Media, Politics & Economics. From Alberta.
He thought the cameras weren’t rolling.
“Wall Street got drunk — that’s one of the reasons I asked you to turn off the TV cameras — it got drunk and now it’s got a hangover,” Bush said Friday, according to a video obtained by Houston’s ABC affiliate KTRK
You can now watch National Film Board docs in their entirety online. You can Digg it, share it, embed it, etc. etc.
An explosion. Flames. Poisonous gas seeping into the air. This potential scenario haunts the people who live along the Clearwater River near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Farmers and landowners all share concerns about the risks of a proposed sour gas well in their community. While the chance of an accident is small, it’s a gamble they don’t want to take. Worst Case Scenario takes viewers into the town halls, boardrooms and homes where a complex debate is unfolding. Residents opposed to the well fear the impact a deadly hydrogen sulphide leak could have on their lives. Shell Canada says it must drill to meet energy needs, and points to a track record of safety. When mediation talks break down, both sides anxiously await a ruling from Alberta’s Energy and Utilities Board. Capturing persuasive arguments from all sides, this spirited documentary reveals a growing conflict. On one hand, the citizens who fear for public safety - on the other, a prosperous industry that has long contributed to the economic well-being of Albertans.
Isn’t the cold war over?
Russia needs bombers in Cuba due to NATO expansion - ex-commander
Obama Bans Political Signage (german) (google translation) (World Net Daily article)
I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
Don’t get fooled again
No, no!YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
I can’t believe what’s become of the once-great Britain.
Dail Mail: Photographing Punk Kids is ‘Assault’
A householder who took photographs of hooded teenagers as evidence of their anti-social behaviour says he was told he was breaking the law after they called the police.
David Green, 64, and his neighbours had been plagued by the youths from a nearby comprehensive school for months, and was advised by their headmaster to identify them so action could be taken.
But when Mr Green left his £1million London flat to take photographs of the gang, who were aged around 17, he said one threatened to kill him while another called the police on his mobile.
And he claimed that a Police Community Support Officer sent to the scene promptly issued a warning that taking pictures of youths without permission was illegal, and could lead to a charge of assault.
I’m adding this one to my Mortgage Meltdown Sountrack: Subprime Apocalypse.
Queen: Another One Bites The Dust
From Bloomberg:
Wachovia and Washington Mutual may have combined second- quarter losses of $3.8 billion, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Wachovia, the nation’s fourth-biggest bank by assets, and Washington Mutual, the largest saving and loan, rank among the top providers of “option-ARM” and subprime mortgages that now have some of the highest default rates.
Why’s this bad? ARMs are ‘Adjustable Rate Mortgages’. In essence, here’s the quick n dirty version: the borrower takes out a loan for the first two years; after two years, the interest rate re-sets, possibly to a higher rate, resulting in defaults in some instances.
h/t: m-implode.com
Oh, man. It’s good to see that the State of New Mexico’s Department of Tourism has a sense of humor. I would love to go to New Mexico.
Haha. I wish. It appears I have a rather shitty web host that’s prone to glitches at least once every six weeks. If anyone can suggest a bonafide web host that doesn’t have any downtime, drop me a comment.
In the mean time, someone has gone and placed all of Enron’s internal emails on a searchable database called the Enron Explorer. It’s old news, but the province of Alberta does show up in there.
Werner, AGRDT and myself seem to be blogging something called Alberta envy lately, so here’s a flashback to 2005:
Calgary Herald, 2005: Alberta envy grows as wealth gap widens
Prime Minister Paul Martin has repeatedly said he would not consider grabbing a piece of Alberta’s profits through any policy resembling the NEP — a point emphasized Monday by Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan.
“When one part of the country does well, you shouldn’t say in some other part of the country, ‘Why can’t that be us and how do we plot to get a bigger share of that?’ ” said McLellan in Calgary on Monday.
“I am a firm believer that the politics of jealousy and envy and greed have no place in this country, and when a province like Alberta does well, the entire country does well, and one sees that every day in the direct and indirect benefits that flow.”
Of course, now she’s on the board of Nexen.
Recall when the economist magazine weighed in and coined ‘Mr. Dithers‘? The opinion of the mag has cache on the world stage. So you know it’s bad when they point out the possibility of the U.S. defaulting on its debt (LINK, last line).