Commentary on sustainability, the collapse in personal consumption in the US in 2008, what we believe, the time has come for Greece to pick democracy, and the police step in to battle internet attacks.

Is there hope for sustainability?

Project Syndicate -- The Sustainability Mindset
Markets and capitalist incentives have great strengths in promoting economic efficiency, growth, and innovation.

Quote worth quoting.

“But markets and capitalist incentives have clear weaknesses in ensuring stability, equity, and sustainability, which can adversely affect political and social cohesion.”

Chicago Fed economists confirm that the imploding housing bubble and worries about future income where the factors behind the collapse in personal consumption. (ed’s note – we wonder what the encore is, but the charts are useful).

Pdf below – Personal Consumption and the Great Recession

How what we believe really screws us up.

youtube -- Cognitive Dissonance
How our minds build belief and then breaks it down, showing us how and why humans are fooled into believing that things like Power Bands, anti-aging treatments and supplements actually work.

Related.

Los Angles Times -- Why attack ads? Because they work
Voters say they don't like negative campaigning. But, although they may reject such ads consciously, that doesn't mean they aren't unconsciously affected.

Quote worth remembering.

“To understand why, you have to consider what we know about how emotions work — and the different ways our conscious and unconscious minds and brains process "negativity" during elections.”

Related.

Guardian -- A short history of tanning
As tanning falls out of fashion with model agencies, let us recall how white people's skin tone has been perceived over the years.

The time has come for Greece to choose democracy.

Financial Times -- Greece must default if it wants democracy
When Wolfgang Schäuble proposed that Greece should postpone its elections as a condition for further help, I knew that the game would soon be up. We are at the point where success is no longer compatible with democracy.

Related.

Independent -- Greece sells its independence to escape the burden of debt
Special Dispatch: In the birthplace of democracy, self-determination has lost out to economic dictats from abroad. And, as ever, it's the poor who suffer the most.

Related.

Economist -- A way out of the woods
The euro may survive brinkmanship over Greece, but the road to recovery will be long and hard.

Be afraid be very afraid.

National Post -- RCMP investigating ‘threats of criminal acts’ against Vic Toews
The RCMP is investigating “serious threats” against Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and his family, as popular blowback to the government’s Internet surveillance bill continues to escalate.

(ed's note -- Cartoon comment: surely pooh bombs would have really made the point).