Richest Cities in the World

Here are the cities where the most billionaires live.  Some of this is based on other lists, some of it is a wild guess.

1	New York	84
2	Moscow	77
3	Hong Kong	65
4	Beijing	57
5	London	49
6	Mumbai	33
7	Istanbul	28
8	Taipei	28
9	Paris	27
10	Seoul	27
11	Shenzhen	27
12	Tokyo	27
13	Singapore	27
14	Sao Paolo	26
15	Riyadh	25
16	San Francisco/San Jose	24
17	Shanghai	24
18	Dubai	24
19	Los Angeles	20
20	Jakarta	19
21	Hangzhou	19
22	Bangkok	17
23	Dallas	17
24	Kuwait City	17
25	Chicago	16
26	Houston	15
27	Guangzhou	15
28	Abu Dhabi	13
29	Washington DC	13
30	Qatar	12
31	Delhi	12
32	Jeddah	10
33	Miami	10
34	Munich	9
35	Sydney	9
36	Amsterdam	8
37	Boston	8
38	Frankfurt	7
39	Rome	6
40	Mexico City	6
41	Toronto	6
42	Stockholm	6
43	Zurich	5
44	Berlin	5
45	Montreal	5
46	Osaka	4
47	Geneva	3

I think this is a complete list of cities with more than 2 billionaires who live there. I could have very easily made a mistake as it is very hard to get this information, and half of these are guesses.

Update:  It seems like Hamburg should be on the list.

Health Care Sharing Ministries: Scam or Solution

http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1341&context=jlh

Benjamin Boyd, Health Care Sharing Ministries: Scam or Solution?, 26 J.L. & Health 219 (2013) available at http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/jlh/vol26/iss2/4

In conclusion, Health Care Sharing Ministries are not some kind of scam or “part 
of the problem[s]” with America’s health care system. HCSMs are “part of the 
solution” for America’s health care needs and this for several reasons. First, 
HCSM membership exempts members from the individual mandate in the PPACA; 
second, HCSMs are affordable for most qualifying individuals and families; and 
lastly, HCSMs demonstrate the faith, values, caring, and ideals “all too often lacking 
in many health insurance options available today.”
 
In conclusion, state legislatures should enact “safe harbor” provisions for 
HCSMs – and defer to federal regulation of HCSMs under PPACA, because some 
state insurance departments likely will continue to challenge HCSMs. Yet, why do 
state insurance departments seek to conform HCSMs to the image of insurance? 
Why, as one judge noted with a touch of irony, do “the consumers apparently 
needing the Department’s protection seek an exemption from those regulations”?
 
Perhaps one reason some state insurance officials view HCSMs with suspicion lies 
with the fact “our mentality has moved far from that of our ancestors.” Indeed,
the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries notes, “we hardly know what . . . the 
mandate to bear one another’s burdens . . . . means anymore.” Thus, for many of 
us, “[i]f an emergency medical problem arises, the government or the insurance 
company takes care of it, and our friends, relatives and neighbors have little 
participation in restoring us to our former state.” In the words of Indiana Insurance 
Commissioner James Atterholt, “all regulators [should] respect citizens’ rights to 
freely pursue their own solutions for their medical expenses, and recognize HCSMs 
for what they are: charitable organizations serving individuals who voluntarily 
support one another in their time of need.” In sum, HCSMs should be protected 
and not put off as insurance scams. HCSMs should be helped, not hindered, as the 
many thousands of HCSM members seek to “[b]ear one another’s burdens, and thus 
fulfill the law of Christ.”

Rumba Cha Cha Cha

This is very similar to Rumba Frenesi, and might be the same with slightly different words.

Cumbia de la Cerveza

I hate this song.  But Mexican nightclubs play it all the time.  So here is the name of it.

Escandalo

Rumba Frenesi

We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair

What is a healthcare sharing ministry?

