Bailed out CitiGroup stimulates French economy by buying a $50Million Executive Jet
Nice. Let's throw tomatos next time these jerks show up asking for money.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
DailyKos has a great, stat-packed article about how we're in the midst of the largest consumer price decline since the Great Depression.
I will have a lot more to say about this in the next week or two. For now, take away this point: we will almost certainly know in the next 60-90 days whether or not we are starting the first full-fledged deflationary wage-price spiral in over 70 years. If that happens, it will make the entire crisis up until now feel like a walk in the park.
I will have a lot more to say about this in the next week or two. For now, take away this point: we will almost certainly know in the next 60-90 days whether or not we are starting the first full-fledged deflationary wage-price spiral in over 70 years. If that happens, it will make the entire crisis up until now feel like a walk in the park.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Hacking the Hill (National Journal)
How the Chinese -- or someone -- hacked into House of Representatives computers in 2006, and what it will take to keep out the next electronic invader.
How the Chinese -- or someone -- hacked into House of Representatives computers in 2006, and what it will take to keep out the next electronic invader.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Bill Frisell's infinite styles (newyorker)
Just saw him play in Trenton, NJ last week. Spectacular.
Just saw him play in Trenton, NJ last week. Spectacular.
In an attempt to ruin a great story and bring shame on themselves, Spirit Airlines is trying to charge flight 1549 passengers a cancellation fee for not using their return tickets from North Carolina. The flight there only made it as far as the Hudson River.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Google Earth brings astounding resolution to art at the Prado Museum
To access the pieces from The Prado, turn on 3D buildings in Google Earth. Then fly to "Prado Museum Spain." You can choose to wander around the museum or click on the collection icon to peruse the available works.
To access the pieces from The Prado, turn on 3D buildings in Google Earth. Then fly to "Prado Museum Spain." You can choose to wander around the museum or click on the collection icon to peruse the available works.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Hidden Cost of War
In 2003, Donald Rumsfeld estimated a war with Iraq would cost $60 billion. Five years later, the cost of Iraq war operations is more than 10 times that estimate. So what's behind the ballooning figures? Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilme's exhaustively researched book, The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict, breaks down the price tag, from current debts to the unseen costs we'll pay for many years to come.
In 2003, Donald Rumsfeld estimated a war with Iraq would cost $60 billion. Five years later, the cost of Iraq war operations is more than 10 times that estimate. So what's behind the ballooning figures? Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilme's exhaustively researched book, The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict, breaks down the price tag, from current debts to the unseen costs we'll pay for many years to come.
Friday, January 09, 2009
William Zantzinger, asshole, portrayed by Bob Dylan in his 1963 song "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carol" recently died. (Guardian, UK)
Link to 2004 Daily Jive post on same.
Link to 2004 Daily Jive post on same.
The slander couldn't have happened to a nicer person. After getting out of jail, Zantzinger became involved in real estate, only to be arrested in 1991 for fraud. He was fined $62,000 and sentenced to 2,400 hours of community service.
"[Dylan] is a no-account son of a bitch," Zantzinger told Dylan biographer Howard Sounes in 2001. "He's just like a scum bag of the earth. I should have sued him and put him in jail. [The song is] a total lie."
So Burger King wants you to destroy 10 of your facebook friends ("sacrifice" !?) for a free whopper.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
W and the Damage Done (salon)
To get a sense of what kind of balance is due, Salon spoke to experts in seven different fields. Wherever possible, we have tried to express the damage done in concrete terms -- sometimes in lives lost, but most often just in money spent and dollars owed. What follows is an incomplete inventory of eight years of mis- and malfeasance, but then a fuller accounting would run, um, somewhat longer than three pages.
To get a sense of what kind of balance is due, Salon spoke to experts in seven different fields. Wherever possible, we have tried to express the damage done in concrete terms -- sometimes in lives lost, but most often just in money spent and dollars owed. What follows is an incomplete inventory of eight years of mis- and malfeasance, but then a fuller accounting would run, um, somewhat longer than three pages.
If you've been to the Jersey shore on a summer weekend night, you've seen, or maybe even performed, the Guido Fist Pump