Quote of the Day

…“In the interest of full disclosure,” he added, “this did happen shortly after a waterboarding endurance competition, and just before a clothespins-on-your-genitals challenge.”

And they claim Gitmo is torturous…

Now That’s Gotta Hurt

A federal judge says deep-sea explorers based in Florida should give 17 tons of shipwreck treasure back to Spain.
Odyssey Marine Exploration said Thursday it will fight a federal magistrate judge’s recommendation that the estimated $500 million in silver coins and other 19th century artifacts go to the Spanish government.

Talk about a booty call…

14 Minutes Of Terror

Oh my gosh, what a nightmare

At 11 p.m. (10 p.m. EDT), pilot Marc Dubois sent a manual signal saying he was flying through an area of “CBs” — black, electrically charged cumulonimbus clouds that carry violent winds and lightning.
Satellite data show that the thunderheads — towering up to 50,000 feet — were sending 100 mph updrafts into the jet’s flight path.
“Such an updraft would lead to severe turbulence for any aircraft,” AccuWeather said.
“In addition, the storms were towering up to 50,000 feet and would have been producing lightning. The Air France plane would have encountered these stormy conditions, which could have resulted in either some structural failure or electrical failure.”
At 11:10 p.m., a cascade of horrific problems began.
Automatic messages relayed by the jetliner indicate the autopilot had disengaged, suggesting Dubois and his two co-pilots were trying to thread their way through the dangerous clouds manually.
A key computer system had switched to alternative power and controls needed to keep the plane stable had been damaged.
An alarm sounded, indicating the deterioration of flight systems.
At 11:13 p.m., more automatic messages reported the failure of systems to monitor air speed, altitude and direction. Control of the main flight computer and wing spoilers also failed.
The last automatic message, at 11:14 p.m., indicated complete electrical failure and a massive loss of cabin pressure — catastrophic events, indicating that the plane was breaking apart and plunging toward the ocean.

If there’s any consolation to be found it’s that at that altitude they would have fallen unconscious within 30 seconds or so once the cabin lost pressure.

Twenty Years Ago Today

It seems like yesterday.

Will The Last One Out Of Downing Street…

…please turn off the lights?

In a move that left the Prime Minister fighting for his political future, rebels claimed that as many as 50 Labour MPs were prepared to put their names to an email demanding that he step down.
Details of what party insiders described as an attempted “cyber coup” emerged after his authority was dealt a potentially critical blow by the resignation of Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary.

It’s been frankly mind-boggling watching the disintegration of Parliament brought on by this expensing scandal; if only such a thing could happen here and we could clean house in DC!

Now THAT Is Government at Work!

Well, shit howdy ~ something useful this way comes. I Googled me a question:

What the F*CK are these frickin’ bubbles doing in my manicure?!?!?!

…and Uncle Sam answered.

From Our Hidden Camera In D.C.

The Spelling Bee

…REALLY bad on these.

Allahzeimers

It’s that crippling disease that causes you to forget you were a Muslim.

If the Precedent Wasn’t So Preoccupied With Posing in the Mirror and Our Being a “Muslim” Nation

…he might just have time to be pissed about these puny efforts to thwart his masterful plans.

The federal circuit court granted a request by a group of Indiana pension funds that hold a small portion of Chrysler’s secured debt to “stay” the sale order to allow the circuit court to hear the expedited appeal.

Obama Won’t Release Memos Showing What We Learned From Terrorists…

…but he will release the secret list of all our nuclear sites and facilities potentially to terrorists

The federal government mistakenly made public a 266-page report, its pages marked “highly confidential,” that gives detailed information about hundreds of the nation’s civilian nuclear sites and programs, including maps showing the precise locations of stockpiles of fuel for nuclear weapons.
The publication of the document was revealed Monday in an online newsletter devoted to issues of federal secrecy. That set off a debate among nuclear experts about what dangers, if any, the disclosures posed. It also prompted a flurry of investigations in Washington into why the document had been made public.
…David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington that tracks nuclear proliferation, said information that shows where nuclear fuels are stored “can provide thieves or terrorists inside information that can help them seize the material, which is why that kind of data is not given out.”
The information, considered confidential but not classified, was assembled for transmission later this year to the International Atomic Energy Agency as part of a process by which the United States is opening itself up to stricter inspections in hopes that foreign countries, especially Iran and others believed to be clandestinely developing nuclear arms, will do likewise.

“…in hopes that foreign countries…will do likewise.” Yes, pointing out where you store your jewels and valuables in your house has long been known to be a deterrent to thieves.

Saturday Dinner

I was in the mood for shrimp and scallops…but somehow this seems to be a bit beyond the word “shrimp”

Geeze Luise those things were ginormous. So I took four of them and plopped them in a big honking ziplock along with about a pound of scallops, fresh lime juice (four limes’ worth), a splash of olive oil, some red pepper flakes and about a tablespoon of curry powder. I let them marinate for about 45 minutes (with the fresh lime juice that’s about the max; any longer and the seafood will start to ceviche-fy), flipping and squishing constantly to get all the tasties spread about then popped those babies on the grill for just a couple of minutes per side

served with some twice-baked spuds I made earlier in the day (and some green thing that is required by the Government) it made for a tasty meal.

How Do You Say “Hummer”…

…in Mandarin?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Motors Corp. has signed a deal to sell its Hummer truck unit to a Chinese industrial company, a person with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday.
The news comes a day after GM (GMGMQ) filed for bankruptcy in New York. The company did not identify the buyer nor name a price, saying only that the deal would close by the end of September.
But a source identified the buyer as Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd. in China.

Your tax dollars at work.