Members of a healthcare sharing ministry are exempt from the Obamacare penalties.  Here is the applicable code:

26 U.S. Code § 5000A(d)(2)
(B) Health care sharing ministry
(i) In general Such term shall not include any individual for any month if such individual is a member of a health care sharing ministry for the month.
(ii) Health care sharing ministry The term “health care sharing ministry” means an organization—
(I) which is described in section 501 (c)(3) and is exempt from taxation under section 501 (a),
(II) members of which share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs and share medical expenses among members in accordance with those beliefs and without regard to the State in which a member resides or is employed,
(III) members of which retain membership even after they develop a medical condition,
(IV) which (or a predecessor of which) has been in existence at all times since December 31, 1999, and medical expenses of its members have been shared continuously and without interruption since at least December 31, 1999, and
(V) which conducts an annual audit which is performed by an independent certified public accounting firm in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and which is made available to the public upon request.

The biggest healthcare sharing ministry is Christian Care Ministry, and the cost would be about $200-$300/mo.  It's something to look into at least.


 

Farmer's Almanac more accurate than NOAA

This exceptionally cold and snowy winter has shown that government climate scientists were dead wrong when it came to predicting just how cold this winter would be, while the 197-year old Farmers’ Almanac predicted this winter would be “bitterly cold”.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/20/report-farmers-almanac-more-accurate-than-govt-climate-scientists/

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has massive supercomputers running simulations.  What does the Farmers' Almanac use to make predictions?  "The Farmers’ Almanac makes predictions based on planetary positions, sunspots and lunar cycles — a prediction system that has remained largely unchanged since its first publication in 1818."

It looks like the CPC could learn a thing or two from the Farmers' Almanac.

==============================================
See also: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/08/26/the-farmers-almanac-outrageous-forecast-a-stormy-super-bowl-and-frigid-snowy-winter/

"The Farmers’ Almanac is generating a tremendous amount of buzz around a “C-O-L-D” winter forecast.  And it’s ratcheting up the hype by forecasting a “Super Storm” for Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.  But its forecast is baseless and lacks credibility."  Really, Washington Post? (Note that the Farmers' Almanac forecast was made in August 2013.)

Top 100 US cities by GDP

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	1,358,416	1
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	765,759	2
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	571,008	3
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	449,439	4
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	448,741	5
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	420,340	6
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	364,009	7
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	360,395	8
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	336,232	9
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	294,589	10
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	274,105	11
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	258,819	12
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	220,167	13
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	208,379	14
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	201,653	15
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	177,410	16
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	173,908	17
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	167,886	18
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	157,260	19
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	146,975	20
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	137,189	21
St. Louis, MO-IL	136,677	22
Pittsburgh, PA	123,577	23
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	119,926	24
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN	116,094	25
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	113,998	26
Kansas City, MO-KS	113,090	27
Cleveland-Elyria, OH	111,597	28
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	108,236	29
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	106,123	30
Columbus, OH	100,512	31
Austin-Round Rock, TX	98,677	32
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA	97,558	33
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	95,602	34
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	94,789	35
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	91,995	36
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI	88,708	37
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	86,338	38
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC	84,836	39
New Orleans-Metairie, LA	84,835	40
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	80,670	41
Salt Lake City, UT	72,072	42
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	69,530	43
Richmond, VA	68,612	44
Memphis, TN-MS-AR	66,778	45
Oklahoma City, OK	63,338	46
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	62,782	47
Jacksonville, FL	62,251	48
Raleigh, NC	61,392	49
Birmingham-Hoover, AL	58,992	50
Urban Honolulu, HI	56,561	51
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA	51,878	52
Tulsa, OK	47,891	53
Baton Rouge, LA	47,709	54
Rochester, NY	47,317	55
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY	47,057	56
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI	43,862	57
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	42,479	58
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	42,129	59
New Haven-Milford, CT	40,084	60
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	39,731	61
Madison, WI	39,297	62
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	39,077	63
Albuquerque, NM	38,784	64
Greensboro-High Point, NC	36,875	65
Knoxville, TN	35,621	66
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR	34,353	67
Columbia, SC	34,301	68
Bakersfield, CA	34,268	69
Dayton, OH	33,858	70
Worcester, MA-CT	33,826	71
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC	33,358	72
Tucson, AZ	33,353	73
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	31,988	74
Fresno, CA	31,890	75
Charleston-North Charleston, SC	31,017	76
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	29,974	77
El Paso, TX	29,717	78
Wichita, KS	29,644	79
Akron, OH	29,466	80
Anchorage, AK	28,616	81
Syracuse, NY	28,453	82
Trenton, NJ	28,406	83
Toledo, OH	28,311	84
Colorado Springs, CO	28,029	85
Boise City, ID	27,455	86
Portland-South Portland, ME	26,887	87
Winston-Salem, NC	26,887	88
Jackson, MS	26,414	89
Lafayette, LA	25,386	90
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL	24,493	91
Lexington-Fayette, KY	23,915	92
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX	23,548	93
Chattanooga, TN-GA	22,405	94
Manchester-Nashua, NH	22,160	95
Ogden-Clearfield, UT	22,149	96
Springfield, MA	22,111	97
Corpus Christi, TX	21,915	98
Huntsville, AL	21,695	99
Peoria, IL	21,299	100

