SAR #9173

Whoever's left standing tells the story.

Democracy In Action: Over 70% of Americans want a government-administered healthcare plan. Over 70% of Congressmen have been paid to ignore the wishes of the voters, pleading a lack of money. Once again American democracy in action is a wonderful thing to behold.

Paindemic: Health authorities in the UK warn that perhaps half the population could come down with swine flu by the end of the year, including 40$% of the workforce. Of course, due to the economic downturn, only 40% of the workforce is working....

Good Old Days: The onrushing wave of Option ARM foreclosures will arrive over the next couple of years. With an Option ARM the borrower can pay less than the full monthly payment and tack the unpaid amount onto the balance of the loan. Thus as the houses have been getting less valuable, the mortage balance has been increasing. Sooner or later the payments revert to "amortizing", which means coughing up enough to pay off the loan - and the interest rate resets, too. It will make subprime crash look like the good old days.

Record? Is the incestuous US intelligence-military-industrial-political thievery the longest running con job in history? What have they actually done for all that money since August 1945?

Wish I'd Said: "If the best climate scientists are frightened, we should be too. And we should be appalled and angry at the big corporate polluters and pro-business governments who continue to wreck the planet for profit."

A 'Just So' Story: Leaders of the EU see green shoots and say no more stimulus need be applied. Nice to know that the worst recession since WWII has been defeated without wasting a single euro.

Some Doctor, Some Cure: Growing numbers of scientists and scholars fear that government actions to slow global warming will be far to weak and far to late to be of value, which is sad and scary. But the absence of sensible action now may lead to trying desperate engineering fixes later, which is outright frightening.

Orwellian: Some Texas pigs are more equal than others, it's a blessing.

Can You Spell Reichstag? Two months before Bush invaded Iraq, he and Blair resolved to go to war, even if they had to stage an event to supply the "cause." They also supplied history with a memo outlining this decision.

Send in the Clowns: To get a job in Boseman, MT, you have to give the city all your screen names and passwords. In Brooksville, FL you have to wear deodorant and underwear. But you can't show off you underwear unless someone thinks you aren't wearing any.

Eyes Wide Open: EU leaders have been warned about sleepwalking into another gas crisis - one shich could arise within a few weeks as tensions between Russia and Ukraine grow. Much better to walk into it wide awake, to fully appreciate the experience. Note, Mexico's oil output is down 7.9% ytd, and its exports are down 15% y/y.

Miracle Cure? Mayo Clinic doctors report dramatic results in the human trials of a prostrate cancer drug. Sounds too good to be true, but here's hoping.

Take a Note: Veteran oil banker Matt Simmons says delays in new production will leave the industry unable to increase global oil supplies fast enough to keep up with demand from a reviving economy, resulting in $200 a barrel oil in 2010.

Porn O'Graph: Tea's not the only thing in demand in China.