War Commentary

“Rage Boy”

…and the cowed. Christopher Hitchens writes about the supine west:

This mental and moral capitulation has a bearing on the argument about Iraq, as well. We are incessantly told that the removal of the Saddam Hussein despotism has inflamed the world’s Muslims against us and made Iraq hospitable to terrorism, for all the world as if Baathism had not been pumping out jihadist rhetoric for the past decade (as it still does from Damascus, allied to Tehran). But how are we to know what will incite such rage? A caricature published in Copenhagen appears to do it. A crass remark from Josef Ratzinger (leader of an anti-war church) seems to have the same effect. A rumor from Guantanamo will convulse Peshawar, the Muslim press preaches that the Jews brought down the Twin Towers, and a single citation in a British honors list will cause the Iranian state-run press to repeat its claim that the British government

War Commentary

“Rage Boy”

…and the cowed. Christopher Hitchens writes about the supine west:

This mental and moral capitulation has a bearing on the argument about Iraq, as well. We are incessantly told that the removal of the Saddam Hussein despotism has inflamed the world’s Muslims against us and made Iraq hospitable to terrorism, for all the world as if Baathism had not been pumping out jihadist rhetoric for the past decade (as it still does from Damascus, allied to Tehran). But how are we to know what will incite such rage? A caricature published in Copenhagen appears to do it. A crass remark from Josef Ratzinger (leader of an anti-war church) seems to have the same effect. A rumor from Guantanamo will convulse Peshawar, the Muslim press preaches that the Jews brought down the Twin Towers, and a single citation in a British honors list will cause the Iranian state-run press to repeat its claim that the British government

War Commentary

“Rage Boy”

…and the cowed. Christopher Hitchens writes about the supine west:

This mental and moral capitulation has a bearing on the argument about Iraq, as well. We are incessantly told that the removal of the Saddam Hussein despotism has inflamed the world’s Muslims against us and made Iraq hospitable to terrorism, for all the world as if Baathism had not been pumping out jihadist rhetoric for the past decade (as it still does from Damascus, allied to Tehran). But how are we to know what will incite such rage? A caricature published in Copenhagen appears to do it. A crass remark from Josef Ratzinger (leader of an anti-war church) seems to have the same effect. A rumor from Guantanamo will convulse Peshawar, the Muslim press preaches that the Jews brought down the Twin Towers, and a single citation in a British honors list will cause the Iranian state-run press to repeat its claim that the British government

Space

Rocketeers

I just scored a review copy of Michael Belfiore’s new book. Unfortunately, part of the deal is that the review won’t be published until August, so you’ll have to wait until after the book (on August 1st) comes out to read it.

Administrative

Comments Hygiene

I’ve got a long fuse, and a slow one, but it’s not infinite in either regard. If anyone wonders why Brian Swiderski will no longer be posting here (at least under that IP), the reason can be found here:

Do you imagine I’m trying to be persuasive? If I were, you wouldn’t even be talking to me–you’d be brooding over your own confusion, and then later congratulating yourself on having convinced me of your ideas.

If he’s not even trying to change anyone’s mind, I see no reason at all to any further tolerate his ongoing pollution of my web site.

Economics

Last One Out is a Rotten Egg

The Bear Stearns bailout and failure respectively of two hedge funds with hundreds of millions (formerly) of equity and $10 billion+ of debt is causing some new soul searching among risk managers about the continuing sub prime overlending. The credit card issuer risk managers are taking the opportunity to tighten consumer credit for credit cards and probably soon other kinds of consumer credit.

By tightening credit card terms and mortgage terms, banks exacerbate the difficulty that sub prime borrowers may have making their house payment and refinancing their loans when teaser rates end. As lenders tighten terms, there will be a knock on effect of more sour loans. This is a game with a distinct first-mover advantage. Many consumers even in the sub prime market have more than one credit card. If Barclays credit cards (e.g., Juniper, US Air, Barnes&Noble, etc.) tighten their credit standards, Chase and Bank of America tighten their balance transfer requirements, banks that keep their offers open longest may be the ones that suffer in the event of a rise in consumer bankruptcy. Oddly, all of the acquisitions by Chase, Bank of America and others of competing credit card issuers means that they have internalized a higher share of the pain than in the last recession, but they are still fighting the last war.

The credit card and mortgage defaults may, in turn, dry up some sources of liquidity for hedge funds that buy credit card and mortgage backed securities and other consumer debt. There is still plenty of money gushing into the global financial system (China’s government and consumers are socking away a lot of money in anticipation of a labor shortage when they retire and no trillion dollar social security program to help them and expect India, Pakistan and Indonesia to join them as their demographic bulge matures coincident with speedy growth). So unwinding the sub prime fiasco will just increase the appetite for return and dollar denominated assets in other sectors of the world economy. But that’s small consolation for the millions of people caught in a credit crunch. A politician cleaning up bad credit is going to lose votes when voters find out the alternative is no credit.

My proposal is for there to be a federal car loan program and a federal health care loan program.

Continue reading Last One Out is a Rotten Egg →

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!