This NYT article reports on new structuring of ownership of nursing home chains by private equity funds. Habana is one of thousands of nursing homes across the nation that large Wall Street investment companies have bought or agreed to acquire in recent years.Those investors include prominent private equity firms like Warburg Pincus and the Carlyle […]

Do you remember that silly men’s room hand washing post cactus posted a while ago? I could hardly believe this video on WebMD. You never know what might stick in your mind from reading Angry Bear! Update:What’s the difference between government bonds and men? Bonds mature.(Now this makes the post legit.)

Malaysia unpegs the ringgit from the US dollar The bank said the current valuation of the ringgit is consistent with the country’s economic fundamentals and takes into consideration “developments in our trading partner countries” — an apparent reference to China.Malaysian had insisted previously that it is not working with China on changes to their currency […]

Now India is outsourcing outsourcing. One of the constants of the global economy has been companies moving tasks – and jobs – to India, where they could be done at lower cost. But rising wages for programmers here, a strengthening currency and companies’ need for workers in their clients’ time zones or for workers who […]

Just an FYI related to recent postings here. Democracy Now for 9/24 has about a 38 minute discussion with both Naomie Klien and Alan Greenspan. The remaining minutes is with Jeremy Scahill. This particular exchange caught my attention: AMY GOODMAN: Alan Greenspan, you write in the end of your book, “A Federal Reserve System that […]

🙂 Canadian reserves make mouths water: When the U.S. Department of Energy formally acknowledged these reserves in 2003, it vaulted Canada’s oil reserves from 21st to 2nd in the world, behind only Saudi Arabia. It’s little wonder then that the U.S. Energy Policy Development Group has described the tar sands as “a pillar of sustained […]

Alan Greenspan and Naomi Klein discuss recent economic history in this interview: I changed my mind in 2002 and 2003, largely because the whole notion of which fundamentally got me in favor of significant tax cuts without offsetting expenditures was a very special event which probably had not occurred in the United States for 150 […]

The Middle East Times reports: June 22, 2007 BAGHDAD — Iraqi leaders beginning a weeklong China visit are hinting at reigniting a Saddam-era oil deal, though such a move is clouded by Iraq’s stalled oil law. President Jalal Talabani this week is leading a delegation that includes the oil minister and four other cabinet members, […]

George Lakoff offers a frame to consider about Iraq and the ME. Greenspan’s revelation and the contracts (PSA oil contracts) need to be discussed openly. The question must be asked, “Is our military there for the sake of oil?” I have been struck by the use of the word “victory” by the right wing, especially […]

Factcheck.org does a creditable job with quotes from President Bush’s public statements and links to real data. The summary is posted, but the links and data are worth the time: President Bush gave a false description of proposed legislation to expand the 10-year-old federal program to provide health insurance for children in low-income working families. […]