Barack Obama advertisement brought me to tears

The latest Barack Obama commercial, a beautifully crafted 30 minute infomercial, brought me to tears. The way Obama appeals to the potential of the human spirit really gets to me. He talks without preaching, without attempting to manipulate, and what he says speaks to my values. I'll be disappointed beyond belief if he doesn't win next Tuesday. If he wins it will be a win for world peace.

I've embedded the video below from Obama's Youtube channel.

When the chips are down

When the chips are down why not take advantage: at least that seems to be the attitude of OPEC. Give it to the West while they're hurting. I say good on them. The more damage they do, the quicker the world will start investing in alternative energy supplies. Noone has a monopoly on wind, wave, and solar power generation.

Probably not a Rhodes Scholar

These guys vote. How did that happen?

Forest activists attacked in the Upper Florentine Valley, Tassie

Pink Floyd (Bob Geldof) - Nobody Home

I just love this song. The Wall is one of my favourite albums ever.

Commonwealth Bank feeling the pinch?

This in from Commsec:

The financial sector is lower by 3.6pct being weighed down by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). Its shares are down 8.6pct or $3.88 to $41.27 after resuming trade this morning following capital raising to fund the $2.1bln acquisition of BankWest and wealth management group St Andrew’s.

We're told that the banks, who've just been given a 1% (which is really around 14%) cut in the cash rate by the RBA, are feeling the pinch. So what's the Commonwealth's response? Raise $2.1bln to buy out Bankwest. Excuse me if I sound populist, but that smacks of double standards. They took 3 days to raise $2.1bln but complain that funds are tight. I'll bet if I walked in to a branch and asked for a small business loan I'd be told all manner of bullshit about how tight liquidity is at the moment. I'd be asked for my house, my car, and my wife as security.

Seriously. How about giving the battlers a break, then look at building your empire. No wonder the punters are pissed.

My fellow prisonoers: McCain gaffe

Maybe John McCain still thinks he's back in Nam. Maybe he sees no way out of the mess the country is in. Who knows. But would you want this guy running the country?

Sad Guys on Trading Floors

A fascinating series of photos capturing the fear and turmoil in the stock market.

Sad Guys on Trading Floors

Qantas jet falls ahead of stock market plunge

I couldn't help but notice the irony of the front page of today's West Australian. It seems that Qantas jets may be the precursors to rapid falls in interest rates and the stock market. Let's hope they don't crash one properly.

Gates No Longer World's Richest Man - Forbes.com

How is it that we still measure wealth and riches by what we own?

Gates No Longer World's Richest Man - Forbes.com