Bailout

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Monday, March 24, 2008
by Ed

Just in case you wanted to know what a Bailout looked like (in case you were too young during the S&L scandal)

Also, under the new terms, JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) will bear the risk of the first $1 billion of losses if any of Bear Stearns' assets go bad. The Federal Reserve will run the risk for the remaining $29 billion, instead of being on the hook for all of the first $30 billion in losses. (via CNN)

The Federal Reserve will essentially pay up to 30 billion dollars of a company's bad debt, because the company made bad investments. Shit, I wish I could do that. You know, invest most of my money on videogames, electronics, and japanese things, and have someone always willing to bail me out? (cough cough Josh cough cough).

Eric featured in the Advocate

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
by Ed

My brother Eric was featured in the Tewksbury Advocate. The article is online.

Magnum Opus

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Monday, February 25, 2008
by Ed

Here it is, my great work of art

What a strange day

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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
by Ed

First off, Chuck Norris is telling us who to vote for. You know any 'recommendation' by Chuck Norris is a veiled threat by default. Here's the gem from that article:

"The first thing I need you to do today is make a contribution in support of Mike Huckabee's campaign," the "Walker Texas Ranger" star writes in the e-mail carrying the subject "Mike Huckabee is Chuck Norris approved".

Second weird item of the day: During a training session, someone at my company went to dial in to a conference call. And instead of dialing into the conference number, they dialed into a phone sex line by accident. We were all greeted to the sounds of a woman suggesting that they had the hottest girls around.

Third weird item: There was a wounded traffic light right near my work. In my younger days, I would have pulled right over and popped this into my car. However, now, suddenly, I'm an adult, and I can't take this without worrying about 'consequences'. Sigh.

Rush Limblaaaargh

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Wednesday, October 3, 2007
by Ed

Rush Limbaugh is the kind of conservative that makes thinking conservatives want to stab their radio. He's reactionary and a complete blowhard. If you're a conservative and you want a comparison, he's to the right what crazy nutroots who believe 'Bush is hitler', is to the left. He's a former drug-addicted, fat, loud, unintellectual person; exactly who should NOT represent conservatives and their platforms on a public forum. Does he have the right to say whatever he wants? Yes. Should we support him if he says something stupid? No way.

Apparently on his radio show he said that soldiers who ally themselves with leftist ideas or who are against the war are 'phony soldiers'. Now, certain conservative blogs and their visitors are falling all over themselves to defend Rush and prevent the Democrats from 'scoring a point'. But this is ridiculous because Rush doesn't deserve any conservative defense. Soldiers are no less brave, honorable and great if they don't agree with the war. The only time they become 'phony' is when they abdicate their responsibility as soldiers. Trust me, plenty of soldiers don't want to be in Iraq or Afghanistan; its a legitimate position to think that the political leadership of this nation is making the wrong choice. They still have to obey their military leadership which carries out the decisions of the political leadership, thought. Whether you're a 'good soldier' or a 'phony soldier' is a job performance evaluation. Political views of an individual do not affect the job performance. They show up, support their brothers-in-arms, and do their job, and that's the most honorable thing.

I support the war effort because of the concepts behind it: It's an important battle against a nation that was complicit at best in harboring terrorists; it was the right thing to free the Iraqi people from a tyrant, and it makes an ally of ours, Israel, immensely safer. Rush would never defend any of the ideas behind it, he would simply try to discredit his opponents by calling into question their credibility. And such tactics are undeserving of our support, especially when he discredits those people whose job it is to keep us safe, regardless of their political views.

More substantial threat

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Sunday, July 22, 2007
by Ed

The last few days have seen some serious strife in Pakistan. After the assault on the Red Mosque in Islamabad, radical muslim extremists have been setting off explosives and using suicide tactics to create unrest and murder civilians in an attempt to punish the government. Pakistan hardly had much choice in assaulting the mosque, however. The mosque was a hiding spot for radicals who were committing serious crimes such as abducting foreigners and assaulting people under the guise of their extra-government morality squads. China was providing heavy pressure to Mussharraf, the Pakistani 'President', after these militants abducted Chinese nationals. If Mussharraf didn't take on these criminals, he would see international pressure and loss of investment and support of his neighbors. When he did take on these criminals, they rose up against them and threw his public support into a tailspin.

Pakistan doesn't have the best track record when it comes to stopping Islamic fascists. They were one of the few nations who recognized as legitimate the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Because a large number of his own citizens were either sympathizers towards or actually members of the Taliban, the only way to keep his own nation in check was to support them. So rather than agitate his own nation; he chose the path of stability. At the time, it seemed like the right play to Pakistan. Pakistan was embroiled in a chaotic arms race with India which saw both nations testing atomic weapons. If a war did break out, Pakistan would need the fealty of these radicals to disrupt any attack from India.

The small tear has become a large hole in the policy of Mussharraf. No longer able to reign these extremists in, and having allied himself tenatively with the west, Mussharraf now faces political opposition as more of these extremists entrench themselves in Pakistan's government. The Pakistani president knows that a coupe d'etat is a real possibility given that he himself took power in this manner, in a bloodless military takeover. Mussharraf could see himself voted out, or so politically paralyzed by the other branches of government that he will become unable to order the military to root out the criminals; since the criminals political allies are the legislators, judges, and generals in his own government.

And this is the real threat: A Pakistan beholden to extremists, who possess a fledgling nuclear arsenal. While Iran is striving for a bomb, Pakistan has one. And while they are now an ally, it is impossible to see if Mussharraf will continue to lead the nation. If he cannot, and islamists take hold of the army, there is a real possibility that the nuclear weapons could make their way into the hands of those who would readily use them.