April 20, 2013

Bits Bucket for April 20, 2013

Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.




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336 Comments »

Comment by chilidoggg
2013-04-20 04:06:41

Bacchus is the god of tits and wine.

I don’t watch Game of Thrones, so the Tyrion Lannister quote went over my head.

 
Comment by ICLEI
2013-04-20 04:58:19

Knock-Knock. Who’s there?

Photo: Craig Ruttle / Associated Press Heavily armed police officers …
http://www.courierpress.com/photos/2013/apr/19/138211/ - -

 
Comment by ICLEI
2013-04-20 05:15:28

They got their men but just for the heck of it I would stay away from the drills.

More Photos Show Private Military Security Running Drills at Boston Marathon

Mike Adams
Natural News
April 18, 2013

Natural News has now confirmed that at least five private military contractors were operating on scene at the Boston marathon, and that they all carried black backpacks which look very similar to the backpack carrying the pressure cooker bomb (see pictures below).

The mainstream media is completely censoring any mention of these “Craft” operatives, pretending they don’t even exist. Only the alternative media is conducting real investigative journalism on these bombings

With a bit of research, we were able to confirm this object is an “Inspector Radiation Alert” device that detects the kind of radiation which would be produced in a dirty bomb attack or a nuclear attack:

What does it all mean?

First off, let’s get the attacks of the moron trolls out of the way — people who will say these photos are a “conspiracy theory.”

How are photos of actual people at the event a conspiracy theory?

They aren’t. In real police work, they’re called “evidence,” and the people in these photos should be persons of interest.

But they aren’t. The entire mainstream media and law enforcement apparatus is now pretending these men don’t exist. (Now that’s their conspiracy theory!)

We all know, however, that The Craft operatives don’t work for free. They aren’t a band of volunteers. And that means somebody paid them to be at the event.

Who paid The Craft to be there? And what was their mission?

Why is their existence at the Boston marathon being memory-holed? Why are they not “persons of interest” in the investigation?

Why do they carry radiation detectors? What’s in their backpacks? (A ham sandwich?)

The fact that the media refuses to even acknowledge the existence of these private military operatives is quite telling all by itself.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/more-photos-show-private-military-security-running-drills-at-boston-marathon.html - 107k -

Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 06:56:23

Loonery.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:02:42

‘First off, let’s get the attacks of the moron trolls out of the way — people who will say these photos are a “conspiracy theory.”’

The first order of business for a conspiracy theorist is to peremptorily dismiss his critics.

Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 07:26:07

I bet you have a black helicopter and black jackboots too. Nice try, government funded mercenary!

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 07:43:57
 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 07:55:58

Links to loony conspiracy sites are less than convincing… unless you’re a loon.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 07:58:56

It is a PEW poll so Amazing denial you are going to have to find another line of attack.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:09:35

But if you want to go to the source: http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/stoning-adulterers/

Interestingly, you do raise a point. Why is it that only “right wing” sites bothered to address the results of this poll? Why do left wing sites just repeat the blather that there are Christian nuts and Muslim nuts there is no difference? The evidence is clear, while in the Christian community we are talking about far less than 1% of the population, in Muslim counties we are often talking about 50% or more of the population that are prepared to kill people that convert or they perceive as insulting their religion. They have no place in a civilized society.

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 08:13:24

…and when PEW says something you don’t agree with, they’re loons, aren’t they?

Go take your blood pressure medicine and enjoy some fox news to recharge your panic.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:23:26

Do knee jerk liberals have any analytical skills? I may disagree with the margin of error in a Pew poll from time to time but I have never consider them loons. BTW, I have blood pressure of about 116/74 without any medication. I did not panic when the attack occurred because I knew it would happen again because Islam has been at war with non-Muslims for 1500 years and the cease fire for 100 years only occurred because they knew we had the power to destroy all their holy sites if they got out of line. We still have the power but not the will so they no longer fear us. In that region it is far better to be feared than to be loved and far easier to accomplish.

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 08:32:31

First, I’m not a liberal. I’m a libertarian… not that you knee jerk neocon kooks know the difference.

Secondly, what has done more damage to America? A few muslim kooks that killed a tiny fraction of the population, or hysterical loons that supported two disastrous wars and bankrupted us to Make America Safe?

Isn’t one of the neocon mantras “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”? Yet you’re here telling us all that books kill people.

Cowardice like yours is destroying America. You are playing the terrorized, cowering patsy to a T, and giving the terrorists EXACTLY what they want. Is it any wonder you lash out whenever somebody shows a tiny shred of courage?

 
Comment by aNYCdj
2013-04-20 08:47:27

Exactly Dan…or i so crudely put it we Americans are Gutless to fight a religious Jihad…..we need to aim at the mosques and the holy sites and leave innocent people alone.

and the cease fire for 100 years only occurred because they knew we had the power to destroy all their holy sites if they got out of line. We still have the power but not the will so they no longer fear us.

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 09:15:04

That’s it. Blow up their churches. That’ll calm them down. If anything calms down Sky Wizard believers, it’s destruction of their holy relics.

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 09:17:39

Because mosques are just chock full of terrorists… and if we blow up the mosques there will be no more terrorism.

Pushing a button to send a missile does not involve courage.

 
Comment by aNYCdj
2013-04-20 09:26:36

Well were there any terrorists who were atheists? You would take out the mosques when they are empty We should have taken out the ayatollahs not saddam or kadaffi

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 09:28:58

I don’t know of any terrorist atheists. Maybe we should purge the planet of all Sky Wizard followers.

 
Comment by aNYCdj
2013-04-20 09:30:16

russ…maybe they will spend their energy and MONEY on rebuilding them….

They want the destruction of jews well lets destroy islam …fair is fair…`

 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 10:16:17

Bill Ayers? Unabomber?

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 10:35:56

Yea like there were no communist terrorists. It does not courage to do nothing but put your head in the sand and pretend nothing is wrong. That is exactly what people did during the rise of Hitler and that worked out well didn’t it?

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2013-04-20 10:44:07

‘lets destroy islam’

‘Al-Araqib, Israel - Hakmeh Abu Mdeighem sat quietly on a cement cinderblock last Wednesday, looking out across a small valley at where, moments earlier, Israeli police bulldozers had turned a handful of tents and shacks into piles of sandy rubble. The 49th demolition of the Bedouin village of Al-Araqib had just ended, and Abu Mdeighe, a mother of nine, spoke unflinchingly.’

“One feels that one doesn’t live in one’s own country anymore. One feels that a continuous war is going on between him and Israel. This is a war that Israel wages against us everything month,” she said. “What can we do when the state comes and fights you inside your own house, on your own ground, when it destroys your house on the heads of your sons?”

‘Abu Mdeighem, her husband and her children, live inside the village’s century-old Islamic cemetery. The burial ground is the only place in Al-Araqib that has never been demolished. It is here that the handful of families who remain now call home. “They threatened to destroy the cemetery before this,” Abu Mdeighem said.’

‘According to Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, the JNF has built national parks - made up primarily of European-style conifers, instead of trees indigenous to the area - over destroyed Palestinian villages since the creation of Israel in 1948. “Wherever almond and fig trees, olive groves or clusters of cactuses are found, there once stood a Palestinian village: still blossoming afresh each year, these trees are all that remain. Near the now-uncultivated terraces, and under the swings and picnic tables, and the European pine forests, there lie buried the houses and fields of the Palestinians whom Israeli troops expelled in 1948,” Pappe wrote in the book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.’

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/04/2013415141817288270.html

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 11:01:57

Isn’t one of the neocon mantras “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”? Yet you’re here telling us all that books kill people.

Amazing denial, the pen is more mighty than the sword, Mein Kampt?, the Communist Manifesto and the Koran have each killed millions by influencing people to do savage things. The importance of Christianity in creating respect for individual rights, the basis of your claimed libertarian views, was well recognized by people such as Alexis De Tocqueville when people such as Lenin and Hitler turned their backs on their Christian heritage tens of millions died. I am far from a neocon since I oppose trying to impose democracy in an area that is hostile to it. I favor containment and support of anyone that is not hostile to us and will keep our children safe.

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 11:33:48

“The importance of Christianity in creating respect for individual rights, the basis of your claimed libertarian views,”

Horse pucky. Talk to the Phelps clan about that respect, or any other teabilly fringers who want to take back their Christian nation and make me go to their church or shriek about how my sins are bringing god’s vengeance upon our nation.

“keep our children safe”

It’s always “for the children” with you people isn’t it. Whenever you’re cornered, the children card comes out. If I don’t agree with you, I want to kill children.

You want to save children? Rant about highway safety. Orders of magnitude more children are killed on the highway than are killed by terrorists.

Wonder why nobody agrees with you but other addled old men? It’s not a conspiracy. The only part of your brain that works anymore is the amygdala. Anybody with a non-diseased brain can see that you’re ruled by fear, not reason. You don’t think, you cower and gibber in fear, laying blame and preaching doom.

In 30 years, when my brain has rotted out. I’ll probably be exactly the same. It won’t make me right, but I’ll fervently believe I am.

 
Comment by oxide
2013-04-20 12:12:02

“the cease fire for 100 years only occurred because they knew we had the power to destroy all their holy sites if they got out of line. our oil is under their sand.”

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 12:38:26

Amazing denial you sound more angry than I do, your hatred of Christianity is going to eat you up.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 12:40:54

Oxide they are Chechen, we have had no role in their country and certainly have not sought any oil from there.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:15:19

“The evidence is clear, while in the Christian community we are talking about far less than 1% of the population, in Muslim counties we are often talking about 50% or more of the population that are prepared to kill people that convert or they perceive as insulting their religion.”

Doesn’t it depend on whether the women agree to cover their entire bodies when venturing out in public, and to forgo any efforts to educate themselves or to establish a degree of independence from their husbands/masters/owners?

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:31:32

“If anything calms down Sky Wizard believers, it’s destruction of their holy relics.”

LOLSEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:34:00

“Amazing denial, the pen is more mighty than the sword, Mein Kamptf?”

It’s far mightier if you spell check your posts!

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:35:48

“…our oil is under their sand.”

I’m guessing we could focus on oil extraction and stop wasting so much of our precious national resources on drone production if the terrorists would stop interfering with our access to their oil.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 13:49:34

It is easier just to cut and paste. Right CBIT?

 
Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 13:52:14

Not hatred of Christianity, disgust for those who misrepresent his message in his name. Tribal animosities in the ME were just as intense 2000 years ago as they are today. Maybe Christ had a point with that whole forgiveness thing?

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 14:16:37

“It is easier just to cut and paste. Right CBIT?”

I don’t post links because it is easier to post that way; it actually takes effort to find interesting articles and post links to them.

It’s far easier to throw out hare-brained conspiracy theories and hope somebody will take interest.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 14:33:11

I posted the source and explained the importance of facts. I even left out that originally we were told about the dark skinned suspect, certainly did not see that in the two brothers . It is funny that time and time again my predictions come true, like the deportation and what would happen in the Middle East due to the “Arab Spring”. You can call them hare brained theories all you want since that is all you can do in the end cut and paste and make personal attacks on people since you cannot come up with an original thought.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 15:03:31

Judging by the replies to my posts compared to yours I say they do take notice. And my predictions on what would happen in Libya and Egypt were spot on despite the heat I took when I wrote them. That is the interesting thing, time and time again I have been trashed for my opinions only to have my beliefs become the norm on this blog. When I first started to post that the Fed policies under Obama would lead to just the rich making a full recovery and the rest left with higher prices for everything you were the first to attack me when you called yourself professor Bear. Of course, that is the key for you, any attack on Obama or his policies is hare-brained.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 16:54:08

“That is the interesting thing, time and time again I have been trashed for my opinions only to have my beliefs become the norm on this blog.”

Such as your died-in-the-wool belief that gold always goes up?


Indians make the most as gold prices crash

Reuters Apr 19, 2013, 04.59PM IST

SINGAPORE: Gold retailers struggled to cope this week as parents buying dowries, casual shoppers and tourists snapped up bars, coins, nuggets and jewellery as a slump in the price of the yellow metal released years of pent-up retail demand.

The price decline in the past week, the steepest in 30 years, has tarnished gold’s appeal for the portfolio investors whose money had fuelled a 12-year bull run. As investors rush out, consumers that were priced out of the market for years have rushed in.

 
Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 17:59:41

Such as your died-in-the-wool belief that gold always goes up?

No, I think it was his steadfast belief that Romney was a shoe-in that really made us aware of his amazing predictive powers.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 18:04:56

I have never had the belief that gold or silver has always goes up and in fact I have told people numerous times to protect themselves from manipulated declines.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 18:29:58

Sorry Alpha never said Romney was a shoe in just that the election was not over in January like most of this board. Stated that the election was too close to call. Funny this board including you said that the Republicans would cave on the sequester and I was one of the few that said they would not.

 
Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 18:48:24

AQDan- We all heard your Romney victory predictions. You can’t change the facts to suit yourself, and then demand we acknowledge your brilliance.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 19:14:54

You cannot change the fact that the day before the election I said it was too close to call and I never said he was going to win. I only posted the results of Rasmussen polls. You can try to rewrite history but you cannot show one complete post by me when I said Romney was going to win.

 
Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 23:40:33

Weasel, weasel, weasel. Then move the goal posts in retrospect to suit your goofy “predictions”.

Maybe we should conduct a poll of the board here to see what folks remember of your sureity?

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-21 00:06:41

No, I think it was his steadfast belief that Romney was a shoe-in that really made us aware of his amazing predictive powers.

Ouch!

I only posted the results of Rasmussen polls.

You forgot to mention the endless blathering about how Rasmussen polls were best.

 
 
 
Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 13:44:55

You do know that EPA site monitors large gatherings in major cities for radiation contamination, don’t you? And yes the portable equipment can be carried in a backpack.

 
 
Comment by polly
2013-04-20 07:01:21

I have a black backpack too. It is a trans by Jansport. Does that mean I am part of this conspiracy too? Because if they are getting paid I want my share.

Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 08:33:54

You shall receive your 72 virgins when your backpack detonates.

Comment by polly
2013-04-20 08:54:41

Not sure I want those, but maybe I can return them for store credit? I got the backpack at Target…

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Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 09:19:22

Maybe you’d like 72 Virgils instead? The translation isn’t clear, so I’m sure there’s some leeway.

 
Comment by Bigguy
2013-04-20 11:43:22

There is now and has only ever been ONE true Virgil. He and the Million Dollar Man Ted DeBiase shall be properly worshipped at all times.

 
Comment by Happy2bHeard
2013-04-20 20:30:24

“Maybe you’d like 72 Virgils instead? The translation isn’t clear, so I’m sure there’s some leeway.”

Classic!

 
 
 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 10:14:14

A government lawyer with a black laptop computer inside a black backpack, you are far more dangerous……

 
Comment by ICLEI
2013-04-20 11:44:02

“I have a black backpack too. It is a trans by Jansport. Does that mean I am part of this conspiracy too?”

Well no but I wouldn’t chance it. :)

Eric Holder: Drone Strike To Kill U.S. Citizen On American Soil Legal, Hypothetically

Posted: 03/05/2013 5:11 pm EST
Ryan J. Reilly

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/05/us-drone-strike_n_2813857.html - 356k -

 
 
Comment by ann gogh
2013-04-20 07:41:44

If they were hired to find a bomb, they failed!

Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 07:58:21

The weren’t there to find bombs. They were there to collect the runner’s precious bodily fluids and distill their essence to create a race of super soldiers to put hard working americans in fema camps so they can give all of their possessions to welfare mommas, that they may breed up a race of super muslims to destroy America!

I read it right here at http://www.shriekingtreemonkey.com.

Comment by GeorgeSalt
2013-04-20 12:19:10

Best post ever.

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Comment by ICLEI
2013-04-20 07:55:49

Well that worked pretty good, I’ll try this.

Stay away from the drills. :)

Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) - CT.gov
http://www.ct.gov/demhs/ical/eventDetail_page.asp?date_id=CBC7CBCBCC83CDC9CC - 33k

Conn. State Police Lt J P Vance Held Active Shooter Drill Prior to …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo4pd6CJZEA - 225k

FEMA L-366 Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters - CT.gov
http://www.ct.gov/demhs/ical/eventDetail_page.asp?date_ID=CAC9C6C9CD83CDC9C7 - 28k -

 
Comment by ICLEI
2013-04-20 08:14:36

Oh god more drills. Stay away from the drills.

September 22, 2011

CCA’s Disaster Management Institute, faculty, staff, students to play key role in Sept. 23 Operation Mountain Guardian

WHAT: The Community College of Aurora will play an integral role in the Sept. 23 Operation Mountain Guardian Emergency Exercise when its Disaster Management Institute (DMI) serves as the Master Exercise Control Center. The MECC will manage the entire, day-long multijurisdictional operation. The DMI was designed and equipped with the most current communications capabilities to allow both CCA students and working professionals to experience and train in management of simulated disasters of all types and sizes. This grand-scale exercise will take place at multiple locations throughout the Denver/Aurora metro and will include notable settings such as Denver Union Station, the Lowry Campus/CCA, University of Colorado Hospital, Denver International Airport, Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and Park Meadows Mall. In addition to serving as the command post for the operation, the DMI’s adjacent control room will serve as the Venue Exercise Control Center (VECC), managing operations for the Lowry Campus portion of the drill, which will be extensive and will involve up to 800 people.

According to organizers, this Homeland Security exercise has been in the planning stages for nearly two years. It is designed to test the capabilities of regional first responders in interagency collaboration and communications in a scenario that will involve a terrorist-driven catastrophic situation. Among other objectives, the event will demonstrate federal, state, and local dedication to emergency preparedness.

http://www.ccaurora.edu/news-events/news-releases/current-news/disaster-management-institute-to-open - 25k -

Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 23:43:30

OMG! “Drill, baby, drill” is commie talk!

 
 
 
Comment by Resistor
2013-04-20 05:31:10

I want to know if any of you think the fed CAN’T re-engineer bubble after bubble.

Comment by azdude
2013-04-20 06:21:30

when you control the money supply you can do what you want.

I do not believe that the general public is aware that basically all this QE money is a loan from the FED to the govt. The money has to be paid back by the taxpayer.

Comment by jose canusi
2013-04-20 06:30:29

Fuhgeddaboudit. Who cares about taxes? What’s important is “OUR FREEDOM!”

Comment by azdude
2013-04-20 06:47:52

yeah freedom from debt serfdom is important.

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:12:26

“The money has to be paid back by the taxpayer.”

Let’s take this discussion down to the family level. Say one of my sons (Son 1) borrows a quarter from another (Son 2). Son 3 writes a note on a scrap of paper which says ‘This note is legal tender for settlement of all debts in the amount of one quarter’ and hands it to Son 2, while informing Son 1 that he no longer owes Son 2 a quarter.

Which sons in the story play the roles of the Fed, the Treasury and the taxpayer? And does any money still have to be paid back?

Comment by azdude
2013-04-20 07:28:24

man you got me thinkn hard today.

Well here we go

son 1 = Taxpayer
son2= Treasury
son3= FED

Son 1 now owes the quarter to son 3 with any interest.

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:38:07

Your numbers are wrong and you missed the fact that the debt was canceled and buried on Son 3’s balance sheet forever. But otherwise I agree with your answers.

 
 
 
Comment by Carl Morris
2013-04-20 11:05:49

when you control the money supply you can do what you want.

That does seem to be true as long as you don’t screw up and destroy the value of your money supply.

Comment by elvismcduf
2013-04-20 12:44:04

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-giant-currency-superstorm-that-is-coming-to-the-shores-of-america-when-the-dollar-dies

how the gold market was crashed:

“ALL OF A SUDDEN THE LONDON PHYSICAL PLATFORM THAT BUYS AND SELLS PHYSICAL GOLD GETS LOCKED UP. THE SYSTEM FREEZES.”

http://www.bmgbullion.com/document/5160

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Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 14:39:36

QE money is a loan from the FED to the govt. The money has to be paid back by the taxpayer.

I thought QE was printing money? If it’s all being borrowed into existence, then it’s not QE, right?

 
 
Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 13:58:27

In light of our travesty of an international trade policy, the Federal Reserve has no other response than to re-engineer bubble after bubble.

Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 14:45:02

In light of our travesty of an international trade policy,

Coupled with a trickle-down economic system that didn’t do anything but make the rich richer and everyone else poorer.

 
 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-04-20 05:41:45

“If you buy a house today at these massively inflated prices, you will be underwater instantly and you will never recover financially. Beware.”

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-04-20 05:46:05

“Housing could still drop significantly and the bottom might not arrive for years.”- Robert Shiller

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:13:57

Good to know that at least a couple of economists have a clue, no?

 
Comment by chilidoggg
2013-04-20 07:21:29

“could”?

“might”?

He doesn’t sound too confident.

Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 07:28:08

Only fools ar absolutly certain.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 09:10:38

“He doesn’t sound too confident.”

That’s what I truly love and respect about Robert Shiller. Unlike many of his high-profile professional colleagues, he is very honest about the limits of certainty.

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Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 09:44:35

It’s possible to learn this if you can admit when you were wrong.

 
 
 
 
Comment by Rental Watch
2013-04-20 10:20:55

September 2011 commentary from Prof Shiller:

“House prices won’t necessarily plunge from here in nominal terms, but in real terms–after adjusting for inflation–they could still drop significantly, Professor Shiller says. And the bottom might not arrive for years.”

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:41:21

Imagine everybody’s surprise if we eventually get falling home prices and a quarter century’s worth of deflation to boot, the way Japan has?

But not to worry…it can’t happen here. This is America, after all.

 
 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-04-20 05:47:42

“Why buy a house at these massively inflated asking prices? Rent for half the monthly carrying costs and buy later, after prices crater for 65% less.”

Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 08:35:40

Please show me rent for 50%

_–Think the “Link” to the log house gorgeous condition on wooded lot, caught the post in moderation. Let’s try with link delted but with detail added.

Here’s a nice house in my neighborhood

4306-S-Warlance-Ln_Janesville_WI_53548_M87285-71607

$219k. I acre wooded lot. 1900 sq ft. Price a bit high per square foot for area. This was just the first house that popped up on Realtard site in my zip. Log house. Hardwood everywhere. Huge stone fireplace. Neat ceiling angles. A place to live for a lifetime.

Mortgage $800 or so. Taxes $250-300 or so. Factor in yer own upkeep estimates and amortize as ya will.

Here in town, 850 sqare foot apartments rent at $850-900 in tolerable complexes.

Can ya’all find me a house like this for $500/mo, half the cost to own?

And, if I earn $300k/year as an evil doc, and if the house (Incalculable losses I think I can in fact calculate), de-bubblates to value of Zero when the 30year mortage is done, why specifically should I be… unhappy?

Or if I do a 15 year mortage ($1500 payment not $1100 payment) and I have no mortgage and just taxes then ($280 now, might grow some by then), and pay say $400/month in “mortgage/tax” starting in fifteen years on this place, how horrible is that, so that I should be quavering in fear of incalculable losses, and “bank slave”? I spend way more per month on dinner out.

Comment by Anon In DC
2013-04-20 09:14:29

That does look like a nice house. For sale since 2010 starting at $270K. My guess is the rustic log interiors don’t appeal to a lot of people. Place not occupied - at least from the pictures. If you make an offer make it low. You can always increase. Also deal only with the listing agent (if the state allows dual agency) he / she will get double the commission and will work harder to get the deal done. I have met some agents who will not do dual agency even if legal.

Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 09:47:16

Hi Anon.

I’m not in market for house. I pulled ad couple days ago when fatigued from the usual reflexive “Rent for half of ‘owning’ trope I see here too often; i pulled the ad as the first one to pop on Realtard.com in my work town. It is a lovely place with nice property, and I agree that log homes and all-wood interiors do limit the market a bit (sad really, that more people want the generic “latest thing”, but that’s tale for another day).

Weird thing is… the “fancy” generic houses often cost less here. I can show 3000-4000 sq footers asking $80/sq ft, vs the $112 on this one (though usually with smaller lots).

I posted largely because I believe it would be hard to rent the 1900 sq foot log construction great-lot house for the $550/month that would make this “rent at half cost of own”. In that town, modest two bedroom apts in decent buildings (not “luxury”) run $850/month.

regards

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Comment by Anon In DC
2013-04-20 11:02:24

Got it. Same here in suburban Boston you can rent here for less but not 50% less.

 
Comment by Bigguy
2013-04-20 11:53:04

I agree for my area also. No way you can rent comparable for much less, especially not 50% less. BUT rather than viewing those posts as true in fact, I’ve come to think he’s just trying to make the point to counteract the NAR crowd shills by balancing out the absurdity. You should no more believe the propagandist NAR shills and their figures that they put out with little care for the truth as long as its serves the buy buy buy now now now agenda.

Of course there is a difference between BS and HS.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 14:40:57

I’m not in market for house. I pulled ad couple days ago when fatigued from the usual reflexive “Rent for half of ‘owning’ trope I see here too often;…

Did you take any grade school English classes before acceptance into medical school?

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 18:18:09

Tactic 1 from the Losing Debater’s Manual: Ad Hominem Insult: “When lacking anything of substance to offer in debate, engage in Ad Hominem insult, to endeavor to distract”.

Neat :)

 
Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 18:30:32

With housing prices grossly inflated and falling, why buy? Rent for half the costs and buy later after prices crater for 65% less.

Cool?

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 18:45:31

Rent costs more than “owning”.

Luv it :)

 
Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 18:50:01

Cool.

Enjoy your losses.

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 19:21:18

Tactic 3 from the Losing Debater’s Manual: “Straw Man”

 
Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 19:25:14

What are you losses up to now?

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Bigsby
2013-04-20 06:02:46
Comment by azdude
2013-04-20 07:41:30

your chart says median home prices. Can you find us a chart that breaks out pricing by each price segment of the market in that area?

Show me a chart that shows homes in the range of 50-200k, 201k-350k, and 351k plus

Your statement of home prices across the board heading lower I’m afraid is too general.

I think your chart is being skewed by mixing all the price segments of the market together.

For the most part the lower segment of the pricing has been the one that is rising a lot faster than the higher priced segment that has been generally lagging.

 
Comment by rms
2013-04-20 07:46:34

This chart’s prices accurately depict eastern Washington where I’ve been for the past 15-yrs. Our property’s tax-value assessment has been falling for each of the past 4-yrs, which is healthy for the region’s economy since turn-over is happening. In fact new spec home construction is frequently cheaper than the HELOC’d older homes.

Now if someone could do something about these 6-month long winters…

Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-04-20 10:03:53

This chart’s prices accurately depict eastern Washington where I’ve been for the past 15-yrs.

Indeed. And it’s what we’re seeing across the board regardless of location. And it’s for this fundamental reason that rental rates are falling.

Why buy an asset like a house that is grossly inflated yet falling in price when you can borrow(rent) it for half the carrying costs of buying it?

 
 
Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 14:52:39

What chart are we talking about? The one in the link shows prices up 4.2% YoY.

Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-04-20 16:56:59

The one in the link shows prices down MoM and QoQ.

Enjoy your losses.

Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 18:02:39

Oh, I get it. Pick out the parts you like, ignore the parts you don’t. That does simplify things.

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Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 18:12:53

You don’t get it. You don’t have moral fiber to.

 
Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 18:23:27

You don’t have moral fiber to.

I blame flouridation.

 
Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 18:34:09

Now you’ll have to sell your shanty and move to another town that doesn’t halogenize their potable supply. But here’s your problem…..

You can’t find a buyer without bringing a $200k check to closing

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 18:48:28

Rent costs more than “owning”. Weird…

 
Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 18:49:30

Who would this check be for?

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 18:49:52

“You don’t have moral fiber to.”

Bad Syntax.

Straw Man.

