Kerry Killinger had already been dumped as chairman of the board earlier this years.
Deck chairs, meet Titanic.
Year: 2008
Oh, to be a Fly on this Wall
Well it appears that Sarah Palin is getting a cram course in foreign policy from various “experts”, including, Joe Lieberman.
I just have this image of him talking about Iraq and the Middle East, and Palin trying to get him to accept Jesus as his personal savior.
It’s something that would make him profoundly uncomfortable, but I he deserves it.
Dump Jomentum from the caucus now.
So, Now Bush and His Evil Minions&trade Are Claiming that the GSE Collapse is all the Fault of Congress
What a group of WATBs.
But the White House blond bimbo, Dana Perino, is claiming that they could have fixed Fannie and Freddie, if not for those meddling kids Congress.
You know, this all occurred during a Republican controlled Congress…..You know….the folks who had their tongue so far up their ass that you never had to veto them even once.
Us Account of Afghanistan False: Cell Phone Pictures Tell The Tale
Well, it appears that the US claims of 5 to 7 civilians and 30+ militants have been pretty convincinbly disproven:
The Afghan government, human rights and intelligence officials, independent witnesses and a United Nations investigation back up their account, pointing to dozens of freshly dug graves, lists of the dead, and cellphone videos and other images showing bodies of women and children laid out in the village mosque.
Cellphone images seen by this reporter show at least 11 dead children, some apparently with blast and concussion injuries, among about 30 to 40 bodies laid out in the village mosque. Ten days after the airstrikes, villagers dug up the last victim from the rubble, a baby just a few months old. Their shock and grief is still palpable.
Not only is the lying stupid, but it’s an attempt to justify a policy that reinforces the support of the Taliban.
Israeli Police Call for Indictment of Olmert for Corruption
Not surprising, as he is guiltier than William “Money in the Freezer” Jefferson.
I’ve always felt that Kadima, Olmert’s party would finish 3rd in the next elections, because Ariel Sharon is auditioning for a part as the Israeli state vegetable, and now they have this around their neck.
I expect that, God help us all, Netanyahu will be the next Israeli PM.
Canada Calls Snap Elections
Here is his political calculus in calling snap elections:
- If Obama wins, Canadians will favor someone who is closer ideologically to the new president.
- If the sick old man wins, then Canadians will want someone who will do their best to oppose 4 more years of Bush and His Evil Minions™ without the military restraint.
Thus holding Canadian elections after the US election is simply a losing proposition.
I hope that this doesn’t work for Harper, because he really wants go with Bushonomics, and we can say “buh-bye” to the best health care system in North America if he wins another term.
Economics Update
Seeing as how the nationalization-in-everything-but-name of the GSEs has been covered elsewhere on the blog, it won’t be here.
That being said, the response of the international markets, rising dollar and oil prices falling despite a hurricane pointed at the gulf, appear to be positive.
It comes from the fact that while shareholders will get F$#@ed, the foreign national banks and sovereign wealth funds which bought Fannie and Freddie paper are getting bailed out.
It also looks like the monoliner bond insurers are winners here too, at least that’s how their stocks reacted to the news.
This does not mean that the housing crisis is over, or even that it has bottomed out, which is why foreclosures hit a record high in Q2.
Additionally with the official unemployment rate spiking to a 5 year high, the rest of the economy sucks wet farts from dead pigeons too.
What’s more, as Krugman notes that the U6 numbers are positively grim.
The common reported number is U3, while U6 is:
Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of all civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers
And U6 is higher than it was in the worst part of the 2001 recession:
It’s not just banking, real estate, or employment though; Paul Volker is saying that the current financial system, which relies on complex securitization, as opposed to conventional loans is very broken.
The best proof of this is that the bank of China is suffering a liquidity crisis, because its investments are illiquid.
Fannie and Freddie and Shady Accounting
It appears that both firms grossly overstated their capital using accounting tricks, and the Morgan Stanley auditors hired caught the problems:
Indeed, one person briefed on the company’s finances said Freddie Mac had made accounting decisions that pushed losses into the future and postponed a capital shortfall until the fourth quarter of this year, which would not need to be disclosed until early 2009. Fannie Mae has used similar methods, but to a lesser degree, according to other people who have been briefed.
