Things I Found September 8, 2008

September 8: Today In History

WSJ: Fannie and Freddie Likely to Plunge, Searing Investors: The government's plan to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may help the housing market and boost the value of the firm's bonds, but it's a body blow to stockholders that include some of the country's best known mutual funds and biggest banks.

Salmonellosis Outbreak Prompts Sprout Recall: Oregon public health officials and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a recall of Sprouter's Northwest brand alfalfa sprouts due to a salmonellosis outbreak.

Takimag: Freddie and Fannie--Too Big to Bail: One amusing aspect of the New York Times’s coverage of the government takeovers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is that throughout the Gray Lady’s 2000-word lead essay, it’s never once mentioned that the two lending institutions have, well, already been federal organizations for the past 70 years (!).

BBC: Russia: Potential Flashpoints: The Russia-Georgia conflict has focused attention on other potential flashpoints that have their origin in the Soviet era, which ended in the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The One Rule: Most everyone who speaks a European language natively is familiar with the Golden Rule, attributed to Jesus Christ: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. This is usually simplified to Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Even more concisely as Love your neighbor as yourself.

NewsVine: US Military Deaths In Afghanistan Region At 514: As of Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, at least 514 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Monday at 10 a.m. EDT.