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December 31 Year in Review 2008 Pictures – News and SportsCheck out these picture slide shows of the best pictures and news stories of 2008. It has voice and music too, so don’t forget to have your speakers on. NEWS Click on the link below: The Year in Pictures 2008 - News SPORTS Click on the link below: The Year in Pictures 2008 - Sports Amazing photos you must see! Enjoy! Article from MSNBC – Famous last words on the financial crisis
I got this article from MSNBC. It’s funny, but all true. Of course when looking back, these comments seem silly. You would think that high ranking people like these should have a little better idea what they’re talking about. Introduction
Few could have predicted the financial tsunami that hit the U.S. economy in the latter part of this year, but a handful of powerful men should have at least had an inkling. Instead, the individuals who had their fingers on the pulse (or who should have had their fingers on the pulse) of the nation’s economic health seemed to be out golfing when it came to assessing the financial sector. Here's a wrap-up of the five dumbest things said about the economy in the past two years by political and financial leaders:
Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA
"The problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained." This unfortunate collection of words by Bernanke has been quoted, and misquoted, over and over again as proof the Fed chief did not grasp the gravity of the subprime debacle. He made this comment as part of testimony he gave to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, and it came back to haunt him when the financial sector began to collapse. Here’s an excerpt of that testimony: “The ongoing tightening of lending standards, although an appropriate market response, will reduce somewhat the effective demand for housing, and foreclosed properties will add to the inventories of unsold homes. At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained. In particular, mortgages to prime borrowers and fixed-rate mortgages to all classes of borrowers continue to perform well, with low rates of delinquency.” Boy, did he turn out to be wrong. Many economists now point to the subprime mess as a key reason for the nation’s recession.
Mustafa Quraishi / AP
"The fundamentals of our economy are strong." If you had to pick one line that doomed McCain’s presidential aspirations, this one was probably it. The full thought went like this: "There’s been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street. People are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong." That statement became the centerpiece of Democrats’ assertions that McCain was out of touch and would be unable to steer a faltering economy in the right direction. McCain made the statement during a stump speech on Sept. 15, the same day that brokerage giant Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. Lehman's bankruptcy kicked off a chain of events that led to anything but an economy that was "fundamentally sound."
Lawrence Jackson / AP
"We don't see any pressure on our liquidity, let alone a liquidity crisis." Schwartz was fending off speculation that the investment banking giant was in a cash crunch when he made this statement, trying to reassure investors that Bear Stearns was doing OK. Turns out things were anything but OK, as the firm soon collapsed under the pressure of bad investments tied to the subprime mess. His timing couldn’t have been worse. He uttered the quote on CNBC on March 12, just a few days before JPMorgan Chase absorbed the company for a fire sale price as part of a government bailout.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP - Getty Images
"We have more capital than we need, so we can say to the market that we don't need more injections. We can confirm that we have tackled the problem." The global credit crunch appeared to be behind Merrill Lynch in early 2008 — at least that's what the CEO of the firm told Spain’s El Pais newspaper in March. This positive statement came despite the company losing $8 billion the previous year. Alas, there were more problems to come. The fall brought Merrill to the financial brink, but a white knight, aka Bank of America, came in to save the day, announcing in September that it would be buy the troubled firm.
Yuri Gripas / AFP - Getty Images
"I don't think the government ought to be involved in bailing out companies." Well, maybe he meant certain companies. Bush made this statement, along with declaring the nation’s financial system "basically sound," during a press conference in July where he urged lawmakers to move swiftly in bailing out mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Despite calling for the bailout of the two companies, Bush said the government wasn’t actually bailing out the firms because they would remain shareholder-owned companies. Other quasi billion dollar bailouts that followed included AIG, Bear Stearns and automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. Sports pictures of 2008
Check out these amazing photos of sports in 2008. These are just a few of my favorites.
December 30 Worst Predictions of 2008 - Funny
I saw this on MSNBC. All true. 1. "A very powerful and durable rally is in the works. But it may need another couple of days to lift off. Hold the fort and keep the faith!" -- Richard Band, editor, Profitable Investing Letter, Mar. 27, 2008 At the time of the prediction, the Dow Jones industrial average was at 12,300. By late December it was at 8,500. 2. AIG "could have huge gains in the second quarter." -- Bijan Moazami, analyst, Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, May 9, 2008 AIG wound up losing $5 billion in that quarter and $25 billion in the next. It was taken over in September by the US government, which will spend or lend $150 billion to keep it afloat. 3. "I think this is a case where Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are fundamentally sound. They're not in danger of going under I think they are in good shape going forward." -- Barney Frank House Financial Services Committee chairman, July 14, 2008 Two months later, the government forced the mortgage giants into conservatorships and pledged to invest up to $100 billion in each. 4. "The market is in the process of correcting itself." - President George W. Bush, in a Mar. 14, 2008 speech For the rest of the year, the market kept correcting and correcting and correcting. 5. "No! No! No! Bear Stearns is not in trouble." - Jim Cramer, CNBC commentator, Mar. 11, 2008 Five days later, JPMorgan Chase took over Bear Stearns with government help, nearly wiping out shareholders. 6. "Existing-Home Sales to Trend Up in 2008" - Headline of a National Association of Realtors press release, Dec. 9, 2007 On Dec. 23, 2008, the group said November sales were running at an annual rate of 4.5 million -- down 11% from a year earlier - in the worst housing slump since the Depression. 7. "I think you'll see (oil prices at) $150 a barrel by the end of the year" -- T. Boone Pickens, June 20, 2008 Oil was then around $135 a barrel. By late December it was below $40. 8. "I expect there will be some failures. I don't anticipate any serious problems of that sort among the large internationally active banks that make up a very substantial part of our banking system." -- Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, Feb. 28, 2008 In September, Washington Mutual became the largest financial institution in US history to fail. Citigroup needed an even bigger rescue in November. 9. "In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules." -- Bernard Madoff, money manager, Oct. 20, 2007 About a year later, Madoff -- who once headed the Nasdaq Stock Market -- told investigators he had cost his investors $50 billion in an alleged Ponzi scheme. 10. A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win, the title of a book by conservative commentator Shelby Steele, published on Dec. 4, 2007. Mr. Steele, meet President-elect Barack Obama. December 25 Funny Snowmen Comic StripsCheck out these funny comic strips all about snowmen! Happy Holidays!
