1/ Ireland is in the news this week because the EU is trying to bail out the Irish government. Here are two stories that get this in perspective....
Paul Krugman points out the cause of the Irish problem was their banks fueled a huge property bubble, worse than ours, and when it all went bust instead of letting the banks go under the Irish Government took on the debt as part of the government's responsibility and is now imposing major financial pain on the Irish people to pay back this debt. Sound familiar? Of course it does......
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But remember Iceland? The same story? The government there let the banks go bust and all of the greedy hedge funds and international speculators including many banks had to eat the debt. Now Iceland is recovering.....
So here's the real story - the oligarchs in Europe pressured the Irish government to bail out the greedy banks, and in Iceland they were going to do the same but the people revolted and tossed out the politicians who proposed it......so now Iceland is slowly getting back on it's feet, but in Ireland anyone who can legally do so is emigrating to other countries leaving wreckage across all parts of society....
The Irish story began with a genuine economic miracle. But eventually this gave way to a speculative frenzy driven by runaway banks and real estate developers, all in a cozy relationship with leading politicians. The frenzy was financed with huge borrowing on the part of Irish banks, largely from banks in other European nations.
Then the bubble burst, and those banks faced huge losses. You might have expected those who lent money to the banks to share in the losses. After all, they were consenting adults, and if they failed to understand the risks they were taking that was nobody’s fault but their own. But, no, the Irish government stepped in to guarantee the banks’ debt, turning private losses into public obligations.
Before the bank bust, Ireland had little public debt. But with taxpayers suddenly on the hook for gigantic bank losses, even as revenues plunged, the nation’s creditworthiness was put in doubt. So Ireland tried to reassure the markets with a harsh program of spending cuts.
Step back for a minute and think about that. These debts were incurred, not to pay for public programs, but by private wheeler-dealers seeking nothing but their own profit. Yet ordinary Irish citizens are now bearing the burden of those debts.
The second story is a little more technical, explaining in some detail who owns Irelands debt in the EU and how this is a whole political mess in Europe....if Ireland goes bust a lot of German and Belgian banks would be in big trouble.....
In addition Ireland has the lowest corporate tax rate in Europe, but the large corporations headquartered there have told the Irish government "if you raise corporate taxes, we will relocate"......so to avoid losing jobs corporate taxation is the same, just the Irish workers and middle class are being nailed.....
Still have a naive view that things are fair? Not rigged in the favour of the wealthy? Dream on.....
At least 20 percent of Ireland’s G.D.P. is from “ghost corporations” that have little or no real activity in Ireland. Corporate taxes are set at 12.5 percent, but leading global corporations are able to construct complicated schemes involving other offshore tax havens that reduce their effective tax rates to the low single digits.
The Irish insist that raising the corporate tax rate would not generate additional revenue – effectively acknowledging the point that this part of the economy cannot be taxed as part of the anti-crisis policy mix.
2/ Norfolk, Virginia. I remember this city as some of the Royal Caribbean ships went to drydock there in the old days, you know, the 90's.....big Navy town.
Anyway, it's flooding, and despite a red State government that doesn't believe in climate change the city is raising road beds and building defenses against the rising seas....
On the face of it a straightforward story, but it leads into other, more sobering thoughts. Every time we have a climate change event, like Katrina, huge unseasonal storms and freezing in the Northeast US last year, tornadoes, flooding, drought - it costs money. Huge money. Just to rebuild what we lose to weather and rising seas. Where does this money come from?
Again, you guessed it - our debt, and our childrens debt to the Chinese and the Arabs. The future cost of doing nothing about global warming is going to be huge, and will get worse.....
The next time a gigantic storm hits southern Louisiana we should say too bad.....we're not going to rebuild New Orleans a second time.....but we won't because of all of the oil platforms and refineries in the area....the oil oligarchs will make sure we keep piling money into Louisiana over and over again.....
Remember this the next time you see or hear of a weather disaster and the Governor of the State, or the President declaring a state of emergency and then announcing aid to the area to rebuild the damage....it's your money.....and your kid's.....because we are a nation are too stupid and corrupt to try to mitigate climate change.....
As sea levels rise, tidal flooding is increasingly disrupting life here and all along the East Coast, a development many climate scientists link to global warming.
But Norfolk is worse off. Situated just west of the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, it is bordered on three sides by water, including several rivers, like the Lafayette, that are actually long tidal streams that feed into the bay and eventually the ocean.