Ad Hominem.

cool…

 
Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 19:24:10

And the check you have to bring to closing to get out from under your rapidly depreciating house? $300k? 400k? More?

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 19:48:59

Tactic 3 from the Losing Debater’s Manual: Straw Man

 
Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 19:54:43

What’s a strawman??

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 20:14:39

Tactic 7… again… already?

Excellent

 
Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 20:20:55

Like a scarecrow? Kinda?

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 20:55:05

Tactic 7… again… already… again?

 
Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 23:54:28

Point of order here:

Answering your own question, that’s a new tactic, right?

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 06:08:47

Czech ambassador: ‘The Czech Republic and Chechnya are two very different entities’

Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 06:10:19

So is the Check Out Republic we have in DC.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:15:04

God help America if that clarification really needed to be issued.

Comment by Combotechie
2013-04-20 07:50:47

Which one is the one that’s located in South America?

Comment by Anon In DC
2013-04-20 08:31:18

Excellent! :)

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:45:07

While today’s students could not find either one on a map, they have been taught and believe that they will all die due to AGW.

 
 
Comment by Rental Watch
2013-04-20 10:33:38

I worked construction one summer with a real genius: One of our bosses was going on vacation to Canada and was gone for a week…here was the exchange (we were in No. Cal):

Him: So, is (our boss) going to drive, or fly?
Me: Well, he’s only gone for a week, so I’d be surprised if he’s going to take the time to drive.
Him: Where abouts is Canada anyway?
Me: ….
Him: It’s not in the United States is it?

Now, he could carry three sheets up plywood overhead by himself up a ladder, but geography wasn’t a strong suit. Frightening.

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Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 13:55:33

HAH!

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Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 08:00:45

Who cares? They’re all blood thirsty mooslems following their messiah, Barak HUSSSSSSSAIN Fartbongo!

 
 
Comment by rms
2013-04-20 07:49:44

‘The Czech Republic and Chechnya are two very different entities’

+1 Especially those Czech ladies. :)

 
Comment by GeorgeSalt
2013-04-20 12:24:08

The Czech ambassador simply wants to make certain that we don’t invade the wrong country — we have a history of doing that.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 14:09:46

I don’t see how the clarification will matter one iota, as we can always makes up a lie to justify invading whatever country we want.

For instance, do you remember the “yellow cake uranium” lie that was used to justify invading Iraq after a bunch of Saudi Arabians flew airplanes into the World Trade Center.

 
Comment by polly
2013-04-20 14:34:52

Sounds like it might be a good year to visit the Czech embassy during the weekend they have their embassy open house. Love it when the country feels like it really needs to make a good impression. They can pull out all the stops.

Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 14:57:16

Watch out- they’ll blow you up!

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Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 06:14:29

Funny how the MSM is no longer speculating on why the terrorists bombed the Boston Marathon.

They just can’t seem to speak the words “For the Greater Glory of allah” that the infidels had to be killed.

We are going to learn that the muslims terrorists and terrorist mosque were well know to police but due to the current administration (both in Boston and Washington) were left alone.

That the muslim terrorists and all around them were big obama supporters.

That the failure to enforce CURRENT immigration law contributed to the bombings.

I wonder if the Republicans will use bombing victims as props as a rebuttal to an obama speech to achieve their political ends? Or would they have more class than that?

——–

City of Boston Gave ‘Subsidy’ to Bombing Suspects’ Radical Mosque
Daily Caller - 4/20/13

Suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev attended a Massachusetts mosque that made a controversial deal with a Boston city agency that allowed it to buy land at a lower-than-market price in exchange for various token services to the Boston community, despite the mosque’s links to some radical anti-American figures

Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 06:58:26

Their uncle nailed it: Because they were losers. Don’t let that interfear with your hysterical bigotry, though.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 07:24:04

It is Amazing how you can ignore reality. Islam caused this attack. Most people would not consider a medical student or people that have attended top high schools losers. They were Islamic fanatics and we can allowing them to immigrate here.

Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 07:31:30

Losers did this. Losers like the Phelps clan. Relegion may be adopted as a justification by the losers, but it was the losers that set he bombs, not some mythology.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 07:48:21

There always has been and always will be “losers”, we can’t prevent that but we can reduce our chance of bomb attacks by keeping people out of this country from countries that believe it is correct to kill someone that converts from Islam.

 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 07:50:42

Would you have said the same thing if it was southern tea billy or a ron paul ararchist? I am pretty sure the narratives would have been much different.

 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 07:53:54

Loser is someone who steals grandma’s savings to finance his drug habits.

Loser is someone who punches a kid for his lunch money.

When you cross the line and actually kill or maim hundreds, you are not a loser anymore.

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 08:01:49

How not to be a loser: Blow up a bunch of people.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:17:16

Would you have said the same thing if it was southern tea billy or a ron paul ararchist? I am pretty sure the narratives would have been much different.

I would look at polls about the number of tea billies or Ron Paul supporters that support violence to advance their agenda. I would look whether there was a history of violent attacks. Consequently, I would determine that we were dealing with a couple of nuts and not a movement that was a threat to the country. The history of Islam is quite different and much more like the history of the Nazis. Now, would you advocate the US allowing people that believe in the policies of Adolph Hitler into this country?

 
Comment by Bigguy
2013-04-20 08:22:38

Losers are not charged with materially supporting a FOREIGN terrorist organization, which is what this guy will likely be charged with. This isn’t just a couple of domestic losers, could be any kid gone wrong types.

Yes, it will be a blow to Muslim relations because those guys are radical jihadis. No amount of pretending otherwise is going to change that. Unfortunately, that is the reality of that religion today. Some significant percentage, and people can argue on it, are radical jihadi types or sympathetic thereto.

 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 08:30:31

You could be a muslim and not part of the jihad, right? A muslim on his own can decide it’s a go time for him outside of the political cause, can’t he?

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 08:36:42

“Would you have said the same thing if it was southern tea billy or a ron paul ararchist? ”

As one of those “Ron Paul Anarchists”, I probably would have.

 
Comment by Bigguy
2013-04-20 09:01:59

Of course you can be a muslin and not a jihadi. That’s why I said it was some percentage, not all. But those guys are jihadis. They didn’t decide on their own it was go time. They were following the words of some radical cleric like al alawki, who they bought into, telling them it was their duty.

Once again the Muslim community has a chance to respond with sincere condemnation. Will they or will they do what I normally see and immediately change the topic to how they are being profiled and persecuted.

 
Comment by polly
2013-04-20 09:12:18

“charged with materially supporting a FOREIGN terrorist organization”

Why would they charge him with something like that? That is what they charge you with when all they can prove you did was be a chauffeur for someone they want to know more about. This kid killed a few people and injured many others in an attempt to kill them. Believe me, they have plenty of real charges that will stick without resorting to the ones they use to indefinitely hold the guy who washes the dishes and maybe heard a bunch of gossip.

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 09:21:32

“ut those guys are jihadis. They didn’t decide on their own it was go time. They were following the words of some radical cleric like al alawki, who they bought into, telling them it was their duty.”

Where did you get this choice piece of info? Spirit messages?

You should alert the FBI immediately!

 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 10:06:16

Spirit messages?

Is that what we call the neo-con propaganda these days? LOL

 
Comment by Bigguy
2013-04-20 11:36:44

They have lots of charges, but those that carry the DP are much more limited. It will be another barrel in the gun.

 
Comment by polly
2013-04-20 14:42:04

People who actually have ties to foreign terrorist organizations are much more valuable alive than dead. No one who cares about any network he might possibly be connected to (if any) wants him dead. And he is 19. Can you imagine that life in prison - possibly solitary confinement - is more scary to him than a needle? His parents don’t live here any more. His brother is dead. His uncle denounced him on TV. He is as isolated as they come. He will spend a very long life eagerly awaiting the days that someone from the FBI comes to visit. They will be the highlights of his existence.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 15:10:13

I agree Polly. I think we killed McVeigh much too quickly. Not that he did not deserve to die but because he probably knew much more than we learned. While any idiot can make a fertilizer bomb, both the power and the perfect placement of his bomb suggested a lot of help.

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 09:12:09

“Islam caused this attack.”

How can a centuries-old religion ’cause’ anything?

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Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 09:31:13

Its a book! Books are DANGEROUS, and should only be sold after a background check. Books with more than 50 pages should only be allowed for military applications.

 
Comment by Overtaxed
2013-04-20 11:20:56

Islam still has a long way to go before it can catch up to Catholics on the body count.

Religion of peace? Does such a thing exist? Perhaps Buddhist? But, with few exceptions, the worst atrocities in the history of man have been directly caused or significantly influenced by religion.

Religion is, IMHO, the most destructive force that has ever been released on man. If you believe that you can live forever, or that someone can get you a ticket to heaven, you’re willing to do anything; absolutely anything, to get there.

If you believe that this life is the only one we’ve got; when you die it goes black and that’s pretty much it… You develop a far more profound respect for the world, yourself, and others around you.

Shoot, taken to it’s logical conclusion, with most religions, you’re doing someone a favor by coming up behind them and putting a bullet into them. Then they can stop the suffering and go straight to heaven. That’s the thing that makes no sense what-so-ever about religion (and why, IMHO, almost everyone; even those who “believe” don’t REALLY believe). When a child is born, the logical course of action is to get them baptized and then kill them off before they’ve had a chance to sin. Straight to the promised land.

Another one that I always love is ask a member of most major religions what happens to those in remote parts of the world that were never exposed to the “right” religion; are the automatically doomed to hell? The answer is “No, they never had a chance and therefore get a pass straight to heaven”. Well, if you believe that, the WORST thing you could possibly do is to tell anyone about your religion. You may have doomed me to an eternity in hell because I choose to stop and talk to you? Man, that’s some seriously bad karma. :)

Oh, and, BTW, in case anyone is interested in hedging their bets.. Become Jewish. Most of the Christ based religions have an exception for Jews (automatic to heaven). So, IMHO, that’s the best possible chance for eternal salvation, it’s like playing 10 hands at the same time; one is likely to hit. :)

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 13:04:41

Islam still has a long way to go before it can catch up to Catholics on the body count.

Complete garbage. Show me any source that claims that.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 13:17:04

Stalin killed more people than anyone in history and Mao was a close second. Both were communists and hated religion. They probably killed by a factor of ten or more, more people than all the wars over religion combined.

Hitler hated both Jews and Christianity since it was based on a Jewish religion. His SS troops were taught the ancient German pagan beliefs so maybe he is push since he believed in pagan religions. But it certainly was not due to Christianity which Hitler turned his back on in its youth so he could carry out is mad man attack on Jews.

Sorry, it is the people that do not believe that they have to answer for anything after death that can do anything they want. There is a strong correlation in this country between the decline in Christian belief and a rise in dishonesty.

 
Comment by Overtaxed
2013-04-20 17:09:40

“Sorry, it is the people that do not believe that they have to answer for anything after death that can do anything they want. ”

How many atheists you see strapping bombs on themselves and blowing up innocent people?

“There is a strong correlation in this country between the decline in Christian belief and a rise in dishonesty.”

The lack of Christian belief has very little to do with the rise in dishonestly. Some of the most honest people I deal with are atheist/agnostic. The death of the American dream; get rich at all costs culture is to blame for what you’re seeing. Nobody cares what your religious beliefs are. The country has become fascinated with the celebrity of wealth; that’s what you are seeing today.

 
 
 
Comment by Anon In DC
2013-04-20 08:34:16

It’s bigotry to recognize religious radicals use violence? We might not know for sure in case but certainly there are other cases.

Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 09:42:32

That is exactly my point. We don’t KNOW anything, but the whackaloons are carrying on like they have the absolute truth dispensed from on high, and that we should begin the eviction and/or extermination of muslims immediately or our great nation shall surely perish.

These guys COULD be total pray 5 times a day with your butt in the air for the death of America muzzies, but we don’t know that. We know their family is muslim. We don’t know that they were particularly devout. They liked to smoke dope and listen to rap, so they probably weren’t.

What it looks like at this point is some immigrant kids from a violent, impoverished hellhole, pretty much ignored by their parents, who never did figure out how to fit in in America, decided to go on a Grand Theft Auto rampage to see how high they could get their wanted level up… just like the Colombine losers or any number of other mass shooter losers that would probably have identified as christian.

They look about as muslim as Tom Jones.

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Comment by Bigguy
2013-04-20 11:28:16

What does a Muslim look like? We’ll see what comes out in the coming days. Usually the media has it all screwed up anyway.

Just for clarity, I don’t know anything. I’m just speculating that I’m right just like you are doing. You don’t want to believe this is Islamic jihadism and are happy to credit what helps your view and discount what doesn’t. I’m doing the same thing.

But if I’m right, I’ll also be right about the Muslim community failing to sincerely condemn and change the topic. It has been their biggest mistake IMHO since 9/11 in not carving those aholes out for the condemnation they deserve.

 
 
 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 09:31:14

Strange. Lots of “losers” don’t try mass murder.

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:19:28

Got steroid-driven conspiracy rant?

 
Comment by Anon In DC
2013-04-20 09:05:55

There’s a front page article on this very question on the New York Times web site. Does the NYT count as MSM?

“The case of the Boston suspects echoes that of other men who, caught between American life and loyalty to fellow Muslims at home, turned to violence.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/us/boston-suspects-confused-identities-and-conflicting-loyalties.html?hp&_r=0

 
Comment by Bill in Los Angeles
2013-04-20 09:50:29

You have to admit fundie Muslims have a lot in common with social conservative Republicans. It’s their subjective view of morality, they hate civil liberties. They hate multiculturalism. they want women to wear burkhas and want to ban porn.

The real definition of a political conservative is one who is opposed to change. Obama, McCain, Bush, Romney, Reid, Feinstein all want to conserve the big government, and differ only by what draconian edicts are pushed on citizens.

The problem is the non-libertarian philosophy that is practiced by most people. The non-aggression principle cannot be disputed.

Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 11:37:44

????

Conservatives = limited government as defined by the US Constitution.

There is NO better way to defend and keep liberty.

