Lance Knobel wrote:

An occasional contributor to World Link, Rudi Dornbusch, died last week.

Rudi was that supposed rarity, a colourful, funny economist. He was also, as many tributes are now testifying, one of the best and most influential economists of our time.

From my narrow perspective Rudi had the wonderful asset of always ruffling feathers, whether it was tearing into the incompetence of monetary authorities in Latin America or east Asia, or rubbishing the prospects for the German economy. The last was a particular sore point in my world, since it led to a temporary diktat not to invite Rudi to Davos, because he had so offended some of the German business and political titans who were a core constituency for the Forum.

The ban was a particular pity because Rudi was such a good Davos performer, whether as an expert on a panel or as a moderator, where he had the rare skill of simultaneously moving a discussion along and provoking disagreements and good humour all around. I particularly remember him decreeing at the beginning of some session that anyone whose mobile phone rang during the session would be required to ask a question -- and then enforcing the ruling on some (I hope temporarily) unhappy executive.

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It's not really goth.

Thanks, Firda.

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Ben Domenech said: 

Chaim Potok passed away today. Whereas Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth and other Jewish authors distanced themselves from their religion in the context of their writing, Potok embraced it, and in so doing, crafted some of the greatest works of modern American literature. He died a man. He will be missed.

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Steven Jarvis:

Leo McKern, who starred as Rumpole in the British TV series, Rumpole of the Bailey,has died. My wife and I had read all the Rumpole books before seeing the TV series, and McKern WAS Rumpole. RIP.

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Rogi said:

Photographer of Churchill, Hemingway dies. Photographer Yousuf Karsh, who gained international prominence with his 1941 portrait of a defiant Winston Churchill and photos of public figures such as Albert Einstein and Ernest Hemingway, has died at the age of 93.

Okay, it's a fair ol' age, and he had a fantastic lifetime -- but he'll still be sorely missed. I personally miss him already...

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RIP Alan Lomax, 1915-2002. Without Alan Lomax we might not know what 'old-timey music' is. [Meerkat: An Open Wire Service]

Wow, this is a truly great loss. His recordings of folk music, especially those made in the southern US, are incredible. This is music you would hear no other way. It's not popular and never will be, but if you have an open mind there's some really fascinating stuff available. In particular the recordings he made of Son House in the 1940s are legendary.

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