Like many other cities, Norfolk was built on filled-in marsh. Now that fill is settling and compacting.
3/ Food and Class in America
Long but really interesting article that says the food you eat is directly related to your class and/or income level.
If you think about it it's pretty obvious.....we look at and laugh at the "People of Wal-Mart" pictures, but these are all people who eat cheap processed junk food so they get fat. If you are educated about food, you eat less and eat healthier.
According to data released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 17 percent of Americans—more than 50 million people—live in households that are “food insecure,” a term that means a family sometimes runs out of money to buy food, or it sometimes runs out of food before it can get more money. Food insecurity is especially high in households headed by a single mother. It is most severe in the South, and in big cities. In New York City, 1.4 million people are food insecure, and 257,000 of them live near me, in Brooklyn. Food insecurity is linked, of course, to other economic measures like housing and employment, so it surprised no one that the biggest surge in food insecurity since the agency established the measure in 1995 occurred between 2007 and 2008, at the start of the economic downturn.
4/ Story about charities, and how some are cons....mostly those who use telemarketers and/or send expensive brochures through the mail. Prime example - some of the calls you got for Haitian Relief........
Suggestion - if you get solicited ask for written confirmation of how much, per $100, goes to the people the charity supports. Don't give till you see this verified......
Researchers find that religious people on average donate more of their incomes than the nonreligious, and Christians, Jews and Muslims alike write checks to charities that they assume share their values. Dangerous assumption.
Some well-meaning Christians will support Feed the Children, a major Oklahoma-based Christian charity that describes its mission as providing food and medicine to needy children at home and abroad. By some accounts it is the seventh-largest charity in America.
But the American Institute of Philanthropy, a watchdog group that also runs Charitywatch.org, lists Feed the Children as “the most outrageous charity in America.” The institute says that Feed the Children spends just 21 percent of its cash budget on programs for the needy — but spends about $55 to raise each $100 in cash contributions.
Leading on to.....
Mount Dorans - a real Charity, Lake Cares, needs your support...
Lake Cares is a food bank for families in Lake County, and I talked to the director this Thanksgiving week about their work. She said their all-volunteer staff are supporting almost 3000 families in our tri-city area [Mount Dora, Eustis, Tavares], they are getting more and more cases, and the most heart-breaking are families where the male head of household is over 50 and has been out of work for many months. There are hardly any open jobs in Lake County, and if you are older you are out of luck.
Lake Cares needs food supplies, household items, and financial support.
For regular readers of DDD this is where the rubber meets the road - if you are working, or otherwise comfortable, you know there are many families, some with kids, that are in serious financial trouble. You also know we have a State and a Federal government who don't care about the poor or unemployed. Really....They. Don't. Care.
So it's up to us to help our neighbors. The next time you go to Costco [or your big box store] do two transactions - one for you, and one for Lake Cares with supplies that are easy to divide. An example is the multi-pack cans of tuna they have at Costco......Lake Cares will stamp your receipt for your tax deduction.....
Or better still send them a check....they use the money at one of our local businesses to buy food and other items, and are getting good discounts from them.....
Lake Cares
2001 Old #441, Room #1
Mount Dora 32757
Either way, supplies or a check - if you are reading this on your computer, in your air-conditioned home, having had an excellent Thanksgiving dinner, you are lucky.
The people Lake Cares helps are not. Share some of your good fortune with a real charity that helps locals out over this holiday season......yes there are many worthy charities that do good work in Africa and around the world, but there are deserving families in our area of Florida who have been abandoned by their government who need your help first....
5/ Here's a cartoon about the recent election results you might relate to......
6/ The tech columnist from the Times has been following all things techie for 10 years, and he looks back on the last decade with some interesting observations.....
With the turkey cooking, this seems like a good moment to review, to reminisce — and to distill some insight from the first decade in the new tech millennium.
Things don’t replace things; they just splinter. I can’t tell you how exhausting it is to keep hearing pundits say that some product is the “iPhone killer” or the “Kindle killer.” Listen, dudes: the history of consumer tech is branching, not replacing.
TV was supposed to kill radio. The DVD was supposed to kill the Cineplex. Instant coffee was supposed to replace fresh-brewed.
But here’s the thing: it never happens. You want to know what the future holds? O.K., here you go: there will be both iPhones and Android phones. There will be both satellite radio and AM/FM. There will be both printed books and e-books. Things don’t replace things; they just add on.
