Japan ‘May Be’ Close to a Downgrade: S&P - Bloomberg
“Japan’s finances are getting worse and worse every day, every second,” Takahira Ogawa, director of sovereign ratings at S&P in Singapore, said in an interview.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Death Panels, Shmeath Panels
Death Panels, Shmeath Panels. Chicks On The Right
I mean, it’s a call into a radio show, so I have nothing other than this audio to show you that proves what the caller says.
But I also have no reason to believe some random dude would pretend to be a neurosurgeon who just came back from an HHS update on Obamacare in DC, because ultimately this will be proven or disproven, and it will have done no good to make stuff up.
Death panels.
Listen and wonder.
I mean, it’s a call into a radio show, so I have nothing other than this audio to show you that proves what the caller says.
But I also have no reason to believe some random dude would pretend to be a neurosurgeon who just came back from an HHS update on Obamacare in DC, because ultimately this will be proven or disproven, and it will have done no good to make stuff up.
Death panels.
Listen and wonder.
J.R. Martinez: Who is the 'Dancing with the Stars' winner?
J.R. Martinez: Who is the 'Dancing with the Stars' winner? - NYPOST.com
A few months into his service, the truck he was driving hit a land mine and the explosion burned over 40 percent of Martinez's body, including his face.
He was evacuated to Germany for treatment and spent a year and a half in hospital care, undergoing more than 30 surgeries.
Martinez had to relearn many basic tasks, including walking.
A few months into his service, the truck he was driving hit a land mine and the explosion burned over 40 percent of Martinez's body, including his face.
He was evacuated to Germany for treatment and spent a year and a half in hospital care, undergoing more than 30 surgeries.
Martinez had to relearn many basic tasks, including walking.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
U.S. Rep Sander Levin organizing support for an unemployment insurance extension
U.S. Rep Sander Levin organizing support for an unemployment insurance extension MLive.com
Rep. Sander Levin is hosting a forum to organize support for a federal extension of unemployment insurance.
Rep. Sander Levin is hosting a forum to organize support for a federal extension of unemployment insurance.
The CBO Quietly Downgrades Obama's $825 Bil Stimulus
The CBO Quietly Downgrades Obama's $825 Bil Stimulus - Latest Headlines - Investors.com
The new report finds, for example, that the stimulus may have added as little as 0.7% to GDP growth in 2010 — when spending was at its peak
The new report finds, for example, that the stimulus may have added as little as 0.7% to GDP growth in 2010 — when spending was at its peak
Review & Outlook: Warren Buffett's Tax Dodge
Review & Outlook: Warren Buffett's Tax Dodge - WSJ.com
The billionaire volunteers the middle class for a tax increase.
The billionaire volunteers the middle class for a tax increase.
Uh oh, global warming loons: here comes Climategate II!
Uh oh, global warming loons: here comes Climategate II! – Telegraph Blogs
In other words, what these emails confirm is that the great man-made global warming scare is not about science but about political activism
In other words, what these emails confirm is that the great man-made global warming scare is not about science but about political activism
Climate change and extreme weather: What’s the connection?
Climate change and extreme weather: What’s the connection? - Slate Magazine
Sorting through the confusion on “extreme weather events.”
Sorting through the confusion on “extreme weather events.”
Why swirling wine in a glass makes it taste better
Why swirling wine in a glass makes it taste better - Telegraph
Wine buffs who swirl their drink in a glass are using the sophisticated physics of wave technology to unleash the flavour, scientists say.
Wine buffs who swirl their drink in a glass are using the sophisticated physics of wave technology to unleash the flavour, scientists say.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Layoff notice numbers confirmed for Booth Newspapers' transition to MLive Media Group | MLive.com
Layoff notice numbers confirmed for Booth Newspapers' transition to MLive Media Group MLive.com: Sixty-day layoff notices, reported as required by federal law, were issued Nov. 2 to 146 employees at The Grand Rapids Press
National Review editor standing with history, shouting go?
National Review editor standing with history, shouting go? NetRight Daily
If National Review has any sense at all, it will oblige and promptly dismiss this odious quisling.
If National Review has any sense at all, it will oblige and promptly dismiss this odious quisling.
Monday, November 21, 2011
uppity | Michelle Obama | NASCAR
uppity Michelle Obama NASCAR The Daily Caller
“Bottom line: We don’t like being told what to eat,” Limbaugh said.
“We don’t like being told how much to exercise.
We don’t like being told what we’ve got to drive.
We don’t like wasting money.
We don’t like our economy being bankrupted.
We don’t like 14 percent unemployment.
The question is, what is there to cheer for when Ms. Obama and Ms. Biden show up?”
