There is a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing job cuts in the financial industry skyrocketing this year. There have been about 88K redundancies so far this year, as versus about 50K for all of last year. Extending the numbers out, it looks like there will be 104+K job losses this year in the industry.
The question of course is, now that we don’t actually make anything here, what are we going to do when people cannot get jobs selling houses or financial instruments to outselves?
Admittedly, the election is not until 2010, but a new poll has Janet Napolitano leading John McCain in the Arizona Senate race by 47% to 36%.
The election is three years off, but McCain is in serious trouble. 37% is abysmal.
People now see him as a pathetic sick old man.
How much do you want to bet that there will be a McCain banner ad on my site in the next 24 hours because of the? God bless Google ads, at the rate that it’s generating revenue for me, I should be able to take my wife out to a swanky dinner to celebrate McCain’s defeat…just barely.
Well, it appears that an Astroturf group loaded with money from Bush contributors, Freedom Watch, is doing its bit to try to extend the war in Iraq: It’s running attack ads against Republicans who are going weak kneed on the war.
Seriously, this is being run through either current, or former, or soon to be former *cough* Rove *cough*Bush political operatives.
“For those who believe in peace through strength, the cavalry is coming,” said former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, who is a founding board member of the group.
The big ad buy, funded by high-profile Republicans who were aides and supporters of President Bush, reflects a furious public relations battle that will unfold as Congress debates the crucial progress report by Gen. David Petraeus, which is due Sept. 15.
BTW, there is no Petraeus report. The Bush White House is writing the report with “input” from Petraeus.
FWIW, Tom Matzzie of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq has written their spokesman, Ari Fleischer, a thank you note, in which an analysis of the first ad buy is made, 37 targeting Republicans vs. 4 Democrats, and only one of the Democrats is not sharing a District with a Republican.
BTW, one of the people that they are targeting is Mitch McConnell, Republican leader of the Senate.
This is truly a WTF moment, and typifies Bush’s idea of loyalty. Even if it does not backfire, and I think that it will, because it shows how narrow and petty Bush and His Evil Minions&trade are, it gets these folks voting pro-war, and makes them vulnerable.
He’s crossing a line, a very big one, and it might be enough to shake some Republicans loose from mindlessly goose-stepping with him.
I found it via The Big Picture, who is now on my blog roll, and not just for this Toles cartoon.
Speaking as a Jew, and a Zionist, it is with no small amount of disappointment that I call on all people, regardless of faith to neither contribute to, or work with, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which was one the premier organizations opposing anti-Semitism.
They have formally come out in opposition to the congressional resolution decrying the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire during WW I. This Genocide is a FACT, and the idea that they would align themselves with those who would deny this fact is deplorable.
Their excuse is that modern Turkey, whose government had no role in the Genocide is an ally of Israel, and they do not wish to offend them. This is wrong and counter-productive.
What’s more, They fired a longtime ADL and activist because he acknowledged the genicide, which resulted in two of the regional board resigning.
Their statement follows, and I am willing to allow a representative to post here unedited to present their side.
ADL Statement on the Armenian Genocide
New York, NY, August 21, 2007
Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today issued the following statement:In light of the heated controversy that has surrounded the Turkish-Armenian issue in recent weeks, and because of our concern for the unity of the Jewish community at a time of increased threats against the Jewish people, ADL has decided to revisit the tragedy that befell the Armenians.
We have never negated but have always described the painful events of 1915-1918 perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians as massacres and atrocities. On reflection, we have come to share the view of Henry Morgenthau, Sr. that the consequences of those actions were indeed tantamount to genocide. If the word genocide had existed then, they would have called it genocide.
I have consulted with my friend and mentor Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and other respected historians who acknowledge this consensus. I hope that Turkey will understand that it is Turkey’s friends who urge that nation to confront its past and work to reconcile with Armenians over this dark chapter in history.
Having said that, we continue to firmly believe that a Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians and may put at risk the Turkish Jewish community and the important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the United States.
I wonder if I’ll get a post from Serdar Argic.
This is what killed the Roman Empire, it’s a destructive and immoral turn of affairs, and it further weakens the army by pulling people high value skills into mercenary duty.
