SAR #10162

We do not seem to understand we are annihilating ourselves.

Brother Can You Spare a Dime?   The government of the UK, which is imposing drastic budget cuts, freezing wages and reduce social spending, says it is ready to help BP cover the tab for the economic consequences of the Great Oil Spill.   Isn't BP's budget bigger than theirs?

Short People:  Deutsche Bank reports that it has shorted Spainish and Portuguese government bonds Frau Merkel doesn't allow no short people 'round Deutschland – banning all naked short sales, to include doing to Deutsche Bank what DB is doing to Iberia.

Tricks With Numbers:  BP's annual Statistical Review of World Energy is out.  It claims the world has sufficient reserves – now, today – to meet our needs at the 2009 level for another 45 years.  If we've got that much in reserves, why the rush to poke holes in the Gulf of Mexico?

Way-back Machine:   Applications for home loans have fallen to 1997 levels- having dropped 35% in the last month after the tax-break bribery ended.

On The List:  Citing national security concerns, Homeland Security is enforcing BP's ban of journalists anywhere south of a line from Baton Rouge to Montgomery.  If you are found taking pictures on public beaches, BP has authorized local sheriffs to arrest you.

Pollution is as Polluters Do: BP plans to burn 10,000 barrels of crude oil a day, just to keep it from polluting the Gulf.  Air?  What air?  We're way out to sea, so who cares as long as I've got mine?

Happy 'Froth' of June:  To commemorate his predecessor's gaffe about a bit of froth in the housing market, the Chairman announced that housing was “weighed down, in part, by a large inventory of distressed or vacant existing houses and by the difficulties of many builders in obtaining credit” to build even more houses.  Didn't someone explain the rules of the game to Ben?

Clueless:  In a statement released Thursday BP said it "is not aware of any reason" for its shares to lose half their value. True, true. Unaware is just the half of it.

Bailout 101:   The banks that we-the-people bailed out are going to make about $350 million selling off GM, which belongs to we-the-people, too.

Every Day, In Every Way...  The government's guess at the leak rate of BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster is now 40,000 barrels a day.  Do I hear 50?  100,000?

Size Matters:  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who heads the military of a nation of 300,000,000 and commands a budget of over $661 billion has expressed concern that China, with a billion or so people and a defense budget of about $100 billion is overspending on defense.  Wait till he finds out how much they're spending on oil resources.

The Long Way:  The UK government wants to tax the British ratepayers to bail out BP so that some of the British ratepayers can continue to receive dividends from BP. Why not cut out the middleman?

Secrets Is:  A Federal appeals court has ruled that the NYPD can keep secret some 1,800 pages documenting its secret (and illegal) surveillance of citizens exercising their right to protest, because... well, because we wouldn't want to identify the wrongdoers, now would we?

Look! Numbers! People will believe almost anything, as long as you write it down and it has a number in it.  For example, China's exports purportedly increased by 50% in the last year. Or this: US CEOs expect earnings to rise 12% in the coming year.  And their kids are all above average, too.

Again:  "I think the people responsible in the oil spill--BP and the federal government--should take full responsibility for what's happening there.” That's John Boehner, House Minority Leader.  And “the federal government” taking responsibility is you, the tax payer, paying.  The Florida AG thinks BP should pay and should start by putting $2.5 billion in cash in escrow dedicated to Florida's losses.