Source: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_metro/gdp_metro_newsrelease.htm

This need some adjustments.  If Washington and Baltimore were combined, it would be #3.

Mexican Mormons vs. Narcos

A very interesting documentary.  Blood atonement still exists.  It's a modern Western.

Crazy Russian guys climb Shanghai Tower

Not just the tower, but the crane on top of the tower.  And the satellite dish on top of the crane.  They have no ropes or safety equipment.  Everything is foggy and probably slippery.  And at the very top, they high-five each other.  More than 2000 feet above the ground.

See: http://dedmaxopka.livejournal.com/

Mil horas

There is no debt threshold

"Our analysis of historical data has highlighted that there is no simple threshold for debt ratios above which medium-term growth prospects are severely undermined. On the contrary, the association between debt and growth at high levels of debt becomes rather weak when one focuses on any but the shortest-term relationship, especially when controlling for the average growth performance of country peers. Furthermore, we find evidence that the relation between the level of debt and growth is importantly influenced by the trajectory of debt: countries with high but declining levels of debt have historically grown just as fast as their peers. The fact that there is no clear debt threshold that severely impairs medium term growth should not, however, be interpreted as a conclusion that debt does not matter. For example, we have found some evidence that higher debt appears to be associated with more volatile growth. And volatile growth can still be damaging to economic welfare."
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2014/wp1434.pdf

Translation:  Go ahead and whip out the national credit card and spend spend spend!

Rebelión

Eres muy bonita pero mentirosa

Eres muy bonita pero mentirosa 
engañas a los hombres 
siempre con mentiras con mentiras mentirosa 

dicen te quiero ,te quiero mi amor 
dicen te amo con loca pasión 
pero no lo dices con buena intensión 
por que tu tu no tienes corazón

Mentirosa por El Dasa

Es Demasiado Tarde

Tu, quisiste estar alla
Dijiste que quizás, ese era tu destino
Despus que todo te fallo, hoy quieres regresar
Y ser feliz conmigo

Pero tu, no piensas que mi amor
Por siempre te olvido, y exiges mi carino
De veras lo siento no poder
Volverme a enamorar, de ti ya no es lo mismo

Solo espero que entiendas que un amor
Se debe de cuidar y no jugar con nadie
Porque yo te daba mi querer y aun sin merecer
No te dolio dejarme

Ahora vuelves, buscando mi calor
Diciendo que jamas lograste olvidarme
Pero yo te aclaro de una vez
Lo debes de entender, es demasiado tarde

Yo no te guardo rencor
Pero tampoco amor, de ti ya nada queda
No niego fue mucho mi dolor
Pero eso ya paso, mejor ya nunca vuelvas

Solo espero que entiendas que un amor
Se debe de cuidar y no jugar con nadie
Porque yo te daba mi querer y aun sin merecer
No te doli dejarme

Ahora vuelves, buscando mi calor
Diciendo que jamas lograste olvidarme
Pero yo te aclaro de una vez
Lo debes de entender, es demasiado tarde

Porque tu, quisiste estar all

Te Quiero A Ti

Olympic Ruins

http://www.businessinsider.com/sarajevo-olympic-venues-2014-2?op=1

Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable in all stock deal

See: http://www.businessinsider.com/comcast-to-buy-time-warner-cable-2014-2

Comcast stock is currently worth about $144 billion.  The purchase price will be about $45 billion. Which will make the bigger Comcast worth about $189 billion.

