Weekend Economists Funny Pages Sept 30-October 2nd, 2011

[Demeter]

Our cultural theme/diversion from the Dismal Science is the cartoon.

Where does the word come from? When did the concept start? Which ones are your favorites? How has the lowly scribble transformed our world?

First, a definition:

CARTOON

1. A simple drawing showing the features of its subjects in a humorously exaggerated way, esp. a satirical one in a newspaper or magazine
   
   
2. A comic strip
   
   
3. A simplified or exaggerated version or interpretation of something
   
   - this movie is a cartoon of rural life in America
   - Dolores becomes a cartoon housewife, reading glossy magazines in a bathrobe
   
   
4. A motion picture using animation techniques to photograph a sequence of drawings rather than real people or objects
   
   
5. A full-size drawing made by an artist as a preliminary design for a painting or other work of art

There are other specialized and technical uses of the term similar to that last, but we will stick to the first 4 meanings.

ETYMOLOGY: cartoon FIRST USES IN PRINT

1670s, "a drawing on strong paper (used as a model for another work)," from Fr. carton, from It. cartone "strong, heavy paper, pasteboard," thus "preliminary sketches made by artists on such paper" (see carton). Extension to comical drawings in newspapers and magazines is 1843.

"Punch has the benevolence to announce, that in an early number of his ensuing Volume he will astonish the Parliamentary Committee by the publication of several exquisite designs, to be called Punch's Cartoons!" <"Punch," June 24, 1843>

As a verb, recorded from 1884. Related: Cartooned; cartooning.

So, "Cartoon" and "Carton" (a heavy paper box) are related, as is probably Chart, or Carta, the Latin root for map...

The basic feeling here is the roughness--you wouldn't hang a sketch on cardboard in a museum (at least, not until recently). Cartooning wasn't a fine art, nor were cartoons particularly desired by the wealthy patrons of art, which is probably why they are the targets of so many lampoons.

LAMPOON: DEFINITION

satirize: ridicule with satire; "The writer satirized the politician's proposal"

parody: a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous way

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

(Lampoons) A parody (; also called send-up, spoof or lampoon), in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or make fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation. ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampoons

A written attack ridiculing a person, group, or institution; A light, good-humored satire; To satirize or poke fun at

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lampoon

A crude, coarse, often bitter satire ridiculing the personal appearance or character of a person.

virtualsalt.com/litterms3.htm

A mocking, satirical assault on a person or situation.

www.jerichoschools.org/hs/teachers/lfischer/apvocab.htm

n. & v. a satirical attack on a person etc. tr. satirize. řřlampooner n. lampoonery...

spell-dictionary.com/map/l

And yes, that's the other aspect of the cartoon: it is neither faithful nor kind to its purported subject. There may be a "cute" cartoon, but usually the intent is to tear down idols with clay feet, humble those which so roundly deserve humbling, and poke fingers at the hypocritical.



In the film industry, cartoons are a way for aging actors, or those who haven't a lot of free time, to sell their vocal talents, while giving visual artists some commercial source of income.

So, let's explore that other world, which we last glimpsed in that famous documentary:

[Demeter]

1. And, We Have a Failed Bank in Texas to start us off

First International Bank, Plano, Texas, was closed today by the Texas Department of Banking, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with American First National Bank, Houston, Texas, to assume all of the deposits of First International Bank.

The seven branches of First International Bank will reopen during normal business hours beginning Saturday as branches of American First National Bank...As of June 30, 2011, First International Bank had approximately $239.9 million in total assets and $208.8 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, American First National Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets...The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $53.8 million. Compared to other alternatives, American First National Bank's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. First International Bank is the 74th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Texas. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was The LaCoste National Bank, LaCoste, on February 19, 2010.

[Demeter]

2. Free the Banks – So the Economy Can Grow Again By LIZ PEEK, The Fiscal Times

NO, IT'S NOT FROM THE ONION

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2011/09/28/Free-the-Banks-So-the-Economy-Can-Grow-Again.aspx#page1

Bank bashing remains a favorite sport. Just ask demonstrators in lower Manhattan or those in the corridors of Congress. Decrying the “gangsterism of Wall Street,” protestors in New York want to free the government from the monied influence of our tycoons. In less colorful fashion, our regulators and political leaders also want to shrink the importance of the financial sector...Here’s the problem: While the animus is understandable, and even in some instances deserved, without a healthy and prosperous banking industry the economy cannot rebound...Bank stocks have plunged since this past spring, with lawsuits and worries about Euro exposure grabbing headlines. More fundamentally, investors have begun to equate the financial sector with the dullest of utilities. In satisfying regulator demands for increased liquidity, higher capital ratios, and lower risk profiles, the banks have earned back their “safe haven” status. The proof is the flood of deposits pouring in. At the same time, lending – the goal of Fed policy – has stalled. For over two years, Mr. Bernanke has been energetically tossing dollar bills into the great wind machine of the global monetary system. Nobody is more surprised than he, probably, to find that those dollars are floating right back to the Fed. While Fed reserves have soared more than $1.6 trillion since January 2008, bank loans have fallen $84 billion. The faltering economy has certainly reduced demand for money; but longtime bank analyst Richard Bove of Rochdale Securities claims the policies of the Obama administration are also to blame.

Mr. Bove says that the Fed’s quantitative easing policies, and the onerous requirements of Dodd-Frank, have constricted bank lending. In a recent report to clients, he points out that banks’ net interest margins peaked in the first quarter of 2010 and have been on the decline since. Under the newly announced Operation Twist, the yield curve will flatten, further wringing out bank profitability...Possible damage to bank earnings was one of the concerns that led Dallas Federal Reserve Bank president Richard Fisher to vote against the program. Along with Mr. Fisher, Mr. Bove is skeptical of the plan’s success. Who, he asks, will make 30-year loans at historically low rates – below 4 percent today – when the latest CPI number was nearly 4 percent? As Mr. Obama might say, it is a matter of simple math. If you lower the price of something – even long-term credit – you’ll get less of it.

More problematic, Mr. Bove suggests that bringing down long-term versus short-term rates will encourage speculative short-lived bets over multiyear investment. He has a point. Mr. Bove is not alone in thinking the Fed has it all wrong. Economist David Malpass (and budding GOP politician) describes Fed policy as “deeply contractionary,” and is among those looking for a recession. “The Fed is paying 25 basis points for excess reserves despite an effective Fed funds rate of 8 basis points,” Mr. Malpass points out in a recent note. Bankers may be unreliable, but they’re not stupid. Why put reserves at risk when you can earn a solid spread with the safest investment on the planet while satisfying ever more demanding regulators at the same time? Bank holdings of Treasury securities are up nearly fourfold since the fourth quarter of 2008.

Meanwhile, public perception about the banks was dealt another blow recently when Moody’s downgraded the debt of Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, which slammed investor confidence just as EU financial problems were again roiling markets. Moody’s rationale was that the government is “more likely now than during the financial crisis to allow a large bank to fail should it become financially troubled.” Rep. Frank, just to reassure voters that he is on their side, helpfully chimed in to applaud Moody’s insight “that such large institutions are not ‘too big to fail.’” Really? Mr. Bove reminds us that Bank of America (to pick one) claims to have a relationship with 58 million businesses and households. That’s half the households in the U.S. Moreover, the company has $961 billion in loans outstanding and more than $1,038 billion in deposits. Since, on average, 79.3 percent of all U.S. bank deposits are insured by the FDIC, that agency would be on the hook for roughly $800 billion should Bank of America fail (an event Mr. Bove sees as extremely unlikely).

The FDIC at present has $3.9 billion in its insurance fund. Where would the balance come from? The FDIC would request the funds from Congress. Imagine the result: deadlock, finger pointing and all-out chaos....One of the innovations of Dodd-Frank was its requirement that in the event a large bank failed, the FDIC could organize an orderly bankruptcy proceeding. There would be nothing orderly about half of American households panicking over the safety of their deposits, or their loans outstanding. Moreover, most bankers doubt the FDIC could handle such a monster management task...Nobody has to hug a banker. But attempts to get our economy rolling down the track while reducing the steam in the boiler will fail. And continue to fail.

I'M GOING TO ASSUME THIS IS SATIRICAL, FOR ARGUMENT'S SAKE...

