The Moderate Man

Did You Make This Kid Rich?

2012-02-02T12:09:00.000-06:00

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook

How much did you receive for being so kind?.....Silly you.

Make the boys at the banks sweat....delete your Facebook account. You'll survive. It'll be fun.

Brits Making Bankers Pay For Excesses

2012-02-01T17:06:00.000-06:00

(BBC) Former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred Goodwin has had his knighthood removed.

Mr Goodwin, who was heavily criticised over his role in the bank's near-collapse in 2008, was given the honour by the Labour government in 2004.

The Queen cancelled and annulled the title following Whitehall advice.

Party leaders, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, welcomed the decision. In the past, only convicted criminals or people struck off professional bodies have had knighthoods taken away.

Mr Goodwin oversaw the multi-billion-pound deal to buy Dutch rival ABN Amro at the height of the financial crisis in 2007, which led to RBS having to be bailed out to the tune of £45bn by taxpayers.

There had been a growing clamour for Mr Goodwin to be stripped of his honour following thousands of job losses at RBS and in the banking industry since then, and the impact on the wider economy.

Right-wing Favorite Now Decries Capitalism Excesses

2012-02-01T16:52:00.000-06:00

(derSpiegel) Political scientist Francis Fukuyama was once the darling of American neo-conservatives. In a SPIEGEL interview, the author of "The End of History" explains why he now believes that the excesses of capitalism are a threat to democracy and asks why there is no "Tea Party on the left."

Fukuyama: We have unthinkingly embraced a certain version of globalization that assumed we had to move very quickly into this post-industrial, post-manufacturing world. Doing so, we forgot that the whole reason real socialism never took off in the US was the fact that the modern economy seemed to produce middle-class societies in which the bulk of the population could enjoy a middle-class status. They worked in industries that were abolished in our countries and transferred to countries like China.

SPIEGEL: Even if members of the middle class held on to their jobs, they saw their income stagnate or even decline, while a few of globalization's winners at the top reaped outsize rewards. The level of income inequality in advanced nations is greater than ever before. What effect does that have on our societies?

Fukuyama: It is not good for democracy. If income is relatively evenly distributed and there are not very sharp differences between rich and poor, you have a greater sense of community. You have a greater sense of trust. You do not have parts of the community that have superior access to the political system that they can use to advance their own interests ...

SPIEGEL: … all of which undermines the democratic process.

Fukuyama: What you are going to see in a democracy with a weaker middle class is much more populism, more internal conflict, an inability to resolve distributional issues in an orderly way. In the United States right now, you do have this return of populism. It should be on the left, but actually most of it is on the right. If you talk to Tea Party members about their feelings regarding the government, they are very passionate. They hate the government. They think they have been betrayed by elites.

SPIEGEL: Americans, however, are beginning to discuss the problem of social inequality much more openly.

Fukuyama: They are slowly beginning to realize it. The recent public focus on inequality and the Occupy Wall Street movement are harbingers of change in that direction. The trouble is that in the United States it is extremely difficult to mobilize people around pure class issues. President Barack Obama was ostracized as a "European socialist" when he brought up the idea of higher taxes on the rich. These class debates are historically unpopular -- except for a very brief period in the 1930s during the Great Depression.

All You Need To Know

2012-02-01T14:32:00.000-06:00

Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO

(Bloomberg) Mitt Romney’s investment background, criticized by some of his Republican presidential rivals, is helping him build a financial advantage over them.
In the fourth quarter of last year, eight of the 10 biggest donors to Romney, co-founder of Boston-based Bain Capital LLC, a private-equity firm, worked for banks and investment funds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg based on U.S. Federal Election Commission information released yesterday. Citigroup Inc. (C) employees gave $196,600. Those at JPMorgan Chase & Co. donated $180,518, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) workers contributed $106,580.

Making Oneself Relevant

2012-01-28T12:19:00.000-06:00

NEW YORK — The Rev. Jesse Jackson is entering the fray over The Recording Academy's cuts to its Grammy categories: He's asking to meet with the president of the organization and has raised the possibility of protests with the awards less than two weeks away.

The civil rights activist sent a letter to Neil Portnow, the president and CEO of the Academy, and expressed his dismay over the Academy's decision last April to cut its categories from 109 to 78, the biggest overhaul in its then 53-year history. In the letter, Jackson said he had been talking to members of the entertainment community and asked that his organization, the Rainbow Push Coalition, "meet with you urgently to express our concerns and to see if we might help resolve this conflict ... and allow the Grammys to do what they do best."

Democrats' Awakening

2012-01-26T10:33:00.000-06:00

A Telling Sidelight

(NYT) "For two years, when their party controlled both houses of Congress and the White House, Democratic leaders failed to change the rules on “carried interest” to ensure that private equity titans and venture capitalists pay more than a 15 percent tax rate on fees reaped from their investor clients. Democrats hardly mentioned raising the 15 percent tax rates on dividends and capital gains, the largest reason the super-rich pay less of their income in taxes than many middle-class families."

Andrew Adler Suggests Mossad Kill Obama

2012-01-23T15:15:00.000-06:00

(Haaretz) The owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Andrew Adler, who suggested Israel should assassinate U.S. President Barack Obama, has resigned from his post, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on Monday.

Adler, who has since apologized for his article, listed three options for Israel to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons in an article published in his newspaper last Friday. The first is to launch a pre-emptive strike against Hamas and Hezbollah, the second is to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and the third is to “give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place and forcefully dictate that the United States’ policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies.”

Grand Canyon Safe For 20 Years

2012-01-09T15:41:00.000-06:00

(treehugger) After nearly two years of discussion over whether or not uranium mining would be allowed near the Grand Canyon, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to announce approval of a 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining claims in a million-acre buffer zone around the Grand Canyon, The New York Times reports.

The Times says the decision "would allow a small number of existing uranium and other hard rock mining operations in the region to continue while barring the new claims.Secretary Salazar suspended new uranium claims on public lands surrounding the Grand Canyon for two years, overturning a Bush administration policy that encouraged thousands of new claims when the price of uranium soared in 2006 and 2007."

Investors Pay Germany For Bonds

2012-01-09T15:38:00.000-06:00

Germany sells six-month bonds at negative yields

(BBC) Investors are flocking to havens to store their cash, amid continuing worries about the eurozone debt crisis.

Germany sold 3.9bn euros (£3.2bn) of six-month bonds at an average yield of -0.0122%, the first auction with a negative yield.

That means investors are effectively willing to pay Germany for the privilege of lending to it.

Ya Gets What Ya Pays For

2012-01-09T15:34:00.000-06:00

(Haaretz) American billionaire Sheldon Adelson, close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and owner of the Israeli daily Israel Hayom, has given $5 million to an independent group backing Newt Gingrich's presidential bid.

A person familiar with the situation said Adelson — founder and majority owner of Las Vegas-based company that owns Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem — made the contribution Friday to Winning Our Future, a pro-Gingrich super PAC. The person said Adelson would spend heavily to assist whichever candidate wins the Republican nomination.

Addressing a Hanukkah celebration for hundreds of youths visiting Israel as part of the Taglit Birthright program on Sunday, Adelson said, “Read the history of those who call themselves Palestinians, and you will hear why [Newt] Gingrich said recently that the Palestinians are an invented people.

UP!!! Chris Hayes!!!

2011-12-26T06:12:00.000-06:00

Probably just because of my age....but this kid seems to have overdosed on strong lattes and sugar...

Too Bad...I Got Mine!

2011-12-26T04:37:00.000-06:00

(Bloomberg) John Paulson, the billionaire money manager mired in the worst slump of his career, lost 10.5 percent in his Gold Fund this year even as the metal heads for its 11th straight annual gain, according to people familiar with the fund’s performance.

The fund, which invests in mining stocks and other gold- related securities, remains the best performer in Paulson’s $28 billion fund family this year. His Paulson Advantage Fund, which seeks to profit from corporate events such as takeovers and bankruptcies, has fallen about 35 percent. The performance numbers for the two funds are from Dec. 28, 2010, through Dec. 20, 2011, and may not reflect returns for all shareholders, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Paulson lives on the Upper East Side of New York City. He also has homes in Southampton, New York and Aspen, Colorado.

