Chris,

Your analysis of negative amortization and how banks go about their business is much appreciated. I learned a lot from it. I'm going to add an update to the piece linking directly to it. That kind of added value (along with all the other letters in response to this piece so far) is the kind of stuff that will ideally make this blog a shared conversation, rather than just my helter-skelter observations.

I still have to say that the fundamentals implicit in Washington Mutual's numbers are unsettling to me. A surge in negative amortization in conjunction with a housing bust is going to stress mortgage holders. WaMu has already laid off a bunch of mortgage bankers, and Wall Street is now, after the horse is way out of the barn, asking for loan standards to be tightened up. I don't have quite the same faith that bankers are being as prudent as they should be. I guess we'll find out.

Andrew,

My understanding of the term "property rights" as applied to fishery management is that it does not refer to location, but to the fish themselves. That is, in the case of halibut off alaska, you can purchase the right to fish so many fish, and you can even sell that right to someone else, under certain limitations. Another word often used in this context is "quota" but for strange reasons, libertarians often shy away from that terminology...

Just what we need, another bubble!

I'll keep my eyes open on that one, thanks.

As I understand it Sean, and you can follow the link in that post to sources of more information about exactly that, the point of the Monsanto user agreement is to attempt to shift liability for the contamination from Monsanto to the farmer. I agree with you, I don't understand how this protects Monsanto from a suit by the injured party, and I'm not sure if this has ever been tested in court. I'll try to follow up on it.

Thanks for your comments. It's always better to have someone with first hand knowledge of the situation. I think your comments jibe pretty closely with the paper that I linked to in the post that criticized the "kerala" model.

But you know, that's what's great about a real democracy, like India's -- the voters put the Communists back in power in May, and they're getting what they want...

That was a very unfortunate error.

Mitch, I meant that sentence more in a public relations standpoint. As long as there is measurable global economic growth, defenders of the status quo can point to the numbers and say, look, its working. But if there is a global recession, that no matter how many economists repeat the mantra of comparative advantage, the political reality will change.

I'm not saying that's necessarily a good thing. A lot of economic historians say that the Great Depression was in part ushered in by a wave of protectionism around the world. Obviously, that would be a disaster it played out again.

I'm not sure what exactly those numbers mean, but I clicked on about 20 other countries, and the vast majority of them had considerably higher "tax rates."

brazil 70 percent

congo 230 percent

etc.

my eagerness to swipe at Crichton led to more dumb errors. i will fix anon.

Do you see why I am suspicious of the numbers generated at that site? Check it yourself.

The reports I read analyzing Botswana's economy are unanimous in saying its tax rates are relatively low.

Sorry -- fixed.

So this is a good coup?

Seems to me that any coup no matter how popular, is a sign that the democratic system isn't working, and that's a step backwards for Thailand's political evolution. The King is 78. What happens when he dies? Does the next king command with the same gravitas? What happens when the next group of generals decide they don't like the current prime minister, and are emboldened to get rid of him by the last one?

I stand by my initial reaction: "it's a mess."

Better to be warned than ignorant! Keep your head up!

I will follow up!

ljrobertson, I agree completely, this is topic that cuts right to the heart of a lot of global issues. I will definitely continue to look into it. and i agree that arguing from the saudi example is likely to be different than the Singaporean or Israeli or U.S....

and jerigonza -- that's a fascinating addition to the disccusion. I'm going to link directly to you from the post.

is out of print, but still generally available.

thanks for pointing that out. it's fixed now.

There are some fantastic posts here, which absolutely delight me -- in particular this most recent Korean linguist post.

As to the Moser, "Why Chinese is so hard" essay -- i quoted from it and linked to it in my post, and called out pinyin.info directly... The very last quote in the piece is from that essay...

Crumley, I think you are misreading me. My point was not that there are no environmentalists or anti-GMO crusaders in the midwest. Obviously, there are.

But environmentalist and anti-GMO crusaders make a whole lot of noise all over the place, and you don't always see legislative change as a result. My point was that the enactment of legislation aimed at one specific company's activities in Indiana and South Dakota is significant, because of what it reveals about broad-based, grass roots discontent.

I always fun when somebody calls my stuff crap and then signs themselves "no name given." Really makes the insult sting, you know.

But, Mr No, your reading comprehension is as limited as your ability to deliver criticism. How you read my piece to be in support of allofmp3.com is beyond me. I think it is fascinating that a download site in Russia is an issue in WTO negotiations. That doesn't mean I think the operation itself is anything close to legal, though.