Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

[vansmack]

do they have it for os x

Yes.

[godsshoeshine]

sweet. i'm in

[vansmack]

Doesn't do much for me, but I'm sure others will be interested:

The Economist to launch on iPhone and iPad later this week

[godsshoeshine]

about time

[vansmack]

about time

I just hope they do a better job than they did with the Kindle, which I have still held out on due to the increased costs.  The early details say it's free for current print subscribers ($126/yr for new subscribers, though I pay less) and digital subscribers ($110/yr), which is a great start.

The Kindle version ($126/yr) STILL doesn't get you access to the web version or audio version.  Maybe this iApp will fix that...

[godsshoeshine]

i keep forgetting about the audio version. i've been into podcasts at work so that might be something handy

on the epl talk iphone app you can stream their podcast directly. its a nice little feature

[sweetcell]

The Economist to launch on iPhone and iPad later this week

impressive.  didn't think they could, but the economist has found a way to make their readers appear even more over-educated, liberal and elitist. 

[godsshoeshine]

by releasing the app, or because they resisted for so long?

[vansmack]

didn't think they could, but the economist has found a way to make their readers appear even more over-educated, liberal and elitist. 

Over-educated and elitist, I will grant you, but a paper that has over a 150 year history of defending free trade and free markets is hardly liberal.

[vansmack]

i keep forgetting about the audio version. i've been into podcasts at work so that might be something handy

90% of my Economist "reading" is from the audio version.  I don't use the podcast though as it's one big file - instead I download the mp3 version which is usually 75-95 individual mp3's.  That way I can jump from Kindle to web to car to train to bus and just keep on moving on in the magazine's order.

[sweetcell]

didn't think they could, but the economist has found a way to make their readers appear even more over-educated, liberal and elitist. 

Over-educated and elitist, I will grant you, but a paper that has over a 150 year history of defending free trade and free markets is hardly liberal.

very true. while the economist itself cannot be called liberal, its readers that i've encountered overwealmingly are.  it could be sampling bias (i have more liberal friends/relatives than conservative) but i've observed that the economist is at times a badge of honor for libs - "see, i read a right-of-center publication!"

not that the economist is a hardcore conservative publication.  it defends free markets but it is not against supporting government intervention (re: its recent support of stimulus spending).  definitely some strong keynesian tendencies at times.  and its social positions are quite liberal/leftist.

[vansmack]

i've observed that the economist is at times a badge of honor for libs - "see, i read a right-of-center publication!"

I think you're confusing The Economist with Drudge....

I do brag about reading a magazine with a lot more (big) words than pictures, but rarely do I take "pride" in it's location on the political spectrum.  I have cited it to conservatives like Venerable when the Economist defends an economic position the left has taken by saying things like "these aren't my people saying this, it's your people" but that's not the same as using it as a badge of honor.

  and its social positions are quite liberal/leftist.

For Americans, which, let's be honest is still quite a conservative country (note intentional use of the small "c").  It's fairly moderate by other non-Asian developed countries.  But yes, their social positions would described as liberal in America.

Why don't you just admit that you're jealous of the rest of us because we read the Economist without lugging around a dictionary to look up all the big words? (how's that for elitist?)

[Venerable Bede]

didn't think they could, but the economist has found a way to make their readers appear even more over-educated, liberal and elitist. 

Over-educated and elitist, I will grant you, but a paper that has over a 150 year history of defending free trade and free markets is hardly liberal.

technically. . .that is a "liberal" position....

sez wikipedia: Economic liberalism is the economic component of classical liberalism. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes laissez-faire economics and private property in the means of production. Proponents of economic liberalism believe political freedom and social freedom are inseparable with economic freedom, and use philosophical arguments promoting liberty to justify economic liberalism and the free market. Although economic liberalism can be supportive of government regulation to a certain degree, it tends to oppose government intervention in the free market that inhibits free trade and competition. Economic liberalism contrasts with mercantilism, the social market model, economic planning, socialism, and fascist third-way economics.

[vansmack]

technically. . .that is a "liberal" position....

Thanks Adam Wolfe.  But if that were true today, then we wouldn't have to distinguish between the liberalism of yesteryear and the liberalism of today with the word "classical."  Classical liberalism is more easily defined as today's modern Conservatism.

But I suppose of wikipedia says it it has to be true, you know, because the root words are the same regardless of the adjective put before it....

[Venerable Bede]

technically. . .that is a "liberal" position....

Thanks Adam Wolfe.  But if that were true today, then we wouldn't have to distinguish between the liberalism of yesteryear and the liberalism of today with the word "classical."  Classical liberalism is more easily defined as today's modern Conservatism.

But I suppose of wikipedia says it it has to be true, you know, because the root words are the same regardless of the adjective put before it....

fair enough. . .i'm just pointing out that in economics, "liberal" often refers to opening of markets and breaking down trade barriers.  since we're talking about "the economist" that should be self-evident. 

from a political perspective, i agree....classical liberalism (and economic liberals) are pretty much today's economic conservatives and libertarians....it should be pointed out, that they are also likely to not be politically social conservatives.