Jonathan Leavitt - Comments + Likes

“The Treasury put another $40 Billion into AIG today. Along with previous investments, AIG now represents the single largest government investment in the financial services sector to date at over $150 Billion. They also reduced the punitiave interest ra

November 10 at 10:22 am - via Reshare - Link

Remember? Most Americans opposed the bailout. - Jonathan Leavitt

Thomas Hawk posted a message

“The Treasury put another $40 Billion into AIG today. Along with previous investments, AIG now represents the single largest government investment in the financial services sector to date at over $150 Billion. They also reduced the punitiave interest rate AIG was paying on it's debt to Libor + 3%.”

November 10 at 10:17 am - Link

Carlos Ayala, Bob M. Montgomery, Morton Fox and 5 other people liked this

So, now that we own the company, do we get a discount on the product? - Mark VandenBerg

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Another $40 billion? Sounds like a great excuse for another 4-star executive retreat... I'm thinking maybe Tahiti this time. - Kevin Pedraja

Serious question - why is AIG too big to fail? I get automakers due to employee base, but I don't get AIG - Daltonsbriefs

Daltonsbriefs, the issue here is two fold. First is counterparty risk, credit default swaps, etc. AIG sold insurance on investments to the tune of billions of dollars to other firms. If AIG fails then this insurance is worthless causing a domino effect across Wall Street and banking. AIG also insures all kinds of other things including some of the world's largest assets. If they went under the thought is that other businesses individuals might not be able to sustain that loss of insurance. - Thomas Hawk

AIG insures "concept items" such as hedge fund calls. If there is no insurance backing them, they may actually be called, starting a domino effect of substantial collapses since no one has the cash to cover the calls. - Mark VandenBerg

Daltonsbriefs - As I understand it, it's because AIG insured all of the toxic assets that everyone else bought (buying insurance on them reduced the risk, allowing investors to hedge their best). So when the insurer goes under, all of those assets which are now worth something (if not as much as anyone would like) will suddenly be worth zero. - James Williams (willia4)

That would then cause a chain reaction of various company's and investors going bankrupt that would completely devastate things. This, at least, is what I've gathered from listening to the Planet Money podcasts, at least. - James Williams (willia4)

Good explanation of the situation by James - Bob

Is it too naive to say that a housing recovery then is most important part of our economic policy? - Daltonsbriefs

Dalton - I haven't heard much about housing lately other than as an indicator that things suck. - James Williams (willia4)

Housing plays a huge role in the current economic mess. Maybe the largest. I doubt we see housing recover anytime soon though. 30 year mortgages are still way too high and credit way too tight to spur any significant buying. Without buyers house prices won't go higher. - Thomas Hawk

It's certainly a good rationalization of why we're handing over trailer-loads of money/credit to AIG, but at the end of the day, it's still nothing more than rewarding bad people for doing a bad job in a manner that was fast-tracked by our representatives in government (both parties, I might add). Despite the potential domino effect, this penalizes all the lenders and bankers who DID play by the rules and lets the scumbags ride out into the sunset of a resort vacation. It's a lose-lose situation for taxpayers. - Bob M. Montgomery via twhirl

Robert Scoble posted a message

“On plane to Shanghai, China. It is hard to stop talking about politics on FriendFeed but I am determined to get back to innovation/tech.”

November 5 at 1:36 pm - Link

Duncan Riley, Sarah Peterman, Nicholas Kreidberg and 8 other people liked this

... and naked shower pictures... - Johnny Worthington

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See you in 15 hours. Keep your feet off the furniture. Thanks! :-) - Robert Scoble

talk about both: http://tinyurl.com/5v3z28 - Jonathan Leavitt

What are the movie choices? - Andrew Leyden

Well, now we'll have the debates about the implementation details of each proposal as it comes to Congress. That'll be sure to keep FriendFeed and Memeorandum fresh with posts. :-) - Loren Heiny

well a little more politics is okay. looking forward to more innovation/tech - Robert D. Fraser

Thanks Robert, I've been looking forward to getting back to business as usual. I'm sure you'll find plenty of innovative companies in China, they're surprising a lot of people. - Cains

you will love China. Shanghai makes New York City feel small! Go to some internet/gaming cafes and prepare to have your mind blow up--300-500 folks playing videos games at 3pm in the afternoon. not kidding! - Jason Calacanis

Good luck! - Sweyn

Zai jian! (Perhaps did not spell that right, please excuse) - Pilgrim Five

I do not envy your jet lag... - Kelly W.