Paulson became a billionaire by short-selling subprime mortgages in 2007, and made $3.5 billion that year. In 2010, he beat a hedge-fund record by making nearly $5 billion.

2011-12-25T07:04:00.002-06:00

Arms Dealer/Hollywood Tycoon

2011-12-25T06:58:00.000-06:00

Arnon Milchan is my fly open?

(NYT) “Confidential: The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon Arnon Milchan,” written by Meir Doron and Joseph Gelman, and set for publication on July 30 by Gefen Books, now holds that Mr. Milchan — whose credits include “Love and Other Drugs” and “Knight and Day” — at least through the mid-1980s was a full-fledged operative for Israel’s top-secret intelligence agency, Lakam. (The acronym is from the Hebrew for the blandly named Science Liaison Bureau.)

In that capacity, according to the book, Mr. Milchan supervised government-backed accounts and front companies that financed “the special needs of the entirety of Israel’s intelligence operations outside the country.”

The “special needs” serviced by Mr. Milchan, who is now 66 years old, included buying components to build and maintain Israel’s nuclear arsenal. But with the indictment in 1985 of Richard Kelly Smyth, an aerospace executive who had made illegal shipments of nuclear triggers through Milchan companies, Mr. Milchan unexpectedly found his arms-dealing in the news even as he was wrangling with Universal Pictures over the near collapse of a movie, “Brazil,” directed by Terry Gilliam.

Mr. Milchan’s disclaimer about profiteering provoked further research into how various companies set up by Mr. Milchan or associated with Milchan Brothers traded in arms for Israel and other countries. While doing so, he set aside money in accounts for use by Israel, allowing that country’s prime minister “to execute decisions beyond Israel’s borders without the need for the formal budgeting, cabinet approvals, petty internal politics, or leaks to the press that might endanger the operation.”

In the late 1990s, the News Corporation, which owns Fox, paid $200 million for a 20 percent stake in Mr. Milchan’s Regency Enterprises. A News Corporation spokeswoman, Teri Everett, had no immediate response to a query about the company’s reason for backing Mr. Milchan, and about any reaction by its chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, to revelations in the new book. (Mr. Milchan’s latest film for Fox, the comedy “Monte Carlo,” opened to soft reviews and modest prospects a few weeks ago.)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T10:11:00.000-06:00

Stop Being Mean To Jamie!!

2011-12-23T12:36:00.000-06:00

Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO, recently bemoaning the fact that most of the lesser people find him and his ilk distasteful:

“Acting like everyone who’s been successful is bad and because you’re rich you’re bad, I don’t understand it,” the JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO told an audience member who asked about hostility toward bankers. “Sometimes there’s a bad apple, yet we denigrate the whole.”

Dimon, 55, whose 2010 compensation was $23 million, joined billionaires including hedge-fund manager John Paulson and Home Depot Inc. co-founder Bernard Marcus in using speeches, open letters and television appearances to defend themselves and the richest 1 percent of the population.

Uhh...Jamie....perhaps it has something to do with this:

Big Bank Profile: JPMorgan Chase

Federal taxpayer bailout received: $94.7 billion
Lobbying fees in 9 months after bailout: $4.2 million
Campaign contributions in 2008 federal elections: $6.0 million
Profits for 1998-2008: $97.6 billion
Profits for the first half of 2009: $4.86 billion
Bank fees for first half of 2009: $3.45 billion
Change in bank account fees (2003-08): +249.5%
Percent of first half 2009 profit from fees: 71%
Credit card income for first half of 2009: $3.56 billion
Median JPMorgan Chase bank teller wage: $10.58/hour or $22,006 annually
2008 CEO Jamie Dimon pay: $19.7 million (893 times median teller wage)
2008 bonus pool: $8.7 billion
First half 2009 bonus and compensation pool: $14.5 billion
Cash bonuses (top 5 execs) last 10 years: $254.9 million
Effective tax rate in 2008: -33.4%
Offshore subsidiaries in tax havens: 53

An Alternative Dimension

2011-12-21T15:43:00.000-06:00

4th Best President? You've got to be kidding me!

“The issue here is not going be a list of accomplishments. As you said yourself, Steve, you know, I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president — with the possible exceptions of Johnson, F.D.R., and Lincoln — just in terms of what we’ve gotten done in modern history. But, you know, but when it comes to the economy, we’ve got a lot more work to do.”
(Politico)

The "Democracy" of the Middle East

2011-12-20T08:02:00.000-06:00

(Haaretz)

Cnaan Advertising, the company that places advertisements on Egged buses in Jerusalem, has refused to carry ads for activists campaigning in support of women's equality.

The ads all show fully-dressed women. But Cnaan, which owns the franchise for bus advertising in Jerusalem, nevertheless refused.

The company has refused to place ads featuring women on buses for several years, claiming they are not worth its while because Haredim vandalize the buses.

Cnaan's attorney, Ido Frishta, replied that the company cannot run bus ads with women's images, because they lead to vandalism. Cnaan suggested the movement either make do with advertising on billboards or post a NIS 50,000 guarantee to cover any vandalism damages.

The sex segregation of busses has become one of the hottest topics in Israeli domestic politics, coming to a head last week with the story of Tanya Rosenblit who refused to move to the back of a bus on the order of a religious Jewish man.

Tanya Rosenblit has made her stand, but she wasn't the first. In 2006, Miriam Shear was slapped, kicked and punched by a group of Orthodox Jewish men on a Jerusalem bus for refusing to move to the back.

Your Rules Don't Apply To Us!

2011-12-19T12:42:00.000-06:00

Rep. Eric Cantor, (R Goldman Sachs)

In a strange and unexpected twist, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives is now blocking progress on a bill that would definitively outlaw insider trading by federal lawmakers.

The Republican sponsor of the bill in the House, Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus of Alabama, had scheduled a markup of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act for next week. But on Wednesday, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia cancelled the markup session.

Cantor reportedly said he blocked the bill to give Congress more time to examine the issue. Critics of the move, however, fear that any delay could kill the bill entirely.

December 7, 1941

2011-12-07T06:52:00.000-06:00

You Don't Belong In The Market

2011-11-21T11:44:00.000-06:00

...the only people trading now are not really people...they are software...softwares do not have savings accounts, houses or children...they are just softwares. Contrary to the belief expressed by some very silly real people, we cannot "grow" our way out of this economic hell-hole. While production may be up...and the cost of production may be down...the technology that enables this phenomenon consumes none of its products. Until now...the only consumers identifiable are still just humans. And, while the robots have jobs, the humans have not. While the large bailed-out banks and hedge-fund managers have lots of your money, there are only limited numbers of mega-yachts that can be bought. Admittedly, our "free trade agreement" mania does try to help by providing jobs for Chinese and Indian people who make refrigerators cheaper than your Uncle Willy, but that really won't help you in the long run when you can't afford to put that Christmas Spam in one.

The stock market is a scam. The US government is a sham. You have less this year than you did last year...and you will have less next year too. There will be no jobs save menial ones for your children and grandchildren...but the government promises to re-educate them to meet the challenges of the 21st century...ie. poverty, hunger, and public housing.

Too bad for you that you aren't the CEO of Goldman Sachs. Life will be better for him...and the politicians.

Never Mind the Post Below....(Brain Fart)

2011-11-21T11:24:00.002-06:00

The Only Choice In 2012

2011-09-02T09:36:00.000-05:00

Ron Paul is my choice for President in 2012.

One Last Chance

2011-07-31T15:32:00.000-05:00

Obama has one last chance to salvage his Presidency in this financial debacle: Veto any bill that comes from congress and immediately invoke the 14th Amendment. Let them take it to the Supreme Court...in the meantime...the debt ceiling is raised and this horrid deal he allowed to be concocted, will die a painful and well-deserved death.

....of course....he just isn't a leader....he's a compromiser...

