The number of confirmed bird/swine/human flu is officially (according to WHO) seven. Not hundreds. Seven.
What was the real purpose of the hysterical fear-mongering? Was the purpose to scare people into accepting martial law?
Mass. Senate approves pandemic flu prep bill
By Associated Press
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Massachusetts Senate has unanimously passed a pandemic flu preparation bill that has languished in the Legislature before the recent swine flu outbreak.
The 36-0 vote today sends the measure to the House. Both branches have taken it up in past years, but have not been able to agree on the details.
The new Senate version would allow the public health commissioner — in a public health emergency — to close or evacuate buildings, enter private property for investigations, and quarantine individuals.
...
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Hair Weave Weed Block
New food-growth product a bit hairy
A Florida company has developed an all-natural product that it says could revolutionize how food is grown in the U.S.
...
This warehouse is stacked floor-to-ceiling with hundreds of canvas bundles, shaped like giant sausages, filled with hair. The hair was boiled and sanitized before it was weaved into mats by needle-punch machines.
...
A Florida company has developed an all-natural product that it says could revolutionize how food is grown in the U.S.
...
This warehouse is stacked floor-to-ceiling with hundreds of canvas bundles, shaped like giant sausages, filled with hair. The hair was boiled and sanitized before it was weaved into mats by needle-punch machines.
...
Mass Immunization
A person with the World Health Organization says the death tally for bird/pig/human flu is overstated. Why are inflated death numbers being reported?
In any population, people will die from flu every day. Would Mexican authorities be served by implementing a crackdown?
Would American authorities be served by scaring people into taking risky immunizations?
Only 7 swine flu deaths, not 152, says WHO
April 29, 2009
A member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has dismissed claims that more than 150 people have died from swine flu, saying it has officially recorded only seven deaths around the world.
Vivienne Allan, from WHO's patient safety program, said the body had confirmed that worldwide there had been just seven deaths - all in Mexico - and 79 confirmed cases of the disease.
...
In any population, people will die from flu every day. Would Mexican authorities be served by implementing a crackdown?
Would American authorities be served by scaring people into taking risky immunizations?
Only 7 swine flu deaths, not 152, says WHO
April 29, 2009
A member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has dismissed claims that more than 150 people have died from swine flu, saying it has officially recorded only seven deaths around the world.
Vivienne Allan, from WHO's patient safety program, said the body had confirmed that worldwide there had been just seven deaths - all in Mexico - and 79 confirmed cases of the disease.
...
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
9/11 Fears Re-Ignited In New York City
White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover
By A. G. Sulzberger AND Matthew L. Wald
An Air Force One lookalike, the backup plane for the one regularly used by the president, flew low over parts of New York and New Jersey on Monday morning, accompanied by two F-16 fighters, so Air Force photographers could take pictures high above the New York harbor.
But the exercise — conducted without any notification to the public — caused momentary panic in some quarters and led to the evacuation of several buildings in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City.
...
A group of financial services workers, who were gathered outside the same building but declined to give their names, described their reactions. “I saw the landing gear and I was out of here,” one said. Another said: “There were people in my elevator, sweating and shaking. There were women
crying. It was not an experience to be taken lightly.”
Andrew Burke, 49, a T-shirt vendor from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, said: “People panicked and ran into the streets thinking the worst.” He added, “It’s a real shame they couldn’t tell the city what they were going to do.”
...
By A. G. Sulzberger AND Matthew L. Wald
An Air Force One lookalike, the backup plane for the one regularly used by the president, flew low over parts of New York and New Jersey on Monday morning, accompanied by two F-16 fighters, so Air Force photographers could take pictures high above the New York harbor.
But the exercise — conducted without any notification to the public — caused momentary panic in some quarters and led to the evacuation of several buildings in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City.
...
