May 29, 2010
May 28, 2010
May 27, 2010
Aliens
Close encounters of the fungal kind?
This thing is growing near the tree line behind the house.
This thing is growing near the tree line behind the house.
The Mosque At Ground Zero
There's a meltdown occurring because the community board in lower Manhattan has approved plans to build a good-sized Mosque/Muslim Community Ctr a couple of blocks away from the WTC site.
The Brain Free Zone (aka Fox News and other Wingnut Media) is going ape shit, yelling about "those insensitive bastards...; it's a slap in the face...; blah blah blah.
I only know two things about any of this:
Fear is the opposite of love, and forgiveness is the opposite of hate.
BTW: the proposed mosque is to replace one that's already within spittin' distance anyway. If you're opposed to any mosque "on hallowed ground", then you need to have been a little more aware of what's been goin' on all along.
This non-troversy is typical reactionary bullshit and I'm callin' it for what it is.
The Brain Free Zone (aka Fox News and other Wingnut Media) is going ape shit, yelling about "those insensitive bastards...; it's a slap in the face...; blah blah blah.
I only know two things about any of this:
Fear is the opposite of love, and forgiveness is the opposite of hate.
BTW: the proposed mosque is to replace one that's already within spittin' distance anyway. If you're opposed to any mosque "on hallowed ground", then you need to have been a little more aware of what's been goin' on all along.
This non-troversy is typical reactionary bullshit and I'm callin' it for what it is.
May 25, 2010
The Deficit As Hangover
From a post at The New Rupublic, Chait argues that Obama isn't wrong, he's just not right.
Now, I think it's fine for a story to eschew "balance"when one side is making an unsupportable or hypocritical case. But Obama's case isn't wrong -- it really is true that the economic and budgetary problems we're facing were inherited from the previous administration. What's false is the Republican effort to imply that Obama caused the problems -- an argument that collapses upon the slightest empirical pressure. But somehow the standard here is not what's correct but what's polite, and it's impolite for Obama to blame Bush.
May 21, 2010
May 20, 2010
That's Entertainment
It's gettin' fun now, by golly.
Bombing of a Mosque in Florida.
Joe Arpaio = Sheriff of Nottingham.
Arizona threatens retaliation for boycott.
Bombing of a Mosque in Florida.
Joe Arpaio = Sheriff of Nottingham.
Arizona threatens retaliation for boycott.
Yay, Germany - I think
The Germans decided to ban the practice of Naked Short Selling when it comes to European Gov't debt, and a lot of the snakes on streets named Fleet and Wall have their panties in a bunch because of it.
The way I understand it is that short selling is a necessary aspect of keeping the markets "honest" - or at least as honest as some of these assholes are willing to let it be. But anyway, shorting is a time-honored device that lets me borrow shares of a company's stock, sell them at a price below current market value, and then buy them back when the market price goes down. Usually, "shorting" is a bet that the market in general, or the price for that particular stock is heading down. And it's a good thing to have because it can be a safety valve. Properly applied, short selling can help prevent bubbles. But if you do it on a big enough scale, you can actually force the price(s) down, and then shorting becomes just another means of manipulation and speculation. And that's where Naked Shorting comes in.
Naked Shorting (to my mind) is really just a statement that you want the price of something to be a lot lower. You've not borrowed the stock or the bond or whatever - and so you're not risking your own money- but you're saying you'll sell it at a price well short of the current asking price if others are interested in buying it. This creates a kind or impromptu consortium of players which dramatically multiplies your market power.
So I'm a little uneasy about shorting because like any other useful tool it can be a weapon of malice, causing undue harm to good companies (and the PEOPLE who make up those companies) solely in the name of turning a few extra profit points for guys who never actually produced anything in their lives. Don't get me wrong - bankers and brokers are necessary to a healthy economy, but when they elevate themselves above it, they become threats to the system and have to be beaten back.
When you sell something that doesn't belong to you, we call it fraud and you're supposed to go to jail for that.
The way I understand it is that short selling is a necessary aspect of keeping the markets "honest" - or at least as honest as some of these assholes are willing to let it be. But anyway, shorting is a time-honored device that lets me borrow shares of a company's stock, sell them at a price below current market value, and then buy them back when the market price goes down. Usually, "shorting" is a bet that the market in general, or the price for that particular stock is heading down. And it's a good thing to have because it can be a safety valve. Properly applied, short selling can help prevent bubbles. But if you do it on a big enough scale, you can actually force the price(s) down, and then shorting becomes just another means of manipulation and speculation. And that's where Naked Shorting comes in.
Naked Shorting (to my mind) is really just a statement that you want the price of something to be a lot lower. You've not borrowed the stock or the bond or whatever - and so you're not risking your own money- but you're saying you'll sell it at a price well short of the current asking price if others are interested in buying it. This creates a kind or impromptu consortium of players which dramatically multiplies your market power.
So I'm a little uneasy about shorting because like any other useful tool it can be a weapon of malice, causing undue harm to good companies (and the PEOPLE who make up those companies) solely in the name of turning a few extra profit points for guys who never actually produced anything in their lives. Don't get me wrong - bankers and brokers are necessary to a healthy economy, but when they elevate themselves above it, they become threats to the system and have to be beaten back.
When you sell something that doesn't belong to you, we call it fraud and you're supposed to go to jail for that.
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