From CBS News: An Inside look at the Treasury Dept's Auction Room - The mind-numbing logistics of Financing the National Debt

Blog Entry Updated April 17th 2008: From CBS new April 1, 2008 (Videos, Photos) -
"CBS News entered the auction room of the Treasury Department's Bureau of Public Debt -- the first time a TV camera has ever been allowed inside. "It is where the U.S. government raises the money it needs to pay its bills. In other words, it is the world's biggest borrower flashing its credit cards.
"There is real money at stake," Ryan said. "Today we're auctioning off $13 billion of 10-year Treasury notes." Treasury notes are basically IOUs that the government pays back with interest. Without that money, and a few of these auctions every week, the government would shut down. Debt is now this nation's lifeblood.
Who's buying the debt? Pension funds, mutual funds, individuals, institutions and foreign governments compete to buy the U.S. treasuries by offering the cheapest interest rate.
See also: The Treasury Auction Process - Detailed , Abstract at SSRN- From The Social Science Research Network

Will the Real Dow Jones Please Stand Up??

Sources : http://homepage.mac.com/ttsmyf Via http://itulip.com/realdow.htm
Trend Charts of the Real Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) adjusted for inflation and compared to Real economic growth from the 1930s'. This chart clearly shows the extent to which the stock market is inflated due to rampant speculation on the real economy. The speculation economy is a multi-tiered system...which basically means we speculate on the speculation as well.

Also read this excellent article posted earlier from MR Venkatesh on REDIFF.COM which describes the size, scope and impact of the speculative economy.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/mar/14mrv.htm

WallStats.com Where your Federal Dollars Go

Detailed graphic showing goverment spending by department and federal program

Rising Food prices , Gold and the Dollar

"On a broader level, countries (whether developed or developing) are now battling for the same type of food commodities. Whereas many nations (like China) used to be net exporters of food commodities (like corn), they have now become net importers. This means, they have to look elsewhere to import food commodities just to meet their internal demand. In short, the same way that history has many examples of battles and wars that have broken out over water, oil, and other natural resources, one can imagine that, if this crisis would continue- there will be battles that erupt over food."

Sold for A Song !! JP Morgan acquires Bear Stearns

JP Morgan-Morgan Stanley Rescue Societe Generale

The inside story of how 31-year-old trader Jérôme Kerviel nearly destroyed French giant Société Générale, bank CEO Daniel Bouton's dramatic rescue, and the surprising aftermath of the affair.
SG trader Jérôme Kerviel found elaborate ways to mask what he was doing He explained in detail to prosecutors how he created a separate account of fictitious trades that mirrored his real profits and losses, making it appear as though his books were almost always balanced. Kerviel always seemed able to wriggle out of trouble, including by faking e-mails that confirmed fictitious positions
Also see Jerome Kerviel on Wikipedia for a full history of the Societe Generale fiasco.

How Hunger Could Topple Regimes

"......when the source of their hunger is not the absence of food supplies but their inability to afford to buy the available food supplies"
World Bank president Robert Zoellick noted last week that world food prices had risen 80% over the past three years, and warned that at least 33 countries face social unrest as a result.