A group of financial services workers, who were gathered outside the same building but declined to give their names, described their reactions. “I saw the landing gear and I was out of here,” one said. Another said: “There were people in my elevator, sweating and shaking. There were women
crying. It was not an experience to be taken lightly.”
Andrew Burke, 49, a T-shirt vendor from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, said: “People panicked and ran into the streets thinking the worst.” He added, “It’s a real shame they couldn’t tell the city what they were going to do.”
...
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Portugal Drug Decriminalization
Portugal decriminalize drug possession in 2001. Since then HIV infection rates are down, drug overdose deaths are down, and drug use is down.
Portugal's experience shows decriminalization can work
Both drug-related pathologies and overall drug use have decreased there since its drug law was moderated
BY PETER MCKNIGHT, VANCOUVER SUN COLUMNIST
APRIL 18, 2009
... Portugal formally decriminalized possession of all illicit drugs in 2001. ...
According to American constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald, who produced a report on Portugal's drug policy for the Washington-based Cato Institute, decriminalization has led to a reduction in drug-related pathologies -- precisely what advocates predicted -- and a reduction in drug use -- precisely the opposite of what opponents feared.
While experiencing severe drug problems in the 1990s, Portugal formed the Commission for a National Drug Strategy, which issued in 1998 a report stressing that criminalization drove resources away from treatment and deterred people from seeking help for addiction. Consequently, the commission recommended decriminalization to reduce both the use and abuse of illicit drugs.
...
Portugal's experience shows decriminalization can work
Both drug-related pathologies and overall drug use have decreased there since its drug law was moderated
BY PETER MCKNIGHT, VANCOUVER SUN COLUMNIST
APRIL 18, 2009
... Portugal formally decriminalized possession of all illicit drugs in 2001. ...
According to American constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald, who produced a report on Portugal's drug policy for the Washington-based Cato Institute, decriminalization has led to a reduction in drug-related pathologies -- precisely what advocates predicted -- and a reduction in drug use -- precisely the opposite of what opponents feared.
While experiencing severe drug problems in the 1990s, Portugal formed the Commission for a National Drug Strategy, which issued in 1998 a report stressing that criminalization drove resources away from treatment and deterred people from seeking help for addiction. Consequently, the commission recommended decriminalization to reduce both the use and abuse of illicit drugs.
...
Friday, April 24, 2009
Companies Dumping Drugs In Rivers
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are dumping drugs and drug manufacturing by-products into rivers that are sources for human drinking water. Most drinking water providers do not remove the toxic drug by-products.
The federal government continues to fail to regulate.
Tons of released drugs taint US water
April 20th, 2009 By JEFF DONN, MARTHA MENDOZA and JUSTIN PRITCHARD , Associated Press Writers
(AP) -- U.S. manufacturers, including major drugmakers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water - contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked, according to an Associated Press investigation.
...
The federal government continues to fail to regulate.
Tons of released drugs taint US water
April 20th, 2009 By JEFF DONN, MARTHA MENDOZA and JUSTIN PRITCHARD , Associated Press Writers
(AP) -- U.S. manufacturers, including major drugmakers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water - contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked, according to an Associated Press investigation.
...
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Lies, Fraud, Indictments?
When will Paulson, Bernanke, and Lewis be indicted for their lies and fraud?
Lewis Testifies U.S. Urged Silence on Deal
Bank of America Chief Says Bernanke, Paulson Barred Disclosure of Merrill Woes Because of Fears for Financial System
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Department chief Henry Paulson pressured Bank of America Corp. to not discuss its increasingly troubled plan to buy Merrill Lynch & Co. -- a deal that later triggered a government bailout of BofA -- according to testimony by Kenneth Lewis, the bank's chief executive.
Mr. Lewis, testifying under oath before New York's attorney general in February, told prosecutors that he believed Messrs. Paulson and Bernanke were instructing him to keep silent about deepening financial difficulties at Merrill, the struggling brokerage giant. ...
