And here they are, ordered, and numbered for the year so far.
Just wondering why so many of the bank failures have been in Georgia.
Conyers’ Wife Pleads Guilty On Corruption Count
No idea what this means, but one wonders how this can not tangle Representative Conyers’ in this mess at some point.
I’ll be announcing my next move soon on whitehousewatch.com and also to anyone who e-mails me at froomkin@gmail.com. Please stay in touch.
The folks at the Washington Post are idiots.
Much in the same way that they allow for the VAT to be charged at the border, a tariff to reflect the cost of carbon regulations would be legal:
Countries implementing cap-and-trade systems for greenhouse gases may be able to use border taxes to protect domestic industries, after the World Trade Organisation gave a cautious nod to such measures.
It’s basic common sense, though they do note that it cannot be, “a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade”.
Generally, the news has been pretty good, with personal income rising and consumer confidence hitting the highest level in over a year.
Additionally, we are seeing more signs of a credit thaw, with the 3 month dollar LIBOR falling below 0.6%.
In energy, we have an offer of amnesty on the table in Nigeria, which has driven oil lower.
This has led to a decreased perception of risk, which, along with some statements by China’s central bank, drove the dollar down.
One wonders how bank failure Friday will shake out tonight.
First off, we have a row between Mugabe and Tsvangerai over the Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Gideon Gono.
This is a non-trivial row, because the spectacularly corrupt Gono was the architect of Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation, and he did so in order to pay off the various ZANU-PF constituencies to support Mugabe.
It’s gotten heated enough that the (ZANU-PF member) military and security chiefs have said that his removal would be unacceptable.
Members of the MDC have approached the Southern African Development Community asking for an intervention, but non seems forthcoming.
The regional association of governments is sticking with precedent, and being generally useless, so the MDC is moving toward changing the law chartering the Zimbabwean central bank so as to reduce Gono’s authority.
Things are improving a bit though at least in economy, with inflation moderating, though the persecution of civil rights activists continues.
In mining, which will necessarily be a source of much needed foreign currency, you have the good and the bad
On the good side, you have Zimbabwe Zimbabwe moving to ban raw chromium ore exports, and insisting that it be smelted first, which will greatly increase the benefit to society, as there is 10x the profit post smelter. (as an aside, the US and EU have filed a case against against China for doing this at the WTO, because under neocolonialist WTO rules, poor countries are not supposed to develop industries based on their resources)
We also have some gold mines reopening.
On the down side, mines minister is still one of Mugabe’s cronies, which means that he is still on the EU’s sanction list, and was denied a visa to enter the UK, and all indications are that this was well justified, as civil rights violations at the mines seem to be pretty horrific.
Specifically it appears that the Zimbabwe army is using slave labor to operate diamond mines in the east of the country, as a way for Mugabe to continue to pay off the military for its support. (See also here)
We are starting to see some aid resuming to Zimbabwe, with Norway being among the first western nations to do so, though most nations are taking steps to ensure that the aid does not pass through government agencies, which are still compromised.
It comes from former Bush Press Secretary Dana Perino, who says that the Sanford affair proves we need to ‘elect more women,’ because women do not cheat on their husbands.
Great googly moogly, that woman is stupid.
Farrah Fawcett died today, when she got to heaven god told her she could have one final wish.
She said she wanted all of the children on the Earth to be safe.
Shortly after Michael Jackson died of a heart attack.
*Not my thought though, it’s been floating around the web.
Ed McMahon a few datys back, and now Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.
Posted via mobile.
So, in testimony before the House Oversight Committee, he claims that the Federal Reserve acted with the “highest integrity” with regard to the BoA Merrill deal:
The Fed chairman said neither he nor any member of the Fed “instructed, or advised Bank of America to withhold from public disclosure any information relating to Merrill Lynch, including its losses, compensation packages or bonuses, or any other related matter.”
The disclosures “belong squarely with the company, and the Federal Reserve did not interfere in the company’s disclosure decisions,” he said.
Translation: I didn’t tell him to lie, but I said that if disclosures queer the deal, you are toast.
He testified against legislation allowing for audits of the Federal Reserve:
When asked about legislation that would allow for broad audits of the Fed by the Government Accountability Office, Bernanke said such powers would compromise the central bank’s independence and be “highly destructive to the stability of the financial system, the dollar and our national economic situation.” Maintaining independence on monetary policy is “critical,” he said.
I may not be one of those financial whiz kids, but when someone says, “No audits,” I think, “Serious waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Seriously, this guy is the best investigative reporter of my generation.
This time, he shows how the Bush administration leaked the fact that there was an investigation of Republican Congressman Rick Renzi the day after a wiretap warrant was approved:
In the fall of 2006, one day after the Justice Department granted permission to a U.S. attorney to place a wiretap on a Republican congressman suspected of corruption, existence of the investigation was leaked to the press — not only compromising the sensitive criminal probe but tipping the lawmaker off to the wiretap.
Career federal law enforcement officials who worked directly on a probe of former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) said they believe that word of the investigation was leaked by senior Bush administration political appointees in the Justice Department in an improper and perhaps illegal effort to affect the outcome of an election.
