H/t Crooks and Liars.
Author: Matthew G. Saroff
Bush and His Evil Minions&trade Frack it Up Again: DPRK Nukes Edition
Because Bush/Cheney is unwilling to take the DPRK off a terror watch list, as it has promised, they have stopped dismantling their facilities, and are threatening to reconstitute them.
Because Cheney wants to swing his dick around*, about the only thing remotely like a positive foreign policy accomplishment is about to go down the drain.
It’s behavior like this which make North Korea a paranoid nuclear power. It makes them believe that the US is just waiting to attack them.
*Sorry for that image.
It’s Always Florida Isn’t It?
Yes, it’s a story from February, but once again, the state of Florida is f$#@ing with the right to vote.
A little-known legal opinion issued days before Florida’s presidential primary has slammed the door on public oversight of the final vote tally in Florida elections.
The closure comes because of questions posed by Sarasota County Election Supervisor Kathy Dent, whose controversial District 13 congressional race drew national scrutiny in 2006.
Attorneys for the Florida Department of State say county election supervisors can eject outside observers from central computer rooms as they receive and add precinct results.
Their ruling hinges on where votes are actually counted, a process that state law requires be open to observers. They contend that “tabulation” occurs at individual precincts and that computers in the central room are merely “accumulating” those results.
What is more, the opinion states, observers and the public can be excluded from watching the local canvassing boards that must certify those vote counts — as long as there is alternative access, such as listening over a speaker system.
Florida: still a banana republic.
Now, They are Saying that the Euro-ABMs are About Russia
And they are now saying that Congress must fund the missiles in Poland and the radar in the Czech Republic to protect from Russia.
As I’ve said before, the purpose of the missile system is to antagonize the the Russians, for partisan political gain….And now they are admitting it.
Maliki Says Hard and Fast Deadline in Iraq
And it appears that there will be no “they aren’t permanent, the US will leave before the sun dies” superbases” either:
“It is not possible for any agreement to conclude unless it is on the basis of full sovereignty and the national interest, and that no foreign soldiers remain in Iraqi soil after a defined time ceiling,” Mr. Maliki said in a speech to Shiite tribal leaders in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
George W. Bush, you are completely Pwn3d.
MoveOn.org Targets Ron Fournier for Bias
He’s head of the AP’s Washington bureau.
He previously interviewed for a job with McCain, and he’s thoroughly in the tank for him, and he’s been in the tank for the ‘Phants for years.
He wrote a mash note to Karl Rove over the Pat Tillman phoney story, when he had done no stories on either Tillman nor Rove.
More details here.
Here’s hoping that he finds a new line of work, because he ain’t a journalist, he’s a PR flack.
Russia Recognizes South Ossetia and Abkhazia
This was inevitable once Georgia invaded.
Russia has been waiting for the opportunity for quite some time.
I would note that unless Georgia renounces all claims to the provinces now, they are ineligible for NATO membership, because the process requires undisputed borders.
Bush and His Evil Minions™ are doubtless happy, because they think this makes a good political club domestically.
Economics Update
Well, once again, we have the financial press, trumpeting so called good news, that US home prices did not fall as fast as the previous month, even though the year over year decline was 15.4%.
They are noting that home sales are up a bit, but they neglect to note how many of these sales are short sales and REO (foreclosure, basically) sales.
The numbers that I’ve seen are around 20-30%, and no one notes that inventory is still at historical highs.
On the brighter side, consumer confidence is up, largely on the fact that Gasoline has fallen over 10% over the past few weeks, as it did again today, though oil is up over concerns regarding hurricane Gustav.
Everyone is expecting a fully coupled worldwide slowdown, and so the Dollar is now at a 6 month high, even though we are seeing signs of commodities bouncing back, at least that’s what the market in copper is showing, with contracts for immediate delivery being rather higher than those for 3 months delivery.
I would also note that Fannie and Freddie are slowing the rate of mortgage purchases for their portfolio, which means two things, that mortgages will be harder to get and more expensive, and that they are “deleveraging”, which is finance speak for trying to get themselves out of the hole that they have dug.
I Agree with John Stewart
Basically, he is calling the political reporters a bunch of wankers:
As Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” descends on Denver for four days of coverage, Jon Stewart took after the “established” media for getting too cozy with candidates and regurgitating campaign spin when it comes to political coverage.
In a breakfast with reporters, Stewart directed most of his ire at the 24-hour cable news networks, which he called “gerbil wheels,” and said the media at-large had “abdicated” to what he called the “slow-witted beast.”
He said the never-ending television news cycle creates a “false sense of urgency” and forces reporters to “follow the veins that have been mined,” instead of pursuing serious and in-depth reporting.
Seriously, I get to a point where I can’t take it any more, and use the mute button too much, and then I can’t stand their faces, and I change the channel watch Alton Brown on Food Network, and check in with the blogs.
Yesterday, I did keep checking in because I felt that Kennedy deserved the eyeballs, but during political coverage, even Maddow and Olbermann get on my nerves, because they spend so much time repeating themselves.