Lewis Testifies U.S. Urged Silence on Deal
Bank of America Chief Says Bernanke, Paulson Barred Disclosure of Merrill Woes Because of Fears for Financial System
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Department chief Henry Paulson pressured Bank of America Corp. to not discuss its increasingly troubled plan to buy Merrill Lynch & Co. -- a deal that later triggered a government bailout of BofA -- according to testimony by Kenneth Lewis, the bank's chief executive.
Mr. Lewis, testifying under oath before New York's attorney general in February, told prosecutors that he believed Messrs. Paulson and Bernanke were instructing him to keep silent about deepening financial difficulties at Merrill, the struggling brokerage giant. ...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Regional Fed Chief: Let Banks Fail
A Federal Reserve Regional Bank chief tells Congress to allow the broken banks to fail. It would have been nice to have had the powers that be in the Federal Reserve speaking this logic six months ago.
Regional Fed chief Hoenig: Let insolvent banks fail
Denver Business Journal - by Renée McGaw
Bailing out insolvent financial institutions is prolonging the recession and increasing its cost, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Tom Hoenig told members of Congress Tuesday.
Insolvent institutions should be allowed to fail, he said.
Hoenig, the head of a Fed district that includes Colorado, has emerged as a blunt critic of the federal government’s $700 billion bank bailout plan. He was summoned to testify at a hearing of the congressional Joint Economic Committee, a rare invitation for a leader of one of the Fed’s 12 regional banks.
...
He went on to say that maybe we shouldn't let some special banks fail. Who determines if a bank is important enough to get "triage" and if that bank is insolvent then why shouldn't their bond holders and stock holders be wiped out?
He recommended that the government “triage” systemically important financial institutions.
Regional Fed chief Hoenig: Let insolvent banks fail
Denver Business Journal - by Renée McGaw
Bailing out insolvent financial institutions is prolonging the recession and increasing its cost, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Tom Hoenig told members of Congress Tuesday.
Insolvent institutions should be allowed to fail, he said.
Hoenig, the head of a Fed district that includes Colorado, has emerged as a blunt critic of the federal government’s $700 billion bank bailout plan. He was summoned to testify at a hearing of the congressional Joint Economic Committee, a rare invitation for a leader of one of the Fed’s 12 regional banks.
...
He went on to say that maybe we shouldn't let some special banks fail. Who determines if a bank is important enough to get "triage" and if that bank is insolvent then why shouldn't their bond holders and stock holders be wiped out?
He recommended that the government “triage” systemically important financial institutions.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Antarctic Ice Is Growing
It is apparent that variations in temperature is causing some warming and some cooling. The worldwide effort to regulate carbon dioxide output is being seen for what it is - a form of one-world-government taxation to put everyone under the control of those in power.
Antarctic ice is growing, not melting away
By Greg Roberts
The Australian
April 18, 2009
Cool down ... ice is expanding in much of the Antarctic, experts say / Reuters
* Ice expanding in much of Antarctica
* Eastern coast getting colder
* Western section remains a concern
ICE is expanding in much of Antarctica, contrary to the widespread public belief that global warming is melting the continental ice cap.
...
East Antarctica is four times the size of west Antarctica and parts of it are cooling. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research report prepared for last week's meeting of Antarctic Treaty nations in Washington noted the South Pole had shown "significant cooling in recent decades".
...
Antarctic ice is growing, not melting away
By Greg Roberts
The Australian
April 18, 2009
Cool down ... ice is expanding in much of the Antarctic, experts say / Reuters
* Ice expanding in much of Antarctica
* Eastern coast getting colder
* Western section remains a concern
ICE is expanding in much of Antarctica, contrary to the widespread public belief that global warming is melting the continental ice cap.
...
East Antarctica is four times the size of west Antarctica and parts of it are cooling. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research report prepared for last week's meeting of Antarctic Treaty nations in Washington noted the South Pole had shown "significant cooling in recent decades".
...
