President Obama said Wednesday that no one in his administration had been responsible for supervising ailing insurance giant AIG but that ultimately, the buck stops with him. “Nobody here drafted those contracts; nobody here was responsible for supervising AIG and allowing themselves to put the economy at risk by some of the outrageous behavior that they were engaged in,” he said outside the White House. “[But] we are responsible, though.
Tag Archives: culture
Apologizing for AIG: The Lost Art of Saying I’m Sorry
Even as the rest of Washington debated why the grave robbers of AIG should continue to profit from the carnage they helped cause, Senator Charles Grassley, Republican of Iowa, tended to the mob: He’d feel a little better, he said, if AIG’s executives would “follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say I’m sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.” Grassley’s spokesman later clarified that he was just “speaking rhetorically” as far as the suicide part went. I’d settle for a pageant of public shaming, in which the scoundrels must beg forgiveness and make amends; we’d claw back those bonuses, foreclose on their castles, auction their toys, watch the once mighty prowl a grocery aisle calculating whether they can afford the big box of cereal that is a better deal but ties up more capital
France Cracks Down on Internet Downloads
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has never hidden his infatuation with celebrities. In recent years Sarkozy has burst with pride while being photographed with the stars he likes to count as both political supporters and personal friends. In 2007, he even went and married one.
When you don’t fit in at work
The struggle to fit in follows everyone throughout life. It’s one of those human experiences everyone must endure. The struggle to fit in follows everyone throughout life
U2 looks to a new ‘Horizon’
Getting an exclusive broadcast interview with all four members of U2 was the easy part. Getting an advance copy of their new CD required a bit more strategizing
Japan sees mixed economic news
Japan’s unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped in January to 4.1 percent, down from 4.4 percent in December, according to figures released by the government Friday morning. Harlyn Geronimo has sued Yale and the society — the Order of Skull and Bones — to try to recover the remains.
Descendant sues Skull and Bones over Geronimo’s bones
The great-grandson of Apache warrior Geronimo argues in a lawsuit that a secretive society at Yale University holds the remains of his great-grandfather.
Richard Gere’s Scandalous Smooch
How can the country that gave the world the Kama Sutra be so prudish? It’s a longstanding cliché to note that India has produced both the world’s most famous guide to love and erotic pleasure and some of the most conservative social rules this side of Saudi Arabia on such questions as kissing in public. That paradox was on display once again this week in the firestorm that swept India following a seemingly innocuous — and obviously staged — celebrity kiss on the cheek at an AIDS-awareness event.
Grand Theft Auto’s Extreme Storytelling
When Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City came out on April 29 last year, it sold 3.6 million copies in one day. By the end of the week, sales were up to 6 million, for a total take of about $500 million.
In rural Alaska villages, families struggle to survive
Thousands of villagers in rural Alaska are struggling to survive, forced to choose between keeping their families warm and keeping their stomachs full, residents say. Harvested nuts and berries, small game animals, and dried fish, are the only things keeping some from starving. To get to the nearest store, Ann Strongheart and her husband, who live in Nunam Iqua, Alaska, take an hour-and-15-minute snowmobile ride to Emmonak, Alaska.