So Very Timid

2011-07-28T06:34:00.000-05:00

...And, Let Me Give In On...

2011-07-17T11:53:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON — President Obama said Sunday that he would nominate Richard Cordray, the former attorney general of Ohio, to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In picking Mr. Cordray, Mr. Obama passed over Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law professor who conceived the bureau, championed its creation, and for the last year orchestrated its establishment as a White House adviser. The selection of Ms. Warren was supported passionately by liberal members of Congress and consumer advocacy groups, but Republicans said they would not allow a vote if she were named for the permanent job.

First, Let Me Compromise On...

2011-07-11T10:26:00.000-05:00

...What a joke...

Minnesota Music Scene

2011-06-24T13:05:00.001-05:00

Alison Scott...Minnesota Original

Minnesota Summer

2011-06-23T10:17:00.000-05:00

This year, Minnesota has been somewhat like Seattle...or maybe London...or the Amazon Rain Forest... without the scenery, history, ocean, etc. It rains every day for 40 days and 40 nights... and, as you know... our summer is only 45 days long...
bummer...

The Better Question

2011-06-23T10:07:00.000-05:00

I've often said...how long will it be until the middle class discovers that the Wall Streeters have taken all of their money... perhaps the better question is... how long until Wall Street discovers that the middle class has nothing left to give...

Loukanikos - The Revolutionary Dog

2011-06-20T05:44:00.000-05:00

(France24) A dog is man’s best friend – and in this case, Loukanikos the Athenian stray has become the best pal of Greek protesters, and now a darling of the world's media.

A stray dog who has seemingly taken the side of protesters in Athens has become the unlikely mascot of the riots rocking the capital, Athens.

Amid the carnage on the streets and the despair at the country’s dire – and worsening – economic situation, endearing images of Loukanikos ("Sausage") have become a worldwide hit.

Loukanikos has a dedicated following on Twitter and even has his own Facebook page, while the international media is covering his every move.

The star canine seems totally unfazed by the rocks, water canons and tear gas regularly aimed at those demonstrating in the Greek streets – and he seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself while showing solidarity with the protesters.

Gryfalcons Secret Seabirds

2011-06-20T04:58:00.001-05:00

(BBC) The world's largest falcon, the fast, taloned gyrfalcon, is a secret seabird, scientists have discovered.

Gyrfalcons living in the high Arctic overwinter out at sea, spending long periods living and hunting on pack ice.

It is the first time any falcon species has been found regularly living at sea.

The birds likely rest on the ice and hunt other seabirds such as gulls and guillemots, over what appears to be one of the largest winter ranges yet documented for any raptor.

Drunken Winehouse Fail

2011-06-20T04:55:00.000-05:00

(BBC) Amy Winehouse is to cancel part of her European tour after the singer was booed for appearing to be too drunk to perform at a concert in Serbia's capital Belgrade.

She is pulling out of shows in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, and Athens, Greece, on Wednesday.

A spokesman said Ms Winehouse would like to apologise to fans, but "feels that this is the right thing to do".

The singer has struggled with addiction for some time.

Compromiser-In-Chief

2011-06-19T06:08:00.000-05:00

Now What??

Sexiest Over 60

2011-06-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Helen Mirren....by a long shot!

Snowbank Baby's Mom Sentenced

2011-06-19T05:57:00.000-05:00

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -– A Minneapolis woman who threw her baby onto a snow bank in March was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail.

Ashley Couch, 21, was sentenced to a gross misdemeanor.

Couch plead guilty in April to one count of child endangerment, for which she was charge after she threw her baby, who was only wearing a T-shirt, onto a snow bank following an argument with the child’s father.

Couch left the baby on the snow bank, but the baby was rescued by a passer-by who witnessed the incident.

Israel Requests Spy's Release

2011-06-19T05:55:00.000-05:00

(Haaretz) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel would submit an official request to the Obama administration requesting that convicted spy Jonathan Pollard be granted temporary leave to attend his father's funeral.

Netanyahu informed ministers from his Likud party Sunday of his decision to back the Pollard family's own request to that effect. A group of Pollard's supporters were planning to rally outside of the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv later Thursday to demand that the Obama administration respond positively to the request.

Goldman "Dragging Feet"

2011-06-15T05:35:00.000-05:00

(Bloomberg) Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) accused Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) of harassment by making a “baseless” demand for documents as part of an investigation the failed investment bank is conducting.

Lehman’s effort to force Goldman Sachs to hand over documents related to a probe of events leading up to its collapse in September 2008 is improper, Goldman Sachs said in a court filing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

Lehman’s move to obtain a court order “is designed purely to harass Goldman Sachs and should be denied as baseless, unnecessary and unwarranted,” Goldman Sachs said.

Lehman has said it is investigating third parties that may have taken actions before its bankruptcy that “interfered with and damaged” its business, according to court papers. In a request to Goldman Sachs, Lehman sought information related to “alleged false rumors” and the short-selling of Lehman securities, Goldman Sachs said in its filing.

Goldman Sachs is “deliberately moving at glacial pace” in handing over information, Lehman said. Lehman wants U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck to order Goldman Sachs to produce documents it seeks within two weeks of approving the request.

Kids Fail American History

2011-06-15T04:57:00.000-05:00

The Queen of American History, Mrs Paul Revere

NYT) American students are less proficient in their nation’s history than in any other subject, according to results of a nationwide test released on Tuesday, with most fourth graders unable to say why Abraham Lincoln was an important figure and few high school seniors able to identify China as the North Korean ally that fought American troops during the Korean War.

What Every Woman Should Have

2011-06-14T15:55:00.001-05:00

Christian Louboutin pumps....Wow!

(no, I don't have a shoe fetish...or do I?)

Turn Your Radio On

2011-06-14T15:21:00.000-05:00

I'm not particularly religious...but American Southern Gospel is a unique musical form...and I dare you to not tap your toes...

French Etiquette

2011-06-14T09:19:00.000-05:00

Trip to Paris on the horizon? Here are some tips to remember when dining in France...(France24)

Hands on the table at all times.

For whatever reason, this particular gesture can be of great importance to some French. When pressed to explain their malaise with the idea that a fellow diner might rest their hands out of view, a typical response might be “But what are they doing with their hands hidden beneath the table?” Need one ask what devious behaviour they might be imagining?

Food should come to your face, not the other way around.

Elbows in. Young Parisian adults are traumatised by the horror stories their mothers used to tell over the dinner table of their own upbringing so many years ago, when they were forced as young children to eat holding books beneath each arm while balancing another tome on their head.

Knife down between bites.
As Prince Charming pointed out over dinner one evening, “I’m afraid you might stab me”.

If you're a woman, don't even think about touching the wine bottle.

You’re there to be served, not to do the serving.

There is a right way to cut the cheese.
This is highly dependent on the shape of the cheese. If it’s a round wheel, then you slice the cheese in small triangles; if it is a wedge of cheese, it’s always slivered from the crust to the tip, usually in line with the angle the cheese itself was cut at.

Utensils must be placed at 4 o'clock when not eating.

Tines up if you’d like a refill, tines down if your meal is completed.

Bon Appétit!

Social Spiders

2011-06-14T08:58:00.000-05:00

(BBC) Most spiders are web-building, solitary creatures. So the social huntsman spiders, which live in webless "retreats" with hundreds of other spiders, are very unusual.

Now, a detailed study of this spider species, Delena cancerides, has revealed exactly how the huntsman work together.

Not only do large "mother spiders" defend the colony from invading predators, but spiders occassionally bring spoils back from a hunt for other spiders to share.

The spiders are native to Australia, where they make their homes beneath the bark of trees.

German Beauty Queen

2011-06-13T05:16:00.000-05:00

(derSpiegel) Krista the cow managed to defend her 2009 title as "Miss Germany" at the German Holstein Show, an event sponsored by the German Holstein Association (DHV).

The most beautiful cow in all the land. Krista gets a kiss from her proud breeder, Jörg Seeger. The bovine beauty won over the judges with her strong body, straight back and lustrous coat.

