Gaming the charts has been going on for decades. Economist Tyler Cowen documented how prosecutions in the US for what was called payola started in the 1950s in his book: In Praise of Commercial Culture. Prior to this the process for ranking and gaming the charts was opaque at best. It destroyed the career of […]
Macau gaming revenue Macau Gambling Revenue Continues to Drop – WSJ – A little over a year ago, in February 2014, Macau gaming revenue rose 40%. Now it is regularly falling by around that much (paywall) – Macau gaming is alleged to be a vehicle for money laundering. Even if that wasn’t the truth about Macau […]
Nepotism in the creative industries Is nepotism really that bad? | LinkedIn – Jed Hallam wrote an essay on nepotism and the effects that he perceives it as having on inequality. Jed tries to steer a line on nepotism somewhere between recognising that the people may have an interest and talent, whilst pointing out inequality related […]
Gay blood THE GAY BLOOD COLLECTION | MOTHER GOODS – I could see this stunt on gay blood donation not working as well as the idea deserves. The symbolism of what blood means is tied up in squeamishness, despite the fact that we can intellectualise it as the very stuff of life. Why are Mother protesting […]
Chinese mercenaries Chinese mercenaries have been around longer than the belt and road. You can come across Chinese mercenaries protecting in the border areas of China such as the warlord regions of Myanmar. But now Chinese mercenaries are increasingly linked with the Belt and Road Initiative. China claims that it isn’t building an empire in […]