Bits Bucket for July 17, 2013
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The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Comment by Blue Skye
2013-07-16 06:01:59
Dude, when you look in the mirror do you see a Debt Stallion?
———–
LOLOL
He’s sees Debt Diggler.
I wonder when Obama is going to fire Bernanke, and then he can turn the economy around!!
the only thing turning around is rich getting richer and poor getting poorer.
Having an economy based on asset prices is a sign of desperation.
Who is the white horsemen going to be this time?
July 17, 2013, 9:44 a.m. EDT
Gold gets some life after Bernanke comments
By Laura Mandaro and Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures were jolted higher Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said there was no set timetable for scaling back the central bank’s big bond-buying program.
Gold for August delivery rose past $1,298 an ounce, up more than $8, after Bernanke said “because our asset purchases depend on economic and financial developments, they are by no means on a preset course.” The contract recently traded $3.30 higher, or 0.3%, at $1,293.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
…
And then it got taken down-can’t allow a correlation between more QE and higher gold prices to exist?
It came from outer space!
Gold on Earth formed in collision of exotic stars
Dan Vergano @dvergano , USA TODAY 1:46 p.m. EDT July 17, 2013
There’s gold in them thar neutron stars! That’s right, astronomers claim Earth’s gold, the stuff of wedding bands and pricey speaker wires, originated in cataclysmic collisions of exotic stars.
…
That was fast!
July 17, 2013, 11:14 p.m. EDT
Gold futures extend post-Bernanke losses
By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Gold futures fell in electronic trade Thursday, extending their losses after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said there was no set timetable for slowing U.S. monetary stimulus.
Gold for August delivery lost another $2.10, or 0.2%, to $1,275.40 an ounce after dropping $12.90 during Wednesday trade on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
…
• The Fed thinks inflation is great.
• And Japan is the model. So they think they can run massive deficits and have massive debt with no problem.
The problem is:
• Japan had ZIRP plus deflation. This means wealth preservation or even gains.
• We have ZIRP plus inflation. This means wealth erosion.
That’s a pretty significant difference. For a 70% consumer-driven economy.
Bernanke is quitting.
I see a brony.
LOLOL
He’s sees Debt Diggler.
I love it. Debt Diggler - how perfect. Co-starrring suzanne as rollergirl, and Larry Yun as the colonel.
Suzanne researched this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gROO7xSTxfY
If Zimmerman is white, I don’t want to be right.
Zimmerman is brown, not white.
Think about how you’d describe him to the police, if you saw him commit a crime and flee the scene.
It was the media who started calling him a white guy, as did the Aggrievement Professionals (Sharpton et al). They were both trying to sell a story for their own benefit.
“Brown guy shoots black guy” seems to be a less compelling story line than “White guy shoots black guy.” And “Black guy shoots black guy” regrettably garners the least interest of all. In fact, the loudest voices I hear from the black community in that case seem to support the shooters. Odd.
Kind of a surreal situation.
The original catch-phrase was “gated community” until it became clear that in Florida at least, “gated-community” didn’t mean what they thought it meant….
Gated community means nothing in FL at all. Well, except that all your neighbors are HELOC’d fools who are a missed payday away from foreclosure. Your “neighborhood watch” is rando community college drop outs like Zimmerman who was rejected from every police job he applied for, probably based on the personality test and polygraph. And that you get to pay HOA fees and higher-than-you’d-think property taxes since FL has no state income tax. All for having the privilege of sending any kids you have to shitty southern US public schools.
Would someone who has paid a lot more attention to this story than I have explain what is meant by neighborhood watch in this case? Because I sort of remember when people started talking about neighborhood watches in the suburb where I grew up. It all involved people getting trained by the local police (I think we had 5 of them during the day and maybe three at night) and walking around in the evenings during the warmer months (when teens and early twenties who couldn’t get transportation someplace interesting - we didn’t even have a movie theater and the town was dry except for the VW post - would be looking for something to do) in PAIRS. Always in pairs. Even as a kid I knew that neighborhood watch people would always be in pairs, strolling a neighborhood and wearing dorky reflective vests so you could tell who they were.
Your neighborhood watch got vests??
I think ours consisted of elderly people looking out the front window a few times during the day between naps.
They probably had to buy their own vests. And flashlights. Patroling meant flashlights. There was essentially no cop presense in the neighborhoods at night. They would occassionally do a drive by of roads that were known desitinations for drag races, but even then it was mostly in response to calls/complaints.
The police blotter was the most popular column in the town newspaper by far.
I don’t know about the neighborhood watch in the Zimmerman neighborhood, but I do think the judge’s pre-trial rulings on admissibility of Zim’s many (at least 25, I think maybe more) 911 calls was an interesting decision. It would be interesting to know exactly why he was repeatedly rejected from every law enforcement agency he applied to. We know he was taking criminal justice classes at the community college for a while but yet lied about knowing about SYG. Seems like he is not the most honest person, yet many cops are dishonest just as many civilians are. I think there would be interesting stories to be told.
Our Neighborhood Watches (one in Malibu, one in Laguna Beach, one up here in the Sierra wilds of CA.) have all had dedicated vehicles with “Neighborhood Watch” emblazoned on the sides, and if not uniforms, at least county sheriff-issued volunteer ID’s (background checks required while on patrol.) The training involves certifications in first aid and community patrol.
Ancillary “safe houses” (with the Neigborhood Watch sign in the yard) where kids (or anyone feeling threatened) can go for help are also registered with local law enforcement.
In California you can’t just call yourself a Neighborhood Watch and start driving around looking for evil-doers. It’s a quasi-official civilian arm of local law enforcement.
But one suspects that over the last twenty years, the term Neighborhood Watch has become more generic and amorphous, like “Head Start” or “Zero Tolerance”.
Ahansen:
Obviously, your parents and husband were much richer than George Zimmerman. The neighbors in his town can’t afford to have special cars and certifications. There aren’t a bunch of people with nothing to do all day but wait for someone to come to their safe house. They all have to work all day just to pay for their own stuff.
Zimmerman was driving home from Target when he saw thug.
When I was a kid, the Neighborhood Watch was a sign that people put on their lawns. “This neighborhood has a watch”.
Certifications are still about $20 for the four week night classes and are taught at the community college over by the lake. Our (one) local vehicle is a little white Kia purchased with community donations. The county sheriff’s department provided the logo and signage and it’s driven by approved civilian volunteers of the KCSD.
Other citizen volunteers have magnetic signs (also provided by sheriff’s dept) they slap on the doors of their private vehicle when they’re out on patrol. We also have a big sign at the mouth of the canyon that reads,
“Welcome to _________, an armed community.”, with the NW logo beneath.
Most of the volunteers are retired or self-employed ranchers who are out and about the land as a matter of course — and we’re far from wealthy, with a per-household annual income of around $21K, so it’s not something that requires a great deal of money to organize.
In Malibu most people employ private security so Neighborhood Watch was repurposed toward monitoring the more rural areas. I worked as a sheriff’s volunteer doing mounted arson watch and mountain rescue on horseback in the State Park and PCT trail system. My partner used a mountain bike, so our expenses were minimal but (key word here) deductible. Most of our fellows were single moms like me and retired folks.
Not sure how the reference was germane, but I’ve not been married for thirty years and I grew up in Palos Verdes, so Mummy, Daddy, and DH had nothing to do with my neighborhood watching activities….
Zimmerman is a lot less white than Obama or Eric Holder. Both are half white and have impeccable pedigrees. Holder is married a white physician, Obama is married to a woman who attended Princeton when P was still 90%+ preppy white males and went onto be general counsel of a major university hospital system making $500k/yr. Mrs. Obama’s personal style, eating choices, and social causes all suggest she’s about as upscale white as it gets.
Zimmerman is poor WT/Latino (depending on your view) who was some loser mortgage underwriter without a college degree who was repeatedly rejected for police jobs.
I think Zimmerman’s an asshole, but it is pretty funny to see Obama & Holder acting as if Zimmerman really is the privileged one. Maybe Obama & Holder don’t own mirrors.
forget about tom joyner offering rachel jeantel a college scholarship, obama should appoint her to replace janet napolitano as the head of dhs.
I bet she will do no worse than Nepolean…..,
It has already been reported that Zim was rejected due to his bad credit. It is also expected that a neighborhood watch person would make a lot of 911 calls in a hood with a lot of crime.
At the end of that video there were blocks of horse porn.
RE Yesterday’s below comment. The stand your ground laws let you use self defense when threaten. My guess is the jury decided Zimmerman was threated after Martin broke his nose and was on top of Zimmerman who was flat his back and having his head pounded on the sidewalk / curb.
A few years ago a neighbor approached me and asked me whether I lived “here.” I was in the driveway of friend’s house I was sitting. Neighbor was not friendly but kinda of rude - an older fellow. But I said I was so and so’s housing sitter. He looked very relieved - it was a neighborhood on Capitol Hill with lots of break-ins - cars and houses. We then both went on our way.
Martin either did n’t answer Zimmerman if he asked the such a question(s) or told him to go jump in a lake. Or Martin did not asked Zimmerman who he was and what he wanted and just attacked. Logic tells us that the sequence probably just did n’t go from Zimmerman following Martin and then Martin on top of Zimmerman beating him up with out words being exchanged - though it’s possible.
Either way as I posted the other day it’s a case of Jerk A and Jerk B meeting and one jerk dead.
But Little Al go ahead and continue parroting the talking points from Al Sharpton, the mainstream media, which other than the SF Chronicle has given very little coverage of three nights of “protests” (rioting) in Oakland, and the rest of the race baiters.
Comment by Little Al
2013-07-16 16:44:04
The Trayvon case points out a lot that is wrong with our justice system. The all white jury decided that the Neighborhood Watch fool had all the rights once he figured he was scared. This jury result ends up in a reassertion of vigilantyism all based the feeling that some neighborhood watch loser has while drunk on his imaginary power. Trayvon responded with outrage at being followed by the rentacop. Most of us would. the jury was all-white and only interested in Zimmerman’s rights. This illustrates the strong divide that still exists in our country. The Feds need to pursue this case to send a message that the Zimmerman’s of the world cannot act with impunity no matter how bigoted the county they live in is.
Neither side used Stand Your Ground in their case.
Correct! If a FL law is to be blamed, it’s the absurd carry permit law. I can see wanting to protect your home, but is there a need to carry a pistol, in public? Neighborhood watch should be observe and alert the PD. If Zimmerman wasn’t carrying, he would never have confronted. NRA gone wild, aided and abetted by a conservative FL legislature.
“If Zimmerman wasn’t carrying, he would never have confronted.”
