SAR #11313

Have your eyes glazed over yet?

Bugle, Blowing: The European Commission predicts 2012's 'growth' in the Eurozone will top out at 0.5%, unemployment will remain at 9.5% “for the foreseeable future” and the risk of a new recession is high. So naturally they insist on an “unwavering implementation” of severe austerity plans. Wait, are they sounding 'Charge!' or 'Retreat!' ?

Move Along, Nothing to See Here: All you need to know about the multi-state mortgage fraud settlement is that neither the bankers nor the politicians want you to know the details.

Fine Print: The rules say that if you have a commodity account with a Wall Street firm, they may treat your funds as a commodity and do whatever they wish with it. If they win, they keep the profits, if they lose... well, they don't lose. And the system is set up that way, under CFTC Rule 1.29, which allows brokers to use the margin and cash in customers 'segregated' accounts, with no obligation to tell the customers and no obligation to share the profits, if any, with them. The question of losses appears not to have been considered possible.

Editing Job: Forbes notes that “Some MFGlobal customers want Corzine 'led away in cuffs'. Only some?

Leadership: Obama is delaying a decision on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in order to consider an alternate route that will go around the 2012 presidential elections.

This Side Up: The IEA, at the launch of its 2001 World Energy Outlook, said that we have less than 5 years to dump our inefficient and high carbon-emitting energy system or be locked into disastrous climate change. The agency also said that, based on past performance, there isn't a chance in hell that the nations of the world will get their shit together in time to do anything useful.

Ready, Fire, Aim: Wannabe Mitt Romney, baring his chest and thumping away, says that if he became president he would stop this diplomacy stuff and Cheney Iran as soon as possible. Oh good, now we can vote for Romney's War.

The Number: The number of people applying for unemployment benefits last week fell by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 390,000. Actually they are still unemployed, but they were busy down at the local #Occupy protest.

One More For The Road: The Tokyo stock exchange has told Olympus Corporation that it will be delisted from the exchange if it fails to report its earnings by December 14. The company has consistently lied about its earnings for the last 20 years and certainly deserves one more chance.

The Good Earth: China admits that its headlong rush for profits has led to nearly 10% of its farmland and water supplies being poisoned by heavy metal contaminants from factory and farm wastes – a cost to be paid by future generations and not by the profitmakers.

Mark Your Calendar: Walmart will begin Black Friday on Thursday evening at 10 PM. This will give Walmarters two hours to shop for Chinese made stuff before rushing waddling off to Target for more Chinese made stuff, or to Macy's for clothing sewn in Bangladesh.

Budget Savings. The Senate Armed Services Committee has discovered at least 1800 instances in which the Pentagon has bought counterfeit electronics, mainly from China. There have been some equipment malfunctions due to the fake parts, but with many military systems being built by the lowest bidder it is sometimes hard to tell...

Taxation/Representation: Currently, same-sex couples have to pay for Social Security and Medicare the same as everyone else, but they cannot draw benefits for their spouses the same as everyone else. And that's why Senator Cronyn (R-TX) is against repealing DOMA - "it would actually result in an expansion of federal benefits and spending." To hell with fairness, we need the money!

Penney Arcade: Later has arrived sooner than expected, and all is explained.