From the monthly archives: April 2010
Now I’m plain angry. The GOP (there’s nothing grand about it) is so far up Wall Street’s ass they have zero interest in the public they claim to serve. On the very day Goldman Sachs announces over $5 billion in bonuses the GOP asserts it will filibuster Democratic action to regulate responsibility in Wall Street.
Obstinacy? Incompetency? How about greed. The stereotype of the Republican representative is old, white, and wealthy, and they seem gleefully eager to embrace it. It doesn’t take a genius to see that the only conceivable reason to oppose Wall Street regulation is to preserve the gaping holes of financial exploitation that led to the loss of 8 million jobs. It’s plain as day to anyone not gulping the GOP rhetoric Kool Ade. You don’t even have to be politically minded at all, much less a Democrat.
Goldman Sachs is being charged with fraud on a massive (massive) scale. From that same article in the Huff Post:
The U.S. charges against Goldman Sachs relate to a complex investment tied to the performance of pools of risky mortgages. In a complaint filed Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Goldman marketed the package to investors without disclosing that the pools were picked by another client, a prominent hedge fund that wanted to bet the U.S. housing bubble would burst. Within months, most of the mortgages had been downgraded as the U.S. housing boom went into reverse and the securities fell sharply in value.
To paraphrase, Goldman Sachs told consumer-level investors to buy a package investment including defaulting mortgages. At the same time, GS represented the same package to a hedge fund (large large money) that was betting against it. To put it another way, GS used the little guy to inflate the value of junk, so the big guy could make a boatload when that junk collapsed under its own junkiness.
Nice. The Republican party would have us believe that imposing regulation on the financial sector will somehow cause financial collapse, rather than protect us from it. As though it really hadn’t just happened because of lack of regulation. In all the world, Canada was least internally affected by the crisis, and it is demonstrably because of more strict oversight in the financial sector. Regulation.
Canada has a working socialized health care system too, courtesy of the NDP. Maybe the Republicans just hate Canada?
It used to be that I could justify the actions of the GOP by saying they believe they are defending Freedom (capitol F) no matter who gets crushed along the way. It’s painfully clear that the very corrupt GOP is deep in the pockets of the very corrupt Wall Street, and that includes Insurance and Big Pharma. I guess Freedom means you can use your position as Representative of the People to gouge those People for every penny you can swindle.
How much more clear can they make it?
I don’t know how long it’s been since I posted a pic just because I liked it. So there.
Just adding a banner to the rotation at the top, honouring the second anniversary of wrapping the shooting of Scott Valentine’s epic Seasons music video cycle. And of course because I just got back from the super fantastic Whistler ziptrekking adventure with M.
I recently got back from a week up in Van with M. It was awesome. Despite the pairing of a couple notoriously independent individuals, we can’t get enough of each other. We’ve decided that was the last time we’d spend more than four weeks apart from each other, as well. That’s enough of that nonsense. So she’s coming here in about three weeks, and then I’m doing back to backs to Van over the next couple months. With the promising interest in the car, there’s hope that I can neatly slide that recurring debt over to travel expenses for the next little while.
So while I stayed with M I met her for lunch a couple times, and it was a treat to rediscover real West Coast sushi.
While she was at work I got some work done as well, and when she came home I would greet her at the door like we’d been doing it forever. Shockingly domestic and shockingly easy.
Maybe it’s because she’s drop dead gorgeous.
She’s vegetarian, and I’m a notorious meatatarian, but somehow it’s easy for us. No fighting over who gets the little salad bowl, for example.
And then we were off to Whistler, where we stayed at the Chateau Whistler – very chateau.
Nice view. Very cozy.
After a huge dinner at The Keg (lobster for her) we woke up at a dignified hour for the real purpose of the Whistler jaunt – the ziptrek.
I want to adventure with this lady forever.
Awesome.
Nasty burn? Just run it under the printer. Good as new.
YEARLY INTERNET MAINTENANCE ANNOUNCEMENT
IT IS URGENT THAT YOU DO NOT CONNECT TO THE INTERNET FROM MARCH 31st 23:59 GMT (11:59 PM) UNTIL 00:01 GMT (12:01 AM) APRIL 2nd.
It’s that time again. As many of you know, each year the Internet must be closed down for a 24 hour period of time in order to receive maintenance, or a “Tune Up” if you will.
Many dead links on the World Wide Web will be removed, as well as ftp links that are no longer used. Lost e-mail will also be removed from the system at this time.
In addition to the normal maintenance to be completed this year, we will also be using new high pressure information jets to clear out the bottlenecks that have plagued the internet so greatly this past year.
Although the down time for maintenance will be an inconvenience for many people, you will find this will allow for a much more efficient and faster responding internet.
This year, the “Tune Up” will occur from 23:59 GMT (11:59 PM) on March 31st until 00:01 GMT (12:01 AM) on April 2nd. During that 24 hour period, dozens of powerful Internet bots at key locations around the globe will simultaneously scan the Internet and complete the desired maintenance jobs wherever they may be required.
To help protect any valuable data you may have on the Internet from possible corruption, we highly recommend you take the following steps before this 24 hour maintenance period begins:
1. Disconnect all terminals and LANs from the Internet.
2. Disconnect all Internet servers from the Internet.
3. Refrain from connecting any computer, or any other Internet connection device, to the Internet in any way.
Note: The term “other Internet connection device” includes such devices as WebTV.
Again, we understand the inconvenience this will cause many people. And for that, we apologize. However, the great increase in Internet performance you will experience after this short period of maintenance, will far outweigh any problems it will cause.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Mr. Yuben T. Ricked
Global Internet Maintenance Organization
Department of Gullibility
Webmasters and Sysops: It is very important that the entire Internet community be notified of the upcoming Internet maintenance before it gets underway. Please direct all of your users and personnel to read this notice ASAP!
Please pass this announcement to all other Internet users you contact as well.
Thank you.