Saving The Black Bee

2011-06-13T05:14:00.000-05:00

(BBC) A bee conservation charity in east Lancashire has secured funding to train 120 new apiarists to help protect a threatened species.

Offshoots Permaculture Project based in Burnley has been given £100,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the John Paul Getty Foundation.

It is giving free introductory bee-keeping courses and hives containing the endangered British black bee.

The almost extinct insect is the UK's only indigenous bee species.

The bee has become endangered because beekeepers, who can help populations overcome pesticides and the reduction of pollen plants, have instead favoured imported bees.

The Band - Levon Helm

2011-06-10T14:44:00.002-05:00

Hedge Funds Seek To Control Food

2011-06-10T07:25:00.000-05:00

(BBC) Hedge funds are behind "land grabs" in Africa to boost their profits in the food and biofuel sectors, a US think-tank says.

In a report, the Oakland Institute said hedge funds and other foreign firms had acquired large swathes of African land, often without proper contracts.

It said the acquisitions had displaced millions of small farmers.

Foreign firms farm the land to consolidate their hold over global food markets, the report said.

They also use land to "make room" for export commodities such as biofuels and cut flowers.

"This is creating insecurity in the global food system that could be a much bigger threat than terrorism," the report said.

Don't Let The Door Hit You In The Weiner, Ass

2011-06-08T05:50:00.000-05:00

UK Public: No Badger Cull

2011-06-08T04:56:00.000-05:00

A herd, flock, bunch...of badgers...

(BBC) A majority of Britons in both town and country oppose killing badgers to curb cattle tuberculosis, an opinion poll for the BBC suggests.

Across the UK, about two-thirds oppose the measure, with majorities against culling in every age group, every region and across both genders.

The coalition has pledged to introduce culling in England, but recently admitted it may not happen.

And separate plans in Wales are on hold following the recent election.

Badgers can carry the bacterium that causes TB and transmit the disease to cattle herds.

Across the country, 63% of the thousand adults polled by phone said badgers should not be killed for cattle TB, with 31% in favour of culling and the remainder undecided.

Clown Prince Of The Economic Meltdown On CNBC

2011-06-03T07:06:00.000-05:00

It is with some sense of amusement that I watched a very small part of an interview by CNBC's resident Randian Irishman, Joe Kernan, of the incomprehensible Alan Greenspan concerning the economy this morning.

As usual, Greenspan responds to questions in tortured and meaningless sentences.

It's a little like asking Nero his theory on firefighting.

Vultures Search For Bodies

2011-06-03T05:30:00.000-05:00

(BBC) German police are trying out a new weapon in the fight against crime - vultures that can find hidden corpses.

Three feathered detectives - called Sherlock, Miss Marple and Columbo - are being trained in Walsrode bird park in northern Germany.

The birds' keen eyesight and acute sense of smell might make them as skilful as their fictional namesakes.

But the experiment raises ethical concerns because of the risk that a vulture could start pecking at a dead body, the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper says.

China Environment Failing

2011-06-03T05:12:00.000-05:00

(NYT) BEIJING — China still faces a “very grave” environmental situation despite some progress in changing the country’s develop-at-all-costs strategy, senior government officials said on Friday.

“The overall environmental situation is still very grave and is facing many difficulties and challenges,” said Vice Minister Li Ganjie. Mr. Li said biodiversity was declining with “a continuous loss and drain of genetic resources,” while China’s countryside was becoming more polluted as cities move dirty industries to rural areas.

Mr. Li said reversing the deterioration of the countryside was a major focus for the five-year-plan for 2011-2015. He also pledged to control heavy-metal pollution, which has resulted in nine incidents of lead poisoning last year and seven more in the first five months of this year. He said China needed a law controlling heavy metals and that he was confident it would be written and passed soon.

Mr. Li said that more than one-fifth of the country’s land set aside as nature reserves had been illegally developed by companies, often with the collusion of local government officials. But he said the ministry has now deployed a satellite that can detect illegal development and will pressure local governments to stop the work.

From The Senate To Goldman Sachs

2011-06-03T05:07:00.000-05:00

(or...."How To Win Friends and Influence the Government")

(Reuters) NEW YORK -- With Goldman Sachs' latest high-profile hire, the Wall Street giant is unlikely to shake its Government Sachs nickname or the reputation for exerting undue influence in Washington that it implies.

Goldman announced Friday that it had named three-term Sen. Judd Gregg an international adviser to the bank. The New Hampshire Republican will "provide strategic advice to the firm and its clients, and assist in business development initiatives across our global franchise," Goldman said in a statement.

"Judd Gregg's experience and insight will contribute significantly to our firm and our continuing focus on supporting economic growth," said Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman's chairman and CEO.

Goldman Sachs-Again?

2011-06-03T05:03:00.000-05:00

(I admit...I love this picture)

June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the fifth-biggest U.S. bank by assets, received a subpoena from the Manhattan District Attorney's office seeking information on the firm's activities leading into the credit crisis, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The report said Goldman Sachs contributed to the financial crisis, partly by designing mortgage-related investments that enabled the firm to profit while its clients lost money.

The Boys Having A Laugh

2011-05-31T12:40:00.000-05:00

All Friends...At The Top

(Reuters) Goldman Sachs invested more than $1.3 billion from Libya's sovereign-wealth fund in currency bets and other trades in 2008 and the investment lost more than 98 percent of its value, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing internal Goldman documents.

When the fund, controlled by Col. Muammar Gaddafi, made huge losses, Goldman offered Libya the chance to become one of its biggest shareholders, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Goldman Sachs was not available for comment, outside of normal U.S. business hours.

Among the different proposals put forward by Goldman Sachs to recoup the losses was one in which Libya would get $5 billion in preferred Goldman shares in return for investing $3.7 billion into the securities firm, the paper added.

The documents also show that company Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, its finance chief David Viniar and top executive Michael Sherwood were involved in discussions in this regard, the Journal reported.

2011-05-28T18:04:00.000-05:00

This song relates to the Vietnam War, my war. I think it's appropriate to post this on Memorial Day weekend. Perhaps more importantly, I'm going to include the lyrics printed for you to read. If they were true in the 1960's...and they were...they are true as well today...probably moreso. Fewer and fewer of us are giving more and more to satisfy the desires of those who have the most...and give nothing at all.

Read the words...reflect on how they apply to our country today...it's very sad.

Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Ooh, they're red, white and blue
And when the band plays "Hail to the chief"
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no

Yeah!
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh
But when the taxman comes to the door
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord
And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Ooh, they only answer More! more! more! yoh

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, one

Bunnies Unwelcome In Finland

2011-05-27T17:42:00.000-05:00

(HelsinkiTimes) A Helsinki city council environmental official said Thursday that the Uusimaa region's feral European rabbit numbers were rising in Helsinki's suburbs and in towns surrounding the capital but falling in the city proper thanks to effective culling.

Raimo Pakarinen added that the rabbits were settling in residential areas with detached houses to escape culling organised by the city council.

The Uusimaa game management district said in January that the rabbits had expanded as far north as Järvenpää and Tuusula.

The European rabbit is an invasive species in Finland.

German Knitting Geurillas

2011-05-27T17:35:00.000-05:00

(derSpiegel) Knitting graffiti's yarned tentacles have reached Germany, where "knitting guerrillas" have sprung up across the country -- but one group has taken on the special mission of sharing the cozier, friendlier urban art with people around the world.

In the North Rhine-Westphalian town of Velbert, a weeping willow looks much cheerier than its name suggests. It's wearing a rainbow sweater. Rings of multi-colored yarn hug the trunk, giving it the look of a giant package of plush Lifesavers. The vibrant tree is the work of Ute Lennartz-Lembeck, one among the world's growing ranks of knitting guerrillas and founder of the German knitting graffiti group B-Arbeiten. The 50-year-old art teacher took up the hobby, also known as "yarnbombing" and "yarnstorming," after seeing the work of others on a visit to Berlin.