Some techniques used:
- Not writing down their subprime and alt-A loans to market prices.
- Counting deferred tax credits, which are worthless until a company generates a profit, as capital. (Only Fannie and Freddie have the right to do this)
- Extending the default period on a loan before declaring a loss from 90 days to two years.
This is all stuff that only Fannie and Freddie could do. No other US bank is allowed to.
This is why the elimination of political and lobbying activities is important. The mess uncovered will become even bigger as normal accounting is applies.
Federal Highway Fund Nearly Broke
It’s not enough money anyway, and with fewer people buying gas, it’s nearly broke.
There are fixes, but I hope that the Dems stick to pay-go, which will have Bush vetoing them just before the election.
Boeing Machinists on Strike
About 30,000 members of the International Association of Machinists are walking the line.
I don’t think that this will be a short one, and with the 787 already over a year behind schedule, this won’t be pretty for Boeing either.
It’s Official, GSEs Nationalized
Upper management has been replaced, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are under US government control.
They are calling it a conservatorship, but its nationalization.
Here is the story that everyone is missing though:
At the same time, dividends on both common and preferred shares will be eliminated in an effort to conserve about $2 billion annually. All of the firms’ lobbying and political activities will be halted immediately and charitable activities reviewed.
The GSEs dropping dividends is not surprising, to do otherwise would political suicide, but terminating their lobbying and other political activities changes the environment under which they operate, because it is their lobbying and other political activities that has allowed them to have such a favorable legislative and regulatory regime.
They are done.
Oh I Give Up! Let’s Just Call it the Sarah Palin Clown Show
I’m sick and tired of coming up with new medical sounding names, OK? It takes more time than it does to write the articles, because this sh%$ really writes itself.
First, it appears that Palin is taking a week or so, the nominal explation is that she is spending time with her son before he ships out to Iraq, but the real reason is that she is taking time off to “get ready”, and you have to love the snark from Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo
Isn’t Palin supposed to move to Cheney’s undisclosed location after she gets elected, not before?
The good Mr. Marshall owes me a screen cleaner…big time.
Howard Finemannotes that senior McCain officials have said that they are using the time to bring her up to speed, and Todd Harris, who is working with the McCain campaign admits that she is not ready, and probably needs two weeks to get her act together, explaining that, “If she goes out and makes a mistake, that is something that [voters will] care about, and that’s something that will haunt [McCain] for awhile, so I think this is a smart move.”
Jed, or the Jed Report has even created a “where’s Sarah” widget for inclusion in your web site.
On earmarks, even the Moonie Times is calling out Palin on her double-talk on earmarks….And when you’ve lost the Washington Times on this issue…….Well, you’ve lost the Moonie Times.
And we still have the gift that keeps on given, Troopergate, we have
CREW saying that Palin is attempting to subvert the investigation of her through back door channels, the Anchorage Daily News says that she is stonewalling the investigation, and Newsweek is reporting that John McCain allies are throwing up roadblocks into the investigation too.
Meanwhile, it appears that the bipartisan committee investigating the matter will push up the date of its report from October 31 to around October 10, which is not an unreasonable response to stonewalling.
Additionally, Alaska lawmakers will plan to issue subpoenas to seven witnesses, though not to Palin, because the seven canceled interviews with the investigator, reportedly after, “Ms. Palin’s lawyer, Thomas V. Van Flein, had forbidden members of her administration to have any contact with the investigator.”
We also have the State Police Union filing a formal complaint that Palin and Her Evil Minions&trade improperly released information from Wooten’s (the guy she wanted fired) private personnel records.
Finally, Mikew Wooten has finally gone public in this matter, talking to CNN and giving a brief interview.
Oh My God, They are Nationalizing Fannie and Freddie
It appears that regulators have sent a letter notifying the GSEs of this, here and here, and the details will be announced tomorrow.
It won’t be called a nationalization, my money would be on “conservatorship”, but the share holders are rumored to get little to nothing, and management will be replaced by people who answer to the government
One of the interesting dynamics here, and one that is barely covered in the financial press is the fact that Fannie and Freddie have been aggressive lobbyists and soft money contributors (their employees are big hard money contributors) for years, and with a nationalization, that will stop.