There is NO better way for economic opportunity or personal freedom.

How you get from that to terrorist muslim fanatics or big government knows best fanatics (Reid, Feinstein) I will never know.

Comment by Happy2bHeard
2013-04-20 20:19:07

“Conservatives = limited government as defined by the US Constitution.”

Conservatives = limited government as defined by their interpretation of the US Constitution. (Fixed it for you. You can thank me later. :) )

Would that be Conservatives like McCain and Graham who want him to be treated as an enemy combatant so his rights can be trampled on?

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/no-miranda-rights-for-now-for-bombing-suspect-90362.html

“If captured, I hope Administration will at least consider holding the Boston suspect as enemy combatant for intelligence gathering purposes,” Graham wrote Friday afternoon. “The last thing we may want to do is read Boston suspect Miranda Rights telling him to ‘remain silent.’”

“The Law of War allows us to hold individual in this scenario as potential enemy combatant w/o Miranda warnings or appointment of counsel,” the senator added later in the evening. “I hope the Obama Administration will seriously consider this option….The goal is to gather intelligence and protect our nation which is under threat from radical Islam.”

“NBC reporting Obama admin will treat terrorist as a ‘criminal’ and not enemy combatant,” former State Department official Liz Cheney wrote on Twitter Friday night. “Will Obama allow him to lawyer up?”

I guess rights are only for god-fearing, Christian terrorists or native born Americans of the correct complexion. And I guess the 5th amendment is less important than the 2nd.

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Comment by ahansen
2013-04-21 00:08:29

“The non-aggression principle cannot be disputed.”

So you work on weapons systems for the DoD?

 
 
Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 13:53:59

There is no evidence to suggest that this was a terrorist bombing. As far as anyone knows, it was a crazy older brother who sucked his younger brother into committing a horrific crime. Since when was this “terrorism”? What political goal was being attempted by the violence?

 
 
Comment by jose canusi
2013-04-20 06:23:57

Lots of snapping and snarling about “OUR FREEDOM!” this fine AM. Oh, brother, I always get nervous when politicians talk about “OUR FREEDOM!”

Yeah, I get it, they’re talking about “THEIR FREEDOM”, really, which is the freedom to do the citizens in.

Comment by Bill in Los Angeles
2013-04-20 09:52:59

Yup

 
Comment by ahansen
2013-04-21 00:22:16

The one that scares me is “common sense solutions”. That’s when I KNOW they’re up to no good.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 06:32:35

Figures…Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (D-Cambridge)

Support Terrorists - Vote Democrat

:-)

But don’t worry - both terrorists will still be voting democrat in Philly and Chicago for years to come…

———————–

Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Supported Obama
Gateway Pundit | Friday, April 19, 2013, 8:29 PM | Jim Hoft

What a shock. Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was an Obama supporter.

Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 06:46:39

Bigger question to you banana, who should we bomb now?

Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 06:48:50

Why do democrats and progressives always want to bomb something?

I would be more than happy to enforce CURRENT immigration law.

Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 07:12:17

Lets be honest those guys were legal. There are reports that they went thru citizenship, that basically means that they passed many fbi and cia background checks.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 07:27:24

Exactly. And that is why we should not allow any more immigrant in to we develop better methods to screen immigrants.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 07:50:17

Immigrants into the country until we lose our PC view of Islam.

 
 
Comment by Ben Jones
2013-04-20 08:54:50

‘Support Terrorists - Vote Democrat’

This was posted elsewhere in this thread:

‘the power to destroy all their holy sites if they got out of line’

Besides the person that posted this, we have another that says we should bomb mosques. What if one of these posters actually did that? The FBI goes to their house and finds a HBB T-shirt or regular links to this blog on their computer, with statements about bombing something? Does that implicate all of you that comment here?

I grew up not too far from Dallas, TX. I remember the stigma slapped on the area after JFK was assassinated. Were people in Texas responsible? Or Republicans that had previously been critical of the President?

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 09:16:03

Here is a conspiracy theory for you, Ben:

Don’t discount the possibility that 2banana and others posting conspiracy theories here are merely doing the work somebody paid them to do in order to discredit the HBB as a “conspiracy theory blog.”

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2013-04-20 09:36:12

‘conspiracy theory blog’

That’s what trolls (and some in the media) were saying in 2005. I believe in free speech. But it is interesting that people here and everywhere openly discuss bombing this or that, but meaning the US government doing it. It’s OK if the CIA blows up a wedding.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 10:43:43

Ben in any war you try to take out the command and control first. If the command and control center is a Mosque and the leader is a Mullah, is the mosque not a legitimate target? Islam is both a religion and a political system. Until we understand that we will not find an effective method to contain the terrorists.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:25:47

“I believe in free speech.”

As do I. Though I often recall the voice of my sixth-grade teacher pointing out to our class that people who too often abuse their freedoms risk losing them.

But she grew up in McCarthy-era Minnesota, so perhaps I should stop worrying so much about what she told us so long ago.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:29:48

“I remember the stigma slapped on the area after JFK was assassinated. Were people in Texas responsible? Or Republicans that had previously been critical of the President?”

Were the Germans living in WWII Germany responsible for Hitler?

They were according to the adults in the corner of Flyover Country America where I grew up. And I can recall some kids in my grade school class whose idea of the worst possible insult was to call somebody a Nazi.

 
Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 14:29:28

ARE YOU PEOPLE DENSE?

Ben just asked you NICELY to STFU with the hate rhetoric and you go right ahead and throw it back in his face.

Here’s something for you to mull quietly:

What did Timothy McVeigh have in common?
What did Eric Rudolph have in common?
What did George Metesky have in common?
What did Ted Kaczynsky have in common?
What did Bernadette Dorhn have in common?
Then there are the All-American shooters.

And if you don’t think American christianists have issued a fatwa, talk to any OBGYN who performs second trimester D&C’s.

The true infidels in this scenario are the creeps who pump their gonads by advocating that we bomb people’s holy places, then denegrate a billion faithful with self-serving and hypocritical misinterpretations of their intent.

Shameful. You embarrass our blog.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 15:22:28

The true infidels in this scenario are the creeps who pump their gonads by advocating that we bomb people’s holy places, then denegrate a billion faithful with self-serving and hypocritical misinterpretations of their intent.

There own beliefs denigrate their religion. When 80% + of the faithful believe that anyone that converts from their religion should be killed then anyone that respects that religion is shameful and an embarrassment to the blog.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 15:25:41

There =their. A Hansen why don’t you address the results of the Pew poll? How do you defend those beliefs and why would you want people that think like that in our country?

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2013-04-20 17:27:33

‘When 80% + of the faithful believe that anyone that converts from their religion should be killed’

If that were true we’d have IED’s blowing up in the US several times a week.

‘then anyone that respects that religion is shameful and an embarrassment to the blog’

I’m agnostic and came to believe that most organized religion is basically the equivalent of snake-handling, who are Christians, BTW. I said it yesterday; what are you going to do? Keep GITMO open a few more years? Shoot up a wedding in Pakistan? Meanwhile, we are circling the bowl financially. We’ve borrow billions every week from the Chinese, while we pretend to be shifting to an “Asian strategy” to contain - the Chinese. It would be absolutely comical if it wasn’t so pathetic.

We’re so broke and weak, we don’t dare send millions of illegals back home because (we’re told) we don’t want more expensive hamburgers! Then the central bank (who answers to no one) prints trillions of dollars so we’ll have a little inflation. Boy, we are a real mickey mouse operation.

 
Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 17:34:55

Pull a Pew poll of rural Rescue America (Christians, btw) and I’ll bet 80% of its members believe that abortion providers and those who support them should put to death, too. You yourself have implied as much about Muslim leaders on numerous occasions right here on this blog.

Why should rural Egyptians feel any differently about the good “christians” who bomb their brothers’ weddings or drone their funerals?

What matters is:
A. What American Muslims think (Hint: My Muslim internist isn’t going to jihad me when I go in for my annual checkup.)
B. How the governments of predominently Muslim countries behave toward the US on US soil.

There will always be intolerance and ignorance amongst the ill-educated and socially disenfranchised. I refuse to paint all Christians as evil just because Fred Phelps is a screaming asshat or Eric Rudolph blows up doctors’ offices with doctors in them.

 
Comment by shendi
2013-04-20 18:03:16

Everything has to run it’s course. America is not ready for change. One company owner recently told me in an informal chat that “we are becoming European”. Asked the basis for this assertion, he said “people are no longer going to church”. So becoming an atheist is considered European. Well that is progress I think.

Europe turned after the two wars. The great depression has nothing on the wars.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 18:11:44

Progress? Europe is broke. Some would say both morally and fiscally bankrupt.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 18:36:09

Pull a Pew poll of rural Rescue America (Christians, btw) and I’ll bet 80% of its members believe that abortion providers and those who support them should put to death, too. You yourself have implied as much about Muslim leaders on numerous occasions right here on this blog.

My god what percentage of all Christians is Rescue America. Please show me any poll that shows any significant number of Christians that support putting people that support abortion to death. It is too idiotic a statement to not back up with a link.

 
Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 19:43:20

A link? A LINK!? Truly your reading comprehension skills are staggering.

Do you seriously not understand that the results of any given poll are dependent upon what demographic is being polled and to what end?

Seven rural population samples do not a diaspora define. You do recall that your polls “predicted” Romney in a rout, right? Or maybe that was just your faulty interpretation based on selection bias….

You are (once again) trying to defend the indefensible.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 20:06:00

So like always you have nothing to support your idiotic statements?

 
Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 23:29:36

Ye gads man, is your Asperbergers really that bad? Here, I’ll make it really simple for you.

“(If) you pull a poll of rural Rescue America…(then) I’ll bet 80% of its members believe that abortion providers and those who support them should put to death, too.”

Note: Operation Rescue is one of those amorphous religious-ish entities that doesn’t keep records or literal membership rolls, so it would be kind of hard for PEW to actually poll them, rather like polling the ALF (that’s Animal Liberation Front) — but then, that was sort of my point.

 
Comment by Michael Viking
2013-04-21 07:45:23

Note: Operation Rescue is one of those amorphous religious-ish entities that doesn’t keep records or literal membership rolls, so it would be kind of hard for PEW to actually poll them, rather like polling the ALF (that’s Animal Liberation Front) — but then, that was sort of my point.

Can you clarify this for me? I feel like you’re saying “If you can find the right group (the one that believes doctors who perform abortions should be put to death) then you’ll get a poll that Christians believe abortion doctors should be put to death (tautological). Then you go on to say it would be kind of hard to do this because Rescue America doesn’t have member lists.

I don’t understand how this is germane. Are you implying that Pew self-selected a group of people to poll - which you state is hard to do - to get the results they were looking for? This is possible, but I doubt that Pew did that. Their group appeared to be Muslims, not a hard-to-gather selection of people they a priori knew would give them the results they wanted. If they selected a random group of Muslims in Egypt, for example, and got this number why would it be 80%? Dan is mocking your answer because you’re comparing apples to oranges. He’s stating that the Pew poll is random Muslims and you’re replying that if you poll people who think abortion doctors should be killed then you’ll get the same kinda results. Dan (and I) want to know what results you’d get if you ask random Christians…

 
Comment by Michael Viking
2013-04-21 08:05:56

‘When 80% + of the faithful believe that anyone that converts from their religion should be killed’

If that were true we’d have IED’s blowing up in the US several times a week.

I my humble opinion this isn’t a fair conclusion to draw and blowing up IEDs in the US doesn’t seem to relate to the idea of executing a Muslim for renouncing Islam. It’s very easy to find stories about people being put to death for renouncing their religion in the Middle East, so it must happen. According to the Pew poll, 80% of the Muslims support it.

I also think it’s quite easy to support something but not actually be a trigger puller - especially when there’s some other nut who will pull the trigger.

 
 
Comment by Anon In DC
2013-04-20 09:35:41

Well that’s always my argument: Secure the borders which no one from either politic party wants to do. If farmworkers, busboys, gardeners, etc.. can sneak in so too can terrorists.

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Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 06:59:34

Boston. It’s a den of mooslem terror!

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 07:53:16

The 9/11 terrorists flew through Boston and now this attack. There does appear to some network operating in the area. Miami and Oklahoma from many reports have similar safe houses etc, but you can continue with your denial.

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Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 08:02:59

It’s like they’re exploding every other day! How WILL America survive this relentless onslaught?

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:29:18

There only not happening everyday since we have been aggressively stopping their plots. Finding more effective policies such as tougher immigration requirements is only common sense although it does not appear too common with you.

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 08:55:45

So we stop mooslem plots every day now! Why do we not see this on the news every day? Another Fartbongo conspiracy?

 
Comment by MightyMike
2013-04-20 09:00:42

How do know there’s a network in Boston? It could just be that these two brothers came up with the idea on their own and executed without any assistance? Why can’t you wait until the facts come out?

 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 10:01:16

Because MOOOSLEMS! Can’t you see we’re all in danger! Verdict first, trial later.

 
 
 
Comment by Combotechie
2013-04-20 07:55:43

“Who should we bomb now?”

That’s obvious. Czechoslovakia.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:48:51

I like to get bombed with Czech beer, does that count?

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:21:34

Support conspiracy theorists — vote Republican. :-)

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 06:40:23

OK - Irony of the day.

Two muslim terrorists kill three people and seriously injure over 150 others (to include many double amputations) in a bombing for the great glory of allah.

The muslim terrorists then go on to rob a 7-11 and executed a MIT Policeman in cold blood.

In making their getaway - they carjack a vehicle…

wait for it…

wait for it…

Has a COEXISTS bumper sticker on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You just can’t make this stuff up.

————————————–

Car jacked by Muslim terrorist suspects had ‘COEXIST’ bumper sticker
Daily Caller | 4-19-2013 | By Christopher Bedford

A vehicle that was carjacked early Friday morning by the suspects of Monday’s terrorist bombing of the Boston Marathon has the “COEXIST” sticker affixed to its bumper.

