$35,000 commode, $1,400 wastepaper basket, $50m plane

Ousted boss of Merill Lynch spent US$1.2 million redecorating his office. He supposedly spent $35 000 on his commode. According to the Independent, Thain said that expenses including $85,000 on a Persian rug and $1,400 on a wastepaper basket were "a mistake in light of the world we live in today". $1,400 basket to throw your rubbish in?!?! If I have a $1,400 wastepaper basket, I don't think I'll be throwing trash in it. I don't know what you think about this whole thing. I think it is pure madness! But I guess madness is the perogative of the rich. And oh, all right, before you start thinking of lynching this Lynch guy, he has agreed to reimburse the $1.2m spent.

Another bad decision or act of indiscrection or whatever you want to call it... The transgressor in this case is Citigroup. Yes, the people who got a $45 billion bailout from the US government is supposedly going through with plans to buy a $50 million jet that seats 12 people. Citigroup said that the order for the plane was placed 2 years ago and cancelling the order would cause the bank liable to pay a multi-million dollar fee. Citigroup's decision has definitely raised hackles. Do watch the video below.

Heh does the $1,400 wastepaper basket by the Lynch guy sound 'cheap' in comparison... Hmm... no... I still think it is absurd. The absurdities of the rich.

Former Lehman boss sells his $13m House for $100

Heh you must be wishing that you are the lucky chap to land such a deal. So who do you think got the $13m property for $100? Read on...

Richard Fuld, the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. chairman who led the firm into bankruptcy, transferred his $13.3 million Florida home to his wife last year, property records show. Fuld deeded the house at 265 South Beach Road on Jupiter Island, north of Palm Beach, to his wife Kathleen on Nov. 10, according to records on the Web site of Martin County, Florida. Kathleen Fuld paid her husband $100 in the transaction, the minimum amount allowed to transfer a property ~ via Bloomberg

I guess that means that even if he declares bankruptcy, he'll still have a $13m home to go to. That's too good a deal for someone who caused so many to lose their life savings.

Crisis in Zimbabwe

The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe is worsening. According to a World Health Organization report on 2 December, there has been a total of 11 735 cholera cases with 484 deaths since August 2008. According to another report in the New York Times, the United Nations stated that the number of deaths had risen to 565. The health care system in Zimbabwe has collapsed - hospitals do not have medicine or equipment to treat patients, healthcare workers are not paid, and many hospitals have closed down. In other words, thousands of cholera-stricken patients are unable to get medical treatment. Many have resorted to fleeing to South Africa to get medical aid that they could not receive in their country. The situation is not getting better. The lack of clean water means that the crisis means that more people are going to contract the disease.

The health crisis isn't the only problem Zimbabwe is facing. The economy is in dire straits. According to a CNN report, the inflation rate is 231 million percent! 231 million percent?! That's hyper-inflation! A simple loaf of bread costs 3 million Zimbabwe dollars! (Heh! And I complain that Bread Talk is expensive!)

Doctors and nurses have taken to the streets to protest the economic and health crises. The unions are also joining a mass movement to press the government to take action to solve the appalling health and economic problems. Even soldiers have taken to the streets because they were unable to afford basic necessities given their meagre salary. Unfortunately these protests were met with violence from anti-riot police.