Fantastic Short Film about GOP Greed by Actor Ed Asner

This is a great short film by Ed Asner, reminiscent of the simplistic Schoolhouse Rock vids from the 1970s, explaining the stock market crash of 2008 in terms of the greedy 1% versus the struggling 99%. We need more clear explanations like this to give everyone some perspective - especially folks who vote against their own self-interests time after time. It's obvious to the Democrats that the super-wealthy just need to pay more taxes and honor the social contract, but it will take years to reverse the damage done by the Tea Party and Grover Norquist.

Still - this is an educational and well-done video. Thanks, Mr. Asner ~ Lou Grant would be proud! :)

Elizabeth Warren Shames Bank Regulators

Senator Elizabeth Warren hit the ground running in her first Banking Committee Hearing. She wasted no time lambasting the spineless regulators who are letting off the big banks with fines and slaps on the wrist instead of taking them to trial. Her goal was to expose the weakness of regulators who see fines as enough penalty for the crimes committed, and she pointed out that when these cases aren't taken to trial then no testimony of wrongdoing is ever put down on the record. So in effect, the bankers get off scott-free without any new information that congress could use to improve the banking system.

Marketwatch

“I want to note that there are district attorneys and U.S. attorneys who are out there everyday squeezing ordinary citizens on sometimes very thin grounds and taking them to trial to ‘make an example,’ as they put it,” she told bank regulators testifying at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. “I am really concerned that too-big-to-fail has become too-big-for-trial.”

. . . Warren acknowledged that trials are expensive but she insisted that if an agency is unwilling to go to trial it is because they are “too timid” or lack resources. She said that the consequence is that if large financial institutions can break the law and “drag in billions” in profits and settle, then they don’t have much incentive to follow the law.

“Every time there is a settlement and not a trial, it means we didn’t have the days and days and days of testimony about what those financial institutions were up to,” Warren said.

Senator Elizabeth Warren at the Feb. 14, 2013 Banking Committee Hearing titled "Wall Street Reform: Oversight of Financial Stability and Consumer and Investor Protections." The witnesses were: The Honorable Mary Miller, Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, U.S. Department of the Treasury; The Honorable Daniel Tarullo, Governor, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; The Honorable Martin Gruenberg, Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; The Honorable Tom Curry, Comptroller, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; The Honorable Richard Cordray, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; The Honorable Elisse Walter, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and The Honorable Gary Gensler, Chairman, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Meteorite Hits Russia!

Who needs fiction these days? We have a Pope resigning, a nuclear test by North Korea, a Cruise Ship adrift at sea with people trapped on board for days, and now a meteorite has crashed into Russia, blowing out windows for miles and injuring 400 people or more. Did I mention that there is amazing video of the whole thing, including the delayed sonic booms or earthquakes (or both)?

And it's not the only Meteor expected near the earth today - no, really. Another large one is expected to come so close to earth this afternoon that it will move between our planet and the communications satellites that bring us our TV signals. Scared yet?

As Yoda said, "You Will Be."

Eerie Predictions in this ABC Video from yesterday. They even mention the Tunguska Event in 1908 during which an alleged meteorite crashed into northern Russia with the force of several atomic bombs, leveling trees for hundreds of miles. *shiver*


NASA will be following the giant asteroid today in a Livecast:

...The half-hour broadcast from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., will incorporate real-time animation to show the location of the asteroid in relation to Earth, along with live or near real-time views of the asteroid from observatories in Australia, weather permitting.
At the time of its closest approach to Earth at approximately 2:25 p.m. EST (11:25 a.m. PST/ 19:25 UTC), the asteroid will be about 17,150 miles (27,600 kilometers) above Earth's surface.
The commentary will be available via NASA TV and streamed live online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

and

http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2

In addition to the commentary, near real-time imagery of the asteroid's flyby before and after closest approach, made available to NASA by astronomers in Australia and Europe, weather permitting, will be streamed beginning at about noon EST (9 a.m. PST) and continuing through the afternoon at the following website:

http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2

A Ustream feed of the flyby from a telescope at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will be streamed for three hours starting at 9 p.m. EST (8 p.m. CST). To view the feed and ask researchers questions about the flyby via Twitter, visit:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc

Russian Livejournal with lots of pictures and videos

BBC News

A meteor crashing in the Urals of central Russia has reportedly injured at least 400 people, as the shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings.

Most of those hurt suffered minor cuts and bruises but some received head injuries, Russian media report.

A fireball was seen streaking through the sky above the city of Yekaterinburg, followed by loud bangs.

The meteor is believed to have landed in a lake near Chebarkul, a town in the neighbouring Chelyabinsk region.

Much of the impact was felt in the city of Chelyabinsk, some 200km (125 miles) south of Yekaterinburg.

"It suddenly became as bright as if it was day”
~ Viktor Prokofiev, Yekaterinburg resident

"We saw a big burst of light, then went outside to see what it was and we heard a really loud thundering sound," Chelyabinsk resident Sergey Hametov told AP news agency by phone.

Officials say a large meteor partially burned up in the lower atmosphere, resulting in fragments falling earthwards.

This one will make you jump ~ be forewarned! Just brace yourself