Essay of the Week: 3/29/09-4/4/09
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Author Archives: the editor
Three to ponder
Scary Mystery Disease
A mysterious illness is causing calves to bleed to death on German farms. Veterinarians are stumped over what is causing the deaths: vaccines, genetically modified feed or perhaps even the first mother’s milk?
What can a cattle farmer do when he sees blood running from his calves like water, when they become lethargic and febrile and, by the next morning, are lying dead on the floor, their coats covered in blood?
“Our calves from last summer looked like they had been beaten,” says farmer Robert Meyboom, who is still shocked and perplexed today. “The animals’ bodies were covered with drops of blood, and their eyes were bloodshot.”
Government Sponsored Cover Up
Half a year after the government seized Freddie Mac, confusion about its role is stoking tensions between the company and its regulator, including a dispute this month over how much the mortgage giant should reveal to private investors about its financial troubles.
Federal officials who took over Freddie Mac stopped short of nationalizing the company, leaving it partly in private hands. This means Freddie still has to answer to investors and file financial disclosures.
But when Freddie Mac’s executives concluded a few weeks ago that they had to disclose that the government’s management of the McLean company was undermining its profitability and would cost it tens of billions of dollars, the firm’s regulator urged it not to do so, according to several sources familiar with the matter.
Freddie Mac executives refused to bend. The clash grew so severe that they threatened to go to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees corporate disclosures, to secure a ruling that the regulator’s request was out of line. The company’s regulator backed down, the sources said.
This is why government involvement in the economy is bad news.
Only the Japanese
Cute fury bunny rabbits using semi realistic tactics. (Hard to tell from the trailer, but the switch to the backup weapon looks right. But rarely will you see people working alone like they do).
Its not a problem yet
An auction of government-guaranteed bonds failed for the first time in seven years today.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) – which sells gilts to raise money on behalf of the Government – said it had attracted bids worth only £1.63 billion for a tranche of gilts worth £1.75 billion.
The Treasury gilts are due to mature in 2049.
But the Treasury moved quickly to dismiss claims that the appetite for Government bonds was falling amid concerns about public debt and worries that the Government may be forced to step up the number of gilts it issues.
Edit: This too….
March 25 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated after a Treasury auction of five-year notes drew a higher-than-forecast yield, spurring concern government attempts to lower interest rates will fail amid record sales of bonds.
Links of note
A conspiracy theory I can believe. Especially since not just any old investor can participate in this program. They have to be certified by the government before they can even bid.
Pity the poor for they are always the ones who suffer the most when society breaks down. The rich can buy guns.
Japan’s elderly are going to have are really hard time funding their retirement.
Flight 1549 Goes in the Hudson
Somebody took the audio recorded from the Flight 1549 crash in the Hudson and put it over a re-creation of the events in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The guy wasn’t able to get all the details right, but the audio itself is funny enough to listen to. That flight controller just didn’t seem to get it.
I am amazed the pilot was so cool over the radio. If you check the related videos you can find slightly more extended audio.
Poem of the Week: 3/22/09-3/28/09
Smile, smile, smile by Wilfred Owen is this week’s poem of the week.
Rant of the Week: 3/22/09-3/28/09
As bankers and such are being made objects of hate it is well to remember words spoken in this clip.