News from ByronWorld -- Aspergers

by: JohnDoe

Fri Aug 07, 2009 at 01:41:10 AM EDT

People with Asperger's may have superior intelligence and verbal skills, and they often have an obsessive interest in a particular topic (astronomy, in the case of the title character in "Adam," played by Hugh Dancy). But they tend to be self-defeatingly awkward in social situations, and romantic relationships can leave them at sea.

feminism would count double??

News from ByronWorld -- where them Beeyaches know they place

by: JohnDoe

Wed Aug 05, 2009 at 05:55:24 AM EDT

http://www.irishtimes.com/news...

Police used teargas yesterday to disperse protesters rallying in support of a Sudanese woman facing 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public, a case that has become a public test of Sudan's indecency laws.

Lubna Hussein, a former journalist and UN press officer, was arrested with 12 other women during a party at a Khartoum restaurant in July and charged with being indecently dressed.

Women's groups have complained that the law gives no clear definition of indecent dress, leaving the decision of whether to arrest a woman up to individual police officers.

Dozens of men and ululating women gathered outside a Khartoum court room where Ms Hussein appeared yesterday, carrying banners with the message "No return to the dark ages" and "Lubna's case is a case for all Sudanese women".

Grist for the Mill -- Farleft/BrainFreeze wed Darryl Issa

by: JohnDoe

Tue Jul 21, 2009 at 03:00:24 AM EDT

Step 1 -- Create the Fear

Neil M. Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program set up by the Treasury Department, came up with the largest number yet in testimony prepared for delivery Tuesday to a House committee. "The total potential federal government support could reach up to $23.7 trillion," he stated.

Step 2 -- Gloss over the assumptions

But in the report accompanying his testimony, Mr. Barofsky conceded the number was vastly overblown. It includes estimates of the maximum cost of programs that have already been canceled or that never got under way.

It also assumes that every home mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac goes into default, and all the homes turn out to be worthless. It assumes that every bank in America fails, with not a single asset worth even a penny. And it assumes that all of the assets held by money market mutual funds, including Treasury bills, turn out to be worthless.

It would also require the Treasury itself to default on securities purchased by the Federal Reserve system.

More Grist -- the BOA grumbles over fees

by: JohnDoe

Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 04:53:39 AM EDT

Bank of America Corp. is trying to avoid paying billions of dollars in fees to U.S. taxpayers for guarantees against losses at Merrill Lynch & Co., saying the rescue agreement was never signed and the funding never used.

Regulators contend Bank of America owes at least part of a $4 billion fee it agreed to pay in January -- even without a completed legal document -- because the company benefited from implied U.S. backing on about $118 billion of Merrill Lynch assets, such as mortgage-backed bonds, people familiar with the matter said.

Grist for the Mill

by: JohnDoe

Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 18:25:37 PM EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/...

The size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet shrank for a third straight week, falling below $2 trillion for the first time since March, as lending to banks in the U.S. and abroad declined. ...

Holdings of mortgage debt were little changed at $462.5 billion, while Treasuries on the balance sheet gained $10 billion to $673.5 billion. Federal agency securities held by the central bank were unchanged at $97.8 billion.

The Fed has commitments to purchase a net $156.7 billion of MBS as of yesterday. ..

Credit extended by the Fed in connection with the rescue of insurer American International Group Inc. declined to $81.5 billion from $83.4 billion last week. Last month AIG announced that it agreed to hand over stakes in two overseas units to the New York Fed to reduce its central bank debt by $25 billion.

Another Greedy woman divorces a man after the money was spent

by: JohnDoe

Thu Apr 30, 2009 at 23:04:57 PM EDT

The nerve of some women.  How could this person not live up to the marriage contract and just do as she was told.