Monthly Archives: May 2010

Einhorn: Easy Money, Hard Truths (2)

Are you worried that we are passing our debt on to future generations? Well, you need not worry. Before this recession it appeared that absent action, the government’s long-term commitments would become a problem in a few decades. I believe … Continue reading

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Afternoon Update May 29th, 2010 (20)

Canada #1 — CBC | RCMP computer report ‘designed to hide,’ MP says The RCMP says it has figured out what went wrong when it bought two different computer systems that can’t communicate with each other, but a Liberal MP … Continue reading

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For Ignatieff and friends, lessons from the bard

The poet’s pen, we are informed by Shakespeare, can give to “airy nothing a local habitation and a name.” Politicians might then learn from poets, for they are in the business of taking large ideas and issues, and presenting them … Continue reading

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NDP to oppose budget bill

OTTAWA—Jack Layton says he is calling Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s bluff over the controversial omnibus budget bill that calls for the sale of Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. and the watering down of federal environmental assessment requirements. The NDP leader is … Continue reading

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Obama Visits Coast as Catastrophe Threatens Presidency (4)

Kneeling to pick up tar balls on an oil-fouled beach and listening to “heartbreaking stories” of loss, President Barack Obama personally confronted the spreading damage wrought by the crude gushing into the Gulf of Mexico — and the bitter anger … Continue reading

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Euro plunges as Spain’s debt downgraded

The euro plunged and US stock markets dived last night after Spain was stripped of its top-level credit rating by a leading rating agency over concerns about its economic growth. In the latest blow to the eurozone, which is struggling … Continue reading

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Canada still inviting offshore drilling bids

OTTAWA — The federal government is moving ahead with plans to grant new offshore oil-exploration licences in Canada’s Arctic, despite the U.S. government’s expanding freeze on offshore drilling in the wake of the Gulf Coast spill. Moreover, any company granted … Continue reading

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Blood diamonds

Bayo, a burly Guinean also known as Mr Big, threw the contents of the small plastic bag on to the bare wooden table. A handful of rough diamonds twinkled in the half-light of the shabby office. “Put the light on,” … Continue reading

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Enemy of the States

The federal government appears to be becoming more a parasite than a protector to the several states that organized its creation. The state of Louisiana has two enemies at present: One is an immense oil slick, and the other is … Continue reading

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A paranoid’s dream

It now appears that the strategy for selling Toronto to G8/G20 delegates is to impress them with the eerie silence it’s possible to impose on a city of two or three million people. A deserted core, empty streets, deathly quiet … Continue reading

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World May 29th, 2010 (10)

#1 — BBC | UN talks back conference on nuclear-free Middle East Signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) have agreed to work towards a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East. [...] #2 — BBC | Thousands flee volcanos in … Continue reading

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Canada May 29th, 2010 (10)

#1 — CBC | Fraser to audit summit expenses Auditor General Sheila Fraser says her office will examine the federal government’s hefty security bill at the upcoming G8 and G20 international summits in Ontario after the events are completed. [...] … Continue reading

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