How about if both were carrying weapons?
Maybe we’d be rid of both of them.
If zimmerman weren’t carrying, the trial might be about second degree murder of a neighborhood watch captain. He was seriously getting beaten in a life threatening way when he escalated to the use of deadly force.
If he wasn’t carrying, he probably would have stayed in his car and waited for the cops to arrive.
I still don’t buy that Martin was “beating him to death”. Zimmerman isn’t an old woman and outweighed the teenager big time.
I still don’t buy that Martin was “beating him to death”.
His screams on the 911 tape sure sound like he believed that to be true.
I still don’t buy that Martin was “beating him to death”.
Nor do I. If Martin “jumped him” as some here are claiming, isn’t it possible the head wound Zimmerman suffered was caused by Martin hitting him in the back of the head?
That, of course, doesn’t change the outcome. But given no eyewitnesses, I just don’t get people’s blind faith in Zimmerman’s version of events.
I still don’t buy that Martin was “beating him to death”. Zimmerman isn’t an old woman and outweighed the teenager big time.
Me neither. Also when you are packing gun, can’t you just scare people off by just pointing guns at them or by blankfiring or by shooting at foot or arm? Right?
Or, did Hollywood lie to me again?
What’s “blankfiring?”
“but is there a need to carry a pistol, in public?”
First, we are talking about a concealed weapon. Nobody knows you have it unless you have to use it. Carrying a weapon is not for everyone, if you don’t like the idea, don’t carry.
Second…Can you get robbed, assaulted or murdered in public?
I also have to say the the Stand your Ground Law had nothing to do with this event. This was a self defense case with no evidence to the contrary.
Yes, there is a reason to carry a gun when you are not at home. Criminals don’t just come to your house to attack you. They often attack people outside their homes.
Maybe you should move to a safer town.
Kirisdad:
I think you hit the nail on the head. If you are not wealthy enough to live in a neighborhood without criminals, then you don’t deserve to be safe. Someone posted a link to an article calling out that same sentiment a few days ago. It is easy to be a well-off white person, NOT living in the proximity of thugs, and criticize less-well-off people for defending themselves against thugs that may be black.
Yeah I posted it. Yes you have a good way to put it.
If I have to hate anyone, it is a limousine socialist, top of my list.
The judge included SYG in her instructions to the jury.
It’s not really about what the prosecution or defense did in their respective cases.
The judge included SYG in her instructions to the jury.
Huh—I didn’t realize that. Thanks for the info.
Still, seems ridiculous for the jury to even consider SYG, since a duty to retreat does not exist when it is impossible to retreat, such as when you are flat on your back with someone on top of you punching your lights out and pounding your head on the pavement.
My reading of it is that both sides could have used “Stand Your Ground.”
Self defense — as defined by a standard of reasonableness — was always allowed. “Stand Your Ground” makes subjective fear the standard. It was meant to protect idiots like Zimmerman from second guessing.
So Martin stood has ground when he was afraid of being tailed by the strange man with a gun, but did so without a gun. Had he whipped one out and gunned Zimmerman down, the State of Florida would have had his back too.
Martin didn’t just stand his ground. He circled backward, and then jumped Zimmerman from behind. He was the confronter. He could have easily continued on to his own house, which was very close by. Once in his house, he could have called the neighborhood watch captain to report a suspicious person. He could have also chosen to stay hidden behind the bushes, rather than jumping out from the bushes and saying “You gotta problem? You do now.”, and then going apeshit on Zim.
los angeles times - hollywood hit by roaming band of robbers, police say:
‘at least 14 people were taken into custody tuesday night and many more remained at large after marauding bands of young people conducted a string of robberies, assaults and acts of vandalism along hollywood boulevard, los angeles police said late tuesday.
incident commander dennis kato said police were inundated with phone calls beginning about 9 p.m., reporting that packs of young people were roaming along hollywood and attacking people.
the robbers knocked down tourists and grabbed their phones, kato said. in at least one incident, they hauled off a cash register from a business.
as many as 40 robbers were believed to be involved in the attacks. kato said the robbers splintered into smaller groups of 10 to 15 people and spread through the area, regrouping at times.’
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-hollywood-robbers-20130716,0,7455097.story
This Hollywood & Highland incident is bad news. There is a beautiful new outdoor mall right there, incorporated into the historical Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Kodak Theatre, and part of Hollywood’s redevelopment. It’s a knock-out. They have been cleaning up that area for years, and it has a very middle-class feel to it, mostly. A subway station is underneath the mall.
This is a heavy tourist area, where Marilyn Monroe (most are long in the tooth,way past their prime), Superman, and all the Hollywood legends hang out. It could have been worse. The LAPD and mall security did a good job.
where Marilyn Monroe (most are long in the tooth,way past their prime), Superman, and all the Hollywood legends hang out.
Huh?
OMG! Now there are opportunistic gangs operating on Hollywood Blvd at night?! Is no one safe?
ahansen
I applied to manage that shopping center.
They cosmetically cleaned up that part of Hollywood.
We ride the Redline to the Hollywood Bowl and get off at that station. There is a free shuttle from the subway station to the front entrance of the Hollywood Bowl. It’s now $45 to park at the HB and traffic is a killer.
Do they still have Park and Ride? Those buses were a real hoot after concerts.
ahansen
Yeah, the buses are still available. We use to ride the Hollywood Bowl destination bus from Chatsworth. We disliked the waiting in line, so we switched to the Redline and free shuttle. I LOVE the Hollywood Bowl and The Greek Theatre. Like you, I grew up here. Reminds me of my youth.
@Little Al:
If you’re reading the jury verdict as “open season on people of color by white people” you’re spending far too much time listening to the news. What this jury verdict means is that, in FL, when you are threatened, you have a right to react with force, including deadly force. This was one of the big tests of “stand your ground”, a law that passed a few years back down here.
Like it or dislike it; the result of this isn’t “open season” on any one group or minority. What is means, if you’re in a fistfight with someone and start to win; you better pray that guy doesn’t have a gun. Because, in that situation, he’s justified to use it on you because he fears for his life.
Now, my commentary. Forget the TM case. IMHO, that case is a tragedy that will haunt the Martin and Zimmerman family for the rest of their lives. My take is that the law we have down here is a good solution to the problem of victimization (of all types). People need to understand that fighting is totally unacceptable and, should instigate one, you very well might wind up dead. We have no place in our society for that kind of violence; it’s a crying shame that many people spend much of their lives worrying about being physically assaulted.
People all said that stand your ground was going to result in the “wild west” down here in FL. It most certainly has not. Most of my friends carry weapons (legally) down here, and, IMHO, it’s made it a safer place for everyone but the criminals. I’m happy to live in a state that recognizes a right to defend yourself. TM is an unfortunate consequence of this law; some fights that would have ended with 1 person in the hospital will now end with one in the ground. Hopefully that’s offset by far less fights overall. I know that I feel safer in a state like FL, even though I don’t carry a weapon; knowing that there are many out there makes confident that if someone was trying to do harm to me/my family, someone would step in and put an end to it. And, IMHO, it’s far less likely that anyone would attempt to do harm to me because.. “Ya just never know” who’s “packing heat”.
Suppose some violent wacko attacked someone, you know, in a Publix parking lot and that someone, you know, began winning the confrontation and then someone steps in and shoots your friend, who looked then as the aggressor. Sorry, only law enforcement should carry in public.
Strongly disagree and scenarios like that are covered in every decent training session, which every CCW licensee should periodically attend. How would you propose to stop the criminals who illegally carry firearms and victimize people now, creating the need for CCW? Pass another law? If you can stop the violent criminals, I would gladly stop carrying a weapon. Maybe people would feel safer in a state where guns are much more strictly controlled, like New Jersey. Watch the videos. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/ /man_arrested_in_millburn_home_invasion_caught_on_nanny_cam_to_be_arraigned.html
Link didn’t work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU0EJS3cJIc
The story didn’t come up, but the headline said home invasion. I have nothing against owning a gun to protect your home, carry permits? why the need? 32 years in LE, hundreds of trips to NYC, I never carried and never needed a gun.
You never carried a sidearm in 32 years as a LEO? Wow and congratulations! What municipality were you employed by and in what capacity?
Never carried off-duty, in NYC, with family. Legally could have, but not obligated to by my dept.. (Lt. NYC suburb) Expert shot and not a gun nut, how about that Beer and Cigar wiseguy?
Hey! I also wear a seatbelt in my car, even though I don’t plan on getting in an accident. Again, congratulations and thanks for both the “gun nut” and “wiseguy” comments! You may have worked in Code Enforcement or as a metermaid, for all I knew? Its good to see that you aren’t thin skinned and defensive. People like that shouldn’t be trusted with a firearm. I’ll keep training and exercising my 2nd Amendment rights and I hope your luck continues to hold.
If someone is beating someone else while they scream for help for 40 seconds while having their head beat into the concrete and their nose broken that’s not just “winning the confrontation”. At that point you deserve to be shot.
Racist®
Don’t know what you’re referring to? If it’s Zimmerman? why should he be carrying? He never would have confronted, he would have waited for the PD and someone would be alive today.
why should he be carrying?
The right to bear arms shall not be infringed… that’s why. You’d think someone who spent 30+ years in Law Enforcement would have a better handle on the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution…
Don’t know what you’re referring to? If it’s Zimmerman? why should he be carrying? He never would have confronted, he would have waited for the PD and someone would be alive today.
Exactly. He fancied himself as some kind of bad ass because he had a gun.
Exactly. He fancied himself as some kind of bad ass because he had a gun.’
a$$hole who wanted to be a cop and have people respect his authority kills a kid who lived in that neighborhood. I would really hate to have cops like him around…
The kid who died was just a stupid kid like most are at that age.
Can’t belive he didn’t get manslaughter, really surprising, but I was not there.
“just a stupid kid like most are at that age”
Some kids smoke pot and drink alcohol in high school. Trayvon Martin’s facebook and twitter history confirm that he had been using the homemade narcotic called Lean / Sizzurp / Purple Drank for over a year when he attacked George Zimmerman. Skittles and iced tea are two of the ingredients, in addition to codeine cough syrup. Chronic use of this at high dosages has been compared to the effects of PCP.
Purple Drank
That’s racist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWPqHOeBdkk
“…homemade narcotic called Lean / Sizzurp / Purple Drank for over a year when he attacked George Zimmerman.”
I’m pretty sure this was inadmissible as evidence that Zimmerman acted in self defense.
