The Netflix prize has been won (Marginal Revolution).
Regulation and Distrust (Marginal Revolution again). Excerpt:
Thus, societies with a lot of distrust generate regulation and corruption and citizens who don’t have the skills or preferences to break out of the distrust equilibrium. Consider, for example, that in societies with a lot of distrust parents are less likely to consider it important to teach their children about tolerance and respect for others.
In the Coachella Valley, hope withers on the vine (via Felix).
Related, sort of: Working in Hell for $11/day (via Econbrowser).
Overstimulated (via Shtetl-Optimized). You will probably find this either very confusing or very familiar.
It’s all about what we let be sold to us buy, by what ever media you watch, listen to.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090629_the_truth_alone_will_not_set_you_free/