"The very design of the federal assistance to A.I.G. was that tens of billions of dollars of government money was funneled inexorably and directly to A.I.G.'s counterparties." A necropsy of the AIG deal, in the NYT. Spoiler: we lose. (lifted from Mitch Kapor)
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10:46 pm Mon
Nov 23, 2009
AIG necropsy: taxpayer billions, direct to their pockets.
Pangea raised $180m to buy up low-rent Chicago properties "to help poor people," and then created the most brutally efficient eviction mill in Chicago history
Pangea was founded by Al Goldstein, a Deutsche Bank investment banker who quit to found a massive, intercontinental payday lending outfit; he tapped the investors that he enriched with his payday lending business to stake him $180 million and bought up thousands of low-rent buildings in Chicago's poorest neighborhoods (which are also Chicago's blackest neighborhoods).
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Grifty "information security" companies promised they could decrypt ransomware-locked computers, but they were just quietly paying the ransoms
Ransomware has been around since the late 1980s, but it got a massive shot in the arm when leaked NSA cyberweapons were merged with existing strains of ransomware, with new payment mechanisms that used cryptocurrencies, leading to multiple ransomware epidemics that locked up businesses, hospitals, schools, and more (and then there are the state-level cyberattacks […]
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Nordstrom removes $790 Gucci 'Indy Turban' that looks identical to Sikh headwear
Gucci’s new $800 ‘Indy Full Turban’ was not a good idea.
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Pay what you want for over 120 hours of coding training
Looking for a career in IT, gaming or software development? In the ever-changing world of the internet, versatility is your biggest asset. In other words, mastering Java might not cut it in an interview if you don’t know C#. However, there’s a bundle that covers the essentials in most any language. The Legendary Learn to […]
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This unique nonstick cookware heats evenly and resists scratching
Getting a set of cookware that will outlast you is one of those signs you’ve truly grown up. It used to be easy to find durable materials that also cook well, but these days it can be hard to tell what’s quality and what brands are coasting by on a recognizable name. Well, there’s at […]
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Polish up your writing with this pro editing software
Whether you’re writing company memos or meticulously crafting a novel, everybody needs an editor – and we’re not just talking about a spell checker. Writing software has gotten pretty intuitive, to the point where programs like ProWritingAid can guard against more than just silly mistakes. They can actually improve your style. Designed as the first […]