A short history of the National Debt

All numbers in billions

8/5/1997: raised $450 from $5500 to $5950
6/28/2002: raised $450 from $5950 to $6400
5/27/2003: raised $984 from $6400 to $7384
11/19/2004: raised $800 from $7384 to $8184
3/20/2006: raised $781 from $8184 to $8965
10/1/2007: raised $850 from $8965 to $9815
6/30/2008: raised $800 from $9815 to $10,615
10/1/2008: raised $700 from $10,615 to $11,315
2/17/2009: raised $789 from $11,315 to $12,104
12/28/2009: raised $290 from $12,104 to $12,394
2/12/2010: raised $1900 from $12,394 to $14,294
8/2/2011: raised $400 from $14,294 to $14,694
9/8/2011: raised $500 from $14,694 to $15,194
1/30/2012: raised $1200 from $15,194 to $16,394
2/4/2013: (suspended until 5/19/2013) effectively raised $306 from $16,394 to $16,700
10/17/2013: (suspended until 2/7/2014) effectively raised $526 from $16,700 to $17,226
2/12/2014: (suspended until 3/16/2015) effectively raised about $600 from $17,226 to about $17,826

The debt limit has been raised every year since 2006.

See also: Debt Ceiling History

Update:  I'm not sure where I got some of these numbers. The total debt was $17,258.8 on Feb. 7 and stayed there until Feb. 18, after the debt limit was raised again.  There is about $47 bn not subject to the limit.  So the actual limit on Feb 7 was about $17,211.  Oh well, pretty close.

Noah

With Russell Crowe playing Noah and Anthony Hopkins playing Methuselah.  And Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson. It's a winner.

Kleptocracy in Ukraine

Ukraine is run by deadbeats and thieves.  And as long as they can keep playing the EU against Russia, the situation will continue.  Nobody has the heart to shut off the gas and let Ukrainian babushkas freeze to death.

"Starting with gas and including most other commodities, Ukraine has become a pyramid of debt for stolen goods. Lend or pay any amount of cash into the system, and it will disappear immediately, converted into real goods consumed with the intention not to pay for them, leaving nothing but growing debts behind.
When Yanukovich, Putin and their subordinates agreed in December on a Russian programme of rescue measures, $15 billion was promised to refinance Ukraine’s treasury and foreign debts, partly to repay $2.7 billion in debt already owing for deliveries of Gazprom gas last year; and partly to enable Gazprom to continue delivering gas this year at a higher volume than 2013, and at a newly negotiated 36% discount in price.
But it’s now clear the first instalment of $3 billion in Russian bailout financing has gone – Ukraine still isn’t repaying the old Gazprom debt, and Naftogaz cannot afford to pay for current deliveries. Where did the money go? Putin is asking publicly – there’s not a Russian, nor Ukrainian, who doubts the answer.
According to Russian calculations, during the month of January Gazprom delivered 2.5 billion cubic metres of new gas for an invoice value of $658 million. At the start of the new month, however, Naftogaz was owed $3.4 billion by the country’s municipal and regional administrations. How much more is owed to Naftogaz by the Ukraine’s commercial enterprises hasn’t been counted. If the defaulters were paying up, Naftogaz would be able to repay Gazprom as promised, and start meeting its new delivery invoices. But the defaulters won’t, so Naftogaz can’t.
In order for Naftogaz to continue supplying local consumers with gas at a tariff which has been fixed below its supply cost, the state budget must meet its promised subsidy for Naftogaz. But it too cannot pay. There is simply no free cash left in the Ukrainian government."
http://johnhelmer.net/?p=10168

Besame Mucho, Russian-style

Besame Mucho, Korean-style

The American dollar reigns supreme because it is flawed

Read: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101396524

"But there are now few genuinely safe assets. In a world where even US government debt no longer seems risk-free, asset managers have rushed towards the second-best option: a flight to liquidity, not safety.

In that respect, America reigns supreme. Its capital markets are deep and the pool of dollars seems bottomless. Or to put it another way (though Prof Prasad, now an economics professor, does not quite say this) what is happening with the dollar turns the normal rules of economics on their head: it has become ultra-attractive because of bountiful supply, not because supply has been constrained."

The Euro should be a stronger currency because Europeans aren't wildly spending.  And the ECB isn't technically responsible for member nations debts.  But the markets don't care about that.  They just want to make sure that when it is time to sell, that they will have a buyer.  And that is where America rules the roost.  Like the article says, it is about liquidity, not financial stability.  And how did the dollar become so liquid?  Because of profligate spending and quantitative easing.  It's a paradox.  The number one US export in the world is the US dollar.  Our economy is screwed up, but we uniquely among all nations in the world have the ability to create a high-demand product which costs us almost nothing to produce.

