Merkel and Sarkozy offer no miracle cure for euro

By Noah Barkin – By avoiding bold short-term solutions, Merkel and Sarkozy left responsibility for warding off any new market attacks to the European Central Bank (ECB), which has bought up tens of billions of euros in bonds from weakened debtors like Italy and Spain to prevent the zone from breaking apart.

“I think the crisis in fact is likely to get worse before it gets better despite the announcements that we had yesterday,” Jacques Cailloux, chief European economist at RBS, told Reuters Insider television.

“The ECB is trapped here,” Cailloux said. “So I think we could end up having 150 billion euros to 200 billion euros ($215 billion to $290 billion) of Spanish and Italian bonds on the ECB balance sheet in the next month and a half.” more> http://is.gd/q2pwcw

related>

• German economists say ‘Nein’ to ‘disaster’ eurobonds, EurActiv
• On the eurobond discussion and the dangers of mutualizing the debt, Protesilaos Stavrou, BlogActiv.eu
• In euro-zone crisis, German leader Angela Merkel’s options are limited, Howard Schneider, Washington Post
• Sarkozy, Merkel want Van Rompuy as ‘Mr Euro’, Reuters/EurActiv

Do You Sympathize With the Automakers?

By Charles Murray – The lessons of 2008 — which were repeated in countless newspaper articles — should have been twofold: that the automakers are far more fragile than most of us guessed; and that bankrupt carmakers don’t go down alone. Their pain spreads from the engineers and assembly line workers to their families, their towns, and to the thousands of suppliers that make tires, axles, seats, motors, bumpers, fuel tanks, light bulbs, semiconductor chips, and myriad other parts. The pain also spreads to the taxpayers who have to bail them out. The point is, bankrupting the automakers is not a prescription for national economic nirvana.

California wants to charge them $5,000 for every electric car they don’t sell. The Fed wants them to build cars that average 54.5mpg. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on how automotive engineers should do their jobs. And, by the way, if they don’t do it the way we tell them to, let’s give ‘em a kick. more> http://twurl.nl/cgjmn2

related>

• Is the auto industry over-regulated? LinkdIn Discussion

Printing a paper solar panel

By David L. Chandler – Almost as cheaply and easily as printing a photo on your inkjet, an inexpensive, simple solar cell has been created on that flimsy sheet, formed from special “inks” deposited on the paper. You can even fold it up to slip into a pocket, then unfold it and watch it generating electricity again in the sunlight.

The new technology, developed by a team of researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is reported in a paper in the journal Advanced Materials. The paper is co-authored by Karen Gleason, Vladimir Bulović, Miles Barr; and six other students and postdocs.

The technique represents a major departure from the systems used until now to create most solar cells. more> http://is.gd/UML1o0

DRAFT National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Strategic Plan – Aug 2011

Now open for Public Comments

NIST – NIST coordinates the interagency NICE program, which is a national campaign focused on enhancing cybersecurity in the United States by accelerating the availability of educational and training resources designed to improve the cyber behavior, skills and knowledge of every segment of the population. The program aims to improve secure use and access to digital information in a way that advances America’s economic prosperity and national security.

“This plan represents the coordinated thinking of the federal agencies that have leading roles in NICE,” said NIST’s Ernest McDuffie, who leads the NICE program. “We are soliciting feedback from the larger population to inform and improve the planning process for this comprehensive national initiative.”

Comments on the NICE draft strategic plan are due by September 12, 2011. more> http://csrc.nist.gov/nice/

related>

• The Wrong War: The Insistence on Applying Cold War Metaphors to Cybersecurity Is Misplaced and Counterproductive ↑
• A Domain Like Cyberspace ↓

Chat on the Net – Aug 24 2011

[tNe] – Share your thoughts: Chat on the Net™ Sign up for the first “Net Chat” session When : 5:15pm PDT, Wed Aug 24, 2011 Where : On the Net Duration: 30 min Space limited for resource optimization. Agenda Suggest … Continue reading →