With the current economic crisis, bankers and mainly subprime lenders have been painted as evil, greedy monsters, but that is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. According to the CDFI Coalition, there are over 1000 CDFIs around the USA providing financial services to economically distressed communities. These subprime good guys give loans to poor people, strengthen communities, don’t throw poeple out of their homes, and still manage to make money! From small CDFIs (like Clearinghouse CDFI in California) to larger community-development banks (like Chicago’s ShoreBank), these institutions are maintaining very low delinquency rates, in stark comparison to larger (or more commercial) banks which are throwing people out of their homes at a higher rate. I feel it is important that there institutions get as much notice as possible because they, in many ways, are the antidote to the problems that have happened on Wall Street and in the big financial institutions.

Based on the old-fashioned 2D side-scrolling video game, Super Obama World is a load of fun!  I would recommend that all Democrats give it a try …

The first level of Alaska has a Bridge to Nowhere.  You are attacked by pigs with lipstick, and if that is not enough, you are also attacked by women pushing racks of clothes worth 150000 points when you jump on top of them!

Spend some of the time that you used to spend following Election Coverage on this game … you will not be disappointed!

We stayed up until nearly 3a watching election results. Then, we got up to watch the last of the results this morning after only a few hours of sleep. But all of that is worth it because America has turned a corner!

Today, when I woke up, the entire world has a different view of the United States and for that I am proud to be an American. Since I moved out of the USA, the quality of Americans have been questioned because of our choices in past elections, but that has changed! At times, America is slow to get started, but now that it has woken up! Hopefully that means that we can return to being a force for good throughout the world … and restore the former glory and power of the USA.

On SportsShooter.com, member Tiffany Brown has posted some great photos of a Sarah Palin Look-Alike Stripper Contest.

Sorry to just post a link, but I had to post this!

BBC’s The Box has reached Shanghai and is unloading its load of whisky. The article also mentions that Marks & Spencers has opened their first store in China. The Box passed thru the Seuz Canal earlier this month, highlighting the importance of that tiny strip of water thru the desert to international trade.

On a different note, this story has taken a different turn. It started out to be about the global economy and how we are all connected. Now it is turning into a story about the global slow-down (let’s not say recession … but we all know that is what it is). From stories of Chinese who have lost their life savings in the stock market crash (were as much as 80% of the value has disappeared from some stocks) to the dip in housing prices (even in the largest asians cities), the interconnectedness of the global economy is starting to hit home for so many people that took it for granted when everything was going up!

The Beeb has a new long term project called The Box … and it looks like it could be a great idea, to track a cargo container around the world to see where it goes and what it carries (see the map). Read the rest of this entry »