Asia Times: TARP flip-flop true to form

[marmar]

TARP flip-flop true to form
By Julian Delasantellis


I would never say this to my students, but I can't tell you the amount of class time I missed, from both college and secondary school, attending thoroughbred racing investment parlors when I was young.

I can't say that I ever won a whole lot in these visits; before I was licensed to drive, I was happy to have won back the bus fare it cost to get me there. But I did receive a priceless early education in applied statistics (in the final analysis, I realized that a conditional probability is the same thing as a bet, called a perfecta in North America, that calls for two horses to finish in a specific order) and I learned to read the racing form.

Much like stock tables for the equine set, the racing forms presented past performance information on all the horses in a particular race. There was numerical information, such as the horse's elapsed time at a particular point in the race and its conclusion, as well as each individual horse's position in the race and at its conclusion. However, along with this digital type of analysis was an analog component, a three or four word comment section, with information such as "driving strongly on outside" or "faded quickly in midstretch" for each horse's race.

Lately, I've been constructing a past performance table for a soon to be retired eight-year-old, one with a fine pedigree, called the "George W Bush administration".

For the race called "Iraq Reconstruction and Occupation Stakes", the comment line might have read "a dismal showing". For the "Hurricane Katrina Derby", the comment line could have read "another feeble run". Finally, in Bush administration's last race before retirement to a Texas farm in January, the "TARP Rescue Cup", the line might read. "lackluster, dull, uninspired once again". ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JK21Dj03.html

[Jim Sagle]

1. Isn't TARP what they use to cover the race course between events to protect the grass?

;)