Trayvon’s Skittles, Arizona Iced Tea and something called ‘Purple Drank’
Government Topics
July 13, 2013
By: Timothy Whiteman
Media speculation as well as internet buzz are openly querying if Trayvon Martin’s purchase of Skittles and Arizona Watermelon Fruit Cocktail Juice on the night he died were just to satisfy a young man’s sweet tooth or were they two of the three ingredients in a dangerous codeine-based concoction, as reported by the pop culture news portal RashManly.com on July 12, 2013.
Martin has been portrayed by his supporters as an innocent youth armed with nothing more than a bag of Skittles candy and a can of Arizona Iced Tea on the night he was killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman..
During the course of the trial, State Prosecutor John Guy made it official when he identified to the jury Martin’s personal possessions found on his body by police, to include an “unopened bag of Skittles” as well as a “full can of watermelon-flavored drink,” as reported by Central Florida News 13 on June 25, 2013.
Without citing reference sources, RashManly.com accuses Martin of admitting on his Facebook account as early as June 27, 2011 of being an abuser of a codeine, soft drink and candy beverage popularly known as “Purple Drank” or “Lean.”
According to the hipster website, Martin asked a friend online, “unow a connect for codien?”
Martin went on to tell his friend that “robitussin nd soda” could make “some fire ass lean.”
He says, “I had it before” and that he wants “to make some more.”
…
Sounded like he said Grape Draink
Without citing reference sources
Interesting.
I wonder how Trayvon abused codeine while having none in his system?
@kiri
Because everyone knows that cops never escalate violence or distort the narrative (ahem, lie) on the stand.
AFAIC, knowing they’re answerable to an armed citizenry is the best deterrent we have against police corruption and rampant aggression.
AFAIC, knowing they’re answerable to an armed citizenry is the best deterrent we have against police corruption and rampant aggression.’
ahhhh yea you’re right
Very sorry you feel that way, Alena. Again, I have nothing against rifles, shot guns or any weapons that could be used to defend one’s home (armed citizenry). The absolute need to walk around town with a holstered pistol is what I question. That need alone makes me question someone’s mental stability.
Agreed. Whenever there’s a welcome party for new arrivals to our community, you can always tell who the newbies are because they show up for cocktails and BBQ at private homes with cowboy boots and a sidearm strapped to their hip. Absolutely hysterical. Anyone carrying on their person in public here would be cause for suspicion, but you just KNOW everyone’s truck is stashed to the gills with long guns and pistols.
Urban America is a different story, but small town and rural country law enforcement tends to be more of the war lord dynamic than anything accountable to the (distant) courts. Even our local sheriff agrees that our best defense against the loose cannons in the county sheriff’s dept is the fact that we’re, as he puts it, “All crazy, and all armed to the teeth.”
“Sorry, only law enforcement should carry in public.”
Like this cop?
http://www.kpho.com/story/22858254/tpd-officer-arrested-fired
“Sorry, only law enforcement should carry in public.”
How did that work out for the Jews in Europe? In this country you get to choose how to best protect yourself, there are plenty of other countries where you don’t have that choice.
AND once again…The stand your ground law had nothing to do with the Zimmerman case. The stand your ground law simply means you don’t have to retreat before you defend yourself.
If you go out and start a fight, no matter what the outcome, the law does not apply to you.
How did that work out for the Jews in Europe? In this country you get to choose how to best protect yourself, there are plenty of other countries where you don’t have that choice.
I believe the context of the original remark was for sidearms, and not rifles or shotguns. FWIW, some Jews were armed and fought back, and still got slaughtered.
Well that’s the end of that topic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin’s_law
Kirisdad:
I hope you get beaten to death by a black guy.
Nice and I hope that someday you rediscover your masculinity, without the need of a handgun.
Really, Big V, you could have phrased that differently.
Kirisdad:
Are you really that unattentive? I’m not a male. And I want to tell you that if one of you males ever decides to jump me, you’re getting weaponated. You must be a really tough dude to argue against weapons for people who need to protect themselves against tough dudes.
“Nice and I hope that someday you rediscover your masculinity, without the need of a handgun.”
You two apparently have never met up at a HBB gathering.
“This was one of the big tests of “stand your ground”, a law that passed a few years back down here.”
this case had nothing to do with “stand your ground”.
the defense never invoked it.
this case had nothing to do with “stand your ground”.
the defense never invoked it.
+infinity.
Lots of people have incorrectly attributed the outcome of this case to the “Stand Your Ground” law; in reality, though, it had nothing to do with the case, as it was never invoked as a defense (except perhaps that it may have figured into the prosecutor’s original decision not to file charges).
Correct. My understanding was that Zimmerman decided NOT to invoke it in favor of going to trial. Anyone know why going to trial was preferable? (serious question, I don’t know)
My understanding was that Zimmerman decided NOT to invoke it in favor of going to trial.
That statement makes no sense at all.
Until he was charged with something, he had no need or mechanism for “invoking” anything; once he is charged with a crime, he is going to trial regardless of what he “invokes”, and what he needs is a defense, presented at that trial.
There was a lot of speculation early on that his lawyer would use it as part of his defense; however, he later made a public statement that he thought it did not apply to the case, and that he would be claiming simple self defense as his argument.
I’m searching for where I read it, but it’s possible I saw it on the nightly news. I understood what I read/saw to mean that had his lawyers invoked SYG and that was accepted (by the judge?) it wound not have gone to a trial by jury.
Maybe I’m making it up but that’s why I asked the question. It was something I saw in passing and them saying the defense would pursue a trial was a bit of a head-scratcher…
A stand your ground hearing is in front of a judge. That would have avoided the trial entirely if he had won, but if it went against him, my assumption (reasonable, but not informed) is that it would have meant that the jury wouldn’t have gotten stand your ground instructions in their instructions from the judge. If he wanted stand your ground to be applied to the facts by a jury, he had to skip the hearing level.
That would have avoided the trial entirely if he had won
Thanks, polly!
What is means, if you’re in a fistfight with someone and start to win; you better pray that guy doesn’t have a gun. Because, in that situation, he’s justified to use it on you because he fears for his life.
Which leads toward what pro gun people tend to describe as “an armed society is a polite society”. In return for a few more gun deaths you have to deal with much less threatened violence of the fistfight variety. Whether you think that’s a worthwhile tradeoff is an individual choice.
“My guess is the jury decided Zimmerman was threated after Martin broke his nose and was on top of Zimmerman who was flat his back and having his head pounded on the sidewalk / curb.”
Why do the NPR reporters routinely omit these details from their news stories suggesting the verdict was wrong?
npr = coastal elitist libtard bedwetters
Hangin’s too GOOD for ‘em! Burnin’s too GOOD for em! They should be torn into to itsy bitsy pieces and buried ALIIIIIVE!
you have aptly summarized the sentiments of the takeaway host john hockenberry’s feelings toward george zimmerman as expressed on the air in the weeks after trayvon martin died and was anointed as the second coming of emmett till.
It’s because “White guy shoots black guy” is a more compelling story line for the Baby Boomers than “Brown guy shoots black guy.”
And NPR’s job is to sell stories, just like every other media establishment that wants to stay in business.
“Brown guy shoots black guy.”
BORING!
“…a more compelling story line for the Baby Boomers…”
The story especially grows in journalistic and political appeal if you can broaden its relevance by placing it in the context of the 1960s history of civil rights protests and social reform.
Exactly so. A real life civil rights drama. The copy is full of stains because they can’t stop salivating* over it.
=======
* Let’s hope that’s all they’re doing over it.
If the glove don’t fit you must acquit.
Trayvon Martin case: Evers, Till legacy comparison controversial
Tragedy, but not the same, Evers’ brother says
Jul. 17, 2013 1:19 PM
The comparison of Trayvon Martin’s legacy to that of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers is drawing emotional and mixed reactions from civil rights leaders in Mississippi.
In a news conference Sunday following George Zimmerman’s acquittal of murder charges in Martin’s death, the attorney for the family of the 17-year-old Florida boy drew the comparisons to the civil rights icons.
“Trayvon Martin will forever remain in the annals of history next to Medgar Evers and Emmett Till as symbols for the fight for equal justice for all,” Benjamin Crump said.
…
The comparison to Medgar Evers is beyond offensive.
Logic tells us that the sequence probably just did n’t go from Zimmerman following Martin and then Martin on top of Zimmerman beating him up with out words being exchanged
I agree, but to hear some of the commenters here I’m not so sure people are thinking logically.
Also, we keep hearing the phrase “pounding his head into the pavement.” Yes, there were documented injuries. But were there EYEwitnesses to this? It’s as though some here take Zimmerman’s word as gospel and find it implausible that a guy now afraid of a jail sentence could be stretching the truth juuuuust a little.
Probably fell back and hit his head. Kid jumps on him and starts swinging.
Zimmerman takes his gun and fires…
Kids like Trayvon need big adults around who won’t fall down, who will difuse the situation and if necassary punch Trayvon around a little so he gets it.
No some little weeny man who needs a gun to scare kids with.
Ahem, THREE eyewitnesses testified that grey-hoodie guy was sitting on top of red-jacket guy and pounding his head into the sidewalk.
Evidence is our friend.
apparently jenteal told pierce “douchebag” morgan that trayvon was just going give him some whoop ass and had no intention of killing him.
man…whish i could have seen the following exchange where pierce ‘douchebag” morgan trited to get her to roll that statement back.
“…give him some whoop ass…”
Does that normally involve broken noses and head wounds?
Evidence is our friend.
Selene Bahadoor testified she saw “arms flailing” but didn’t confirm Zimmerman’s account of the story.
Jonathan Good stated he couldn’t confirm what Zimmerman described (his head being pounded into the pavement).
Jonathan Manalo walked out to “witness” the event AFTER he heard the gunshot.
Selma Mora said she thought *Zimmerman* was on top.
Who else was an “eyewitness”?
Did you actually watch and listen to their whole testimony,(and the medical examiner’s) or are you just cherry-picking the prosecution cross? I found Good’s account as credible as they come. But I wasn’t there, so I just have to resort to logic.
Did Good ever confirm that he saw Zimmerman’s head being “pounded into the pavement” as we’ve read here? That’s the point. The phrase keeps being used with very little (if not none) evidence to support it.
And you said “THREE” testified that they saw Martin specifically “pounding his head into the sidewalk.” Who were the other two?
And the only reason this is of any concern is that “pounding his head into the sidewalk” sounds just a bit more dramatic than “getting his a$$ kicked” which is why I suspect the story keeps being regurgitated that way.
Multiple lacerations on the back of Zimmerman’s head and contusions on either side of it speak to the contrary. Those don’t get there by lying quietly on the pavement.
