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...
---WARNING--- This article is not "American Bashing" although I am sure some will interpret it that way. Since I don't post very frequently anymore I'm also going to combine several topics into a somewhat nonsensical rant. If you don't like it, or are unable to stomach my observations/criticisms or writing style, please go and stick your head in the nearest toilet (preferably a dirty one) and flush repeatedly. I guarantee you'll get more enjoyment out of it than reading what comes n...
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 ...
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...
"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...
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...
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...
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...
Methinks '09 is going to be a terrible year for the economy. Recent items of interest in the news: Circuit City has officially gone tits up. They're closing all their stores and firing all 30,000 employees lock stock and barrel. No restructuring, or re-branding or what have you. Just going out of business, remember to get the lights and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. On the plus side, since it's a complete liquidation I'm sure some of the newly unemployed will manage to swi...
Have you ever seen the classic zombie movie "Dawn of the Dead" by George A. Romero? If not, I highly recommend it. A few years back they did a remake which was ok, but not nearly as good as the first. So go out, find the original made in 1978 and give it a whirl. There's a much deeper reason why you should watch this movie besides cheesy 1970's special effects gore. George Romero made it a point to use his zombie movies as social commentary and if one is able to look past the hollyw...
"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...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...