I’ve come across an interesting report on military research into disabling drugs. Normally, one would thing of things like tear gas, but here they are talking about hallucinogens, and “relaxing agents”.
Of note is that the use of such agents by the military is expressly forbidden under the chemical warfare treaties, on the theory that their use would inevitably lead to full blown poison gas use.
This is precisely what happened in the Iran/Iraq war, where tear gas use escalated into poison gas attacks.
Well, Wonkette has an absolutely hilarious post wondering whether Jenna is pregnant.
If so, it’s probably not the first time, that is why, in December 2000, Bush went on his fishing vacation when Jenna had her abortion appendix removed.
It’s a family tradition. Bush got a girlfriend an abortion in the late 1960s (when it was illegal).
Remember when I said in jest that Bush wants American children to die? It may have been reality.
Remember when all the wingers were claiming that Clinton was selling the US out to China because of some chump change at a campaign event at a Buddhist temple? Well, now we have the Bush administration poisoning children at China’s behest.
The Bush administration has hindered regulation on two fronts, consumer advocates say. It stalled efforts to press for greater inspections of imported children’s products, and it altered the focus of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), moving it from aggressive protection of consumers to a more manufacturer-friendly approach.
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In March 2006, a 4-year-old Minnesota boy died of lead poisoning after swallowing a metal charm that came with Reebok shoes. The charm was found to contain more than 90 percent lead.
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China remains very much under the microscope. It’s fighting a CPSC proposal to bring the lead restrictions in children’s jewelry to the same levels as those imposed on toys and furniture — six hundred parts per million, which effectively amounts to a ban.
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But in a March 12 filing, China was the only one of 48 interested parties to tell the panel that it opposed new restrictions on lead paint in children’s jewelry. Guo LiSheng, the deputy director of a Chinese global trade agency, warned against “unnecessary obstacles to trade” and advocated international rules that allow some lead content. He added that good product labeling was sufficient.
That boy is dead because of someone that George W. Bush employs.
Well, it appears that in order to appeal to Christian Evangelicals, Mitt Romney is repudiating Mormon Dogma. No surprise there from Mr. Flip Flop.
But for those trained to hear the subtleties, Mr. Romney was acknowledging something more. He implied an opposition to the birth control pill and a willingness to join in their efforts to scale back access to contraception. There are code phrases to listen for – and for those keeping score, Mr. Romney nailed each one.
One code phrase is: “I fought to define life as beginning at conception rather than at the time of implantation.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists defines pregnancy as starting at implantation, the first moment a pregnancy can be known. Anti-abortion advocates want pregnancy to start at the unknown moment sperm and egg meet: fertilization. They’d also like you to believe, despite evidence to the contrary, that the birth control pill prevents that fertilized egg from implanting in the womb.
This runs counter to Mormon doctrine, which says that a fertilized ovum does not have a soul until implantation, and hence it is not a human life.
It’s why the Church of Latter Day Saints supports stem cell research, and such anti-abortion stalwarts as Orin Hatch support embryonic stem cell research.
One more case of Romney pandering over what he claims to be deeply held beliefs.
On another note, this further indicates that the religious right wants to ban all forms of birth control, because otherwise, Romney would not have felt compelled to make this statement.
Hat tip to Talking Points Memo for finding this.
Romney is cutting back on TV ads. Current thinking is that they are out of money after spending all that money on the Iowa straw poll.
Romney’s strength has always been his fund raising. If his cash on hand is depleted, this will be a major blow when quarterly reports come out.
From the Boston Globe: Carrier relaunches jets after 2 years.
Russia is rearming and developing a more aggressive military posture, and it seems to be primarily in response to the fact that US leaders are batsh%$ insane.
It appears that India’s Tejas fighter is not meeting performance specs. It’s take off thrust and low speed performance with the US F-404 engine is lacking.
This is surprising, since the F-404 is a very known quantity, it’s been flying for 25 years, and one must assume that this is an issue of problems of engine integration/inlet design.
