October 19, 2010 archive

“A difficult juncture for Goldman”

You think Americans out of work and losing their homes are having problems? Just read about how tough times are for our “friend” on Wall Street. Susanne Craig at the New York Times writes ‘Goldman Wrestles With a Weak Quarter‘.

Goldman posted net revenue, or revenue minus interest expense, in its investment bank of $1.1 billion, up 24 percent from the period a year earlier. Trading, however, was another story. Net revenue in its powerful fixed-income, currency and commodities unit dropped 37 percent, to $3.8 billion. And net revenue from equities trading and commissions fell 33 percent, to $1.9 billion.

The slowdown in trading comes at a difficult juncture for Goldman. It has been the target of criticism from Washington and Main Street over its quick return to huge profits and big bonuses months after the financial crisis, when financial firms, including Goldman, were forced to accept government help.

No firm returned to profitability faster than Goldman, which set aside $3.8 billion in compensation in the third quarter quarter. It will not decide what it will pay out until the fourth quarter, but so far this year it has put aside $13.1 billion in pay for its 35,000 employees.

The banksters have sucked dry much of the American economy. When a parasite totally consumes its host, it needs to find a new host or die. Obviously, there is still is American economic blood left to suck, as demonstrated by Goldman’s looting of $1.9 billion in the 3rd quarter of 2010. But billions of dollars in profits and a concern that $13,100,000,000 won’t be enough to keep 35,000 employees in caviar come New Year’s 2011 do not constitute a “difficult juncture”.  

Open Baseball

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Condoleezza Rice Arrested in San Francisco Monday

codepinkaction | 18 October 2010 On October 18, 2010, when former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke about her childhood and new book at the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, she was confronted by five Bay Area activists who performed a citizens arrest for war crimes, lying the US into the invasion of Iraq and the murders of 5,000+ US soldiers and over 1 million Iraqi people. Disruptions occur throughout this 7.5 minute clip. Demand accountability at http://bit.ly/condoleezza    

Docudharma Times Tuesday October 19




Tuesday’s Headlines:

Making the cut at sushi academy

USA

U.S. Pushes to Ease Technical Obstacles to Wiretapping

Foreclosure freeze leads to uneasy politics for Democrats

Europe

Germany’s neighbours from hell

Sarkozy defies French strikers on pension reform

Middle East

Kurdish rebels tell Turkey: keep your promises or ceasefire is over

The Dangers of Being a Journalist in Iran

Asia

Pakistan intelligence services ‘aided Mumbai terror attacks’

Xi Jinping on Track for Chinese Presidency

Africa

Corrupt east African nations ‘running global crime’

Somali militants ban mobile money transfers

Latin America

After Rescue, The Fight for Compensation Begins

Flight delays cost passengers $16.7 billion

FAA-funded study factors in time lost, secondary travel arrangements

By JOAN LOWY

WASHINGTON – Airline flight delays cost passengers more than inconvenience – $16.7 billion more – according to a study delivered to the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday.

The FAA-funded study looks at the cost to passengers for flight delays in 2007, the latest year for which complete data was available when researchers began working on the study.

Unlike past studies of the impact of flight delays, researchers looked more broadly at the costs associated with flight delays, including passengers’ lost time waiting for flights and then scrambling to make other arrangements when flights are canceled.

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

Time for a break from poetry…in order to create some art.

My uncle ordered popovers

from the restaurant’s bill of fare.

And, when they were served,

he regarded them with a penetrating stare.

Then he spoke great words of wisdom

as he sat there on that chair:

“To eat these things,” said my uncle,

“You must exercise great care.

You may swallow down what’s solid,

but you must spit out the air!”

And as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,

that’s darned good advice to follow.

Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.

And be careful what you swallow.

–Theodore Seuss Geisel



Planetary System

Native American Green candidate for Lieutenant Governor in California

While perusing my California Sample Ballot to decide between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, I was suddenly shocked.  What to my wondering eyes should appear but this listing of occupation for a candidate for Lieutenant Governor:

Cultural Spiritual Advisor

What the???   Right there under the name of James “Jimi” Castillo, the Sample Ballot read

Cultural Spiritual Advisor

No shit?  Is this for real?  Jimi’s party affiliation was listed as Green, so I went to my Green Voter Guide to check.  Sure enough, we Californians have the opportunity to vote for a “Cultural Spiritual Advisor” for Lieutenant Governor rather than Democrat Gavin Newson or Republican Abel Maldonado.

Here’s a snip:

While Gavin Newsom is a multi-millionaire businessman

funded by a multi-billionaire oil heir, Green Party Lt.

Governor Candidate Jimi Castillo is a Native American

spiritual leader of Tongva/Acjachemen ancestry, the first Native

American to run for the office of Lieutenant Governor

in California. A Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, as well as

a member of the statewide Bear Clan Society, Castillo has

a lifetime of hands-on experience working directly with

people and communities, particularly in counseling youth

at correctional facilities (he was a counselor and Board

member for the Southeast Area Counseling Center in Santa

Fe Springs), defending and educating on Native American

culture in ceremonial and prayer events, and speaking at

conferences and classes at UCLA’s American Indian Studies

Center and the UCLA Native American Student Association.

More below the fold from green voter guide (pdf)

Late Night Karaoke

Fantasy Fun 20101018: Let’s Have Dinner Together

Well, not you and me particularly, but with some historical figures.  This was sort of spurred by Keith Olbermann’s story about Michele Bachmann’s list of people with whom she would like to have dinner.  I could not imagine a dinner with only six to eight folks, including me, wherein I could meet everyone that I would want, so I have set up a series of dinners with diverse groups of folks that I would love to get to know.  By the way, K.O. will be in a future installment if there is enough interest in this series.

Tonight’s installment will include a dinner with physicists (or their historical counterparts) that are both living and dead.  Here are my rules:  1) I am not personally acquainted with anyone mentioned (a chance meeting, like on a flight does not count), 2) within certain limits, only a maximum of eight people can attend.  More than that would make highly interactive conversation difficult, and 3) there is no language barrier.

No Magic This Year

This Saturday will be the first year in which I don’t do the Haunted Hay Ride.  For 28 years it was a magical time of year for me and my family and it hurts to not do it.