Aren’t you getting tired of this convo? I sure am.
Aren’t you getting tired of this convo? I sure am.
Of the trial itself? Yes. (But this isn’t about the trial. Not directly, anyway.)
Of the diversions in your posts in this thread? Mildly.
Of trying to understand why people create a certain reality (without confirmation that it is reality), base their conclusions on that “reality,” and continue to defend that “reality”? No. I find that part fascinating.
When several blog commenters who I respect, on a blog I respect as a place to question convention, vocalize as truth something that has not been proven to be true (and then move the goalposts as done in this thread) I start to ask questions…
I plead to literary imprecision, if only so I don’t have to re-wade through twenty-eight hours of tedium to justify my conclusions. Enow is enow.
So, then we’re agreed. 3 witnesses didn’t actually testify as stated above.
As a certain poster I respect would say…
Pax
“Aren’t you getting tired of this convo? I sure am.”
I can’t stand the subject. It’s over. I don’t want to hear “Zimmerman” or “Trayvon” ever again.
Trayvons’ jeans had grass stains on the knees,
Z’s grass stains where on the back of his jacket.
It’s late enough, sleepless, that I can probably post these three (3) eyewitness accounts without sparking another sheetstorm.
Not included are Zimmerman’s (eyewitness) statements to LE and the account of Officer Tim Smith, first on the scene — which I’m too tired to look up and excerpt. Additionally, I’m fairly certain there are other witness statements that were not admitted into evidence but are still on record with the court. (The PDF files from the court records are redacted.)
Splitting semantic hairs is what lawyers do, but it isn’t always conducive to the elemental truth of any given situation, now is it?
1.
Good: So I open my door. It was a black man with a black hoodie on top of the other, either a white guy or now I found out I think it was a Hispanic guy with a red sweatshirt on the ground yelling out help! And I tried to tell them, get out of here, you know, stop or whatever, and then one guy on top in the black hoodie was pretty much just throwing down blows on the guy kind of MMA-style.”
Is that the context in which that happened?
Good: Yes.
O’Mara: And then Investigator Serino said, a word that I have, and the transcripts may differ, ground, couldn’t figure it, maybe he said Ground-and-Pound, and then you said:
Good: “Yeah, like a Ground-and-Pound on the concrete at this point, so at this point I told him I’m calling 911.”
2.
Jonathon Manalo: Well, I have always said it seems to me more that what I saw was the person with the knees on the ground.
O`MARA: The person on top with the knees on the ground?
Manalo: Yes.
O`MARA: And you said that they had their hands on the person who was underneath?
Manolo: Correct.
3.
Lindzee Folgate: His head was hit into the pavement multiple times, And that could cause the swelling, correct.
Mara: Consistent, all of it, with being hit on concrete, is it not?
Folgate: It could be consistent, yes.
Mara: If the complaint was that that head was hit on concrete, would you consider that consistent with the injuries that you see?
Folgate: I would.
I get it, a. You should have led with the medical examiners stuff. That’s the only “evidence.” It’s “consistent” with that type of injury, yes. That was according to two examiners testimonies that I saw, and counter to another.
The point remains that no *EYEwitness* can confirm that’s what happened.
(As a side note, “ground and pound” does not equate to “pounding his head into the pavement.” Good only confirmed that he saw arms “moving forward” which would be consistent with the injuries on the front of Zim’s head.)
If you take on mortgage debt at current massively inflated housing prices, you’ll enslave yourself for the rest of your life.
“Debt is bondage.”~ Suze Orman, May 11, 2013
Don’t Be A Debt Donkey®
I know your bankrupt. We can help u through it.
“With 4.4 MILLION excess empty and defaulted houses in the state of California as a result of massively inflated housing prices, bankruptcy is the only answer.”
I thought that you were in Myanmar or Jakarta, snapping-up investment RE? C’mon mogul, lever-up! Don’t miss the boat. RE always goes up. Buy now or be priced out forever. Don’t be a loser.
wall street journal - bay area rally sends rents soaring:
‘welcome to what is arguably one of the worst cities in america to be a renter, but among the best to be a landlord and apartment investor. san francisco led the top-50 u.s. metropolitan areas in average rent growth during the second quarter, jumping 7.8 percent to 2,498, while oakland was no. 2 at a 6.9 percent increase, and san jose was in fifth place at 5 percent.’
http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/a/SB10001424127887324694904578602013087282582?mg=reno64-wsj
CRATER
what number is this one on the “reasons eric holder is an idiot” list?
http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/16/blacks-benefit-from-florida-stand-your-ground-law-at-disproportionate-rate/
eric holder is really, really, really white. as in like whiter than dan quayle white.
His moustache is black so holder is a black man.
The Feds need to pursue this case to send a message that the Zimmerman’s of the world cannot act with impunity no matter how bigoted the county they live in is.
—————————————————————————–
Don’t you think thats what the trial did?
GZ is now a marked man, he has to hide, his parents have to hide; where is he gonna work? What employer would hire him?
Note the irony; shooting a black teen has forced Zimmerman to function as a black man.
LOL
George Zimmerman is the poster child for why you should try to avoid shooting someone EVEN if you are justified in doing so; its just not worth it.
I have no doubt there are people who would harm him if they got the chance; and some of them are white people. If I were Zimmerman I would leave the country for at least 5 years.
The jury really had no choice in their decision. He was not on trial for lying to investigators, he was not on trial for being stupid… he was not on trial for inflating his injuries…
Go back and read the language of the 2nd degree murder charge. Its a high burden to overcome short of being a racist (depraved mind). The state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty of it.
The only hope for the state was to prove Zimmerman attempted to detain Martin, and they failed to do that. They argued MOTIVE but failed to deliver a credible architecture/narrative of provable actions by Zimmerman whether thru witnesses or physical evidence to provide the jury with an alternative to the story provided by the defense.
Just accept it. The state tried but failed. As per the jury instruction, even I would have been forced to acquit Zimmerman.
The Feds need to go sit down. Its black parents that need to stand up and and openly discuss with their children what the BEST thing to say or do if they ever experience this situation.
Have you heard any discussion of that?
I haven’t.
What are my SUGGESTIONS for black teenagers?
1. You turn 13 and you never leave the house without a state issued ID.
REASON: Many criminals avoid carrying valid ID because they have warrants out for their arrest. If you are a black person with no ID, the investigation into your death will be cheap, weak, poor quality… because the assumption is, you don’t want to be identified.
2. Sit down with your teenage child and ask them: “if you were murdered today, how difficult would it be to “paint you” (contamination with color) as a thug/worthless person… based on your digital trail, friends, school records…?” In other words, do a BEHAVIORAL benefits and liabilities audit of your child and explain the role of perception in the value people place on each other.
REASON: If you don’t value yourself, why should anybody else?
These are two constructive suggestions black people can implement that don’t require lots of money and/or permission from white people.
What are you nigros waiting for?
Indeed, everyone should be concerned about the precedent this case sets; but thats a flaw in the law, and the conduct of the Sandford police department.
Should black people try to change those?
Yes.
But first we should make some changes in our own behavior.
( Disclosure– Ive carried state/Fed ID since the age of 12)
regarding number 2, trayvon martin was a thug. the mainstream media wanted the public to think that he was a 12 year old child. i went to high school with thugs like him and today they are either dead or in jail.
if he was spooks son he would have just said “no problem here sir…just heading back home after walking to the store…he lives just a couple of blocks away”.
that’s what i would have said when i was a teenager…never been in a fight my entire life.
What did he do that was so thuggish? There was no witness who saw who started the fight.
What did he do that was so thuggish? There was no witness who saw who started the fight.
————————————————————————
Thank you.
And this is exactly where Zimmerman became evasive and obtuse in his interview with Det. Serino. My suspicion is that more words were exchanged than Zimmerman admitted. In addition, he never explained how they moved from where he was punched and fell down, to where he shot Trayvon.
Remember, part of Zimmermans defense was his claim that he didn’t go down the “T”.
So look at the distance between the “T” where Zimmerman got punched and fell, and the place where he shot Trayvon while on his back getting punched.
Ive watched all his statements and never heard an explanation of this distance issue?
What is this distance, and how did he cover it?
Did Trayvon drag him that distance
Further away from his truck and into the darkness?
I think it was a general statement. Read his text message history and decide for yourself.
GZ is now a marked man, he has to hide, his parents have to hide; where is he gonna work? What employer would hire him?
Let’s see …
He’ll move someplace overwhelmingly white like Idaho or Wyoming, where he’ll be worshiped like a hero.
He’ll make a bundle making appearances and selling autographs at gun shows and NRA events.
Gunmakers will hire him as a spokesman.
He’ll move someplace overwhelmingly white like Idaho or Wyoming, where he’ll be worshiped like a hero.
I don’t know about “worshiped”, but those are the places I was thinking of where he’d be perfectly safe at all times.
Spook: What are the chances of the following:
1) Black guy getting jacked by a black guy.
2) Black guy getting jacked by a brown guy.
3) Black guy getting jacked by a white guy.
In 2010, there were 6,470 black murder victims.
In 2010, 5,338 of those were black on black crimes.
So that leaves 17% for “other race on black” murder versus 83% for black on black murder. 7% white on black murder. Adjust threat profile accordingly.
So that leaves 17% for “other race on black” murder versus 83% for black on black murder. 7% white on black murder. Adjust threat profile accordingly.
—————————————————————————
Roger that.
I have sheets over all the mirrors in my house,
Fabulous
I think your suggestions are great for ANY teenagers!
As any correct code of behavior should be; if it doesn’t work for all people, it should be refined until it does.
I found a internet radio interview where Neely Fuller the author of the UICCSC) is providing his phone #
Scroll to 12:27 to hear him give it out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbeAnWTv3CM
BTW– Fuller retired from the Bureau of Printing and Engraving after 20 years as a security guard there. If you ask him, he will tell you he watched people MAKE MONEY from sheets of paper and ink.
Literally.
George Zimmerman is the poster child for why you should try to avoid shooting someone EVEN if you are justified in doing so; its just not worth it.
Not to mention an unarmed boy/man. He brought a gun and used in a fist fight. This is why I always thought Zimmerman was guilty of something even if the law was on his side (open for debate). Isn’t there a charge of “excessive use of force” or something like that at the minimum?
I don’t know about that, but the irony of this entire event is awesome.
Just think about it?
Because of the actions he took against a person he thought looked suspicious, George Zimmerman is now forced to feel the way he made Trayvon feel that night:
Scared
hiding
nervous
lookin over his shoulder all the time
Living with relatives in and unfamiliar neighborhood
Worried somebody is following him
*Once upon a time, dressed so fine, threw the bums a dime in your prime…
didn’t you?