An Israeli View of Netanyahu

2011-05-27T17:31:00.000-05:00

(Haaretz) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could have read the phone book at the Congress podium and received the same standing ovation. His speech used the advice Moshe Sneh gave to himself. The late MK wrote on the draft of one of his speeches "weak argument, raise voice."

There's no question Bibi knew exactly which points in his speech would make the Congressmen rise to their feet in tumultuous applause. After all, that was his objective in the first place: to begin his bizarre visit to America by embarrassing President Barack Obama and end it by outflanking him with Congress' applause.

Douglas Bloomfield, AIPAC's long-time legislative director, writes in his blog that if Bibi is betting on Obama being a one-term president, he's not as smart as he thinks. At the same time, Gary Rosenblatt, editor of The Jewish Week, describes the White House incident as a "hasbara disaster" - a public relations disaster. The strategic relationship between the United States and Israel is stronger than ever, Bloomfield writes, but the political alliance suffered an unnecessary blow last week, when in front of journalists Bibi distorted what Obama had told him in private.

Erik Paulsen Votes To Cut Medicare

2011-05-27T07:22:00.001-05:00

Erik Paulsen, (Dork, MN3)

Oh noes! My congresscritter, Erik Paulsen, who painted his opponent in the general election as a person who would cut Medicare....Erik voted to....you guessed it...CUT MEDICARE.

Now, as a pragmatist, I realize that being a "born again" person enables one to fudge the truth on occasion...without any repercussions from the Almighty...and...he was probably counting on that "rapture" thingy to haul his ass outta here...

but, c'mon Erik...geez!

Seeds Of A Revolution

2011-05-27T07:09:00.000-05:00

From an article By Clifford Young and Julia Clark:

In our view, the Egyptian revolution is a classic case of where those who govern could no longer meet the most basic needs of their people. The basic social contract was, in essence, defunct. Our own polling in both democratic and non-democratic societies shows striking consistency: that most people worry about their most basic needs, including putting food on the table, job stability, personal safety and their children’s future. If such needs are left unmet, they then serve as the ingredients for citizen discontent, dissatisfaction and ultimately a catalyst for regime change.

In Egypt, according to Pew, economic optimism levels fell by over 30 points between 2007 and 2010, as a result of spiking food prices and widespread unemployment. In democratic societies with open and free elections, such numbers would be the death knell for the party in power. In non-democratic societies like Egypt, revolutions and coup d’état’s are the only real mechanisms for transfer of power.

US Trails In Broadband Speeds

2011-05-27T07:06:00.000-05:00

(arstechnica) In what has become a familiar refrain, the latest State of the Internet report from Akamai shows the US trailing in a number of metrics, including average connection speeds and broadband penetration.

For total Internet connectivity, the study ranks the US fifth worldwide, but 15th in broadband penetration. Akamai defines "broadband" (perhaps rather generously) as 2Mbps or higher. Compared to speedier countries, the US ranked a lowly 35th place, with just 57 percent of connections at 2Mbps or higher. The US fared better when comparing the percentage of connections with "high broadband" speeds of 5Mbps or higher. Here, the US ranked 12th globally, with 24 percent of its connections counted as "high broadband."

Recent studies show that US customers also pay a lot more for what they get. For our average of 3.9Mbps, we pay about $40 per month. In France, by comparison, many users have access to a $45 monthly plan that includes 20-30Mbps connections, VoIP service, and HDTV with a DVR included. Such plans in the US regularly exceed $100, and speeds rarely reach those levels. (Let's not even speak of the state of customer service.)

Brits To Get Higher Speeds

2011-05-27T07:04:00.000-05:00

(BBC) Homes and businesses in four rural English counties are to get superfast broadband connections.

Devon and Somerset will share £30m of government funding for the roll-out, Norfolk will get £15m and Wiltshire £4m.

Each area will also get cash from their council and private investors.

At the moment, the average speed of broadband in Somerset is 3MB per second, whereas superfast broadband is at least 10 times faster.

Will Mumford of Devon County Council said: "Government funding, along with our own resources will help us secure the private finance we need to begin a massive investment programme.

"Superfast broadband for rural businesses will give them a level playing field with our urban counterparts."

With The Mouse Away...

2011-05-25T06:29:00.001-05:00

The Cat will play...

Toy Prices To Rise

2011-05-25T05:59:00.000-05:00

(Bloomberg) A Western buyer at the Canton trade fair protested against higher prices by wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with “Too Expensive” in Chinese. That generated little sympathy from toy seller Clara Zhang.

“We all laughed so hard,” said Zhang, 26, sales manager for Nanjing Happy Toy Co., maker of teddy bears and stuffed ducks. “Then we said, ‘Sorry, sir, you probably need to pay even more.’”

Hundreds of toymakers at the China Import and Export Fair, the country’s largest, are charging more as the world’s second- largest economy battles inflation that soared to an almost three-year high of 5.4 percent in March. Mattel Inc. (MAT), which makes Barbie dolls, and Hasbro Inc. (HAS), owner of the Transformers brand, raised prices earlier this year as Chinese factories pass on higher costs for raw materials and labor.

Good News For War Dogs

2011-05-25T05:57:00.000-05:00

(AP) SAN DIEGO — Life after the military is looking brighter than ever for America’s four-legged veterans since one of their own helped in the mission to kill Osama bin Laden.

War dog organizations say the number of people asking about adopting retired military canines has risen dramatically since the mission involving Cairo, the Navy SEALs dog tasked with tracking anyone who tried to escape from bin Laden’s compound and alerting the special operations forces to anyone approaching.

While about 300 retired U.S. military dogs are put up for adoption each year, military officials say they’ve received more than 400 adoption applications in the three weeks since the May 2 raid. In past generations, most military dogs were euthanized once their tours of duty were done.

“They made a really big deal about Cairo being a super dog but all dogs in the military are super dogs,” said Ron Aiello, president of the U.S. War Dogs Association. “These dogs are fully trained, are worth probably $40,000 to $50,000 each at least, and it’s a dog that has been saving American lives. It’s kind of a hero in a way.”

Aiello, a dog handler for the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, started his organization with other former dog handlers to teach Americans about the long and often sad history of the dogs that have been deployed with troops.

Bats Endangered

2011-05-24T16:15:00.000-05:00

(Reuters) - White nose syndrome, a devastating disease that has killed more than one million bats in the Northeast, has been found in Maine, the last New England state to discover it, wildlife officials said on Tuesday.

Diminishing populations of bats, an important predator of insects, could have harmful consequences for humans, experts say.

Bats at two sites in Maine's Oxford County that displayed signs of a fungal pathogen linked with white nose syndrome tested positive for the disease, said scientists with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Until this year, Maine appeared insulated from white nose, although nearby states and Canada were not.

Since its discovery in an upstate New York cave in 2006, white nose has been confirmed in 17 states and four eastern Canadian provinces, and it appears to be steadily trekking westward.

North America's loss of bats, a key predator of mosquitoes, beetles and pests that can harm plants, could cost agriculture at least $3.7 billion a year, according to a study published in the journal Science in April.

White nose is mainly spread bat to bat, but humans can transport fungal spores via clothes and gear from contaminated sites, such as caves and mines. People can help slow the spread by staying out of sites that are homes to bats.

LaGarde Wins Endorsements

2011-05-22T04:44:00.000-05:00

Britain and Germany endorse Lagarde as new IMF chief

(Wikipedia) Lagarde was born in Paris as Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette to academic parents. She attended secondary school in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) and in Bethesda, Maryland at Holton Arms School. Then she graduated from law school (Paris X), and obtained a Master's Degree from the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence.[2]

Lagarde worked as an intern at the United States Capitol, as William Cohen's congressional assistant.

Lagarde is a former member of the French national synchronised swimming team.

Lagarde joined Baker & McKenzie in 1981. She joined the executive committee in 1995 and was elected Chairman in October 1999.[3][4]

In 2004, Lagarde became president of the global strategic committee.[5]

Her personal interest in European affairs led her to open the European Law Centre, an office of Baker & McKenzie in Brussels exclusively dedicated to the practice of European Union law.

