Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
If you can’t watch it, at least read the transcript.
|
[Quote:]
For every member of Congress, there were eight lobbyists working to influence health care reform last year, according to research by The Center for Public Integrity.
That’s about 4,525 total lobbyists from 1,750 companies that include 207 hospitals, 105 insurance companies and 85 manufacturing companies.
[Quote:]
In an utterly bizarre move, according to the Fabulis blog, Citibank blocked Fabulis.com’s bank account a few days ago for “objectionable content on their blog”. To give you some context, Jason Goldberg the Founder & CEO is a good friend of mine and started his career working for Bill Clinton in the White House. He then went on to T-Mobile, picked up a Stanford MBA on the way, raised $50M for Jobster which ended up buying my job search engine, then founded SocialMedian (sold to Xing) and is now working on Fabulis.
Fabulis is based in NY but Jason is still known and loved by the Seattle startup community and we may one day even forgive him for going to the east coast.
The company is still finding their niche but it looks like they’re setting up to be a travel portal for gay men. Their blog has had a ton of hilarious videos of guys describing why they’re “Fabulis”. Zero porn, nothing even mildly suggestive or risque.
Just to be completely clear, we’re not talking about refusing a line of credit here. This is a cash account belonging to a funded company that was blocked.
[Our two main weapons are lube, condoms and a small penis...:]
A Spanish priest who spunked €17k of church funds on sex chat lines, internet porn sites and prostitutes has unsurprisingly been given his marching orders.
Posing as “Hector” (see pic), he punted himself in a net ad which read: “Heterosexual man for women and couples. Real photos. Well hung (15cm) to give you pleasure and happiness.”
It continued: “I am open to everything except sadism. Hotels and private addresses. 24 hours. You won’t regret it, I will give you pleasure like never before.”
Martin finally confessed all to his congregation at Sunday mass, confirming local whispers that all was not well with the church finances.
The Archbishop of Toledo has now relieved the sinner of his priestly responsibilities, while the bish’s representatives asked worshippers to forgive Martin because he was evidently “ill”.
Fiddle with altar boys – move parish
Fiddle with the cash – sacked.
Good to see that the priorities of piety are well balanced….
|

[Quote:]
Introducing Hip Handmaids’ exclusive iMaxi—the only Apple iPad case made with protective wings!
With its durable vinyl outer layer and plush, quilted-cotton sleeve, the iMaxi helps keep your iPad clean and dry. Plus, the iMaxi’s Velcro-latched, advanced wing design wraps snugly around your device, so your iPad always stays where it should. Best of all, it shields it from all those unsightly and embarrassing data leaks that would make any motherboard worry!
[Quote:]
An alleged hacker has been hailed as a latter-day Robin Hood for leaking data about the finances of banks and state-owned firms to Latvian TV.
Using the alias “Neo” – a reference to The Matrix films – the hacker claims he wants to expose those cashing in on the recession in Latvia.
He is slowly passing details of leading Latvian firms via Twitter to the TV station and has its audiences hooked.
The Latvian government and police are investigating the security breach.
Data leaked so far includes pay details of managers from a Latvian bank that received a bail-out.
It reveals that many did not take the salary cuts they promised.
Other data shows that state-owned companies secretly awarded bonuses while publicly asking the government for help.

[Quote:]
As Greece’s financial condition has worsened, undermining the euro, the role of Goldman Sachs and other major banks in masking the true extent of the country’s problems has drawn criticism from European leaders. But even before that issue became apparent, a little-known company backed by Goldman, JP Morgan Chase and about a dozen other banks had created an index that enabled market players to bet on whether Greece and other European nations would go bust.
Last September, the company, the Markit Group of London, introduced the iTraxx SovX Western Europe index, which is based on such swaps and let traders gamble on Greece shortly before the crisis. Such derivatives have assumed an outsize role in Europe’s debt crisis, as traders focus on their daily gyrations.
A result, some traders say, is a vicious circle. As banks and others rush into these swaps, the cost of insuring Greece’s debt rises. Alarmed by that bearish signal, bond investors then shun Greek bonds, making it harder for the country to borrow. That, in turn, adds to the anxiety — and the whole thing starts over again.
On trading desks, there is fierce debate over what exactly is behind Greece’s recent troubles. Some traders say swaps have made the problem worse, while others say Greece’s deteriorating finances are to blame.
And “both” is out of the question?
[Quote:]
Hydrogen sulfide, for example, reacts with four molecules of FOOF to give sulfur hexafluoride, 2 molecules of HF and four oxygens. . .and 433 kcal, which is the kind of every-man-for-himself exotherm that you want to avoid at all cost. The sulfur chemistry of FOOF remains unexplored, so if you feel like whipping up a batch of Satan’s kimchi, go right ahead.
So does anyone use dioxygen difluoride for anything? Not as far as I can see. Most of the recent work with the stuff has come from groups at Los Alamos, where it’s been used to prepare national-security substances such as plutonium and neptunium hexafluoride. But I do note that if you run the structure through SciFinder, it comes out with a most unexpected icon that indicates a commercial supplier. That would be the Hangzhou Sage Chemical Company. They offer it in 100g, 500g, and 1 kilo amounts, which is interesting, because I don’t think a kilo of dioxygen difluoride has ever existed. Someone should call them on this – ask for the free shipping, and if they object, tell them Amazon offers it on this item. Serves ‘em right. Morons.
[Quote:]
Former Vice President Dick Cheney had a minor heart attack but was expected to be released from the hospital within a day or two, according to a statement released Tuesday by his office
Only two horcruxes remaining.
|
Excellent read. Castrate the lobbyists
Too bad it didn’t help….