Saturday, April 18, 2009
America's Setting Sun; President Enables More Financial Theft
The well-respected Christian Science Monitor published a piece stating the days of the American empire are over. This is simply common-sense, though common-sense is rarely published.
America: a superpower no more
Decline is occurring more rapidly than we think. It's time to embrace a new agenda.
By Walter Rodgers
from the April 8, 2009 edition
Print this Letter to the Editor Republish Email and share E-mail newsletters RSS
Oakton, Va. - Two American icons, General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway, lost their triple-A credit ratings. Then China, America's largest creditor, called for a new global currency to replace the dollar just weeks after it demanded Washington guarantee the safety of Beijing's nearly $1 trillion debt holdings. And that was just in March.
These events are the latest warnings that our world is changing far more rapidly and profoundly than we – or our politicians – will admit. America's own triple-A rating, its superpower status, is being downgraded as rapidly as its economy.
President Obama's recent acknowledgement that the US is not winning in Afghanistan is but the most obvious recognition of this jarring new reality. What was the president telling Americans? As Milton Bearden, a former top CIA analyst on Afghanistan, recently put it, "If you aren't winning, you're losing." ...
The well-respected Bloomberg financial publishing house has an article by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz in which he states that Obama's financial bailout plan will fail to help America because it is actually a plan to bailout bankers at taxpayer expense. If the purpose of the financial bailouts are to transfer more of America's wealth to the fat-cat politcally-connected bankers, then Obama's Secretary of the Treasury (Tim tax-cheat Geithner) is working as planned.
Stiglitz Says Ties to Wall Street Doom Bank Rescue (Update1)
By Michael McKee and Matthew Benjamin
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration’s bank- rescue efforts will probably fail because the programs have been designed to help Wall Street rather than create a viable financial system, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said.
“All the ingredients they have so far are weak, and there are several missing ingredients,” Stiglitz said in an interview yesterday. The people who designed the plans are “either in the pocket of the banks or they’re incompetent.” ...
America: a superpower no more
Decline is occurring more rapidly than we think. It's time to embrace a new agenda.
By Walter Rodgers
from the April 8, 2009 edition
Print this Letter to the Editor Republish Email and share E-mail newsletters RSS
Oakton, Va. - Two American icons, General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway, lost their triple-A credit ratings. Then China, America's largest creditor, called for a new global currency to replace the dollar just weeks after it demanded Washington guarantee the safety of Beijing's nearly $1 trillion debt holdings. And that was just in March.
These events are the latest warnings that our world is changing far more rapidly and profoundly than we – or our politicians – will admit. America's own triple-A rating, its superpower status, is being downgraded as rapidly as its economy.
President Obama's recent acknowledgement that the US is not winning in Afghanistan is but the most obvious recognition of this jarring new reality. What was the president telling Americans? As Milton Bearden, a former top CIA analyst on Afghanistan, recently put it, "If you aren't winning, you're losing." ...
The well-respected Bloomberg financial publishing house has an article by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz in which he states that Obama's financial bailout plan will fail to help America because it is actually a plan to bailout bankers at taxpayer expense. If the purpose of the financial bailouts are to transfer more of America's wealth to the fat-cat politcally-connected bankers, then Obama's Secretary of the Treasury (Tim tax-cheat Geithner) is working as planned.
Stiglitz Says Ties to Wall Street Doom Bank Rescue (Update1)
By Michael McKee and Matthew Benjamin
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration’s bank- rescue efforts will probably fail because the programs have been designed to help Wall Street rather than create a viable financial system, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said.
“All the ingredients they have so far are weak, and there are several missing ingredients,” Stiglitz said in an interview yesterday. The people who designed the plans are “either in the pocket of the banks or they’re incompetent.” ...