How does it feel?
Trayvon brought his fists to a gunfight. Bad idea. People should avoid starting fist fights with strangers for many reasons. That’s one.
I have no doubt there are people who would harm him if they got the chance; and some of them are white people. If I were Zimmerman I would leave the country for at least 5 years.
Not sure what he can do for a living. But there are lots of places out west where he could live and never be under any kind of threat.
Do you live in the west?
Can he stay at your house?
Is that a rhetorical question? I’d be curious to get to know him a little and see if he’s closer to being the jerk some say or the saint others say. If he turns out to be a jerk then I’d rather not be around him. I’d have been curious to know what Trayvon was really like, too.
But yeah…I live in the Rocky Mountains. He could easily walk down any small town street out here and nobody would say or do anything threatening to him even if they recognized him and didn’t like him.
Will Europe Hit a Demographic Tipping Point?
I found this to be an interesting read. Here’s the link:
www dot newgeography dot com/content/003820-will-europe-hit-a-demographic-tipping-point
From the article:
Not only are Europe’s young facing short term pain from economic crisis, they also face the long term prospect of being a small population cohort that has to spend their entire working lives (when they eventually find jobs) paying for previous generations’ lavish retirement benefits never properly funded. Along with this, they are the ones who will likely bear the brunt of reduced pension payouts for themselves while the current and nearly retired are fully protected from cuts. This is on top of the massive official public sector debts that have been accrued, along with many years of pain from IMF and EU mandated austerity in a number of countries. Contracting demographics is like a “force multiplier” for unfunded liabilities, and this generation may never achieve the affluence – and buying power – of their parents.
The Fourth Turning.
That demographic bulge has already begun to disappear leaving millions of excess housing units……… Just like the US.
If you’ve got a house and you think its actually worth something, you better get while the gettin’s good.
“spend their entire working lives …. paying for previous generations’…”
Not likely.
spend their entire working lives (when they eventually find jobs) paying for previous generations’ lavish retirement benefits never properly funded.
Isn’t it nice to know that this isn’t only a problem here in the USA??
Misery loves company.
Let’s talk about these “lavish” retirement benefits.
My mom wasn’t a stay at home mom/parasite…..part time when we were little, then full time when we got older.
She gets Medicare. And $1000/month from Social Security.
Her “lavish” lifestyle consists of going to funerals 2-3 times a year, watching TV, and playing “penny slots” every couple of months.
A thousand bucks will be just about enough to pay for the fuel for an F-15 or F-18 to taxi from the ramp to the end of the runway.
She would be better off if we went Galt and quit paying into Social Security. Between me and my brothers/sister, we could scratch together $1000 a month. Of course, 3/4ths of her neighbors would be gone……living under bridges, eating out of dumpsters, and cluttering up the morgues streets with corpses.
But thinking that this country has enough money floating around to keep a lot of people from dying and smelling up the streets just goes to show what a no-good, worthless, parasitic Socialist I’ve evidently become.
Fixer, did she live in a paid-off house?
A thousand bucks will be just about enough to pay for the fuel for an F-15 or F-18 to taxi from the ramp to the end of the runway.
Great intel. I’m packing it away for future reference.
She bought a little condo in 2001, when mom and dad split. Had some money from an inheritance saved, so she put 50% down, has a little mortgage/payment on it (less than $200). The monthly condo fee is higher, which she constantly bitches about (a little over $200, for maintaining the pool, maintaining the outside of the buildings, snow removal, cutting the grass, trash pickup, and basic cable). I pay her electric bill, and buy groceries, pay a few other bills
I stay there, because it’s cheaper for me to drive 70 miles each way, than it is to rent a place close to my job that’s affordable and isn’t in Ft Apache. Although that is changing. (someone tried to pry open the door to my truck last week. Tore up the door, nothing in the cab to steal. Fourth break-in of my vehicles in the last 18 months.).
She’s decided she wants to move to DFW, to be near/live with my sister and other relatives. She’s been watching the “housing recovery” news, and remembers the prices for condos they were getting in 2006-2007. Shes fixated on selling at the 2007 price. Ran the numbers for her last night, to show her what holding out a year for the “not giving it away” price would cost. Better to price it at the “sell it ASAP, and get out from under it” price.
So the -fixr will be doing some apartment shopping this afternoon. I’m trying to avoid the I-35-from-downtown-to Johnson County Charlie-Foxtrot if at all possible. (I can drive 70 miles out into the boonies on I-70 out of downtown faster than I can drive 20 miles out to Johnson County.
I’ve come to the conclusion that a single person making a mid-5 figure salary is now the “working poor”. Between that and my divorce (the ten-year anniversary of which I’m observing this week) I’ve also been finding out how much money you can save, when you give up on maintaining any kind of pride or self-respect.
It’s probably exaggerated a little. But maybe not.
Just for grins, I just did the actual calculation:
From internet research, the observed fuel burn of a current generation (F-100/F110) engine is around 55K pounds per hour in afterburner.
55K/7pounds-gallon = 7100 gallons per hour. Divided by 60…… 118 gallons a minute.
Times 2 minutes for takeoff roll and climb to 3000 feet = 216 gallons.
216 x $6.00 gallon = $1296.00
Times two engines = $2592.00
($6.00 = typical retail price……the government might get a better deal on fuel. Or maybe not, if a contractor is involved)
Thank you for the information, Fixer. I agree that your mom needs to sell the condo when she can. If and when this bubblet pops, condos will be the first to suffer.
$200/month condo fee for all that is actually quite good.
Re: “$200/month condo fee”
I’ve been telling her to quit bitching about it. It’s a bargain.
She still thinks you can pay the neighbor kid $10 to mow the lawn, or shovel the sidewalks and parking lot.
The tenants voted to hire a management company. So they are going to spend $2000/mo to recover $600/month in condo fees from the 2-3 deadbeats.
I guess they think they will make it up on volume.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-17/farewell-housing-recovery-housing-starts-miss-most-january-2007-permits-have-biggest
“Farewell “Housing Recovery” - Housing Starts Miss Most Since January 2007, Permits Have Biggest Miss In History”
Lots of chart-porn here as well. All of these RE moguls better get cracking, as there appears to be a lot of opportunity out there. Its the opportunity of a lifetime as RE only goes up. Be sure to yield the right-of-way to any rich Chinese or wealthy Brazilian investors out there swinging their huge bags of cash. Snap ‘em up, Boys. Snap ‘em up…
“As for the reason? Simple: as we have been warning, Wall Street’s infatuation with housing as a flippable investment asset, praying that a greater fool has cheaper access to credit and will thus buy up all the distressed property…”
+1 But our Senators seem to think it’s a great business plan. All in!
The initial building has been done on existing finished lots (zombie subdivisions).
Once those zombie subdivisions have been built out, they need to restart the earthmovers. Often times, the construction was done on lots that were written down below infrastructure costs. Prices needed to rise to justify moving that dirt.
There was a recent article about how this has now restarted in Sacramento for one example. It has also restarted in Phoenix (earlier, I believe).
Housing starts will be higher a year from now than they are today as the development pipeline refills.
“Once those zombie subdivisions have been built out, they need to restart the earthmovers. Often times, the construction was done on lots that were written down below infrastructure costs. Prices needed to rise to justify moving that dirt.
No, the price of the dirt needs to FALL. We are still in a land bubble. The housing bubble, after all, was in the price of land itself. Land prices will be cratering. Accept it.
I agree with you…the price of homes is nearly all in the land–building a home is a low margin business. However, if you want the price of dirt to fall, you need to make more land available for development. It’s just that simple.
“Once those zombie subdivisions have been built out, they need to restart the earthmovers. Often times, the construction was done on lots that were written down below infrastructure costs. Prices needed to rise to justify moving that dirt.”
You’re so fawkin clueless and dishonest I don’t know where to begin.
Then educate us.
In the face of rising prices, why aren’t contractors building MORE homes (not less as the article notes), thus keeping prices in check?
And stop claiming that prices are falling. Case Shiller’s data refutes that claim easily.
Your theory (and Tyler Durden’s) is that demand is weak, and thus homebuilding is weak.
My theory is that it takes time to restart development in earnest, and we will see higher numbers of housing starts over the next 12 months than the prior 12 months.
A dishonest liar like you can’t be educated.
Hint: Stop lying
Uh oh?
Looks like Al Sharpton is gonna need to amp up his shakedown of YT.
His new gold digger girlfriend looks a bit high maintenance?
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/al-sharpton-finds-new-love-decades-younger-article-1.1400703
BTW– is it me? or does he not look too healthy in this picture?
I am certain I would look worn out too if I had a girlfriend decades younger than me.
“His new gold digger girlfriend looks a bit high maintenance?”
+1 She’s got the curves.
“shakedown of YT”
You’re not allowed to say things like that. Al Sharpton is an iconic civil rights leader. If Gandhi and MLK had a baby together, it would be Al Sharpton. You need to get some Diversity Training and more COEXIST stickers.
Both of them have awfully caucasian features for being called “black”.
Both of them have awfully caucasian features for being called “black”.
————————————————————————
1. Are you a “caucasian” person?
2. WHAT is a “caucasian” person?
3. Are you a white person?
4. What is a white person?
5. What is the difference between a caucasian person and a white person?
Are northern indians and mestizos in latin america caucasian even if they have darker complexions? Would a light brown person from northern india be classified as white indian american?
My guess is white = caucasian.
5. What is the difference between a caucasian person and a white person?’
White people own homes caucasians rent or is it the other way around can’t remember
WTF are Hispanics are they from Hispania ?
True “Caucasians” have an Asian/Arabic appearance. “White” in America generally refers to AngloSaxon/Nordic features. But the idea of a “pure” genotype in third+-generation America anymore is approaching laughable.
Asian/Arabic appearance.
Example?
When you say caucasian, do you mean people who are from the Caucasus Mountains and the area immediately surrounding it?
Surely you don’t expect people to know geography? Isn’t that a bit much, A?
Silly me.
Google maps is your friend. The Caucasus Mountains are between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and are closer to northern Iran than they are to, say, Romania.
My understanding is that the people from those regions eventually migrated to Northern Europe. Musician Loreena McKennitt made it her life’s work to trace the Celtic migration backwards. She wound up following the Silk Road which is the same general direction. So I suppose Caucasian could refer to almost anyone from Tehran to Limerick.
That would explain the Arabic look, but I don’t know where the “Asian” comes in. The Caucusus are still far (south)west of the Urals.