“Bottom line: We don’t like being told what to eat,” Limbaugh said.
“We don’t like being told how much to exercise.
We don’t like being told what we’ve got to drive.
We don’t like wasting money.
We don’t like our economy being bankrupted.
We don’t like 14 percent unemployment.
The question is, what is there to cheer for when Ms. Obama and Ms. Biden show up?”
How One Man Played 'Moneyball' With 'Jeopardy!'
How One Man Played 'Moneyball' With 'Jeopardy!' : NPR
"Everybody that wants to succeed at a game is going to practice at the game," he says.
"You can practice haphazardly, or you can practice efficiently. And that's what I did."
"Everybody that wants to succeed at a game is going to practice at the game," he says.
"You can practice haphazardly, or you can practice efficiently. And that's what I did."
European Debt Crisis Threatens U.S. Money Market Funds
European Debt Crisis Threatens U.S. Money Market Funds
"We've done a lot to prepare the banking sector," Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, said on Wednesday.
"I'm less confident about the money market funds and their ability to weather major problems at European institutions."
........Many investors believe money funds are as safe as lower-yielding bank accounts even though it is common knowledge that that they are not backed by the federal insurance that protects bank deposits.
Less well known, and of concern to U.S. officials, is that the money funds cannot count on the protection measures that were pulled together to help them in 2008.
"We've done a lot to prepare the banking sector," Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, said on Wednesday.
"I'm less confident about the money market funds and their ability to weather major problems at European institutions."
........Many investors believe money funds are as safe as lower-yielding bank accounts even though it is common knowledge that that they are not backed by the federal insurance that protects bank deposits.
Less well known, and of concern to U.S. officials, is that the money funds cannot count on the protection measures that were pulled together to help them in 2008.
Peter Schweizer responds
Peter Schweizer responds Power Line
The claim that John Kerry has no incentive to transfer information for stock profit also doesn’t make sense.
Who cares if he is already rich?
Martha Stewart was worth more than $1 billion when she was charged with it.
Research indicates that insider trading is usually not about the money, but a sense of entitlement.
3. The claim by Jenkins and Scott here that this information is not all that valuable anyway also flies in the face of reality.
Hedge funds that are politically connected perform dramatically better than those that aren’t.
And hedge funds are paying lobbyists huge sums of money to tell them what bills will pass and when so they can execute trades on that information.
The claim that John Kerry has no incentive to transfer information for stock profit also doesn’t make sense.
Who cares if he is already rich?
Martha Stewart was worth more than $1 billion when she was charged with it.
Research indicates that insider trading is usually not about the money, but a sense of entitlement.
3. The claim by Jenkins and Scott here that this information is not all that valuable anyway also flies in the face of reality.
Hedge funds that are politically connected perform dramatically better than those that aren’t.
And hedge funds are paying lobbyists huge sums of money to tell them what bills will pass and when so they can execute trades on that information.
BORN in a Prison Camp, Mr. Shin Thought North Korea's Torture was "Normal"
BORN in a Prison Camp, Mr. Shin Thought North Korea's Torture was "Normal" Red County
Watching his mother and brother executed for trying to escape, Shin told us he "didn't shed a tear," thinking this barbaric black hole was "normal." He even justified his punishment --burnings and whippings-- for their actions.
When prison guards cut-off his finger tip for accidently damaging a sewing machine, he was grateful his punishment wasn't worse.
Mr. Shin took the initiative to escape mainly because he had to --he was starving.
Once in South Korea, he was surprised the world had color.
Watching his mother and brother executed for trying to escape, Shin told us he "didn't shed a tear," thinking this barbaric black hole was "normal." He even justified his punishment --burnings and whippings-- for their actions.
When prison guards cut-off his finger tip for accidently damaging a sewing machine, he was grateful his punishment wasn't worse.
Mr. Shin took the initiative to escape mainly because he had to --he was starving.
Once in South Korea, he was surprised the world had color.
The Naughty Professor
Wolfram: The Naughty Professor themichiganview.com The Michigan View
- does raise questions about ethical behavior in a taxpayer-funded institution.
Danny Guthrie, associate professor of photography in MSU's Art Department, began taking nude photos of himself and current and former students according to a recent article in The State News.
When university officials told Guthrie to cease the photo shoots, he resisted.
- does raise questions about ethical behavior in a taxpayer-funded institution.
Danny Guthrie, associate professor of photography in MSU's Art Department, began taking nude photos of himself and current and former students according to a recent article in The State News.
When university officials told Guthrie to cease the photo shoots, he resisted.
James Hansen and the Corruption of Science
James Hansen and the Corruption of Science Power Line
We can’t say it enough: global warming alarmism is not science.