See also:  Why the dollar reigns supreme
The Biggest Export of the United States

Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir, Japanese-style

Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir, Korean-style

It's a little slower, but the piano player (from 2:00 to 2:30) is awesome.

 

The Hip Hop Virtual Machine

See: http://www.infoq.com/presentations/HipHop-Compiler-PHP
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/06/facebook-hhvm-saga/

Now you can code in PHP and have it run blindingly fast.

Mas que tu amigo

La Duena Del Swing

Tiene espinas el rosal

Karachi is the world's most dangerous mega-city

"Foreign Policy magazine recently ranked Karachi the world's most dangerous mega-city, topping Bogota, Colombia; Lagos, Nigeria; and Mexico City.

A string of Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, have pledged to clean up Karachi, where teeming millions elbow for an edge in the tropical heat. Owners don't leave their property empty, even for a few days, because they worry that gangs will take it over. Even in posher areas, residents venture out at night on unlighted streets at their own peril.

Little reform is expected, given the clout of local political bosses and their affiliated criminal gangs. Of the estimated 10,000 police officers on duty at a given time, more than half are reportedly chauffeuring VIPs around. According to a leaked 2009 U.S. Embassy cable, the armed militia of one political party alone numbered 25,000.

In March, police official Niaz Khoso reported that half the sprawling city was a no-go area for police, who routinely advise the relatives of kidnapping victims to take the lead in dealing with the criminals."

http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-c1-pakistan-karachi-crime-20131112-dto,0,7429758.htmlstory

In my latest ranking of the world's top 30 cities, I included Karachi, Pakistan, based largely on its population.  But I think to be one the top cities, a city would have to show that it isn't totally screwed up.  Every city has problems, but Karachi is insane.

Deficit projections worsen

Source: http://crfb.org/blogs/how-much-worse-are-deficit-projections

Each year, the CBO does a 10-year deficit projection.  The latest projection for 2024 shows the cumulative deficit at 79.2% of GDP, up from 72.3% of GDP projected by the last report for 2023.  And this is without taking into effect the next recession, which is starting now.  Next year could be 85% of GDP in 2025.

Top 30 Cities in the World

I've done this like 100 times, and here is my latest list:

Rank	City	Country	Pop	HDI	Pop Score
1	Tokyo/Yokohama	Japan	34800	0.912	3174
2	Seoul	S.Korea	25800	0.909	2345
3	New York	US	21600	0.937	2024
4	Los Angeles, CA	US	17200	0.937	1612
5	London	UK	15500	0.875	1356
6	Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe	Japan	16800	0.912	1532
7	Mexico City	Mexico	23800	0.775	1845
8	San Francisco/San Jose, CA	US	7200	0.937	675
9	Jakarta	Indonesia	26400	0.629	1661
10	São Paolo	Brazil	21500	0.73	1570
11	Shanghai	China	21766	0.699	1521
12	Washington DC/Baltimore	US	8100	0.937	759
13	Beijing	China	19300	0.699	1349
14	Manila	Philippines	22200	0.654	1452
15	Buenos Aires	Argentina	14500	0.811	1176
16	Paris	France	10700	0.893	956
17	Moscow	Russia	16500	0.788	1300
18	Delhi	India	24000	0.554	1330
19	Guangzhou-Foshan	China	17680	0.699	1236
20	Chicago	US	9800	0.937	918
21	Rhine-Ruhr	Germany	11300	0.92	1040
22	Mumbai	India	21400	0.554	1186
23	Miami,FL	US	5800	0.937	543
24	Karachi	Pakistan	22700	0.515	1169
25	Cairo	Egypt	16100	0.662	1066
26	Istanbul	Turkey	13800	0.722	996
27	Bangkok	Thailand	14500	0.69	1001
28	Taipei	Taiwan	8950	0.882	789
29	Hong Kong	China	7150	0.906	648
30	Tehran	Iran	13200	0.742	979

Yep, New York is #3, not #1, and London is #5.

I take the population and multiple it by the HDI to get a number, then adjust it for various factors. I like the number 30. It is big enough to be comprehensive, but also small enough to be an elite group.

