Watch this video, then read this article. At this point we are so fucked there is no coming back.
(Source: youtube.com)
Infographic: Where Did the Money to Rebuild Iraq Go?
People complain about corporate bailouts here in the US, but at least we know who got them and what they spent it on. Sure, it’s mostly managerial bonuses, but at least we know. Not so much with the Iraq reconstruction money. Nobody - not even the pentagon - knows what happened to nearly all of it. And that’s just the money earmarked specifically for rebuilding. They also shipped over pallets of cash and essentially handed it out to anybody with an empty duffel bag and a good story. No receipts, nothing.
The bailouts here could have been handled better, but they seem remarkably well planned and managed in comparison to this bullshit.
The coolest bank commercial you’ll ever see. Top notch CGI, and very creative. Mildly NSFW. (via Boingboing)
In December 06, crude oil cost $63 a barrel. Over the next 18 months, the price rose unceasingly at an unprecedented rate to a staggering $147 per barrel in July of 08. Despite the fact that supply rose and demand fell for most of this time period, we were assured that this unheard of price spike was still somehow due entirely to “supply and demand”. Now just six months later, oil is down to $35 per barrel - less than one quarter it’s July price. Could simple supply and demand economics have screwed up so badly?
No. It turns out that the artificially high price of oil that we labored under for a year and a half was entirely due to the investment shenanigans of the same assholes that brought you such recent hits as “The Housing Bubble Tango” and “Investment Banking Collapse A-Go-Go”. It was all artificial, and it was all orchestrated to make some spectacularly rich people a bit richer at the expense of pretty much everybody else. They would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for those meddling kids and their damn dog.
Wait, what’s that? They’re going to get away with it anyway? Fuck.
Don’t take my word for it though. Watch this segment from 60 Minutes and see for yourself. (via Digg)
