http://qsi.cc/blog/ felix qui possit rerum cognoscere causas en-us 2011-09-11T01:27:05+01:00 2011-09-12T01:27:40+01:00 And we won't.... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000362.html Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero pulsanda tellus! Now is the time for drinking, and for dancing wildly! Instead of vintage Caecuban wine, I'll get some of the good stuff from Napa or Sonoma. America, fuck yeah!... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000361.html In a post at the Volokh Conspiracy, David Bernstein links to a graph produced originally by Liz Ann Sonders, the Chief Investment Strategist at Schwab. The graph strikingly shows the relationship between the NAHB housing index and the S&P 500 index, with the clear implication being that equities are due for a big fall. It's certainly striking, but it's also... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000360.html So much for my return to blogging. The problem still is work... last week the number of hours spent at the office was in the triple digits. These things happen now and then. It looks like the pace might be slackening now. Summer was supposed to be a slow period. However, I can take some satisfaction in that I've broken... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000359.html The International Herald Tribune was jointly owned and published by the New York Times and the Washington Post., filling its pages with articles from the two newspapers. Since the NYT took over sole ownership of the IHT, the Washington Post has been trying to find other international outlets. Here in Europe, it has teamed up with the Wall Street Journal... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000358.html Might as well start off with a small item: the most popular boys' name in Amsterdam last year was Mohammed. In the first quarter of this year, Mohammed fell back to 6th place, although the second quarter saw a return to the top spot. There's an Muslim saying that if you have a hundred sons, name them all Mohammed. Apparently... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000357.html My apologies to all for my protracted absence. There's no one major thing that's keeping me from blogging, but rather the confluence of a great many small things, interspersed with more travel and occasional peaks in workload. There's also the matter of getting back into the blogging habit. But this time around I am determined to return. Thank you for... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000356.html I have returned. Regular blogging will resume very soon.... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000355.html Blogging will be more irregular than usual for the coming week or so, as I'm off to various parts of the world once more. This trip includes a return to the wonderful madness of Manhattan; it's been over a year since my last visit. Far too long. Updates will take place as and when opportunity allows. I wish they'd hurry... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000354.html It seems we finally have a new government in the Netherlands (more on that later). With the economy doing as poorly as it is, the new government has its work cut out. Trying to revive economic growth is going to have to be the main task for the new coalition. But some of the ideas being floated make very little... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000353.html Over the weekend I caught a glimpse of a weekly news-roundup on German television. The program is the Wochenspiegel, aired on the public ARD network, and they were running an item on opposition to Schröder's reform proposals. Opposition runs high on the left wing of his own SPD party, and the labor movement has been vocal in opposing the plans... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000352.html The German economy has become the emblem of Europe's economic problems. Many of the problems that afflict the European economies are at their most acute in Germany. Compare today's Europe to that of 25 years ago and the economic landscape has changed enormously. Britain was the "Sick Man of Europe," while the German economy was invincible. While the UK economy... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000351.html One of the leaders-designate of the Dutch branch of the AEL, the Islamist Arab-European League has been arrested, together with his brother. He is accused of theft and extortion after an incident last November. At a McDonald's restaurant in the eastern town of Hengelo, he and his brother allegedly had arranged a meeting with an entrepreneur from the nearby town... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000350.html The Dutch media are reporting that the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Casablanca may have had help from the Netherlands and Belgium. These reports are based on anonymous sources in the Moroccan justice system, so a healthy dose of skepticism is recommended. If true, it must be a pretty depressing development. It would mean that the Moroccan expats living... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000349.html At the beginning of May, there are two important days in the Dutch calendar, the 4th and 5th. The fourth of May is Remembrance Day, when the dead of the Second World War are remembered and honored, followed by Liberation Day on the 5th. At 8 PM on the fourth of May, the country comes to a halt to remember... http://qsi.cc/blog/archives/000348.html