January 16, 2010 archive

Late Night Karaoke

Open Thread

Random Japan

NOT SO FUNNY

Manzai comedian Tamotsu Kuroda of the popular duo Messenger was arrested for beating a 23-year-old restaurant manager in Osaka and causing “a serious facial fracture.”

During a TV Asahi talk show, postal reform minister Shizuka Kamei revealed a private discussion he’d had with the emperor. Apparently, disclosing that kind of thing is a no-no.

Kamei said he suggested that the emperor move to Kyoto or Hiroshima, to which the emperor reportedly replied, “I like Kyoto.”

One of the 11 participants chosen to attend the traditional New Year poetry reading at the Imperial Palace on January 14 said she “became weak at the knees from joy and nervousness” when told of the news.

A former executive at a Chiba-based marriage agency called Web Corp. was busted for selling personal data of 11,000 male and 5,000 female customers. If you ask us, the real crime is that this company gets away with charging a ¥3 million joining fee and a ¥200,000 commission for “marriage support.”

“Slow Death” in Europe

  There is a concept in economics known as the “snow-ball effect” on debt. It involves the self-reinforcing effect of debt accumulation arising when the growth of the national economy is less than the interest paid on public debt.

  In math it looks like this:

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

 I’m not going to focus on the mathematics here when the way the financial markets are reacting to Greece is all you really need to know.

 Insurance costs against a Greek government default leapt to a record after leading debt analysts warned the country’s economy could face a ‘slow death’ because of its deteriorating finances.

 The concern is that Greece’s economy is fundamentally uncompetitive in the world market, that it must borrow just to maintain its basic needs, and that interest payments on the debt accumulation is now reaching levels that has forced Greece to drastic action. Raising taxes and cutting social services to pay the interest will smother the economy further, making more borrowing necessary.

Friday: Dear Joe- I want my lawn chairs back

So just after 5 pm here on the Left Coast, I get this email:


Subject: We Want Our Money Back

From: “Vice President Joe Biden”

To:  (my name, aka “Sucker”)

Yesterday, President Obama announced our proposed Financial Crisis Responsibility

Fee
on the country’s largest banks:

“My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed. And my

determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive

profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued

existence to the American people…  We want our money back, and we’re going to get

it.”

The fee would recover every penny loaned to Wall Street during the financial crisis

and stop the reckless abuses and excesses that nearly caused the collapse of our

financial system in the first place.

But the banking industry — among the most powerful lobbies in Washington — is

already launching attacks to stop Congress from enacting the proposal.

Barack and I aren’t backing down. But to win, we’ll need the American people to add

their voice right away.

Thankfully, OFA supporters are already signing on to a bold statement of support:

“We want our money back — and we stand with President Obama to make sure we get

it.” You can add your name by clicking here:

http://my.barackobama.com/Banks3

The proposal is expected to recoup billions from the big banks, most of it from the

ten largest. As the President said, “If these companies are in good enough shape to

afford massive bonuses, they are surely in good enough shape to afford paying back

every penny to taxpayers.”

There is much more work to do to reform the financial system and create a new era of

accountability. But the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee is a crucial step. And

with the banks already working to tear it down, I hope that I can count on you to

speak out to show that Americans stand with us as we take them on.

Click here to add your name to the statement:

http://my.barackobama.com/Banks3

Change isn’t easy, but it’s certainly worth fighting for. I’m glad you’re in this

fight with us.

Thank you for making it possible,

Vice President Joe Biden

Please donate: https://donate.barackobama.com…

working title

When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way

Photobucket

This isn’t really about being a visionary, even though I am a visionary.  I’m not claiming to be an impressive or gifted visionary, just that I have visions.  Honest.  No bigee.

I’ve been both writing and talking about a level of politics I’ve never had the stomach for, power politics.  Well I don’t even know if that label is correct.

And this ties in somehow with jeffroby’s Full Court Press.

Re-Install Your Operating System

I know, I know, you probably scream and cry

That your little world won’t let you go

But who in your measly little world

Are you trying to prove that

You’re made out of gold and, uh, can’t be sold?

Friday Philosophy: GLB…and sometimes T

I’ve been “watching”  the trial in the 9th Circuit.  You know, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, though Perry is only one of the plaintiffs and Ahnold is not, apparently, one of the defendants.  More precisely, it might be labeled Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals v. Homophobes.

A keen observer might notice that I omitted Transgender there.  Such an observer might ask why.  The reason is that transgender people have been made invisible in this trial and the reporting thereof.

It was not unexpected.

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