In 2009, Lagarde was ranked the 17th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine

Another Volcano In Iceland Erupts

2011-05-22T04:41:00.000-05:00

(Bloomberg) A volcanic eruption in Iceland, underneath Europe’s largest glacier, forced international flights to divert south of the north Atlantic island as an ash plume rose to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters).

“A no-fly zone which covers a 120 nautical mile radius around the eruption has been put in place,” Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, spokeswoman for Isavia Ltd., told Icelandic broadcaster RUV late yesterday. “The eruption might have some impact on international air traffic.” Isavia operates air traffic control for Iceland’s airspace.

The eruption begun at about 6 p.m. yesterday in a crater underneath Vatnajokull Glacier, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik. The volcano is the most active in Iceland and its last eruption ended in 2004.

Awww Crap! Missed Again

2011-05-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

Harold Egbert Camping (born July 19, 1921) is an American Christian radio broadcaster^[1] and president of Family Radio, a California-based religious broadcasting network that spans more than 150 outlets in the United States as well as a website.
Camping's trademarks include his deep, sonorous voice coupled with a slow cadence. He has also used Bible-based numerology to predict dates for the end of the world.^[2] His most recent end times prediction was that the Rapture would occur on May 21, 2011 and that God would subsequently completely destroy the Earth and the universe five months later on October 21.^[3]^[4] He had previously predicted that the Rapture would occur in September 1994.^[5]

^(Wikipedia)

Texas' Legislative Priorities or Why Texas Should Secede

2011-05-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

Are these people allowed to vote?

(USA Today) The Texas Senate, facing an enormous budget battle this year, took time out this week to pass a bill legalizing "noodling," or the sport of hand-fishing for catfish, the Texas Tribune reports.

"Noodling" involves dipping a hand into fresh water and waiting for a catfish to clamp down it. The sport is illegal in Texas, punishable by a $500 fine.

Under the bill, noodlers can only go after catfish and must first get a fishing license and fishing stamp.

"I personally don't noodle, but I would defend to the death your right to do so," says Republican state Sen. Bob Deuell, author of the bill, the Tribune reports.

Bibi and Barack At Odds...Already!

2011-05-20T06:07:00.000-05:00

Obama says 1967 borders....Netanyahu says no way....tell me something that I haven't heard before...

(Haaretz) An advertisement signed by several prominent Israelis that appeared in the New York Times yesterday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama to work to create a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 armistice lines.

The ad, which largely copied the text of an ad that appeared in Haaretz on Wednesday, was placed in the Times by the left-wing Jewish lobby J Street in advance of Netanyahu's arrival in the United States today.

The text of the New York Times ad read as follows: "We, the citizens of Israel, call on the public to support the recognition of a democratic Palestinian state as a condition for ending the conflict, and reaching agreed borders on the basis of the 1967 borders. Recognition of such a Palestinian state is vital for Israel's existence. It is the only way to guarantee the resolution of the conflict..."

Of course, Dershowitz is not having any of it....

Kentucky Funds "Ark Park"

2011-05-20T06:03:00.000-05:00

...Oh my...which of the evangelicals are we to believe knows the "truth"....One says the world will end tomorrow....one takes money from the state to build his park....why?

(AOL) Things are about to get Biblical in Kentucky. On Thursday, the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority gave final approval to grant $40 million in tax rebates to build a biblical theme park called "The Ark Encounter."

The controversial museum, backed in part by Mike Zovath, a co-founder of the Answers in Genesis ministry which previously built Kentucky's 70,00 square-foot Creation Museum, got the funding after months of back and forth over the legitimacy of a religious attraction being funded by a state government.

No matter, the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority voted unanimously to grant more than $40 million in tax rebates for the project, which is scheduled to cost $172 million (visitors to the Ark's website see a "donate here" tab).

Wind Power Grows

2011-05-19T15:04:00.000-05:00

(DeutscheWelle) Wind energy plants with a combined power of some 38,000 megawatts were created last years, according to a new report published by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA).

The new facilities put the amount of wind power generated around the world at 200,000 megawatts, which is similar to the energy generated by 200 nuclear power plants and represents about 2.5 percent of world energy production.

The sector is doing best in China, the world's largest producer of wind energy.

More than half of all 2010's wind power turbines were installed in China, which generated 45,000 megawatts of wind energy last year.

The result put China ahead of the United States, which has seen wind energy production triple to about 40,000 megawatts since 2006.

In Europe, Spain and Germany between them generated more than half of the continent's 86,000 megawatts of wind energy.

"Clear Eyes" May Need A New Spokesman

2011-05-19T14:27:00.000-05:00

Proving the theory that the wealthy should not be held accountable by the commoners....Ben Stein, the voice of "Clear Eyes" on television, offers us these gems regarding the arrest of his best bud, Dominique Strauss-Kahn on rape charges:

"This is a case about the hatred of the have-nots for the haves, and that's what it's all about. A man pays $3,000 a night for a hotel room? He's got to be guilty of something. Bring out the guillotine."

"Mr. Strauss-Kahn had surrendered his passport. He had offered to stay in New York City. He is one of the most recognizable people on the planet. Did he really have to be put in Riker's Island? Couldn't he have been given home detention with a guard? This is a man with a lifetime of public service, on a distinguished level, to put it mildly. Was Riker's Island really the place to put him on the allegations of one human being? Hadn't he earned slightly better treatment than that?"

"People accuse other people of crimes all of the time. What do we know about the complainant besides that she is a hotel maid? ... How do we know that this woman's word was good enough to put Mr. Strauss-Kahn straight into a horrific jail?"

"I love and admire hotel maids. They have incredibly hard jobs and they do them uncomplainingly. I am sure she is a fine woman. On the other hand, I have had hotel maids that were complete lunatics, stealing airline tickets from me, stealing money from me, throwing away important papers, stealing medications from me."

What an ass!

Munich Re Hires Hookers

2011-05-19T14:18:00.000-05:00

(BBC) One of the biggest insurance companies in the world held a

party for salesmen where they were rewarded with the services of

prostitutes.

Munich Re is the world's biggest re-insurer - in other words, the

company acts as an insurance company for other insurance

companies.

One of its divisions, Ergo, told the BBC that the party had taken

place to reward salesmen in 2007.

A spokesman said the people who organised it had since left.

The gathering was held at a thermal baths in the Hungarian capital

Budapest as a reward to particularly successful salesmen.
'Whatever they liked'

There were about 100 guests and 20 prostitutes were hired.

R.I.P. Harmon Killebrew

2011-05-17T18:38:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of attending many games when Harmon was playing with the Twins at the old Met. He was truly a wonderful man...humble and gracious to the end. We will miss him.

(CBS/AP) The death of beloved baseball great Harmon Killebrew has saddened the sports world and cast a spotlight on a rare and deadly disease.

On Tuesday, esophageal cancer claimed the life of the 74-year-old Hall of Famer, who was known as much for his friendly demeanor as for his ferocious swing. Killebrew passed away peacefully at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., with his family at his side, according to the Minnesota Twins, his team from 1961-1964.

The news came just days after the slugger told fans he was entering hospice.

""It is with profound sadness that I share with you that my continued battle with esophageal cancer is coming to an end," Killebrew wrote. "My illness has progressed beyond my doctors' expectation of cure."

Killebrew is #11 on pro baseball's all-time home run list. His eight seasons with 40 or more homers still is tied for second in league history to Babe Ruth, and his uppercut swing formed the silhouette that inspired Major League Baseball's official logo.

Medvedev or Putin?

2011-05-17T05:41:00.000-05:00

(derSpiegel) President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin are confusing friends and foes alike with their determined silence on which of them intends to stand as presidential candidate in the 2012 Russian election. Lawmakers, civil servants and business leaders are tearing their hair out over the political limbo.

Russia's duumvirate has evidently agreed to a pact of silence on the candidacy. Anyone who breaks it faces demotion

The two leaders want to decide on the candidacy themselves -- and to postpone a decision until the end of the year. Kremlin watchers in Moscow can't tell whether the issue has upset the relationship between the two men. But parts of the administration and the political elite are being driven close to a "permanent nervous breakdown," says Vladislav Inozemtsev, director of the Moscow Center for Post-Industrial Studies.