The bumper sticker, which spells out “COEXIST” using the Islamic moon, a peace symbol, a gender symbol, the Star of David, a pagan symbol, a ying-yang and a cross, is put out by the Coexist Foundation — “a non-profit organization creating understanding across divides.”

Comment by jose canusi
2013-04-20 06:42:46

Oh, JEEBUS, that is truly PRICELESS! In a grim sort of way.

Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 14:33:32

Well, they did let the guy go after they jacked his ride….

Comment by tresho
2013-04-21 12:25:16

Well, they did let the guy go after they jacked his ride….
I really doubt it happened the way you would like to think. See this.

How carjack captive escaped at gas station
• By DANA SAUCHELLI and LARRY CELONA
• Last Updated: 10:23 AM, April 20, 2013
• Posted: 1:20 AM, April 20, 2013
The Boston Marathon bombers took a man captive Thursday night during a carjacking that set off a frenzied police chase.
“[The captive] came in here, he was in a rush running in here. T . . . telling the [night cashier], ‘They are going to kill me! You need to call 911!” said Martin El Koussa, 20, who works at a Cambridge, Mass., Mobil station.
Security footage captured the man running away from his captors.
“He was terrified,” said Koussa of the captive. “He crawled on the ground behind the counter and hid.”
Sources said the bombers had carjacked a Mercedes SUV, then used the driver’s ATM card to take out $800.
They drove to a Shell station, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev grabbed a bunch of junk food while his brother waited outside, sources said.
“He was real calm, just browsing around. No emotion. He was calm like nothing happened,” said station owner Alan Mednick, who reviewed the security footage before handing it over to police.
Dzhokhar dropped the food — Red Bulls, chips and candy — when the owner caught him trying to shoplift.
That’s when the car owner ran to the Mobil and the bombers drove away.
“I have no idea why they stopped here,” said Mednick bewildered. “The cashier, his wife, and his whole family are scared to death right now.”

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Comment by ICLEI
2013-04-20 06:49:42

The real question here is, were the terrorists paying inflated rent?

Got “Sustainable Development”?

 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 06:58:17

It’s too good to be true.

 
Comment by measton
2013-04-20 07:05:31

You’re right 2b we shouldn’t co exist

Everyone grab a knife and stab the first person that is different from you today. That should solve the problem.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 08:28:22

And be sure to post twenty conspiracy rants on a blog whose topical focus has nothing whatsoever to do with your personal bigotry.

 
Comment by Anon In DC
2013-04-20 08:41:46

2banana was not saying that. He / She was just noting the irony and possible humor. It’s like the old Irma Bombeck joke about a a frantic pedestrian clinging for dear life to the hood of a car that has a “Jesus Saves” bumper sticker. Think she was talking about senior as in senior citizens drivers.

 
 
Comment by tresho
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 08:04:19

It’s not propaganda when it supports screeching xenophobia. It’s suppressed conspiracy info.

 
 
Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 13:50:38

Having a hard time connecting your dots there, friend.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 14:05:54

“In making their getaway - they carjack a vehicle…

wait for it…

wait for it…

Has a COEXISTS bumper sticker on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Glad to see this proof that there is a God in the universe.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 06:47:27

Copper and CAT have be slammed in the last month.

This used to be a great indicator that the economy and HOUSING is greatly slowing down (in the times before zero interest rates and the Fed buy $80 billion of bank crap a month).

——————————

Copper Is Getting Slammed
TBI | 4-19-2013 | Rob Wile

Copper futures are down more than 2.5 percent and are poised to see their largest decline in 16 months, Dow Jones’ Francesca Freeman writes.

The sell-off came after a report that Zambia, Africa’s largest producer, resumed shipments after a two-week halt because of a railroad accident, she says.

A Tale Of Two Charts (CAT, Copper)
The Market Ticker ^ | 4-2-2013

This needs little explanation, really.

Simply put, CAT (Caterpillar) is almost-certainly right given Copper’s (Dr Copper) view of the economy on a forward basis and the rest of the equity market is probably wrong.

Comment by azdude
2013-04-20 07:13:01

CAT is the best equipment out there. I am not knocking them in anyway as I know the quality of their product.

But cmon man. The price of their equipment is getting out of control.

Just like cars and homes they have dealt with the price increases by you guessed it, financing terms. low interest and long loan lengths.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 15:28:26

I hear that the auto companies are now offering loans up to 87 months.

 
 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-04-20 06:51:18

Mike Whitney nails it yet again. The money quote:

“Everything about the US housing market is fake”

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/02/11/housing-hijinx/

From the article;

“There remain over 10 million vacant housing units” and that does not include the “shadow supply”.

Again….. if you bought a house 1998-2013, you’re going to lose a lot of money. ALOT of money.

Comment by AZtoORtoCOtoOR
2013-04-20 07:07:47

I just got back from a few days in the valley of the sun(Phoenix) this past week. “Everybody wants to live there!!”

Comment by azdude
2013-04-20 07:17:02

I happen to really enjoy the phx area. I know its hot in the summers but the winters are awesome.

Good people there and never had a problem with anyone.

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 07:30:40

I would rather live in Flagstaff and drive two hours to Phoenix when I get sick of Winter.

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Comment by azdude
2013-04-20 07:44:58

Did you live in Cali? If I remember right you moved out to new mexico maybe 5 years ago?

How do you like it in new mexico? would you rather live in AZ?

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:32:53

I have never lived in CA but have friends in the bay area and San Diego and I am a member of the CA bar. I like northern Arizona more than NM, but the housing costs are far lower in NM and my employer pays equally in both areas.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:40:37

I do enjoy NM. I love the natural beauty, the history and the interesting collection of peoples and cultures. However, it is hard to compete with the Flagstaff/Sedona area and I like college towns and Flagstaff is one.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2013-04-20 10:45:20

‘it is hard to compete with the Flagstaff/Sedona area’

Just bring your job with you.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by oxide
2013-04-20 07:00:10

“Finally, let me say that even as so much attention has been focused on the tragic events in Boston, understandably, we’ve also seen a tight-knit community in Texas devastated by a terrible explosion. And I want them to know that they are not forgotten. Our thoughts, our prayers are with the people of West, Texas, where so many good people lost their lives; some lost their homes; many are injured; many are still missing.

I’ve talked to Governor Perry and Mayor Muska and I’ve pledged that the people of West will have the resources that they need to recover and rebuild. And I want everybody in Texas to know that we will follow through with those commitments.” — Barack Obama 04/19/13

Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 07:19:53

1 Bostonian life = 50 Texan lives for MSM.

Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 08:07:22

People can understand industrial accidents. They happen, find out why and fix the problem forever so it never happens again.

They still have a hard time of understanding islamic terrorists bombing sporting events to cause the greatest amount of infidel casualties for the “greater glory of allah.”

In this age of multiculturalism.

In this age of “diversity is our strength.”

In this age of “all cultures are equal.”

In this age of “COEXIST” bumper stickers…

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:59:41

It is interesting how quickly the Saudi with the burnt hands, who was asking why another bomb did not go off and then was tackled by a bystander due to his suspicious behavior, has disappeared from the news’ cycle.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 09:01:49

Maybe it is because we dismiss the brothers as losers but an arrest of a well connected Saudi would raise the question of whether it is a war with Islam and not a few nuts?

 
Comment by Michael Viking
2013-04-20 09:50:50

It is interesting how quickly the Saudi with the burnt hands, who was asking why another bomb did not go off and then was tackled by a bystander due to his suspicious behavior, has disappeared from the news’ cycle.

Can you please point me to some root sources for this story? I tried to track down a source for some other story and ended up in a circular reference with nobody credible in the loop.

 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 10:39:34

nobody credible in the loop.

It’s not credible. It’s only credible to neocons because he was much darker than rest and of course he is a Saudi. Saudi in a marathon, he must be a terririst.

 
 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 11:31:36

In that article you learn that he had burns of his hands. It does not say he had burns anywhere else just his hands. That is consistent with someone is planting a bomb that malfunctions. Second we learn that he was asking a police officer about a second bomb and why it did not go off which suggest knowledge of the bombing plan. Third someone at the scene thought he was acting suspicious enough to tackle him and face possible prosecution for assault and civil damages.
I also posted two days before the Drudge report that I heard on the BBC that he came from a politically well connected family and I guessed that he would just be put on a plane back to SA. Two days later the Drudge report link said he was being deported for national security reasons. Hardly a tin hat theory, these facts raise serious questions.

 
 
Comment by Happy2bHeard
2013-04-20 20:38:21

“People can understand industrial accidents. They happen, find out why and fix the problem forever so it never happens again.”

The plant had not been inspected in 28 years. Perhaps we need to hire more federal inspectors.

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:24:10

I already asked this question last week, but must have missed the response:

Is fresh blood spilled in America’s streets good, bad or neutral for real estate sales?

I guess it would potentially be possible to find statistics on how many Bostonians visited open houses over the past several days…

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:27:17

Across America, a week of chaos, horror — and hope
By JESSE WASHINGTON, AP National Writer
Updated 7:01 am, Saturday, April 20, 2013

What’s My House Worth?
Find your home’s current market value online with HouseValues.com.

FILE - In this Friday, April 19, 2013 file photo, federal agents wearing hazardous material suits inspect a trash can outside the house of Paul Kevin Curtis in Corinth, Miss. Curtis is in custody under the suspicion of sending letters covered in ricin to U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. Event after nail-biting event, America was rocked this week, in rare and frightening ways, with what felt like an unremitting series of tragedies. Photo: Rogelio V. Solis

FILE - In this Friday, April 19, 2013 file photo, federal agents wearing hazardous material suits inspect a trash can outside the house of Paul Kevin Curtis in Corinth, Miss. Curtis is in custody under the suspicion of sending letters covered in ricin to U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. Event after nail-biting event, America was rocked this week, in rare and frightening ways, with what felt like an unremitting series of tragedies. Photo: Rogelio V. Solis

Moment after nail-biting moment, the events shoved us through a week that felt like an unremitting series of tragedies: Deadly bombs. Poison letters. A town shattered by a colossal explosion. A violent manhunt that paralyzed a major city, emptying streets of people and filling them with heavily armed police and piercing sirens.

Amid the chaos came an emotional Senate gun control vote that inflamed American divisions and evoked memories of the Newtown massacre. And through it all, torrential rain pushed the Mississippi River toward flood levels.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 08:23:03

Ignore that HouseValues.com link — it’s basically a scam to put you on the local Realtor™’s radar screen.

Besides, Zillow, Trulia and many other sites already provide home values (for better or for worse) for most civilized corners of the U.S. For instance, I can instantly figure out that our landlords are roughly $100K underwater (nominal) on their 2004 investment purchase, according to the Zestimate©.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 18:14:35

And through it all, torrential rain pushed the Mississippi River toward flood levels.

That cannot be happening. due to global warming it was drying up, I heard it on the weather channel.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 08:09:46

If you live next to mosque - my guess is your property value is lower because of it.

Even if just for the five calls to prayer starting at 5 AM.

Is fresh blood spilled in America’s streets good, bad or neutral for real estate sales?

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 08:51:00

At a minimum, it will reduce sales to foreign buyers.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:46:35

Even if they happen to be Jihadists trying to gain access to American targets?

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 15:32:00

You think Jihadists would not decide to rent? Hell if they could find a place offering the first month for free they could walk away or be blown away without paying any rent. Might have trouble getting the cleaning deposit back though.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:29:22

Cyprus Economy to Shrink At Least 5% in 2013, Survey Shows
Bloomberg - ‎Apr 19, 2013‎

Cyprus’s economy will contract by at least 5 percent and possibly by more than 15 percent this year, according to most financial analysts, portfolio managers and other investment professionals on the island interviewed in a survey.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:36:35

U.K.’s Top Credit Grade Cut by Fitch on Economy, Fiscal Outlook
By Svenja O’Donnell & Scott Hamilton - Apr 19, 2013 9:51 AM PT

Britain lost its top credit grade at Fitch Ratings, which cited a weaker economic and fiscal outlook as it became the second company to cut the country’s rating within two months.

Fitch lowered the U.K. to AA+ from AAA with a stable outlook, it said in a statement in London today. It cut its growth projection and forecast that debt would peak at 101 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year 2015-2016.

“Despite the U.K.’s strong fiscal financing flexibility underpinned by its own currency with reserve-currency status and the long average maturity of public debt, the fiscal space to absorb further adverse economic and financial shocks is no longer consistent with an AAA rating,” Fitch said.

The decision may prove a further blow to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne after the International Monetary Fund said this week he should rethink the scale of budget cuts. Fitch had put Britain on negative watch on March 22, two days after Osborne cut his growth forecasts in his annual budget and said it will take longer than previously expected to lower debt.

Standard & Poor’s said on April 5 that it would keep the U.K. on the top AAA rating. Moody’s Investors Service took Britain’s rating down to Aa1 from Aaa on Feb. 22, citing the economic outlook and challenges to the fiscal program. Investors often ignore such moves, evidenced by a drop in gilt yields since that downgrade.

“Despite the loss of its AAA status, the U.K.’s extremely strong credit profile is reflected in its AA+ rating and the stable outlook,” Fitch said.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:47:56

It was a great week to own no gold nor Bitcoin, and little stock.

And to put the situation into proper perspective, note that the recent downturn in risk assets came shortly after the Fed backpedaled on its plans to discontinue QE3 at some point in the foreseeable future.

Commodities Join Global Stocks Falling in Week as Gold Drops 7%
By Whitney Kisling & Debarati Roy - Apr 19, 2013 5:28 PM PT

China’s weakening economic expansion and slowing earnings growth in the U.S. sent copper into a bear market and gold to the biggest weekly drop in a year and a half, while global stocks fell the most in 10 months.

Gold futures slid 7 percent to $1,395.60 an ounce during the week and copper retreated 5.6 percent in London for the largest decline since December 2011. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 commodities fell 2.5 percent, a third weekly slump. The MSCI All-Country World Index of 45 markets fell 2.2 percent, paring the decline yesterday with a 0.7 percent gain. Treasuries rose, while the euro and yen weakened versus the dollar.

