Artysim's Articles In Current Events
May 20, 2010 by Artysim
  The Deep Water Horizon catastrophe is a clear-cut case of criminal negligence on the part of BP, Haliburton and Transocean. All 3 companies are responsible and so is the U.S government for years of lax enforcement of regulations. But this disaster goes far, far beyond that- the manner in which it happened and more importantly, our reaction to it is a damning indictment of our entire civilization. Let's go over a few details surrounding the accident and why this serves as a microcosm...
October 31, 2009 by Artysim
Hello fellow JoeUsers, I'd like to invite you to be a member of a jury today. I'm going to blab for a bit about boring stuff you probably don't want to read (feel free to skip ahead if you so choose) and then I'm going to present three criminal cases that are 100% real and take place in Canada. If you could be so kind, please respond with your verdict and if guilty, sentence, for each one. The first case is already closed but I won't reveal just yet what the final verdict ...
June 7, 2009 by Artysim
"Bankruptcies due to medical bills increased by nearly 50 percent in a six-year period, from 46 percent in 2001 to 62 percent in 2007, and most of those who filed for bankruptcy were middle-class, well-educated homeowners, according to a report that will be published in the August issue of The American Journal of Medicine. "Unless you're a Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, you're one illness away from financial ruin in this country," says lead author Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., of the Harvard Medi...
March 9, 2009 by Artysim
Sunday night, 8 pm. I've gotta couple of free hours to fart around. Girlfriend's sick and doped up on anti-histamines on the couch, watching her shows (well only sort of watching as she's drifting in and outta la-la land) So I figure I'm gonna do something I haven't done in a looooong time. I'm gonna nerd it up and play some computer games! Back in January I got a new PC. Nothing fancy, an off the shelf deal that's got better processor, memory, RAM, video card than my old ri...
March 2, 2009 by Artysim
Well folks, it looks like things are going to get a whole lot worse before they start getting any better- Today the largest corporate loss in U.S history was reported by AIG. In 4th quarter of 2008 (that's only three months!) they lost over 62 billion dollars. The Dow Jones dropped below 7000 today. In just a little over a year it has lost more than 50% of it's value. Big corp. USA stocks appear to be in a race to the bottom with Citigroup and Bank of America stocks in...
August 21, 2009 by Artysim
I'm a big believer in the concept that anything you've got to say has probably already been said better by somebody else. In this case, one of my favorite redneck authors has weighed into the healthcare debate: The Entertainment Value of Snuffing Grandma A nation of children roots for the Mafia   By Joe Bageant Every day I get letters asking me to weigh in on the healthcare fracas. As if a redneck writer armed with a keyboard, a pack of smokes a...
February 17, 2009 by Artysim
We've all heard an endless amount of rhetoric about the economy. An infininite number of well-paid pompous talking heads have poured forth from the media machine to pontificate, analyze, scold, and explain to us the sheeple about why exactly it is that we're being kicked in the teeth, and why exactly it's really all our fault. "Gol' dang poor people borrowed more money than they could from the well to do banks and now everything's in the crapper because of it" At least that...
November 14, 2008 by Artysim
"Banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies" (Thomas Jefferson) "The TARP is the most expensive boondoggle in history. No one even knows what the banks are doing with the money. There's neither accountability nor transparency. As a result, investor confidence has deteriorated and stocks have continued to fall. No one trusts Paulson to do the right thing anymore; it's that simple." (Mike Whitney) There's a funny lesson most folks learn at some point...
November 13, 2008 by Artysim
Let's do a quick summary of how the 'bailout' situation is unfolding: Back in October Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and Greenberg put a gun to congress head and said "give us 700 billion now or the economy dies!!!! Don't think about it, we're only a few days away from the acopalypse, do it, do it now you idiots!!!" (imagine an Arnold Schwarzeneger accent for extra emphasis) We do seem to buy that 'end of the world' bait hook, line and sinker everytime don't we? The last time...
November 10, 2008 by Artysim
Let's take a quick look at the day in recap; Circuit City filed for bankruptcy, with guaranteed massive job losses on the way.... HAW HAW!!!! DHL is cutting 9,500 jobs in the U.S.... HAW HAW!!!!! GM is burning through cash and anounced today 5000 more cuts.... HAW HAW!!!! Nortel..... HAW HAW!!!! Sorry, had to get that out of the way first... Nortel is cutting 1200 more jobs Motorola recently anounced 3,000 job cuts... HAW HAW!!!! Fannie May posted a 29 ...
October 20, 2008 by Artysim
The CEO of a capital management company in L.A is quitting his job. He's walking away with a ton of money (made legitimately, and his company is doing fine) but he's decided he's made his coin and it's time to go. He sent a farewell letter that you've gotta read-  http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/18/banking-useconomy And I quote; "The boss of a successful US hedge fund has quit the industry with an extraordinary farewell letter dismissing his ...
July 29, 2008 by Artysim
During my travels throughout north America I've come to a rather depressing conclusion. Before I share it with you, a disclaimer; I lay no claim to being a well seasoned traveller or any such nonsense, nor have I visited every single state or lived for a prolonged period in any of the places I have visited. So you are well within your rights to call me an uninformed know-it-all gasbag and I won't take offense. So what is this dastardly scheme I have stumbled across? Everywhere I've ...
July 16, 2008 by Artysim
So now restaurants in New York have to post the calorie counts of the food they're selling. As of friday, if they don't post these counts, they face a $ 2,000.0 fine. While many folks cry foul on the part of the evil government interfering with private business, I personally think this is absolutely wonderful! Why? Because as a consumer, you should have the RIGHT to know what you're getting, especially when you're consuming it. Food isn't some consumer bauble that you buy for kicks, you ...
February 28, 2008 by Artysim
It's been 19 years since the Exxon Valdez struck the Bligh Reef and spilled over 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. This devastated the marine ecology in the area, killed many local fisheries industries, and caused a disruption in the foodchain that many estimate will still take decades to recover in some areas.  In 1994 a federal court ordered Exxon to pay approx 5 billion in damages to 30,000 fishermen, natives and local businesses that suffered&n...
February 8, 2008 by Artysim
With all this talk of faux-environmentalism (carbon credits being one of the worst offenders) Here's a step in the right direction- the Tesla Roadster. 100% electric, 0-60 in 4 seconds, approx 220 miles per charge, zero emmisions. Doesn't look half bad either. Unfortunately it's a tad expensive for someone of my modest means ( $ 98,000.0!) But what's important is that the technology is there. It is feasible, and it is marketable. Admittedly not too many people will be able to afford a 98K c...