October 11, 2010 archive

Oct 11 2010

‘Deer in the Headlights’ — They’re Not!

Supposedly ‘Uncertainty‘ is the new Corporate buzzword.

‘Uncertainty‘ is the Mantra that keeps them FROZEN with inaction.

Well I guess, a lot depends on what kind of ‘Action’ — were looking at.

America’s Corporate Cash Cushion

Jonathan Cheng, WSJ Market Beat — Sep 17, 2010

The Federal Reserve put out its quarterly report on fund flows today, which shows corporate balance sheets more or less flat at $1.845 trillion, compared to $1.847 trillion in the first quarter of 2010.

[…]

“Companies weren’t stuck like a deer in the headlights because of regulatory or political uncertainty,” he said. Instead, he says corporate directors have been spending on capital expenditures, M&A, and buybacks and dividends.  [ … according to Anthony Carfang, from at Chicago-based corporate treasury consultancy Treasury Strategies.]

Dividends and buybacks, like the ones announced after market close yesterday by Texas Instruments, are on the rise […]

Be afraid, be very afraid, people — Or so the Corporate Speakers are telling us.

Oct 11 2010

Open Sherman

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Oct 11 2010

Christopher Columbus & His Crimes Against Humanity

Christopher Columbus:


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The Christian Crusades had ended in 1291, the Black Death had been deliberately blamed on innocent Jews who said what their Christian torturers forced them to, that they poisoned water wells, causing the Black Death.

Oct 11 2010

In Response to Feminism’s Generation Wars: An Open Letter

Here an introduction for the layperson.  The past several months have seen a flurry of postings and columns in which Generation X and Y Feminists have expressed exasperation at the ways of their Baby Boomers mothers.  Snark and sarcasm factors have been high.  This argument has quickly grown very personal indeed.  Linked below is the latest salvo in a growing war of bitterness and resentment.  What I have written here may not be worded as tactfully as it needs to be, but I wrote it feeling decidedly annoyed and opted to keep my initial response.  The essay I have referenced is snide and condemnatory, so I couldn’t help but return a volley or two of my own.  

Oct 11 2010

MSM Ratings Drop! Legal Blindness

Oct 11 2010

Docudharma Times Monday October 11




Momday’s Headlines:

IN THE COCKPIT

USA

Obama continues attack on Chamber of Commerce

How Hank Paulson’s inaction helped Goldman Sachs

Europe

New toxic sludge threat in Hungary

7 July London bombings inquests to begin

Middle East

Israeli cabinet approves loyalty oath for non-Jews

Asia

Pakistan’s nuclear arms push angers America

China’s security apparatus is as Orwellian as ever

Africa

Sudan president warns of greater conflict with south

Chombo feels the heat

Latin America

Journalists and a clown leave mark on ‘Camp Hope’

How big government should be stirs debate

 

By Susan Page, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – Americans are having a crisis of confidence in their government.

A majority in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll disapprove of the jobs President Obama and Congress are doing and have unfavorable views of both major political parties. Only half express even a fair amount of trust and confidence in the people who hold or are running for public office. Just one in four are satisfied with the way the nation is being governed.

Meanwhile, six in 10 Americans say the government has too much power, and nearly half agree with this alarming statement: “The federal government poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedom of ordinary citizens.”

Oct 11 2010

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

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

A “normal” person is the sort of person that might be designed by a committee.  You know, “Each person puts in a pretty color and it comes out gray.” 

–Alan Sherman


Jewel in a Basket

Oct 11 2010

Late Night Karaoke

Oct 11 2010

Pique the Geek 20101010: Sustainability: Evil Plastic Bottles

Welcome to the third to last xx/xx/xx year in our lifetimes  Only next year and 2012 until we wait another 88 years for one.

Now that I have gotten your attention, actually MOST plastic bottles are not evil from a health and safety perspective, but the way that we use them certainly is evil.  I did say MOST, since by far the greatest number of plastic containers are made of polyethylene (PE, recycle code 2), polypropylene (PP, recycle code 5), or polyethylene terephthalate, (PET or PETE, recycle code 1).  These materials are not very apt to leach harmful materials into the contents.

Some plastics, notably polycarbonate (PC, recycle code 7 [7 is a catch all for “other”]) are apt to leach out harmful materials, particularly bisphenol A, strongly suspected as being an endocrine system disruptor because of its potential to mimic estrogen.  Polycarbonate containers are clear and usually thick, while PE and PP are translucent.  PETE is also clear, but usually quite a bit thinner than PC.  Just look at the recycle codes on the bottom.

Oct 11 2010

Backalley Blogging: Spaciousness

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(Towering Spaciousness, Hans Hofman.  h/t The Blind Swimmer)

An excerpt from Digital Tibetan Buddhist Altar’s Tibetan Astrology

… I am suggesting that the time has come to absorb the longevity of a troublesome embodiment of malevolence and anger, purify it, and liberate it into basic space.

There are many ways to view this suggestion.  One can view it in its plain meaning or in the context of Tibetan Buddhist (and in this instance, Bon) teachings and traditions.  In particular, the phrase “liberate it into basic space” has a very specific meaning in both the Bon and Tibetan Buddhist practice.

So much for any hint of rationality.  The back alleys have a different ambiance.

Luxury Persian carpets and velvet curtains, leather chairs in book lined studies with gleams of brass and crystal are all very nice.

Back alleys have the silver gleam of trashcan covers in the dim white light of a quarter moon, infinitely textured shadows culminating in narrow corners turned with great panache, well la la la.

The rest is on the flip.