[Tansy_Gold]

3. Defeatism -- getting off de butt and onto de feet

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/defeatism/

And we’re not (just) talking about ignorant politicians. This stuff has been coming from the European Central Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Bank for International Settlements.

I don’t fully understand it. But a large part of it, it seems obvious, is the intense desire to see economics as a morality play of sin and punishment, where the sinners are, of course, workers and governments, not the bankers. Pain is not an unfortunate consequence of policies, it’s what is supposed to happen.

How obsessive are these people? So obsessive that when the financial doom they predict fails to materialize, they consider this a bad thing: punishment must be administered, so what are the markets waiting for?


. . . . .

Just to reiterate a point I’ve made before, none of this reflects actual economic theory. Throughout this crisis, people like Adam Posen and yours truly have been basing our arguments on standard textbook macroeconomics, whereas the Very Serious People have been making up stories on the fly to justify their calls for pain.


*******************


In the never humble opinion of one Tansy Gold, Dr. Krugman's little blog essay has completely missed the point.

1. If the economy were healthy, it wouldn't need any artificial stimulus. If it needs a stimulus, that means it's not healthy. Your mission, Dr. K, is to determine why it's not healthy. When was it last healthy and what has changed since then to make it unhealthy? More important, who benefits from its unhealthiness and what, if anything, did those beneficiaries have to do with making it unhealthy in the first place?

2. Some of the commenters on the blog got it right -- the wealthy DO NOT WANT a healthy economy. It is in their best interest to maintain the status quo and make it even more quoer if they can.

3. As long as the wealthy control the government and the media, they will keep the proletariat ignorant of anything that will challenge the status quo. That means gutting public education and replacing it with indoctrination.


America may not be a "christian" nation in terms of constitutional language, but much of the cultural fabric is rooted in a particular brand of christianity that favors the wealthy, and especially favors those who do not work for their wealth. Think of The Lilies of the Field, both the parable and the movie. This brand of christianity also promotes a distinct double standard, because wealth, especially unearned wealth, is considered a sign of God's grace, so that the poor are considered lacking in goodness/godliness as well as lacking in monetary value. Indeed, it is a brand of christianity that looks upon work as sin, or at least the wages of sin, pun intended. The poor, and especially the working poor, are that way because God wants them to be poor and far be it from the saintly, blessed Rich to change God's divine plan.

This is still a massively church-going nation, unlike our cousins in Europe. Remember when the Soviets were labeled "godless" commies? If the truth got out about communism and/or socialism, American people might actually be attracted to it. There's really nothing frighening in it at all. Communism is much more in keeping with the actual/alleged teachings of Jesus, but the capitalists couldn't allow that to be known, so the Communists became godless, and that's what made them evil. And the propaganda worked.

Paul, you really should read more Kevin Phillips. Then you'd know why economics really is a morality tale, that poverty is caused by sin, and all the moral hazard falls on the poor.



Your dear friend,

Tansy Gold

[Ghost Dog]

56. Whenever your education system stops teaching you

to make your own observations and to think for yourself, that's when propaganda starts to work.

Thanks, Tansy, Demeter.

GD (On the Road).

[Tansy_Gold]

59. Been thinkin' about you, wonderin' where you been

:hi:

Good to see you again!

[Demeter]

4. How Unemployment Is Rocking the Love Boat

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/09/28/How-Unemployment-Is-Rocking-the-Love-Boat.aspx#page1

Unemployment is leading to trouble in the bedroom. With the jobless rate stuck at more than 9 percent, studies show that unemployment is taking a toll on all stages of relationships – from courting to marriage, and of course, to divorce. Instead of the traditional arch of a relationship, the trajectory of unemployed love looks a whole lot different.

A study in the Journal of Marriage and Family says – not surprisingly – that marriage is sensitive to economic indicators, especially men's earnings, unemployment, and education. According to the research by academics Pamela J. Smock, Wendy Manning, and Meredith Porter, co-habitating men and women want both to be employed to consider marriage, but it is more important for the male to show he can be a consistent “breadwinner." Here’s a rundown on how unemployment is affecting decisions of the heart:

No Job? Have That Beer by Yourself.

A recent study by ForbesWoman and YourTango found that 75 percent of women polled would not marry a man who was unemployed. But regardless of this barrier to marriage, singles are dating more than ever during the recession. Online dating site Match.com saw a 30 percent growth in paid users in 2010, despite the $35 monthly fee. Sam Yagan, CEO of OkCupid.com, a free dating site that saw traffic double in 2010, says humans seek companionship and community during hard times. But should singles bring up their unemployed status on a first date?

If you can’t take a girl out for dinner or cocktails, or even Olive Garden, you shouldn’t be dating

Patti Stanger of Millionaire Matchmaker says it depends on gender. Men should avoid the topic or wait until they’re employed to start dating. “If you’re a man and you said you were unemployed to a woman, we’d run to the nearest exit,” she told CNN. “If you can’t take a girl out for dinner or cocktails, or even Olive Garden, you shouldn’t be dating.” For women though, being unemployed can sometimes be an advantage. “If you’re downtrodden, the man wants to rescue you. He wants a woman that doesn’t challenge him and doesn’t have a better job than him,” said Stanger.

AND IT'S ALL DOWNHILL FROM THERE...

[Demeter]

5. Homeowners to Banks: Clean Up the Mess You Left in Our Neighborhood

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/673324/homeowners_to_banks%3A_clean_up_the_mess_you_left_in_our_neighborhood/#paragraph2

Five years ago, millions of bad loans that banks had peddled—in order to feed the profitable securities market—began to fail and foreclosures began climbing. Washington ignored it then and continues to ignore it in all but name today. Millions of people lost their homes and millions more will follow. But amid all the chatter about deficits and coming presidential elections, it’s easy to forget this crisis continues apace. One in eight mortgages are past due; one in five black and Latino borrowers are believed to be at the brink of foreclosure.

The consequences stretch past the families that get kicked out. The systemic fraud that drove up prices and flipped homeowners through large refinances has also left the market with a glut of ridiculously overvalued, foreclosed properties upon which banks are now squatting. The glut has spawned many new crises, including driving down the value of everyone else’s home and all the echo-effect problems that creates, too. It’s a series of dominoes that the banks’ failed mortgages sent tumbling and that continue to fall.

And here’s one fallen domino that’s gotten far too little attention: banks are largely neglecting the homes upon which they are squatting, leaving them to turn into trash-strewn sources of blight. Many of the largely black communities where this crisis began had spent decades rebuilding after the divestment of the 1980s, turning once struggling neighborhoods into stable, working-class communities of homeowners. The banks and the mortgage brokers they encouraged swept through and reversed that work (median black wealth has plummeted to a lower point than it was in 1983), and now they have literally left their mess behind. They act as absentee owners of abandoned, decaying properties that draw crime and create blight.

So yesterday, homeowners and organizers in East Oakland, one of the communities hit hardest in the subprime lending boom, gathered up the banks’ trash and delivered it back to them. The action was part of a series of events around the country, organized by the New Bottom Line campaign, that aim to put the foreclosure crisis and banks’ responsibility for it back on Washington’s agenda. Photojournalist Sita Bhaumik went along to record the action yesterday. Participants charged that, within hours of their press release about the action, the banks sent crews to clean up some long neglected properties. They collected the remaining garbage and brought it to local branches of Citibank, Chase and Wells Fargo.

GRAPHIC PHOTOS AT LINK

[Demeter]

6. As Occupy Wall Street Gains Momentum, a Harsh Critic Recants in the Mainstream

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/672975/as_occupy_wall_street_gains_momentum%2C_a_harsh_critic_recants_in_the_mainstream/#paragraph3

The Occupy Wall Street movement is gaining momentum. After disturbing, video-documented police brutality and 80 arrests at their march last Saturday, non-supporters and skeptics are being forced to notice a group for the people - the 99% - suffering without the wealth hoarded by the ultra-rich. Once facing a mainstream media blackout, the Occupy Wall Street movement is now up against a different obstacle - one that it seems to be overcoming.

Media as popular as Keith Olbermann and Michael Moore have spoken out against against insufficient Occupy Wall Street coverage, which has appeared to give way to a cesspool for criticism. But today, in a powerful display of Occupy Wall Street's growing popularity, the bold demonstrations and their supporters earned a harsh critic's corrected analysis.