It is politics at best, outright fraud at worst.
We can’t say it enough: global warming alarmism is not science.
It is politics at best, outright fraud at worst.
Obama Admin Bans US Aircraft Maker, Favors Non-US Firm with Ties to Iran on Light Aircraft Project
The PJ Tatler » Obama Admin Bans US Aircraft Maker, Favors Non-US Firm with Ties to Iran on Light Aircraft Project
Why is the administration making a decision to exclude an American manufacturer in favor of a maker with such a history?
This is the Obama administration’s second billion-dollar giveaway to the Brazilian government in 2011; the first was its outrageous offshore oil loan guarantee decision in March.
The two decisions siphon more than $2 billion and more than 21,000 jobs out of the US economy
Why is the administration making a decision to exclude an American manufacturer in favor of a maker with such a history?
This is the Obama administration’s second billion-dollar giveaway to the Brazilian government in 2011; the first was its outrageous offshore oil loan guarantee decision in March.
The two decisions siphon more than $2 billion and more than 21,000 jobs out of the US economy
The Tebow Haters
The Tebow Haters - HUMAN EVENTS
Good people make bad people uncomfortable.
Their example nudges everyone to undertake the hard work to be better.
Our faults are so much easier to tolerate when we stand next to Jerry Sandusky.
Good people make bad people uncomfortable.
Their example nudges everyone to undertake the hard work to be better.
Our faults are so much easier to tolerate when we stand next to Jerry Sandusky.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Why Yankee Doodle called it “macaroni”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Why Yankee Doodle called it “macaroni”
The question has bothered me for decades.
We sang “Yankee Doodle” plenty of times at school, but nobody seemed to wonder why he would say that “a feather in his cap” was “macaroni.”
The question has bothered me for decades.
We sang “Yankee Doodle” plenty of times at school, but nobody seemed to wonder why he would say that “a feather in his cap” was “macaroni.”
Thanksgiving Meal for Ten Only $34.03 at Walmart
CARPE DIEM: Thanksgiving Meal for Ten Only $34.03 at Walmart
Update 1:
"What single organization in human history has made the greatest contribution to enriching and improving the lives of the poor, the middle class, the average citizen, the bottom of "the 99%," etc.?
I nominate Walmart."
Update 1:
"What single organization in human history has made the greatest contribution to enriching and improving the lives of the poor, the middle class, the average citizen, the bottom of "the 99%," etc.?
I nominate Walmart."
14,000 abandoned wind turbines
14,000 abandoned wind turbines « Don Surber
When an honest history of this period in the United States is written, it will no be kind to the corporate cronyism that preyed upon public ignorance of earth science to create a crisis — global warming — to exploit and loot the Treasury
When an honest history of this period in the United States is written, it will no be kind to the corporate cronyism that preyed upon public ignorance of earth science to create a crisis — global warming — to exploit and loot the Treasury
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Elite Firms Fishing in a Very Small Hiring Poo
Elite Firms Fishing in a Very Small Hiring Pool - Megan McArdle - Business - The Atlantic
1. Most applications practically go straight in the trash.
2. Evaluators have a lot of slack. . . . In fact, evaluators explicitly select candidates similar to themselves in school rank, grades, etc. For example:
[R]oughly one-third of evaluators did not use educational prestige as a signal.
One of the primary differences between these two groups was their own educational history, with those who had attended "top" schools being more likely to use educational prestige as a screen than those who had attended other types of selective institutions.
3. Super-elite credentials matter much more than your academic record:
[E]valuators drew strong distinctions between top four universities, schools that I term the super-elite, and other types of selective colleges and universities.
So-called "public Ivies" such as University of Michigan and Berkeley were not considered elite or even prestigious...
4. Super-elite schools matter because they're strong signals, not because they're better at building human capital:
Evaluators relied so intensely on "school" as a criterion of evaluation not because they believed that the content of elite curricula better prepared students for life in their firms - in fact, evaluators tended to believe that elite and, in particular, super-elite instruction was "too abstract," "overly theoretical," or even "useless" compared to the more "practical" and "relevant" training offered at "lesser" institutions...
[I]t was not the content of an elite education that employers valued but rather the perceived rigor of these institutions' admissions processes. According to this logic, the more prestigious a school, the higher its "bar" for admission, and thus the "smarter" its student body. . .
5. At least in this elite sample, I'm totally wrong to think that extracurriculars don't matter:
[E]valuators believed that the most attractive and enjoyable coworkers and candidates would be those who had strong extracurricular "passions." They also believed that involvement in activities outside of the classroom was evidence of superior social skill; they assumed a lack of involvement was a signal of social deficiencies... By contrast, those without significant extracurricular experiences or those who participated in activities that were primarily academically or pre-professionally oriented were perceived to be "boring," "tools," "bookworms," or "nerds" who might turn out to be "corporate drones" if hired.
