The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published their weekly analysis of influenza activity for the week of 7-13 June 2009. They conclude that "influenza activity decreased in the United States, however, there were still higher levels of influenza-like illness than is normal for this time of year." The numbers raise at least two questions. First, the seasonal H3N2 and H1N1 strains are clearly disappearing. Is this because it is the end of the influenza season in the northern hemisphere, a time when influenza typically drops to very low levels? Or is it because the older viruses are being forced out' by the new pandemic strain?

Mickey Kaus writes about the threat by Sarah Palin's attorney to sue anyone defaming her, and also those who republish such defamation. He's astonished to learn that Section 230 could shield him and other bloggers. I don't want to be harsh about Kaus -- Section 230 is a little obscure -- but I think any blogger, and especially one who's a lawyer, should have some familiarity with it.

Pope Benedict XVI has called for a new financial order, a new way of understanding business enterprise, that respects the dignity of workers and looks out for the common good by prioritizing ethics and social responsibility over dividend returns, according to a report by the Associated Press.

That's not just my opinion, it's the opinion of Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who is an expert on the economics of the Great Depression: "O.K., Thursday's jobs report settles it. We're going to need a bigger stimulus."

Reuters is reporting that Chinese officials have confidence that the U.S. Dollar will remain the worlds reserve currency. I believe it is significant that the Chinese are deliberately talking up the dollar in advance of the G8 summit.

I am baffled by the fact that people are so disengaged from the food that they eat. It has been my goal for some time now, almost two decades, to grow as much of my own food as possible. I have achieved this by growing more, and eating less.

If Sarah is going to have her attorney order people to shut up about her house, she might have started with First Dude Todd. It was his interview with Greta van Susteran in September of 2008 that first drew the attention of journalists such as Wayne Barrett of the Village Voice. In the interview, Todd boasted of his Dudely accomplishments, as a fisherman, pilot, and homebuilder.

Slashdot has a brief story today about an article in Forbes by Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, on the success and future prospects for the Amazon Kindle E-book reader. The product has been quite successful. However, O'Reilly argues that the current closed architecture and book format of the Kindle is a mistake, one that will in time lead to the loss of its market-leading position.

The mainstream debate today is on the various levels of current taxes: income, sales, property, gasoline, etc... What has been missing from the debate is a debate on land value taxes. Thomas Paine wrote "Men did not make the earth. It is the value of the improvements only, and not the earth itself, that is individual property. Every proprietor owes to the community a ground rent for the land which he holds."

President Obama has landed in Russia for his first visit to the country as President -- let's hope it doesn't end like the last one as US Senator, when he was detained with Senator Lieberman at a regional airport after a nuclear missile inspection.

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