Sally Kohn's September 27th piece for the American Prospect totally slammed Occupy Wall Street. Categorizing demonstrators as unorganized, purposeless punks and "reincarnate hippies," Kohn suggested that the demonstrators were camping out, marching daily, and facing police brutality just for sake of a protest - for the fun of it, so to speak. But today, in a piece for CNN, Kohn expressed a drastic change in heart. Instead of calling the protestors inefficient anarchists, she actually likened them to Ghandi and Frederick Douglass.

From Kohn's CNN piece "Protestors: Today's 'rioters', tomorrow's righteous":

The first recorded use of the phrase "protest march" was in 1913 to describe a demonstration organized by Mohandas Gandhi against the South African government's restrictions on Indian nationals. After Gandhi was arrested and the protests grew more heated in response, the South African government labeled the gatherings "riots." Ever since, impassioned groups of politically similarly situated people have been called either protesters or rioters. Which phrase you choose mainly depends on where your own political sympathies lie.

This weekend, after protesters involved in the Occupy Wall Street actions were arrested by police, the New York Post called the demonstration a "near riot" while Salon said the occupation involved mostly "beds, kitchens, peaceful barricades"

I'm not going to weigh in the relative merits of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Suffice it to say I'm sympathetic with their critique that our economy and political system is too beholden to the interests of Wall Street, overlooking or even abusing the middle class and the poor. In fact, polls show that more than two-thirds of Americans think major corporations, banks and financial institutions have too much power in our society. Yet I imagine there are some fed-up Americans nonetheless scratching their heads as to why a bunch of their fellow citizens are camped out in our nation's financial headquarters in New York.

She continued,

Frederick Douglass once said, "Power concedes nothing without a demand." Douglass knew of what he spoke. Because black people and poor whites weren't even allowed to vote in the early days of our Union, slavery could only be ended through protest. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, black and white Americans launched protests and outright revolts against the system of slavery. Many of those protests were peaceful. Sadly, some were not. But looking back, we don't condemn Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner and John Brown for their "riots" -- just as most Americans don't condemn the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ella Baker, even though at the time, all these great heroes were attacked and tarnished for their protests.

And then came her most powerful point, through which she clearly recanted her former criticism:

What is brave and noble through the distance of history can often seem disorderly and disruptive in the present. Think of the Boston Tea Party, which helped spark the American Revolution. The nervous British ruling class denounced it as a riot. And yes, that protest ultimately turned very violent.

Kohn's correction of her own Occupy Wall Street analysis is at least the second of its kind. Two days ago, The Nation published the piece "correcting the abysmal 'New York Times' coverage of Occupy Wall Street," in which the author called the similarly critical NY Times piece a particularly dangerous example of "rubbernecking style of journalism." As Occupy Wall Street builds its base and wins the minds of the American people, more positive critiques may grow in correlation. But for the mainstream media, their analyses may come too late to reach the American people, many of whom have already made up their minds to support the brutalized protestors.

[Demeter]

7. Cop Caught Macing "Occupy Wall Street" Protesters a Second Time, NYPD Launches Investigation

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/673517/cop_caught_macing_%22occupy_wall_street%22_protesters_a_second_time%2C_nypd_launches_investigation/#paragraph5

The comically named New York policeman Anthony "Tony" Bologna has now been caught macing #OccupyWallSt protesters without apparent provocation not once, but twice. The Guardian reports that new footage of Officer Bologna macing protesters emerged yesterday, and that the NYPD is launching two separate investigations into the matter.

Oh, and Score one for Team Bloggers and Activists for getting the NYPD to take Bologna's actions seriously:

The investigations were announced after bloggers and activists drew attention to video posted online which showed that Bologna fired pepper spray on two occasions last Saturday as officers broke up a protest march through Greenwich Village.

The first footage shows him targeting a group of female protesters who were being penned in by officers on East 12th Street. The latest video shows another incident on the same street, shortly after the first, when he fired more pepper spray towards at least one of the same women, after they were recovering from the first incident.

On both occasions, the officer appears to have violated New York Police Department guidance on how the gas should be used.

In response to the Guardian's appeal to readers to help us reconstruct Saturday's events on East 12th Street, one protester wrote to say that she was sprayed with gas by the officer both times.

The protester, Ashley Drzymala, also sent us a link to this raw footage, which shows - at about the 3:56 mark - the officer spraying protesters as they retreated from the area of West 12th Street where he had used the gas on another group about a minute earlier.

According to Gothamist, the Civilian Complaint Review Board has received at least 400 complaints about the macings -- enough that "staffers had to come up with a special system for categorizing and processing them."

Unfortunately, the #OccupyWallSt protesters aren't the only people who have received this treatment. It seems that the NYPD has a habit of macing citizens for the wrong reasons (or no reason at all) -- and getting away with it:

According to recent statistics, 1722 people complained of being wrongfully pepper-sprayed by New York police officers between 2006 and 2010. Of that number, the civilian review board substantiated just 22 complaints.

Meanwhile, Officer Bologna has reportedly received death threats after his personal information was published by hacktivist group Anonymous. In response, the force has assigned Bologna a security detail.

IS THAT ANY WAY TO RUN THE FOURTH REICH? I ASK YOU

[Demeter]

8. Somebody post something humorous please! I'm dying here

Snoopy, or family circle, anything....anything to relieve the gloom and doom.

[Demeter]

9. Jon Stewart to Bill O'Reilly: Raising Taxes on the Rich Would Put Them Out of Business? "That's Craz

Jon Stewart to Bill O'Reilly: Raising Taxes on the Rich Would Put Them Out of Business? "That's Crazy Talk, and You Know it"

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/672984/jon_stewart_to_bill_o%27reilly%3A_raising_taxes_on_the_rich_would_put_them_out_of_business_%22that%27s_crazy_talk%2C_and_you_know_it%22/#paragraph2

On last night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart once again interviewed his arch nemesis Bill O'Reilly, and he used the opportunity to really got his classwar on. After quickly plugging O'Reilly's new book, Stewart pushed it aside ("We aren't going to talk abut this.") and jumped right into O'Reilly's threat to take his show off the air if Obama raised his taxes. "How much of that threat is empty?" Stewart asked, to which O'Reilly replied, "All of it." OK then! Principled.

Still, O'Reilly kvetched about taxes being too high for him and others in the "entrepreneurial class", and this is what Stewart had to say to that: "This whole idea that somehow the tax burden would become so onerous on us that we would rather not just take home $3 million -- if we can't get $3.5 million, f*ck it....That's crazy talk, and you know it!" He went on, "What's this business about the poor, poor rich and wealthy in this country?"

O'Reilly actually admitted that he wouldn't mind having a 40% tax rate, but argued that the government has to "stop wasting the money. One word: Solyndra." Then he trotted out the widely debunked myth of the $16 muffin. So, yea. Whatever.

You can watch the segment that ran on the air as well as part two of the interview, which is available online only, right here: SEE LINK

[Demeter]

10. EVERYBODY KNOWS MY FAVORITE

EVEN THOUGH SCOTT ADAMS IS A FILTHY LIBERTARIAN...

[Demeter]

35. ONE MORE FOR US

[Demeter]

54. AND 4TH MAKES THE CHARM

[Demeter]

11. German parliament approves EFSF boost

Merkel wins large majority in move that lifted financial markets and boosted the euro


Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/5VMTAA/SUO9T/ORJT7X/B5KH6J/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=30

WONDER IF ANGELA WOULD LIKE TO BE THE NEXT DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE...

[Demeter]

24. German MPs back EFSF expansion

Quentin Peel, our Berlin bureau chief, confirms the vote passed with a fairly massive majority. The result of the vote was read out by Wolfgang Thierse, deputy speaker of the Bundestag: 523 voted in favour and 85 against, 3 members abstained.



Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/TWK799/NJP4YQ/9MEOW/8ZADUJ/L9FAPA/4O/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=29

[Demeter]

12. Italy should look to Spain for inspiration

In cleaning up the public finances and introducing reforms, Madrid has acted in a more consistent and determined way than Rome

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/5VMTAA/SUO9T/ORJT7X/7A5UHW/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=30

OR ICELAND---ICELAND KNOWS HOW TO HANDLE BANK FRAUD...HEY, UNCLE BEN! HOW ABOUT DOING THE ICELAND ON WALL STREET?

