January 20, 2009 by symbiological
It was 1991 and landing in the USA for the first time was very exciting. I almost kissed the ground because it was only my second time in a plane and the 737 we were flying in had maneuvered its way around Hurricane Bob. It felt like we had gone through it. Upon arrival at JFK International Airport, making our way through customs, I was on sensory overload. We exited the building to the taxi area. It felt like being on a movie set. We made our way to Silver Spring, Maryland, and stayed in a Days Inn. Along the way, we couldn’t help but notice how much bigger many of the cars were.
Fast forward to 2009, which has just been ushered in. In mid-December of 2008, the US Senate rejected a proposed $14 billion bailout package, separate from the already-approved $700 billion Wall Street bailout (Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008). Wall Street took another dive as a result. A couple of days later, President Bush, against the grain of most Senate Republicans, approved a $17.4 billion bailout for the auto industry, emergency loans to keep GM and Chrysler from running out of cash. The funds will be drawn from the $700 billion plan. On February 17th, the Obama administration will need to decide if the automakers will have come up with a viability plan. The car companies can delay providing this plan until March 31, 2009, at which time the US government can demand full repayment of bailout funds, if necessary. Continue Reading »
Posted in Auto industry bailout | Tagged American cars, Auto industry bailout, Bailout, budget deficit, Car bailout, car design, Chrysler, Chrysler Financial, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, end of oil, engine size, fuel economy, General Motors, GM, GMAC, OPEC, peak oil, public transport, recession | Leave a Comment »
August 24, 2008 by symbiological
I love sleep, especially after a hard day’s work. The waking up part can be so refreshing. After a solid 9 hours of catching up, I immediately switched on the computer to check out the score of the USA vs Spain basketball gold medal game. The winner wasn’t a surprise. What surprised me was that a highlights video was already posted on NBC’s Olympics website – dare I say, way to go NBC! Continue Reading »
Posted in Olympic Games, Sports | Tagged basketball gold medal, basketball Olympics, China officially wins Olympics, China win overall gold, China wins Olympics, China wins overall medal count, China wins overall Olympic medal count, final gold medal count, Official Chinese press release, Olympic Games, Olympics, Olympics basketball, Sports, the real gold medal count, USA basketball, USA vs Spain | 4 Comments »
August 23, 2008 by symbiological
West coast USA: 12:30 a.m. I’m bored, frustrated. Angry? No: …. MAD! Olympic coverage sucks. It’s hugely disappointing. By the time the Olympics are finally shown on TV, way after the fact, you have to sit through wishy-washy, airbrushed round-ups of the day’s action. It’s old news.
I still can’t watch Jamaica win the 4 x 100m men’s final online. Come on, it’s after midnight so post the video.
Which makes me think about another part of the Olympics that’s bogus. Who cares about the medal count? Continue Reading »
Posted in Olympic Games, Sports | Tagged 2008 olympic medal count, 4x100, 4x100m, Beijing 2008, beijing medal count, beijing olympic games, china leads the medal count, gold medal count, Jamaican men 4x100m, medal count, Olympic Games, olympic gold medals, Olympic medal count, Olympic medal league, Olympic overall medal count, Olympics, olympics 2008, Olympics overall standings, overall medal count, Sports, the real gold medal count, USA leads the medal count, who has the most gold medals, Who is leading the "olympic medal count", Who is leading the medal count, Who is leading the medal count Beijing, Who is leading the medal count China, who is winning the medal count | 1 Comment »
