Very briefly

I'm heading out for things this morning, but I wanted to mention that I'm a complete idiot. The stock market play isn't fundamentals - as we all know, of course - and it's not even a sharp, quick recovery. The volume's too thin and it's behaving too oddly and insider sales are too overwhelmingly dominant and none of that makes any sense anyway. It's a hyperinflation/dollar devaluation play.

I'm really annoyed I didn't see this before now. I even mapped this out as a possible forward option two years ago! Man I can be slow sometimes.

Anyway, carry on, it hit me this morning and I just wanted it out there. If they're right... again, rationally, we're about hitting the limits of that play, at least for my upside targets based on this idea. But as always these things will overextend, and maybe a lot. If they're wrong, it's already a bubble and will explode messily. Good luck.

Another day, another crime

Oh, you know how the Bush administration lost all those FOIA battles, trying to suppress evidence of the torture regime, and how the Obama administration kept fighting them to further that suppression, and has been withholding torture evidence against court orders while they generate new appeals to stall for time? I do!

Well, it turns out Mr. Obama has been working with Senator Lieberman to retroactively exempt torture evidence from FISA. It's akin to the retroactive immunity Mr. Obama supported as a candidate that let them suppress the illegal domestic spying programme Mr. Bush started, only for the government itself.

Glenn Greenwald has commentary here, including a rundown of all the things Mr. Obama has done to protect Mr. Bush's torture programme, as well as some of his administration's other efforts against governmental transparency - they're significant.

edit: I typed "FISA" for "FOIA" original; thanks to mathmuffin for the correction.