Showing posts with label Citigroup Bailout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Citigroup Bailout. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Hey, Madison Ave!, Get A Glove, Get In The Game!

With still being on the DL (see HERE and HERE), and in copious pain, we were on the outlook for some comic relief.


Herman Cain, seemingly, in the wrong race (He, apparently, wants in the "President of the United States of Love" contest), doesn't quite make it.





Nor, the foot-in-mouth of Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, for Brownback's browbeating of a high school teenager (Gotta plug into that "Stick and Stones" thing, there, Sammy).


And, with the recently-completed Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, today seems to be the unannounced "Justify OccupyWallStreet Day", with the cascading news of;


Super Secret Bank Bailout awarding the crooks and cronies billions


A Federal Judge telling the SEC and Citicorp, of their wrist-slap-with-a-paper-ruler agreement that "Homey don't play that game"


 


And today, Heistin Hank Paulson playing Mr. Inside Tipster to his former Wall Street pals.


This all plays out as more ironic, than humor.


No, we have to turn to a segment we heard on radio this past weekend.


It was from PRI's 'The World', on the South African fast-food chicken outfit, Nando's.


Seems they have a history of putting out creative, and, at times controversial, advertisements, like the one from about 10-years ago, having a Seeing Eye Dog lead a blind woman into a pole, so the dog could wolf down the Nando's chicken.


From Wikepedia:

Nando's is known in South Africa for its humorous but often controversial adverts. One such television advert from 2000, involved a blind woman being led into a pole intentionally and knocked unconscious by her guide dog, which then proceeded to eat the chicken that the woman had just purchased. This caused an uproar from people who were concerned that the blind would be offended. The South African Advertising Standards Authority called for the withdrawal of the advert. Several blind people were quoted in the media as finding the advert amusing
You can view that ad HERE or HERE


Their latest ad, the one catching some flak (and buzz) is no disappointment;


Nando's: Last dictator standing





Here's a few more;


Nandos Chips







Nandos "Ramadan" advert







Nando's Viral - Did he just eat his dog?





After watching these Nando's ads, it's disappointing how Madison Avenue bombards us with juvenile cellphone, and moronic beer ads.


Wake up guys, get a glove, get in the game ...


Sunday, December 07, 2008

Rich on Ruben: "The Citi may never sleep, but he snored ..."

Killer Frank Rich today!

He passes, for now, drinking the Kool-Aid on the Obama Transition, and hones in on, not the big billboard National Security team, but rather the Economic geniuses tapped by the President-Elect.

And, while he slathers some particularly aromatic relish on Lawrence Summers and Timothy Geithner, Rich goes with all the works for their mentor, Robert Rubin.

From 'The Brightest Are Not Always the Best';

Summers and Geithner are both protégés of another master of the universe, Robert Rubin. His appearance in the photo op for Obama-transition economic advisers three days after the election was, to put it mildly, disconcerting. Ever since his acclaimed service as Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, Rubin has labored as a senior adviser and director at Citigroup, now being bailed out by taxpayers to the potential tune of some $300 billion. Somehow the all-seeing Rubin didn’t notice the toxic mortgage-derivatives on Citi’s books until it was too late. The Citi may never sleep, but he snored.
Ouch!

Ruben may have to use some of his gigantic salary to visit a plastic surgeon, to get the palm-print of Rich's slap off his face.

A few more snips;
Well, nobody’s perfect. Given that John McCain’s economic team was headlined by Carly Fiorina and Joe the Plumber, the country would be dodging a fiscal bullet even if Obama had picked Suze Orman. But I keep wondering why the honeymoon hagiography about the best and the brightest has been so over the top. Washington’s cheerleading for our new New Frontier cabinet superstars has seldom been interrupted by tough questions about Summers’s Harvard career or Geithner’s record at the Fed.
And;
No doubt the Pavlovian ovations for the Obama team are in part a reaction to our immediate political past. After eight years of a presidency that valued cronyism over brains (or even competence) and embraced an anti-intellectualism apotheosized by Sarah Palin, it’s a godsend to have a president who puts a premium on merit. I also wonder if a press corps that underrated Obama’s political prowess for much of the campaign, demeaning him as a professorial wuss next to the brawny Clinton and McCain, is now overcompensating for that mistake. No one wants to miss out a second time on triumphal history in the making.
There's much more rips on Ruben, so, go read Frank Rich's 'The Brightest Are Not Always the Best'... It's a great read!


Bonus Riffs


Robert Reich: Citigroup Scores

Hilzoy: Who's In Charge Here?

Brilliant at Breakfast: So why DID we just throw a truckload of money at Citigroup then?

The Heretik: And the Smart Money Is On . . .

Top Ten Cloves: Things About Citigroup Keeping Stadium Sponsorship After Getting Government Bailout

Breaking ... Obama Team Vetting Food Tasters


Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Top Ten Cloves: Things About Citigroup Keeping Stadium Sponsorship After Getting Government Bailout

News Item: Heckuva Bailout: Citi and AIG Still Pay Hundreds Of Millions In Sports Sponsorship

10. Instead of 'Fan Appreciation Day', now will be called 'Hank Paulson Appreciation Day'

9. Make fans give back foul balls hit in stands, because Citigroup needs to "tighten belt and save money"

8. When starting pitcher is relieved, now will be referred to as being "bailed out"

7. Soon comes evident ... Free Agent Signing Season on one hand ... Major layoffs at Citigroup on the other hand

6. Citigroup making one concession - Killing plans that would allow execs to fly to stadium in their private jets

5. "Casey at the Bat" now gets reworked to "Casey at the Bank" and it's a happy ending - Casey doesn't strike out, but walks away with billions

4. Citigroup to sub-contract parking lot to AIG... AIG hires people to vandalize cars ... AIG then sells fans new "Vandalism Insurance Policy"

3. Instead of ceremonial "first pitch", Citigroup execs will do ceremonial reenactment of receiving bailout check from Government

2. New 7th Inning stretch tradition - Players and Citigroup shakedown fans in stadium, making them fork over money to see the game finished ...

1. Using their "expertise", Citigroup to make millions ... Working on packaging troubled batting averages and selling them to investors


Bonus Bogus Bailout Riffs

Think Progress: Bailed-out companies AIG, Citibank have no plans to cancel expensive sports sponsorships

Michael Winter: Citi, AIG will continue sports sponsorships despite bailouts

Robert Reich: Citigroup Scores

Tyler Cowen: Whoops! Back to TARP after all...

Brilliant at Breakfast: So why DID we just throw a truckload of money at Citigroup then?

The Wonk Room: Citigroup Bailout: ‘A Lousy Deal For The Taxpayers’

Mark Thoma: The Citigroup Bailout


Bonus Bonus

Special Essay - Play Ball! ... Batter Up! ... Could You Please Tell Me, What Is This Thing Called Baseball?