Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Greece requested a new three-year bailout from its skeptical eurozone creditors and pledged some economic overhauls on Wednesday, but the euphoria some Greeks felt after Sunday’s “no” vote on the last deal was fading fast. Whether European leaders accept the Greek government’s application for more emergency loans at a crisis summit Sunday still depends on Prime Minister…
“The lesson of this crisis is more Europe, not less Europe,” Angela Merkel said in 2012 as the integrity of the region’s monetary union was threatened by financial instability, touched off by Greek debt, that was spreading through the euro zone’s weaker economies. By “more Europe,” the German chancellor meant a deepening of the continent’s…
Ladies and gentlemen, behold the first sighting of the new Greek drachma: Between June 28 and July 4 at a Hilton hotel in Athens, transactions on a Bloomberg reporter’s Visa credit card issued by Citigroup Inc. were posted as being carried out in “Drachma EQ.” The inexplicable notation — bear in mind, the euro remains Greece’s…
Castle William on Governor’s Island, image via Wikicommons New York City is huge. 8.4 million people huge to be exact, and, especially in the summer, it can feel like they are all squished directly next you on the subway. If you’re new to the city you might be unaware that just a quick boat ride…
On Tuesday, Latvia’s central bank chief Ilmars Rimsevics called the introduction of a new currency in Greece the “most realistic scenario.” The country is in its second week of capital controls and banks remain shut in the wake of a referendum which saw some 61% of Greeks vote against the terms of the latest bailout…
Citing dismal conditions at Rikers Island and a 16-year-old who committed suicide after he was jailed without charges for three years, the city of New York announced Wednesday plans to eliminate bail requirements for non-violent and low-level offenders. http://gawker.com/teen-jailed-fo… According to the AP, which broke the story, about 45,000 people are held on bail in…
The turmoil in China’s stock market is so bad that some companies are calling it quits. Over 700 Chinese companies have halted trading to “self preserve,” according to the state media. That means about a quarter of the companies listed on China’s two big exchanges — the Shanghai and Shenzhen — are no longer trading….
Yes, take down the Confederate flag from its place on the grounds of the state capitol in South Carolina. It doesn’t deserve the state’s sanction. Take down the statues of Jefferson Davis, and please take his name off Route One in Virginia. But leave Robert E. Lee alone. He opposed secession, and in his later…
An address on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx was once as prestigious as any in New York City. It was where upwardly mobile Jewish, Irish and other immigrants flocked when they arrived here in the 1920s through the 1950s. The boulevard’s four-lane grandeur echoing Paris’ Champs d’Elysees, its architecturally stunning apartment buildings, public transit…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel toasts with beer in Dachau, August 20, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Dalder Stop me if you’ve heard this one. The Greeks, Italians, Spaniards and Irish walk into a bar, where the French and Germans are the bartenders. It’s happy hour, and the Germans and the French are serving half-price drinks. Although everyone quickly…