“We have a very negative psychology in the world investment community,” said Michael Holland, who oversees more than $4 billion as chairman of Holland & Co. “We’re getting simultaneous issues that relate to the economies around the world, starting with the U.S. and China, which at best are mixed economically, and then you’re getting earnings reports, which are also at best mixed.”

Concern the U.S. Federal Reserve is considering reducing stimulus just as markets enter a period when equities have fallen in the last three years spurred some of the biggest losses in 2013. The retreat follows three straight quarters of gains for stocks globally and increases for gold in every year since 2001.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:56:24

An alien economist visiting planet earth would most probably have a hard time interpreting this commodities crash on the international markets other than as a sign that the global economy is about to get flushed down the toilet.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:59:46

Is it too early to “Sell in May and go away” at this point?

COMMODITIES
Updated April 19, 2013, 9:17 p.m. ET

Copper Slides Into Bear Market

By TATYANA SHUMSKY

Dr. Copper’s diagnosis for the world economy: It isn’t well.

Copper, known in the market as the commodity “with a doctorate in economics” because its price often reflects the health of global manufacturing, ended Friday in a bear market.

The front-month contract, for April delivery, fell 5.30 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $3.1515 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract is down 21% from a high of $3.9785 hit in February 2012. A drop of 20% or more signifies a retreat into bear-market territory.

Copper is telling us right now that all is not well with the global economy,” said Matt Zeman, head of trading with Chicago brokerage Kingsview Financial. “If people still look at copper as a barometer of economic activity, we’re in for some rough times ahead.”

Prices have been in decline for much of this year as investors wagered that supplies from new and expanded copper mines would overwhelm demand from manufacturers.

These fears escalated at the start of the week, after China reported slower-than-expected economic growth for the first quarter.

China is the world’s top copper consumer, accounting for about 40% of global demand. Its gross domestic product expanded 7.7% in the first quarter, a slowdown from 7.9% in the final quarter of 2012.

Copper lost 5.9% on the week, its biggest weekly percentage decline in 16 months, and is down 13% this year. The metal is a component in many products, ranging from bathroom pipes to iPhones.

Sparking Friday’s move was news that copper shipments out of Zambia, Africa’s largest copper producer, have resumed after a two-week halt because of a railroad accident.

The additional supplies will arrive in a market in which stockpiles of extra copper are already on the rise. The amount of the metal held in warehouses overseen by the London Metal Exchange rose 2,000 tons, to 614,350 tons, on Thursday, up 92% this year.

Analysts said weak demand and robust supplies could continue to put pressure on copper prices.

 
Comment by rms
2013-04-20 08:29:17

“An alien economist…”

They’re over at the IMF bank, IIRC.

 
 
Comment by Bill in Los Angeles
2013-04-20 17:36:22

I take it as a great week to buy gold. But I have to wait two more weeks…

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:49:53

Dell is sequester toast.

Comment by azdude
2013-04-20 07:53:42

have they been selling all their computers to uncle sam since no one else is buying them?

What do you think the motive is for going private?

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 08:12:52

I honestly don’t follow the company closely. But I do believe that Uncle Sam is a big customer, and seriously doubt that sequestration is going to work out very well for near-term desk top computer purchases by the federal government.

BUSINESS
Updated April 19, 2013, 8:14 p.m. ET

PC Slide Doomed a Blackstone-Dell Tie
By SHARON TERLEP, SHIRA OVIDE and DAVID BENOIT

Blackstone Group has ended its pursuit of Dell, less than a month after the private-equity firm said it would try to top a leveraged buyout by the computer maker’s founder and a rival private-equity firm. Sharon Terlep reports. Photo: AP.

It really was that bad.

That was the conclusion Blackstone Group LP (BX +0.30%) reached about Dell Inc. (DELL -3.94%) after it set a small army off to decide whether the private-equity firm should bid for the computer maker.

Blackstone on Thursday told a special Dell board committee negotiating a sale of the company that, after weeks of review, it wouldn’t be moving ahead with a bid. It cited an “unprecedented” decline in PC sales and Dell’s “rapidly eroding financial profile.”

During the review, Blackstone officials didn’t all see eye-to-eye on Dell, said people familiar with the matter. But by the end, executives’ vote against the deal was unanimous, they said. A harsh market-research report last week citing a historic decline in global shipments of personal computers in the latest quarter was a turning point, they said.

Another issue, some of the people said, was a seeming freefall in Dell’s forecasted operating income. While some Blackstone executives initially had hoped the predictions were worst-case scenarios, in due diligence they concluded the predicted outcomes were spot on, and the numbers could come in even lower, the people said.

Comment by aNYCdj
2013-04-20 08:20:20

The only thing that will save a PC is build one like the old mac mini……with a dvd recorder…..small…geez you dont need a 300+ watt box anymore ……big boxes are only for gamers and hobbyists who want expansion.

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 07:53:11

Austerity Is A Consequence — Not A Punishment
John Mauldin, Thoughts From The Frontline | Apr. 20, 2013, 8:04 AM

Two seemingly different questions and comments from readers and friends crossed my path the last few days, but I saw a definite connection between them. The first question was, Why do we pursue austerity when it seems not to work? And then many readers wrote to ask this week, What do I think about the real problems that are surfacing in the Rogoff and Reinhart assertion that debt above a ratio of 90% debt to GDP seems to slow economic growth by 1% (especially since I have quoted that data more than a few times)? We’ll deal with each question separately and then see if we can connect the dots.

Comment by Combotechie
2013-04-20 08:19:07

“Debt is not a problem until it becomes one.”

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 08:24:28

“Til debt do us part.”

 
Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 08:42:45

“We don’t have a spending problem. Now shut-up, get back to work and pay your fair share.”

 
 
Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 18:12:00

“Well the data doesn’t back it up anymore, but we still have to have austerity.”

They just can’t grasp that it’s more effective to grow out of a financial crisis rather than cut your way out, even when what little rationale they had has been shown to be an Excel error.

Pain! There’s got to be pain! Even if it’s counter-productive.

Comment by Carl Morris
2013-04-20 18:27:39

They just can’t grasp that it’s more effective to grow out of a financial crisis rather than cut your way out.

And what happens when you create a crisis too big to simply grow out of?

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 18:41:07

If a government could create prosperity by printing money the entire world would be rich and Zimbabwe would be the richest country of all.

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Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 19:05:25

And what happens when you create a crisis too big to simply grow out of?

Still better to grow than cut. One helps the situation, the other makes it worse.

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 19:44:44

That is where we are now. Can’t increase the money supply much more and with the national debt over 100% of the GDP can’t continue to run large deficits. As I have said for months austerity is not something you do if you have any other choice. It was not meant to promote growth but is done to avoid a total collapse. Germany was smart enough to do its austerity before the collapse of the banks but we have too few Germans in this country.

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 08:05:45

On walking out to pick up our papers this morning, I was greeted by a sight that could only bring tears of Schadenfreude to a renter’s eyes. A deep trough has been dug out alongside the sidewalk leading out to our landlord’s driveway, revealing the broken, rotten thirty-year-old pipes which support our sprinkler system. I’m guessing the repair will run into the thousands of dollars, and I thank our landlords for their generous willingness to cover the expense.

I kind of doubt they realized they were purchasing rotten underground pipes when they bought this twenty-year-old (at the time) investment property ten years ago.

Comment by joe the IRA stuffer
2013-04-20 08:41:24

Single family properties don’t make good rental houses unless they’re truly in a premium location. And even then, it’s too risky for small timers.

The price range is also probably a soft spot. Once you go above a certain rental price range, there is a lot of slack in the market. The sweet spot is to be slightly lower priced than whatever corporate landlords charge in a similar area for apartments with same # of br/ba.

I’m betting you rent a sfr w/ 3+ br and 2.5 ba? In a suburb in north county? And your landlord is a small timer who is being crushed in slow motion. He’s screwed.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 09:23:28

“Single family properties don’t make good rental houses unless they’re truly in a premium location.”

If so, how come the smartest guys in the room are snapping up U.S. residential housing like hot cakes, often at a premium to asking price, in order to convert it into rentals?

Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 09:53:09

Rent-to-own?

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Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 18:20:30

Rent-to-own?

That’s my theory too. The hedgies know a good scam when they see one.

 
 
Comment by Bill in Los Angeles
2013-04-20 10:00:31

I don’t understand either. As a renter, I prefer to put up with noisy neighbors sharing common walls than to have maintenance headaches. I get same day maintenance, two swimming pools, jacuzzi, parcel service for deliveries while I am gone too. At a lower price per month.

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Comment by Combotechie
2013-04-20 10:45:58

“If so, then how come the smartest guys in the room are snapping up U.S. residential housing like hot cakes, often to a premium to asking price, in order to convert it to rentals.”

Because they can, and they get paid a lot for doing so, and to them the risk is low because they are using Other People’s Money.

The incentive is to keep paying higher and higher prices because the VALUE of the pool of already purchased houses rises as the PRICE of newly purchased houses rises.

They control the value by controlling the price. They can do this because, in the realm of real estate (and stocks), Price equals Value. Push up the price and you push up the value.

If you control a lot of houses (or stock) then pushing up the value of a representative few pushes up the value of all.

This - pushing up the price of what you want to buy - may not be what you would want to do if you were using your own money but it just might be what you want to do if you want to lure into your hands lots of Other People’s Money.

Other people supply the money, you get to extract your fees for handling Other People’s Money, and if the plan goes south - well, if it goes south then - hey! - it’s Other People’s Money.

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:18:35

I’m guessing in at least some cases, these firms are systemically risky, and hence qualify for too-big-to-fail bailouts in case their foolish gambles blow up.

That’s just a well-educated guess, based on the absence of evidence that anything has substantially changed since Fall 2008.

 
Comment by Combotechie
2013-04-20 14:46:54

I believe it was the Manhatten Fund, in the go-go years of the Sixties, that was a mutual fund that specialized in buying large positions in small companies.

Buying up lots of stock in a small company will make the price of the stock go up. Making the price of the stock go up increases the price (and the value) of the mutual fund because the value of the mutual fund is determined by the price of all the stocks held by the fund.

A mutual fund that has a rising value attracts lots of new money. If this new money is then invested in more shares of the stock the fund is already invested in then the price of these stocks will go up even furthur. Because price equals value the value of the mutual fund will then go up some more. And because the value went up some more the attraction for new money will intensify.

The Manhatten Fund was hot during the runup but was not so much afterward. I can’t remember if the price ever reached zero but I believe it was headed in that direction.

 
Comment by Combotechie
2013-04-20 16:03:57

Correction: It wasn’t The Manhattan Fund, it was another fund - a fund run by Fred Carr (of Executive Life fame) - but I can’t remember the name of the fund.

For a fun read Wiki-up “Executive Life”.

 
 
Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 13:43:31

Hey Whac:

What about the smartest dolls in the room? We might be doing it too. Just sayin ;)

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 16:58:30

I figure most females are smart enough to avoid dumb investing moves that many guys are prone to making…

 
 
Comment by AmazingRuss
2013-04-20 17:46:51

Because they’re doing it with other people’s money. If it all goes south, they just move on to new victims…er…investors.

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Comment by GrizzlyBear
2013-04-20 10:42:11

Jeebus, don’t tell this to JinlgeMale. He purchased SFR’s in the $300k+ range to rent out. Of course, he is a compulsive liar, so it’s hard to understand if there is any truth to anything he says.

 
Comment by ann gogh
2013-04-20 15:27:51

Yep. My landlord in north county asked me if I wanted to buy this rental in 2008 for 635k. Three leaks later…
it’s a nice place but everything wood needs to be replaced, including the built in electric stove! Horrors! 3bd 2 ba

 
 
 
Comment by aNYCdj
2013-04-20 08:14:11

JOBS JOBS JOBS

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) will add four new plants in the next three years in China to bring its production capacity to 5 million vehicles a year, the head of GM China said on Monday at the Shanghai auto show.

Bob Socia, head of GM China, said that the company and its joint venture partners will invest $11 billion in China by 2016, but did not break out the cost of the new plants.

Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 08:48:11

I am sure glad we bailed out GM with $50 Billion of US Taxpayer dollars of which $20 billion will never be paid back…

And these figures do not even include the billions of bailout funds for GMAC.

Democrats subsiding and exporting jobs to China…

————————–

Government Sells $490 Million of GM Stock
http://www.ttnews.com | 3/18/2013 11:00:00 AM | Staff

The U.S. government has sold another chunk of its stake in General Motors Co., the Associated Press reported.

The Treasury Department said in its February report to Congress that it sold $489.9 million worth of GM common stock last month.

The report said the government has recovered about $29.8 billion of its $49.5 billion bailout of the Detroit automaker. That means the government has yet to recover $19.7 billion of its investment in the automaker, AP said. That means it still owns about 277 million shares. Those would have to sell for around $71 each for the government to break even.

Treasury said the price per share will be revealed later.

GM stock sold in a range of $26.19 to $29.36 in February. At the midpoint of the range, the government would have sold roughly 17.6 million shares, AP said.

Comment by ecofeco
2013-04-20 11:33:29

Democrats?

You are still a liar.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68R40I20100928

 
Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 13:40:49

Republicans don’t welcome foreign labor with open arms? Hey 2-swinger, I have some beach-front property in Arizona I’d like to sell you.

 
 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 08:33:51

Egan-Jones Downgrades Germany From A+ To A, Outlook Negative
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/17/2013 15:41

The more you try to shut them up, the more they have to say…

Just out from Egan-Jones

4/17/2013: Federal Republic Of Germany: EJR lowered A+ to A (Neg.) (S&P: AAA) (3413Z GR)

Although Germany’s credit metrics are respectable, the country has exposure to its banks and the weaker EU members. Deutche Bank has adjusted shareholders’ equity to asset near 2% and might need EUR 100B of support. Via the ECB’s Target 2, Germany is owed EUR700B of which perhaps 50% is collectible and then there is the banks’ southern EMU exposures. Germany’s debt to GDP was 80.6% as of 2011. However, increasing Germany’s debt by EUR500B raises the adjusted debt to GDP to 100%. The deficit to GDP of .8% is reasonably strong. Unemployment is 6.9% but will probably rise as global economies continue to show weakness. The positive (EUR16.8B) balance of trade (per GFSO) and the positive EUR5.59B current account (per the OECD) help. Inflation has been moderate at 1.4% (per GFSO).

