SAR #8301

Get ready.

Nearly Nil: Economists agree we're too smart to have another Great Depression, et none seem to have an explanation for the 40% drop in the Dow, the 90% drop in the Baltic Dry Index, the 15% drop in container shipments...

Warning Shot? The overseas edition of the People's Daily headlines that the United States has plundered global wealth by exploiting the dollar's dominance, and suggests the world urgently needs other currencies to take its place. Ah, the free press.

SOOooiee: AIG's back at the trough. How much did they lose on Lehman CDS?

Semi-Tough: In the last quarter, Volvo's world-wide truck sales are down 55%. Scania's truck sales in western Europe are down 69%. In the last three months Volvo sold exactly 115 trucks in Europe, compared to 41,970 in the same period last year; a decrease of 99.7%.

Definition: An asset class which everybody expects to continue to rise in perpetuity is called a 'bubble'. That pretty well makes the entire stock market a bubble.

Not Ready for Prime Time: Iraqi Vice President al-Hashemi's Iraqi Islamic Party is upset that senior party officials were attacked in their homes - and in their beds -by US forces. Meanwhile, a US Predator fired missiles into Pakistan killing 20 (a) militants (b) women & children or (c) wedding guests. region on the Afghan border that is a stronghold of a Pakistani Taliban leader, killing up to 20 militants, intelligence officials said. And US Special Forces raided Syria, killing 8 "peope". A US officer admitted "We are taking matters into our own hands."

Common Sense: Why are we willing to trust the same bunch of incompetent liars people who led us into this wilderness to suddenly find a compass lead us out? While you're thinking on that, drive down to the home improvement place and buy some rope.

Wedding Bells: GM and Chrysler want to get hitched, but can't afford the wedding. They want the Treasury to pay for them to elope, and in return they'll name the 2010 family sedan the Paulson 750.

Still #3! Mexico and Turkey beat the USA out of first place in the race to have the greatest income inequality. Richest 10% of Americans earn an average of $93,000, the poorest 10%, $5,800.

Hold Your Nose: One out of three houses bought since 2003 are now worth less than they were sold for. One out of six American homeowners are underwater on their mortgages. That's 12 million potential vacancies. $750 billion is just the down payment.

Oxymorons: 304th Military Intelligence Battalion has determined that Twitter - a computer based rapid communications system - is a danger to the Pentagon because it is used by social activists, human rights groups, vegetarians, atheists, and others. These potential terrorists also use telephones, cars, and, occasionally, post cards to communicate.

Defining "Is": According to an executive at JP Morgan Chase, their $25 billion from Uncle Paulson is going to be used to make acquisitions, not loans.

"Fraud": For the three years ending Sept 2005, nation-wide only 18 people were convicted for 'ineligible voting.' So much for the Republican's 'massive voter fraud.' The fraud is that they keep harping on a non-event. Nonetheless, Bush has ordered the Justice Department to interfere as much as possible in places where the Democrats have registered large numbers of new voters.

Porn O'Graph: Bubbles we have burst...