Bonus Bananas November 4, 2011

1) How American Banks Are Engineering the Next Apocalypse, Again (Gawker) - Here we go again, kids. Everyone knows Europe is a mess right now, but that hasn't stopped the major US investment banks from issuing tens of billions of dollars worth of European credit default swaps. Gulp.

2) A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs (NY Times) - Take a minute to read this if you haven't already. This is the really touching eulogy for Steve Jobs written by his sister Mona Simpson. Sometimes it's easy to forget that captains of industry are real people with real families who love them, and this is one of the better eulogies I've ever read.

3) Immigrant Creates U.S. Jobs, Gets Boot Over Visa (ABC News) - This one really chapped my ass. Israeli immigrant and Stanford grad Amit Aharoni started a company in Silicon Valley and put nine people to work. Then he got booted out of the US when his visa was denied. Now he's trying to run the company in exile from Canada. I understand the need for immigration law, but are these the people we should be kicking out?

4) The Truth About Abs: How To Make $1,000,000 Per Month with Digital Products (4 Hour Work Week) - While we're on the subject of entrepreneurs, this is a great piece about Mike Geary and The Truth About Six-Pack Abs. Geary started from scratch in 2004, and now his business is bringing in $1 million a month in revenue. It took him 3 years to walk away from his corporate gig, and when he quit he moved to Colorado and skied almost every day the next winter. The best part? He now works an average of 2 hours a day. Baller.

5) Are Cozy Ties Muzzling S&P on MF Global Downgrade? (American Banker) - This was one of the best pieces written about MF Global in the days leading up to its bankruptcy filing this week. Francine McKenna (@retheauditors) shows that MF Global's troubles were neither sudden nor surprising, and that S&P and PwC were both enablers in MF Global's disastrous folly.

6) Ten Reasons Not To Bank On (Or With) Bank Of America (Business Insider) - Nomi Prins is gonna whip up the masses with this piece. BofA appears to be backing down on their plan to charge $5 a month for debit card usage, but that doesn't mean you should do business with them, according to Prins. Here's why.

7) Feds: Mafia Affiliates Took Over, Looted $12 Million From Texas Mortgage Company (Talking Points Memo) - This is kinda bizarre, but it goes to show you that organized crime is never far from the trough. Imagine the sales meeting that starts with your manager threatening that, "your wife will be fucked and your kids sold off as prostitutes." Makes Alec Baldwin's character in Glengarry Glen Ross seem tame by comparison.

8) Georgia University Forces Employees to Sign Statement Rejecting Homosexuality or Be Fired (Fox News) - While we're on the subject of bizarre, did you guys catch this gem? Shorter University (no doubt named so because their school buses are "shorter") is requiring employees to sign an affidavit that they're not gay. I find it hard to believe that anyone even cares about that anymore, but then I see that it's Georgia. That's not a slam on Georgia but, well, yeah.

9) Follow the Rum (Men's Journal) - Do they make you guys read Hunter S. Thompson in school these days? If not, that's a damn shame, because Hunter changed the face of journalism (and political access) forever. Most people don't know that he once wrote a novel called The Rum Diary, which is now a movie starring his long time friend (and the guy who paid to have his ashes shot out of a cannon) Johnny Depp. The novel takes place in Puerto Rico, and Men's Journal does a quick takedown of the rum culture there. Cheers.

10) 10 of the Most Dangerous Destinations (& Which Ones Are Worth the Risk) (BootsnAll) - Puerto Rico definitely doesn't make this list. If you're looking for some radical vacation options with all the time off you get in this line of work, consider one of these hot spots. I think Brazil and Colombia are no brainers, but you can keep the rest. I've never been that hard up to travel.

The Video of the Week this week is the Red Band Trailer for the new movie 21 Jump Street. It's a movie remake of the Johnny Depp-led TV show of the late 80's, and it looks like they decided to go the comedy route like they did in the Starsky & Hutch movie with Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller. I'm not sure I'd see the whole movie in the theater, but the trailer sure is solid.

Just for shits and grins, here's a clip from the original 21 Jump Street featuring Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt before they were movie stars. God, I miss the 80's.


Let me know what you think of this week's Bananas in the comments and, as always, have a great weekend!

 

Regarding #1, do you think the US government has the resources at this point to bail out the banks if an MF Global type blowout goes mainstream?

Regarding the mob thing: years ago, one of my parents spent time in a country where the penalty for such things was public execution. Criminals in the US are not afraid enough of the law and the fact that this was set up from a prison cell is mind blowing. Add to that the knowledge that the FBI has no qualms about burning anyone, even an anonymous whistleblower, and the resulting effectiveness of this scam makes it a template for grander, bolder ambitions: my guess is that it's a matter of time before a mafia group goes after a larger company. I'm in favor of the Brazillian government's approach: give the criminals in an area three days to surrender, and then just kill everyone who doesn't.

Get busy living
 

1) I don't really know what to say to this one =\

2) Steve jobs was a good businessman and I am sure a great man to his family and within his personal life. I still hold true that he was a piece of shit and needs to stop being immortalized and worshipped by apple fanboi's

3) Ya, this is pretty fucked up. I have always been torn on immigration. On one hand, the immigrants are coming to do the jobs that the unemployed pieces of obese shit americans think they are too good to do. On the other hand, they can receive some privileges that citizens do. But in this case we are talking about educated people creating a company that can seemingly add a lot of value.

4) People like this are what help me drag my ass to work everyday.

5) Is everybody really that surprised that this happened with Corzine running the show? Did I see it coming? No. Was I shocked when it happened? Not really.

