High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news.
I was pissed off with Sizmek and their evil step child Datahub.serving-sys.com, but other than calling them a bunch of wankers and writing a couple of less than flattering articles about the sleazy business they are in (here here and here) I thought I was done with them. OK, there is a little unfinished business […]
There is no greater way to show confidence in a company than when senior management buys shares. Likewise, it is great when shares are not sold. But when the CEO of Netflix sells another 348,000 shares between December 10 and December 21, in conjunction with all of his other sales, the only conclusion is that […]
By John Donovan This morning the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc announced its second quarter results. In subsequent news coverage, Bloomberg commentators said they were stunned by the lack of comment by Shell on the risk of reprisals by Russia to the recent announcement of EU sanctions targeting the Russian oil and gas industry. […]
In India, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is gearing itself to grant fresh Banking licenses. 26 applications are now under the consideration of RBI. The applicants include a diverse set of groups which includes a) A department of the Government of India b) 3 Public sector Companies c) 4 large private sector groups d) 11 Private […]
Living outside the USA, I wonder if I would recognize my birthland if I return someday. We now see the NYTimes proposing that “we” get rid of the US constitution, which is standing in the way of what “we” want to do. AS the nation teeters at the edge of fiscal chaos, observers are reaching […]
Another big “story” in the news, saying that a big shot Harvard professor has found proof that Jesus was married. And if you believe that one, here is a copy of an ancient papyrus that I’d like to sell to you: this one is from the ancient book of LOLCATBIBLEexodux 32 What? There was no […]
Yesterday, I posted this tongue in cheek cartoon from the Cheezburger site about the Republicans on my personal blog: : Yup. Non emotional dour Vulcans are the new Republicans. But at a time when the economy is in trouble, is letting someone who can logically analyze the details of a complicate budget bill have a […]
This report from an Iranian blog on Global Voices, says they have such a chicken shortage the price of .chickens have soared. So someone decided to censor films and TV programs that show…chickens (!) Against a backdrop of lengthening food queues, Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the head of Iran’s law enforcement forces, has warned that films depicting […]
Those of us who supported some kind of government health care bill for the 38 million uninsured were duped. Our hope was that a government program could help some who lack health insurance (or the underinsured who would go bankrupt if they had a health emergency). These folks would now have a safety net for […]
It was over a decade ago that Tech Bubble 1.0 burst. IPO’s were so common that it was hard to keep up with them. Everyone was launching howtogetrichonastupididea.com. All of these sites shared a common feature, lots of hype, but absolutely no business plan worth a lick. Even the few that did have some kind […]
This just in from Hollywood– Jon Corzine, who until about a week ago was Top Dog in the tanking Wall Street unreality series My Own Private MF Global has been cast as supervillain Two-Face in the next Batman opus. Buzz sez Bat producer Michael Uslan saw the Reuters piece The Two Faces of Jon Corzine […]
I see the “Occupy Wall Street” folks are still there. But what is puzzling me: usually a movement starts with a few activists and then slowly grows, as more who believe the same things join. So exactly how many are in these rallies? We know who is in the rallies: From Fastcompany.com via the Democratic […]
Clinton once had a line “It’s the economy, stupid”, and one longs for someone to teach economics to the present administration. I was always a union supporter, and many of my family and friends belonged to unions. But you know what happened to a lot of textile jobs in the northern states in 1950’s and […]
The headline sounds ominous. American Medical News More evidence for why health system reform happened: a House study found a rapidly rising rate of denials for individual coverage. amednews: Coverage denials by 4 major insurers rise nearly 50% :: Oct. 25, 2010 … American Medical Preexisting conditions were used to reject more than 651,000 applicants […]
The CFPA Bill, known as “financial reformâ€, is very likely to pass. Lenders of all varieties will have business models scrutinized once the CFPA gets up and running. You can bet that under the Obama Administration, subprime lenders from auto financiers to pawn shops to payday lenders will be shot on sight. This will be […]
