Pictures

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Kedar Desai
+44 (0) 789 420 1415

Bush Satire

"The fact is, this shows that 'voodoo economics' is a disaster, just like I
said," said George H.W. Bush, who coined the phrase to describe
Reagonomics<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaganomics#cite_note-24>,
economics based on Reagan's belief that giving everything to the rich would
fill the coffers of the poor. "I knew Reagonomics was bad in 1978, but it
took my son to prove how much it really sucks."

Corey interview

Corey is a teenager in australia who celebrated his 16th bday by inviting
over 500 people off facebook, who trashed the neighbourhood, cops had to be
called in.
In this interview, he has no regrets. Its hilarious. Also, aussie accents
are the best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0IAUwtyquE

 

Teen cult hero and *Big Brother* intruder Corey Worthington has reportedly
banked $200,000 since exploding onto the national scene at the start of the
year — and now he has a movie in the works.

His agent Max Markson was coy about discussing figures, saying his net worth
fell "well short" of the claim, but told the *Courier-Mail* his client was
getting a lot more than the proverbial 15 minutes out of his fame.

"I will say he has done very, very well for himself over the past few months
and I am very proud of him," he said.

"This is only the beginning for him."

 

Bushism

"I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system."
--George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2008

TED video

Within 5 mins it will become evident that this is the best presentation of
stats you will see.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_...

TED videos

This is very interesting, really picks up around the 9 - 10th minute.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_...

 

5 minutes of the best camerawork you will see
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_gallo_shows_underwater_aston...

 

the following video has a very funny moment between the 5th and the 6th
minute.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpc-t-Uwv1I&feature=related

This one has a really funny Shakespeare moment around the 7th minute
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY&feature=channel

This is one of the most fascinating, mesmerizing talks you will hear. Al
Pacino tries to do his 'Devil's Advocate' type soliloquies this way and
fails miserably
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

 

political humor Dec 24 - 26

"I tell you, the economy's rough. People are standing behind President
Bush<http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/georgewbush/tp/george-bush-jokes.htm>just
to get the free shoes." --Jay Leno

*"*You folks around the country probably know this, but here in New York
City it's freezing cold. It's so cold today that that Bernie Madoff is
actually looking forward to burning in hell." --David Letterman

"It's so cold today President
Bush<http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/georgewbush/tp/george-bush-jokes.htm>was
ducking ski boots." --David Letterman

Ford Motors, by God, Ford Motors is working on a brand new car called the
Fusion. It's a hybrid and runs on a combination of gas and bailout money -
David Letterman
"Barack Obama<http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/barackobama/tp/barack-obama-jokes.htm>is
on vacation in Hawaii right now. And today many newspapers carried
pictures of a shirtless Obama playing in the ocean. Did you see that? Yeah.
So as you're thinking of things to be thankful for this holiday, remember,
that could have been a shirtless John
McCain<http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/johnmccain/tp/john-mccain-jokes.htm>."
--Conan O'Brien

"The White House staff has been briefing Barack Obama's team on a series of
worst-case scenarios that could face the country after President Bush leaves
office. That's the latest. Yeah. Apparently, the absolute worst case
scenario is that
Bush<http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/georgewbush/tp/george-bush-jokes.htm>doesn't
leave office." --Conan O'Brien

"What a rough crowd last night. Rough, they were surly. They were quiet. I'm
telling you. It was quiet in here. It was like a Lehman Brothers Christmas
party.
The suburbs are cold also. Up in Chappaqua,
Bill<http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/funnypictures/ig/Funny-Clinton-Pic...>and
Hillary<http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/hillaryclinton/tp/hillary-clinton-...>accidentally
got into the same bed. It's that cold." --David Letterman

"The shoe-tossing guy
<http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/georgewbush/a/bush-shoe-jokes.htm>in
Iraq, you know, he wrote a letter to President Bush and he apologized. He
said, 'Dear president Bush, I'm sorry I threw a shoe at you.' And I was
thinking, wait a minute. When is President Bush going to apologize for
invading Iraq?" --David Letterman

"It was so cold in Alaska, somebody is putting chapstick on a pig." --Jay
Leno

"President-elect Barack Obama and his family are in Hawaii this week. To
which President Bush said, 'You know, I prefer spending my Christmases right
here in the United States.'" --Jay Leno

"Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger<http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blpic-arnoldgovernator...>said
in an interview on '60 Minutes' on Sunday that, if the Constitution
allowed it, he would like to run for president. Yeah. Yeah. There's a
switch, a Republican being stopped by the Constitution, when does that ever
happen?" --Jay Leno