Here is a list of cities that didn't make the cut, with some comments:
Singapore.  Singapore only has about 6 million people (Wikipedia says 5.4 million, another source says 6.75 million including suburbs in Malaysia), less than all these other cities, except for possibly Miami. Using the 6.75 million number, and an HDI of 0.895 gives it a score of 604, lower than every other city on the list except for, again Miami.  On a survey of what cities wealthy people prefer, Singapore and Miami are both in the top 10, with Singapore ranked higher.  So why is Miami ranked so high? Because every rich person in Latin America wants to buy a condo there.  Anyways, this is the strongest contender.  In my extended list, which I don't show here, it ranks #34, behind also Rio, Nagoya, and Boston.

Rio de Janeiro.  Miami is ranked higher.
Toronto
Zurich.  Seriously, Zurich - all 380,000 residents, maybe 1.8 million in the metro area?
Boston
Sydney
Madrid
Dallas
Houston
Berlin
Brussels
Auckland
Stockholm
Milan
Kuala Lumpur
Abu Dhabi
Johannesburg
Shenzhen
Philadelphia
Tianjin
Atlanta
Frankfurt

====================
Update: I am kicking Karachi off the list because of its extreme crime problems and adding Rio. It's numbers look like this:

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil

12900

0.73

942

Note that its weighted population score, calculated by multiplying the population by HDI, is at 942, and no other city in the world, other than those listed above, has a score above 900.  The next highest one is Calcutta, India, with a score of 886.

No Sex Please, We're Japanese

Lago Azul

La Lambada

M6 down 1.24%

	12/31/13	01/31/14
M2	10990.3	11017.2
Public Debt	12355.4	12308.1
Fed Owned	-2208.8	-2243.2
G30 Market	6857.2	6564.9
Total	27994.1	27647.0	-1.24%

This is trouble.  This number should be going up every single month.  I think the recession has started.

John Frum is the Messiah

Cargo Cults

I just learned about this.  In the South Pacific is one of the strangest religions in the world.  Primitive tribes during WW2 discovered modern technology (planes, manufactured goods, radios, clothes, etc).  But they didn't understand where they came from since they never saw a white man do anything other than sit behind a desk shuffling papers or march up and down the fields wearing uniforms (military parades).

They developed the belief that the manufactured goods were a gift from the gods, and that the activities the white men performed were religious rituals.  They believed that if they performed the same rituals, they would get the goods. I'm not going to repeat the whole story, read the links, but somehow they believed that the messiah was a mythical man named John Frum whose birthday was on February 15 and who was born in the state of Georgia and was in the US Marine Corps.  On the high holy day of Feb. 15, they paint the letters "USA" on their chests in red paint, and march up and down the fields, with homemade rifles made out of wood.  They build "planes" out of bamboo.



Update:  There is a similar movement in Vanuatu that sees Prince Philip as the Messiah.

Hyperinflation in Argentina

When the temperature insisted on staying at around 40C and humidity levels rose to a drenching 90%, Fernández rushed to buy an air-conditioning unit she had seen on sale a week before.   "When I went to buy it, the price had gone up 25% since when I checked prices last week," she complained outside the Alto Palermo shopping mall. "The same thing just happened to me at the pharmacy where I went to buy the medicine my husband takes: the price was up 20%." http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/01/argentina-peso-crisis-shakes-queen-cristina

I think inflation of over 3%/month qualifies as hyperinflation.  At this rate, prices would double in less than 2 years.

The black market rate is at 13 pesos to the dollar.  So prices will keep going up.  This will cause a vicious spiral as workers will demand higher salaries which will cause prices on everything to go even higher. "Moody's expects a devaluation of the Argentine peso 50% in 2014."

(Read more at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/02/argentina-cerntral-bank-bans-imports.html) 

Argentina previously experienced hyperinflation from May 1989 to March 1990 when prices rose 12,000% in one year.

The cause?  Generous social spending, causing large deficits, which erode the central bank's hard currency (petrodollar) reserves.  They need dollars to buy foreign oil.  Printing more pesos won't give them more dollars.

Argentina has a current account deficit, so they are sending more money (measured in dollars) out of the country then they are receiving.  Unless this situation changes, the peso will continue to drop.

The Argentina Central Bank is trying to stop all imports.  Good luck with that, they will still need foreign oil.