Archive for September 3rd, 2007
Swedish Indiscretions
While we’re at the theme of Swedish – ahem – intimate relations: The Maja Lundgren saga has reached Danish media.
Male non-Swedish readers of this blog are probably best advised to reject possible advances by female Swedish writers, actors, singers and so on.
OK, I have to be politically correct here: Male heterosexual / Male homosexual / Female heterosexual / Female homosexual non-Swedish readers …etc, etc… female / male / male / female Swedish writers… (and then I’ve probably forgotten some obscure sexual category)
Cut(s)
Tonight’s political deal over tax policies has an element of “much ado about nothing” or alternatively “I told you so”.
“Much ado about nothing” because we (or rather: The Danes. Or rather: Danish political reporters) did not get the election everybody – well, every political reporter – had been yakking about. “I told you so!” because, well, I told you so: In terms of politics, the question was if the government would want to include the Social Liberals and Ny Alliance in the final negotiations (answer: no) over an agreement with the Danish People’s Party. In terms of policy, the question was whether tax cuts would come in the high end of the scale – as the Conservatives wanted – or the middle of the scale – as the DPP wanted (answer: the middle of the scale).
So, the government has its deal. The DPP a policy victory. The Conservatives a pretty bloody nose.
And what about the opposition? Well, in a way it could be said to be a little surprising that the government put so little effort into negotiations with the Social Democrats, the Social Liberals and Ny Alliance. On the other hand, if the PM never aimed at an early election, there was really no need for an extended deal: The tax cuts will go into the 2008 budget and people will see the effects as of January.
One topic for discussion could be: The Social Liberals and Ny Alliance have lost in policy terms in the short run, but will this really be a problem in the longer run? And: What if the Conservatives start losing voters to the Social Liberals and Ny Alliance during the autumn?
I’m lazy tonight, so I’ll just link to Berlingske Tidende’s coverage: 1, 2, 3.
Update: The economists are not happy.
And Finally…
Affald, originally uploaded by jacobchristensen.
I’ve managed to post all of my Amsterdam pictures. It only took about a month to clear the desk (or rather the iPhoto collection).
How to Make Statistics Sexy
If it’s there, it’s on the internet: The world sex chart.
Now, from a strictly professional point of view lots of things can be said about these kinds of inquiries and presentations (mean and median, anyone…?), especially with regard to the selection of respondents and the credibility of the answers.
The Turkish result is a bit surprising, though, as is the result of the comparison between Danes on the one hand and Swedes, Norwegians, Finns and Icelanders on the other. If you want a reliable partner, you should opt for a Dane. Even the Irish sleep around more than we do.
Another interesting – and worrying – observation is the position occupied by the Nordic countries along with Greece, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand on the “unprotected sex”-axis. Are the Nordics and the Oceanians so careless because of the availability of free medical services or are there other ways to explain this result?
Update: Link to the original Foreign Policy report.
Observation and Interpretation
Here’s an interesting topic for discussion: If you hold an international sports championship and none of the athletes are caught for doping, would you argue that it is because…
- the athletes are clean, or
- the tests are insufficient
(Hint: I would opt for alternative 2. Sorry.)
They Are Still at the Table
TV2: Anders Fogh to negotiate with the Social Liberals, Ny Alliance, Ministry of the Interior vetoed a 25 September election.
Oh, Vagn…!
Vagn Simonsen – 70, alive and kicking. As as matter of fact, I remember Leif Panduro’s Pythonesque parodies (including a howling Bent Schærff).
links for 2007-09-03
-
…it does seem to indicate that boosting homeownership rates doesn’t produce any miraculous consequences.
-
Västerbottens Folkblad | Allt ljusare bostadsläge för Umeås studenter
-
Although it’s funny, it’s also a sad comment on the general state of affairs on forums, mailing lists, blogs and other places of social interaction.
-
These counterfactual simulations suggest that, if instead of doing what it did during 2002-2005, the Fed had instead simply adhered to the Taylor Rule, the result would have mitigated both much of the boom in housing starts as well as the subsequent bust.