The Wine Dark Sea

Those poor poor folks

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Search planes scoured the waters of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, looking for the remains of an Air France jetliner that disappeared in a storm with 228 people on board.
The Airbus A330 went missing on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said there was little chance of finding any survivors.
France and Brazil sent military aircraft and ships to try to locate wreckage between Brazil and West Africa.
Brazilian carrier TAM said the crew of one of its planes saw “bright spots” on the surface of the ocean. But Brazil’s air force said a merchant ship in the area found no signs of burning debris from the Air France jet.

Aside from some automated reports saying there were electrical failures and perhaps one saying there was a loss of pressure, there was nothing.
Horrible.
UPDATE: Some wreckage may have been found

(CNN) — Wreckage has been found in the Atlantic Ocean that could have come from a missing Air France jet that disappeared Monday with 228 passengers and crew on board, Brazilian aviation officials said Tuesday.
Americans Anne and Michael Harris, who lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were aboard the flight.
Floating objects and seats were found 720 kilometers (447 miles) from the island of Fernando de Noronha, said Brazilian Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral.
The search will continue but there is not enough material to officially say this is the wreckage from Flight 447, Maral said.

The “New” Math

…Spokesman Robert Gibbs, keeping the White House press corps in stiches, as he always does, said the Obamas would have preferred using a commercial airline shuttle to New York and back, but the Secret Service would not allow such unprotected travel (ba da bing).
And that was that. No further probing; asked and answered; time to move on.

Giving lie to:

…”You can’t get corporate jets. You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas, or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime.”

Yes, we CAN!!

It’s Always Dicey to Invite Someone to Your Party

…who enjoys hurting your feelings.

In a new overture to Iran, the Obama administration has authorized U.S. embassies around the world to invite Iranian officials to Independence Day parties they host on or around July 4th.
A State Department cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates late last week said that U.S. diplomats could ask their Iranian counterparts to attend the festivities, which generally feature speeches about American values, fireworks, hot dogs and hamburgers.

This guy just kills me.

Here’s Something Else That Is Not Good

The dollar is in the toilet. Some are calling it “the next crisis” and I’d agree. Of course, we can all take comfort in the fact that the Most Smartest Treasury Department Ever, led by Noted Tax Cheat Timmeh Geithner, is confuzzled by what’s going on

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve is studying significant moves in the U.S. government bond market last week that could have big implications for the central bank’s strategy to combat the country’s recession.
But the Fed is not really sure what is driving the sharp rise in long-dated bond yields, and especially a widening gap between short and long term yields.
Do rising U.S. Treasury yields and a steepening yield curve suggest an economic recovery is more certain, meaning less need for safe haven government bonds and a healthy demand for credit? If so, there might be less need for the Fed to expand the money supply by buying more U.S. Treasuries.
Or does the steepening yield curve mean investors are worried about the deterioration in the U.S. fiscal outlook, or the potential for a collapse in the U.S. dollar as the Fed floods the world with newly minted currency as part of its quantitative easing program. This might be an argument to augment to step up asset purchases.

Ever get the feeling that Treasury relies more on their Magic 8 ball than anything else?
There’s this bold and innovative new theory out there that says when you insanely increase the supply of something its value goes down. Pretty cutting edge, eh?
And when you spend far far more than you can possibly take in the ‘easy’ way out of it is for you to print lots more money and inflate your way back.
Everything old is new again

Last week, I delivered a message on inflation. Since then, the dollar has dropped in value, the stock market has sustained record losses, and the whole sale price index increased 0.9%. In other words, our economic system is screwed, blued and tattooed! We just have to face the fact that there is simply no way to fight inflation in a capitally-intensive, highly-technological, conflict-riddled, anything-for-a-thrill world of today. That’s why, tonight, I want you to try to look for in inflation, an entirely new word: Inflation is our friend.
For example, consider this: in the year 2000, if current trends continue, the average blue-collar annual wage in this country will be $568,000. Think what this inflated world of the future will mean – most Americans will be millionaires. Everyone will feel like a bigshot. Wouldn’t you like to own a $4,000 suit, and smoke a $75 cigar, drive a $600,000 car? I know I would! But what about people on fixed incomes? They have always been the true victims of inflation. That’s why I will present to Congress the “Inflation Maintenance Program”, whereby the U.S. Treasury will make up any inflation-caused losses to direct tax rebates to the public in cash. Then you may say, “Won’t that cost a lot of money? Won’t that increase the deficit?” Sure it will! But so what? We’ll just print more money! We have the papers, we have the mints.. I can just call up the Bureau of Engraving and say, “Hi! This is Jimmy. Roll out some of them twenties! Print up a couple thousand sheets of those Century Notes!” Sure, all these dollars will cause even more inflation, but who cares? Everyone will be a millionaire!
In my speech last week, I said that America would have to undergo an austerity program, but since this revolutionary new approach welcomes inflation, our economy will be free to grow, and we can spend, spend, spend! I believe the watchwords for the 80’s should be “Let’s Party!”

Can anyone tell me there’s a serious difference between this and Treasury’s policy?

BREAKING: Air France Flight “Drops Off Radar”

This is not good

(CNN) — A French passenger aircraft carrying 228 people has disappeared from radar off the coast of Brazil, airline officials say.
Air France told CNN the jet was traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris when it vanished.

Update: Early reports

Initial indications were that the plane, an Airbus A330, encountered severe turbulence off the coast of Brazil, people who were briefed on the situation said Monday. They said they did not know whether this contributed to the plane’s disappearance.

and

Air France said in a statement the plane sent an automatic message reporting an electrical short-circuit at 0214 GMT, roughly 15 minutes after flying into the turbulence.