George Rebane
- North Korea’s currency confiscation
- ebooks and your gizmo count
- Associated Press verdict on Climategate
- Federal employees’ pay explodes during recession
- ‘That’s What We Do, We’re Americans’
Last week the dear thugs ruling North Korea pulled a sudden currency exchange issuing new won for the old. But there was a catch, you could only turn in old won to the tune of $180, the rest was literally confiscated by the government. This, of course, wiped out the savings of untold families and reinforced the shadow or black market economy that keeps things from a wholesale uprising (here). Britain intends to test this same path. U.K. Treasury chief Alistair Darling announced his intention to confiscate 50% of all bankers’ bonuses above about $40K.
I’m not a fan of ebooks (Kindle, Nook, …) because they are crippled gizmos adding to our out-the-door gizmo count without providing any more functions that a new lightweight laptop (or even a netbook in a pinch) can deliver. Web based magazines are now approaching the user friendliness of pulp magazines and allow you to do even more things like search, hyperlink, copy text/pictures, annotate, etc. Take a look at the Winter 2009 edition of h+, the magazine that covers transhuman and Singularity subjects. Clicking on the ‘view the digital edition’ link (here) takes you to an interactive magazine format (here) that I believe is the harbinger of things to come as the transition from print to electronic format continues.
(Gizmo count is the total number of different things and gizmos you have to load up with as you leave the house in the morning. For me it comprises such things as pens, pad, iPhone, ear piece, Swiss Army pocket knife, keys, wallet, Casio Exlim camera, laptop, notebook, reading glasses, book(s), etc. Anything I can do to lower my gizmo count gets my immediate attention.)
Associated Press just announced on its mobile net that it has had five reporters review a million words of Climategate emails, and rendered a verdict (here). There is nothing there that compromises the science or conclusions of a global warming caused by humans. That it contradicts the opinions of technical specialists not funded by pre-purposed governments, should not worry you as a layman on this issue. Given the quality of the profession today, it is a relief that after “an exhaustive review” these five steel-trap like minds have settled the matter.
USA Today confirms (here) that federal employee pay has skyrocketed during the recession. RR readers are not surprised. That’s not exacty true, some of our more liberal readership has vehemetly denied this little bamboozle for some months now. Please fasten your seatbelts for the following –
- “When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000.”
- “Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession’s first 18 months — and that’s before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.”
- “The highest-paid federal employees are doing best of all on salary increases. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009, the most recent figure available.”
- “The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker’s pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector.”
And finally, this little slide show will choke you up a little. ‘That’s What We Do, We’re Americans’
rebanesruminations.com 
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