Comment by alpha-sloth
2013-04-20 18:37:50

Germany begins to reap the austerity it sows.

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 09:05:01

MARKETS
April 19, 2013, 9:53 a.m. ET
Regulators Worry Mortgage REITs Pose Threat to Financial System
By DEBORAH SOLOMON

WASHINGTON—A panel of top financial regulators is targeting mortgage real-estate investment trusts as a potential risk to the U.S. financial system, the latest example of Washington’s growing concern with market bubbles.

Next week, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a panel comprising the top U.S. financial regulators, is expected to cite mortgage REITs as a source of market vulnerability in its annual report, according to people familiar with the matter, a distinction that could set the stage for stricter oversight of the industry.

Eager to avoid the mistakes of the past, regulators are attempting to identify overly frothy activity before it poses problems. Even though the economy continues to recover only slowly, regulators see potential bubbles forming in a range of financial markets, in part because of the Federal Reserve’s easy-money policies, which have driven interest rates to near-record lows and prompted investors to seek higher returns elsewhere.

Mortgage REITs, which are publicly traded financial companies that borrow funds to invest in real-estate debt, have seen their assets quadruple to more than $400 billion since 2009. They differ from traditional REITs in that they invest in mortgage debt, rather than actual real-estate like office buildings or shopping malls. The firms take advantage of inexpensive, short-term borrowing to buy mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae (FNMA +1.01%) and Freddie Mac, (FMCC +1.32%) and offer returns to investors of as much as 15%.

They join leveraged loans and money-market mutual funds as areas of risk cited by officials. Three Federal Reserve officials have singled out mortgage REITs in recent weeks, saying the industry merits watching.

Comment by Combotechie
2013-04-20 10:27:47

“Mortgage REITs, which are publicly traded financial companies (translation: they use Other People’s Money) that borrow funds to invest (translation: they use Other People’s Money), have seen their assets quadruple to more than $400 billion since 2009.”

This quadrupling of Other People’s Money acts to draw in furthur amounts of Other People’s Money, and this trend will continue until it stops. And then, after it stops, the trend will shift into reverse.

In the meantime lots of fees can be extracted.

 
Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 13:38:39

“The industry merits watching.”

However, there is nothing that can be done to prevent mortgage REITs from legally buying mortgages. Besides, the what about Blackstone, the largest owner of single-family homes in the United States? They are driving up prices and driving down rents in every state they enter.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:48:30

“They are driving up prices and driving down rents in every state they enter.”

God bless any corporation that does something to drive down our unaffordable rent!

 
 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 09:20:27

My wife goes to this hotel on occasion for business lunches. She mentioned the owners currently in delinquency took it over just a couple of years ago…

OWNERS OF PARK HYATT AVIARA DELINQUENT ON LOAN PAYMENTS
Property note transferred to special loan servicer this week
By Lori Weisberg
12:01 a.m. April 20, 2013
Updated 3:25 p.m. April 19, 2013

Owners of the Park Hyatt Aviara have missed two months of loan payments, a sign that the luxury resort is facing the same financial woes that more than two years ago forced it to restructure its heavy debt.

Fitch Ratings reports that the hotel’s $186 million loan was transferred on Wednesday to a special loan servicer after the owners were 60 days past due on their payments. A 60-day delinquency is a standard trigger for such a move, said Mary MacNeill, a managing director with Fitch Ratings.

The role of a special servicing firm, working on behalf of the lender, is to find the best recourse for handling troubled commercial loans, which can include negotiating with the borrower to possibly modify the loan.

Although the hotel’s owners, Broadreach Capital Partners and Maritz, Wolff & Co., were able to modify and extend their loan terms in early 2011, MacNeill said Fitch remains concerned about the hotel’s performance.

“Modifications typically offer some debt service relief to the borrower, in order for the property to recover,” she wrote in an email. “However, the Aviara loan was still not able to pay its debt service.”

Representatives of Broadreach did not respond to requests for a comment.

Comment by rms
2013-04-20 13:05:26

“According to Fitch, the occupancy rate averaged 70 percent in 2007. But for the 12 months ending in February of last year, the occupancy rate stood at nearly 54 percent. Similarly, the average rate, which six years ago was $364.87, has plummeted to $242.70, the report showed.”

Don’t forget that local governments love to tax the living-chit out of their visitor’s restaurant meals and hotel rooms too.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 14:38:00

“Don’t forget that local governments love to tax the living-chit out of their visitor’s restaurant meals and hotel rooms too.”

Which helps explain why it is always easy to find a seat in a hotel restaurant, and wise to search the surrounding area for cheaper, better quality dining opportunities.

 
 
 
Comment by debt pusher's kryptonite
2013-04-20 09:49:43

John Walker Lindh and Boston Bombers.

One thing nobody’s talking about is all of them were raised in so called progressive cities. There might be others as well. The cities better do some soul searching IMO.

Comment by Bill in Los Angeles
2013-04-20 10:06:59

So called progressive means statism, and of course that’s the opposite of progress. We had 100 years of this. Muslims love big government, in the form of theocracy. It is still collectivism. I cannot imagine A Muslim feeling comfortable in Alaska (in a rural area far away from Anchorage).

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 13:27:38

On that we agree. Fascism was and is readily embraced in the Middle East.

Comment by ahansen
2013-04-20 14:41:41

And advocacy of inclusiveness is readlily disparaged on HBB. Do you even hear yourself?

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Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 14:50:52

Sorry if I don’t want to include people that want to kill me or people that will be a burden on the country for generations.

 
 
 
Comment by Happy2bHeard
2013-04-20 23:06:26

“I cannot imagine A Muslim feeling comfortable in Alaska (in a rural area far away from Anchorage).”

They feel plenty comfortable in rural areas in the Middle East and Africa and Malaysia. I suspect any discomfort they would feel in rural America would be caused not by rural living but by being viewed with suspicion, distrust, and predjudice by their neighbors.

 
 
Comment by ecofeco
2013-04-20 11:37:05

Blame American cities for terrorists training in another country.

Wow.

You really can’t fix our kind of stupid.

Comment by ICLEI
2013-04-20 12:11:29

“You really can’t fix our kind of stupid.”

Not even with stem cell research?

I thought there was hope.

stupid people doing stupid things (stomme mensen) - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNI0dSJ6BYc - 200k -

 
 
Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 13:34:36

That’s absurd. They were mostly raised in their home country (Russia).

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2013-04-20 11:46:28

Nails it.

————–

The ‘Co-exist’ Bombers
NRO | 19 Apr 2013 | Mark Steyn

This has been a strange and deadly week in America. On Monday, two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon, the first successful terrorist attack on a civilian target on American soil since 9/11.

In America, all atrocities are not equal: Minutes after the Senate declined to support so-called gun control in the wake of the Newtown massacre, the president rushed ill-advisedly on air to give a whiny, petulant performance predicated on the proposition that one man’s mass infanticide should call into question the constitutional right to bear arms. Simultaneously, the media remain terrified that another man’s mass infanticide might lead you gullible rubes to question the constitutional right to abortion, so the ongoing Kermit Gosnell trial in Philadelphia has barely made the papers — even though it involves large numbers of fully delivered babies who were decapitated and had their feet chopped off and kept in pickling jars. Which would normally be enough to guarantee a perpetrator front-page coverage for weeks on end. In the most recent testimony, one of the “clinic”’s “nurses” testified that she saw a baby delivered into the toilet, where his little arms and feet flapped around as if trying to swim to safety. Then another “women’s health worker” reached in and, in the procedure’s preferred euphemism, “snipped” the baby’s neck — i.e., severed his spinal column. “Doctor” Gosnell seems likely to prove America’s all-time champion mass murderer. But his victims are ideologically problematic for the media, and so the poor blood-soaked monster will never get his moment in the spotlight.

The politicization of mass murder found its perfect expression in one of those near-parodic pieces to which the more tortured self-loathing dweebs of the fin de civilisation West are prone. As the headline in Salon put it, “Let’s Hope the Boston Marathon Bomber Is a White American.” David Sirota is himself a white American, but he finds it less discomforting to his Princess Fluffy Bunny worldview to see his compatriots as knuckle-dragging nutjobs rather than confront all the apparent real-world contradictions of the diversity quilt.

Unfortunately for his delicate sensitivities, the two Caucasians were also Muslims. They were alumni of Cambridge Rindge and Latin, one of the oldest public schools in America and latterly one of the most “diverse,” boasting (being the operative word) students from over 80 countries. The Tsarnaev brothers had spent most of their lives in the United States, and lived the diversity dream. They seem to have had a droll wit when it comes to symbolism: Last year, the younger brother took his oath of citizenship and became an American on September 11. And, in their final hours of freedom, they added a cruel bit of mockery to their crimes by carjacking a getaway vehicle with a “Co-exist” bumper sticker. Oh, you must have seen them: I bet David Sirota has one. The “C” is the Islamic crescent, the “O” is the hippy peace sign; the “X” is the Star of David, the “T” is the Christian cross; I think there’s some LGBT, Taoist, and Wiccan stuff in there, too. They’re not mandatory on vehicles in Massachusetts; it just seems that way.

I wonder, when the “Co-exist” car is returned to its owner, whether he or she will keep the bumper sticker in place. One would not expect him to conclude, as the gays of Amsterdam and the Jews of Toulouse and the Christians of Egypt have bleakly done, that if it weren’t for that Islamic crescent you wouldn’t need a bumper sticker at all. But he may perhaps have learned that life is all a bit more complicated than the smiley-face banalities of the multicultists.

It’s very weird to live in a society where mass death is important insofar as it serves the political needs of the dominant ideology. A white male loner killing white kindergartners in Connecticut is news; a black doctor butchering black babies in Pennsylvania is not.

On the other hand, it didn’t feel like one of those freelance bumblers — the Pantybomber, the Times Square Bomber — finally got lucky. It feels like something in between, something new. Is it just a one-off? Or a strategic evolution?

Either way, the fatuities of the “Co-exist” bumper sticker are not real. The disaffected young Muslim on the lam in a car with a “Co-exist” sticker is.

 
Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 13:33:22

So did you all get the memo yesterday? The rebubble is being caused by Blackstone Capital, along with a few of their competitors. The bubble will pop when Blackstone indicates that they intend to start selling their houses. Since they are already plummeting the rental values of their own markets, it’s only a matter of time. They are a publicly traded corporation, so they HAVE to announce this stuff. It’s not secret.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:51:52

“The bubble will pop when Blackstone indicates that they intend to start selling their houses.”

What makes you think Uncle Fed (or perhaps Uncle Sam) won’t feel compelled to some how bribe them to never, ever sell?

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 13:53:01

I can see great potential rent extraction opportunities lie in store for Blackstone and other large U.S. residential SFR rental property owners.

Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 14:05:38

Yeah, they probably thought they could keep rents high by simply controlling a large majority of rental properties in an area. However, they are not capable of controlling a large enough majority to make that happen. Blackstone has corporate competitors, and there are wayyyy too many moms and pops making good money off this thing. The moms and pops will lead the competition.

Just look at Phoenix, one of Blackstone’s most active markets. The median house price (NOT per sq ft) has doubled in the past year, but rents are falling, falling, falling. Rents on nice houses, not dumps. Phoenix rents are unbelievably low.

I guarantee that Blackstone et al. will get some sort of government bribe/help, but it won’t stop the crash from happening when it happens.

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-21 00:03:23

“I guarantee that Blackstone et al. will get some sort of government bribe/help, but it won’t stop the crash from happening when it happens.”

Agreed. But it will dump the losses onto someone else (most likely the Fed’s printing press will mop up the mess, the way it is currently through MBS purchases…).

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Bill in Los Angeles
2013-04-20 13:50:14

Got a pile of cash from my CU account and attended my first gun show this morning in Phoenix. In case other newbies did not know, at the entrance you have to unload your ammo from your magazines and the chamber before going in.

That is why I came out alive. And everyone else. To use a pun, it “shoots down” the libtard mantra that guns kill people. Yes I learned a lot. I learned to get in early next time to get the best ammo deals. People buying bulk.

Quite a lot of women attendees. It was cool they go to those shows. Safest place in Phoenix, I suppose! Libertarian paradise! Noticed lots of AR-15s, shotguns, handguns. Bought a couple hundred rounds of 5.56. .223 and 9mm. But I will get better deals next time.

On a sad note a woman outside the entrance had collapsed and was face down. On the pavement. In the sun. Several people helping. And I was wondering where we’re the EMTs? I saw some an hour or so later on 19th Ave outside the fairgrounds doing some emergency business. Not sure if it was connected. I hope the lady is okay.

Comment by "Uncle Fed, why won't you love ME?"
2013-04-20 14:08:38

Your comment was ruined by the term “libtard”. People tend to tune out when they hear stuff like that.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 14:27:19

Is “libtard” a short reference to “Libertarian”? I never realized that until just now.

This blog is a great font of knowledge?

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 14:47:03

Why are you attacking Amazing Russ?

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 16:56:28

That wasn’t an attack.

But your thin skin is showing.

 
Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 18:18:28

It was sarcasm and the comment was not directed at me. Your analytical skills are showing.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 14:44:01

It seems to get tougher by the day to stiff creditors.

Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 14:45:11

ft dot com
April 20, 2013 5:23 pm
Creditors reject Argenina’s debt offer
By Jude Webber in Buenos Aires

Argentina’s holdout creditors have urged a US appeals court to reject an offer from Buenos Aires to settle its 12-year-old debts on the same terms as two previous debt restructruings, saying the proposal was just a “convoluted offer …. [of] yet more Argentine IOUs, worth pennies on the dollar”.