Got an I-Phone or an Android smartphone? Here are some shopping apps that can save you money.......free too! Go on, download one.....
You might as well start Friday as the post-Thanksgiving shopping season kicks off — if you can overcome a little self-consciousness. Apps like RedLaser (on iPhone), TheFind (on iPhone and Android) and Google (on iPhone) and Google Shopper (on Android), will be indispensable. On the iPhone, TheFind, which is new, was slightly better than its competitors, while on Android, Google Shopper was best.
They’re all worth downloading, and since they’re all free, it makes sense to have two on your phone in case one doesn’t scan an item perfectly.
7/ I was prepared to hate this little video from Onion News as nasty and hopelessly politically incorrect, but it's actually really really funny......bad David, bad.....
8/ Sleeper Movie you may have missed......
"Winters Bone" is a story about a a young girl in the Ozarks trying to find her father who is on the run.....she tries to find him so she can save their family home.....
This is a sleeper, and Jennifer Lawrence who plays the girl may be up for an Oscar.....
Here's the 2 minute trailer, and the review from the Times....
What distinguishes Ms. Granik’s film from, say, Courtney Hunt’s “Frozen River” — to cite another recent Sundance favorite with cold weather in its title and grim Americana on its mind — is that this harshness is not there to illuminate a sociological condition. Something more primal, almost Greek in its archaic power, is at stake in “Winter’s Bone,” and its visual and emotional starkness do no not feel like simple badges of authenticity.
This is not a story about drugs and family life in a particular region of the United States, even though it displays some impressive local knowledge (much of it derived from Mr. Woodrell’s book). It is more deeply about tribal ties and individual choices, about a stubborn girl’s sense of justice coming into sharp and dangerous conflict with deep and intractable customs.
This is not a story about drugs and family life in a particular region of the United States, even though it displays some impressive local knowledge (much of it derived from Mr. Woodrell’s book). It is more deeply about tribal ties and individual choices, about a stubborn girl’s sense of justice coming into sharp and dangerous conflict with deep and intractable customs.
9/ Zombies!!! Yeay, zombies....
interesting that "The Walking Dead" on AMC is being hailed as the best new show on TV......here's a British series about zombies that also has good reviews.....Netflix time!!!
Todays video - the Fruitcake Lady
Todays courtroom jokes
Q: Did you blow your horn or anything?
A: After the accident?
Q: Before the accident.
A: Sure, I played for ten years. I even went to school for it.
Q: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in the voodoo?
A: We both do.
Q: Voodoo?
A: We do.
Q: You do?
A: Yes, voodoo.
Q: Trooper, when you stopped the defendant, were your red and blue lights flashing?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the defendant say anything when she got out of her car?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What did she say?
A: What disco am I at?
Q: She had three children, right?
A: Yes.
Q: How many were boys?
A: None.
Q: Were there any girls?
Q: You say the stairs went down to the basement?
A: Yes.
Q: And these stairs, did they go up also?
Q: Mr. Slatery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn't you?
A: I went to Europe, Sir.
Q: And you took your new wife?
Q: How was your first marriage terminated?
A: By death.
Q: And by whose death was it terminated?
Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
A: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
A: Oral.
Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.
Q: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?
A: It is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.
Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?
Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?
Q: Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?
Q: How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision
Q: Did he kill you?
Q: You were there until the time you left, is that true?
Q: How many times have you committed suicide?
Q: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
A: Yes.
Q: And what were you doing at that time?
Todays talking parrot joke
Recently I received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. I tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else I could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.
Finally, I was fed up and I yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. I shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. So, in desperation, I threw up my hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer.
Finally, I was fed up and I yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. I shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. So, in desperation, I threw up my hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer.
For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that I'd hurt the parrot, I quickly opened the door to the freezer.
The parrot calmly stepped out onto my outstretched arm and said, "I
believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."
I was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. As I was about to
ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?"
The parrot calmly stepped out onto my outstretched arm and said, "I
believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."
I was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. As I was about to
ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?"
Todays teenager joke
A while back, when I was considerably younger, I picked up a date at her parents’ home.
I’d scraped together some money to take her to a fancy restaurant.
She ordered the most expensive items on the menu. Shrimp cocktail. Lobster. Champagne .
I asked her, “Does your mother feed you like that when you eat at home?”
“No,” she replied. “but my mother’s not expecting a blow job tonight.”
I said "enjoy".....
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