Sunday, February 10
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Christopher Lempa is the guest editor today. |
The Bush Financial Bust of 2008: “It's All Downhill From Here, Folks”
“On January 14, 2008 the FDIC web site began posting the rules for reimbursing depositors in the event of a bank failure. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is required to 'determine the total insured amount for each depositor....as of the day of the failure' and return their money as quickly as possible. The agency is 'modernizing its current business processes and procedures for determining deposit insurance coverage in the event of a failure of one of the largest insured depository institutions'.”
Economic Woes May Spread Beyond U.S., Leaders Warn
“Finance leaders from the world's wealthiest nations warned on Saturday that global economic woes could get worse from the slump in the U.S. housing market but offered few specific remedies.” What Has Government Done to Our Money?
“A
massive fire that destroyed the records of Iraq's Central Bank last week,
while causing no fatalities, is being investigated as a possible arson, two
American officials familiar with the case tell NBC News.” That's one way
to get rid of the central bank . . .
The New York Times, Waterboarding, & the Politicization of Torture
“In recent months, the New York Times has displayed its commitment to fiercely adversarial reporting of U.S. foreign policy – fiercely, at least, within the boundaries of bi-partisan debate and dispute. In a December 9 editorial from 2007, the paper took an unabashedly anti-Bush administration stance on the issues of torture and waterboarding.”
Turner 'Almost Done' Buying Up Ranchland
“CNN
founder Ted Turner, the largest private landowner in Nebraska and the United
States and the nation's largest bison rancher, said Wednesday that he is about
done buying new ranches.” Oh Ted.
The Ron Paul Revolution - A Postmortem (and Prescription)
Does the Republican Party Have Aces Up Its Sleeves?
“The
Brownshirt Party has chosen John 'hundred year war' McCain as its presidential
candidate. Except for Cheney, Norman Podhoretz, and Billy Kristol, McCain is
America's greatest warmonger.” Paul Craig Roberts on the Brownshirt
Repbublians (or do I repeat myself?).
Stores Continue to Sell Baby Bottles Made With Controversial Chemical BPA
“Despite more than two years of warnings about the possible dangers of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), manufacturers continue to widely use it to make baby bottles, toys and beverage containers, and stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys "R" Us continue to carry the products, according to a new study from the Center for Health Environment and Justice, a Virginia-based environmental activist organization.” (2 pages)
Nebraska: Electric Chair Is 'Torture'
“Judges declare state's only death penalty procedure is unconstitutional.”
“All presidential budgets are ideological wish lists, passed only if the president’s party holds both houses of Congress, and even then, little of that legislation makes it into the law books. They are political instruments – rife with platitudes and sycophantic melodies.”
AFRICOM: The Militarization of U.S.-Africa Policy Revealed
“On February 6, 2007 the Bush Administration announced its plans to establish a unified U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). One year later, the U.S. continues to hurtle full speed ahead with the launch of President Bush’s still ill-defined program, despite grave concerns raised by African leaders and civil society.”
Underwater Fiber Cuts in the Middle East
“Within the last week, there have been outages affecting four underwater cables. Millions of users are off the net in India, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain.” Steven Bellovin has his thoughts on this interesting situation.
Botswana Government Targets Bushman Hunters
“The Bushmen of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve have been forced from their ancestral lands in a wave of evictions by the Botswana government. In 2006 they won an historic legal victory when Botswana's High Court ruled that their eviction was 'unlawful and unconstitutional'.”
What
You Spend, What You Eat: The Deep Connection Between Food and Personal Finance
“Many
of the discoveries I’ve made through this process directly relate to
personal finance. In short, in both direct and indirect ways, this rediscovery
of food has saved me a lot of money. Let’s take a look at the direct
implications.”
Homework
a Homewrecker: Report
“First national study on workload concludes it's burning out families and is of little value to elementary schoolkids.”
Don't Call Them Love Rats. Virtuous Voles Turn Out to Be All Too Human
“'There is a difference between social monogamy and sexual fidelity,' said the study's main researcher, Professor Alex Ophir, of Florida University, Gainesville. 'You can pair with a partner for life and still have sex with others - and that is what prairie voles do. There is a lesson there for humans.'”
Lazy Productivity: 10 Simple Ways to Do Only Three Things Today
“I have to admit, I'm as lazy as the next guy. I have my moments of productivity, where I'm cranking out the tasks and checking things off my to-do list like my life depended on it.”
Stephen Colbert Pitches Heterosexuality to HRC's Joe Solomonese
In the second installment of Better Know A Lobbyist: Gay Agenda, which debuted Wednesday night, Stephen Colbert once more summons his inner pundit to further probe Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solomonese on the "fightin' gays." Hilarious.
(photos, Editor's pick)
A photo blog. (9 pages)
