Snippets...

Welcome to Snippets, Blawgconomics' semi-regular attempt at covering a lot of topics in a little time. Some would call this lazy; economists prefer the term 'efficient.

- Lets kick things off this edition with a little bit of election intrigue in a season which promises to be full of it. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Doug Racine requested a recount after losing in the Vermont primary by less than 200 votes. This will be the second recount after a tally this week by the Office of the Secretary of the State failed to ensure a great enough margin of victory for Peter Shumlin to avoid the legal challenge.

- Japan's justice minister, apparently unhappy that her country stands with the US as the only two Group of Eight nations which allow capital punishment, has opened Tokyo's gallows up to the prying eyes of journalists. Yes, gallows, as in hanging, the execution method the country continues to utilize. Keiko Chiba did so to stir debate over the practice, which enjoys over 80% approval ratings, but which has drawn the scorn of the international community particularly after a few instances of wrongful convictions.

- The juror who essentially gave disgraced ex-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich a free pass in his recent anti-corruption trial explained her reasons for not convicting him on all but one of 24 charges. Kind of.

- Apparently the poor economy has done more than slow down the job market; it has impacted the birth rate as well with births in the US falling 2.6% last year. Some experts believe that this is directly related to the recession which presumably caused people to put off familial expansion until signs of economic expansion become more apparent. Some additional fun facts released by the National Center for Health Statistics: the birth rate in 2009 was the lowest in a century; there were about 4.1 million births in the US in 2009; and there was a rise in births to women over 40. Interestingly, the population in Britain took its biggest jump in almost half a century last year and France’s birth rate also has been rising.

- If he weren't so dangerous, oppressive and a communist, one could almost be excused for finding the eccentricities of Kim Jong Il a bit humorous. Our guess is that President Carter isn't quite there after the events of this week.



- At least the US isn't alone in courting controversy over immigration issues. Indeed, on again off again ami France has actually managed to grab the immigration spotlight all for itself with an interesting approach toward its population of illegals of Romanian descent; it is paying them to leave. It will be interesting to see what will happen if the Roma ever figure out that they will get a small check and free plane ticket home for 'vacationing' in Paris...law of unintended consequences anyone?

- Speaking of immigration, at least one concern voiced by supporters of locking down the borders and state's rights to enact anti-immigration legislation is that many of those who are crossing the border are involved with the drug trade. Though many illegals undoubtedly contribute blood, sweat and tears to the US economic machine in the hopes of a better future for themselves and their families, it is also true that fears over the drug trade are not unfounded. Events this week provided a chilling reminder as 72 were found dead in a warehouse in the largest massacre in four years, a time period which is entirely inclusive of President Felipe Calderon's War on Drugs. Further statistics; there have been over 28,000 drug related deaths in Mexico since that time, 80-90% of the drugs consumed in the US are funneled through Mexico, and the trade is estimated to generate over $15 billion in revenues every year.

- Apparently the down markets of the past few years have hit one group of individuals particularly hard; hedge fund managers...

- Fed Chair Ben Bernanke has promised to do all he can to sustain growth. Readers can catch comments, quotes and analysis here. Call Blawgconomics cynical, but somehow the vibes coming from Jackson Hole are less than reassuring...

- Deportations, drugs, death penalties and dictators; admittedly rather heavy, albeit alliterative, material for weekend fare. Unless you happen to be one of our loyal readers in Beijing, you can likely take at least a bit of light-hearted if misanthropic solace in the fact that, at the very least, you aren't stuck in a traffic jam that could last until next month...