What Caught My Eye Today
Oil Spill - Have you ever wondered what it would be like for the leader of the free world to "kick someone's ass"? Me too. After intense negotiations, BP bowed to President Barack Obama's demand for a $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The humbled chairman of the giant British company apologized to the American people for the horrendous accident. Way to "lay your thang down", Mr. Prez. BP is to pay $5 billion a year over the next four years to set up the $20 billion fund. Obama emphasized that the $20 billion was "not a cap" and that BP would pay more if necessary. Also, civil penalties can be levied against the company under a variety of environmental protection laws, including fines of up to $1,100 under the Clean Water Act for each barrel of oil spilled. You can almost hear the lawyers tripping over each other trying to be the first to file those class action suits. The $20 billion amounts to somewhere between $169 and $313 per gallon of oil spilled so far, based on calculations that the federal government has made. So far, the oil spill has dumped between 63.8 million and 118.4 million gallons into the Gulf. In related news, analysts predict that the price of a gallon of gasoline is expected to rise slightly from around $3 a gallon to somewhere between $169 and $313 in the next 12 months.
Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's leaders launched a program on to rewrite the nation's constitution ahead of an election planned next year. Odd. I wonder what brought this on. It couldn't possibly have anything to due with the zillion percent inflation rate. President Robert Mugabe, who has been in power in Zimbabwe since 1980, opposes that plan. This one...not so odd. Mugabe has never had much use for the needs of the people that he governs. The program to write a new constitution has been plagued by delays, bickering between coalition partners and shortages of cash to deploy lawmakers and officials to some 2,860 meeting centers across the country. And if that isn't complicating matters enough, there is this... Human rights groups and the independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network reported accusations of intimidation by Mugabe party militants to muzzle contributions by ordinary people to the constitutional debate. I see. Mugabe is okay with the program starting (sort of), he just won't allow any contributions to actually fund it. Considering this is Mugabe we're talking about here, again...not so odd.
France - For months, France's ruling conservatives have been shouting down even mere mention of the a-word. France would not imperil its timid economic recovery by applying austerity policies that other debt-concerned countries have adopted to cut deficits. Of course they wouldn't. Today the Labor Ministry announced that that the government will gradually add time to the current retirement age of 60 until the legal reference of 62 years is reached in 2018. Unable to find ways to cut debt painlessly, the government is now planning to continue rolling out what would be - and in fact are - called austerity measures in other parts of Europe. The government will also raise income taxes on wealthier workers and on capital gains by 1%. Where I come from, if it sounds like an austerity program, looks like an austerity program, walks like an austerity program, and feels like an austerity program...most likely it is, in fact, an austerity program. France is looking for $123 billion in savings to reduce its current 8% budget deficit to 3% by 2013. Best of luck, guys.
World Cup - My prognostication skill have really hit their stride now. Here's the latest as the first set of games in group play concluded earlier today.
My winning percentage so far: 29% (5 for 17).
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