Gorilla and George T. will be heading off for a week’s vacation.
Posting will be sporadic, if existent at all.
We’ll be glad of some relief from BP, the Know Nothing Party, and the pointless wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and on drugs, while trying to pump a little money into the staggering US economy.
Gorilla says: “Enjoy the arrival, screw the journey!”
Retail sales declined, looks like the “recovery” is still recovering!
Meanwhile, the banksters get another break from raising capital requirements via the Chairman of the Basel Reform Committee.
Take your time, boys, we’ve got your back, says Mr. Nout Wellink:
“Where there are trade-offs, these should go in the direction of giving banks the time to reach the new standards instead of watering down the standards themselves”.
Substantially higher capital ratios (on the order of 20-30%, not the pitiful 10% on offer) apparently not being a standard anyone in international banking seriously contemplates.
Gorilla says: “The ratio of doing nothing to pretending to do nothing exceeds 100%!”
Let’s see, it wasn’t 5,000 barrels/day leaking into the Gulf, it was 12-19,000…
Except when it became 25-30,000…
Except when independent scientists say it’s more on the order of 50-100,000…
Gorilla says: “Next up: BP estimates sanctions against Iran!”
Except of course that the Japanese are easily able to finance this debt by borrowing at lower rates than just about any major developed country…
The extreme fetishism about deficits and debt is truly inexplicable. It’s not based on economics, it’s based on trying to give the markets something they aren’t asking for!!!
Given the anemic world economic “recovery”, there should be lots more deficit spending, to tackle unemployment, rebuild infrastructure, and provide the tax revenues necessary to pay down the debt once economic growth is clear.
Instead, we appear to be bumping and grinding our way into deflation, with interest rates up against the zero bound and beggar-thy-neighbor as trade policy.
Gorilla says: “The rising sun is blinding common sense!”
The tidetime folklorist wonders when we will decide to back only one side in the war on (BP, Wall Street, drugs, terror, poverty?).
The Platter: Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell (Illusions No Longer Recalled)
The Bait: The Imaflit Jerk Bait (Clouds Look That Way)
Apparently, says our general in charge of Afghanistan!
There’s nothing like losing two wars to convince the Pentagon to be careful.
There aren’t enough troops in Afghanistan to do much more than prop up a corrupt government, and there’s no evidence that Afghanistan is anything other than a very distant, very medieval country that is no threat to anyone.
So, we continue the nonsense that we’re making a difference, change daily the rationale for our being there, and continue planning to declare victory and get out just as fast as we can.
Gorilla says: “Next summer, going fast will be the new going slow!”
Today, the Murkowski “resolution of disapproval”, essentially yet another attempt by the Know Nothing Party to gut environmental policy…
As a country, the US just isn’t serious about climate change and global warming.
We no longer do shared sacrifice (look at the ongoing demonization of the unemployed) and we refuse to move on from a foolish dependence on fossil fuels.
Gorilla says: “Murkowski is as murky as an oil plume!”
The top two in each group for the 2010 World Cup:
Group A: France, Mexico
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria
Group C: England, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Serbia
Group E: Netherlands, Japan
Group F: Italy, Paraguay
Group G: Brazil, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Chile
The top two in the bottom feeding group for the 2010 US Economy:
Group Z: BP, Goldman Sachs
As America continues down the path of “can’t do, won’t do” when it comes to unemployment, energy conservation, banksters, immigration, Israel, global warming, etc., a Swiss scientist has come up with a great idea: electricity generating windows!
And he’s gotten a big prize for his achievement! It’s all about using nanotechnology to mimic photosynthesis, allowing windows to use solar power to generate their own electricity.
Gorilla says: “Maybe the Swiss can invent some less cheezy leaders for us!”
Another day, another strong worded letter to BP from the US government…
Seems nobody knows what BP is doing about paying out claims, what BP’s calculation of the total oil spill is, and what plans BP has to clean up the mess!
Oh, and it’s already quite clear that BP plans to tie up the eventual settlement for years and may even file for bankruptcy to escape liability…
It’s long past time for the US government to seize BP’s assets in the region and to revoke permanently BP’s license to operate in America.
The idea that a multinational oil company has the same interests as the US government in getting things resolved is beyond naivety, all the way to stupidity.
Instead, we have a fifth-rate Coast Guard admiral who still has no idea how serious the problem is, and week after week of totally empty threats.
Gorilla says: “It’s like Iran, only without the sanctions!”
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