The F-404 was intended as an interim engine, but:
The failure has been attributed to insufficient available thrust from the aircraft’s General Electric F404 engine, and underlines India’s need to replace the US design with the Kaveri powerplant now under development by its Gas Turbine Research Establishment. In common with the wider Tejas programme, the Kaveri project has been dogged by development delays and cost escalations, which have forced New Delhi to order additional F404s to power its initial production batch of lightweight fighters.
It sounds like the Arjun all over again.
What’s more, it now appears that they are having problems with the radar:
New Delhi in mid-August announced a co-operative agreement under which its defence industry will develop the aircraft’s multi-mode radar with Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta Systems subsidiary.
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The initiative will replace previous work conducted by the Bangalore-based Electronics and Radar Development Establishment, with technical hitches having prevented a radar design from being integrated with a prototype Tejas.
Antony says the new fire-control radar is needed to support demonstration flights of the fully developed and armed fighter from 2010, and Israeli sources reveal that the sensor will be a further development of Elta’s EL/M-2052 active electronically scanned array.
So, they have just dumped an indigenous system for a largely developed system.
It appearsthat a seven-year-old Muslim boy was flagged as a terrorist, and prevented from visiting the US.
Why?
A 39-year-old Pakistani man of that name was arrested in New York two months after the terror attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001.
He was never charged with any terrorism offences, although he was convicted of fraud for having false papers and deported.
He is seeking compensation from the U.S. government, claiming to have been beaten up by guards during more than a year in detention.
It’s reasonable for a name to be flagged. What’s is unconscionable is that they cannot distinguish between a 7 year old from with a British passport, and a 39 year old Pakistani.
Considering the nature of the 911 terrorists, they were all fairly well to do, one wonders if might have just created a future terrorist.
Well, here’s a quick lowdown on financial news.Foreclosures in the US rise 9% June to July, and 93% YoY. House prices are no longer rising, so people cannot sell to get out from under.
This has put a more general squeeze on credit, so companies are increasingly unable to get credit for expansion or even normal operations. Commercial paper, and the bond markets are moving less than George Bush after eating a pretzel, with results like this:
The money quote here is, “The market for investment-grade bonds — or money lent to companies with great credit — has virtually stopped for the past few weeks“.
Normally, I find the distinguished Mr. Willis to be right on the money, but he just blogged about Norv Turner being hired by the Chargers as head coach at San Diego, and he said, “I am wishing nothing but total and absolute failure to the worst coach in Redskins history, Norv Turner“. (Wapo Story)
All I can figure is that Mr. Willis has not been following the Redskins for as long as I have (I moved to Charlottesville, VA in 1969, and we have been a Washington family ever since).
I can conclusively say that any coach who had Christian Adolph “Sonny” Jurgensen III at QB, and did not get a ring is far worse than Norv turner, and I am including the moron George Allen, Sr. who left the Redskins with no first round draft picks for something like seven years.
Lombardi, of course, gets a pass, because he died before he could get them to the big show.
Or, more accurately, he wants it more than his he wants to disappoint his campaign contributors in the US insurance industry, because he’s doing his level best to make sure that children don’t get medical care.
First, he threatens to veto improvements to SCHIP, and now he’s crippling the existing program.
This article praises him for reaching across the aisle to right wingers.
I understand that he can’t be Paul Wellstone, but we need no more Liebermans.
Cases in point:
So he’s a lying sack of excrement DINO Dem, but I repeat myself.
Note that his re-election is a priority of the DCCC, so I would suggest that you give either directly to the candidates, or someone like Act Blue.
FWIW, any DCCC money going to him is largely wasted anyway. Last time, he ran against a guy who was being sued for choking his mistress. Won’t happen again.
The DCCC should not throw good money after bad.
See also Down With Tyranny on this if you want get a better written take on the situation.
If a member of the DCCC wants to dispute this, I’ll publish it, unedited.
NOT!!!!
We already know that Bush and His Evil Minions™ did not want the general testifying publicly before congress, and that the so called “Petraeus Report” is really being written by white house hacks, but now we are supposed to believe that his testimony being scheduled on 911 is just a coincidence.
I want to stop living in “The Onion” world.