Trading 8s

Best of the Week: February 28 – March 6, 2010

Anthony W. Orlando — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:04:58 +0000

10. Social Security Does Not Need a “Bailout” — Kathy Ruffing
9. U.S., NATO Intensify War Games Around Russia’s Perimeter — Rick Rozoff and The Pentagon’s Runaway Budget — Carl Conetta
8. The Chicago Boys and the Chilean Earthquake — Andrew Leonard and Milton Friedman Did Not Save Chile — Naomi Klein
7. The Attack on Climate Science: Why It’s the O.J. Moment of the Twenty-First Century — Bill McKibben
6. This Won’t Hurt a Bit — Sharon Begley
5. Larry Fink’s $12 Trillion Shadow — Suzanna Andrews
4. The Way to Stop Prison Rape — David Kaiser & Lovisa Stannow
3. Afghan Ghosts: American Myths — Jonathan Steele
2. The Riddle of Experience vs. Memory — Daniel Kahneman
1. Betting on the Blind Side — Michael Lewis
BONUS: The Joy of X — Steven Strogatz

Best of the Week: February 14-20, 2010 10. Letting Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good? — J....
Best of the Week: February 7-13, 2010 10. Cyber Warriors — James Fallows 9. The Wonder Drug...
Best of the Week: February 21-27, 2010 10. Which Party Uses Reconciliation More Often? Looks Like Harry Reid...

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Greatest Songs, #429: “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” by Solomon Burke

Anthony W. Orlando — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:35:54 +0000

Year: 1964
Written by: Solomon Burke, Bert Berns, & Jerry Wexler
Billboard Hot 100: #58

Click here to view the embedded video.

From Rolling Stone:

Philadelphia-born minister Burke started preaching at the age of seven and often recorded his vocals from behind a pulpit. Burke attacks this song in the style of a fire-and-brimstone Southern preacher, calling out for a witness and testifying to the power of love. In the congregation: the Rolling Stones, who covered it in 1965.

Greatest Songs, #484: “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” by Joan Jett Year: 1982 Written by: Jake Hooker & Alan Merrill Billboard...
Greatest Songs, #437: “Love Me Tender” by Elvis Presley Year: 1956 Written by: Elvis Presley & Vera Watson Billboard...
Greatest Songs, #491: “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” by Dusty Springfield Album: You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me (Philips...

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Best of the Month: February 2010

Anthony W. Orlando — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:30:46 +0000

10. Massive Moisture-Driven Extreme Precipitation During Warmest Winter in the Satellite Record–and the Deniers Say It Disproves (!) Climate Science — Joseph Romm
9. The Fetishism of Morality — Jonathan Rée and Doing What Comes Supernaturally: Stanley Fish on Fact and Value — Russell Blackford
8. The Making of a Euromess — Paul Krugman and California Death Spiral — Paul Krugman
7. Child Slavery in Uzbekistan — Craig Murray
6. Questions and Answers about the Financial Crisis — Gary Gorton, Due North: Canada’s Marvelous Mortgage and Banking System — Mark J. Perry, and The Troubling Resolution Revolution — Peter J. Wallison
5. “Too Big to Fail” Is No Redemption Song — Avinash Persaud and How to Make a Bank Raise Equity — Oliver Hart & Luigi Zingales
4. Blair: Gaza’s Great Betrayer — Avi Shlaim
3. Eric Holder and the Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Trial — Jane Mayer and Susan Collins Spreads Central Myth about the Constitution — Glenn Greenwald
2. The World Needs All Kinds of Minds — Temple Gradin and How Brains Learn to See — Pawan Sinha
1. State of Denial: Searching for Peace in Israel — Robert Fisk, Arieli Is a Man with a Plan. The Trouble Is, It’s a Map of Israel — Robert Fisk, and Gaza’s Defiant Tunnellers Head Deeper Underground — Robert Fisk
BONUS: Let’s Not Create More Debris in Haiti — Anthony W. Orlando

Best of the Week: January 31 – February 6, 2010 11. Is “the Process” Driving Opinion about Health Care? —...
Best of the Week: February 7-13, 2010 10. Cyber Warriors — James Fallows 9. The Wonder Drug...
Best of the Week: February 21-27, 2010 10. Which Party Uses Reconciliation More Often? Looks Like Harry Reid...

