Links for today - September 10th

Rather than share links on facebook, I shall do so here. This is because this blog is archival, I have more space to rant, opine and pontificate.

Firstly, we start off by a fairly solid piece by Professor Noam Chomsky, who proves once again that he is one of the last remaining voices of conscience in the rich world today. It's a fairly lengthy piece - and I will read it occasionally for a break. Better than seeing some nut's super-wall.

There's also a bunch of articles by Malc. Gladwell - a smart guy. They're apparently being compiled into a book, but they're available for free on the internets. (HT: Tyler Cowen).

Another article from the New Scientist on the Nocebo Effect.

Interesting article in NYTimes about a person who has moved back to India from the US - and how he is unable to tolerate life in general in the Indian city. Nostalgia?

I was listening to Obama's speech on healthcare yesterday - and I think he can do it. If he could coax the American people to vote for him due to his gifted oratory, then why can't he get some legislation passed by mere rhetorical flourish - especially, when everybody agrees about almost everything in the legislation?

And this one about median household income in the US. Note the horizontalness in the bush era. And this one is the plot of (median income / per capita income) with time in the US. Note how it falls - indicating that money is going into the richest pockets.