Funny Pictures!Santa gets caught by the Empire!
3rd Grader writes about horses
Chemistry Test paper How you get men to save money
The real Pamela Anderson December 19 Play Shock and Awe – How Many Times Can You Hit Bush with Shoes?The Bush games just get better and better. The latest shoe throwing game is called Shock and Awe.
Just click on the picture above and play. (A new window will pop up) The site may have bandwidth problems. If you the picture link doesn't work, click the link below: Happy Throwing! December 18 Download Britney Spears Circus MP3 Free & Music Video Plus LyricsDownload Britney Spears new song called Circus. Just Right Click on the link below and Save As Target. http://121.254.138.11:51000/stream/music/01/0000/0081/9964/contents/mp3/src/666469.mp3
Watch Britney Spears - Circus (The Director’s Cut) Music Video
Lyrics: There's only two types of people in the world Funny US President George Bush videos and picturesUS President George Bush is almost done serving his term. No doubt many sites will review his long presidency. Take a look at these funny pictures and short videos. I especially like the dancing video!
Videos Bush Busts a Move & Plays Drums
Here’s Bush trying to get out the wrong door.
Here’s a compilation of Bush’s funniest moments
A little more dancing from Bush
And don’t forget to play the Bush games on my site, like Bush Boot Camp and Bush Shootout! Play Bush Shootout: http://fgoningbo999.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!DA3E08396CEEDB11!3077.entry Play Bush Boot Camp: http://fgoningbo999.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!DA3E08396CEEDB11!3053.entry Also, see pictures of Bush at the 2008 Beijing Olympics: http://cid-da3e08396ceedb11.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/President%20Bush%20at%20the%20Beijing%20Olympics/president%20bush%20getting%20freaky%20with%20the%20volleyball%20team.jpg
December 17 Play Bush Shootout online – Get Bush and Condoleezza out of the White House!If you liked playing Bush Boot camp, you’ll have to try this game. It may take a while to load, so be patient. It’s called Bush Shootout. Play it and see how you do!!! Object: Make sure Bush and Condoleezza get out of the White House!
Click the link below to play: Watch Bush get shoes thrown at him – Video and Pictures!
As most of you know, US President George Bush visited Iraq and a journalist threw his shoes at him. In case you missed it, watch the video here. Also, are some pictures below. So many funny things have happened to Bush in his presidency. Check out my photos which has Bush at the Olympics. So many funny faces!
Play the game of Risk onlineWhat is Risk?
 Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players, and is played on a board depicting a stylized Napoleonic-era political map of the Earth, divided into forty-two territories, which are grouped into six continents. Players control armies, with which they attempt to capture territories from other players. The goal of the game is to control all the territories—or "conquer the world"—through the elimination of the other players. Using area movement, Risk ignores limitations such as the vast size of the world, and the logistics of long campaigns.
You can play this game at: http://www.strategygamenetwork.com/
You need to create a login, but it's free. There are different types of games, but I like Risk the best (Classic World map).
You can read the playing intructions here: http://www.strategygamenetwork.com/instructions.html
This game is a lot of fun. I like playing the Real-Time games because sometimes players join but they're not online or too slow. In this mode, if a player doesn't act, they will automatically forfeit.
Also, you get to play with players all over the world. Try it out and maybe I'll see you online! Have fun!
Car Made in China?Cars Made in China? Is it really this bad???
Play Bush's Boot Camp and see if you can hit Bush!Check out the new Bush game! See if you can hit George Bush with a boot! Fun game! Bush's Boot Camp
December 16 Survivor Gabon is over! Watch the final episode online!Survivor Gabon is finally over. In case you missed the final episode, you can watch it here. Just click these links:
Final episode: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTk3OTcyODg=.html
And the winner is....: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTk2NzEyMzY=.html
So now that Survivor Gabon is over, we can look forward to the next survivor. Watch the preview below.
Next season's Survivor preview:
Survivor Tocantins: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTk2NzU2NzY=.html
Survivor Tocantins: The Brazilian Highlands premieres on February 12, 2009 on CBS.
 December 15 Download Favorite New Year's Eve MP3s!
These are some classic and popular songs that are played during the New Year's Eve holiday. Download these MP3s for free or just listen to them.
To download, just Right Click on the link and Save As Target. To listen, just Left Click. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
Watch CSI Las Vegas Season 9, Episode 9 & 10 - Grissom leaves & Fishburne arrives!
Laurence Fishburne joins the CSI: Las Vegas team!
CSI Las Vegas is one of the most popular shows of all time. This season Grissom leaves the show and Laurence Fishburne arrives. Watch the full episode online for free!
Click the link below to watch Season 9, Episode 9.
Click the link below to watch Season 9, Episode 10.
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