[DemReadingDU]

13. Love that sparkly Tweety

We have tweetys everywhere

[Demeter]

14. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters interact directly with human beings. Who Framed Roger Rabbit stars Bob Hoskins as a private detective who investigates a murder involving the famous cartoon character, Roger Rabbit. Charles Fleischer co-stars as the titular character's voice, Christopher Lloyd as the villain, Kathleen Turner as the voice of Roger's cartoon wife, and Joanna Cassidy as the detective's girlfriend.

Walt Disney Pictures purchased the film rights to the story in 1981. Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman wrote two drafts of the script before Disney brought in Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment to help finance the film. Zemeckis was hired to direct the live-action scenes with Richard Williams overseeing animation sequences. Production was moved from Los Angeles to Elstree Studios in England to accommodate Williams and his group of animators. While filming, the production budget began to rapidly expand and the shooting schedule ran longer than expected. However, the film was released to financial success and critical acclaim. Who Framed Roger Rabbit brought a re-emerging interest in the golden age of American animation and became the forefront for the modern era, especially the Disney Renaissance. It also left behind an impact that included a media franchise and the unproduced prequel, Who Discovered Roger Rabbit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Framed_Roger_Rabbit

ONLY RONALD REAGAN'S PRESIDENCY COULD PRODUCE SUCH A PLOT

TO SEE THE WHOLE THING:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN6coIJ202g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DO5HzEWSkM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo6mq5z6yQE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL1PaWQ-BI8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Dat4-k5G3s&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL1PaWQ-BI8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_kOYs47Ik0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfw5zh_f_wg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUnWPcipi1w&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVCtlYxD0XE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQp_G9nDuIM&feature=related

[Demeter]

18. I'm sitting here, playing the film on youtube

and the Kid is reciting each line of the dialog just before the actors...that is her savantism.

Facepalm

[Demeter]

15. Lenders left Tarp too soon, says audit

The special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Programme has found that Bank of America and Citigroup were allowed to repay their bail-outs too quickly

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/5VMTAA/SUO9T/ORJT7X/R3LWYC/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=30

[Demeter]

16. Chinese get property jitters as sales fall

After more than a year of steadily tightening restrictions there is evidence that real estate prices in big cities have started to drop

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/5VMTAA/SUO9T/ORJT7X/ORPMXU/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=30

[Demeter]

17. Obama risks healthcare showdown in election year

The timing of the request for the Supreme Court to consider the law has surprised many

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/5VMTAA/SUO9T/ORJT7X/2O2RPM/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=30

[Demeter]

19. Revised US growth data bring relief

Revisions to growth and jobs figures suggest the US economy is further from a slide back into recession than previously feared

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/5VMTAA/SUO9T/ORJT7X/QN14DH/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=30

[Demeter]

20. Libya hopes to see economy take flight

Restoring the aviation industry is seen as critical to Libya’s fortunes, but airline staff say safety and commercial issues are being ignored

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/5VMTAA/SUO9T/ORJT7X/62MPTY/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=30

THE STUPID IS STRONG IN THIS ONE

[Demeter]

21. Talks on Dow and S&P index link-up

McGraw-Hill and CME are in talks to unite their respective index businesses in a joint venture, according to people familiar with the discussions

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/QM42II/NJPX36/204L2/JEI0JY/EXI8C4/28/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=30

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH SHUFFLE THE CARDS...ER, ASSETS

[Demeter]

22. UBS hires firm to help find new chief

The Swiss bank’s board has not contacted outside candidates and has declined to name the search firm involved

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/QM42II/NJPX36/204L2/JEI0JY/PFU5X9/28/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=30

[Demeter]

23. US Senate to vote on China tariffs

Proposed legislation would require taking renminbi undervaluation into account when calculating anti-subsidy import charges

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/J0VG55/MS3768/Z87P0/5VCSP0/U1B4SK/YT/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=29

[Demeter]

25. George Soros - How to stop a second Great Depression

Financial markets are driving the world towards another Great Depression with incalculable political consequences. The authorities, particularly in Europe, have lost control of the situation. They need to regain control and they need to do so now.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/ZE9K33/HYSAPK/IEP5S/30OQNX/VLGYAW/4O/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=29

[Demeter]

26. Howard Davies: A Tobin tax is a leap in the wrong direction

The European Commission has not distinguished itself during the eurozone crisis. Such leadership as we have seen has come from national governments, or indeed from Washington, where both Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund president, and Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, have shown initiative and urgency, rather than from Brussels.

Now, in what looks to be a make-or-break week for the whole euro project, commissioner Michel Barnier’s contribution has been to propose extending the French system of joint audits across the continent. Fiddling while the Treaty of Rome burns doesn’t quite capture it.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/UXDMSS/KQFZK3/IEP5S/QNFB5G/WT8I15/VU/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=29

WHITEWASH, OR EYEWASH?

[Demeter]

27. Quelle Surprise! SIGTARP Report Finds Citi, Bank of America Allowed to Leave TARP Prematurely

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/09/quelle-surprise-sigtarp-report-finds-citi-bank-of-america-allowed-to-leave-tarp-prematurely.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

We said at the time it was inexcusable for the Treasury to allow banks to repay the TARP as early as they did (US banks are still below the capital levels many experts consider to be desirable; Andrew Haldane of the Bank of England has made a well-substantiated case that higher capital levels cannot remedy the problem, since the social costs of a major bank blow up are so great, and you therefore need very tough restrictions on their activities).

And why were the bank so eager slip the TARP leash? To escape some pretty minor restrictions on executive compensation. This had NOTHING to do with the health of the enterprise and everything to do with executive greed. And not surprisingly, Treasury indulged it.

Due to the late (for me) hour, I’m relying on the report by Shahien Nasiripour of the Financial Times, who seems to be releasing the story before the actual SIGTARP report is out. My big reservation is why the line was drawn at Citi and Bank of America. Yes, they were clearly the weakest banks, but I don’t buy the implicit endorsement of the ability of all the rest of the TARP recipients to weather another financial crisis with no government support.

SIGTARP is upset that the Treasury went through the stress tests, which among other things, determined how much capital the banks would need to raise, then ignored its own findings. The SIGTARP discusses that Treasury effectively made up on the fly how much more capital the banks would need to scrounge up, with the required number being lower than the stress test number...

[Demeter]

28. Nevada AG Masto Gets Up to $57,000 Per Homeowner in Morgan Stanley Settlement

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/09/28/nevada-ag-masto-gets-up-to-57000-per-homeowner-in-morgan-stanley-settlement/

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto just reached a settlement with investment bank Morgan Stanley for up to $40 million, over deceptive practices in mortgage lending and securitization.

This may seem like a small number, but Morgan Stanley was not a big player in Nevada, and the case itself involves just a small slice of mortgages:

The New York-based company, with assets of some $831 billion, was investigated by Cortez Masto’s office for its role in buying and selling to investors some 3,000 subprime mortgages in Nevada.

In a settlement filed in Clark County District Court, called an “Assurance of Discontinuance,” Cortez Masto said the company’s Morgan Stanley Capital Holdings unit committed to improve practices to securitize Nevada mortgages, to refund and adjust interest rates for certain Nevada borrowers and to pay $7.2 million to prevent foreclosures and mortgage fraud in Nevada.

Overall, the settlement will provide relief valued at between $21 million to $40 million to 600 to 700 Nevada consumers, Cortez Masto’s office said.

You can do the math on this yourself. $40 million for 700 Nevada homeowners is $57,000 per person, a significant number. Even if this is at the low end you’re talking about $30,000. Given that the median asking price for a home in Las Vegas is down to $119,900 ($199,000 in Reno), that’s a significant chunk of change.

Put it this way: the “global settlement” with the state AGs aims to help 2 million borrowers, by their estimates. That would translate into $114 billion under the Masto standard.

*********************************************

UPDATE: Via email, Shahien Nasiripour reminds me that the foreclosure fraud settlement group was actually talking about helping three million borrowers. So that would be $171 billion, then. Recall that they’re looking at $17-$25 billion.

This settlement, which turned on incidents of deceptive practices (like lenders lying about the interest rate of a loan, appraised value of a property and the recast rate after a two-year teaser), is substantially similar to Masto’s proposed lawsuit against Bank of America. If anything the deceptive practices are bigger there and more substantial (including deceiving homeowners who sought loan modifications), and BofA was the servicer rather than the financier of an originator, like Morgan Stanley. In that lawsuit she may even seek criminal charges. And BofA has a much wider profile in Nevada and across the country than Morgan Stanley.