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Best of the Week: February 21-27, 2010

Anthony W. Orlando — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:01:35 +0000

10. Which Party Uses Reconciliation More Often? Looks Like Harry Reid Was Correct — Joshua Tucker and Health Care No Stranger to Reconciliation Process — Julie Rovner
9. Hood — Brian Mockenhaupt and Distant Wars, Constant Ghosts — Shannon P. Meehan
8. Depression’s Upside — Jonah Lehrer and Head Case — Louis Menand
7. Girls Gone Anti-Feminist — Susan J. Douglas
6. A Broken Economic Law — Louis Uchitelle, In Search of…Crowding Out — Menzie Chinn, A Stimulus Opponent Who Can Actually Find His—! — J. Bradford DeLong, and 1937, 2010 — Richard Posner
5. Latvia’s Neoliberal Madness — Michael Hudson & Jeffrey Sommers
4. Doing What Comes Supernaturally: Stanley Fish on Fact and Value — Russell Blackford
3. Child Slavery in Uzbekistan — Craig Murray
2. Questions and Answers about the Financial Crisis — Gary Gorton, Due North: Canada’s Marvelous Mortgage and Banking System — Mark J. Perry, and The Troubling Resolution Revolution — Peter J. Wallison
1. The World Needs All Kinds of Minds — Temple Gradin and How Brains Learn to See — Pawan Sinha
BONUS: Division and Its Discontents — Steven Strogatz

Best of the Month: February 2010 10. Massive Moisture-Driven Extreme Precipitation During Warmest Winter in the...
Best of the Week: February 7-13, 2010 10. Cyber Warriors — James Fallows 9. The Wonder Drug...
Best of the Week: February 14-20, 2010 10. Letting Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good? — J....

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Goodbye, ‘Maximim Bob’ Lutz!

Ronald C. Burkhardt — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:10:53 +0000

What to make of the departure of Bob Lutz [wiki], the septuagenarian marketing guru from General Motors, and what does the move say about the future?

Bob Lutz (second from left) examines Fisher Automotives Electrical Concept with other GM executives.

Lutz, a former Marine and jet fighter pilot has a resume encompassing nearly every major manufacturer in the North American and European segments of the industry and a fair number of hits. Lutz is credited as having an instrumental role in the creation of the original Dodge Viper, the Plymouth Prowler, Neon, Chrysler LH sedans, as well as “the Cadillac Sixteen Concept; Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice; Pontiac G8; Chevrolet Malibu; Cadillac CTS; Buick Enclave; Cadillac Converj Concept; Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept; Chevrolet Camaro Concept; Chevrolet Camaro (production version); Chevy Beat, Groove and Trax Concept Studies; and 2010 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Equinox, and Cadillac SRX” (via Wikipedia).

As of last year, he was talking directly to the customer via GM’s Fastlane blog. Lutz – who occasionally steered onto the shoulder while speaking publicly, such as his dismissal of both electric vehicles and global warming – also had a firm grasp on the wheel and a strong sense of direction.

There are two GMs – the Old GM, and the New GM. The old GM was a manufacturing behemoth who enjoyed a period of dominance in both style and sales, which eventually culminated in the misreading and mismatch of product to consumer needs, a much lamented attempt use marketing to compensate for bland product, and a vicious spiral of legacy costs, quality deficiencies – both real and perceived – and an addiction to market share over profit, punctuated by the occasional hit.

The New GM casted off the chains of the past (as Motors Corp), shed the sick, lame, and lazy divisions (initially Oldsmobile, followed by Saturn, Pontiac, Saab, and Hummer), and shed thousands of white and blue collar jobs and unviable dealerships.

