December 2008
69 posts
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Time to Reboot America →
“To top it off, we’ve fallen into a trend of diverting and rewarding the best of our collective I.Q. to people doing financial engineering rather than real engineering. These rocket scientists and engineers were designing complex financial instruments to make money out of money — rather than designing cars, phones, computers, teaching tools, Internet programs and medical equipment that could...
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American Express Will Get $3.39 Billion in TARP... →
The Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program will buy preferred shares that pay annual dividends of 5 percent for the first five years and 9 percent in following years, American Express said. The company will also sell warrants that entitle the Treasury to buy common stock of up to 15 percent of the preferred purchase.
I think we should be getting 19.75% compounded monthly with a $100 million...
“I would rather be confused for ten minutes than bored for five minutes.”
– Jimmy McGovern (via jessicabigarel)
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary...”
– BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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Where'd the bailout money go? Shhhh, it's a secret →
“We’ve lent some of it. We’ve not lent some of it. We’ve not given any accounting of, ‘Here’s how we’re doing it,’” said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money. “We have not disclosed that to the public. We’re declining to.”
You have got to be fucking kidding me....
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At Siemens, Bribery Was Just a Line Item →
“Although court documents are salted throughout with the word “bribes,” the Justice Department allowed Siemens to plead to accounting violations because it cooperated with the investigation and because pleading to bribery violations would have barred Siemens from bidding on government contracts in the United States. Siemens doesn’t dispute the government’s account of its actions.”
...
saturday night playlist
clap your hands say yeah - over and over again
the whitest boy alive - burning
say hi to your mom - sweet sweet heartkiller
the blow - true affection
santogold - lights out
yeasayer - sunrise
vampire weekend - the kids don’t stand a chance
of montreal - gallery piece
the republic tigers - buildings and mountains
billy bragg and wilco - airline to heaven
modest mouse - the good...
“With economy in shambles, Congress gets a raise”
– TheHill.com
““As lawmakers make a big show of forcing auto executives to accept just $1 a year in salary, they are quietly raiding the vault for their own personal gain,” said Daniel O’Connell, chairman of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a non-partisan group.”
I wonder if these...
NY Times Editorial - Separate and Not Equal →
katespencer:
“Civil unions are an inadequate substitute for marriage. Creating a separate, new legal structure to confer some benefits on same-sex couples neither honors American ideals of fairness, nor does it grant true equality. The results are clearly visible in New Jersey, which continues to deny same-sex couples some of the tangible civil benefits that come with marriage.”
“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge...”
– Kurt Vonnegut
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Bush Approves $17 Billion Auto Rescue →
“The loan deal also requires the companies to quickly reduce their debt obligations by two-thirds, mostly through debt-for-equity swaps, and to reach an agreement with the United Auto Workers union to cut wages and benefits so they are competitive with those of employees of foreign-based automakers working in the United States.”
…
“If, by March 30, the two companies...
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Drew Peterson to Marry for Fifth Time →
“Though the former Illinois police sergeant’s fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared in October 2007, and his third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in a dry bathtub, his publicist announced that Peterson is engaged to be married for a fifth time. (Peterson, 54, has not been charged in either case.) “
Well, I’m sure this is going to end well.
On Wall Street, Bonuses, Not Profits, Were Real →
“While bonuses are expected to be half of what they were a year ago, some bankers could still collect millions of dollars.”
The headline says it all. These investment banks invented profit, paid themselves absurdly, then let the taxpayers absorb the losses. This isn’t criminal and their liability is $0 because inherent in investment is risk.
I can’t understand why...
The year 2008 in photographs (part 1 of 3) - The... →
Obama's Chief Speechwriter, 27, Works on Inaugural... →
This is the same piece that’s been done on Favreau a hundred times before, but for some reason I still find it inspiring me. Youth FTW.
five favorite movies growing up
Top Gun
Amadeus
Homeward Bound
Dave
Big
“I wouldn’t change you for the world. You’re sweet the way you are. The things...”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Ice Palace
Governor Paterson unveils "fuck the single,...
cajunboy:
You see what happens when SNL makes fun of him and everybody blogs about it!
Gov. Paterson’s proposed $121 billion budget hits New Yorkers in their iPods - and nickels-and-dimes them in lots of other places, too.
Trying to close a $15.4 billion budget gap, Paterson called for 88 new fees and a host of other taxes, including an “iPod tax” that taxes the sale of downloaded music and...
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Why the bailouts should be run by 25-year-olds →
“Remember, this money will not be neutral,” said Andy Karsner, a former U.S. assistant secretary of energy. “We are talking about directing an unprecedented volume of cash at our housing, energy, transportation and infrastructure industries. This cash will either fortify the incumbent players and calcify the energy status quo, or it will facilitate the economic transformation we...
Scientists extract images directly from brain →
I see a future market for tin foil hats…
“STRANGER! if you, passing, meet me, and desire to speak to me,
why should you...”
– Walt Whitman, from his days as a subway poet. So many friends we almost make every day in our travels, but mostly never do. (via erin)
In many ways, the world we be better if everyone had the patience and openness to talk to all strangers, not just the hot ones.
American spirit.
alexbalk:
A stay-at-home mother whose husband is a litigation attorney, Mrs. Sirof says that Ms. Monterrosa was a “second mom to my kids.” Ms. Monterrosa was there when she suffered a bout of depression and when she went on spa trips or outings to get Botox and Juvéderm injections, says Mrs. Sirof. But a few months ago, the family decided they couldn’t afford Ms. Monterrosa anymore and let her...
“If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize...”
– Bertrand Russell
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Typing Without a Clue - NYTimes.com →
This is a harsh opinion on six-figure fameball book deals, but in many ways I have to agree. I hope Joe the Plumber’s publisher takes a bath on this one.
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Our Mutual Joy | Print Article | Newsweek.com →
It seems to me that the argument against gay marriage almost always boils down to one’s religious beliefs and the morality they prescribe. In America, the Bible is the most popular keystone. But it amazes me how much of the Bible these opponents to gay marriage forget or ignore. This is a good article that explores some of the other things the Bible teaches. You know, like tolerance and...
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“If you lose your eye and have a hole in your head, then why not stick a camera...”
– Eye Spy: Filmmaker Plans to Install Camera in His Eye Socket | Gadget Lab from Wired.com
Well that’s a good question. Why not?
“At a time of great crisis with mortgage foreclosures and autos, he says we only...”
– Barney Frank can’t wait until January.
I don’t know what it is, but Barney Frank always cracks me up. Funniest member of Congress?
Op-Ed Contributor - The Real Bill Ayers -... →
I was wondering when we would hear from Mr. Ayers.
Thieves Winning Online War, Maybe in Your PC -... →