This means that Congress will stop writing laws, and pressuring regulators, for the benefit of Fannie and Freddie, which is apt to lead to major changes in said laws, regulation, and oversight.
Have You No Sense of Decency, Sir?
Olbermann apologizes, but what he should have done is ask, “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?“
Sasha Issenberg notes that this is the death of a taboo, and it does not bode well for our political discourse:
One of the most enduring taboos in American politics, the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan context, died today. It was nearly seven years old.
Republicans, at least the idealogue ones who grew up sucking at the tit of Ayn Rand, believe that there is no role for government in public life….None at all, so all that running for office is an attempt to grap power.
They believe that they can do evil to seize power, because they believe that all government is evil.
Comcast to Overturn FCC Order, and Lies About It’s Bandwith Limitations
Comcast has filed suit in federal court, claiming that the FCC has no authority to require network neutrality.
Interestingly enough, one of their claims is that they had to institute their new hard bandwidth limitations because of the FCC ruling, which as Harold Feld notes, is another bald faced lie from them.
It turns out that the new 250 GB/month limit is as a result of a consent decree with the Florida Attorney General, who had taken action because Comcast was kicking off heavy users in an arbitrary and capricious manner.
As stipulated in the decree:
Comcast simply knocked off the highest 1000 users regardless of their actual bandwidth usage or geographic location.
While the top 1000 users out of 14.m million will doubtless be very high bandwidth users, the bell curve being what it is, this is a policy that is a complete mind f%$#.
Comcast is so evil that they make Verizon look nice.
Another Bank Bites the Dust, With a McCain Connection
Silver State Bank in Nevada closed by state regulators and taken over by the FDIC.
Andrew McCain, the sick old man’s son, was on its board of directors for the bank and its parent, and also sat on the banks audit committee….until he resigned “for personal reasons” in July…..Very convenient that….
McCains and failed banks go together like….McCains and failed banks.
Midieval Ships Found in Oslo
They found 9 ships that appear to date from the 1600s while new highway tunnel in Norway.
They appear to be very well preserved, so it should be an interesting archeology find which will help bridge a gap in knowledge between viking longships and more modern watercraft.
Boeing Gets Darpa Helo Contract
After Boeing’s Canard-Rotar-Wing crashed and burned…literally…twice, it appears that they will be getting another bite at the apple, this time with a concept called Diskrotor, in which retractable rotor blades are housed in a circular wing.
Note that about a year ago, I mentioned a similar concept being explored by a small Swiss start up, here are some pictures from them, along with a vid:
Turkey to Buy Russian SAMs
It appears ht they will be plunking down about $100 million for, “ SA 10 Grumble, SA-12b Giant and SA-15 Gauntlet missiles from Belarus and Ukraine, so that they can practice counter measures against the Russian double digit SAMs.
This is separate from the $4 billion bid they have out for long range SAMs for use by the military in operations, which has the US Patriot competing with the Chinese HQ-9, Israeli Arrow, and Russian S-400.
I love this quote from the article:
The United States has raised concerns that if NATO-member Turkey were to purchase Russian missiles it would create an inter-operability problem with NATO.
Because, I guess, US operators using Patriot missiles are more than capable of shooting down an RAF Tornado during the invasion of Iraq.
While all militaries support their national defense industries, the degree to which the US does is particularly whorish.
Solid Fuel Ramjet HARM
Well, it’s beginning to look like the west is finally catching up to the former Soviet Union in solid fuel ramjet technology, with the British working on their Meteor, and the US looking at adding the technology to the HARM anti-radiation missile (it homes in on SAM radars).
Note that the Soviets had fielded the SA-6 “Gainful” with this technology starting in the late 1960s, and had been sufficiently confident in the technology that it was extensively exported to Egypt and Syria in time for the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
The picture is of a test launch of a missile with an AGM-88E HARM guidance system and a integral rocket ramjet (IRR) propulsion system launched at White Sands in August.
What is in advance of the system deployed by the Soviets in the late 1960s is that the booster does not have a separate nozzle, and the thrust can be throttled, which would allow the missile to loiter in the area waiting for an emitter to switch on.