So if you look at $57,000 per homeowner in the Morgan Stanley settlement and apply it to BofA, you get a number that probably ranges into the billions, and that’s just one small state. Combine that with all of BofA’s other legal woes, including a new $50 billion private lawsuit over their Merrill Lynch acquisition, and you can see why people are filling in BofA on their dead pools.

[Demeter]

29. Bedtime

[Demeter]

30. Hard Truths Block Solutions to Foreclosure Crisis – But, I have the answers that will fix it.

http://mandelman.ml-implode.com/2011/09/hard-truths-block-solutions-to-foreclosure-crisis-but-i-have-the-answers-that-will-fix-it/

Here’s what’s really going on:

1. Homeowners at risk of foreclosure wanted their loans modified as they had been told could be done by the President of the United States, when introducing the Making Home Affordable program in the latter part of February 2009.
   
   
2. It didn’t go well for millions of homeowners, and not just because they lost their homes after being told their modification was “in progress,” but because overall, their servicers treated them with nothing short of utter contempt, with an appalling lack of professionalism, and with total disregard at a level usually reserved for insects found indoors. (Was that too subtle? Hope I wasn’t being to easy on them there.)
   
   
3. Homeowners first became frustrated, then angry, then desperate… and then, represented by legal counsel. The lawyers started looking closely at everything having to do with the mortgages, their associated notes and related assignments, endorsements, documents, and anything even potentially relevant. And they found that there were in fact big problems with how foreclosures were being conducted.
   
   
4. The idea that the banks were foreclosing illegally and/or improperly, and that they could potentially not even own the loans in question, spread like wild fire. Maybe the bank couldn’t take their homes after all. And the homeowners headed to court for on-the-job training to become lawyers, ready to do battle with the likes of Bank of America. Every encouraging decision started passing from blog to blog within hours of being available, and the bad decisions made for bad days.
   
   
5. Today, some hire lawyers to plead their cases, but many others are homeowners-turned-pro-se-litigants and they know more legal and securitization terminology than could have ever been imagined would ever be the case. They learn more each day as they prepare for their days in court. They walk around with their file folders filled with the legal paperwork that they hope will persuade a judge that their servicer has no right to foreclose, making the case that they lack legal standing because the securitization of their loans was improper, illegal, fraudulent, inadequate or should have otherwise not have been allowed.

BUT… the odds are that they won’t win their lawsuits, their legal arguments will not prevail and ultimately they will lose their homes to foreclosure. Many arrive in court having not made a mortgage payment in several years, and entirely unable to make up the amounts in arrears, which now include late fees and charges that have added significantly to their balance. Even the most experienced foreclosure defense attorneys who continue to argue with increasing skill that the securitization of mortgages should preclude foreclosure, find that judges are more interested in the fact that their clients haven’t made their mortgage payments… and the foreclosures march on, and on, and on....At least in part, it’s a question of monetary damages. How was a homeowner damaged because their note was not properly negotiated into a REMIC securitized trust? The homeowner wanted a home loan, the bank made that loan, and the homeowner signed the promissory note and got the home or loan they wanted. Then the bank sold that loan through the process of securitization… and they handled various aspects of that process so badly that many trusts don’t even know and therefore cannot prove which loans they are holding or supposed to hold. And truth be told, in many cases, as a matter of law, they don’t own any loans at all. Investors who thought they were investing in mortgage-backed securities, actually invested in nothing-backed securities.

But, the question for the judge hearing such a case brought by a delinquent homeowner is… how were homeowners damaged by the inadequacies of the securitization process? The answer is, and let’s be honest about this… they weren’t. A homeowner was not prejudiced by the fact that the bank did things wrong as far as the securitization process is concerned. And homeowners wouldn’t care about any of this… had their bank just modified their loan as they requested in the first place. They’re suing now, alleging that their loan is not owned by the trust foreclosing, among other things, but only because they couldn’t get their loan modified. They don’t want a free house… they just want a payment that will allow them to remain in their homes as they struggle to survive the worst recession in 70 years. And the judge knows that’s what this is all about too.

When a judge sees such a case come before him (or her), he has to ask himself what it is that he’s being asked to consider in terms of an outcome. It’s as if he asks the homeowner: What is it that you would want me to do, assuming I were to find in your favor? The judge knows what the other side wants… they want to foreclose and repossess the home, but what do homeowners want to see happen should they win? Do they want their loans to be modified? Yes, but the judge has no power to force the loan’s modification, he or she cannot interfere with the terms of a private contract. Decisions to modify loans are discretionary and no law requires that such decisions be made. And, understanding that limitation, the judge is not going to wipe out the mortgage and award the homeowner a free house because absent financial damages incurred by the homeowner resulting from the inadequacies of securitization, that wouldn’t be equitable either...The bank may have “un-clean hands,” because it failed to follow the rules and even broke several laws, but that didn’t directly damage the homeowner financially. Conversely, however, the homeowner is not appearing in court with “clean hands” either, as he or she is in default according to the terms of the contract he or she signed. Just as the homeowner is claiming that the party seeking to foreclose lacks legal standing as a result of not being able to prove ownership of the underlying note, the homeowner lacks legal standing to enforce such violations of the law in the securitization process because the homeowner was not directly damaged financially by those violations. The investor may have been damaged by a note not being properly negotiated into a trust in which he or she invested, but the homeowner is not the damaged party, so the homeowner lacks legal standing as far as those legal issues are concerned.

MUCH MORE AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS AT LINK

TODAY'S MUST READ AND A FIVE-CREDIT COURSE.

[Demeter]

31. Who created the very first (ANIMATED) cartoon in history?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090131183156AAmC8tG

No, it wasn't Walt Disney,

The first animated cartoon was created by the French director Émile Cohl. It was "Fantasmagorie" , released in 1908.

And then, it was released the very first successful animated cartoons: "Gertie the Dinosaur" by Winsor McCay. Considered the first example of true character animation.

What Wall Disney did was produce the first full-color cartoon in Technicolor, "Flowers and Trees", in 1931. Of course he created some cartoons before 1931 too ;) but not the first one

Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animated_ca…

[Demeter]

32. The History of Comic Books

http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/comics.htm


In 1827, Switzerland's Rudolphe Töpffer created a comic strip and continued on to publish seven graphic novels. In 1837, "The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck" was published by Rudolphe Töpffer and it is considered the earliest known comic book. In 1842, "The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck" became the first comic book published in the United States. "Obadiah Oldbuck" was a forty page book. Each page had several picture panels with accompanying text underneath.

In 1859, German poet and artist, Wilhelm Bush published caricatures in the newspaper Fliegende Blätter. In 1865, he published a famous comic called "Max und Moritz".

The 1895 "Yellow Kid" created by Richard Outcault has often been cited as being the first comic strip. The reason being is that Richard Outcault was the first artist to use the balloon, an outlined space on the page where what the characters spoke was written. However, comic strips and comic books were published before "Yellow Kid" debuted in the New York City newspaper "The World".

Around 1900, the terms "comics" and "comic strip" came into common use in the United States. Where did the word come from? The strips of pictures being printed in magazines and newspapers at that time were all funny or comic. At first newspaper comic strips were called "the funnies" and later the term comics became more popular. Early American comic books were often collections of reprints of newspaper comic strips...

[Demeter]

33. NOTES ON THE GROUND FROM 11th night of Occupy Wall Street

1. Demographics: Changing, indeed. More diverse, different ages. Some union people, college professors doing teach-ins, old lefties having a look-see. Also: the front line of the media has officially landed. Yesterday it was Michael Moore, today Susan Sarandon. Matt Taibbi says he's visiting tomorrow. Moore is coming back tomorrow to film the General Assembly with Laurence O'Donnell for his MSNBC show. I think O'Donnell is a jerk, but if they just sit back and film the process of the meeting, that would be a real breakthrough in changing the MSM narrative, I think. Right now, most of the people I talk to in my daily life still think OWS is a hippie fest.

2. Cops: Now there are two kinds of blue shirts on the scene--the regular patrol cops, and the (kinder, gentler) Community Relations cops in royal blue polo shirts. No ranking officer white shirts in view. When the community police are around, you know someone is worried about image. What this says to me is that the city's decided that more violence would be really bad for optics.

