For a Real Alternative ...

Lean Production and Limp Dicks

Lean Production and Limp Dicks: A Hypothetical

So she says that Americans are buying all this viagra and cialis -- so maybe the only way we can get anyone to pay attention to WORK ORGANIZATION is to point out that oppressive w.o. has been shown to lead to (1) hypertension and (2) depression, etc. And the remedy for hypertension is a drug that limpens the dick! Not to mention that depression, etc., undermine erectile functioning. And Americans seem to care about that.

So, I say what's the big deal, old Americans shouldn't fuck that much anyway, they have more important things to think about, like dying and immortality. And on top of that, one scientist showed that turtle dicks in the Everglades were getting smaller and nobody seemed to be concerned about that. In any case, I cannot imagine a grassroots campaign led by the Gray Panthers with signs like: Give us Back our Dicks! I just don't see it.

So, is this the way to fight neo-liberalism? I'd say it;s a non-starter.

Winner!!

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Rats Jump Ship!

From BBC NEWS

Merrill to sell loans unit to GE

Merrill Lynch, which has suffered badly in the credit crunch, has said it will sell most of its capital lending business to a unit of General Electric. (General Electric used to make stuff but no more.)

The value of the sale has not been announced, but Merrill's new boss John Thain said it would free up $1.3bn (£656m) to spend elsewhere in the firm. (A big bonus for the boss would be nice!)

The bank wrote down $8.4bn in its last set of three-month results, after its exposure to the US sub-prime crisis. (Oh no! A toxic exposure! Quarantine the bastard!)

Some analysts expect it to make further losses in the next three months.

GE Capital is to buy Merrill Lynch Capital's corporate finance, equipment finance, franchise, energy and healthcare finance units. (Sounds like money can still be made -- That Welch is really hot!)

The commercial real estate finance unit is not included in the deal.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7159274.stm

Published: 2007/12/24 13:40:39 GMT

© BBC MMVII

60 Years Late

Sometimes it is a wonderful thing to indulge your memory, your nostalgia! Why I remember going to a parade with Aunt Minnie -- there were Ukrainian dancers, big red flags, it was really great!

I would NEVER NEVER have remembered that wonderful parade had not the New York Times published today an announcement that J. Edgar Hoover was going to put Aunt Minnie in a concentration camp! Wow! What a great reminder!

Utterly Miserable Weather

Utterly Miserable Weather Decried by Everyone; Candidates Fail to Respond

New England: The completely shitty weather all over New England has been pleasing only to those freaks who like to go up and down hills on sticks. Everyone else hates this. When Rudy ("the Man") Giuliani was asked about his take on the revolting amount of snow falling all over the place, he said, "That's why I'm going to Missouri. I hate fucking New Hampshire." John McCain said, "Well tough on you asshole. See if I care." The Democratic candidates uniformly relpied, "It's that asshole Bush's fault. And Cheney is worse. We'll stop the snow and make everybody buy insurance just like that asshole Romney did. How's that fr bipartisanship?" Mitt ("the Man") Romney said that the Democrats are always copying him. "For christ's sake, I represent capital, not these jerks. Why don't they just give up -- this is ridiculous."

National Center for Sustainable Gambling Centers of Excellence

National Center for Sustainable Gambling -- Centers of Excellence

The new National Center for Sustainable Gambling has announced a request for proposals to establish a regional centers of excellence in gambling research, education and service. Proposals are welcome from institutions that are heavily dependent on tax revenues, are associated with Native American organizations, and/or are related in some way to respected political figures. Organizations with previous connections to organized crime are discouraged from applying since they will have alternative sources of support linked to the new casino initiative and the NCSG is discouraging double-dipping where possible. Innovative ideas about gambling research are welcomed:
wind, solar and thermal sources for powering roulette wheels will be considered, alternatives to the use of PVC in poker chips and other gambling accoutrements are of interest, ergonomic design of poker, black jack, etc. will be encouraged. A later RFA will be coming for those who are interested in gambling as an alternative to voting.

Deadline: This is a rolling RFP. Decisions will be made by rolling the dice which many consider superior to peer review.

Gambling With the Future

From Nero News Service:

Massachusetts Roulette

First, the red shirts are union guys organized by Bobby Haynes to put pressure on the legislature for good jobs - yes, good union casino jobs. Bobby is going for what matters - not taxes on the corporations and wealthy, not jobs that bring real new money to MA, but casino jobs - jobs that take earnings and turn them into high stakes fantasies. Yes, labor is on a roll (of the dice) as it clearly sees its role (as the leaders of mice). This is surely the path to building a new movement. Just envision it, if you will - as workers, many unorganized swarm to the casinos to advance their holdings, the organized casino workers will hand them union cards to sign. A beautiful strategy for building the rankles (er, ranks) of labor. Brill, as we say.

Then, listen to the story and the interview with multi-billionaire casino developer Sheldon Adelson, a Dorchester native and maybe the third richest man in the US. He'll tell you what's wrong with the current effort to bring casinos to MA.

All the news that fits, we print

The Nero News Service, As the World Burns, provides streaming and steamin' news to the important news venues of the world, which is why we send this to you, the Hartford Gazette and Warrior

http://www.wbur.org/news/2007/73414_20071219.asp

Turkey and Curds: A Modern Policy Dilemna

Bulletin: US-Turkey Relations in Disarray

Madison, Wisconsin. (From a special correspondent)

The Bush Administration was completely surprised by the sudden appearance of troops from Ankara in rural Wisconsin. Accused of giving asylum to revolutionary Curds, Sec'y Condo Rice exclaimed, "The turks are in the whey! Get them out of here!"

(more to come)

Plan to Raze Rich Neighborhoods in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — At a moment when the shortage of housing in the city is causing significant hardship, the federal government is beginning this week to tear down thousands of houses in the city’s richest neighborhoods.

The plan is producing sharp opposition, which has escalated to include raucous demonstrations and, perhaps, threats of arson and other violence. The rich people are really pissed.

On Thursday, outside City Hall and opposite a park where rich people are living in dozens of small tents, about 100 demonstrators chanted “Stop the demolitions now!” A few were displaced residents from really posh neighborhoods; most were activists and public housing advocates from here and cities from New York to California.

Though local and federal housing officials say the storm-damaged projects were inhuman places to live and should not be rebuilt, some protesters accused the government of a darker motive behind the demolition plan. They contended that the government’s real aim was to keep the rich, mostly male, almost entirely white residents of really rich neighborhoods from returning to their city, to their homes.