Archive for February, 2009
Bushfires in Victoria, Australia
February 10th, 2009Big Picture series. Must see. Via: Boston Globe: The state of Victoria in southern Australia has recently been hit with hundreds of bush fires during a record-breaking heatwave – temperatures well above 38C (100F). Unfortunately, these fires have proved to be the deadliest in Australian history, with at least 166 deaths reported so far. The […]
January Earnings
February 10th, 2009Earnings from all sources came to a total of $2482.11. January was one of the best months for earnings, ever. Many thanks to all contributors. Becky and I are getting into a use-it-or-lose it mode with some of our savings. The curtain could come down at any moment, and we started thinking: What do we […]
Rep. Kanjorski: $550 Billion Disappeared in “Electronic Run On the Banks”
February 9th, 2009It gets pretty good at about two minutes in. By pretty good, I mean, you might want to be wearing a diaper as you watch this. I wonder where Henry Paulson has slithered off to now…
More Americans Killed in Mexico Since 2004 Than in Any Other Country (Outside Military Combat Zones)
February 9th, 2009Via: AP: More than 200 American citizens have been killed since 2004 in Mexico’s escalating wave of violence, amounting to the highest number of unnatural deaths in any foreign country outside military combat zones, according to the U.S. State Department. … The State Department tracks most American homicides abroad but releases few details about the […]
Secret Police Unit to Spy on British ‘Domestic Extremists’
February 9th, 2009This is a British Stasi force. Via: Mail on Sunday: A secret police intelligence unit has been set up to spy on Left-wing and Right-wing political groups. The Confidential Intelligence Unit (CIU) has the power to operate across the UK and will mount surveillance and run informers on ‘domestic extremists’. Its job is to build […]
And Now… The Terrorist White List
February 9th, 2009Via: Wired: The House overwhelmingly adopted legislation this week mandating the creation of a new kind of terrorist watchlist: a database of people who aren’t terrorists, but are routinely flagged at airports anyway. The U.S. government maintains a list of about a million names of suspected terrorists that is crosschecked with passenger names ahead of […]
In Florida, Despair and Foreclosures
February 9th, 2009Via: New York Times: Welcome to the American dream in high reverse. Lehigh Acres is one of countless sprawling exurbs that the housing boom drastically reshaped, and now the bust is testing whether the experience of shared struggle will pull people together or tear them apart. The changes in these mostly unincorporated areas outside cities […]
U.S. Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Bailouts as Senate Votes
February 9th, 2009Via: Bloomberg: The stimulus package the U.S. Congress is completing would raise the government’s commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion, enough to pay off more than 90 percent of the nation’s home mortgages. The Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have lent or spent almost $3 trillion over the […]
Nissan to Cut 20,000 Jobs
February 9th, 2009Via: Bloomberg: Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third- largest automaker, said it will slash 20,000 jobs and post its first loss in nine years as the global recession cripples car demand and a stronger yen ravages the value of overseas earnings. The company expects a net loss of 265 billion yen ($2.91 billion) for the year […]
Another Trillion Dollars for the Banking System?
February 9th, 2009Oh sure. Via: Bloomberg: President Barack Obama’s struggle to push an economic stimulus bill through Congress may seem easy compared to what he’ll encounter when he returns to Capitol Hill for additional funds to rescue the banking system. Obama will likely need to ask Congress for more money to recapitalize banks, as much as $1 […]