Friday, April 17, 2009
AIG Boss Enriches Himself With Taxpayer's Funds
plutocracy
1 : government by the wealthy
2 : a controlling class of the wealthy
The boss of the government (taxpayer) owned AIG says he is taking just $1 in salary. What about other compensation? Other compensation like the taxpayer's bailout money that you sent to Goldman Sachs to boost the value of the $3 million of Goldman Sachs stock he owns.
America has become a plutocracy of government by the wealthy, and the wealthy who control the government continue to steal from the taxpayers while pretending to take just $1. They are taking trillions of dollars.
AIG CEO Edward Liddy owns $3 million of stock in Goldman Sachs.
1 : government by the wealthy
2 : a controlling class of the wealthy
The boss of the government (taxpayer) owned AIG says he is taking just $1 in salary. What about other compensation? Other compensation like the taxpayer's bailout money that you sent to Goldman Sachs to boost the value of the $3 million of Goldman Sachs stock he owns.
America has become a plutocracy of government by the wealthy, and the wealthy who control the government continue to steal from the taxpayers while pretending to take just $1. They are taking trillions of dollars.
AIG CEO Edward Liddy owns $3 million of stock in Goldman Sachs.
Deflation In Germany
Germany is the large engine of European commerce and manufacturing. On a relative basis, the other European nations with less economic strength will really be suffering economically.
Governments in general are not prepared for deflation. As a corollary, the citizens aren't typically prepared. Citizens who have saved or who have secure fixed incomes will benefit from falling prices.
German wholesale prices see record decline in 22 years
BERLIN, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Wholesale prices in Germany dropped 8.0 percent in March compared with the same month last year, the biggest year-on-year decline since January 1987, the German Federal Statistical Office said Wednesday.
Compared to February, however, wholesale prices declined 0.9 percent, said the Wiesbaden-based statistics office.
Governments in general are not prepared for deflation. As a corollary, the citizens aren't typically prepared. Citizens who have saved or who have secure fixed incomes will benefit from falling prices.
German wholesale prices see record decline in 22 years
BERLIN, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Wholesale prices in Germany dropped 8.0 percent in March compared with the same month last year, the biggest year-on-year decline since January 1987, the German Federal Statistical Office said Wednesday.
Compared to February, however, wholesale prices declined 0.9 percent, said the Wiesbaden-based statistics office.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Unexpected Decline
An "unexpected" drop in sales? It is obvious to people in the real world that people are buying less in order to pay down debt and save some money.
Economy still vulnerable as retail sales fall
Retail sales disappoint; Obama, Bernanke warn of slow recovery amid signs of hope
Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The recession is easing? Not so fast. An unexpected drop in sales of just about everything from cars to clothes sent a sobering message Tuesday: The economy is still vulnerable.
...
Here is a juicy quote from a delusional person who is clearly not in the real world:
"I liken it to a lawnmower engine that hasn't been started in a while," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research Corp. "You're going to get some sputtering of activity, and you'll get a couple of false firings as well."
Economy still vulnerable as retail sales fall
Retail sales disappoint; Obama, Bernanke warn of slow recovery amid signs of hope
Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The recession is easing? Not so fast. An unexpected drop in sales of just about everything from cars to clothes sent a sobering message Tuesday: The economy is still vulnerable.
...
Here is a juicy quote from a delusional person who is clearly not in the real world:
"I liken it to a lawnmower engine that hasn't been started in a while," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research Corp. "You're going to get some sputtering of activity, and you'll get a couple of false firings as well."
Conservation and Sustainable Living
Overconsumption has been blamed for many ills including "global warming". People are now consuming less, conserving, and their lives are becoming more sustainable.
Less consumption means less pollution and more affordable living. The greens and Al Gore should be dancing!
Consumer prices fall as energy demand slumps
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer prices fell in March and recorded their first 12-month drop since 1955, government data showed on Wednesday, as slumping demand amid a severe recession pushed down energy and food costs.