At the time of the leak, Renzi was locked in a razor-thin bid for reelection and unconfirmed reports of a criminal probe could have become politically damaging. The leaked stories — appearing 10 days before the election — falsely suggested that the investigation of Renzi was in its initial stages and unlikely to lead to criminal charges.
Note that if they had gotten permission to wire tap a Congressman, criminal charges are nearly a slam dunk, and the US attorney pursuing the investigation of the now-indicted Renzi was one of those purged by Bush and His Evil Minions™ for insufficient political loyalty.
BTW, it appear that the leaker may have been Alice Fisher, who was a recess appointment by President Bush as Assistant Attorney General in charge the Criminal Division of the DoJ.
She is the only assistant AG in that position who has never tried a criminal case.
Un-dirtyword-believable.
With Clarance “The Speed Bump” Thomas being the dissent.
Notwithstanding some very hostile questioning by justices at the arguments, the Supreme Court has ruled that strip searching a 13 year old girl because someone alleged she was carrying Advil on her is just wrong.
Unfortunately, they also said that the plaintiff, Savana Redding, could not pursue her lawsuit, because at the time, the law was not clear.
This is the first time in decades that the supreme court has ruled for student’s rights at school.
I guess the spectacle of a 13 year old white girl being stripped for possession of headache pills was too much for even them.
I rather imagine that if Ms. Redding were black, the vote would have been closer.
New unemployment claim numbers are out, and they posted a surprise gain, rising 15K, to 627K, as opposed to the predicted drop to 600K, while continuing claims rose slightly, and the 4 week moving average was basically unchanged.
We also have the revised figures for the 1st quarter GDP, which fell at a 5.5% annual rate, a slight upward revision from the 5.7% estimate last month.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s Fed statement appears to have fears of increasing interest rates, so 2-Year Treasuries rose, meaning that the yield fell.
Additionally, the Fed announced that it is extending its emergency facilities from October to February, so the sh&^pile for cash has at least 5 more months life.
The jobs numbers served to drive the dollar up as investors looked for safe havens, and oil rose on more reports of Nigerian unrest.
[Kerry] was telling a group of business and civic leaders in town at his invitation about the “bizarre’’ tale of how South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had “disappeared for four days’’ and claimed to be hiking along the Appalachian Trail, but no one was really certain of his whereabouts.
“Too bad,’’ Kerry said, “if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin.’’
(emphasis mine)
I figure that after about 72 hours or so of faux outrage from the right, John Kerry will call a press conference to apologize.
He shouldn’t though, it was damn funny.
We are seeing an increase in senior executives are dumping shares in their firms.
It’s a pretty good indication that the recent run-up in share prices was a dead cat bounce, perhaps driven by accounting tricks to maximize profit this quarter.
Stars and Stripes is reporting that the US Army has barred one of its reporters from embedding with a unit because they found his coverage too aggressive:
Asserting that Stars and Stripes “refused to highlight” good news in Iraq that the U.S. military wanted to emphasize, Army officials have barred a Stripes reporter from embedding with a unit of the 1st Cavalry Division that is attempting to secure the violent city of Mosul.
…
Despite the opportunity to visit areas of the city where Iraqi Army leaders, soldiers, national police and Iraqi police displayed commitment to partnership, Mr. Druzin refused to highlight any of this news,” Major Ramona Bellard, a public affairs officer, wrote in denying Druzin’s embed request.
…
The Army’s denial of Druzin’s embed request appears to violate the Pentagon’s established ground rules regarding embedded reporters, which state: “These ground rules recognize the inherent right of the media to cover combat operations and are in no way intended to prevent release of embarrassing, negative or derogatory information.”
Whoever gave this order, and whatever superiors backed them up on this, are in violation of military regulations, federal laws, military policy, and the basic values of this republic, and Barack Obama should fire them.
There is no allegation of a security breach, just that the reporter was not “cooperative.”
We now have a second threatened Democratic pol coming out in favor of gay marriage, the 1st was Chris Dodd, New Jersey Governor John Corzine, who currently trails his challenger significantly.
What this represents is a change in the politics of gay rights and gay marriage.
Democratic politicians are now seeing this position as a political asset rather than a political liability.
Barack Obama should note this when dealing with DOMA and DADT.
When, in response to efforts in the real estate and mortgage industry to reign in appraisal reform, he says that, “I am beginning to suspect that the Realtor’s association and the Mortgage Broker’s association are pro-fraud.”
Well, duh.
Actually, it’s an interview with Wendell Potter, a former head of corporate communications for medical insurer CIGNA, but both positions involve causing death and sucking blood.
His interview shows a window to a very nasty place.
In describing the defense budget, the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts correctly describes the folks pushing for more defense spending, who normally oppose all spending because of deficit issues, as thinking thinking that, “the Pentagon is funded with Monopoly money that somehow doesn’t count.
It gets better when he talks about F-22 supporters:
These arguments will come from the very people who denied that the economic recovery plan created any jobs. We have a very odd economic philosophy in Washington: It’s called weaponized Keynesianism. It is the view that the government does not create jobs when it funds the building of bridges or important research or retrains workers, but when it builds airplanes that are never going to be used in combat, that is of course economic salvation.
Heh.
Here is a recording of the interview.
*In a 110% purely heterosexual kind of way, of course, as the General would say.