A New Year, A New Beginning

So we made it through that ratchet of a year called 2012. Thank Almighty God. That was one hell of a year. I don't need to rehash all that happened. It was a tough year and I am so glad it is over. Phew!!

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There's a ridiculous debate going on in the wonkosphere about an outlandish idea: minting a trillion-dollar coin so that President Obama can avoid the upcoming debt ceiling, which Republicans are threatening to use as leverage to extract major entitlement cuts. To make a long story short, there's supposedly a loophole in the law that allows the Treasury Department to mint platinum coins of any denomination, so the president could order up a trillion-dollar coin to pay the federal government's bills. Et voilà -- no worries on the debt ceiling.

I'm convinced that nobody -- not even Paul Krugman -- is actually serious about this, and in any case Kevin Drum succinctly dispenses with the idea here, here, and here. He writes:

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If you fancied " That Stupid Song " (what was not to like?), you're probably gonna dig "Rich and Famous", a soulful and catchy tune about, well, the anticipation of wealth and fame, by Nigerian singer Praiz from his yet-to-be-titled forthcoming album. Like John Legend - to whom is often compared for obvious reasons - it only takes a couple of sung notes for you to know you're in good hands, so we're not alone in looking forward to the new album. Download " Rich and Famous " here.

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Just before the news broke on Tuesday that Lance Armstrong would discuss allegations of doping in an interview with Oprah Winfrey next week, a new accusation was made against him by a senior antidoping official.

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deeply excited, y'all. summers soon come.

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And following Tambay's earlier post on Sky Arts' Playhouse Presents . . . . . . comes another Playhouse Presents project announced last month titled Psychobitches, which is described as "an all-star sketch show that sees some of history's most famous women psychoanalysed, [which] has been ordered for a series, to air in 2013." This will be the program's second season. Zawe Ashton and Sharon D. Clarke (Holby City, The Shadow Line) both appear in Psychobitches. "Produced by the award-winning Tiger Aspect Productions, t)he comedy celebrates outstanding women from history and all their gloriously bonkers issues. One therapist's...

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Three Zimbabwean women named among 2012 youngest power women Abandoned teen accepted to med school Teens Create A Way To Use Urine As ...

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As it happens, the Winter 2013 issue of The Middle East Journal, which will mail to subscribers soon, has an unusual lead Book Review Article: a group review by Prof. Rex Brynen of a number of computer games dealing with conflict in the Middle East.

As if right on cue, comes word of a new game called "Endgame: Syria," a simulation game which allows one to play out various endgames for the Syrian civil war. It is making news largely because Apple has rejected it for the App Store:

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For Löw and his side, 2013 will be a year for reform. The trials exposed various psychological shortcomings which must be sorted, but Löw's talents as a coach, and the quality and breadth of the resources available to him are still in no doubt.

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Idris Elba has long expressed his desire to direct; it was in mi-2010 that he mentioned he was working with the BBC on a feature film project that was already being developed for him to helm some time in following year (2011), which would've been his directorial debut. He didn't share much at the time, other than to say that the BBC-commission film centered on a young girl - nothing more. Skip ahead 2 1/2 years later, to a Sky TV report of all its new, upcoming programming, and a section in which it is announced that Elba will be making his TV directorial debut with a Sky Arts' Playhouse Presents feature titled The Pavement Psychologist, which Mr...

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"Though multinational firms in the mining industry have been preaching elaborate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, some of these initiatives are cosmetic and fail to satisfy the local communities. Mining firms, by any measure, make super profits and are capable of contributing more to the national Treasury as well as to the communities in which they operate.....Zambia should craft a tax regime that will be able to capture sufficient revenue from the mining firms without stifling production and profit levels. The country's poverty levels can go down if the tax regime was worked out to seal all loop-holes that give rise to evasion...The country is richly endowed with mineral resources and holds about six per cent of the world's known copper reserves..... But it is sad that ...

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The Nigerian press, citing foreign ministry sources, reports that the federal government has cut its pledge of 600 military personnel...

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