follow" on the Twitter site, you can see the list "Suggestions for you." They are the people who are followed by those whom you follow.

A famous scholar whose name escapes me at the moment said that it was unnecessary. I have mixed feelings about it.

A lot of books on Twitter

I went to a small bookshop in a supermarket and bought two booklets on Twitter. There are a lot of books on this micro-blogging service. I ended up buying five books or booklets. I have decided not to buy any more books on Twitter. http://j.mp/aN4X3Y

According to the description of Twitter, it is a "service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages." Its uniqueness may lie in the restriction as to the maximum number of 140 characters.

Facebook privacy issues

1. Students finally wake up to Facebook privacy issues
http://arst.ch/lup
2. Facebook finally gets it with new, simpler privacy controls
http://arst.ch/ko9
Twitter and Facebook are different. If you are using the Facebook service, you should tweak your privacy controls.

"Social network has to balance privacy issues with revenue streams"
http://bit.ly/ajfaVO

"The bill would also make it illegal for employers to 'friend' an applicant on Facebook . . . . " http://bit.ly/dtEXr8 That's a good idea.

I hope I can restart writing blogs.

Recently I began using Twitter. I think I have used it for a month. I have not been interested in social networking services(SNS), and Twitter is not a SNS but a micro-blogging service. At Twitter you have to write a message within 140 words. I don't worry that in the future there will be no new permutations of 140 characters left, but I hope I can restart using a blogging service called cocolog.

Rinjiro Hasegawa's oil painting pictures

I went to a museum to see Rinjiro Hasegawa's oil painting pictures. His essay titled "What I remember about Taro" is funny and excellent.
The Works of Hasegawa Rinjiro: Surrealistic Stillness http://bit.ly/9p6A2c