Next month, we’ll be kicking off our first series of photo essays. The theme, Global Poverty, will illuminate the widespread effects of a suffering global economy, comparing and contrasting the situation in countries around the world.

For a sneak peek, here is a small set from Australian photographer Ben Raynor. Ben took these photos during a trip to Sydney and did request and receive permission to photograph them for this purpose.

As I mentioned in the comments of Acallidryas’ post about the old school video game wallpapers, I put up the Super Mario one and was forced to clean up my desktop so that I could see it. My desktop is now the most organized it has ever been. Here’s a Mix Bag to thank the little guy (and his associates).

RNC Chair Michael Steel on his plans for the party: 
“We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles,” Steele told the Washington Times. “But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”
“It will be avant garde, technically,” he said of the new public relations team he’s signing on. “It will come to the table with things that will surprise everyone – off the hook.” He also added: “I don’t do ‘cutting-edge.’ That’s what Democrats are doing. We’re going beyond cutting-edge.”
This is going to be entertaining.

The “Swedish model” has become shorthand in the United States for the general practice of nationalization. But, as is often the case, the details got stripped down a bit on the term’s way to shorthand. Adam Davidson spoke with Leif Pagrotsky on Planet Money yesterday. Pagrotsky, who has worked in Sweden’s Central Bank and Ministry of Finance and was active during their economic crisis, wanted to point out what he saw as an inaccuracy in the American reference to what happened there.