Creditors led by Elliott, a US fund, called on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to enforce a New York district court order for Argentina to pay up in full, and in cash, when it paid holders of its performing debt, and said honouring the $1.47bn it owed them in no way jeopardised payments to the holders of restructured debt.

The legal tug-of-war playing out in the Second Circuit has sparked fears that Argentina could fall into technical default on its restructured debt. On the international stage, the pari passu, or equal treatment case, has sent shockwaves through the financial system and raised questions that future sovereign restructurings will be at risk if Argentina is finally forced to honour its contractual commitments to the funds it decries as vultures.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 15:21:59

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has covered world politics and economics for 30 years, based in Europe, the US, and Latin America. He joined the Telegraph in 1991, serving as Washington correspondent and later Europe correspondent in Brussels. He is now International Business Editor in London. Subscribe to the City Briefing e-mail.

EMU plot curdles as creditors seize Cyprus gold reserves
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Economics
Last updated: April 11th, 2013

Cyprus has agreed to sell gold reserves to raise around €400m. (Photo: Alamy)

First they purloin the savings and bank deposits in Laiki and the Bank of Cyprus, including the working funds of the University of Cyprus, and thousands of small firms hanging on by their fingertips.

Then they seize three quarters of the country’s gold reserves, making it ever harder for Cyprus to extricate itself from EMU at a later date.

The people of Cyprus first learned about this from a Reuters leak of the working documents for the Eurogroup meeting on Friday.

It is tucked away in clause 29. “Sale of excess gold reserves: The Cypriot authorities have committed to sell the excess amount of gold reserves owned by the Republic. This is estimated to generate one-off revenues to the state of €400m via an extraordinary payout of central bank profits.”

This seemed to catch the central bank by surprise. Officials said they knew nothing about it. So who in fact made this decision?

Cypriots are learning what it means to be a member of monetary union when things go badly wrong. The crisis costs have suddenly jumped from €17bn to €23bn, and the burden of finding an extra €6bn will fall on Cyprus alone.

The government expects the economy to contract 13pc this year as full austerity bites. Megan Greene from Maverick Intelligence fears it could be a lot worse.

She says the crisis has reached the point where it would be “less painful” for Cyprus to seek an “amicable divorce” from the eurozone and break free.

Quite so, and while we’re at it, lets seek an amicable divorce for everybody, for Portugal, for Ireland, for Spain, for Italy, and above all for Germany, since they are all being damaged in different ways by the infernal Project. All are victims of their elites.

It is an interesting question why Cyprus has been treated more harshly than Greece, given that the eurozone itself set off the downward spiral by imposing de facto losses of 75pc on Greek sovereign debt held by Cypriot banks.

And, furthermore, given that these banks were pressured into buying many of those Greek bonds in the first place by the EU authorities, when it suited the Eurogroup.

You could say that this is condign punishment for the failure of Cyprus to deliver on its side of the bargain on the 2004 Annan Plan to reunite the island, divided by the Attila Line since the Turkish invasion in 1974.

Greek Cypriots gained admission to the EU on the basis of a gentleman’s agreement, then resiled from the accord. President Tassos Papadopoulis later deployed the resources of the state to secure a “No” in the referendum on the Greek side of the island. No wonder the EU is disgusted.

But there again, Greece behaved just as badly. It threatened to block Polish accession to the EU unless a still-divided Cyprus was admitted, much to the fury of Berlin.

The workhouse treatment of Cyprus is nevertheless remarkable. The creditor powers walked away from their fresh pledges for an EMU banking union by whipping up largely bogus allegations of Russian money-laundering in Nicosia. A Council of Europe by a British prosecutor has failed to validate the claims.

The EU authorities have gone to great lengths to insist that Cyprus is a “special case”, but I fail to see what is special about it. There is far more Russian money – laundered or otherwise – in the Netherlands. The banking centres of Ireland and Malta are just as large as a share of GDP. Luxembourg’s banking centre is at least four times more leveraged to the economy.

It should be clear by now that the solemn pledges of EMU leaders are expendable. They change their mind whenever its suits them, and whenever the internal politics of their own countries demands.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 17:12:43

Ireland picks through debtors’ lifestyles
Financial Times
By Jamie Smyth, FT.com
April 19, 2013 — Updated 0207 GMT (1007 HKT)

Irish homeowners applying for debt writedowns will have to give up satellite television, foreign holidays and private school educations for their children under a strict new insolvency law introduced to tackle the country’s debt crisis.

On Thursday Ireland’s Insolvency Service set out monthly spending limits for people seeking debt deals from their creditors, highlighting the impact austerity is having on Irish spending habits. A single person will be allowed just €247.04 a month for food, €57.31 for heating and €125.97 for “social inclusion and participation”, an expenses category that includes tickets for sporting events and the cinema.

“A reasonable standard of living does not mean a person should live at luxury level, said Lorcan O’Connor, director of the newly established Insolvency Service of Ireland. “But nor does it mean that people should be punished and live only at subsistence level,”

In most cases, people seeking debt deals will also have to give up private health insurance and their cars, although they will be able to keep their vehicles if they do not have access to public transportion.

The guidelines mark Ireland’s first attempt to quantify acceptable living standards when people declare bankruptcy or reach an insolvency arrangement with creditors under its new insolvency regime. Banks will also use the guidelines as they begin restructuring tens of thousands of home loans over coming months.

Stubbornly high unemployment and falling wages, caused by a five-year economic crisis, have pushed almost one in four Irish mortgage holders to the brink. Some 120,000 Irish mortgages are in arrears of 90 days or more. A further 100,000 loans have been restructured with short-term fixes.

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 17:14:36

Housing bubble reflation sign number 221:

Paid real estate trolls come out of the woodwork to harass regular posters in order to change the discussion away from a litany of reasons why this echo bubble will have a hard landing, just like the last one.

Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 17:19:21

It’s all a matter of degree of loss. Buy a house today, lose alot. Buy later, lose alot less.

Housing is a loss ALWAYS

Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 18:53:48

Dang, my car just lost value again. But it is so much fun to drive.

Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 18:54:54

But your house lost alot more.

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 23:57:27

Don’t bother to argue with a troll. By the end of the argument, you both will smell bad, and the troll will enjoy it.

 
 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 18:55:29

Live now and… suffer from hair loss later.

Die now and… don’t suffer from hair loss later.

Hmmm…. losing maybe isn’t so bad after all. Just sayin’…

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Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 19:21:38

Losses as a result of paying a grossly inflated price for a rapidly depreciating asset from which you’ll never recover isn’t bad? Really?

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 19:51:07

Tactic 3 again from the Losing Debater’s Manual: Straw Man

 
Comment by Pimp Watch
2013-04-20 20:22:00

Can hay be substituted for straw?

 
Comment by macboy
2013-04-20 21:44:10

Tactic 3 again from the Losing Debater’s Manual: Straw Man.

 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-20 23:58:55

“Can hay be substituted for straw?”

BS certainly can be substituted for manure…and mactrollboy has served up a great abundance of both today.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Bill in Los Angeles
2013-04-20 18:48:03

Disparity between paper gold Slump and physical gold demand…

For PB/whac

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1356061-world-physical-gold-demand-goes-parabolic?source=yahoo

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 19:27:42

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/slump-in-gold-price-releases-years-of-pent-up-retail-demand-2013-04-19

This one is great too, I think the shorts are going to have a tough time covering their positions. I think this is going to be looked at like the Pickett’s charge for the gold bears.

Comment by Bill in Los Angeles
2013-04-20 19:45:09

Usually in late spring or in the summer, precious metals prices plummet. But I think the falling spot price is early this year. Price of gold could still hit $1200 this year but we will probably see $1800 spot again before the year end. Fall season is usually good for precious metals.

I still think gold will get above $3,000 per ounce the next ten years. The big shoe to drop is the CBO prediction of the entitlement crisis in the next ten years. The government will start confiscating assets and overlook the movable, hideable assets (”I sold all my gold yesterday officer”).

Comment by Albuquerquedan
2013-04-20 20:17:53

I think the big banks and the feds that have been holding gold down for years know the gig is up. There is a physical shortage of precious metals due to their manipulation. They tried one last time to convince people to not buy gold by manipulating paper gold down. However, the attempt has failed in a major way. It is the mirror image of the 1980’s when the Hunt brother’s had cornered the paper silver market only to be killed by the physical market when everyone began to sell grandma’s silverware. Of course, the collapse had the help of the big banks. But this time the big banks are on the other side and are about to be killed by the physical demand despite conquering the paper market.

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Comment by Bill in Los Angeles
2013-04-20 20:33:50

Yeah I saw a similar comment that the reverse of the Hunt brothers is possibly what is brewing.

Kitco has a cool link on historical gold data. From the year graphs I noted the sellofs.

Spring and summer sellofs

2006: $725 in late May. Dropped to $575 in mud June. “uh oh, gold is over with” - ended up for the year at $625

2007: $675 in April. Down to $650 but finished the year at $860

2008: $1000 march 8 down to $850 June 8. Major rise and all later as the financial meltdown and stock collapse occurred. Gold managed to finish slightly up for the year.

2009: $1000 late May (”gold or AR15?…hmm) down to $900 july. Finished the year at $1100

2010: $1250 late June down to $1150 late July. Finished the year at $1375

2011: $1550 down to $1500 (twice late spring into summer) finished the year at $1600

2012: $1800 in March dropped to $1550 in May finished the year at $1650.

2013:?

 
 
 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-04-21 00:01:10

I wish you guys luck with the divergence between physical and paper gold price working out in your favor. I personally don’t have a dog in the fight. But if the central bankers are trying to crash gold and fail to your advantage, I will pat you on the back and offer to buy you drinks in case we ever meet up in person.

 
 
Comment by AnnGogh
2013-04-20 20:39:10

Just a little right wing news to go with all the excitement from this week:

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/04/fed_fueling_stock_market_inflation.html

The stock market has recently matched the highs reached before the 2008 financial meltdown.
Inflation is allegedly tame and within “acceptable” limits.
Fact or fiction?

The Federal Reserve has engaged in monetary easing for almost 5 years now. From QE 1, to QE 2, Operation Twist, and most recently, QE 3, the central bank has infused almost $3 trillion into the monetary system.
The Fed’s efforts have been geared to kick-starting the economy. When combined with massive federal deficits in excess of over $900 billion per year since 2008, this loose monetary policy, along with an expansionary fiscal policy, should normally set the stage for a significant inflation risk in an economy, particularly after 5 years.
The consumer price index for February 2013, however, shows an unadjusted inflation rate of 2% for the preceding 12 months.
With inflation allegedly under control, the Fed is continuing to pursue a loose monetary policy which is very similar to the loose monetary policy that got our nation into the housing bubble of 2005 to 2008!
The Federal Reserve is following a policy of Keynesianism 2.0 as outlined in a paper by Ulrich von Suntum, which suggests “…a new form of Keynesian policy, which rests on monetary rather than fiscal policy. In this approach, instead of borrowing in order to create a substitute demand, the state creates additional credit in order to restore private investment. While this might imply temporarily negative central bank interest rates, it does not require direct interventions in the private capital market by either the central bank or the government. It is argued that such an approach is both cheaper and more effective than the traditional deficit spending policy is.”
Suntum’s paper is consistent with the Fed’s own research and provides an understanding of the basis for a great deal of the Fed’s monetary easing policies today.
The reality of the Fed’s actions, when combined with expansionary fiscal policy, is that neither fiscal nor monetary policy is effective any longer in dealing with the systemic structural issues in the Western world’s economies.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve’s policies are borderline negligent and irresponsible. The Fed is creating the next bubble that will make the housing bubble bursting look tame.
When interest rates have been maintained at near zero rates for over five years, entire economic structures and systems/businesses become dependent upon such low rates.
The Fed’s current policies fail to reflect that economic uncertainty is preventing the expansion of the U.S. economy as opposed to the cost of funds. Ben Bernanke’s doctoral thesis asserts this very point about the impact of uncertainty on investment.
Uncertainty exists in many forms. At present, the uncertainty of the impact of the Affordable Care Act, the unknown impact of the Dodd-Frank bill, the impact of shrinking household incomes due to FICA increases and medical insurance costs, as well as unstable state and local governments, have all combined to cause consumers and businesses to be reluctant to spend.
When there is a reluctance to spend and significant money is concurrently infused into the economy, a logical alternative is that the funds will be invested in the financial markets.
The amount of cash that is currently idle on corporate balance sheets and on the financial statements of many Americans has likely fueled this recent surge in the stock market. Rather than spend on consumables and investment due to uncertainty, money is surging into the stock market.
The net benefits of the Federal Reserve deliberately following a loose monetary policy are clear. While the net benefits may be clear, the economic downside is dangerous over the long run.
Some of the benefactors of current monetary policy include very weak or damaged industries and governments that are able to use “cheap” funds to prolong the day of reckoning for decades of financial neglect and overspending.
For the housing market and those homeowners now underwater, the cheap interest rates promote temporary and artificially higher home prices until monetary easing is halted.
As a CPA, I have learned that for every buyer there is a seller. In other words, the “good deal” that exists for those beneficiaries of loose monetary policy makes them victims of the “bad deal” when the market corrects.
Decisions are being made today due to significantly lower cost of funds that will not appear to be such great decisions in the long run.
The value of allowing an economy to correct for excesses is that it encourages people not to engage in that behavior again. When irresponsible behavior is rewarded by irresponsible actions on the part of the Federal Reserve, the stage is set for the next economic calamity.
A decline in the stock market in the United States of between 10 to 15% by the end of 2013 is very likely. This decline will be fueled by profit takers, and the eventual ending of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve towards the end of this year.
As occurred with the housing market, all of those who benefited on the way up will now be seeking additional federal bailouts. This time, however, the sole responsibility for the disaster belongs in Washington.
Col. Frank Ryan, CPA, USMCR (Ret) and served in Iraq and briefly in Afghanistan and specializes in corporate restructuring.

 
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