3. The Organization--continues to dazzle! After West's remarks, the meeting began with reports from Outreach Committees (they've teamed up with an important black radio station in Philadelphia for Occupy Philly, and they're going to support the Verizon worker's union strike), from the Medics who've started a counseling service, from techies who are doing Linux and open source teach-ins, and from the Laundry Committee, who've washed everything. They've even organized morning tours of Wall Street, which they're offering free to passing tourists!

4. Location, location location: It's becoming clearer that the choice of New York City, as opposed to say, Washington DC, for the launch of this effort, was genius. For what it says is, of course, that this movement is not about the US government. The real enemy is the Financial-Bankster complex. I have not heard or seen any mention of any political candidate or party inside the Park. Forget "post-partisan"--that was so 2008. This is a post-party movement. It is what we Correntians participating in this blog have been waiting for--but not in the form we expected!

5. Obama is dead, dead, dead. Really. These young people were his eager troops. And they've moved on. Way on. The talk on the ground is not about elections anymore. It's about transforming society.

And it's not about leaders anymore. Occupy Wall Street remains a messy, wonderful, chaotic, stunning collective. In eleven days, 500 protesters have succeeded in making Washington, Obama, presidents--heck, even elections seem as obsolete as a Commodore computer...The most interesting report though was from the committee that's drafting demands. This is the big "grownup" media sticking point (as in, "But What Do They Want? There's No Unified Message!"). But if you stick with the #occupywallstreet folks for the long haul, you begin to wonder just who are the "grownups." For their solution to hacking out a platform knocks me flat with amazement: The group is going to use the next few days to talk about these demands. And then here's what they'll do: on Friday, they will spread blank sheets of white paper all across the park. Some will have topic headings, some will be all blank. Magic markers will then be distributed, and everyone will write, in large letters, the issues and goals they think are most important. If you agree with someone's poster, you can put a "Check"...After the writing exercise, they'll collect all the papers and collate them into a larger online manifesto, which can then be debated/modified/changed online in a Wikipedia-style collaboration.

http://www.correntewire.com/dont_be_afraid_to_say_revolution

[Demeter]

36. Occupy Boston: smart, savvy, and aiming to emulate Wall Street protests

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/28/occupy-boston-wall-street

There were socialists, anti-poverty campaigners, students, anarchists,
computer hackers, the unemployed, and workers ranging from a
vet to an accountant.

And, numbering around 200 and meeting to plot until late in the night, a group of Bostonians have decided to recreate the anti-Wall Street protests that are gripping New York.

Unlike previous attempts, such as a march that fizzled out in Chicago with just 20 people, the people behind Occupy Boston showed a strong dose of media savvy and organisational skill on Monday night, as they drew a committed crowd of volunteers to their cause: to occupy a slice of the city. Local TV crews were in attendance at the evening mass planning meeting, and it had been flagged on the front pages of Boston's newspapers.

The move raises the first serious prospect of the Wall Street protests spreading beyond New York and comes as other events are also being planned in Los Angeles and Washington...

[Demeter]

37. Protesters plan to occupy London Stock Exchange

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8794169/Protesters-plan-to-occupy-London-Stock-Exchange.html

A group of protesters are organising an occupation of the London Stock Exchange to bring attention to what they see as unethical behaviour on the part of banks, following a similar demonstration on Wall Street. In a Facebook group called Occupy the London Stock Exchange organisers call on crowds to march on the exchange's headquarters at Paternoster Square and fortify it with tents and barricades "for a few months".

"Beginning on October 15, we want to see at least over 20,000 people flood in, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy the London Stock Exchange for a few months. Once there, we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices," reads the description of the protest on Facebook.

According to the group the protest will begin on Saturday October 15 and run until 11am on December 12.

The event currently has 225 confirmed attendees, with a further 121 tentative yes's, despite the site failing to list any aims or objectives for the event, or exactly what is being protested....

[Demeter]

34. Nine American Cities Going Broke

Of the 7,800 bonds in the U.S. secured by state or local governments, only 25 are currently speculative-grade, or junk-bonds, rated by Moody’s Ba1 or lower. Only municipalities received such low ratings, and the reasons vary. Moody’s report, “A Look at Speculative-Grade Local Governments in the Wake of the Recession,” details the economic issues that have lead each into junk-bond territory. 24/7 Wall St. has analyzed the nine worst cities, whose credit rating is Ba2 and lower. Each of these municipalities faces a unique situation, Moody’s explains, and the list is not indicative of a greater trend. Most municipalities, Moody’s writes in the report “face deeper and longer-standing problems than investment-grade issuers.” Analysis by 24/7 Wall St., however, reveals a number of commonalities between the lowest-rated areas.

For instance, a number of the municipalities on the list are facing shrinking tax bases possibly exacerbated by the recession and high unemployment. Some cities, such as Detroit and Pontiac, have had their economies devastated by the recession. Their populations have decreased dramatically and struggling major tax-paying corporations have contributed much. Other cities have excessive liabilities that they are unable to meet. Central Falls, RI, declared bankruptcy in August due largely to its bloated pension plan. Strafford County, NH, spends two-fifths of its budget on a single nursing home. It funds residents’ Medicaid, but is not receiving full reimbursement from the state, causing multi-million dollar deficits. Other municipalities have simply made bad investments. Harrison, NJ, built a $200 million sports arena that has not brought in the amount of money the city was expecting. Similarly, Salem, NJ, built a large office building downtown with the intention of leasing office space. But construction delays caused lease payment delays and money has been taken from the debt fund numerous times.

24/7 Wall St. has looked at the nine municipal bodies with the worst credit ratings assigned by Moody’s, not including school systems, rated Ba2 and lower. To get a sense of how these areas are doing, we also included most recent median household income figures from the Census Bureau. This level of credit rating implies a substantial risk of default for investors who bought these bonds with the expectation of being repaid.

This is 24/7 Wall St.’s list of Nine American Cities Going Broke:

1. Central Falls, RI
   
2. Pontiac, MI
   
3. Jefferson County, AL
   
4. Harrison, NJ
   
5. Detroit, MI
   
6. Salem, NJ
   
7. Riverdale, IL
   
8. Strafford County, NH
   
9. Camden, NJ

Read more: Nine American Cities Going Broke - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2011/09/27/nine-american-cities-going-broke/#ixzz1ZWLpqW6j

[Demeter]

38. Germany slams 'stupid' US plans to boost EU rescue fund

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8793010/Germany-slams-stupid-US-plans-to-boost-EU-rescue-fund.html

Germany and America were on a collision course on Tuesday night over the handling of Europe's debt crisis after Berlin savaged plans to boost the EU rescue fund as a "stupid idea" and told the White House to sort out its own mess before giving gratuitous advice to others. German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble said it would be a folly to boost the EU's bail-out machinery (EFSF) beyond its €440bn lending limit by deploying leverage to up to €2 trillion, perhaps by raising funds from the European Central Bank.

"I don't understand how anyone in the European Commission can have such a stupid idea. The result would be to endanger the AAA sovereign debt ratings of other member states. It makes no sense," he said.

Mr Schauble told Washington to mind its own businesss after President Barack Obama rebuked EU leaders for failing to recapitalise banks and allowing the debt crisis to escalate to the point where it is "scaring the world".

"It's always much easier to give advice to others than to decide for yourself. I am well prepared to give advice to the US government," he said...

IT'S QUITE HUMOROUS, AND PROBABLY UNINTENTIONALLY SO

MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

39. US Becomes a Center of Poverty-wage Manufacturing By Andre Damon

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/sep2011/pers-s29.shtml

Earlier this month, the World Socialist Web Site reported that production workers are now being hired at $12 an hour at Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, and that BMW has opened a new assembly line in Spartanburg, South Carolina that employs mostly contract workers earning $15 per hour.

These wages, among the lowest for autoworkers anywhere in the developed world, are the result of the unrelenting assault on living standards of American workers over the last three decades. This has reached new heights since the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008.

With the full backing of the Obama administration, US and foreign-based corporations are exploiting levels of mass unemployment and poverty not seen since the Great Depression in order to transform the US into a cheap labor platform in direct competition with Mexico, China and other low-wage countries.

Tennessee, like nearly half of all US states, has an unemployment rate hovering around 10 percent, and its real jobless rate is probably double. When Volkswagen began taking applications for 1,700 jobs in Chattanooga, it received over 65,000 responses in the first three weeks. On the basis of cutting labor costs by at least a third at its US factory, Volkswagen is able to sell cars for $7,000 less than comparable models made in Germany...