"The largest donor at the Clinton library turns out to be Saudi Arabia.
Yeah. Well, some critics argue that such close financial ties to the Mideast
could be a conflict of interest. However, Hillary Clinton says she will not
advocate Arab policies. Except, you know, the practice of stoning
adulterers." --Jay Leno

"NBC is showing, once again, the classic movie 'It's a Wonderful Life.' See,
it is so different today. See, when they made that movie, back then the
government actually asked banks to account for what money was missing."
--Jay Leno

 

Jon Stewart

George Bush is way way better than Jon Stewart as a comedianhttp://politicalhumor.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://ww...

auto bailout - random musing

why did they announce 17.4 billion for the auto firms, and not 17 or 18? why
the 0.4? During the 700B package, one congress member or treasury official,
when asked how they came up with the 700 figure, had said that 'we just
wanted a big number'

this is even better - it has 13.4 from the 700 B package, which is the
reason for the 17.4. So, of the 700, they have used up 350, and of the
remaining 350 they calculated they would need 336.6 billion for non-auto
bailouts. Genius!

Reminds me of the old Readers Digest joke, about the director who wanted 50,001 extras to film a war scene. When asked why 50,001 he patiently replied, well- it's one guy leading and 50,000 others behind him.

Economist extract on the Senate

A CENTURY ago, the Senate had many detractors. It was a club for
millionaires with a culture of alcoholism, writes Lewis Gould in "The Most
Exclusive Club: A History of the Modern United States Senate". Grover
Cleveland's wife is said to have roused him from slumber with the words:
"Wake up! There are robbers in the house." The president replied: "I think
you are mistaken. There are no robbers in the House, but there are lots in
the Senate." Around the same time, a senator from Maine named William P.
Frye lamented that "there are several in our distinguished body who hold
their seats by purchase."

Is today's Senate any better? Those who say no have seen plenty of recent
evidence to buttress their case. Ted Stevens of Alaska was caught trousering
gifts from contractors. David Vitter and Larry Craig were caught with their
trousers down (though Mr Craig maintains that his were lowered for
legitimate reasons). A couple of senators are accused of accepting cut-price
loans from a lender they should have been regulating more vigilantly. And
Frye's lament about the way vacated Senate seats are filled could hardly
sound more contemporary.

senators have the power (not to mention the verbosity) to talk a bill to
death. It takes 60 votes out of 100 to end a filibuster, so 41 senators can
block almost anything. If the least-populous states ganged together,
senators representing 11% of the population could theoretically thwart the
will of the other 89%. This kind of power has often been used for ill.
Southern Democrats filibustered to keep the segregationist Jim Crow laws
alive. Rural senators today ensure that wasteful, trade-distorting,
ally-enraging farm subsidies will never die.

Yet the Senate has virtues as well as vices. As well as slowing the
legislative process, it often makes it more thoughtful. When the House
passes a bill in hotheaded haste, the Senate cools it down. In a country as
vast and diverse as America, there is something to be said for making it
hard for the central government to impose sudden, radical change on
everyone. And the excruciating difficulty of getting anything controversial
through the Senate forces lawmakers to sit down and take account of opposing
views. On December 11th, for example, Senate Republicans blocked a bail-out
for Detroit's carmakers. This thwarted the clearly expressed will of
majorities in both the House and the Senate. But it was the right thing to
do. A bail-out would either delay inevitable restructuring or (worse) put
Congress in charge of it. The bail-out's advocates will try again. But they
will have to come up with a more plausible plan.
Power to the centrists

Next year the Democrats will have large majorities in both arms of Congress,
but not quite enough seats in the Senate to shut down filibusters and make
Republicans irrelevant. The Senate will thus be the second-toughest check on
the new president, after the rapidly emptying Treasury. But Mr Obama's lack
of a crushing Senate majority could actually help him govern better. If the
Democrats had 60 seats, Mr Obama's supporters would expect him to sign a
bunch of narrowly partisan bills. Since they don't, such bills won't reach
his desk. If, for example, his fellow Democrats try to abolish the right to
a secret ballot before a workplace is unionised, Senate Republicans will
stop them.

The biggest and best reforms of the past have usually been bipartisan—think
of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 or welfare reform in 1996. Mr Obama, too,
has a better chance of changing America for the better if he reaches across
the aisle. Take health care. He cannot substantially and permanently expand
coverage (a Democratic priority) unless he also tackles soaring health-care
costs (a Republican one). Or take climate change. It would be politically
suicidal to force higher energy prices on Americans without bipartisan
cover. There are plenty of moderates in the new Senate, from Olympia Snowe
and Susan Collins on the Republican side to Mark Warner and Claire McCaskill
on the Democratic one. Charlie Cook, a political analyst, counts at least 23
centrists, who will in effect hold the balance of power. Mr Obama should
work with them. He may find a useful ally in his old sparring partner, John
McCain.