Iran and our shitty cable media

I was frustrated all weekend that no cable news network, nor even the Sunday shows really examined what started on Friday in Iran. The got around to it like a barely limp dick by Monday, and still have drive by radio jocks "analyzing" the situation today. Disgraceful and shameful. They should get people who know what they are talking about it or just continue to pretend like nothing is happening.

As I was pondering what was happening yesterday in Iran and how badly our cable media is covering it, I remembered Tiananmen Square. Although I was only 12 at the time I have a vivid recollection of watching events live on teevee. That national networks broke away from coverage to show us how a revolutions was crushed. Yes it was the bad communists and my father did have a friend over in Bejing at the time time, so there was a bit of control of the teevee by my dad. But I remember it was on. This revolution, however, is not. (Yes the Cedar revolution and the Velvet revolutions were not covered the same way, but they were covered from their beginnings.)

This all brings be around to this point. THE DAILY SHOW led their 22 minute broadcast with almost 7 minutes devoted to IRAN. Yes, there were jokes, but they got all of the major players and major events out there in a clear manner without any attempt at political spin. And personally I can't believe that Jason Jones is there. Crazy world.

Watch:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Irandecision 2009 - Sham, Wow
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Irandecision 2009 - Election Results
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

image: "Old broken (duh) TV" from schmilblick

Iran (**updated**)

Go see what is happening, since our impotent teevee and national media has decided that this isn't a big story. Perhaps if their was a nuclear weapon or terrorists it might. Fucking shameful. Below are some places to find close to real time information. I will take a break from my dissertating to update the links or any major developments.

Right now we are it seems they are in the throes of a military coup currently headed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards via the thuggish Basij.


Information:

The Daily Dish (Andrew Sullivan)

The Huffington Post (Nico Pitney)

Talking Points Memo

See also Reza Aslan at The Daily Beast.

updated
The Lede, NYT

Pictures:

The Big Picture


*Yes, healthcare is a very important issue and one that I feel needs to be solved sooner rather than later. But the events in Iran could reshape the Middle East (and our relationship with it) for generations.

Picture of the Day -- 24 March 2009

The signs of spring in downtown dc.

Picture of the Day -- 22 March 2009

Feeling the blossoms.

Picture of the Day -- 21 March 2009

Out on the bike for the first time this year. Still a bit nippy.

Picture of the Day -- 20 March 2009

First spring evening of the year.

Picture of the Day -- 19 March 2009

Springeskishness.

It's the Economy Stupid Wednesday

Or early on Thursday. Very busy, so I thought I would lighten the mood with this important economic travel announcement.


Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport

Barry found a very interesting money tree. Go look for yourself and behold the wonders of Citi.

It's the Economy Stupid Wednesday

After listening to our fair Representatives orate, pontificate, and bloviate away a good bit of the afternoon, I have to agree with Eliot Spitzer. (Yes, he did have some mighty big personal failings, but the man scared the living shit out of Wall Street when he was the NY AG. On this, and high priced prostitutes, he knows what he is talking about.) The problem ain't the bonuses, they are mere peanuts compared to the what is going out the back door of AIG to other companies to prop them up. I am not sure how it was decided that AIG would be bailed out using Fed monies and not directly our collective tax dollars from TARP (this is a big and very important distinction), but it was, and as such the transparency of the dealings has always been a bit obscured and not aired publically in Congress. Now, I am not saying what the Fed did was shady, I am sure Chairman Bernake did it for a very valid reason. That said, I think a good deal of the confusion (and anger, both justified and unjustified) about the bonuses and how we collectively are sinking money into AIG.

Read Spitzer here.

See where large chunks of money are going. Fed money in the front door, AIG sends it out the back door to...




_John

Picture of the Day -- 18 March 2009

The difference a day makes...


_John

Picture of the Day -- 17 March 2009

Still not much like spring round here.


_John

Picture of the Day -- 16 March 2009

If it weren't for the rain making the verdant fields create a mysteriously low to the ground green aura, it would be a black, white, and gray looking world right now. The birds returning for the spring aren't really helping my mood when they sit in still leafless trees and look like this.


_John

Picture of the Day -- 15 March 2009

The rain continued into Sunday. Despite the cold and rainy weather, there are small signs of spring.


_John

Picture of the Day -- 14 March 2009

We don't pay for snow removal vehicles down here, we pay for salt, and lots of it. The rain later in the day will take this straight in to the Potomac. A brackish day near the storm sewer outlets.


_John

Pictures of the Day returning

As I am bearing down on dissertation deadlines like a brakeless tractor trailer headed down the side of a steep fjord and have some other changes in my personal life I will try to ramp up the Pictures of the Day so that I take (and hopefully post) a new one every day . Commentary will be down to a bear minimum, but if I find the time I will photos from this past winter that will be entitled "Reflections of Winter" as part of a larger photo montage entitled "Reflections of My Life." The idea occurred to me as I walked back from the local farmers market after a rain storm this past fall and took what became one of my favorite pictures I took early during my POD winter hiatus.


_John

It's the Economy Stupid Wednesday

A/V edition again.

The New F***ing Citibank - watch more funny videos

Yeah, I thought this was funny, which means that it will probably come back to bite me on the ass at some point soon. (Note: I do not have any money in a Citibank or invested in their stock.)

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Interesting analysis of how the f-ed journalism can learn something from Stewart's actions.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Market Psychology - Jim Cramer

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Rap Battle
Joke of the Day

Cramer just before the feud with Jon Stewart and well on his way to being shown as the laughing stock he is. Maybe Chris Matthews was watching so he can stop inviting Cramer back until he finds his credibility again. Hey Chris, here's an idea, I am from the Philly are, can I go on your show? Who knows, my guess might be better. Apparently Cramer will be on The Daily Show this Thursday, so set your Tivos.

