Assorted links

1. The commercialization of the kaffeeklatsch.

2. Slide show of Haitian photos, which also indicates that about 1/4 of Haitian gdp is spent playing the lottery.

3. Schools are competing harder and harder for the best students.

4. Why the poor don’t work, in the words of the poor.

5. Will robots revolutionize Chinese manufacturing?  The most interesting part is the discussion of how short product life cycles make robots harder to use.  And wages for prostitutes are falling.