I agree it’s getting more difficult to pin ANYone* down to a single heritage. I for one am fairly proud of my distant Neaderthal heritage. Evidently their legacy is a stronger immune system.
———–
*except Steven Colbert. PBS traced his DNA and concluded that Colbert was “100% White Man.” They all had a good laugh over it.
Oxide… do you have a limerick about Tehran for us?
A guy named George Zimmerman
had no love for the Ku Klux Klan
But when attacked by a black
he decided to shoot back
and now the shits hit the fan
(sorry I couldn’t wedge Tehran in there)
There once was a man from Tehran,
Who fancied himself Ghenghis Khan.
He sewed a fabulous flag
So they called him a fag
And dressed him in lace and chiffon.
OK that was kinda crude. Lemme try again:
Two men with a calling to preach
Took their Book for to thump and to teach.
Since they lived in Tehran
And so thumped a Koran
The crowds gave them 8 virgins each.
We must buy this house in Tehran!
Said the Mu’salem wife to her man.
When he asked, “What’s your hurry?’
She said “Not to worry?
I had it researched by Su’h zhanne
The bourse in Tehran were all cranky
And crying great tears in their hanky
Their vast stores of gold
All had to be sold
To satisfy Chairman Bernanke
Is “Observant Gay Muslim” the ultimate oxymoron or what?
Only on NPR. I’m thinking of canceling my subscription and starting to listen to Rush’s show. Especially since NPR now airs NAR commercials.
Observant Gay Muslim Balances Faith And Sexuality
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
By Angela Carone
For Muslims who are also gay, it’s almost impossible to fully engage in the Islamic faith community. But they find ways to worship. We meet an observant gay Muslim who’s faith is part of what bonds him to his partner.
Yesterday we introduced you to a young woman who is lesbian and Muslim. Iman Usman loves the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began on July 8th. “It’s literally my favorite month,” explained the 18-year-old. “You get up early in the morning with your family and pray. There’s something about getting up before the sun rises.”
The first person Iman came out to in her family was her cousin Salman, who goes by Sal. As a gay man with a longtime partner, he was supportive, if not a little overly protective. “I just reminded her that she’s still a young lady, and still a young Muslim and she needs to act accordingly.”
Sal understood exactly what Iman would face - both in their large extended family and in the greater Muslim community. Sal knew he was gay at age 6. He was out in his high school but in the closet at home for many years. He’s now in his late 30s and has only been out to his parents for three years.
One is not supposed to break family ties in Islam. Sal says because of this, his parents tolerate him. But they never talk about the fact that he’s gay or has a partner. “They’ve reiterated that they love me and accept me, but they don’t accept my relationship and they don’t accept what they think is my behavior,” Sal said.
Sal is an observant Muslim. He strictly follows Islamic practices. “I pray five times a day. Start each day with scripture. Fast during Ramadan. And I’ve been to hajj already once (referring to one of the Five Pillars of Islam involving a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia). And I give the limited charity I’m able to give,” Sal explained. “Being gay and being Muslim are both part of my identity.”
But that means walking a tightrope – one where Sal must balance two of the most meaningful aspects of his identity: his faith and who he loves.
“I think my parents think I should be celibate and live alone. Just live for the next life and know that this is my test,” he said.
…
You guys are on a roll this morning. LOL
Nice suit
A while ago I thought he was on a weight loss program. Now I wonder if he could even be dying. He’s lost a LOT of weight and looks much older than 58.
BTW– is it me? or does he not look too healthy in this picture?
I was thinking gastric-bypass…but his weight loss looks to have gone beyond that.
He looks near death. Somebody mentioned gold digger. Does she have a line on arsenic?
Nice.
His head looks like it’s Photoshopped onto his body.
“Get what you can get for your house now because its going to be much less later for decades to come.”
“If you correctly understand that a “housing recovery” is dramatically lower prices by definition, then higher interest rates will accelerate the housing recovery.
Falling housing prices to dramatically lower levels is bullish optimism and will accelerate the economy.”
Are you missing out on the QE3 extension rally?
• LIVE VIDEO: Bernanke testifying before House Financial Services
• LIVE BLOG: Blow-by-blow of Delivering Alpha hedge-fund conference
Fed chief on Capitol Hill
Semiannual Bernanke visits lift stocks 80% of the time
• Bernanke testimony insists tapering of ‘QE’ is not on a ‘preset’ path
• 4 big questions for Bernanke | Bernanke’s flexibility bolsters markets
Treasury Yields at 2-Week Low as Bernanke Says Buying Not Preset
By Susanne Walker & Cordell Eddings - Jul 17, 2013 6:46 AM PT
Treasury 10-year yields fell to the lowest level in two weeks after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank’s asset purchases “are by no means on a preset course” and could be reduced more quickly or expanded as economic conditions warrant.
U.S government debt rose for a third day as Bernanke said in prepared testimony before the House Financial Services Committee the accommodative policy “could be maintained for longer” if economic conditions warrant. Treasuries extended gains as starts of new U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in June to the lowest level in almost a year.
“The quantitative-easing policy is not on a preset course — that’s resonating,” said George Goncalves, the head of interest-rate strategy at Nomura Holdings Inc., one of the 21 primary dealers that trade directly with the Fed. “There’s still some optionality about how they are going to do it and to what extent. The more they sound dovish is the more the market is pricing in that it may not be as big.”
The benchmark 10-year yield fell six basis points, or 0.06 percentage point, to 2.47 percent as of 9:45 a.m. New York time, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader data. It touched 2.46 percent, lowest since July 3. The price of the 1.75 percent security maturing in May 2023 gained 17/32 or $5.31 per $1,000 face amount to 93 3/4.
…
Watching C-SPAN3 and at 12:23 EST Ben informs congress that the FED gets income from it’s balance sheet. A congressman points out the FED is paying 100% face value for these assets which are classified as distressed and have actually been loosing value. Ben quickly corrects the congressman that the FED legally doesn’t recognize losses on it’s holdings. You might wonder how that works? As long as FASB rule 134 is suspended anyone holding a MBS or CDO can legally claim they are worth what ever they want them to be. Party on dude.
Can I make up values for my assets on loan apps to a bank? Something smells rotten here.
And remember….Housing is always a loss. Houses depreciate and the losses to depreciation are magnified by the fact that they cannot be written off as a loss on your tax return.
More proof that Prince George’s County is the h*ll hole of Maryland/DC area. (Especially southern PG County… places like Laurel or College Park aren’t as bad, but they’re also a lot whiter and more expensive.)
http://www.wtop.com/58/3389798/Prince-Georges-water-outage-like-a-natural-disaster
WASHINGTON - Life over the next three to five days will be one where southern Prince George’s County residents will have to adjust to no water.
More than 150,000 Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission customers are affected, but the impact is much greater since a customer may be an individual home or business.
“This is an unprecedented situation in terms of the scope and size,” said Scott Petersen, a spokesman for Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, on WTOP.
“It is the equivalent of a natural disaster hitting the county,” said Petersen.
Residents and businesses are urged to conserve water as WSSC repairs a 54-inch water line, a huge project in a remote area.
Mandatory water restrictions went into effect at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Three hours later, WSSC shut down the affected water main. Water inside the main is expected to last customers 12 to 15 hours.
“That clock started around midnight,” said Lyn Riggins, WSSC spokeswoman, Wednesday morning.
WSSC has been urging people to stock up on water and conserve what water they use. The more people conserve, the longer they’ll be able to get water from the shut-down main.
When the water in the main runs out, repairs to the massive water main begin.
“We’re going to work as quickly as possible,” Riggins said.
But it will take “three to five days” before the water comes back on, she said.
In an effort to help, Prince George’s County has several locations set up for people to get water, to take showers and to cool off.
They don’t need water, they can just drink sizzurp.
Can you even imagine 3-5 days of no running water?
By the way, it has been ~98* F all week in DC area and this is projected to continue for the next 5 days. Tomorrow is supposed to be a little over 100*. The humidity is bad since DC area is very low lying (former swamp).
I would be drinking sizzurp, too.
Andrews Air Force base is in that area, I wonder if they have backup water. Might not matter since King Obama and Court Jester Biden probably only drink Perrier on their flights.
“King Obama”
I read on Breitbart that Obama had urinals shaped like the U.S. Constitution installed in the White House.
What’s up with the new screenname? You voted for that a$$clown last year when you could have voted for Gary Johnson.
I read on Breitbart that Obama had urinals shaped like the U.S. Constitution installed in the White House.
I heard those urinals been there for a long time. Once Bush left, the WH staff wanted to remove them, but Obama personally intervened saying “they.are.very.useful.keep.them.around.“
Every US President since Ike has urinated all over the Constitution, except Carter who was afraid to urinate. And Bush’s dad didn’t urinate quite so much when he was in the WH, but check out his activities before being President. Ample urination that could last 3 lifetimes for most politicians.
I like Obama on a personal level, I think he’d be a cool guy if he was just down the hall or on the firm’s softball team. And I do think he’s better than Mittens by several degrees. But you’re right, I would agree more with Gary J. Obama has gone along with all the infrastructure handed to him by W and by the party hacks in Congress. At this point, war criminal loses it’s meaning because Obama is one just like W and probably Clinton too. In short, yeah I regret not voting for Gary, Mittens is disgusting, and I doubt either party will nominate a strongly reform-minded person for President anytime soon. Hilary, Jeb, Rand, Rubio? More of the same crap.
The one thing I will give O credit for is his Supreme Court nominees. Not Kagan so much, but definitely Sotomayor. Still hasn’t fixed the Citizens United problem, though.
Given the makeup of Congress, do you actually think Gary J. could have accomplished more than Obama has?
The MIC would have had him assassinated before he even took office.
You’re probably right, ahansen, as far as legislation is concerned. But the President being the head of the exec. branch can do a number of things differently. The idea of Gary Johnson as President is ridiculous at this point because the GOP stole Ron Paul’s delegates and Gary J would be even more of a heretic. He’d never ben acknowledged in debates unless he ran from within one of the 2 parties. And the GOP primary crowd and rule making committees hate people like Gary J.
Every US President since Ike has urinated all over the Constitution, except Carter who was afraid to urinate.
…
At this point, war criminal loses it’s meaning because Obama is one just like W and probably Clinton too.
Under Eisenhower the CIA overthrew democratically elected governments in both Guatemala and Iran.
Noam Chomsky has written that every postwar president, Truman through Obama, could be charged with war crimes.
Ahem, yes. I had no water for nearly two weeks after Hurricane Ike…that’s why I filled up every container I owned beforehand and bought tons of bottled water.
I have an emergency stock of bottled water. It’s a good idea in the desert.