Wall Street Bankers Investigation

2011-05-17T05:32:00.000-05:00

(NYT) The New York attorney general has requested information and documents in recent weeks from three major Wall Street banks about their mortgage securities operations during the credit boom, indicating the existence of a new investigation into practices that contributed to billions in mortgage losses.

Officials in Eric T. Schneiderman’s, office have also requested meetings with representatives from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, according to people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. The inquiry appears to be quite broad, with the attorney general’s requests for information covering many aspects of the banks’ loan pooling operations. They bundled thousands of home loans into securities that were then sold to investors such as pension funds, mutual funds and insurance companies.

German Wins Beard Contest

2011-05-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

(BBC) A German hairdresser has won the title of world's best beard at the World Beard and Moustache Championship in Trondheim, Norway.

Elmar Weisser, 47, beat 160 contestants to the prize with his elaborate facial hair sculpture of a moose.

It is the third time Mr Weisser has emerged as champion.

In 2005 he won with with a beard styled into the shape of Berlin's Brandenberg Gate, and in 2007 with a representation of London's Tower Bridge.

He said he had begun preparing his creation for the Trondheim event at 7am, with the help of his sister.

"When my beard isn't styled, it goes down to my waist. It is sort of folded up," he told the AFP news agency.

Wet Fields for Minnesota Farmers

2011-05-16T17:53:00.000-05:00

(StarTribune) MINNEAPOLIS - This could be a critical week for Minnesota farmers, who are running late with spring planting due to soggy fields but have a chance to catch up thanks to good weather forecast for the next few days.

In its weekly crop weather report for Minnesota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday 47 percent of the state's corn had been planted as of Sunday, a 19-point advance over the previous week. That compares with 95 percent at the same point in 2010 and a five-year average of 81 percent. Soybeans were 9 percent planted, compared with 46 percent last year and a 38 percent average.

Cool weather and frequent rain combined to limit planting again last week, when only three days were rated suitable for fieldwork, the report said.

Several experts said Minnesota farmers who don't get their corn planted in the coming week or two may switch to shorter-season varieties, which don't yield as much, or plant more acres with soybeans, which don't need to be planted as early as corn but aren't quite as profitable at current prices.

Donald The Draft Dodger

2011-05-14T18:48:00.000-05:00

I realize that for most of you...this factoid has little meaning....ahhh...but for those of us who lived through the
Southeast Asia War Games...it's still an extremely sore point...

And so...without further ado...I give you the following:

(businessinsider) And this might be why he never runs... not the F-bombs... it sounds like Trump has the quintessential rich politician problem: Vietnam.

According to a new document unearthed by The Smoking Gun: Donald Trump received 4 student deferments, and one medical deferment, which is in contradiction to a previous quote explaining his draft status: “I actually got lucky because I had a very high draft number. I’ll never forget, that was an amazing period of time in my life.”

Technically, that doesn't have to be a lie. Eventually Trump got a high draft number, but it appears that it's definitely not the only way he avoided the war.

Again, that Vietnam service has been an issue for many candidates is known to everyone, and for someone who was born wealthy -- and going to Wharton at the time -- the deferrals look worse.

Why...I do believe that Donald's deferments...at 4...is second only to that other great patriotic American, Electric Dick Cheney...who, at 5, obtained the most deferments that I've ever heard of....but what a man!

Saving Wildlife: One Stamp At A Time

2011-05-14T07:15:00.000-05:00

(Reuters) If the world gets saved one small act at a time, the U.S. Postal Service and the Wildlife Conservation Society may be onto something. They’ve just unveiled a new stamp that aims to make protection of endangered species as easy as mailing a letter.

The new Save Vanishing Species stamp costs 55 cents, 11 cents more than a regular first class stamp. It features the face of a tiger cub, and net proceeds contribute to projects supported by the Multinational Species Conservation Funds, which are administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These projects work to conserve tigers, rhinos, great apes, marine turtles and African and Asian elephants.

There is no impact on U.S. taxpayers, and it is the fourth so-called semipostal issue by the Postal Service. The stamps should be available in September at post offices and at Wildlife Conservation Society parks.

Not Again, Lloyd!

2011-05-14T07:12:00.000-05:00

(Bloomberg) Wall Street conventional wisdom holds that a sterling reputation is crucial to winning business and keeping clients. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) may be the exception, according to a new Bloomberg survey.

Fifty-four percent of respondents to the global poll of traders, investors and analysts conducted May 9-10 have an unfavorable opinion of the New York-based bank, more than double the negative rating for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Yet a month after a U.S. Senate report said Goldman Sachs misled clients, 78 percent of those surveyed said the accusations will either have no effect on the firm or will harm its reputation without driving away customers.

“Investors will continue to put their money with capable institutions, regardless of their history or morality,” said poll participant Christian Contino, 27, who works as a consultant for the investment-management section of the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development. The bank has “very capable spin doctors who will be able to downplay any negativity.”

The quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll of investors, traders and analysts who are Bloomberg subscribers was conducted by Selzer & Co., a Des Moines, Iowa-based firm. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

“Opinions on Goldman Sachs are the same the world around, with very little difference across the U.S., Europe or Asia,” said J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co.

Hurry! Only 10 Days Left!

2011-05-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

(NPR) Brian Haubert grabs some pamphlets and marches toward the flea market in Palmyra, N.J. Armed with a poster that trumpets Judgment Day on May 21, 2011, he braces for rejection. Announcing God's wrath is not always a popular message.

"I've been called a heretic," says Haubert, a 33-year-old actuary. "I've been told I read the wrong Bible. And then there's the occasional person who seems to be genuinely interested," he says.

His friend and fellow believer, Kevin Brown, uses a gentler approach, not confronting people or engaging in conversation, just politely handing out Judgment Day pamphlets.

On May 21, "starting in the Pacific Rim at around the 6 p.m. local time hour, in each time zone, there will be a great earthquake, such as has never been in the history of the Earth," he says. The true Christian believers — he hopes he's one of them — will be "raptured": They'll fly upward to heaven. And for the rest?

"It's just the horror of horror stories," he says, "and on top of all that, there's no more salvation at that point. And then the Bible says it will be 153 days later that the entire universe and planet Earth will be destroyed forever."

Ruh Roh: Not Again, Lloyd!

2011-05-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

Awwww....poor Golden Sacks...

(Reuters) - Massachusetts securities regulators may charge Goldman Sachs Group Inc with improperly passing along analysts' tips to top clients.

The Massachusetts Securities Division is weighing administrative proceedings against the bank over communications among its analysts, sales staff and clients, according to Goldman's quarterly filing with U.S. regulators.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and others are investigating similar matters, Goldman said. The investment bank said it is cooperating with the probes but did not provide more detail.

Bees Stolen In UK

2011-05-10T17:45:00.000-05:00

(Reuters) - Several thousand bees that were part of a multi-million pound neuroscience research project have been stolen from a British university.

Police in the Scottish region of Tayside were appealing for information Tuesday after four bee hives containing several thousand British black bees were stolen from a medical school in the city of Dundee.

"This theft will undoubtedly hamper our research," said Dr Chris Connolly, the lead researcher on the Dundee project, who reported the bees missing Sunday.

In a statement he described the bees as "very unique" and said they should be easy to identify if they are sold on.

The hives are a part of a 2 million pound ($3.3 million) project at the Center for Neurosciences at the Dundee University's medical school which is investigating the potential effect of pesticides on bee learning and health.

Chilean Protests Over Hydroelectric

2011-05-10T17:42:00.001-05:00

(Bloomberg) Chile approved a hydroelectric project that would flood Patagonian valleys and become the country’s biggest power generator, sparking violent protests and more than a hundred arrests.

Police fired water cannons and tear gas at demonstrators outside the building in the city of Coyhaique where 11 of the 12 members of an environment commission voted in favor of the HidroAysen project that Santiago-based Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA and Colbun SA (COLBUN) want to build.

