Prime info on the subprime disaster

For the past 4 years, I worked on a website that did nothing but sell wholesale mortgages. But it took the American media to explain the big picture to me. Finally, in mid-2008, I think I finally understand the sub-prime mortgage crisis from top to bottom, just as said crisis is pushing the country toward a recession.

This series of articles last fall from Bloomberg helped me understand the What:

1. Subprime Securities Market Began as "Group of 5" Over Chinese


2. 'Deal with Devil' Funded Carrera Crash Before Bust


3. Bass Shorted 'God I Hope You're Wrong' Wall Street


4. Rating Subprime Investment Grade Made 'Joke' of Credit Experts


5. Savannah Cries About Bicycle Left Behind in Rest of Subprime (not currently available)

This series shows who was selling sub-prime mortgages, to whom, and where they went after they were sold. Pretty much the basics of the situation, but with a lot of details that might shock you. I've passed these links on to several people who agreed that they just didn't get it until they read them.

Then there's the 5/9 episode of This American Life called "The Giant Pool of Money" which filled in a lot of the missing gaps in the big picture. This story provided the Why, as in: why were mortgage companies so eager to lower their loan requirements in the first place? The short answer is that there was a huge global pool of money that couldn't get enough of American mortgage-backed securities.

Between the two, there's probably no better top-to-bottom explanation of the situation anywhere.

I'm having a hard time reading the news these days

The headlines alone are disturbing, but less the stories.

• Man cuts off, microwaves his own hand
• China's 'Elephant Man' to go under knife - don't look at the picture unless you're sure you can handle it.
• Men accused of swiping check, wheeling corpse to check-cashing store -- more dumb than disturbing, but still.
• Man faces animal-cruelty charges -- it involves a hammer.
• N.C. Man Ruled Insane in Child's Death

Sorry to pass along so much bad news, but it's everywhere.

Anybody remember this quote?

"I can say that Iraqi forces will be ready, fully ready, to receive this command and to command its own forces, and I can tell you that by next June, our forces will be ready."

That was Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki back in December of 2006. Of course, June and come and gone, and the U.S. is sending more troops over than ever. Anyone want to follow up and ask how that's going?

We've officially run out of ringtone ideas

The future of Iraq

More stupid noise from Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens, for those who don't know, is a former lefty who became one of the Iraq War's biggest cheerleaders. Yet this week, he wrote in Slate about how "shameful" and "barbaric" it was to hang Saddam Hussein.

In other words, he's against the thing that killed a single convicted criminal but for the thing that killed thousands of innocent people.