March, 2009 archive
International Legality 0
Moving back towards sanity:
The “enemy combatant” classification was created out of whole cloth with the sole purpose of evading the Laws of War.
It was nothing more than a cover story for concentration camps.
It is good to see it going away.
Word of the Day 0
From BuzzWhack (follow the link to sign up for the buzzword of the day).
Presenting concepts that look good in PowerPoint but don’t work technically. In 2004, NASA was chided for too much PowerPoint engineering and that they should (go–sic) back to writing full reports, not just bulleted slides.
PowerPoint in the hands of empty suits is evil. It has been my unfortunate experience that too many suits are empty.
Numerology 0
H/T Alison for the link.
Waste of Electrons 0
A email for lil ole me? From my zombie mortgage company? With “Confidential” in the subject line?
Better look.
Swiftly Flow the Words . . . 0
Jon Swift brings conservative clarity to the discussion of unwed teenaged mothers. As with any of Mr. Swift’s essays, a full reading well repays the effort. A nugget:
Why is Bristol Palin different? She is different because she is a conservative.
It’s different when unmarried teenage mothers come from conservative, wealthy Christian families. Although it would be preferable if her child had a father, even a white trash one, she will still be able to raise her child with the kinds of values that liberals, poor people, gays and non-Christians would not be able to give to their little bastard children who are destined to become our future criminals. Why are conservatives so reluctant to point out this obvious fact?
No One Could Have Predicted . . . 0
. . . except for those who did.
One of the Simple(ton) Tools: the Lever 0
I have discussed “leverage” before.
It is the practice of buying stuff with money you don’t have, holding on to it for a while, and then selling it for more than you paid for it, so you can pay off the money you borrowed to make the initial purchase and keep the difference.
Until recently, being “deeply in debt” was bad, but being “highly leveraged” was good, at least on Wall Street. The primary difference seems to be that normal working folks were “deeply in debt”; persons with private jets were “highly leveraged.”
Sort of like Flip This House, only it was Flip This Company. Problem is, it only works as long as the bubble keeps expanding.
Not so much expansion any more:
Boston-based Bain isn’t the only leveraged buyout firm trying to bail out its investments. Apollo Management LP and Blackstone Group LP are employing an arsenal of tools, including debt exchanges and equity infusions, to rescue leveraged buyouts, such as Freescale Semiconductor Inc. and Realogy Corp. After spending a record $1.2 trillion on acquisitions during 2006 and 2007, LBO firms are now focused on deal-saving, not dealmaking.
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“vi-li-fi-ca-tion” 0
1 : the act of vilifying : abuse
2 : an instance of vilifying : a defamatory utterance
Backtracking:
1 : to lower in estimation or importance
2 : to utter slanderous and abusive statements against : defame
Bloomberg:
Dictionary of Frank:
vi-li-fy
to make a villain of
Too late. No one can do it to them. Did it to themselves.
These bozos just don’t see what they have done with their boxes of air.
They still think they are the Masters of the Universe, as opposed to the buffoons of wankery bankery.
Well, Natch 0
They give good value for the money, but who’s buying new clothes these days?
Call Your Doctor Now 2
Wyeth not, indeed. You may have the Bristol-Meyers Stomp and need Squibb:
Seen on the Street 0
Connecticut License Plate
NEWZLND
Long way from home, I wot.
Five Myths about Computer Security 2
Here. If you use a computer (and, if you are reading this, you do), read it.
In a Nutshell 0
John Cole summarizes Republican Economic Theory:
Step 1: No tax increases
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Profit!Why not, I guess. It worked so well for California.
The missing Step Two: Deregulation.
All Gone 0
But it was only a paper money sailing over a credit card sea:
“Between 40 and 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed in little less than a year and a half,” Schwarzman told an audience at the Japan Society. “This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetime.”
It’s Not “What’s Good for Business Is Good for the Country” 0
It’s what’s good for the country is good for business.
Read the full story for some of the subtleties, contradictions, and eddy currents in the possible (and likely temporary) realignment.
Even as a powerful lineup of business groups, including the chamber, the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Restaurant Association, supported Obama’s stimulus plan, only three Republicans, all of them in the Senate, voted for it.
No Vicktory in Firesale 0
House for sale, cheap:
Sterling Realty Services president Narender Reddy said there is no market for the eight-bedroom, 11-bath home at that price in light of the economy. The whole process lasted less than an hour. Now, a bankruptcy judge must decide the next step for Vick’s house.