GM is enjoying somewhat of a nascent recovery with competitive offerings such as the current Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac CTS, and Buick Lacrosse as well as forthcoming product like the Chevrolet Cruze, Buick Regal, and others. The fear is that the bean-counters, bankers, and marketing guys of old – responsible for such ‘hits’ as the Cadillac 4-6-8 engine, the X-cars, badge-engineering, and of course, the Aztec – will have resumed control after the latest management putsch, most notably of car guy CEO Fritz Henderson by former-AT&T Executive Ed Whitacare. GMs greatest weakness is its culture – without strong leadership – as exemplified by Lutz – it will be far too easy for the company to fall back on old habits.

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Best of the Week: February 14-20, 2010

Anthony W. Orlando — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:43:49 +0000

10. Letting Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good? — J. Michael McWilliams and All You Ever Wanted to Know about the Research on Health Insurance and Health–and More — Stan Dorn
9. The Origins of Religion: Evolved Adaptation or By-Product? — Ilkka Pyysiäinen & Marc Hauser
8. GSE Losses as Shadow Bailout — Mike Konczal and Dividend Restrictions as Macroprudential Regulation — Charles A. E. Goodhart, Udara Peiris, Dimitri Tsomocos, & Alexandros Vardoulakis
7. NOAA: Warmest January in Both Satellite Records — Joseph Romm, An Amazing, Though Clearly Little-Known, Scientific Fact: We Get More Snow Storms in Warm Years! — Joseph Romm, and An Ominous Warning on the Effects of Ocean Acidification — Carl Zimmer
6. The End of Obama’s Vision of a Nuke-Free World — Scott Ritter and The Best Way to Get Rid of the World’s Nukes — Barry Blechman
5. The Rape of American Prisoners — David Kaiser & Lovisa Stannow
4. Greece Should Approach the IMF — Simon Johnson and Try a European Fiscal Fund — Mark Thoma
3. Why Chuckles Greeted Hillary’s Gulf Tour — Rami G. Khouri
2. The Fetishism of Morality — Jonathan Rée
1. The Making of a Euromess — Paul Krugman and California Death Spiral — Paul Krugman
BONUS: The Enemy of My Enemy — Steven Strogatz

Best of the Week: February 28 – March 6, 2010 10. Social Security Does Not Need a “Bailout” — Kathy...
Best of the Week: January 31 – February 6, 2010 11. Is “the Process” Driving Opinion about Health Care? —...
Best of the Week: February 7-13, 2010 10. Cyber Warriors — James Fallows 9. The Wonder Drug...

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Greatest Songs, #430: “White Man in Hammersmith Palais” by The Clash

Anthony W. Orlando — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:19:32 +0000

Album: The Clash (CBS Records)
Year: 1979
Written by: Mick Jones & Joe Strummer
Billboard Hot 100: #8

Click here to view the embedded video.

From Rolling Stone:

“We can’t play reggae,” Strummer said in 1977. But the Clash invented a style of punk skank, toasting solidarity between punks and Rastas.

From Wikipedia:

The song showed considerable musical and lyrical maturity for the band at the time and is stylistically more in line with their version of Junior Murvin’s “Police & Thieves” as the powerful guitar intro of “(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais” descends into a slower ska rhythm, and was disorienting to a lot of the fans who had grown used to their earlier work. “We were a big fat riff group,” author Joe Strummer noted in The Clash’s film Westway to the World. “We weren’t supposed to do something like that.”

Greatest Songs, #438: “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by The Stooges Album: The Stooges (Elektra Records) Year: 1969 Written by: Dave...
Greatest Songs, #453: “Paradise City” by Guns n’ Roses Album: Appetite for Destruction (Geffen Records) Year: 1987 Written by:...
Greatest Songs, #466: “Runaway” by Del Shannon Year: 1961 Written by: Del Shannon & Max Crook Billboard...

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Best of the Week: February 7-13, 2010

Anthony W. Orlando — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:49:27 +0000

10. Cyber Warriors — James Fallows
9. The Wonder Drug Myth — Thomas Goetz and Why Adult Cells Won’t End the Stem-Cell Wars — Sharon Begley
8. The Eurozone Debt Crisis: Facts and Myths — Charles Wyplosz
7. Republicans–Not Obama–More Often on Wrong Side of Public Opinion — Nate Silver
6. Blair, Bush, Israel and Iraq — Stephen M. Walt
5. Listen to the Iranian People — Robert Wright and Salehi: Iran Would Back Down If West Supplies LEU; Khamenei Vows Self-Defense Against “US-Backed Saboteurs” — Juan Cole
4. Yanukovych Is Back — Owen Matthews
3. Massive Moisture-Driven Extreme Precipitation During Warmest Winter in the Satellite Record–and the Deniers Say It Disproves (!) Climate Science — Joseph Romm & Jeff Masters
2. “Too Big to Fail” Is No Redemption Song — Avinash Persaud and How to Make a Bank Raise Equity — Oliver Hart & Luigi Zingales
1. State of Denial: Searching for Peace in Israel — Robert Fisk, Arieli Is a Man with a Plan. The Trouble Is, It’s a Map of Israel — Robert Fisk, and Gaza’s Defiant Tunnellers Head Deeper Underground — Robert Fisk
BONUS: Rock Groups — Steven Strogatz

Best of the Month: February 2010 10. Massive Moisture-Driven Extreme Precipitation During Warmest Winter in the...
Best of the Week: February 14-20, 2010 10. Letting Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good? — J....
Best of the Week: January 31 – February 6, 2010 11. Is “the Process” Driving Opinion about Health Care? —...

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Greatest Songs, #431: “Ain’t It a Shame” by Fats Domino

Anthony W. Orlando — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:06:05 +0000

Album: Rock and Rollin’ with Fats Domino (Imperial Records)
Year: 1955
Written by: Dave Bartholomew & Fats Domino
Billboard Hot 100: #10

Click here to view the embedded video.

From Rolling Stone:

In the summer of 1955, “Ain’t It a Shame” became Domino’s first pop smash, after a string of R&B hits in the early 1950s. Pat Boone’s white-bread cover (retitled “Ain’t That a Shame”) reached Number One, but as Jerry Wexler put it, “Fats Domino is still the thing. Who cares about what’s his name with the white buck shoes?”

Greatest Songs, #482: “I’m Eighteen” by Alice Cooper Album: Love It to Death (Warner Bros. Records) Year: 1971...
Greatest Songs, #466: “Runaway” by Del Shannon Year: 1961 Written by: Del Shannon & Max Crook Billboard...
Greatest Songs, #457: “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” by Ramones Album: Rocket to Russia (Sire Records) Year: 1977 Written by:...

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Greatest Songs, #432: “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips

Anthony W. Orlando — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:25:58 +0000

Album: Imagination (Buddah Records)
Year: 1973
Written by: Jim Weatherly
Billboard Hot 100: #1

Click here to view the embedded video.

From Rolling Stone:

Originally titled “Midnight Plane to Houston,” the ode to long-distance romance from Mississippi songwriter Weatherly (who also wrote Knight’s “Neither One of Us“) became the biggest hit ever for Gladys Knight and the Pips. Cissy Houston had an R&B hit with it first, before Knight took it to the top of the pop charts.

From allmusic, reviewing the album:

…a watershed in their history. …sophisticated soul at its best, Knight belting out numbers with great forcefulness and passion while the group provided delicate backup.

Greatest Songs, #498: “Rainy Night in Georgia” by Brook Benton Album: Brook Benton Today (Cotillion Records) Year: 1969 Written by:...
Greatest Songs, #472: “Where Did Our Love Go” by The Supremes Album: Where Did Our Love Go (Motown Records) Year: 1964...
Greatest Songs, #494: “Desperado” by The Eagles Album: Desperado (Asylum Records) Year: 1973 Written by: Glenn Frey...

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