BT Notes: getting the year started …

2008 has started gently here at Ballin Temple.  Getting back into the daily  routine once the children were back in school was not a high priority.  In fact there may have been a bit of a sense of wanting a holiday once they were back in school!  Despite that, everything seems to be moving along …
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US rates down again

The US central bank lowered rates to 3% from 3.5% after a two-day meeting. Last week, the Fed slashed the cost of borrowing by the largest amount in 25 years in a shock move to calm tumbling global stock markets.  If you consider the double reduction over 9 days as one event, that’s a 1.25% …
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Home education Q and A

Tracy Culleton has published a well written and useful Q&A on home education.  Those interested in home education or expanding their engagment with their children may get some useful perspectives from it.  Here below are reproduced a few paragraphs.  Her site also has useful links to home education resources. Q: Why are you home-educating? A: …
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Depression risk ‘highest in 40s’

A study confirms that depression risk is the ‘highest in 40s’.  That shouldn’t be news.  It’s called a mid-life crisis.  But if you’re ready for it, the sagging needn’t be so painful.  I’ve still to pass the milestone 44, but it certainly seems that ageing accelerates as time passes.  And looking back at life spans …
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Time to panic?

It certainly feels like its time to panic as global share indicies crash.  However, panicing, whether in stock markets or natural disasters, is never wise – you get crushed by the stampede.  And those stocks you hold may be cheap now – so do some proper analysis before you liquidate, especially if you’re a long …
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Plan B 3.0 Mobilizing to Save Civilization – Lester Brown

BT Notes: winter solstice, PestalozziWorld, skating …

The school holidays started this weekend so that festive feeling is building. Children really bring the fantasy alive, with a bit of help from Hollywood. This is usually one of the craziest times in the year – everybody is trying to finish off work so that they can go on holiday, while at the same …
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Stop making babies – Save the planet

When you take an interest in reducing humanity’s impact on the biosphere, it becomes apparent that there are simply too many humans. It is generally accepted that the planet can support only 2 billion people by natural means. The equation is simple: sun’s energy enters the biosphere and is converted to stored energy (by plants), …
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The world says NO to the death penalty

The United Nations General Assembly has at last voted for a global moratorium on the death penalty. While the resolution is nonbinding and its symbolic weight was hardly mentioned in US media, for those who have been trying to move the world away from lethal revenge as government policy, this was a milestone. The resolution …
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