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Babi Yar - Evtushenko's Poem [in English]

October 25 at 11:57 am - Link

"those whose hands are steeped in filth Abused your purest name, in name of hatred." - Jonathan Leavitt

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Babi Yar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

October 25 at 11:57 am - Link

"those whose hands are steeped in filth Abused your purest name, in name of hatred." - Jonathan Leavitt

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Everything Is Illuminated (2005)

October 25 at 11:51 am - Link

A comedy about the Ukrainian holocaust? Well, yes. Funny, and much about Ukraine is indeed illuminated. - Jonathan Leavitt

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Galicia (Central Europe) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

October 25 at 11:14 am - Link

Omnia Galicia in tres partes divisa est: Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova. (Well, maybe not Moldova. Sovakia?) - Jonathan Leavitt

US Politics: Steve Cornelius posted a link

Why Does Obama Get More Positive Coverage? - Tuned In - TV Blog - Television Reviews - James Poniewozik - TIME

October 23 at 4:33 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

Robert Haas, RefD, Jonathan Leavitt and 4 other people liked this

Answer: Because he's not an idiot like Bush. - Steven Perez

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Actions. Even I noted that McCain has gotten a lot of bad press since June, but it all hiscampaign's fault. They're making the same mistake Clinton made by dominating the press. They're in the 'there's no such thing as bad press' mindset, yet this is politics not the arts. 3 solid months of McCain doing weird WTF stuff is going to turn people off. - Anika Malone

Because he's dreamy. - Bonnie Dean

the press finally figured out that the bush administration wanted them all silenced, ps recession - adolfo foronda

The press is just a conduit of a negative story in this election cycle. If McCain was getting better press, it would only be because the press going for false balance. - Sean O'Brien

Because he's not a war criminal? - Rick Powell

The assumption behind all of these "negative press coverage" stories is that the role of a free press is to be neutral in the face of, well, everything. Including absolute farce and idiocy. Not even marginal journalists like Couric can manage that when faced with someone like Palin. So, bollocks. - Rick Powell

Because the MSM is finally realizing that they'll be called "liberal media" no matter how much they let Republican idiocy slide. - Robert Haas

Because he doesn't spend most of his time attacking his opponent. Because he has something intelligent to say and doesn't fill half of his day with the words "what I meant to say was ..." Because people are realizing that we as a collective country can't afford to vote red. - ::Kristen::

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Amazon.com: iSi 32-Ounce Soda Siphon SLL, Brushed Aluminum: Kitchen & Dining

October 20 at 6:48 pm - Link

Carbonates tap or bottled water for juice drinks, cocktails, or wine spritzers - Jonathan Leavitt

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Lourdes water - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

October 20 at 6:43 pm - Link

Thousands of pilgrims to Lourdes have followed the instruction of Our Lady of Lourdes to "drink at the spring and wash in it". - Jonathan Leavitt

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Joseph Priestley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

October 20 at 6:35 pm - Link

British theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works. - Jonathan Leavitt

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Naiad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

October 20 at 6:32 pm - Link

Ναϊάδες from the Greek νάειν, "to flow," and νἃμα, "running water. - Jonathan Leavitt

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Selterswasser – Wikipedia

October 20 at 6:29 pm - Link

Where seltzer water got its name. (Article is in German.) - Jonathan Leavitt

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Urban Dictionary: a two cents plain

October 20 at 6:27 pm - Link

"plain seltzer water for two cents. Two cents plain." - Jonathan Leavitt

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What is Kosher Beer?

October 20 at 6:24 pm - Link

It seems that a lot of beer is kosher as produced, but others, such as those made with gelatin clarifiers, are not. - Jonathan Leavitt

US Politics: Sean Reiser posted a message

“Stupid question: What if someone votes early and dies before election day... does their vote still count?”

October 20 at 5:52 pm - Link

Jonathan Leavitt, Shevonne Polastre, sofarsoshawn and Andrew Trinh liked this

Yes. - Akiva Moskovitz

that's funny, get's hit by a bus on the way home, let's hearken back to 2000 and leave this up to the Supreme Court to decide - sofarsoshawn

What if someone dies before he votes early but there is no time to screen his registration data because the election is coming up so soon? Does his vote count? Probably, yes. - Jonathan Leavitt

bastet posted an entry on Tumblr

"Non capisco perché le donne amano tanto i gatti. I gatti sono indipendenti, non ascoltano mai, non..."

