I will merely note in passing that Ian Welsh has updated his pessimism. I find this significant, because Ian has always seemed one of the most level-headed of econ bloggers, astute, plain-spoken, and common-sensical. I hold him at the positive (optimistic) pole of my economic confidence interval, whereas Stoneleigh (Nicole Foss) and Ilargi delimit the negative pole. That confidence interval has shrunken considerably, in the direction of negativity. It’s become more Dmitry Orlov-ish and less Krugman-esque. There is less room to maneuver. Time is running out. Two-minute warning, no time-outs.
Tag: ian welsh
Jan 05 2012
Large Greenwald Collider validates particles
Scientists at the Large Greenwald Collider (LGC) in Brazil say they have discovered new sub-atomic particles heretofore only theoretically postulated. The traditional method of colliding elephon and donkon particles using high-energy, extremely magnetized word-tunnels has so seldomly yielded results, that taxpayers wonder whether trivially inexpensive projects like the LGC are worth it.
Scientists have long postulated that a particle known as the waron was composed of constituent hardons, paultons, and pwogdorks, each thought to have extremely different properties, but they did not understand how they worked together to always produce the same result, what scientists jokingly refer to as “atomic war.”
The current experiments showed that by smashing paultons and pwogdorks together, the once only-imagined particles, the reezon and the partizan, can and do exist separately for nanoseconds in their respective matter/anti-matter states before annihilating one another. Thus only the hardon particle survives, and a perpetual state of “atomic war” ensues.
Canadian philosopher of science Ian Welsh agreed with the basic results, but added that it doesn’t really matter whether the paulton and pwogdork collide, because it’s all going into the black hole, anyway, only the rate of travel differs, concluding, “I see no scenario in which things don’t crack up, completely.”
Critics dismissed the evidence and said that the people working at the LGC are simply “assholes,” and refused further comment.
Scientists assured the public that this finding has no significance outside the laboratory, and that the experiment’s danger to the general public was so far beyond their imagination that they need not worry.
Mar 25 2010
Ouch!
This entire generation, whether in media or power, is hopeless. A write off. Gutless, stupid and liars. They all need to go. And forgive me, that includes most of the high ranked bloggers, many of whom I consider my friends. Instead of being people who challenged power, who had the moral and intellectual integrity to speak from a place of principle, they have become apologists for the worst sort of craven sell-outs imaginable, constantly decided that if some group wins it’s ok to hurt other groups, including by taking away their rights.
The blogosphere I grew up in, is dead. And the hope that the Democrats would be enough better than the Republicans to fix America, well, that too is dead.
That’ll leave a mark.
Dec 21 2009
How do you think it feels down in steerage?
Ian Welsh is in an agitated state of irritation!
So very glad to hear your opinions. Unlike most of the morons who think Obama/Bernanke/Paulson/Geithner did the right thing, I predicted almost everything that happened to the economy, in many cases years in advance, and I sure as hell don’t think so.
But what do I know. Unlike the people who call the shots, I have a consistent record of being right far far more than chance would allow. Therefore, as with everyone else who called their shots right far in advance I have no say, but have to listen to morons who didn’t call it right tell us how they had no choice but do stupid things like not nationalize banks, not force banks to actually increase lending, not force bondholders to take a haircut, not institute massive progressive taxation and not pass a health care bill which is a massive giveaway to the medical industry of the US.
Great.
I hope all you morons who think there was no other choice but to do what has been done enjoy the right wing populist backlash that Obama and the Dems, by doing the wrong things over and over again, have made virtually inevitable.
God I wish Canada wasn’t right next to America. Being in a dingy attached by a chain to the Titanic, while the Titanic is run by morons cheered on by fools is immensely depressing.
Funny. Among econ-bloggers I like to read, he’s the relative optimist! To me, a decade of economic malaise and a mere right wing populist backlash sounds relatively survivable in comparison. Any room in that dinghy for steerage class?