Meanwhile traffic at the old blog has sunk to a new level that is now half that of this blog’s daily views.
Ah, well. The Mike Cane 2008 blog dies on 12/31/08.
I plan to be blogless for a while after that, to recharge.
And if I do a new blog sometime in 2009, Dear God, I’ll stay away from Doom posts!
Treasury injects capital into 21 more banks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday it had transferred $33.56 billion to 21 banks as part of a capital infusion program intended to help steady the shaky financial system, bringing the total injected into banks since the program began to $148.6 billion.
In return for the capital infusions, the Treasury is receiving preferred equity with warrants for common shares as part of a $700 billion financial rescue plan, under which it has set aside $250 billion for bank capital injections.
Paulson has a sense of humor there. Now he’s openly playing 21.
If you are sitting there thinking this is all part of actually fixing things, your head is so far up your ass you can probably lick your own heart!
This is what it’s all about, you sucker.
Fed has done “as much as it can”: Fed’s Hoenig
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Kansas City Federal Reserve President Thomas Hoenig said on Monday the U.S. central bank has done what it can to buffer the economy through a downturn, and a painful process of readjustment is likely ahead.
“The Fed has done about as much as it can do,” he said in an interview on PBS’s Nightly Business Report. Interest rates are already extremely low, he noted, according to a transcript of the program.
Emphasis added by me.
Let’s see the Fed get rid of the hyperinflation of 2009. That ought to be a riot of fun. Oh wait. No. Just a fucking riot.
And get this bit:
“Going forward, it will be essential that our financial system have a wider range of policy and market-based options to resolve crises, with less reliance being placed on monetary policy,” he said in remarks to a private Institute of International Bankers conference on financial regulation in New York.
Yeah … like how about, oh, um, honesty?
— from Sinfest
(For the 601 reference…)
Five Gadgets That Were Killed by the Cellphone
Yes, well.
What made an impression on me in the two “reboot” movies of James Bond is that the big gadget he carries and relies on is … a frikkin cellphone!
As an example, Casino Royale:
Really, it’s hard times when sociopathic government hitmen have to rely on off-the-shelf tech anyone can buy.
Lili Marlene: The Soldiers’ Song of World War II by Liel Leibovitz and Matthew Miller
“Lili Marlene,” the unlikely anthem of World War II, cut across front lines and ideological divides, uniting soldiers across the globe. This love song, telling the story of a young woman waiting for her lover to return from the battlefield, began as a poem written by a German solider during World War I. The soldier-poet’s words found their way to Berlin’s decadent cabaret scene in the 1930s, where they were set to music by one of Hitler’s favored composers. The song’s singer, however, soon found herself torn between her desire for fame and a personal hatred of the Nazi regime. In a gripping and suspenseful narrative, the three artists’ remarkable stories of arrests and close calls intertwine with the recollections of soldiers on all sides who fought their way through deserts and towns, seeking solace and finding hope in “Lili Marlene.”
I happened to tune into The John Batchelor Show last night on WABC-AM in NYC and heard the authors. It’s an absolutely fascinating story.
This is the direct download link to the MP3 file (right-click Save As…). The interview begins at 1:36:32.
There’s also The Official Lili Marleen Page which has a ton of MP3 versions of the song, including the originals from that time.
Update: In a Comment, the authors reveal there is an entire site for the book. It has a great excerpt plus several versions of the song to stream. Go look!
This one got by me … until now!
Some choice bits:
It’s been reported you are making a new CGI Thunderbirds and are in negotiations to buy the rights back from ITV.
I have be careful about this, but I think there will be a new series and I will be involved. I tried to buy the rights back but I got a letter back with a flat refusal.
Emphasis added by me.
Those rat bastards! It’s his creation! His heart went into it! Parasitical blood-sucking motherfuckers! And all of you wonder why I despise Suits?
Then:
Would you ever go back to working with marionettes or puppets again?
No, I’d rather have a life sentence!
Oi, Gerry. That’s a bit harsh! I know you’ve said that before, but still.
And:
Team America: World Police was made in homage to Thunderbirds. Did you see it?
I was supposed to meet Trey Parker before he made the film. But I think someone must’ve told him I wouldn’t be interested once I knew about the language they use – and they were right!
I have seen it and there are good, fun parts. But the language wasn’t to my liking.
I won’t take back one word I said about those fucking Suits. It’s the language they deserve!
Financial Crisis Tab Already In The Trillions
Given the speed at which the federal government is throwing money at the financial crisis, the average taxpayer, never mind member of Congress, might not be faulted for losing track.
CNBC, however, has been paying very close attention and keeping a running tally of actual spending as well as the commitments involved.
Try $4.28 trillion dollars. That’s $4,284,500,000,000 and more than what was spent on WW II, if adjusted for inflation, based on our computations from a variety of estimates and sources.
Emphasis added by me.
And I suppose they’re all, like, Shocked and Awed over that?
Someone get the smelling salts when they learn to parse one quadrillion dollars.
And it wasn’t just money that gave us a victory back then …
… you better match and then surpass that in your inaugural speech, Mr. O!
A beautiful essay. I would spoil it by quoting it. Go read.
Confront Reality, Faith to Prevail
After his release from prison, a reporter asked Admiral Stockdale, “How in the world did you survive eight years in a prisoner of war camp?”
I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that we would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event in my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.
The reporter then asked, “Who didn’t make it out?” Admiral Stockdale replied,
Oh, that’s easy, the optimists. They were the ones who said, “We’re going to be out by Christmas.” And Christmas would come and go. Then they’d say, “We’re going to be out by Easter.” And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.”
Emphasis added by me.
Keep your smiley-smiley to yourself.
You are a contagious lethal poison.
Previously here:
Rhonda Byrne’s Law Of Greedy Attraction
Quote: Rob May
Self-Confidence Vs. Self-Delusion
Defensive Pessimism: Part Of The Real Secret
Mike Cane 2008 
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