Pictures of the year

Asides

• Michael Lewis in the NY Times: "What’s interesting about the Madoff scandal, in retrospect, is how little interest anyone inside the financial system had in exposing it."

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• The New York Times's Bob Herbert on the departure from office of W: "When Mr. Bush officially takes his leave in three weeks in reality, he checked out long ago, most Americans will be content to sigh good riddance. I disagree. I don’t think he should be allowed to slip quietly out of town. There should be a great hue and cry — a loud, collective angry howl, demonstrations with signs and bullhorns and fiery speeches — over the damage he’s done to this country."

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• I have been struck by the absence of collective protest over the actions of those in the financial industry.

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• Pope Benedict was accused of stoking homophobia today after a speech in which he declared that saving humanity from homosexuality was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

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• Apparently US tax payers don't deserve to know how the banks are using our money. "...after receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks say they can't track exactly how they're spending the money or they simply refuse to discuss it."

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