The Labor Department said its closely watched Consumer Price Index fell 0.1 percent, after increasing 0.4 percent in February. On a year-over-year basis, consumer prices dived 0.4 percent, the first 12-month decline since August 1955.
...
Less consumption means less pollution and more affordable living. The greens and Al Gore should be dancing!
Consumer prices fall as energy demand slumps
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer prices fell in March and recorded their first 12-month drop since 1955, government data showed on Wednesday, as slumping demand amid a severe recession pushed down energy and food costs.
The Labor Department said its closely watched Consumer Price Index fell 0.1 percent, after increasing 0.4 percent in February. On a year-over-year basis, consumer prices dived 0.4 percent, the first 12-month decline since August 1955.
...
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Video Of Gang Thugs Killing Unarmed Man
A gang of criminals wearing yellow jackets (their gang colors) assault and kill an unarmed man in England.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2009/apr/07/g20-police-assault-video
The man who shot the footage, a fund manager from New York who was in London on business, said: "The primary reason for me coming forward is that it was clear the family were not getting any answers."
The Guardian's dossier also includes a sequence of photographs, taken by three different people, showing the aftermath of the attack, as well as witness statements from people in the area at the time.
A number of witnesses provided time and date-stamped photographs that substantiate their accounts.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2009/apr/07/g20-police-assault-video
The man who shot the footage, a fund manager from New York who was in London on business, said: "The primary reason for me coming forward is that it was clear the family were not getting any answers."
The Guardian's dossier also includes a sequence of photographs, taken by three different people, showing the aftermath of the attack, as well as witness statements from people in the area at the time.
A number of witnesses provided time and date-stamped photographs that substantiate their accounts.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Mark-To-Fantasy
FASB caved in to political pressure and will allow companies to guess at market values. This will allow "assets" to be priced at fantasy levels, thus reducing required reserves and making insolvent companies appear to be solvent.
In time, people will understand the impossibility of valuing companies and investors in mark-to-fantasy companies and industries will simply leave. In the meantime, bankers are relieved they will be able to manipulate "earnings" to ensure bonuses and the stock market is due for a relief rally.
Charles Bowsher understands the FASB change will allow more fraud, and he resigns postition on Board of Directors of Federal Home Loan Banks (2nd largest borrower in USA after the Feds). Charles Bowsher was previously the USA's Comptroller General.
Honest Man Emerges From Muck of Banking Crisis: Jonathan Weil
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Remember this man’s name: Charles Bowsher. He’s one of the few people leaving the banking crisis behind with his reputation enhanced.
Bowsher, who was comptroller general of the U.S. from 1981 to 1996, had a simple reason for resigning last week as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank System’s Office of Finance. He didn’t want to put his name on the banks’ combined financial statements, because he was uncomfortable vouching for them. Bowsher, 77, had held the post since April 2007.
...
Office of Finance Announces Resignation of Board Chairman
The FHLBanks Office of Finance, the debt issuance facility of the Federal Home Loan Banks, announced today that Charles A. Bowsher has resigned as the private citizen member of the Office of Finance Board of Directors. ...
FHLB Chairman Disgusted With FASB Accounting Alchemy, Quits
When the man in charge of the second largest borrower in the U.S. is willing to lose his job due to his discomfort with the FASB's shift in accounting rules, you can bet that the tragic fallout of all the "market buoying" recent events is only a matter of time. ...
Charles Bowsher, who was most recently Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank System's Office of Finance and previously served as U.S. comptroller general may be the only truly honorable man in the socialist nexus of politics and finance. The reason for his departure from this critical post - his discomfort in vouching for the banks' combined financial statements. And as Weil puts it succinctly: "Now the question for taxpayers is this: If Charles Bowsher can’t get comfortable with these banks’ financial statements, why should anybody else be?" ...
In time, people will understand the impossibility of valuing companies and investors in mark-to-fantasy companies and industries will simply leave. In the meantime, bankers are relieved they will be able to manipulate "earnings" to ensure bonuses and the stock market is due for a relief rally.