Bad, bad banks. What does it all mean. In fact, what the hell are they talking about? Why aren't they lending? This American Life clues you in again in a language you can understand.


_John

It's the Economy Stupid Wednesday

When life gives you lemons, ex-Countrywide executives serves you piss. Not that I would ever begrudge anyone to earn money legally, but there is some sort of ethical vacuum that these guys operate in. Seriously, if I did this I don't know that I would ever sleep again.

Soulless people in operating with little to no oversight in nearly unregulated markets, what could go wrong? Really? This is getting to the point of redefining absurd.

Go read, and try not to punch your computer screen or hit your head to hard on your desk. And one last thing, where are these stories while the bubbles are inflating? Why do we get them on the other side? That seems to be more the province of historians, not the press.


_John

image: "LEMON ART" from Irene2727

Picture of the Day -- 02 March 2009

Like the spring growth rising above a fresh snow fall, the pictures of the day are nearing return after their darkness induced hiatus.


_John

It's the Economy Stupid Wednesday

Oh I lost track of days and was planning on a big one this week. Perhaps I will post again between now and next Wednesday with some of the politics tied up in this. But for now, Wall Street are giant crybabies.



What does yesterday's day in the market really mean. I'll let Barry and Steve lay it out for you.

The money quote from Steven is:

These guys won’t be happy until the government agrees to relieve them of every last one of their lousy loans and investments at inflated prices, recapitalize every major bank and brokerage and insurance company on sweetheart terms and restore them to the glory days, so they can once again earn inflated profits and obscene pay packages by screwing over their customers and their shareholders. For the Wall Street wise guys, bailout politics is just another game to be played, another market to be manipulated, another set of risks to be arbitraged.

_John

ps. I will get on top of the Peanuts very soon.

chart: via Merrill Lynch

It's the Economy Stupid Wednesday

Dear Media,

Make it stop. We are not morons, but apparently you are. I think I was right about my opinion of David Gregory running MTP. In fact, I might have been generous. His roundtable this past Sunday had the focus of the economy/TARP/the Stimulus Bill. A pretty important topic right now, and one that really does deserve to have serious people talking about the issues. Unfortunately, MTP doesn't feel that way. What we got was make up, well brushed hair, big smiles, and guests with mild gravitas and big smiles. The horrifically unbalanced dumbtable included Steve Forbes (R-Wall St.), Mark Zandi (politically confused), Erin Burnett (Cheerleader-Wall St.).

Please go read how HP reviewed MTP this weekend. And it is a wonder why the public follows all news like we used to entertainment news – as cats follow shiny objects. Please understand that I do not fault Burnett for this, I fault David Gregory and all the people who do the booking for MTP. She seems nice enough, is very easy on the eyes, has a firm grasp of the English language, and has some sources in Wall St, which can prove to be useful when reporting something. She, however, added nothing to my understanding of any of the topics that were being discussed.

How do you get serious discussion and balance? Hmmm, I can think of two Nobel Laureates and one world renown scholar who appear on my teevee every now and again. Paul Krugman and Joseph Stigliz cover the Laureates, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb as the scholar. Taleb would be a fantasitc get, since he actually predicted the economic meltdown in Davos a few years back. He saw it coming and was laughed at by economic titans. I bet he could explain things in a way that we would all understand. I also think all three would run fucking rings around the Forbes-Burnett-Zandi trifecta. Oh fuck it, we are idiots because we keep watching your shitty programs. Serve us up some more, please!? Wonder which turds they are polishing up for this Sunday...


_John

P.S. Jim Cramer has Burnett's back. You already know what I think about Cramer. Boo-Yah to you douchebag!

(h/t Corvel)

The Best Super Bowl Prediction

Because this year, I really don't care who wins. I just hope that the commercials are good.


_John

It's the Economy Stupid Wednesday

Ahhh, it's back. A short one this week as I slowly get back into the swing of things.

CNBC has a new slogan:
"If you watch us you should get out of the market now."? Nope.
"Cheerleaders and hollow moral moral outrage"? Try again.
iam.cnbc.com? You better believe it!

The real Jim Cramer from late 2006. I don't understand how a man who admittedly gamed the system to earn millions (if not billions) of dollars with his hedge fund can get angry at the Fed or Treasury now. (I am in no position to say what he did to earn money was legal or illegal. I imagine from his wink and nod attitude that it was decidedly in the gray area of the law. The (mostly Republican) idea of the free market probably constrained any and all attempts to pass legislation covering the new high powered mathematical tools and systems that were brought to bear on Wall St. in the 1980s through early 2000s. Democrats were also too ballless to bother passing anything. Clinton and Summers I am looking at your very business friendly "third way.") Anyway Cramer got rich because of an outdated regulatory system and the Bush administration deciding that the free market didn't need any oversight. If you are the real man of the people that you are trying to be today, maybe you could help by shining light on the gray areas, naming name, and calling out your buddies. Douchebag.



Starbucks is a dying business. I fear they will be regional, not national soon. Great innovator, but it is a terrible time to sell subpar expensive coffee. I will never forgive you for switching out the gingerbread latte for the disgusting gingercrisp latte this winter. It's not the same and you know it. Much shame.


_John

image: "cone conference" from ninjapoodles

It was a very good day

Still hopeful (and thawing out).


_John

In the very near future

Lest you think my cellphone camera has broken, it has not and I have taken about 150 pictures since I let PODs drift into the winter darkness. When I finish culling the pictures and take a break from dissertating, I will start posting them. A new theme is emerging, but I will let your imagination run wild in the meantime.


_John

Bush Top 10 moments

Number 4 cracks me up every time.


_John

Let's start 2009 off right

_John