Get Back to Work, Now!!

Cruising the Web instead of working...every now and then leads to some interesting places.  In the middle of the foreclosure crisis which is destroying so many people's lives, someone has come up with a strategy called, "Produce the Note."  It turns out that in their haste to make a bundle in the subprime world, lenders bundled together thousands of mortgages, sliced and diced them in ways too complex for me to understand, and resold them in many different packages--without ever entering a copy of the original note.  Borrowers who try to negotiate a payment program that lets them stay in their homes are discovering that NO ONE knows who actually owns the paper.  And finally, some mortgagees are using a strategy called, Produce the Note.  A number of bankruptcy judges are finding in their favor.  This has a lot of implications, including further implosion in the banking industry--but it's hard to cry for them and easy to cheer for a few people able to hang onto their homes.

Another place I stumbled on is an Aljazeera website that explores serious issues that affect women's lives in Africa and the Middle East.  I was looking for coverage of the affect of the so-called Global Gag Rule, and came on this site, which looks at topics like Maternal Mortality, abuse of Jordanian maids, and the effect of abstinence only education, among many others.  These were bold and feminist reports; I was much impressed.

Finally, thanks to everyone who e-mailed me, asking for answers to  the quiz I ran the last time I posted.  You can find answers in my personal blog.  Enjoy!