Bill Clinton attempted to connect the small and peaceful demonstrations of upper middle class Americans with the Oklahoma City bombings in a recent New York Times Editorial. …we should never forget what drove the bombers …They took to the ultimate extreme an idea advocated in the months and years before the bombing by an increasingly […]
My fellow Family docs: Did you know that you are now officially part of the Obama organizing machine? In the AAFP news: Physicians need to be closely involved as the recently enacted health care reform legislation begins to take effect, according to AAFP President Lori Heim, M.D., of Vass, N.C. “It is the implementation of […]
I have many ethical problems with the Obama Health Care bill. But the real story that is being ignored about Obama’s health care bill is that it kowtows to big insurance and big drug companies, who stand to make a killing from the bill. Reuter’s review of “winners and loser” should give you pause: hospitals […]
We are still waiting for the details of the Obama care bill that is going to save American health care, whether we want it or not. One is reminded of the saying: The devil is in the details; and indeed, in these days when money is going to rule all of us, one has to […]
Even living in the provinces of the Philippines, I am aware that Southwest Airlines has a “buy two seats if you are too big” policy. So now, an overweight Hollywood guy that only the “hip” have ever heard of has decided to milk the policy for all it’s worth. If the guy is so “hip” […]
The right wing blogosphere is in ecstasy about a Republican upset for the Senate seat in Massachusetts. But the real news is HOW Scott Brown won the Senate seat in “Blue state” Massachusetts. How? Apparantly, he won most of the Independent vote along with the Republican vote. One suspects he also might have garnered some […]
Two governorships have fallen to Republicans, if the headlines have it right. Yet most of the pundits are saying this is not a sign of disenchantment with the Congress and the President, but only local politics. I’m not sure I agree. I think it is a sign that the “ordinary” folks are worried, and that […]
Ah, a British paper just pooh poohed the British victory at the Battle of Agincourt, saying that Prince Hal was not outnumbered 4 to 1, merely outnumbered 2 to 1. Actually, the author misses the point, which is that the elite knights of France got slowed down by the mud and were massacred by ordinary […]
 When in 2002 the Benetton Formula One team morphed into Renault it was clear that what the French car giant was seeking to do was to secure brand value from the move, in return, of course, for funding. Constructors’ and Drivers’ championships in 2005 and 2006 will undoubtedly have given the brand a major […]
So President Obama is scrapping the Bush “Missile Defense program” that was planned to protect Europe from Iran. Yes, I know. There is some question if the missile defense was any good against the actual threat, and all it seemed to do is irritate Russia. And it’s not like the program would merely be scrapped: […]
Leave it to leftist Hollywood to completely circumvent the truth of the sub-prime mortgage fiasco and turn it into more class warfare against the evil capitalists. Here are quotes they are using to advertise this left-wing socialist propaganda titled “American Casino” that is playing in select cities:  “American Casino is a powerful and shocking look […]
I can’t claim that I ever understood the world of high-finance or what drives the stock market — and now I’m more confused than ever but I have a theory: Since President Obama moved into the oval office the national debt has skyrocketed; unemployment is at a record high in many places; there is legislation […]
The Editorial Board of the New York Times has just sent a warning shot across the bow of the Democrat who are trying to fast track a health care bill: They published an editorial by Dr. Peter Singer, who is best known for his promotion of the idea that infanticide is okay, but consensual sex […]
Short Answer: marginally. Long Answer: There was much sturm und drang over Extended Stay America’s (ESA) Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Monday. Of primary concern to this investor is how the filing may affect Ashford Hospitality Trust’s (AHT) $98 million mezzanine loan that was made to ESA last year. For investors, it’s important not to […]
Short Answer: marginally. Long Answer: There was much sturm und drang over Extended Stay America’s (ESA) Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Monday. Of primary concern to this investor is how the filing may affect Ashford Hospitality Trust’s (AHT) $98 million mezzanine loan that was made to ESA last year. For investors, it’s important not to […]
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