October 19 at 3:54 pm - Link

nessuno and Jonathan Leavitt liked this

US Politics: Adam Posey posted a message

“Anyone else think that Joe was a plant?”

October 18 at 12:19 pm - Link

JasonTFleming †, Steve Isaacs, Zu aka ElijahBailey and 5 other people liked this

Duh! He's a distant relative of . . . .Charles F'ing Keating! - Peter Ghosh CISSP

21 more comments

I thought that he might be a plant, yes. It was interesting that he hit the golden number of 250k right off the bat, but then paused and increased it slightly. Also, his choice of words in the subsequent interviews, well, it just sounds very McCain-like. - Caffeinated Sue

I think so, but you have to remember how uniform most republicans are in what they say. It really is like there is a secret mailing list where they can all get their daily talking points. Not trying to be derogatory, it's just truth. Possible he just wanted to give Obama some grief. - ♫ Rahsheen™

EVERYONE else thinks that Joe was a plant. - tehKenny

I think he's a clever guy who used the right words to try to stump Obama and ended up with a little more than 15 minutes of fame. - Rodfather

the fact that everyone is talking about "joe" rather than policies shows it was a successful plant. - alphaxion

And I bet if he was pro-Obama, you wouldn't be suggesting conspiracy theories that he's a plant. You'd be nodding about how great he is. - Akiva Moskovitz

Akiva: I forget how it goes but it had something to do with frogs and wings and bumping it's ass... I forget. - tehKenny

Kenny, well, as soon as you figure out what it is that you're trying to say, feel free to come back and tell me all about it. - Akiva Moskovitz

@Akiva - He's knocking Obama's plan, but he'd actually benefit from it - because he makes around 40k. From all of the reporting I've seen, he's not in the position to buy the business, owes back taxes, may not be a licensed plumber, etc... - Caffeinated Sue

Right, I understand that, Sue, but Joe's qualifications have nothing to do with my point. - Akiva Moskovitz

If he was an Obama supporter and made up some shit to try and stump McCain...I still wouldn't care a lick about him. Did I mention this whole Joe The Plumber thing is irrelevant to me? Plant or not, I don't think McCain should have tried to use him as a tool for the campaign, that only made the news investigate him and show he doesn't illustrate any of McCain's points. Useless, distracting...garbage. - ♫ Rahsheen™

I agree with you completely, Rah. - Akiva Moskovitz

I don't think he was paid by the McCain campaign but it was weird how willing he was to be in front of the camera to voice his opinions. If he were a real plant and was planned to be used for McCain's advantage, one would think he would be vetted more. - Rodfather

Rodfather, you mean like they vetted Palin? - Akiva Moskovitz

Because they've got a proven track record of vetting people... Oh, wait... =/ - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)

Hehe. I'd assume they would learn from their past mistakes. - Rodfather

Akiva, well, given his actual circumstance, it would make more sense if he was pro-Obama, wouldn't it? At his level of income, he'd be taxed less, be able to save more - at a faster pace. So, no, it wouldn't be so suspicious. But if it were Obama who brought him up time and again in the third debate, and Joe was using Obama buzzwords and slamming McCain in all of the interviews, yeah, I'd think it was a little suspect. - Caffeinated Sue

There are and have been tons of plants throughout history, so never be surprised whenever sudden agreement or disagreement surfaces that gets overwhelming attention. - Roney Smith

Are you suggesting that a plumber (with or without a Government license) is too stupid to be afraid of tax increases? - Jonathan Leavitt

Joe doesn't have chloroplasts. - possible248

(lol) - dkb

Nope. That's just insane. Obama was door-knocking on his flippin' street. The GOP ain't that clever. - Anika Malone

Ficus. - Akiva Moskovitz

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The Big Apple: Jewish Champagne (Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Soda, seltzer)

October 16 at 1:50 pm - Link

"Jewish champagne" is the nickname for both "Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray Soda" and for "seltzer." The term dates from the 1930s and is not heard much today. - Jonathan Leavitt

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Walter the Seltzer Man

October 16 at 1:42 pm - Link

New York Works: Audio Portraits of a Vanishing City Produced by: Emily Botein & Joe Richman The Next Big Thing (NPR) 1/19/2002 - Jonathan Leavitt

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Mineral water - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

October 15 at 1:19 pm - Link

Effervescent or not. - Jonathan Leavitt

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Carbonated water - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

October 15 at 1:17 pm - Link

Artificiall carbonated, that is. - Jonathan Leavitt