That being said, I need water to run my cooler, so being out for very long is not much fun.
Here’s an alternative reality example:
http://www.startribune.com/world/215623871.html
‘Mexico’s most brutal drug cartel leader built a business empire stretching from the Southwest United States to Central America, but Miguel Angel Trevino Morales’ final days of freedom were spent… The last of the Zetas drug cartel’s old-guard leaders saw fate swoop in on him in the pre-dawn hours Monday when a military Black Hawk helicopter flew low over his pickup truck’
Sounds pretty exciting, huh? And it makes everyone involved feel better about the billions we spend on ‘Black Hawk helicopters’ too. But the story is already deep into fantasy. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that the last ‘leader’ of the Zetas was ‘gunned down’ near a soccer field. And I’d bet this guy wasn’t the ‘most brutal’ by a long shot. But we’ve got a story to sell here:
‘His arrest was particularly pleasing for the United States…President Barack Obama praised the Mexican government and vowed to continue supporting the country’s fight against drug traffickers. “I think what it shows is that the new administration of President Pena Nieto is serious about continuing the efforts to break up these transnational drug operations,” Obama said in an interview with Univision Tuesday.’
Does anyone think the Zeta’s, or any drug cartel, will ‘break up’ when one guy is killed or captured? And even if they did, wouldn’t another gang step in to fill their shoes? Let’s not stop here:
‘Trevino Morales’ methods, like those of Zetas leaders before him, led to a “Zetanization” of how cartels do their fighting, said George Grayson, an expert on the group and a professor of government at the College of William & Mary. “Inflicting fear into the heart of your target is an extremely efficient way to get what you want,” Grayson said. “That genie is out of the box.”
Ah yes, the Zetanization. How did that come about? Well, years ago, the US and their puppet decided the police were too corrupt, so they formed a Mexican paramilitary group and trained them in the US just to go after drug gangs. They brought a war like method to the effort. Then one day, they decided to become an enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel, and boom, the Zetas were born. Eventually, they broke off from the Gulf Cartel and started their own gang. That’s who this ‘last of the Zetas drug cartel’s old-guard leaders’ is. And as these guys have gone away, who replaces them? Zeta assassins. And this is just one example of how a violent situation keeps getting more violent.
It’s interesting to me how current and ex-presidents in Latin America keep coming to the conclusion that the drug war is a failure. And how the US is about the only entity that is keeping it going, at least in it’s current militarized form. It’s almost like there is some other reason to perpetuate this decades old folly, and mask the whole mess with Hollywood style stories of capturing gangland dons with black helicopters.
Does anyone think the Zeta’s, or any drug cartel, will ‘break up’ when one guy is killed or captured? And even if they did, wouldn’t another gang step in to fill their shoes?
+1. The vacuum will be filled; the demand guarantees it.
Just think- what if the Zetas started selling RE , with the incredible, pent-up demand that exist today… Crazed, violent used-house-salespeople who will stop at nothing for a sale paired up with rich/wealthy cash investors who always offer more than asking and buy up everything sight-unseen. It would be RE nirvana. RE carnage. They would all be ka-jillionaires within minutes.
Profit for the cartels. Profit for the Mexican government. Profit for the makers of military equipment. Profit for American politicians.
Profit everywhere you look!
GDP! GDP! GDP!
t’s interesting to me how current and ex-presidents in Latin America keep coming to the conclusion that the drug war is a failure. And how the US is about the only entity that is keeping it going, at least in it’s current militarized form.
The drug war must continue at all costs. What would Police departments do without the need to wear SF operator-like uniforms, buy military-grade automatic firearms, have access to armored vehicles and convince judges to issue No-Knock warrants so they can bust in your door at 4AM and shoot your dog without alerting you first?
Los Zetas were deserters from a Mexican SF group (formed to protect World Cup games in Mexico City and trained initially by France) who were recruited by a retired and corrupt Army officer to become the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel.
Uhh, no they weren’t. I’m sure there are lots of people out there that want to cover up their origins, but I know better.
My understanding is that the GAFE deserters went to Forts Benning/Bragg as part of their training for Mexican Special Forces and were subsequently lured by Cardenas into guarding the cartel .
Are you suggesting they were hand-picked by the US government for that purpose? A lot of foreign special forces pass through the MSA for counter-insurgency training. They also trained with French and Israeli forces; were they in on it too?
Would you prefer, Ben, that Moralez still be out there ordering the deaths of many of those 100,000 citizens killed in the drug wars since 2005?
America was founded by tax cheats and money launderers who traded in human traffic. Why should modern Mexico be any different? Eventually these cartels will consolidate and go “legit”, be recognized by the United States, and set about raping the country’s resources the old fashioned way — by legislating it.
McDonalds and Visa teamed up to make a website that gives budgeting advice to minimum wage employees.
You guys need to read this, it is a laugh riot.
Among the assumptions that McD’s makes is that the recommended budget includes a “2nd job” that makes almost the same income as the “1st job”. In other words, they’re basically saying they just expect their FT employees to have a 2nd PT job that is ~30 hrs/week.
There is a discussion on this website: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/202172/mcdonalds-suggested-budget-for-employees-shows-just-how-impossible-it-is-to-get-by-on-minimum-wage/
There are also links to where you can see the actual “suggested budgeting” pamphlet.
Lucky Ducky nation… we’re already there.
In other words, they’re basically saying they just expect their FT employees to have a 2nd PT job that is ~30 hrs/week.
10 hours a day, 7 days a week. Welcome back to 1880.
When McD’s originally posted their “suggested budget” it included nothing for gas/electric.
The overall budget it really hilarious, people should read it for themselves and realize that this is how the leadership class views their min wage employees.
But people will continue to eat at McDonalds, and bank with BofA, and eat Monsanto corn, and on and on. People are stupid.
Speaking of BOA, they sent us a new Visa card number, because a database was compromised (never disclosed if it was internal or external), and then charged us to move the data from our former acct to the new acct. Needless to say, I firmly told them where to shove their fee.
We’ pay in full every month on our cc’s, usually only using the BOA Visa. We have separate credit and credit cards as well.
Isn’t it weird people have a wallet full of plastic and use different cards? Who would want to pay on multiple cc’s? KISS.
This site has been pilloried from here to infinity. Not that it isn’t deserved, but well, it’s McDonalds and Visa. What do you expect?
‘Lucky Ducky nation… we’re already there.’
They’d have a shot at something a bit more wealth-generating if they bought the stock instead of going there for a job:
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=MCD+Interactive#symbol=mcd;range=my;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;
Maybe it is a certainty. Never underestimate the public’s craving for cheap stuff. If Twinkies had an IPO, you’d be on your way to sponge-cake millions.
Hmm, I hadn’t seen it posted here and thought people would appreciate seeing the assumptions made by corporate leaders about their minimum wage earners.
I’m surprised _more_ people don’t drop out of the labor force and turn to a life of crime (particularly dealing drugs) when they realize this is how the Masters feel about them. “Hey, just work 70 hrs a week at min. wage jobs with minimal upside and terrible work conditions. Then you can save up slowly but surely and have whatever you want!”
I’m surprised _more_ people don’t drop out of the labor force and turn to a life of crime (particularly dealing drugs) when they realize this is how the Masters feel about them. “Hey, just work 70 hrs a week at min. wage jobs with minimal upside and terrible work conditions. Then you can save up slowly but surely and have whatever you want!”
I agree. There’s a kid next door who stays home with her kid-out-of-wedlock. I guess she doesn’t see the point of going out and getting a job if it just means working at crapjobs.
McDonalds and Visa teamed up to make a website that gives budgeting advice to minimum wage employees.
“The vast individual and corporate fortunes, the vast combinations of capital which have marked the development of our industrial system, create new conditions and necessitate a change from the old attitude of the state and the nation toward property
…More and more it is evident that the state, and if necessary the nation, has got to possess the right of supervision and control as regards the great corporations which are its creatures.”
Theodore Roosevelt (Quoted by Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex, Random House, 2001.)
In 1902, “combination” was the common word for “monopoly,” which at the time was a fairly new concept. [yup, I read the trilogy and loved it.]
Volcker Cautions Federal Reserve May ‘Fall Short’
By John Detrixhe - May 29, 2013 3:56 PM ET
Bloomberg
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said today the central bank will probably “fall short” by being asked to do too much.
“It’s fashionable to talk about a dual mandate, that policy should somehow be directed toward two objectives, of price stability and full employment,” Volcker told the Economic Club of New York. “Fashionable or not, I find that mandate both operationally confusing and ultimately illusory.”
“Asked to do too much, for instance to accommodate misguided fiscal policies, to deal with structural imbalances, to square continuously the hypothetical circles of stability, growth and full employment, then it will inevitably fall short,” Volcker said. Those efforts cause it to lose “sight of its basic responsibility for price stability, a matter that is within the range of its influence.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-29/volcker-cautions-federal-reserve-may-fall-short-.html
The dual mandate is such a ill-conceived, feel-good directive:
• One mandate is to maintain stable prices.
• The second is to maximize employment.
• They believe that high inflation increases employment (which I find silly - inflation is the result not the cause of high employment).
Then they are forced to violate one mandate for the other. Congress should be the ones responsible for employment, instead of simply being responsible for partying and fund-raising, as they are now.
Businesses are responsible for employment and income.
And no one is holding the current generation of overpaid executives accountable for their collective failure.
By paying U.S. workers less and then creating an economy based on them spending more, they have created a disaster that neither the Fed nor the Congress can fix.
Central planning has left CEO’s no choice but to make larger and larger bets for the short term gains.
First it was “We don’t want to pay for government services we don’t use”
Now, it’s “We don’t want to pay for services we do use….”
http://tinyurl.com/n7veabg
From my latest copy of “Aviation International News”:
“Currently, $12.8 billion of the FAA’s $15B budget is derived from various taxes and fees, with $11.44B of that coming from passenger ticket and international departure taxes on airline passengers. The much touted aviation fuel tax contributes only $622.8 million, less than the FAA derives from waybills and investment income.”
I can see why someone with a Cherokee or a Skyhawk would choke on a $100/leg user fee. But for a corporate/charter jet? Don’t plead poverty to me when your fuel bill for a single flight is $5-6000 or more, and your catering bill is $100/person for a turkey sandwich
(Hey, but they are REALLY GOOD turkey sandwiches……)
The jet fuel tax since 2007 (the last time it was increased) is currently 4.4 cents for airlines and air charter, and 21.9 cents for everyone else. Avgas for piston powered airplanes is 19.4 cents/gallon.
