SAR #9184

Anger can become a form of entertainment.

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Silly Queston: "What is the point of jailing Bernie Madoff? He is no direct threat to anyone." (a) He's a theif. (b) Punishment for 'a'. (c) To discourage the others. and (d) revenge.

Headline Only: "Seven More Banks Fail."

Moving Target: Less than a week after Denmark reported the first known case of swine flu resistant to treatment by Tamiflu, Japan confirms a similar mutation.

Quoted: "We are on the record in the opinion that the Obama economic team is ineffective, backward-thinking, compromised, and possibly corrupt. They are serving the corporate banks and not the people. They should be replaced, starting with Larry Summers who is a Greenspan and Rubin crony and the core failure of the team. Tim Geithner should follow to find beter employment for his talents, possibly as a salesman of men's suits."

The Other Numbers: Thursday's employment data showed June's "total unempoyment" as 16.5% - that's 35 million un- and underemployed. U-6 is now over 20%.

Pimping: For $25,000 to $250,000, the Washington Post will get you access to "the powerful few" - from members of the Administration or Congress or - at the low end - WaPo's own reporters. Two beers and a handful of chips would be plenty for me, since I'm not one of those bloggers who needs jailing.

Anecdote: Banks can borrow overnight funds from the Fed's discount window for about 0.5%. Why would a bank pay 7% for overnight money from the Fed Trading Systtem unless it had no decent collateral? Oh.

It's the Odds: When there are 5 applicants for every job, wages go down. Except on Wall Street.

English, Perversion of: Microsoft says it will be 'enhancing' the experince of those playing its games by embedding ads as 'an organic part' of them. A new form of organic farming.

Simple Math: California's partial government shutdown is forcing employees to take three days a month off without pay. That's a 14% pay cut. Did the banks take this into consideration when they wrote the loan for the car, the house? Did the legislature take the car or the house into consideration?

Time Out: Personal bankruptcies are up 40% y/y, as over 100,000 American families slipped beneath the waves of the economic storm.

Taking Sides: Congress was going to require an energy audit as part of every house sale. But that would, the realtors claimed, put shoddily built energy inefficient houses at a disadvantage. So that was dropped from the legislation, for the good of the people ... the ones trying to unload shoddy, energy inefficient houses.

Summer Vacation: Britain's helath minister predicts that by the end of August, 100,000 Brits will come down with swine flu every day. London? No, I'm going river rafting.

Feedback Loop: New data shows that the Arctic permafrost contains twice as much carbon as previously thought. If only 10% of it bubbles into the atmosphere, it will increase global temperatures 0.7C (1.25F). If only 10% of it bubbles into the atmosphere we'll be very lucky.

Porn O'Graph: The employment picture, pictured.