Marginal Revolution

Facebook rescission?

A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun.

Nathalie Blanchard has been on leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Quebec, for the last year.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday she was diagnosed with major depression and was receiving monthly sick-leave benefits from insurance giant Manulife.

...She said her insurance agent described several pictures Blanchard posted on Facebook, including ones showing her having a good time at a Chippendales bar show, at her birthday party and on a sun holiday.

The insurance company claims there is more to it than that.  Here is further information.

Assorted links

1. Ben Casnocha reviews Kling and Schulz.

2. Are better-looking athletes more likely to win?

3. "Mozart was a Red" -- Murray Rothbard's satire of Rand, here is the full text.  It doesn't seem that funny to me.

4. Portrait of Durrr: an on-line poker player.

5. Seth Roberts interviews me.

Assorted links, second dose

1. Air Genius Gary Leff is hailed by CNN.

2. Good post on interest rates (though I am not sure I agree with it).  Brad DeLong comments.  Critically important stuff and two of the best recent economics blog posts, in some time.

3. The world's first native Klingon speaker?

4. Spider silk tapestry.

5. Via Yana, France's hamster hotel, and here.

Assorted links

1. How much will U.S. taxes ever go up?

2. Useful lateral thinking and how it is described by the lateral thinker.

3. The biological bases of business and entrepreneurship.

4. One hour show with me in Second Life; they even did up a Tyler Cowen avatar.  Other shows are here, including economist Robert Frank and libertarian Adam Thierer.

5. Matt Kahn on "cash for caulkers".

6. The new AEA calendar of economists.  To whet your appetite, here is a photo of Francis Ysidro Edgeworth.

Assorted links

1. Scott Sumner's most absurd belief: India as #1 in gdp by 2109.

2. Click "play" and watch unemployment grow.

3. Who is Hollywood's most overpaid star, relative to box office returns?  Will Farrell is #1 it seems.

4. Markets in everything: NYC McDonald's with sleek Danish furniture.

5. Saddam's strategic thinking.

6. Via Caroline Flyn, China ethnicity of the week, good for a whole year (photos, recommended).

7. The Political Economy of Trust, by Henry Farrell.

Assorted links

1. Strange China video of the day.

2. Do men live longer if they marry smarter women? (No, I haven't checked if the original paper deals with the identification problem in a reasonable way.)

3. Another review of *The Big Questions*.

4. Daron Acemoglu in Esquire on economic growth.

5. How to get wealthy from your own life insurance (hint: Hansonian).

Assorted links

1. Profile of Doug Elmendorf.

2. Ross Douthat's new blog.

3. Gladwell responds to Pinker.

4. Via Felix Salmon, Clay Shirky on ontological classification.

5. The economics of pinball.

6. Why does the universe look the way it does?

7. Inventing a better patent system.

8. Interview with a Michelin inspector.

Assorted links

1. Reverse remittances: Mexico to the U.S.

2. Will intelligent aliens look like us?  (By the way, I say no.)

3. The most important law passed this year?

4. Pictures of libraries.

5. This is very dangerous information.

6. Provocative feminist (?) blog.

7. Tips for getting better advice: "Listen to people who hate you."

Assorted links

1. Only 35,000 viewers for Fox Business Network at a typical moment in time; MR content gets a bigger audience than that.

2. The economics of Second Life and Worlds of Warcraft: a discussion and comparison.

3. Atlantic books of the year.

4. Tips for all-you-can-eat buffets.

5. What economists don't understand about cell phone pricing.

6. Angus responds to Scott Sumner.

Assorted links

1. One defense of "too big to fail" banks.

2. Krugman responding to Scott Sumner?

3. Behavioral economists study sex toys.

4. Pinker reviews Gladwell.

5. Do caring doctors help you recover?