[Demeter]

40. Germany will leave the euro, says leading commentator

http://www.citywire.co.uk/global/germany-will-leave-the-euro-says-leading-commentator/a528716?ref=citywire-global-latest-news-list

The Eurozone crisis will end up with Germany quitting the common currency says economic commentator Philippa Malmgren of Principalis.

‘My view is that it is Germany that will have to pull out of the euro,‘ said Malmgren, speaking at Threadneedle Investments’ European conference in London on Thursday. ‘The decision has already been made by the government that leaving the euro is a possibility...I think they have already got the printing machines going and are bringing out the old deutschmarks they have left over from when the euro was introduced.’

A former economic advisor to George W. Bush during his presidential campaign, Malmgren recognises a German exit would be a radical move and would mean a sudden rise in its export prices. But she believes Germany’s industries are in a strong enough position to deal with high prices in the near future.

Leaving a currency union has happened many times before, she added, pointing to a report published by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 2007 which analysed countries’ departures from monetary unions. The report entitled 'Checking out: Exits from Currency Unions' analysed close to 70 distinct countries that left a currency union. It found that leavers tend to be larger, richer and more democratic and also tend to have higher inflation...

[Demeter]

41. Today is My Football Attendance Day

and I'll be AWOL until late tonight. So pick up the slack and post a 'toon or a diatribe or maybe something plausibly factual, and we'll get together before bedtime...

[Demeter]

42. "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you have to focus on" -

- G W Bush

[DemReadingDU]

45. So true

In fact, years ago I read an article or heard on radio, that probably 90% people pay no attention to their government, whether it be local, state, national. And that's what the leaders count on to pass their laws. Most people have no clue what goes on, they have other priorities, and don't get involved until they are personally affected.

[bread_and_roses]

43. K & R but no cartoon

Even when I was a kid, I didn't like "the cartoons" on TV - though when I was older I DID enjoy Boris and Natasha - was that the Bullwinkle show? And the only cartoons I ever see now are the one's you guys post. I do sometimes really love political cartoons - there's one from a few years back, showing two mouldering, fully dressed skeletons in chairs in a waiting room - the sign above the empty receptionist desk says "Health Care Reform." I was out of town for work Wed and Fri, and staggered around catching up on Thursday, and am really drooping today - I'll see what I can come up with for the thread browsing around - but probably won't be a cartoon, lol.

[Tansy_Gold]

44. I never liked cartoons either

The BF turned on some horrible animated thing last night after the football game and I had to get up and leave the room.

When the kids were little, they watched some cartoons, but not many; we weren't heavily invested in TV because we were too far away from metro areas to have decent broadcast reception and didn't have cable until they were in high school and had developed other interests.

But like you, I loved Boris and Natasha. Maybe because it was so clear that Natasha was the brains as well as the good looks in that pair :evilgrin:.

TG

[bread_and_roses]

47. Not to imply, though, that I don't think this theme apt - in fact -

what theme could be more apt - particularly to "the market" over the past few weeks - not to mention years, decades, forever. Also to the general state of affairs, from apple pie to zebras. No matter where we look ...

[Demeter]

49. Reality Itself Is Becoming a Caricature

We are doomed to inanity or insanity. Or both.

[bread_and_roses]

60. that it is ...and a sophisticated literary "cartoon"

... it is one of the reasons I get such a kick out of "ancient aliens." It seems to embody so many of the intellectual ills besetting us. Credulousness. Scientific illiteracy. A preference for conspiracy, prophecy, "saviors and demons," and "secret knowledge" rather than emphasis on human agency (which could be in our power to alter). And maybe most of all the longing for community and meaningfulness that is so absent in our work, our living arrangements, our family and social connections. I am always struck by how cheerful and - maybe the word is fulfilled - so many of the "ancient astronaut-ers" seem to be. I am convinced that it is because they feel themselves part of a "brotherhood" (I use the word deliberately - they seem to be mostly men).

I am a great fan of what I call "puzzle books" - the one I enjoyed most is "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco. None other rises to that except maybe Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum." Unfortunately, at the time I read it I could not give it the intense concentration it needs to follow the tale, but I mean to go back to it someday.

It is in a sense a "cartoon" work of just about every conspiracy theory out there. From wiki -

Societies in the novel

The following are some of the secret and not-so-secret groups that appear in Foucault's Pendulum:

* The Knights Templar (the main players)
* The Rosicrucians
* The Gnostics
* The Freemasons
* The Bavarian Illuminati
* The Elders of Zion
* The Assassins of Alamut
* The Cabalists
* The Bogomils
* The Cathars
* The Jesuits
* An obscure one-time reference to the fictional Cthulhu cult through a quote from The Satanic Rituals - "I'a Cthulhu! I'a S'ha-t'n!". The words closed a ritual composed by Michael Aquino. Originally just "I'a Cthulhu!", Anton LaVey added "I'a S'ha-t'n!" to give it a "Satanic touch".<7>

The following are actually not involved with the Plan:

* Panta Rei
* Candomblé and Umbanda adherents
* Opus Dei (mentioned in passing)
* Ordo Templi Orientis
* Mormons - Signor Garamond included them in his list of "occult" organizations to contact about book ideas, explaining "I read about them in a detective story, too, but they may not exist anymore."

[xchrom]

46. Corporate debt to benefit from Fed’s ‘Twist’

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/corporate-debt-to-benefit-from-feds-twist-2011-09-30?link=MW_Nav_FP

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Corporate bonds could get a boost from the Federal Reserve’s shifting of its Treasury holdings -- an effort dubbed ‘Operation Twist’ -- both from increased demand for higher-yielding assets and by keeping it relatively cheap for companies to borrow money.

Next week the Fed will start selling some of its shorter-rated securities and buying longer-dated ones in an attempt to support economic growth, a move that quickly pushed down yields on longer-dated Treasury bonds, which are the benchmark for a wide range of company loans as well as consumer borrowing costs and mortgage rates.

“The Fed is looking for this to carry through to the broader marketplace, including lower mortgage rates and corporate borrowing rates, hoping these will ultimately have a positive impact on the broader economy,” said Chris Molumphy, chief investment officer of Franklin Templeton’s fixed-income group. “Corporations will benefit from lower borrowing costs. The question is will the benefit be enough to have a meaningful impact.”

The gap between the rate companies pay to borrow and U.S. Treasurys grew in the last couple months to its widest in more than two years, since the heart of the financial crisis. The gap tends to increase when investors become more worried and seek the relative safety of U.S. debt instead of riskier assets.

[bread_and_roses]

48. HURRAH! Finally, AFL-CIO blog takes note of Occupy Wall Street

I have been waiting and watching - even the airline pilots did not initially get a mention - at least that I saw - but finally, on Sept 30:

http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/09/30/more-working-people-joining-wall-street-protests/#more-61528

More Working People Joining Wall Street Protests

Some of New York City’s largest unions and community groups are joining the “Occupy Wall Street” protests ... This morning, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka expressed support for the protests. Earlier this week, more than 700 uniformed pilots, members of the Air Line Pilots (ALPA) , took to the streets outside of Wall Street demanding better pay.

The executive board of the New York Transit Workers Union/Transport Workers Local 100 voted unanimously to support Occupy Wall Street. Local 100 has 38,000 active members and covers 26,000 retirees, according to its website.

About time!!!!!! But better late than never.

And my heartfelt, profound thanks to the protesters who stayed despite dwindling numbers, media black-out, pundit scorn ... and are seeing the tide turn for them. Thank you thank you thank you thank you - how I wish I were there in person with you. You are doing the only important thing that is being done right now.

[Tansy_Gold]

53. Everything you said --- ME, TOO!!!!

I'm self employed, and there's never going to be union protection for artists or "independent contractors" like my day job. But when the workers who ARE or CAN BE unionized are paid fairly for their labor, they will have money to spend on the things I make.

in staunch solidarity,



Tansy Gold

[Demeter]

50. Report from the U of M / Minnesota Game

Poor Minnesota! It was a slaughter. 58 to Zero.

Their defense was incredibly weak. It took two of them to stop one of us, and they had maybe one fleet runner, who didn't get much opportunity...

