Ahmadinejad is the "George Bush of Iran": both tortured people, hate government transparency, answer to a shadowy figure (Cheney vs. Khamenei), jailed people without giving them a public trial, stole an election, think God is on their side, and ran the economy into the ground! What more do you need, except the smirk?
If this were a Tom Toles cartoon, the lower right hand portion of the drawing would read, "One person isn't responsible for unnecessarily killing 100,000 Iraqis and 4,200 Americans. Almost a perfect match."
"And if an epitaph be my story, I'd have a short one ready for my own: I had a lover's quarrel with the world." -- Robert Frost
Monday, June 22, 2009
Neda jan
Neda Agha Soltan is Iran's undisputed hero. The most inspirational heroes are almost always the unintentional ones. For more on her story, see this excellent Time magazine (Robin Wright, June 21, 2009) link:http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1906049,00.html
It is over for the current Iranian regime. The only reason more Iranians aren't revolting right this second is because not all towns have internet access, so not all Iranians can see the government-sponsored violence and killings. America had a similar moment with Kent State. This is Iran's Kent State. It took several years after Kent State before America withdrew from Vietnam, but the moment the government shot American students, it lost credibility. It might take a few more years, but the current Iranian government has lost legitimacy. May the current Iranian regime burn in hell for the violence it has inflicted on innocent, courageous protesters.
Update on June 24, 2009: CNN has a wonderful article on Neda:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/23/iran.neda.profile/index.html
CDOs and Credit Default Swaps Explained
From Santa Clara Magazine (Summer 2009), here is Prof. Alexander J. Field's take on the economic crisis. He explains CDOs and credit default swaps particularly well:
CDOs emerged when financial institutions took a pool of mortgages and issued securities derived from them. Originally, mortgage-backed securities simply sold a right to a share of interest and principal payments from the underlying pool. Securitization reduced variance of the bond’s return, but the expected payout couldn’t really be different from that of the underlying mortgages. [Presumably, because the bond's payments were linked to actual mortgage payments.] CDO engineers, however, figured out how to perform the financial alchemy of turning junk into gold: Starting with a pool of risky mortgages, they created different grades, or tranches, of derivative securities...
Even then, some major investors and banks had to have known that the CDOs being issued weren't entirely halal/kosher. They demanded insurance:
Enter credit default swaps. For a small “premium,” institutions could insure themselves against the risk that the bonds might default. Since swaps were not technically insurance, they were beyond the reach of state regulators. American International Group (AIG) and other issuers did not maintain adequate reserves to meet collateral calls when mortgage defaults rose. In a sense, they simply pocketed the premiums without providing the insurance.
Oh, the mendacity.
CDOs emerged when financial institutions took a pool of mortgages and issued securities derived from them. Originally, mortgage-backed securities simply sold a right to a share of interest and principal payments from the underlying pool. Securitization reduced variance of the bond’s return, but the expected payout couldn’t really be different from that of the underlying mortgages. [Presumably, because the bond's payments were linked to actual mortgage payments.] CDO engineers, however, figured out how to perform the financial alchemy of turning junk into gold: Starting with a pool of risky mortgages, they created different grades, or tranches, of derivative securities...
Even then, some major investors and banks had to have known that the CDOs being issued weren't entirely halal/kosher. They demanded insurance:
Enter credit default swaps. For a small “premium,” institutions could insure themselves against the risk that the bonds might default. Since swaps were not technically insurance, they were beyond the reach of state regulators. American International Group (AIG) and other issuers did not maintain adequate reserves to meet collateral calls when mortgage defaults rose. In a sense, they simply pocketed the premiums without providing the insurance.
Oh, the mendacity.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Quote of the Day
From the sublime Woody Allen film, Crimes and Misdemeanors:
Comedy is tragedy plus time.
If you like Law & Order, two of its major characters are in this 1989 film. One plays a hitman, and the other a rabbi. Everyone should see this great film, but if you are a Law & Order fan, you really need to see this film.
Comedy is tragedy plus time.
If you like Law & Order, two of its major characters are in this 1989 film. One plays a hitman, and the other a rabbi. Everyone should see this great film, but if you are a Law & Order fan, you really need to see this film.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Random Thoughts (June 20, 2009)
1. Just read Zakaria's most recent Newsweek article--it was okay, but I loved this quote:
Elihu Root: "About half the practice of a decent lawyer consists in telling would-be clients that they are damned fools and should stop."
2. Iran's government seems confusing at first glance, but it's actually similar to the way American corporations operate. At the top, you have your Board of Directors (Supreme Leaders), who direct the executive officers (Guardian Council). The shareholders speak through their representatives (the President and Parliament), but the real power lies with the Board and the executive officers.
This analogy isn't exact, but the two processes are very similar. The result is similar also: ordinary shareholders--the common citizens--don't have much sway over major corporations--the country--unless they band together and vote as a bloc, which is logistically difficult to do.
3. I wanted to compliment our local courts' filing clerks. I usually deliver documents myself to the courthouse for filing. Except for two people over the last five years, everyone I've dealt with at the filing clerk level has been very professional. That's a great track record, especially because many of the clerks get rotated/transferred every year.
Elihu Root: "About half the practice of a decent lawyer consists in telling would-be clients that they are damned fools and should stop."
2. Iran's government seems confusing at first glance, but it's actually similar to the way American corporations operate. At the top, you have your Board of Directors (Supreme Leaders), who direct the executive officers (Guardian Council). The shareholders speak through their representatives (the President and Parliament), but the real power lies with the Board and the executive officers.
This analogy isn't exact, but the two processes are very similar. The result is similar also: ordinary shareholders--the common citizens--don't have much sway over major corporations--the country--unless they band together and vote as a bloc, which is logistically difficult to do.
3. I wanted to compliment our local courts' filing clerks. I usually deliver documents myself to the courthouse for filing. Except for two people over the last five years, everyone I've dealt with at the filing clerk level has been very professional. That's a great track record, especially because many of the clerks get rotated/transferred every year.
U.K. Crime
Britain's top cops have been caught red-handed:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/14/expenses-fraud-detectives-scotland-yard
Oh, the wickedness.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/14/expenses-fraud-detectives-scotland-yard
Oh, the wickedness.
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