Of course, the NBAA’s answer is to cut FAA salaries, especially those of ATC controllers. Sure, we’ve been down that road before, and now we are right back where we started.
One of the FAA’s problems is poor management of large projects, like the NextGen/modernization. Of course, it’s “waste, fraud and abuse”. It can’t be because they don’t pay competitive salaries to people qualified to adequately manage a major project like that.
You see the same dumbazz, US American, business school management think everywhere……aviation, IT, you name it.
The guys and the tools that keep things running are costs to be ruthlessly reduced, because they aren’t considered a “profit center”. So they turn formerly decent paying jobs into Lucky Duck jobs.
Five or ten years of this, and the best and the brightest avoid the business, because they can make more money elsewhere. (But not so much lately, because Lucky Ducks jobs have 500 people applying for every opening).
Then the idjits start bitching about “Can’t find experienced help”, “people are unqualified to do the job”, “the educational system is failing to provide adequately trained worker bees” ……etc. usually followed by lobbying government to pay for training programs, lowering standards for certification, accepting overseas work with no FAA oversight, etc.
As anyone who works in any kind of manufacturing or systems support knows, this has been going on since the early 80s.
(Back in the mid-90s, the aerospace OEM I used to work for organized a TQM team to find out why they couldn’t retain mechanics after they got a few years experience. They surveyed close to 100 former employees, and the answer was (big surprise)………”Salaries and benefits”, closely followed by “too much overtime” and “poor hours/stuck on second shift”.
The team was thanked for their work……and the report was promptly shredded and round-filed.
But I digress……..
People bitch about taxes. Then they bitch about user fees. Then they lobby to have the already-low taxes/user fees reduced. Then they bitch about “over-regulation”. Then they bitch about the problems that under-regulation and inadequate investment generates.
But for a corporate/charter jet? Don’t plead poverty to me when your fuel bill for a single flight is $5-6000 or more, and your catering bill is $100/person for a turkey sandwich
(Hey, but they are REALLY GOOD turkey sandwiches……)
That’s the thing that irks me.
Ben Jones, was that you that commented w/your name on Rolling Stone regarding the infamous cover outrage?
No, there’s a lot of people with that name.
It had the sober well thought out ring of your posts here at the hbb so I figured I’d ask. Not sure if your opinion would fall in the direction of this Ben Jones which was contrary to the overwhelming opinion of the thread. But it was very well presented while most everyone else’s read like an emotion dump.
Did not see the cover. Some store chains up here in NE are boycotting carrying the current issue magazine, possibly permanently. I am thinking that RS might be using the magazine as a spite over Michael Hastings death, but that seems unlikely. Just a hypothesis. RS does controversial stuff I guess.
Some more fun money facts.
-Cost of fuel for B-1 Bomber for one takeoff and climb to 20,000 feet = $25,200.
-Cost to start and run M-1 Abrams tank at IDLE for 1 hour = $50.
-Cost to operate a Nimitz class carrier (personnel, fuel, maintenance, construction cost/40 years) = $1.45 million a day = $80K per aircraft launch.
(Disclaimer: I’m not complaining about the costs……state of the art performance costs money. But you don’t buy any more than you have to, and you don’t start wars/using these assets to blast mud huts in BFE, unless you have a damn good reason. Neither of which has been supplied to justify an invasion of Iraq, or 12 years of “nation-building in Afghanistan)
GAO: U.S. Has Fired 250,000 Rounds For Every Insurgent Killed.
John Pike, director of the Washington military research group GlobalSecurity.org, said that, based on the GAO’s figures, US forces had expended around six billion bullets between 2002 and 2005. “How many evil-doers have we sent to their maker using bullets rather than bombs? I don’t know,” he said.
“If they don’t do body counts, how can I? But using these figures it works out at around 300,000 bullets per insurgent. Let’s round that down to 250,000 so that we are underestimating.”
Pointing out that officials say many of these bullets have been used for training purposes, he said: “What are you training for? To kill insurgents.”
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/us-forced-to-import-bullets-from-israel-as-troops-use-250000-for-every-rebel-killed-28580666.html
U.S. Has Fired 250,000 Rounds For Every Insurgent Killed.
Maybe they’ll slowly die of lead poisoning.
“U.S. Has Fired 250,000 Rounds For Every Insurgent Killed.”
How many civilians killed for each insurgent?
than you have to
I agree, but that qualifier ^ is the one that will be haggled over.
Partial credit should be given to those who’ve come to their senses but when sides are picked for the debate, you’ll STILL find people who think those invasions, and their cost, were justified.
….well, for clarification’s sake, by “invasions” I mean invasion of Iraq and occupation of both.
“Colossus” by Naill Ferguson makes a pretty good case that “nation building” and unnecessary wars combined with our rapidly aging demographics mean the end of the U.S.’s quasi-empire status.
We spend far too much on wars, “defense”, and keeping alive our old people and too little on improving our human capital.
So long as U.S. home prices stay high and keep going higher, why does this even matter?
and none of which would be possible without the support of patriotic, freedom loving, bootstrapping, private sector, invisible hand of the free market, for profit, government contractors.
support our troops
freedom isn’t free
let’s roll
mission accomplished
power of pride
these colors don’t run
et cetera
9/11 Terrorist Hunting Permit
No bag limit, and they’re good through 2050.
http://www.jonesreport.com/images/terrorist_hunting_permit.jpg
(There are real popular here if Florida)
Subaru + COEXIST / Colorado or VT = F350 + Terrorist Hunting Permit / Florida or GA
Blue Skye
Sorry to hear about mate’s surgery. Hope not serious.
Friend of mine hit a Manape? or something like that, in Florida once, his wife broke her leg from the impact - so he drove her all the way home to get the free medical in Ontario (about 25 hr drive) ! He had a 60 ft plus boat and they were using a little shore tender !
Crossing the end of the lake can be interesting with west winds. Props out of the water a lot. Kingston Toronto run can be wild as well. I run straight to get it over with. No canal or island hiding.
How did the ape man fare?
“Teens chase kidnapping suspect on bikes, save 5-year-old girl”
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/15/justice/pennsylvania-teen-heroes
+1 Great story and outcome.
Wonder if Tom Joyner will guarantee THEIR tuition to the four-year college of their choice?
The echo bubble in SoCal is on the brink of surpassing the mania heights of the original bubble. And yes there is tight supply — of buyers at these mania price levels.
Sadly, all bubbles eventually pop, and rockets explode.
Home price rebound has look of a boom
The 28% surge in Southern California’s median home price in June sets a record, exceeding any month during the housing bubble last decade.
Southland housing prices surge in June
Southern California home sales fell 2.1% in June from a year earlier and 6.2% from May, an indication of tight supply. Above, a pending sale in San Anselmo, Calif. (Justin Sullivan, Getty Images / July 2, 2013)
No bubble, even in hottest home markets, a new report says
By Andrew Khouri and Alejandro Lazo
July 17, 2013, 6:23 p.m.
The housing recovery is looking more like another housing boom, with prices rising at a record pace.
The median home price in Southern California surged a stunning 28% in June compared with a year earlier — outpacing any month during last decade’s housing bubble. The gain puts the median at $385,000, up from $300,000 last June.
Some experts warn that prices, driven by short supply, should cool off soon. Investors who have flooded the region with cash purchases will probably retreat, they say, as a fresh supply of sellers and builders moves in. But others see nothing but higher prices ahead, with supply staying tight and buyers scrambling to close deals before the window of affordability slams shut.
Syd Leibovitch, founder and president of Rodeo Realty in Beverly Hills, said he expects prices to double from their bottom last year.
“You have a lot of room to run,” Leibovitch said. “Because historically, they always double in these cycles, and then they drop back a bit.”
For now, many home shoppers are tendering ever-higher offers in cutthroat bidding wars.
“They are following the fiddler,” said real estate agent Amber Dolle. “They are hearing that there is this huge panic to get into a home.”
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“You have a lot of room to run,” Leibovitch said. “Because historically, they always double in these cycles, and then they drop back a bit.”
THIS TIME IS DIFFERNT, LEIBOVITCH. GET A CLUE!
So anyway, I just want to mention that inventory is up and building is going crazy, so prices should come down, and hopefully rents will come down too.
What makes you think QE3-to-infinity won’t keep those prices propped up forever, or at least long enough so you no longer care any more?
What makes you think QE3 will?
It seems like the federal government is committed at various levels (not just the Fed, but also lots of other F’s: Fannie, Freddie, FHA, etc etc etc) to putting floor under home prices. At this point, I see no signs of a plan to end this policy.
That said, I haven’t given up on Stein’s Law just yet:
ft dot com
July 18, 2013 12:42 am
NSA’s phone and web snooping more far-reaching than thought
By Richard McGregor in Washington
The US’s National Security Agency, the electronic eavesdropping body, has disclosed that its telephone and internet data collection is far greater than previously known in the face of unusually sharp congressional questioning.
The disclosures, and the more aggressive stance from members of the House judiciary committee, underlined how the NSA is losing support in a Congress which had initially largely backed the White House’s defence of anti-terror surveillance.
John Inglis, a deputy director of the agency, told a congressional panel that the NSA collected the data of not only people whom suspected foreign terrorists were talking to in the US, as they say they are authorised by law to do.
Mr Inglis, using the NSA’s in-house jargon, said the agency could go “two or three hops” beyond, to the person originally contacted by the target, and to people they had contacted, and then one step further.
The NSA has previously said it traces connections with potential terror targets by only two degrees of separation.
Members of the committee said the NSA had gone beyond the law in their surveillance operations and indicated they may no longer be able to support the reauthorisation of some of its powers.
The debate over the NSA has been sparked by leaks from the former NSA contractor, Edward Snowden, now at Moscow Airport as he waits to find asylum in the numerous countries he has applied to.
Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin who helped author the original post 9/11 Patriot Act under which the NSA collects information on potential terrorists, said parts of the legislation would not be renewed in 2015 unless Congress’ concerns were satisfied.
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RAL had it right with his username.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of overhearing a conversation where one of them was a realtor and wow did the lies flow. One right after another.
Does anyone remember about four-and-a-half months ago when the Sequester was poised to deliver a death-blow to the US economy?
What a scam that turned out to be! The stock market is on a tear, hitting new highs almost daily. The housing market is similarly rocketing up. There has never been a better time to invest in stocks and houses. Buy as many as stocks and houses as possible and join the millionaires investor club almost instantly!
Look on the bright side. All this manipulation exceeded *everyone’s* best guesstimates.
In other words, totally unexpected!
“Buy as many as stocks and houses as possible and join the millionaires investor club almost instantly!”
+1 Buy ‘em on margin too; load up!