1. Most applications practically go straight in the trash.
2. Evaluators have a lot of slack. . . . In fact, evaluators explicitly select candidates similar to themselves in school rank, grades, etc. For example:
[R]oughly one-third of evaluators did not use educational prestige as a signal.
One of the primary differences between these two groups was their own educational history, with those who had attended "top" schools being more likely to use educational prestige as a screen than those who had attended other types of selective institutions.
3. Super-elite credentials matter much more than your academic record:
[E]valuators drew strong distinctions between top four universities, schools that I term the super-elite, and other types of selective colleges and universities.
So-called "public Ivies" such as University of Michigan and Berkeley were not considered elite or even prestigious...
4. Super-elite schools matter because they're strong signals, not because they're better at building human capital:
Evaluators relied so intensely on "school" as a criterion of evaluation not because they believed that the content of elite curricula better prepared students for life in their firms - in fact, evaluators tended to believe that elite and, in particular, super-elite instruction was "too abstract," "overly theoretical," or even "useless" compared to the more "practical" and "relevant" training offered at "lesser" institutions...
[I]t was not the content of an elite education that employers valued but rather the perceived rigor of these institutions' admissions processes. According to this logic, the more prestigious a school, the higher its "bar" for admission, and thus the "smarter" its student body. . .
5. At least in this elite sample, I'm totally wrong to think that extracurriculars don't matter:
[E]valuators believed that the most attractive and enjoyable coworkers and candidates would be those who had strong extracurricular "passions." They also believed that involvement in activities outside of the classroom was evidence of superior social skill; they assumed a lack of involvement was a signal of social deficiencies... By contrast, those without significant extracurricular experiences or those who participated in activities that were primarily academically or pre-professionally oriented were perceived to be "boring," "tools," "bookworms," or "nerds" who might turn out to be "corporate drones" if hired.
Nancy Pelosi Wants A Federal Babysitting Service
Nancy Pelosi Wants A Federal Babysitting Service
"One of the great pieces of unfinished business is high-quality child care; I wonder why we just can’t do that,’’ she recently said to a California audience.
"One of the great pieces of unfinished business is high-quality child care; I wonder why we just can’t do that,’’ she recently said to a California audience.
Sierra Club leader departs amid discontent over group's direction
Sierra Club leader departs amid discontent over group's direction - latimes.com
He was replaced by Michael Brune, 40, a veteran of smaller activist groups, who has pledged to concentrate on grass-roots organizing, recruit new members and focus on such issues as coal-fired power plants.
He was replaced by Michael Brune, 40, a veteran of smaller activist groups, who has pledged to concentrate on grass-roots organizing, recruit new members and focus on such issues as coal-fired power plants.
Penn State’s institutional wickedness
Mark Steyn: Penn State’s institutional wickedness assistant, graduate, state - Opinion - The Orange County Register
Hold it right there.
"The next morning"?
Here surely is an almost too perfect snapshot of a culture that simultaneously destroys childhood and infantilizes adulthood.
The "child" in this vignette ought to be the 10-year-old boy, "hands up against the wall," but, instead, the "man" appropriates the child role for himself: Why, the graduate assistant is so "distraught" that he has to leave and telephone his father.
He is pushing 30, an age when previous generations would have had little boys of their own.
But today, confronted by a grade-schooler being sodomized before his eyes, the poor distraught child-man approaching early middle-age seeks out some fatherly advice, like one of Fred MacMurray's "My Three Sons" might have done had he seen the boy next door swiping a can of soda pop from the lunch counter.
....."When we say 'we don't know what we'd do under the same circumstances,' we make cowardice the default position."
Hold it right there.
"The next morning"?
Here surely is an almost too perfect snapshot of a culture that simultaneously destroys childhood and infantilizes adulthood.
The "child" in this vignette ought to be the 10-year-old boy, "hands up against the wall," but, instead, the "man" appropriates the child role for himself: Why, the graduate assistant is so "distraught" that he has to leave and telephone his father.
He is pushing 30, an age when previous generations would have had little boys of their own.
But today, confronted by a grade-schooler being sodomized before his eyes, the poor distraught child-man approaching early middle-age seeks out some fatherly advice, like one of Fred MacMurray's "My Three Sons" might have done had he seen the boy next door swiping a can of soda pop from the lunch counter.
....."When we say 'we don't know what we'd do under the same circumstances,' we make cowardice the default position."
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