SAR #11138

The lowest common denominator has a lot to answer for.

All Ye Need Know: The IMF's John Lipsky is the most likely suspect to temporarily replace their fallen leader.  His main qualification is having represented the IMF in Pinochet's Chile,

The China Japan Syndrome: Tokyo Electric Power Co. now admits that that it was not the tsunami, but the earthquake that fatally cracked the containment system in the Fukushima power plant(s), which implies all nuclear power plants of the same design are vulnerable to similar earthquakes. Most of the fuel in the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear reactor melted only 16 hours after the earthquake. "Because there is similar damage to the fuel rods at the No. 2 and 3 reactors, the bottoms of their pressure vessels could also have been damaged." The melting fuel rods will eat through their containment vessels on their way towards the core of the earth. TEPCO says it may take “a number of years” to remove and secure the damaged fuel rods. A number like 24,000 or so.

Housing Starts Didn't: The Commerce Department reports that housing starts dropped 10.6% in April (m/m), to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 523,000 units, down 23.9% from last year.

One Hand, Clapping: An 8-1 Supreme Court ruled that if a cop “loudly” knocks on a door and then hears (or claims to hear) the “sound suggesting evidence is being destroyed” (in the cop's imagination) can break down the door and shoot the inhabitants. No search warrant is required, body bags optional.

Price of Commission: Europe's bankers would consider giving an inch or two in negotiating resolution of Greece's debt, but only if a settlement includes deeper spending cuts and the sale of more government assets, including a number of Greek islands.

Asked & Answered: A UK MP is demanding to know why Goldman Sachs gets to avoid taxes that everyone else pays. Because they are Goldman Sachs, dummy.

Something's Rotten In... Denmark will reintroduce customs and identity checks at its borders. The ability for goods & citizens to flow freely across borders was a core principle in the unification of Europe and the introduction of the Euro. It is seen as a reflection of the rise of the far right in European politics and a triumph of nationalism over federalism, fear over reason. In the US it was called 'states rights' and led to the Civil War.

Grimm Fairy Tale: “A fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” British physicist Stephen Hawking, on religion.

Evolution: Talking about a country, say Greece, not being able to repay its debts and defaulting on its obligations was deemed too harsh, so 'rescheduling' and 'restructuring' were introduced to describe a partial sovereign default. Too many commoners caught on, so the wording has been changed. Greece now needs a 'reprofiling' of its debts. What it means is they've found a way to transfer even more private debt to the public.

What the Dickens? Wage disparity between the rich and the rest in the UK is well on the way to exceeding levels seen since the late 19th century. The top 0.1% are expected to increase their “share” of the UK national income from 5% today to over 14% in the next 20 years.

Class Warfare: Paul Ryan's 'budget' imposes huge sacrifices on the poor while cutting taxes on the rich, but this is not class warfare. Ryan intends to dismantle Medicare, hand out worthless vouchers to the sick and tax cuts for the rich, but this is not class warfare. Raising taxes on those who make over $250,000 a year, that is class warfare. Pointing out that his 'budget' is a farce, that's class warfare, too.

All That Glitters: During WWII Portugal amassed a tidy pile of gold bullion trading with Hitler. They maintain that Hitler's source of the gold is not their problem, while the heirs of the people whose teeth were collected and melted down have another point of view.

Porn O'Graph: Manufactured job recovery.