And we think we have problems with out global warming and so on. Imagine being people (or giant intelligent lizards, or whatever) on some planet in the way of this damned thing.

"The telescope images show the bully galaxy shooting a stream of deadly radiation particles into the lower section of the other galaxy, which is about one-tenth its size. Both are about 8.2 billion trillion miles from here, orbiting around each other.
...
If Earth were in the way — and it's not — the high-energy particles and radiation of the jet would in a matter of months strip away the planet's protective ozone layer and compress the protective magnetosphere, said Evans. That would then allow the sun and the jet itself to bombard the planet with high-energy particles.
...
The two galaxies are only 24,000 light-years apart and are in a slow merging process. The jet has already traveled 1 million light-years. A light-year is about 5.88 trillion miles."

It's stories like this that make me want to go to bed and just stay there.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/12/business/fed.php

On page 2:

"The auctions held by the Fed will set interest rates on borrowings by banks from the Fed. The banks will be able to post any collateral they wish, including illiquid securities such as collateralized debt obligations, as they now can do at the discount window. But while it often becomes known which banks borrow at the discount window, the auction procedures are designed to keep the identities of the borrowers secret."

OK. I'm putting up the lint in my navel as collateral next time I go to buy a snack cake.

So let me get this straight-- the Fed will take as collateral the bad debt that they know the banks already have. Now when this debt goes bad, who is covering it? The issuer of the bonds, actually. And these are who? That's right, the people of America! And China! And Japan! And....

But no, it doesn't stop there. By failing to be able to recover the money the Fed loans out, the value of the denomination (ie, the dollar) drops. On top of that, the extra lent money continues to bulge up an already inflated money supply, which is getting less valuable every day that he risk that its precious underlying commodity, oil, will be traded on a large scale in something other than it.

Notwithstanding that I flunked Macro in college (and I did, too), I did though manage to get a B in Micro from a real jerk of a prof (and that was considered a good grade coming from him). But still, I am not the dunce I was back then when it comes to economics, and so, please explain to me how actions that increase the quantity of a devalued asset will somehow increase the value of the goods and services it is designed to act as a medium of exchange for?

Been sick since last Wednesday. Turns out I had a nasty ear/sinus infection but I am on antibiotics and should be fine by the week-end (or so I hope). One of my cats needed antibiotics recently, too-- she had a UTI. But she too is doing much better. On a lighter note... just keep watching:

She has my vote!

The military's Miss America candidate

As for me, I am nursing a cold. It just moved in and I hope to have it evicted by next week...

Absolutely priceless:

A Cat's Christmas