Charles Bowsher understands the FASB change will allow more fraud, and he resigns postition on Board of Directors of Federal Home Loan Banks (2nd largest borrower in USA after the Feds). Charles Bowsher was previously the USA's Comptroller General.
Honest Man Emerges From Muck of Banking Crisis: Jonathan Weil
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Remember this man’s name: Charles Bowsher. He’s one of the few people leaving the banking crisis behind with his reputation enhanced.
Bowsher, who was comptroller general of the U.S. from 1981 to 1996, had a simple reason for resigning last week as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank System’s Office of Finance. He didn’t want to put his name on the banks’ combined financial statements, because he was uncomfortable vouching for them. Bowsher, 77, had held the post since April 2007.
...
Office of Finance Announces Resignation of Board Chairman
The FHLBanks Office of Finance, the debt issuance facility of the Federal Home Loan Banks, announced today that Charles A. Bowsher has resigned as the private citizen member of the Office of Finance Board of Directors. ...
FHLB Chairman Disgusted With FASB Accounting Alchemy, Quits
When the man in charge of the second largest borrower in the U.S. is willing to lose his job due to his discomfort with the FASB's shift in accounting rules, you can bet that the tragic fallout of all the "market buoying" recent events is only a matter of time. ...
Charles Bowsher, who was most recently Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank System's Office of Finance and previously served as U.S. comptroller general may be the only truly honorable man in the socialist nexus of politics and finance. The reason for his departure from this critical post - his discomfort in vouching for the banks' combined financial statements. And as Weil puts it succinctly: "Now the question for taxpayers is this: If Charles Bowsher can’t get comfortable with these banks’ financial statements, why should anybody else be?" ...
Cortisol and Autism
It would be interesting to determine if diet and/or exercise would moderate the Asperger condition.
Asperger Syndrome Tied to Low Cortisol Levels
THURSDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- Low levels of a stress hormone may be responsible for the obsession with routine and dislike for new experiences common in children with a certain type of autism.
U.K. researchers found that children with Asperger syndrome (AS) do not experience the normal twofold increase of cortisol upon waking up. Levels of the hormone in their bodies do continue to decrease throughout the day, though, just as they do in those without the syndrome.
...
Asperger Syndrome Tied to Low Cortisol Levels
THURSDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- Low levels of a stress hormone may be responsible for the obsession with routine and dislike for new experiences common in children with a certain type of autism.
U.K. researchers found that children with Asperger syndrome (AS) do not experience the normal twofold increase of cortisol upon waking up. Levels of the hormone in their bodies do continue to decrease throughout the day, though, just as they do in those without the syndrome.
...
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Job Offshoring Patent
IBM tries to patent a computer system that will manage job offshoring while minimzing tax liabilities.
IBM files for patent on offshoring jobs
By Christine Young
Times Herald-Record
Posted: March 30, 2009
As IBM was firing thousands of American workers last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published Big Blue's application to copyright a computerized system that calculates how to offshore jobs while maximizing government tax breaks.
Update: IBM withdraws its application, calling it an error.
In their application to patent a "method and system for strategic global resource sourcing," five Hudson Valley IBMers describe how it weighs such plans as "50 percent of resources in China by 2010," against such factors as labor costs, infrastructure and the "minimum head count to qualify for incentives."
...
IBM files for patent on offshoring jobs
By Christine Young
Times Herald-Record
Posted: March 30, 2009
As IBM was firing thousands of American workers last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published Big Blue's application to copyright a computerized system that calculates how to offshore jobs while maximizing government tax breaks.
Update: IBM withdraws its application, calling it an error.
In their application to patent a "method and system for strategic global resource sourcing," five Hudson Valley IBMers describe how it weighs such plans as "50 percent of resources in China by 2010," against such factors as labor costs, infrastructure and the "minimum head count to qualify for incentives."
...
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