While Michigan had a QB that danced on the field, a kicker that worked all through the game and only missed once, a defense that held that line, and some of the fastest legs I've ever seen since my ex disappeared...

Many in the audience left at halftime, but they missed the last touchdown, where Minn. fumbled, Michigan grabbed and ran nearly the whole field. It was amaizing...to coin a word!

The day started cold, gray and windy. I took a heavy duty lawn and leaf bag to use as a windbreaker for feet and legs. But by the second quarter, the sun broke through, the clouds vanished, and since the seat was on the north behind the goal post, I now have sunburned nose, cheeks, chin and lips.

If I ever am offered a ticket again, I'll gladly go, but I must make one little confession...

I wish it were a Quidditch match. There's fewer players to keep track of...

[Demeter]

51. Since it's a paper route night...I'm going to try to catch 5 hours sleep

See you in the morning...with any luck.

[Fuddnik]

52. Occupy Tampa Bay. 10/01/2011

Had about 150 great people show up on very little notice. A lot of good people, and a great event.

Now, on to the main event in Washington. I'll be posting pics during the week, and links to youtube videos I shoot. And some live blogging.

[bread_and_roses]

55. With you in spirit ---and can't wait for the blog! (n/t)

[DemReadingDU]

58. Looking forward to your pics and video!

and which website will you live blog?

[xchrom]

57. Doubts grow, not economy, under UK austerity drive

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_POLITICS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-02-11-45-05

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- Jobs have been lost, libraries shuttered, sailors sacked and street lights dimmed - Britain is beginning to taste the bitter medicine David Cameron warned was necessary to fix its wounded economy. It's left some wondering: Is the remedy worse than the symptoms?

As Cameron's Conservative Party gathered in Manchester Sunday for its annual convention, the prime minister faced a test of his resolve to tame the country's ballooning budget deficit - his key priority since taking office in May 2010 at the head of Britain's first coalition government since World War II.

Though the sharpest measures of a 81 billion pound ($126 billion) four-year program of public spending cuts are yet to bite, there are fears that the drastic action intended to slash Britain's debts has stalled the country's stuttering economic growth - a point of growing unease between the Conservatives and their left-of-center partners, the Liberal Democrats.

Figures released last month showed growth in Britain had slowed to 0.2 percent in the second quarter, diminishing hopes that the country's businesses can generate new jobs to replace public sector posts being lost under the austerity plan. In the last year about 250,000 public sector workers have been laid off, and the country's jobless rate was 7.9 percent in the period between May and July.

[bread_and_roses]

61. A wonderful, affectionately mocking cartoon from the women's movement (in words...

...unfortunately - I don't have a saved copy and it was published long, long years ago - a tribute to it's excellence that I've never forgotten it). As best I remember -

Several women are standing in a field, resting their weight on hoes, looking down bemusedly at a little alien and his saucer. One is saying (words to the effect) "well, I suppose we could call a meeting and come to a consensus on someone to term a "leader" for purposes of discussion if that's so important to you...."

[Demeter]

62. Love It!

So, the Kid and I went to the live broadcast from Albert Hall of the 25th anniversary of "Phantom of the Opera". A very nicely done extravaganza.

I regret to report that I slept through most of the second act. The papers were two hours late for some unknown reason (it certainly wasn't a breaking story) and so while I was up at 1:30, couldn't do anything until 4...



I had to contrast the theater, where I spend every free minute (on either side of the stage) with the sporting world (and politics).

Aside from improvisational comedy, theater is planned out to the millisecond. Things are expected to come off on schedule, in tune, etc.

In sport and politics, there may be a game plan, but flexibility is the name of the game...and taking advantage of any opening your opposition gives you is the route to victory.

Oh, the politicians may try to create their little rules and procedures, to channel or stop up the creativity and make it look orderly and planned, but a good opponent can use political jujitsu to throw the whole scheme into the trash.

I've known it for years, the GOP is full of better politicians--if by better, one means "getting their way".

[kickysnana]

66. Heaven forbid they should have an auto dialer to tell you when lateness happens.

Not unbearable when it happens occasionally but when they were driving the unions out of the Pioneer Press it got to be everyday you had no idea when papers would arrive. Most people had day jobs or other busy days. Gee Mr Customer, I didn't get my papers until 7:30am so it was not possible to get them to you by 7am but that is not what they heard when they called CS. They charged me for an undelivered paper. I was told too bad.

At the same time they sent out an outside crew to take orders and they turned in my case 50 false orders and when we went to collect we were told they did not order the paper and of course would not pay. I lost more than $700 in 6 weeks that both way as we were instructed to collect at the end of the 6 weeks.. Needless to say I quit and gave the documentation to the bankruptcy lawyer who gave it to the judge who told them that I didn't owe them. I had the start delivery orders and letters from the customers saying they never ordered the paper and a listing of when I got the paper those days. Sunday delivery took 2 1/2 hours summer, 3 or more winter. And we just had a medium size route.

Can you imagine the amount of money they made out of the pockets of their carriers at that time? Scuttlebutt was that they were afraid the independent carriers would somehow side with the Union drivers. Some routes had been in families for two or three generations.

[Demeter]

67. At least we don't do collections

That ended around 2000.

[Demeter]

63. Wells Fargo accused of forging loan documents

http://www.lvrj.com/business/wells-fargo-accused-of-forging-loan-documents-130337818.html?ref=818

A Las Vegas attorney who represents people facing foreclosure has accused Wells Fargo of forging loan documents. The allegation is the latest sign that efforts to hold mortgage lenders accountable are escalating in Nevada...In court papers filed this month in Clark County District Court, attorney Dave Crosby alleged bank employees committed forgery and fraud in making a $350,000 loan to a father of four who was unemployed at the time.

"They forged signatures, they backdated documents," Crosby said. "We've got them cold."

Crosby said the bank has presented two deeds of trust for the same property. One bears the signature of Olivia A. Todd, who on Jan. 27, 2010, was identified as an assistant secretary with MERS, Inc., a mortgage servicer from the Phoenix area and a co-defendant in the lawsuit. But on Feb. 16, 2010, Todd's signature appears on a second deed of trust, where she is identified as the firm's president. Both assignments were notarized as authentic, Crosby said in court papers.

Crosby made his allegations in a request to have a judge review three failed mediations between him and his clients, Ryan and Mical Henderson of Las Vegas, and lawyers with Wells Fargo, formerly Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

[Demeter]

64. Literally Betting On High Unemployment

http://www.thewashingtoncurrent.com/2011/09/literally-betting-on-high-unemployment.html

While most Americans will be hoping next week's federal unemployment report for September delivers some glimmer of improvement for the nation's grim jobs picture, others could be literally betting on the opposite to be true.

Millions of Americans may be out of work and struggling to make ends meet, but an outfit in the U.K. called City Index, which describes itself as a "spread betting provider" says it will be offering "one point spreads on a number of key markets to help traders take advantage of the anticipated volatility" in various global financial markets following the release of the Labor Department's anticipated October 7 release of U.S. employment data.

Betting on the outcome of U.S. employment data falls within an obscure form financial derivatives known as a "contract for difference," or CFD. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_for_difference

City Index says it has everything you need to bet right here: http://www.cityindex.co.uk/spread-betting/

Not likely to be participating, however, are the 14 million Americans currently unemployed and looking for work, including the 6 million locked in the fright of long-term unemployment, those who have been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer. Finding a job remains painfully difficult. The share of the population with a job, which plummeted in the recession from 62.7 percent in December 2007 to levels last seen in the mid-1980s, was 58.2 percent in August and has not been above 58.5 percent in 15 months, according to data from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington think tank.

The unemployed aren't likely to be worried, however, about what the September unemployment figures mean for Wall Street, the U.S. dollar, or the Euro. These folks will be more concerned with paying the rent, keeping the lights on another month, and when and if their meager unemployment benefits will run dry...Still, City Index offers this helpful disclaimer: "Spread betting and CFD trading are leveraged products which can result in losses greater than your initial deposit. Ensure you fully understand the risks." That's good advice -- if you're lucky enough to have the cash to spare in the first place.

SOUNDS LIKE THAT BETTING BOOK SO BELOVED OF WRITERS OF REGENCY ROMANCES...

[Demeter]

65. THANK YOU ALL FOR STOPPING IN

Next weekend will be better...no social events scheduled.

I had a theme in mind...maybe by Friday I'll remember what it was....