cool statistics

i like to play a bit with numbers, and i'm happy that oecd has renewed their services, you can find it here.
what you think, which are the most opened economies in oecd?
Country Trade-to-GDP-ratio (trade of goods)
(current prices, current exchange rate)
Slovak Republic 157,38
Hungary 132,67
Czech Republic 130,71
Netherlands 110,13
Luxembourg 87,51
Austria 81,13
Ireland 80,89
Switzerland 75,34
Korea 71,42
Germany 71,24
Poland 70,67
....
Japan 26,29
United States 22,16

workoholic

hundstage

dog days of summer! yupi! budapest is the best place for summer: every day lot of programms, open-air concerts, bikeing next to the river. if there would be no winter it would be too perfect :)
and on friday erik sumo will play at szabadság tér at downtown festival.

green future

i have found the best summary of the energy problem, possile renewables and best goverment policies what i have read now:
i am only sceptic about their ideas about green tax, i think they underestimate the negative externalities of fossils.
i find also interesting the oil peak theory, jeremy leggett has a good book about that. the rising oil consumption mainly contributed by china and india and the shrinking oil production will lead the world to change the energy production.
why oil production cannot grove? in the last 20 years - in the ages of cheap oil - there was not enaugh investment and these can't be done in some years.
international energy agency, wich is an office of the united nations publicates a study every year - the world energy outlook. as this paper is prepared by the wisest people in this topic. they have also changed they forcasts and mainly accepted the oil peak theory and they are asking for change in philosphy: energy efficiency should be in focus. and we should invest in renewables but these investments will only yield on longer term - where we face again the same problem: the short term thinking of the most important companies.
so if there is a market failure we need the governments, if possible on the multinational level. kyoto process showed that we can mainly forget multinational level - fast growing countries will not participate, like china and india but that can be understood. kyoto was anyway everything but not useful: mainly none of the countries has done what they have promised.
europien union is a frontier of sustainable growth - but co2 trade and shrink of emission are not a success story. every member state has other policies how to achive the common goals. the big question is which is the best way to make alternative energies market-ready. green taxes are a good way but there are a lot of critics about that also. the subsidies are also questionable - which technics and which companies should recive them? maybe the best way is - and it looks like to work in germany which is pretty well performing in this field - is the warranted prices which are higher than market price. it is very important in this case that these has to be warranted for longer time, have to calculable and have to decline with time (not the case of hungary). maybe it would be a good way to put externalities tax on polluting technologies and finance the alternative energies from this.

conclusion: i have too much free time and need a job

some ideas about globalisation

globalaisation is mainly a good thing, sad that a lot of people don't want to get it - specially sad if these people are in the winning side - like hungarians.
nevertheless there would be a need to rethink the way global economy and globalisation is working: because the benefits are distributed a very unmoral way. this is not only problem in moral ways but also politically and economically. those nations, groups of people, regions that feel and see that only the other side (wich is already richer) is takeing the benefits of it naturally will feel embarrassed and will resist, they will turn to nationalism and protetism wich is bad for them but also for the hole world.
i have found a short nice articale summarizing these ideas by globalisation institute.

unemployed life

since 3 weeks i am unemployed and living from the friendly contribution from the 10 procent taxpayers of hungary. till now it was a lot of fun to have so much free time, but it would be nice to be able to start to work.
but i did not thought that you can have so much fun while not working: been to linz, italy, aquapark, was laying on the sun in every possible park in budapest, read books, all magazins wich i like, was riding bob and bikeing a lot. everyone should get one month summer holiday!

balmer in budapest

microsoft has sold for 100 million euros office programmes to hungary - which could have been purchased way more cheaper - lot of people say. the contract is made that way, that all universities and governmental offices have to use microsoft products.
one student was protesting with eggs.

china eating itself

i find interesting some aspects of the high oil prices. the high energy prices are driven on the bulk by the hunger of china and india. all studies are forecasting that the oil prices will continue growing - possible on 200 usd. it will change the 'flat world' how we know it: transport cost will grow dramatically and it will change our world economy. cheap labour cost countries will lose their competitiveness. globalisation will continue, but on a regional basis: europeans will produce in north-africa, eastern-europe; ameriacans in latin-america. europe can profit from high oil prices with the growing alternative energy shares: that way more money will stay in europe not by the oil exporting countries, and these masses of money can be the motor of a new economical growth - which is also more susteinable. and as europe is the frontier of alternative energy we can stay leaders in the world.

do you know cee?

there is a nice test on standard.at about central-estern europe, i also did not knew one, should travel more around :)

budapest is a bit dirty

i have desided to clean my windows, and it was shocking how dirty is the air in budapest. check the difference between the cleaned and the 6 month old version:

mountains drive prople really crazy

after the brutal affair of fritzl in amstetten and the kidnap of natascha kampusch there is again a shocking evenet from austria: a father has killed his son, wife, his mother and father and his father-in-low - in wien, amsfelden and linz - so he needed one day for this!
you could think that in austria violance and sexual abuse is much more higher than in other countries but in fact - i have searched several statisticts - austria performs international in the low- or middle-class. it looks like the some brutal cases are getting very big media reputation, or maybe a lot of cases stay hidden. these cases are showing the in wealthy states we still have huge problems with our societies - or mankind is just simply helplessly brutal.

mountains drive prople crazy

there is a new youth culture in austria, knowen as 'krocha'. these young people mainly in vienna have an owen 'culture' and speech - find the dictionary here. i was in italy on the springbreak party for austrian students and it was interesting that everyone started to use the speech of the krocha people, you just shouted 'bam oida' (tree dude) - and a lot of people replyed - 'fix oida'. this speech has absoltutly no sence, but everyone started to use - it will be interesting how long time does it take that people will forget this trend.
and if we speak about 'krocha' here is a video about their highly professional dancing and dressing style:

for more details visit krocha.tv

what if all the nuts of the world are gone

weird history

israel is 60 years old in 2008. zdf has dedicated series of documetaries for this event. i found it really bizarre that in the beginning of the 1st arab war the israelis had only handguns. that time truman was on power in us and did not wanted that israel will go independent, and imposed an embargo for guns. so the soviets has felt they have now opportunity to stregthen they presence in the middle-east and they've helped out the new state. they have advised czechoslovakia do deliver some jets - and they have delivered 4 exhausted messerscmits planes - with still the swastika painted on them, wich they have repainted with david-star.

haha

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

if you wanna laugh more, youtube for "centraal beheer"

better bike!

this is an advert video of the ministy of transport for promoting bikeing:

the only conversation is:
W: what would you think about a cup of tea?
M: that would be fine
later
W: you should also better bike rezső!

political compass

i have found the first interesting feed on facebook: the political compass
i am the red button, interesting to try it:

index video rules

this video is maybe not that easy to understand for non-hungarians but i was laughing for long minutes after it. the reporter guy dressed up like and speaking like a communist youth organisation guy from the 70s going on may day to the very various and interesting people and asking them to send music or cabaret like it was on television on the socialist times. this is the finest collections of hungarian 'high culture'.
the video was shooted on the picnic of the socialist party.

news from budapest

in the XVIII. district of budapest a public transport bus and a horse has crashed - news from the 21st century, from europe's 10th biggest city.