Sunday
Aug162009
Aug 16, 2009 at 8:07 PMSunday
Aug162009
Google & Youtube Choose The Dark Side (The Scariest Video Of 2009)
(Editor's Note: Guest post from Mark McHugh from Across The Street. We discussed the plight of C-Span junkie earlir this week as background.)
Thanks to the overwhelming success of “Click-fraud“, the wunderkinds at Google have decided to start dabbling in censorship, obstruction of justice and treason, as youtube user Cspanjunkie recently found out. So much for “do no harm”….
I would rather drink paint than watch C-SPAN. But I thank God that other people are watching for things like:
The scariest video of 2009
Congressman Alan Grayson attempting to extratct any useful information from the Xanax Queen in charge of auditing the Fed.
Sunday
Aug162009
Chris Matthews Interviews William Kostric About His Decision To Legally Carry A Firearm To Obama's New Hampshire Health Care Town Hall Meeting
This is not about politics for me. This is beautiful live theater. The salient points seem to be:
- Matthews thought he could run over Kostric, and he was wrong. Kostric showed quickly that he blames both political parties for our current mess, which likely caught Matthews off-guard. Kostric then announced he was a Ron Paul supporter, which seemed to perturb Matthews even more.
To me this is much ado about nothing. Obama's secret service detail should be applauded for not over-reacting and detaining Kostric. A non-event, but loads of drama, a good discussion from Hardball, and a few expletives from Chris Matthews.
Update: I've added a short video of Ron Paul's response from MSNBC with Ed Schultz.
Friday
Aug142009
Bob Hope On Zombie Banks And Democrats (Video)
Relax Democrats, I kid because I care. Besides, The Daily Bail leans Libertarian, so we get to make fun of everybody. It's Friday so let's all relax. Very funny 24-second clip.
Thursday
Aug132009
The Daily Show Enlists A Prison Coach To Encourage Harvard MBA Students To Sign The Ethics Pledge
John Oliver enlists the help of a former convict to convince business students from MIT and Harvard to sign a simple ethics oath.
Thursday
Aug132009
Dr. Doom Vs. Dr. Doom: Marc Faber & Nouriel Roubini On Squawk
This is our 3rd story on yesterday's Squawk Box. I guess that's a sign that at least a few CNBC producers are getting the job done right. Faber, Taleb and Roubini. They were missing Chris Whalen, Janet Tavakoli, Dylan Ratigan, Jimmy Rogers & Bob Knight. But what I do know. I just live, eat, breathe and dream this festering madness each and every freaking day.
Thursday
Aug132009
Paulson & Goldman Sachs, The Plot Thickens (A View From The UK)
A reader emailed us this excellent video from Channel 4 News in Great Britain. Their economics reporter is Faisal Islam, and he's put together a little clip that you'll enjoying seeing. Interestingly, on he laments the lack of transparency with the UK bailouts and praises our own. Odd in that most observers here make the same complaint about our own particular bailout bastion of disaster.
Thursday
Aug132009
Ratigan & Romer Discuss Zombie Banks, The Fed And The Economy
(Guest post from James H.)
In this clip from Morning Meeting, Ratigan talks with Christina Romer, Miss Sunshine and Lollypops, about vampires, the Fed and the economy.
The head of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors says that the TARP and all the other bailout programs to save the zombie banks was “money incredibly well spent.” Turning our economy Japanese by propping up failed banks is apparently the way to ensure a healthy, growing economy, right?
But once again, Ratigan brings things back to the core issues: “Doesn’t it also matter how you grow? In other words, if you grow by paying yourself, but risking other people’s assets....how do I get back to growth driven by a culture of investors and innovators as opposed to a culture of vampires, who are basically taking money out in the short term? It creates growth, but then we’re stuck with the pile of blood, so to speak.”
Sunshine and Lollypops brought her best game, but she was no match for vampires and blood piles. In the quest for truth and justice, score another win for DR.
Editor's note: In case you ever wanted to email Christina, her still-functioning Berkeley email address is cromer@econ.berkely.edu
The last time Ratigan & Romer met it didn't go as smoothly for Christina.
Thursday
Aug132009
Dr. Joseph Stiglitz: Look In The Mirror, We Are Japan! (Video)
Hello Tokyo.
The U.S. faces a serious risk of economic malaise lasting several years. He did not rule out a multi-decade period of slumber and false starts. True to his roots he advocates government spending to keep things flowing along the way. However, I give him credit for understanding that any and all future government stimulus programs must be targeted at technology, education and infrastructure.
I said at the time of the passage of our current stimulation that its fatal flaw would be the lack of thematic 'hugeness' for lack of a better term. If you're going to borrow $800 billion to boost the economy, give us something substantial in return. A modern day Hoover Damn or TVA, that we can at least be quasi-proud in acknowledging: such as a nationwide network of electric car charging stations like what is being deployed in Israel.
So Stiglitz seems to understand that any future borrowed money to be wasted down the government money hole must give us something in return both in substance and in theme.
And one more thought, as long as we're Socialists, why don't we use some borrowed dough to accumulate natural resources around the globe. The Chinese are scooping up the materials for the next century while we waste trillions playing bailout bingo with failed financial institutions. Could we have some leadership and vision from Washington, please.
Thursday
Aug132009
James Lockhart: Forget About It! Taxpayers Will Never Be Repaid For Fannie & Freddie Bailouts
This should come as a surprise to no one. Fannie and Freddie each has authorization for up to $200 billion under current law. So far they have tapped taxpayers for $85 billion combined, but you can safely assume they will need the entire $400 billion before it's over, according to recent research from Chris Isidore.
Outgoing regulator for Fannie and Freddie sat down last week with Bloomberg to discuss the future for the bailout black holes. The Washington Post also has this update from Lockhart.
Wednesday
Aug122009
Wednesday
Aug122009
Elizabeth Warren Goes To Washington (A Look Behind The Scenes)
This is another outstanding video from The American News Project, the outfit responsible for this mammoth truth-bomb (best video on the site) on the Federal Reserve.
The ANP cameras follow TARP COP chief as she prepares for hearings in Washington. The piece was produced in association with McClatchey, who has an accompanying article here.
Also the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), which Dr. Warren chairs, released a new report yesterday, The Continued Risk of Troubled Assets. New York Times coverage of the report can be found here.