2010 archive
Af-Pak Wiki-Leaks 0
It was pretty clear things weren’t going well.
It was not clear that they were going this badly.
And, no, “potentially embarrassing” is not sufficient reason for hiding official actions from public view, at least not and maintain any level of democracy.
Yet that, natch, is why governments dislike leaks and, in particular, are gunning for Wiki-Leaks–it’s not the potential for the dangerous; it’s the potential for the embarrassing.
What Is Good for Wall Street Is Not Necessarily Good for Anybody Else 0
Balloon Juice. Scroll to the list of bullet items in the bottom 2/3rds of the post.
We err when we let ourselves be convinced that the only measures of economic success are stock prices, dividends, and bonus payments to executives.
Important, maybe, at least the first two; the last should be eliminated and replaced with salary increases (or decreases, as warranted); only, no.
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
Is in employees’ pockets. From MarketWatch:
Read the whole thing, then tell me again why Social Security should be privatized.
QOTD 0
Alexandre Dumas, pere, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.
Spill Here, Spill Now, As the World Turns Dept. 0
Does Tony Hayward still want his life back?
Will he get it back, and will he like it when he does?
Tune in next time for the continuing story of
As the Well Wilds.
ChocoCrispies Had Nothing To Do with This 0
From the BBC:
Its new Plus schoolwear range includes clothes for pre-school children with waistlines of up to 23ins, a size usually worn by eight-year-olds.
Symbiosis 0
Joan Vennochi notices the interplay between teabaggers and racists, as revealed by the Shirley Sherrod matter.
Read the long version. Because, well, she nails it.
“Someone Says, ‘Flashmob'” 0
Eva Wiseman in the Guardian:
Mob (a near-future science fiction story) by Tom Scott from hurryonhome on Vimeo.
If the embed doesn’t work, go here.
“Nor Any Drop To Drink” 0
I haven’t worked up the nerve to finish the story yet. I’m about halfway through.
This is why regulation is bad. Without regulation, we wouldn’t know about this sort of stuff and would have one less thing to worry about.
Plus all that glowing in the dark would cut down on the cost of lighting.
Weekly Address 0
Eistein (possibly apocryphal):
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Republicans (from the transcript):
First, he would repeal health insurance reform, which would take away tax credits from millions of small business owners, and take us back to the days when insurance companies had free rein to drop coverage and jack up premiums. Second, he would say no to new investments in clean energy, after his party already voted against the clean energy tax credits and loans that are creating thousands of new jobs and hundreds of new businesses. And third, even though his party voted against tax cuts for middle-class families, he would permanently keep in place the tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans – the same tax cuts that have added hundreds of billions to our debt.
These are not new ideas. They are the same policies that led us into this recession. They will not create jobs, they will kill them. They will not reduce our deficit, they will add $1 trillion to our deficit. They will take us backward at a time when we need to keep America moving forward.
Q. E. D.
104 in the Shade 0
That’s the reading on the electronic thermometer on the deck, which I have calibrated. It may not be the official reading, which I think comes from closer to the beach. We are within a couple of miles of the Norfolk Airport and our temperature is usually closer to theirs.
When I was a young ‘un growing up on the other side of the Bay, it would get this hot.
But it wouldn’t stay this hot for weeks at a time with no break.
“Not Insane” Is a Firesign Theatre Album 0
It has nothing to do with the Republican Party.
Spill Here, Spill Now 0
The American Association of University Professors has a beef about Buccaneer Petroleum. From the BBC:
(snip)
The BBC has obtained a copy of a contract offered to scientists by BP. It says that scientists cannot publish the research they do for BP or speak about the data for at least three years, or until the government gives the final approval to the company’s restoration plan for the whole of the Gulf.
It also states scientists may perform research for other agencies as long as it does not conflict with the work they are doing for BP.
And it adds that scientists must take instructions from lawyers offering the contracts and other in-house counsel at BP.
Wonder what Virginia AG Cuccinelli would think of that? (Somehow, I have a feeling he would be okay with it. After all, is it not just the impersonal, unbiased, implacable fee hand of the market bringing new wonders to our Walmarts?)
Aside: The author at the last link casually refers to “Barack Obama’s efforts to nationalize much of the economy,” betraying his ignorance as to what “nationalization” actually is.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
The way to prevent this stuff is, of course, to have more bozos packing heat. (By the way, these were both members of a Neighborhood Watch organization.)
Serbeck, 37, whose spine was severed by a bullet from Campos’ gun, claims he had placed his pistol on the ground and kicked it away before Campos opened fire shortly after midnight on July 22, 2009.
Continuing in Bankster Mode: Dustbiters 0
The genius(es) of the fee hand of the market:
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Home Valley Bank, Grants Pass, Oregon
SouthwestUSA Bank, Las Vegas, Nevada
Community Security Bank, New Prague, Minnesota
Thunder Bank, Sylvan Grove, Kansas
Williamsburg First National Bank, Kingstree, South Carolina
Parable: A Bankster and Customers 0
Customers:
Bankster:
