Earthquakes | Hedge funds | Art & Travel | Inequality | Food

Razzismo | Sud-Italia | Ticino

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Earthquake math: [Jean Monnet: “People only accept change when they are faced with necessity, and only recognize necessity when a crisis is upon them.”] + [A case of Nassim Taleb’s “Black Swan,” an unexpected (or unknown) event that has the potential for disproportionate consequences] = The Cascadia subduction zone. From The New Yorker, article.

Many of you know of my loathing of hedge funds, but these guys come as close to a fair deal as anything I’ve ever seen. WSJ article (pdf).

You cannot enter the US with more than $10,000 equivalent in cash without filling a custom declaration form, yet no one knows who buys a $179mm Picasso. It’s about time we subject art dealers and auction houses to anti-money-laundering regulations; Ken Rogoff from Project Syndicate, article.

Speaking of art, if you happen to be in NY at the right time (from October 30) do yourself a favor and go to see the Whitney retrospective of Frank Stella; NYT article.

…and if you happen to be in Alaska, make sure you don’t miss this trek.

Nature magazine published an interesting article on inequality: a study that concludes it is not the actual level that counts but what we perceive it to be; article.

As vegans go, this is about as reasonable a behavior one can ask for: article. Also, diversity wins in food too: WSJ article (pdf).

Certo che se questo è razzismo allora stiamo tutti uscendo pazzi; per favore, cerchiamo di restare più educati ed allo stesso tempo meno politically correct degli americani; ilFattoQuotidiano articolo.

Nel sud-Italia, produttivita’ e costi: un analisi bilanciata e ragionevole ne lavoce.info, articolo.

La storia della piazza finanziaria di Lugano, raccontata dalla RSI (Radiotelevisione svizzera); un incrocio di opportunità, evasioni, sviluppi ed avvenimenti che certamente si sarebbero potuti gestire meglio; “Piazza finanziaria: la festa e’ finita” video.