Archive for July, 2010
How Goldman Gambled on Starvation
July 2nd, 2010I’ll point to my commentary on this from 2008, CBOT Resembles Carnival Act as Billion Dollar Black Box Operators Move In: Leveraged speculation on commodities shouldn’t be allowed. Speculate on things like indexes, stocks, bonds and currencies until you’re blue in the face. None of those things are real anyway. But leveraged speculation on tangible […]
Banned FEMA Formaldehyde Trailers Return for Latest Gulf Disaster
July 2nd, 2010Children in Katrina Trailers May Face Lifelong Ailments FEMA Trailer Manufacturers Knew About Formaldehyde, Findings Went Undisclosed Formaldehyde-Laced Death Trailers to Haiti!? Judge Rejects Class-Action Status in FEMA Trailer Suits Via: New York Times: In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, they became a symbol of the government’s inept response to that disaster: the 120,000 or […]
21 Dead in Mexican Gang Gun Battle Near U.S. Border
July 2nd, 2010Via: AP: A massive gun battle between rival drug and migrant-trafficking gangs near the U.S. border left 21 people dead on Thursday, prosecutors said. The clash occurred in a sparsely populated area about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the Arizona border — a prime corridor for immigrant and drug smuggling. Sonora’s Attorney General’s Office said […]
UK Firm Octel Bribed Iraqis to Keep Buying Toxic Fuel Additive
July 1st, 2010Via: Guardian: The former chief executive of a British chemical company faces the prospect of extradition to the US after the firm admitted million-dollar bribes to officials to sell toxic fuel additives to Iraq. Paul Jennings, until last year chief executive of the Octel chemical works near Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, and his predecessor, Dennis Kerrison, […]
Blair to Receive U.S. Peace Medal
July 1st, 2010Tell me another one. Via: BBC: Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is to receive a prestigious US medal and $100,000 (£67,000) prize for his work in conflict resolution. The National Constitution Centre is awarding him its Liberty Medal for “steadfast” efforts to broker peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. Previous winners include […]
Independent Video and Images from Gulf of Mexico Disaster
July 1st, 2010Via: bpslick:
May Pending Home Sales Plunge Record 30 Percent
July 1st, 2010Splat. Via: Reuters: Contracts for pending sales of previously owned homes plunged a record 30 percent in May, far more than expected, after a popular tax credit expired at the end of the prior month, a survey from the National Association of Realtors showed on Thursday. The Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based […]
National Debt Soars to Highest Level Since WWII
July 1st, 2010Via: USA Today: The federal debt will represent 62% of the nation’s economy by the end of this year, the highest percentage since just after World War II, according to a long-term budget outlook released today by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