6) I have banked with BofA for over ten years. I have two CC's with them and a checking. Their debit fee's wouldn't have had any effect on me as I am in their special "premier" club or whatever they call it. Basically I meet enough of a limit on my checking to not be charged 5 dollars. Regardless, I move around a lot and have to travel every now and then. Their online checking and mobile app are both amazing. I don't really care if they are out there clubbing seals, as long as they provide me what I need, I am ok with them. The only issue I had in that article was about the military. I work in the A&D industry and work closely with both active military personnel and vets. But to be honest with you, if you are military or a vet and choose BofA over USAA, you get what you deserve.

7) I go both ways on this. The situation is fucked up and I would be pissed if I was put in this position. But I am Sicilian and always find myself rooting for the mafia.

8) I am from Atlanta. No one with half a brain even recognizes shorter as an institute of higher learning.

9) I am hoping this movie is good.

10) Brazil and Columbia are two places I would love to go, but would never go. I have heard a lot of horror stories from people that have been.

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 
Nefarious-:
On the other hand, they can receive some privileges that citizens do

What's up with that bud ? Actually unnaturalized immigrants are treated as second-class citizens. They pay taxes like a citizen but receive few benefits in return. And they are the ones who work the hardest and ask for least because of their status.

I seriously don't get the strong anti-immigration sentiment (I'm talking about lawful one not illegal, please) and denial of the immigrant identity of America. This nation has always been a nation of immigrants. If anti-immigration were always so strong, most of you would never be here at all.

Nobody wants to work for it anymore. There's no honor in taking the after school job at Mickey D's. Honor's in the dollar, kid.
 
nonTargetChimp:
Nefarious-:
On the other hand, they can receive some privileges that citizens do

What's up with that bud ? Actually unnaturalized immigrants are treated as second-class citizens. They pay taxes like a citizen but receive few benefits in return. And they are the ones who work the hardest and ask for least because of their status.

I seriously don't get the strong anti-immigration sentiment (I'm talking about lawful one not illegal, please) and denial of the immigrant identity of America. This nation has always been a nation of immigrants. If anti-immigration were always so strong, most of you would never be here at all.

I get your point and like I said, I really don't understand what the big issue is with immigrants, they work the shit jobs that Americans don't want.

But as a country, we need to either make the citizenship/greencard process easier for these people or just keep them out altogether. But you are right, this is a nation of immigrants and that is how the country was built and founded, around immigration.

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 
Best Response
nonTargetChimp:
Nefarious-:
On the other hand, they can receive some privileges that citizens do

What's up with that bud ? Actually unnaturalized immigrants are treated as second-class citizens. They pay taxes like a citizen but receive few benefits in return. And they are the ones who work the hardest and ask for least because of their status.

I seriously don't get the strong anti-immigration sentiment (I'm talking about lawful one not illegal, please) and denial of the immigrant identity of America. This nation has always been a nation of immigrants. If anti-immigration were always so strong, most of you would never be here at all.

Where do you see/hear a strong anti-immigration policy line? Most people I know have no qualms with legal immigrants and I, for one, tend to think they have more American spirit than those people born in America. Most, or nearly all, legal immigrants harbor the American ideals that made this country the superpower it is and they still chase the American dream on a daily basis, if not for themselves then for their family. Just curious where you have gathered your opinion...and that's a serious question, not being an ass or anything.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 
nonTargetChimp:
denial of the immigrant identity of America
Point blank, they don't care. It has nothing to do with identity and everything to do with access to legal rights: immigrants don't have a whole hell of a lot...that will never change. This is true for every nation in every period of history.

Get over it.

Get busy living
 

Eddie... Number 10 forgot Camden. And regarding Hunter S. Thompson, I think you're forgetting that people also know Depp's other Gonzo film - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - not to be confused of course with Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. I'm a huge fan of Thompson and his work. Honestly, The Great Hunt does a rather good job at detailing his earlier works. I've read The Rum Diary, The Curse of Lono, Mista Leary - He Dead (borrowed that from a friend who got it from I have no idea where), Hey Rube and his book on the Hells Angels. To all you monkeys, read the book and then go see the movie. I'm sure The Rum Diary will be enjoyable, but read the source before you settle in to watch Depp play another character of Thompson's.

 
Frieds:
Eddie... Number 10 forgot Camden. And regarding Hunter S. Thompson, I think you're forgetting that people also know Depp's other Gonzo film - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - not to be confused of course with Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. I'm a huge fan of Thompson and his work. Honestly, The Great Hunt does a rather good job at detailing his earlier works. I've read The Rum Diary, The Curse of Lono, Mista Leary - He Dead (borrowed that from a friend who got it from I have no idea where), Hey Rube and his book on the Hells Angels. To all you monkeys, read the book and then go see the movie. I'm sure The Rum Diary will be enjoyable, but read the source before you settle in to watch Depp play another character of Thompson's.

Have you had BrewDog products before or do you just find the pic in your avatar funny?

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 
Frieds:
Yes... 5AM Saint, Punk IPA, Tactical Nuclear Penguin (before my local beer shop knew what it was), 77 Lager and a few versions of the Paradox.

I love brewdog, they are a great company with a great product.

I hope they come out with something soon to regain their title from the german brewery they are always in competition with for the strongest beer.

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 

The current work visa quota allows only 85k per year (about 0.03% of population) and those are the ones with at least a bachelor's degree obtained in the States. Going through the green card/citizenship process could cost them up to 5-10 years and a considerable amount of money. So, it is tough to be an immigrant here.

^ How about this bud ? It's like racism, everybody denies it but it's the reality. I'm not playing any cards here just stating facts.

Nobody wants to work for it anymore. There's no honor in taking the after school job at Mickey D's. Honor's in the dollar, kid.
 

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