HidroAysen’s five dams would flood nearly 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) of land and require a 1,900 kilometer (1,180 mile) transmission line to feed the central grid that supplies Santiago and surrounding cities as well as copper mines owned by Codelco and Anglo American Plc. The government of President Sebastian Pinera says Chile needs more hydroelectric and coal- fired plants to meet demand that will double in the next decade and reduce power costs that are the highest in the region.

Royal Wedding Photo Crashed

2011-05-09T08:55:00.000-05:00

(derSpiegel) The royal wedding which paired Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29 was planned down to the most minute detail. From Kate's Sarah Burton dress to the kiss on the Buckingham Palace balcony, every element was painstakingly coordinated -- and subsequently dissected by an apparently romance-starved press. Through the veil of a perfectly planned dream wedding, however, real world elements managed to peek through.

An unexpected wedding guest came in the form of a neon pink "wiggly worm," which ended up on the finger of one of the younger bridesmaids. Three-year-old Eliza Lopes steals the show in the royal wedding portrait with her bright pink accessory in hand. Prince Harry, known for his sense of humour, gave Eliza the toy earlier in the day to keep her smiling throughout the overwhelming affair.

Wills Saving Lives

2011-05-09T08:49:00.000-05:00

(BBC) A judge has praised Prince William for saving his life in his role as a search and rescue

pilot in Anglesey.

Nick Barnett, 70, of Midhurst, West Sussex, was involved in one of three rescues by the prince's

RAF Sea King helicopter last week.

He had a heart attack while walking on Y Lliwedd mountain in Snowdonia on Wednesday.

The prince, who has delayed his honeymoon, flew Mr Barnett to hospital.

Mr Barnett, a retired Hong Kong High Court judge who vitally received treatment at Ysbyty

Gwynedd in Bangor within the hour, was still there on Monday morning.

The prince, who had a busy return to work after his Westminster Abbey wedding, also took part in

the rescue of a 46-year-old man stranded on Tryfan mountain on Friday.

Stinking Naples

2011-05-09T08:46:00.000-05:00

(BBC) The Italian army is being sent back to Naples to deal with the southern city's continuing

rubbish collection crisis.

About 170 troops are being deployed there, bringing more than 70 trucks to help move refuse.

About 2,000 tons of refuse has now been left on the streets. Angry Naples residents have set fire

to the piles several times.

This is the second time since 2008 that the Italian army has been drafted into Naples to clear

away the rubbish.

Residents want the refuse taken elsewhere, after nearby landfill sites have become too full.

High-Jumping Bunnies

2011-05-06T18:42:00.001-05:00

(derSpiegel) The Easter Bunny has it easy. All he has to do is cart around a bunch of eggs and hide them on Easter morning. The rest of the year? Vacation.

Snoopy, on the other hand, has to work hard for his carrots. The black-and-white bunny from the German city of Jena is the star of the local Kaninhop club -- and he makes his living by leaping over all manner of barricades, jumps and rails. A few times each year, he competes against rabbits from across Germany. With a little luck, he might even make it to the European championships in Switzerland this autumn.

"Snoopy can jump 60 centimeters (about 2 feet) high," says a proud Claudia Fehlen, the 23-year-old founder of the Jena bunny hopping club. "And he has done well in tournaments. He came in second once, and third another time."

That rabbits like to hop, of course, is hardly a secret. Kaninhop, though, involves bunnies barrelling their way through courses consisting of several small jumps of varying height and breadth -- not unlike horse jumping. And it is a hobby which has spent the last few decades slowly spreading around the world from its origins in Sweden in the early 1980s. In addition to several countries in Europe, the pasttime has also become popular in the United States and Canada -- and there are even chapters in Japan.

Blankfein's Got Some 'Splainin' To Do

2011-05-06T07:22:00.000-05:00

(Bloomberg) Lloyd C. Blankfein, chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), has sought to quell shareholder concerns about its bonuses and business practices at the past two annual meetings. Today, he will try again.

As the fifth-biggest U.S. bank by assets hosts investors for the first time at its building in Jersey City, New Jersey, shareholders are still questioning Goldman Sachs’s actions during the financial crisis, executive pay and business model.

Goldman Sachs was the most-profitable securities firm when Blankfein, 56, took the helm almost five years ago. While the company survived the financial crisis that bankrupted smaller rival Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and repaid U.S. rescue funds and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., its practices before the crisis have remained under scrutiny.

Last month the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued a report on the causes of the financial crisis that accused New York-based Goldman Sachs of misleading clients in its sales of mortgage securities, a charge the firm denies.

Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs disclosed that it was increasing salaries for Blankfein and his deputies and paid Blankfein $19 million for 2010, including a $5.4 million cash bonus.

Christian Brothers Investment Services Inc., which manages $4 billion and owns about 68,000 Goldman Sachs shares, is voting against the pay awards this year, said Julie Tanner, the firm’s assistant director of social responsibility.

“I don’t think that the pay level is justified,” Tanner said in an interview. “There’s a level beyond which pay is not appropriate and needs to be reined in, and I think this company is one of those examples.”

Doggies Saved From Dinner Table

2011-05-06T05:06:00.000-05:00

(BBC) Animal rights activists in China have rescued nearly 500 dogs destined for the dinner table after stopping a truck carrying the animals.

They bought the dogs from the lorry driver for $18,000 (£11,000) following a stand-off by the roadside involving the police.

The animals are now recovering at a compound on the outskirts of Beijing and at a number of animal hospitals around the city.

The incident illustrates how a growing number of Chinese people now view dogs - and cats - as pets rather than protein.

It also reveals how China has an expanding animal rights movement; people who are prepared to take action on the streets.

Jaguar's New Super Car

2011-05-06T04:58:00.000-05:00

(BBC) Jaguar has unveiled plans to build a £700,000 petrol-electric hybrid supercar in the UK.

It will build 250 cars in partnership with Formula 1 team Williams F1.

The C-X75's ultra-light chassis and two electric engines will help it accelerate from nought to 60mph in three seconds.

It will have an all-electric range of 50km and its overall emissions of less than 100g CO2 per kilometre will be one of the lowest in the industry.

It will have a top speed of more than 200mph.

Congratulations Newlyweds!

2011-04-29T08:41:00.000-05:00

What a lovely wedding it was. Say what you will about the Royals...but the experience was beautiful and enjoyable to watch. Pure escapism and fun. From all we hear, they're both delightful young people as well. Much better than the constant parade of politicians and their minions that we are usually witness to.

German Rail For Power Grid?

2011-04-26T06:12:00.000-05:00

(derSpiegel) Germany's increased emphasis on renewable energies requires an all-new power grid. Now, many in Berlin are wondering if the grid powering the country's train system could be used to transport wind power from the north to the south. Some say it could save up to 75 percent of expected costs.

Read entire article here: German Power Grid

More Moolah For Blankfein

2011-04-26T06:08:00.000-05:00

(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein’s $19 million compensation for 2010, almost double the prior year, ended two years in which the firm’s top executives gave up cash bonuses. Blankfein’s pay included $5.4 million in cash, $12.6 million in restricted stock, a $600,000 salary and about $464,000 in other benefits, a proxy statement from the New York-based firm showed. Bloomberg's Erik Schatzker reports.

Train Stops - Saves Lamb

2011-04-26T04:46:00.000-05:00

(BBC) A steam train crew in Devon has had to make an emergency stop to avoid hitting a sick lamb on the track.

The animal was spotted lying between the rails by the driver and fireman on board the South Devon Railway locomotive on Sunday.

The tourist train was travelling from Buckfastleigh to Totnes when it was brought to a "rapid halt".

The lamb, who has been named "Lucky", was rescued and is currently being cared for at Totnes Rare Breeds Farm.

Invasive Parakeet To Be Removed

2011-04-26T04:44:00.000-05:00

(BBC) An invasive parakeet that threatens native wildlife and crops will be removed from the wild, using lethal force if necessary, the British authorities say. “In extreme cases, it could mean we have to shoot some, but we haven’t tried that yet,” a government spokesman says.