Daniel Davies in the new Guardian blog thing writes that limiting foreign ownership of companies is not the same as forms of protectionism that restrict trade in goods and services: while the gains from goods markets liberalisation are big and definitely there, the gains from capital account liberalisation are small Read more…
Everybody knows that E-Bay was a great innovation. By reducing transactions costs, and enabling users to establish
reputations, it has enabled millions of people to buy and sell goods in small quantities and of lower value than would have been possible in traditional bricks and mortar stores.
But there is another important, and little understood, innovation in the E-Bay model: the second price auction. “Oh, the second price auction”, I hear you cry in unison, “WTF is that?”
According to Michael Crichton, writing in the New York Times the observation that doctor should test for the existence of a particular amino acid to determine if a patient needs a vitamin supplement has been patented: The Earth revolves around the Sun. The speed of light is a constant. Apples Read more…
So it turns out that one of the many things that is done for us that we would rather not think about is testing our drugs. The terrible story of six men who suffered severe complications in the trial of TGN1412 should make us pause to ask how we choose Read more…
When soldiers in the First World War shot themselves in the foot, they did so because the harm they did themselves (injured foot) was preferable to what would happen to them if they were not injured (going over the top). So the phrase “shooting yourself in the foot” means to Read more…
Ms Harman may have been surprised to hear David Grossman on Newsnight this evening refer to Jack Dromey as being married to "former Minister Harriet Harman". Perhaps Mr Grossman knows something that the Department of Constitutional Affairs does not?
What is not to like about pancakes?
If you are on one of these crazy, low-carb diets, then I suppose you might give them a wide berth. And if you are, more intelligently, someone who avoids sugar and heavily processed foods, then you may be suspicious of shop-made pancakes. But you can make pancakes at home and serve them with lots of fresh fruit, low-fat yoghurt, and nuts for a very filling, healthy breakfast. Just go easy on the syrup.
Here is a recipe adapted from a recent Runner’s World.
Andrew Sullivan yesterday: I’m aware of one person who clearly stated before the war that he believed that Saddam had no WMDs. That was Scott Ritter. This is not the same as saying that we didn’t know for sure, or should have waited some more; or that containment could have Read more…
As I go about my daily life here in America, I notice things that I really like about this country. Here are some: You can get a proper healthy breakfast almost anywhere here. There must be a profitable business to be made opening a decent breakfast venue in London – Read more…
The WHO and UNICEF announced today that The Measles Initiative has halved measles deaths. Global deaths due to measles fell by 48%, from 871 000 in 1999 to an estimated 454 000 in 2004, thanks to major national immunization activities and better access to routine childhood immunization … The largest Read more…