And Now Phil “You’re All Whiners” Gramm Will Bankrupt the FDIC
It appears that Gramm-Leach-Bliley created an instrument called a Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) that allows you to deposit money in a one bank, and the CD is divided across a network, allowing for, “FDIC insurance on deposits of up to $50 million.”
Yet another way that Phill Gramm is a cancer on the body politic and the economic fabric of America.
When the Wall Street Fracking Journal Comes Out Against Patents, Something is Changing
You know that the current IP regime, and the drooling morons at the USPTO have jumped the proverbial shark.
The first reform that should be made is to treat patents like civil rights lawsuit, in that you can challenge a law as a violation of civil rights before anyone is charged, because of the chilling effects on society.
Bank of America, and The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Specifically Countrywide Financial, whose merry band of crooks have embroiled Bank of America in another action from a state attorney general, this time in Indiana, claiming, “deceptive and misleading practices in thousands of loans.”
What the hell were the management at BoA thinking when they paid for this open cesspool.
Thoughts on Last Night’s DNC
It was great to see Teddy Kennedy, and he looked remarkably fit.
As to the rest, I just can’t stand the coverage, and they have all the spontaneity of an ant farm.
Funny Strange, Not Funny Ha Ha
Mithras notes:
Know What’s Funny?
Upper middle class white liberal bloggers who think that their political opinions matter to people trying to win an election. That is really funny.
Actually, I’ve now thought of something even funnier (again, funny strange, not funny ha ha): Why upper class white conservative pundits keep trying to give electoral advice to Democrats.
As to my giving advice to anyone, this upper middle class Jewish blogger’s opinions don’t even matter to my Sharon*….And they matter to my 11 year old daughter even less, but she takes after her mother at her age.
My almost 9 year old son though, he cares what I think….but we are both science geeks, and we talk science, and I am an engineer…..But he keeps asking me about things like quantum entanglement (really), and I have to tell him, “call uncle Stephen, he’s the physicist.”
Actually, they all respect my cooking skills though, which is some consolation.
*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.
Farmer’s Almanac Predicts Cold Winter
If true, this will be bad news when juxtaposed to skyrocketing heating costs, particularly for those in the Northeast who rely on heating oil.
As if Things Didn’t Already Suck for Georgia
Dick Cheney will be visiting Tbilisi next week, which should be unpleasant for everyone involved.
Cindy McCain is going there too, doubtless to provide tips on make-up, face lifts, and shoe purchases, in addition to her obvious expertise in drug abuse.
Unsurprisingly, the Russian Duma voted to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent, but there has not yet been a definitive statement by Medvedev, as the formal recognition of a state is the president’s and not the Duma’s prerogative, though I expect one shortly, because of the Kosovo precedent.
The US is warning that this is “unacceptable”, and I expect that the Russians will consider this with just as much seriousness as the US considered similar Russian warnings on Kosovo.
I supported, and continue to support, the independence of Kosovo, but one of the negative consequences was that it provided a precedent of secession of regions in Europe, and it’s entirely possible that we may see a similar movement in the Crimea in the next few years as a result.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and France are saying that Russia remaining in the so-called buffer zones is a violation of the cease fire, and Russia is maintaining that these are called for under agreements negotiated in the 1990s, and are thus covered by the cease fire.
My prediction: I expect formal recognition of the two breakaway regions as sovereign nations by Russia in the near future, and significant distancing from Georgia, or at least from Saakashvili by the West. It’s already happening in “Old Europe”, and I would expect it to occur in the US in January.
Nuclear Suppliers Group Throws Monkey Wrench into Indo-American Civil Nuke Deal
Which I consider to be a good thing.
The idea that somehow the technical know-how that the French and the US nuclear industries are so interested in exporting to India won’t flow to their weapons’ program is naive at best.
Right now, the US is lobbying the 45 nation NSG to grant a waiver to India, even though it will not sign the NNPT.
This approval is necessary for the Indo-US deal to go through, and the NSG is looking at adding conditions to the waiver such as periodic reviews, a more intrusive inspection regime of civilian nuclear power plants, and a cancellation of the waiver in the event of additional Indian weapons testing.
India has said that it would reject any such conditions though, so it’s unclear where things go from here.
Honestly, I see this as phenomenally bad policy being pushed by the US Nuclear power industry, and being supported by Bush and His Evil Minions™ because they are reliable Republican donors.
And if You Believe This, I have a Bridge for Sale.
The Iraqi government is now claiming that a “rogue unit” is to blame for raids on Sunni politicians and the “Awakenening” movement.
This is despite the fact that they normally answer directly to prime minister Nouri al Maliki.
WaMu Offering Desperate for Cash
That’s really the only reason that they would offer 5% for 12 Month CDs, because attempts to secure money from the markets cost a lot more, and they need it now.
Most banks are paying less than 4%, and WaMu ain’t some web only operation trying to build market share.
They are in trouble.
Best Slam of John McCain Evah!!!!
Courtesy of Roger Ailes
The McCain campaign keeps emphasizing that McCain was a prisoner in Vietnam, as proof of his qualification for the Presidency.
Well, so was Gary Glitter, and I’m not voting for him either
I don’t think that I will ever say anything so funny.
Mr. Ailes owes me a screen cleaner.