Does Goldman's "it's perfectly normal" defense hold water?

In a reading of Goldman's September letter of defense against the SEC investigation into the synthetic CDO it created at Paulson's behest, one question stands out: is it really true, as Goldman's claims, that investors in a synthetic CDO would accept as a matter of course that short as well as long participants might have not only an active but a formative role in shaping the portfolio? Paulson initiated the CDO, suggested the initial portfolio to the selection agent ACA, and ultimately approved every bond in the portfolio, more than half of which were in its initial selection. Is that business as usual? Goldman says yes:

There is no industry definition of "Portfolio Selection Agent" that implied that ACA would operate within an ivory tower or refuse to consider suggestions made by interested parties in exercising its independent judgment. In fact, it was a customary feature of the market that participants (including those here) often offered their views on potential securities to be included in referenced portfolios, so no one would have been surprised that Paulson was doing so.

Depending on industry norms, this could either be a particularly brazen bit of sophistry or an effective defense. 

In Kenya, charging a phone by pedalling a bike

Talk about a bootstrap operation!

Two Kenyan students are hoping to market a device that allows bicycle riders to charge their mobile phones.

Jeremiah Murimi, 24, and Pascal Katana, 22, said they wanted their dynamo-powered "smart charger" to help people without electricity in rural areas.

"We both come from villages and we know the problems," Mr Murimi told the BBC.

People have to travel great distances to shops where they are charged $2 a time to power their phone, usually from a car battery or solar panel....

Mr Katana explained it takes an hour of pedalling to fully charge a phone, about the same time it would if it were plugged into the mains electricity....

The cash-strapped students used old bits of electronic equipment for the project.

"We took most of [the] items from a junk yard - using bits from spoilt radios and spoilt televisions," said Mr Katana.

This has been done before in other countries - who knew? There is something incredibly suggestive about powering a phone by pedaling a bike. It seems somehow to capture the mystery of mind arising out of body.

Shrieks on a train - -a cell phone shouter pays

This fulfills a fantasy of mine -- - making someone pay for loudly blabbing business secrets into a cell phone while riding a commuter train:

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has confirmed plans to lay off associates soon, and, in the process, they've reminded their law firm brethren to exercise a little discretion when discussing firm cuts in public, according to the Recorder's Legal Pad blog, an Am Law Daily sibling publication.

Above the Law broke the news after a law student e-mailed the blog about overhearing Bob Robbins, head of Pillsbury's corporate and securities practice, yapping about the layoffs on his cell phone in an Amtrak car--very loudly, apparently. Robbins even named the specific associates--between 15 and 20, the tipster told ATL--the firm plans to dismiss.

I must say, though, that I've noticed over the years that most hard-core commuters have learned to keep their voices down on a cell. It's the weekenders and late-night riders -- high school kids and grandma -- who generally haven't got a clue.